General Lane is an important character in the DC universe, someone has to keep Lois Lane in check. On Smallville, Michael Ironside portrayed the character for three episodes. As the Kryptonians prepare to return to the small screen, Glenn Morshowe has been cast as General Sam Lane on CBS’s Supergirl, according to IGN.
Morshowe is most notable for his roles in the Transformers franchise, 24, X-Men: First Class, Star Trek, and The West Wing. Morshowe has been working in Hollywood since 1976 and has been cast as a military man more times than he can probably remember, but it could be this role that gets him the nerd love he deserves.
Anohana, the 11-episode, heart-wrenching, A-1 Pictures anime has been on my favorites list for a while (sitting at about 12 now). And just as I began craving another story like it noitaminA announced that the main staff of Anohana, including director Tatsuyuki Nagai, is working on an original film premiering on September 19th, 2015.
The trailer features absolutely breath-taking visuals, with some of those backgrounds looking more like actual photographs, and this one, odd, really creepy scene. That part when the egg fairy thing is zipping Jun’s mouth closed kinda freaks me out if we’re being honest.
The synopsis is also interesting: “Jun Naruse is a girl who carries the guilt of breaking up her family with the words she carelessly uttered when she was young… Suddenly, a mysterious “Egg Fairy” appears in front of Jun and casts a curse on her so that she can never hurt anybody with her words. Jun’s ability to speak is sealed away: every time she tries, she feels a pain in her stomach. Traumatized by this experience, Jun hides her feelings deep inside of her heart, turning to e-mail messages on her mobile phone as her sole means of communication.
Jun is now a second year high school student. One day, her homeroom teacher appoints Jun and three other students as members of the Regional Friendship Exchange Executive Committee. As it turns out, the appointed group is a rather unexpected mix of students. Other than Jun, the members of the Committee are Takumi Sakagami, the burn-out who never speaks his true intentions; Daiki Tasaki, the former baseball team ace who failed his run at the Championships due to an injury; and Natsuki Nito, the cheerleader and honor student who has some concerns about her love life. They all suffer from emotional trauma just like Jun.” (Source)
An English promotional site has also been uploaded, and looks pretty snazzy.
The only… odd thing about the movie, is the mention of “Ultra Peace Busters,” which is very similar to the “Super Peace Busters” from Anohana. Which means that this is either just a translation difference, and the movie is from the same universe as Anohana, or the writer has a thing for “Peace Busters.”
Titled “Anthem of the Heart” and made by the Anohana staff, this is a movie everyone should be looking forward to.
Theo Rossi and Rosario Dawson have been added to the cast of Netflix’s Marvel series Luke Cage, according to Deadline.
Dawson will reprise her Daredevil role as Claire Temple in Luke Cage, it was already announced that she is set to appear in the second Marvel series, Jessica Jone. In the comic books, Claire is a romantic interest of Luke Cage.
Rossi is most famous for his role as ‘Juice’ in Sons of Anarchy.
Luke Cage is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972). Imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, he gains superpowers in the form of unbreakable skin and superhuman strength. The character frequently teams up with fellow superhero Iron Fist, and is married to Jessica Jones, with whom he has a daughter. In 2005, writer Brian Michael Bendis added Luke Cage to the lineup of the New Avengers, and he has appeared in various Avengers titles since. – Wikipedia
Truth be told, I have bad memories when I was learning to drive. Just like most kids, I was in Drivers-Ed and I was not particularly fond of the teacher due to his propensity for yelling. Needless to say I didn’t pass the initial test and had to take the test again at the DMV. In the end, I got the coveted driver’s license, but even after all that hassle I wasn’t filled with joy. It was more like apathy. I certainly can make a direct comparison to sitting through Learning to Drive. After the headache of sitting through a movie where I was suppose to empathize with the woman (Patricia Clarkson), I ended up leaving the film with nothing more than a little bit of that apathy I remember as a teen.
