Glasgow loves Animation 2017: What Do We Know?

Fellow Glaswegian otaku, rejoice. Next week is the start of this years Glasgow loves Animation. The best film festival for anime fans.

I have attended this event for a few years now, and I love it to pieces. If you are in the Glasgow area from the 13th to the 15th you need to check it out.

With all that said, what do we know about this year’s selection of films?

Starting off the festival is the UK Premiere of Tokyo Ghoul – Live Action on the 13th. The clue is in the name, this is a Live Action adaptation of the Tokyo Ghoul series.

Also screening on Friday is Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. In this film, humanity lives in fear of vampires. When Doris Lang is forced to become the latest wife of the vampire Count Magnus Lee, she hires D, the elusive Vampire Hunter to save her.

On the 14th there will be three films, the first one is the UK Premiere of Lu Over the Wall.

Being the new kid in town isn’t easy, especially when your new town turns against you and your mermaid pal.

Wait, that never happened to you? Just me? Ohh, ok. Moving on!

Next up is not only an EU Premiere but after the screening, there will be a Director Q&A. Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution Movie 1 is the start of a series of films for the next generation of Eureka Seven fans.

And last, but not least for the 14th showings is Kizumonogatari – Part III.

While the 15th is the last day, the three films that will be screened that day are all UK Premieres.

The Dragon Dentist tells the story of Nonoko, the newest Dentist as she fights to defend the dragon who protects her home as a great disaster is on the horizon.

Next up is Fireworks. This is an adaptation of a TV Special called Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? A group of friends wonder about fireworks and plan to use a pool to answer a few questions. 

The last film of the festival is Venus Wars. After four generations of living on Venus, war has started. Our heroes are caught in the crossfire as factions battle for domination and street gangs cause chaos.

If you ask me, this years lineup looks promising. Which film piqued your interest? Let me know!

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PlayStation Credit Card: What Do We Know?

Yesterday it was announced on the PlayStation Blog that Sony Rewards and Capital One joined forces to create The PlayStation Credit Card.

Well, what do we know about this card?

According to Kristin Ferrito, once you apply and get approved, you will receive a $50 PlayStation Store code.

The idea is when you buy items with this card, you gain Sony Rewards points. 100 points are $1 in Sony Rewards.

 

Source: PlayStation.com

 

The card can be customised with designs inspired by popular games for free and there is no annual fee.

Here is where the lines get a bit blurred. You see, while at first glance it seems anyone can get their hands on this card, but in order to do you, you need a Sony Rewards account.

This might not seem important, but Sony Rewards is only available in certain countries. I live in the UK and when I tried to access the site I got denied. I tried multiple times but had no success.

From what I saw in the comment sections, Canadian gamers and those who like in Europe are in the same boat as UK ones.

After doing a fair amount of research, it appears that this card is, for lack of a better term, a US exclusive.

Joker Origin Movie: What Do We Know?

Yes, there is a live action Joker origin movie in the works.

I for one am not happy about this and I am not alone, just look at twitter. Not even 24 hours after the announcement and fans were already in a frenzy (the bad kind). However, that is a topic for another day.

So, What do we know about this film?

The film will be directed by Todd Phillips who directed The Hangover. He will also be involved with the writing with co-writer Scott Silver of 8 Mile fame. The project will be produced by Martin Scorsese.

The lead role has yet to be cast. All we know is that it will not be Jared Leto and chances are it will be a younger actor.

According to the report on Deadline, this will be the origin story of a Joker we haven’t seen before and won’t tie into any of the other live action DC movies.

“The intention is to make a gritty and grounded hard-boiled crime film set in early-80s Gotham City that isn’t meant to feel like a DC movie as much as one of Scorsese’s films from that era, like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull or The King Of Comedy,” Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr announced.

That is as much as we know so far, so keep your eyes peeled for more information about the Crown Prince of Crime’s upcoming movie. Chances are there will be a development in the next couple of weeks.

 

Comic-Con 2017: What Do We Know?

With one day left of San Diego Comic-Con, let’s discuss some of the upcoming movies, shows and games that DC and Marvel have been announced so far.

First up, DC.

DC has confirmed that the Wonder Woman sequel is in the works, to the surprise of no one. That being said, I can’t wait for the Amazonian’s next adventure.

We also got a new trailer for Justice League, which I am cautiously optimistic about.  The trailer gave us a look at our villain, Steppenwolf, who will be brought to life by Liam Neeson. The Amazons are back, and maybe Superman too. Well, the latter was hinted at, but I will not be surprised if that is indeed the case.

I am hopeful that this film will follow Wonder Woman‘s success and not fall into the same traps as the previous DC films. Justice League will arrive on the silver screen in November.

Another upcoming DC film, Aquaman also had a trailer, although this one was just a teaser. There is one thing we know for certain, Arthur hates cameras! The footage shows him attacking the camera, ending the footage, which we have seen him do in Batman Vs Superman. I guess he’s camera shy? Either way, his stand alone film is coming out December 2018.

Now, time to mention Marvel.