Learning to Drive is based on an autobiographical 2001 New Yorker article by Katha Pollitt. In the magazine piece, later published in Pollitt’s collection of stories, the longtime non-driving Manhattan resident bounces back from a breakup with a womanizing jerk by learning to drive. Student and teacher (Sir Ben Kingsley in this case, once again able to disappear seamlessly into any ethnicity) become close, with hints that more could come of it. The movie was well directed by Isabel Coixet, who’s attention to detail at least added some elements to a very lackluster script. If anything this movie is a lesson how not everything needs to be turned into a movie.
The source material did not allow for a ton of creativity. So what we had is a lot of just Kingsley and Clarkson on screen talking in a car and that grew mundane very quickly. I do think that Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley did what they could with the script, and were stellar given the circumstances.
I do wish that the movie had spent more time focusing on the inner turmoil of Patricia Clarkson’s character. Instead, we were mired in a narrative involving Ben Kingsley’s character being married in what seems to be an arranged marriage.
If you’re driving to the movies and you decide that Learning to Drive is the optimal choice … Just keep on driving.
Liev Schreiber was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night and the two discussed the possibility of Schreiber returning to the third Wolverine film as Sabertooth. Schreiber at the very least seems interested in the project but had no official word about a commitment.
The conversation was sparked by a tweet that Hugh Jackman sent back in August.
The Untitled Wolverine Sequel is expected to be in theaters in 2017 and is based on the ‘Old Man Logan’ storyline written by Mark Millar.
Rian Johnson is set to direct Star Wars: Episode VIII which comes out on May 26, 2017 and it appears that Lucasfilm is close to casting a new female lead for the film.
Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez (“Jane the Virgin”), Golden Globe nominee Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” star Olivia Cooke are considered the top contenders for the new female lead in Rian Johnson‘s “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” multiple individuals familiar with the casting situation told TheWrap.
Lucasfilm is still try to sign Benicio del Toro to play the villain in Episode VIII, the plot for this film still remains unknown. Star Wars fans believe this new female lead is Han Solo’s daughter as the old Star Wars history has been scrapped as a new timeline is being created with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Most anime fans are aware that there has been an increasing amount of anime released that features people being sucked into or trapped inside of a video game (usually an MMO). I remember being enthralled with .hack//SIGN in college, and recently we’ve had Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, and Overlord, with each giving us different aspects of the dilemma to focus on.
What fans might not be aware of is anime that takes on the theme of “real life video games”. These shows incorporate video games into the regular daily lives of the characters in some way or another. As always, I like to only recommend shows that are currently legally streaming to keep them accessible to most fans.
The world in which Accel World takes place is one where everyone can log on to a virtual network at any time due to implants in their brains. Haruyuki Arita, an overweight boy who is constantly bullied, eventually meets a beautiful girl named Kuroyukihime. She tells him about a game called Brain Burst which speeds up the brain’s cognitive processes to the point where it seems time has stopped, as well as augmenting reality. Players are “assigned” avatars that represent their mindscapes, and they fight each other with the goal of reaching level 10, which presumably will allow them to meet the game’s creator. There are numerous ways in which the game will uninstall from a person’s brain, in which case that person will forget about the game and cannot install it again.
Accel World was originally a series of light novels written by Reiki Kawahara, who also wrote the Sword Art Online series. There are similarities between the two and there has been debate on whether the shows are in the same universe, though there is no confirmation from the creator that this is the case.
I enjoyed the mechanics of how Brain Burst worked, from how it could affect reality to the execution of battle powers and how some are acquired and developed. I don’t think I’ve seen anything else quite like it. The action was fun to watch, the drama was tolerable, and the dub was decent enough.
Ryouta spends all his time playing a Btooom, a game in which you use sonar and various bombs to destroy your opponents. But little did he know that people can “nominate” others to be sent to an island to fight to the death in a real-life version of Btooom, and he is one of those drugged and dropped on the island. He must now fight for his life, find allies, and blow everyone else up.
This series doesn’t have anything new in particular to contribute to the high stakes games genre, and the end is unsatisfying for a show that only has a single season. But if you enjoy action, people getting blown up using video game mechanics, and not thinking too hard about what’s going on, Btooom! might be for you.
Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Director: Yoshiki Yamakawa (Little Busters, Kill Me Baby) Animation Production: J.C. Staff (Food Wars, Golden Time, Revolutionary Girl Utena, too many more to count!) Streams on:Crunchyroll, Hulu AKA:DanMachi
Gods and Goddesses have given up some of their power in order to live on Earth. People who serve the Gods are called “familia” and are granted powers that basically work the same way as it would if you were in an MMO. Characters have levels and skills that can be developed. They enter a dungeon and kill monsters for loot, that they can sell or use to craft items. Goddesses can “check their stats” by performing a ritual using a symbol on the person’s back.
Bell Cranel is the only member of Hestia’s familia. He has no powers of note until he is almost killed by a minotaur that shouldn’t have been on a low-level floor of the dungeon. He is saved by Aiz Wallenstein, a warrior of some renown, and is instantly in awe and smitten. He vows to become as strong as she is so he is worthy of her company. This grants him a new skill that allows him to level up quickly, but Hestia chooses to keep it secret from him because it is based on his feelings.
There are some harem elements to this show that can get annoying, but because Hestia doesn’t go out of her way to turn Bell away from Aiz, I find it more tolerable. She knows that Bell’s feelings for Aiz are why he is able to be so strong, and she doesn’t want to ruin that for him. The other girls aren’t really as irritating (especially Aiz, who is oblivious to his feelings). The show does a great job highlighting the ups and downs of being in a familia and shows how Bell just tosses tradition aside and does things his own way. I hope more seasons are forthcoming.
The World God Only Knows
Director: Shigehito Takayanagi (Galaxy Angel A, Tokyo ESP, Kanamemo) Animation Production: Manglobe (Deadman Wonderland, Gangsta., Samurai Champloo, Samurai Flamenco ) Streams on:Crunchyroll, Hulu AKA:Kaminomi
Keima Katsuragi plays dating sims all day. He rejects real girls entirely, and can conquer any girl in any dating sim, calling himself the God of Conquest. When he unknowingly signs a contract with Hell, a demon named Elsie is sent to buddy up with him to capture “loose souls”. These are evil souls that escaped from hell. They live in people’s hearts, and in order to remove them Keima must take the loose soul’s place in the possessed person’s heart (Elsie claims a kiss is enough). Hell was apparently mistaken about Keima’s god-hood, not realizing he doesn’t conquer real girls.
If Keima breaks the contract, both he and Elsie will literally lose their heads, so he must make girls fall in love with him using the same tactics he does with video games by tripping “flags” depending on a girl’s personality. After a girl is kissed and the lost soul is captured, she forgets everything about the conquest, leaving Keima free to save the next girl.
And now for something completely different: instead of action-type games, we have a dating sim! I liked this in spite of it being a harem. It does seem a bit like a “monster of the week” type of deal, but there is an underlying storyline here as to why there are loose souls to begin with, so stick with it! There are three seasons, but you don’t get a satisfying ending unless you track down the manga because the last arc was not animated.
This series takes place in a school where each student has an avatar that has skills based on a student’s achievements and test score. Classes can pit their avatars against each other for things such as better classroom conditions and other privileges. Akihisa Yoshii is in Class F, the worst class. It happens to have some talented students in it due to extenuating circumstances. Akihisa is not one of these – he is an idiot who just happens to have a lot of skill with his avatar and a special item only idiots can use (because it’s broken). Class F decides their talented students deserve better school conditions and attempt to climb up in class ranking via avatar battles.