We got a look at Marvel’s latest Netflix show, Punisher. Jon Bernthal is reprising his role for the series as the title character. The footage shows what you would expect from Frank Castles, shoot outs and lots of killing. Unfortunately, no release date has been confirmed.

Doctor Doom is getting his own movie. Did not see that coming. The film is currently in development, yet the only name we have been given tied to the film is Fargo showrunner, Noah Hawley. I am curious to see how this ends up.

Ever wanted to be the merch with the mouth? Well, you can soon fulfil that dream in the upcoming MARVEL Powers United VR game. While the game itself was announced back at the Disney D23 Expo, the ability to play as Deadpool was announced at Comic-Con. The game will also give you the choice to play as either Captain Marvel, Hulk or Rocket Raccoon. It will be out in 2018.

With one more day left, chances are there will be even more exciting announcements on the way, only time will tell what else Comic-Con 2017 has in store for us.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix: What Do We Know?

X-Men fans, I have news for you.

It has been announced that there will be an X-Men film following the Dark Phoenix story. This, of course, is not the first time this story arc has been brought to the big screen but many of us like to try to forget about that film.

This, of course, is not the first time this story arc has been brought to the big screen but many of us like to try to forget about that film.

So, what do we know about this upcoming film?

The film is titled X-Men: Dark Phoenix and will be released on the 2nd of November, 2018.

The director has been named as Simon Kinberg, who isn’t a stranger to the recent X-Men films. He worked as a producer for X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse. This will be his first time sitting in the director’s chair in his career.

Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Alexandra Shipp, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, and Kodi Smit-McPhee are reported to reprise their roles.

Jessica Chastain, known for The Martian and Zero Dark Thirty, is said to be in talks for the role Lilandra Neramani, the Empress of the Shi’ar Empire who will be the main villain in this film.

We don’t know how closely the movie will follow the original story, or how they will portray Lilandra as this is her first time on the silver screen.

Let’s just hope X-Men: Dark Phoenix isn’t as bad as the last time this storyline was used in the cinematic universe.

Stormblood: What Do We Know?

Warriors of Light, take note.

In my last ramble, Falling for fantasy, I mentioned an upcoming expansion for FF14 called Stormblood, but I didn’t go into any detail about it. The reason for that was because I thought that it needed a separate ramble dedicated to it so here it is!

Stormblood is the second expansion for FF14 which was announced back in October of last year. It is due for release on the 20th of June.

So, what does this expansion have in store?

Firstly, the level cap will increase from 60 to 70 and the inventory will be expanded. There are also new locations such as Gyr Abania, the Ruby Sea, Yanxia, and the Azim Steppe.

On top of that, Red Mage and Samurai will become playable classes.

New additions include new primals and beastmen, a new 8-man raid, the ability to swim and dive, new dungeons, an alliance raid and a new residential district called Shirogane.

There are also going to be several changes to the battle system. For example, cross-class skills will no longer be in the game and will be replaced with “role actions” with five different types. (Tank, Healer, Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, Caster). Since cross-class skills have been removed the requirements for unlocking jobs will be altered.

PVP is also getting an upgrade. Now any job over level 30 can participate and PVP actions will now be determined by role, instead of by job.

While I am excited about Stormblood, I haven’t completed A Realm Reborn yet, let alone Heavensward so I won’t be preordering it anytime soon until I have caught up with my friends.

I know that with the release of Stormblood you can buy potions to catch up, but that feels wrong to me so I will make progress in the game the old fashioned way.

IT: What Do We Know?

Yesterday the Official Teaser Trailer for the IT remake was released to scare the living daylights out of us.

In my less than humble opinion, nope. All of the nope! I hate clowns, I am not going to go see this. Well, I say that now, but chances are my horror loving best friend will drag me kicking and screaming like she did when Blair Witch came out.

With that said, what do we know about this remake?

Let’s start off with the basics. IT is the first of two movies, as they decided to split the story into two films instead of condensing it into a single film. At the time of writing, there has not been any information regarding the release of the second film.

It has to be said, Bill Skarsgård has big clown shoes to fill. Not only is Pennywise the Dancing Clown such an icon in the horror world, but he was originally brought to life by the one and only Tim Curry. While Skarsgård certainly has a menacing presence in the trailer, he doesn’t say a single word, which doesn’t give us a lot to use for comparison.

Andrés Muschietti, the director, is no stranger to horror let alone horror centred around children. Back in 2008, he directed a short horror film about two little girls and their nightmarish mother. Sound familiar? It should. This short was adapted into the 2013 film, Mama, with Muschietti as the director yet again.

From what I can tell, a noteworthy difference between the original story and the upcoming film is the time setting. IT will now take place in the eighties rather than the fifties, this is so the second film can be set in the present.

If you have seen the original or read the book, you know what I’m talking about, if you haven’t I recommend you pick up the book or the miniseries before September.

As to be expected, the filmmakers are not revealing their hand all at once, So watch this space for more information as it comes.

It will float into theatres and our nightmares on September 8th.