I only saw the first season of Baka and Test. It wasn’t a great show, but it was still one I binge-watched and enjoyed because at the time I needed something dumb to watch. I believe it was on Netflix and season 2 wasn’t available, and I’ll probably go back and watch season 2.
Honorable Mentions
Dragon Drive – Features a virtual reality game in which you raise a dragon and fight them against other dragons. As it turns out this “game” is actually connected to another world in need of saving, and only a special person can become a companion to a special dragon and save that world. It’s super cute, and also not streaming anywhere. I haven’t seen it since it released in 2002, and I wasn’t picky back then so I remember it fondly. Maybe it was hooey. Who knows?
The Gamer – Okay, okay. This isn’t an anime. This is a web manhwa (Korean manga) by Sung Sang-Young and Sang-Ah. It is about a boy named Han Jee-Han who suddenly develops an ability that allows him to experience life as a game. He can see power levels of different people, learn skills and upgrade stats depending on what he does (not just via fighting, but also things like reading books), and essentially makes him an “overpowered” character. He finds out there is a secret community of ability users. Some are decent people, and some are decidedly the biggest jerks ever. Han Jee-Han must “level up” not only to survive, but also to protect others.
Welcome to a new segment at MFR called Geekflix. Every month, we’ll take the time to look over the different shows and movies that will be arriving on Netflix and highlighting the ones that geeks and pop culture buffs alike need to check out and add their lists. Let’s see what’s arriving for September.
1. Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and the Punisher
Didn’t take the time to check out other Marvel anime series that came out? Don’t bother, they weren’t all that good. Still, this movie is shorter than watching a full series and has cameos by the different Marvel characters we know and love. Should hold a few people over while we wait for the latest Captain America: Civil War news. 2.Masters of the Universe
People worrying about future cartoon to live-action adaptations need only look at this train wreck and realize things couldn’t be much worse. Still, this film does have some things going for it, such as Dolph Lundgren and a young Courtney Cox. Might be more fun though to watch with friends and mock.
3. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – Season 1
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The first season of what was a big part of all of our childhoods is finally available at the push of a button. Turn it on and treat yourself to watching Fred Rogers put on a sweater and say “Hello Neighbor.”
4. The Rambo Trilogy
The ultimate action hero, actually started as a story of a guy who was dealing with PTSD after the Vietnam War. Still, the action in these original three (Sorry, no 2008 film) films is intense and reminds you why Sylvester Stallone is not a force to be taken lightly. Or at least why he deserves to be the leader of the team in the Expendables.
5. Sleepy Hollow
Remember a time when the idea of a Tim Burton and Johnny Depp movie was a sure thing and not hit or miss? Well, Sleepy Hollow will help remind you of that feeling and get you in the mood for Halloween. Not to mention the return of the Sleepy Hollow TV series. Also, Christopher Walken plays the Headless Horseman (before he loses his head) and brings that maniacal Walken intensity along with him.
6. Monster Squad
Ever had a group of friends you loved watching movies with? Ever thought that you and that group would be perfect to tangle with Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s Monster? No? Then turn on this movie instead and watch a bunch of prepubescents do it instead. Remember, “Wolfman’s got nards!”
7. Space Dandy – Season 2
Waiting for there to be some deep and meaningful payoff with this show that will some how make you question how you live your life? Sorry but it’s not coming, baby. Instead watch as Dandy goes on a date, partakes in a High School Musical, and plays in a band. Just a simple day in the life of a rare Alien Hunter.
8. The black List – Season 2
Need more James Spader after watching him try to take over the world in Avengers: Age of Ultron? Well, you’re in luck! The second season of the Blacklist, which some say is one of the best shows on TV, is now up. Take the time to binge watch so you can be ready for the new season.
9. Gotham – Season 1
Sick of there being too much Batman? Then watch the show where Batman is only a kid and Jim Gordon is doing everything he can to stay a good cop with corruption rampant. Also, high marks to Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney, and Robin Lord Taylor as the Penguin. With such an incredible cast you can’t help but want to watch more.
10. Walking Dead – Season 5
Need a refresher before the new season in October? Is Fear the Walking Dead just not cutting it? Then head on back to Terminus and remember why you enjoy this series so much. If you’re not up to season five yet then spend Labor Day and the rest of September catching up.
That’s it for this month. Stay tuned next month for the best geeky things to come out of Netflix.
The Rage of Bahamut universe, including the 12 episode, Mappa produced anime, Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, is getting another series adaptation. Titled ‘Rage of Bahamut: Manaria Friends‘ this series will adapt the “Manaria Maho Gakuin” event from the game (called “Mysteria Academy” in the English version) and features a new cast and seemingly different setting.
Which means no Favaro. FAVAAAROOOOO!!!!
The synopsis reads, “Mysteria Academy is a prestigious magic school that teaches magic without discrimination to the three factions (men, gods, demons), who usually engage in battle with each other. The anime will follow the two young women as students at the academy.” (Source) Said young women are, Anne, the honor student princess and Grea, a princess born from a dragon and a human, which I don’t even want to think about how that happened.
Nobuhiro Takenake, employee of the anime division of Cygames, has stated that this series is not related to the second season of Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, which also has been green-lit.
A much more straightforward adaptation in comparison to Genesis (which really only used the setting and general outline), it will be interesting to see just how much of the Bahamut universe holds up with its own stories.
The PV paints the show as a very generic magic-school anime, full of tropes and cliches ready to spring upon us. It’s unclear what studio is animating this series, and the art style doesn’t fit with the Genesis art style or even Mappa as a whole. It’s speculated this will be the debut work of the Cygames anime division, suggesting this is a newly born studio. The only release date given is sometime 2016.
That also means no evil villain dudes… maybe a mean principal???
The PV is actually for the initial game event over a year ago, so it is possible that the actual anime will have its own style more akin to Genesis, and possibly animated by Mappa. But it’s all speculation at this point.
This is where the rubber hits the road, and we’ll see just how much the Genesis writers added to the Bahamut franchise, and whether it can hold up on its own.
If you were wondering if monster girls had different things they do on dates, then I have some bad news for you. You’re racist against monster girls, because they do the same things everyone else does on dates (well everyone is anime that is). And if you’re even somewhat of a veteran to shows like this you can basically telegraph this entire episode from beginning to end. And hey, that’s not a bad thing if the jokes hit home. But the jokes have to hit home or else it’s just plain boring.
Episode Summary
Kimihito is invited to go out on a date with Ms. Smith. And apparently Kimihito isn’t trusted at all by his housemates, because literally everyone secretly follows him to see whats up. They then one by one attempt to get closer and spy while having something go wrong in the most sexy way possible. But after Miia and Arachne are caught snooping it’s revealed that someone is threatening to kill Kimihito if he marries one of the monster girls.
So Smith decides that he should go out on dates with the girls to try to lure the culprit out with jealousy. So Miia and Mero accompany him to an aquarium, where Mero is super popular. They have a good time until Miia misreads the situation and leaves in a fit of jealousy. She then meets a fellow lizard person and they get chummy due to their similarities. He decides to take her out on a boat ride and ends up sexually assaulting her, trying to force himself on her. Kimihito comes to the rescue and crashes another swan boat into theres stopping anything too serious. Once out of the water it’s revealed that the Dragonewt (other lizard person) is a girl who just wanted a close friend in Miia, and hates men. She flies away but gets punished by Smith for going out without her home stay parent. The episode ends with them still wondering who sent the threat.
Episode Thoughts
So before the dates with monster girls we have the scenes with Kimihito going on a date with a plain old regular girl, Smith. This is probably the stronger part of the episode but there are a few things that sort of ruin it for me. Its the best because we get a lot of physical humor with Suu being basically clothes for the everyone. And of course Suu as clothes doesn’t really mix. They all end up doing very erotic scenes because Suu just can’t stop molesting someone for more than a few minutes. It’s also funny seeing them stumble around trying not to reveal that they’re monsters. Of course seeing someone reaping what they sew is always funny even when its monster girls.
And while these scenes are pretty sexy and funny to a point, the show just feels the need to throw in a bunch of gross men getting up close on the action and being all creepy about it every time. I know its in public and people are going to stare if your on the floor moaning and gyrating, but wouldn’t it have been better if it was like in When Harry met Sally when Meg Ryan is acting out her orgasm. That would have been hilarious. Like if mothers ran away with their children trying to keep them pure or something, or even an overt guy taking a picture nonchalantly and walking away. The gross guys are unneeded, we are already seeing something sexy, we don’t need these gross guys affirming that we should be aroused by it. They really missed an opportunity here for some creative humor, but instead just went and made it as tropey as possible.
As for the second half where Kimihito goes on a date with Miia and Mero, that has its own set of problems. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for going out on dates with monster girls. And to some degree it surely makes sense that it would happen eventually. But I think that it would have been better for Kimihito to decide that instead of using the letter as a plot device to get him to finally do it. He needs to show some agency but the show is basically saying its okay that he doesn’t because everything will work out for him anyway. It would have been better for his character if Kimihito decided for himself to go out on a date and after the fact receive the threatening letter. But I guess we need the main character to be as neutral as possible. So don’t worry Kimihito, sit back and let the plot decide what your actions will be.
As for the date itself, I guess the joke with Mero still set on her tragic love story is still pretty funny but I can see it wearing off really soon. We got one during the other half of the episode too, and every time the joke is just her talking about it. They need to come up with a better way to deliver this joke instead of just having Mero state it. Kind of like they did in the last episode with the Little Mermaid cutaway, that was pretty funny. And the whole situation of her being famous at the aquarium was pretty funny as well. Partly for it making so much sense and also the fact that Mero acts like its no big deal.
The scenes with Kimihito and Miia alone are cute. Or at least they would have been if they weren’t just a montage of still shots. Sure after the montage they get some actual dialogue and get really close to kissing but Mero ends up interrupting them with fish facts. The cock tease isn’t funny at all but on the other hand, seeing Mero being a total fish nerd and not being able to help herself and spout out fish facts was pretty funny. So I’m torn about this scene.
Just like I’m torn about the part where Miia runs into the Dragonewt, where at this point Miia thinks she’s a guy. I’m perfectly okay with Miia leaving in a hissy fit because she’s jealous, that’s totally the way she would act. But I do sort of think its cheap to have it look like Miia is about to be raped by a guy and it turns out to be a girl. This misunderstanding of the Dragonewt’s gender is only there to anger the male viewers that Miia might be stolen away from the self insert protagonist. But in the end its okay because it was just a girl in the end. I do like Miia leaving and not wanting to put up with Kimihito’s indecisive shit anymore. I also like Kimihito giving her the necklace, at least that’s something… I guess. Maybe it really isn’t something and he’s just being a “nice guy” again. But I like to believe that he can see how much he’s hurting the girls by being so indecisive. And remember this is a comedy and this whole situation with the Dragonewt isn’t funny at all. Not even the reveal that she’s a girl is funny. Just a whole bunch of nothing being sexy and nothing being funny. Seriously Monster Girls, what were you thinking here?
So except for that last part with the Dragonewt the rest of the episode was alright. It only had about a couple really funny jokes. And the whole thing with the creepy guys really made the sexy scenes not as sexy anymore. But at least we got a really funny minute with Rachnera trying to get some dirt to blackmail Kimihito and Smith with. So that’s something. From the looks of the preview were going to get at least one more dating episode and I hope that they’ll handle it better and make it more unique. They need to make it feel more like dates with monster girls and not just dates with girls. So while this episode wasn’t really boring, it sure came close.
