This week: Trigun: Badlands Rumble clips, some fun news about Dragon Quest in Japan, and Spice and Wolf comes to DVD/Blu-ray.

First up: Trigun: Badlands Rumble is coming to the U.S. on Blu-ray Tuesday, September 27th (after a very limited theater release during the summer), and Funimation is gearing up by sharing some clips from their youtube page.

The most wanted man in the galaxy returns in glorious HD for the first and only Trigun full length feature film. Gasback plays dirty, but he puts his faith in one high holy roller.

Clip # 1:

Yep. Just in case you weren’t aware – Vash loves donuts. He also tries to avoid violence at all costs. Both are important to keep in mind when watching Trigun.

Clip # 2:

Alright… “Your leg’s got a bad habit of kicking.”…really? Oh English dubbing… Good thing there are some awesome English voice actors to make up for lines of poorly translated / regionalized dialogue like that! Usually I just opt for watching with the original Japanese audio, but this film’s English track features the amazing Johnny Yong Bosch, Luci Christian, Colleen Clinkenbeard, and a few other voice actors that I really like. I think my biggest problem is with lines like the one just mentioned which aren’t translated all that effectively. (Admittedly, it’s often no fault of the translator – there are just some Japanese jokes that don’t turn out all that well in English).

Clip 3:

Clip 4:

Overall the film seems like a fun ride for any fans of the Trigun series. I didn’t catch this one in theaters in Japan but I heard good things from friends that saw it on the big screen. It had an extremely limited screening of only a day or two in select cities around the U.S. so chances are you’ll have to pick up the Blu-ray on the 27th to give it a watch.

For more about the film, visit Funimation’s website.

Next up: Anime News Network shared a neat announcement that Family Mart (a convenience store chain) in Japan will be selling pork buns (nikuman) that look like the Slimes from the Dragon Quest series. As the post mentions, Slimes are iconic enemies in the games and have been featured in every version since the first one premiered in 1986.

Something about food with eyes isn’t all that appetizing to me…but I bet these things will sell like crazy!

Photo from Anime News Network.

Finally this week: Spice and Wolf just came out on DVD/Blu-ray combo pack. You can pick it up for list price USD $64.98 or $59.99 on Amazon.

The journey through the wild countryside continues for the merchant Lawrence and the untamed harvest goddess, Holo. The companions reap the bounty of an ever-strengthening bond, depending on street smarts and animal instincts to carry them along the last miles of their trip to Holo’s northern home. While the villages along their route offer many opportunities for profit, the road is marked by heretics and shady dealers looking to separate the travelers from their savings — and from each other. With the end of the journey in sight, Lawrence and Holo revel in the riches of the relationship they’ve built — but what truly awaits the simple peddler and the forgotten deity at the end of their winding path?

You can watch the trailer here:

Red Faction: Origins bridges the gap between THQ’s videogames Red Faction: Guerilla and Red Faction: Armageeddon. It centers on Red Faction soldier Jake Mason (Brian J. Smith), son of war hero Alec Mason (Robert Patrick) who helped give the Martian Colonies their independence from the EDF (Earth Defense Force), and his discovery that his kidnapped sister, who has been missing for 12 years, is still alive and has become a member of a group known only as the “white soldiers.” The same group that killed his mother and kidnapped his sister in the first place. In order to save her he’ll need the help of his drunken and disgraced father and the support of the Marauders, Red Faction’s sworn enemies.

Having not played either of the Red Faction videogames I can’t comment on how well Origins fits in the story arc but I can say that the film’s plot feels a bit generic but considering its videogame roots its nowhere as hollow as it could be. Andrew Kreisberg’s (“Warehouse 13”) script is actually coherent, fairly intelligent and features a nice amount of character development. The cast is uniformly good with only a few flat moments. The special effects aren’t exactly cutting edge. The flying sequences are particularly troublesome but that’s to be expected from a made-for-Syfy film.

Bonus features include a very fluffy making-of featurette and an commentary with some of the actors, director Michael Nankin and Universal Cable’s director of development Tom Lieber that discusses changes from the original script, differences from the game and some of the off-screen antics.

It’s rare that I’d recommend a film that is based on a videogame but sci-fi fans will want to give Red Faction: Origins a look.

Norwegian Ninja is a Cold War epic from the point of view of a conspiracy theorist on amphetamines. If it was made in America it would star Chuck Norris. That’s not a joke. That’s the truth.

In 1984 Norwegian Labour Party politician Arne Treholt was convicted of high treason and espionage for passing classified material to the KGB and Iraqi Intelligence Service. Norwegian Ninja is his story. Sort of. Okay, not really. Norwegian Ninja is about Treholt, a real person, but its plot is fiction. Or at least it is presented as fiction. For all I know Treholt really ran a secret ninja group that saved Norway from outside cultural influences during the Cold War. The truth, whatever that really is, doesn’t matter. In the world of Norwegian Ninja Treholt is a hero in a B-movie world filled with the sort of special effects, acting and dialogue (via subtitles) that 8-year-old filmmakers drool over. Is this a good thing? I suppose that depends on if your tax money helped to fund this monstrosity of modern cinema (I say that in the most loving of ways).

The film is director/writer Thomas Cappelen Malling’s first film and while I initially was tempted to say it will most likely be his last Malling has already signed on to direct a segment in the upcoming horror anthology The ABCs of Death. It’s not that he comes across as a bad director. It’s just that with Norwegian Ninja it is impossible to tell if he’s lampooning the worst B-movies from the ’70s or simply playing tribute to the underbelly of cinema in the same sort of way that Brian De Palma pays tribute to (some would say rips off) Alfred Hitchcock. Either way I do like Malling’s cynical take on the Cold War and its politics during the Reagan era, but its just a little too goofy for goofy’s sake for me. Frankly, I don’t know how this film was ever made but that doesn’t mean it won’t find a cult following that worships it for all its strangeness.

There are numerous bonus features including a variety of promotional spots, deleted scenes, extended sequences, behind-the-scenes featurettes and a rather odd interview with Malling and producer Eric Vogel from Norwegian television.

Were you to combine the television shows Antique Roadshow, Pawn Stars and Let’s Make a Deal and set it in a self storage facility you’d have something that resembles A&E’s hit series Storage Wars.

I’m not a fan of reality television shows that feature spoiled housewives, bad behaving adult, rich people with bad toupees and former celebrities. I do, however, enjoy series like Ice Road Truckers, The Deadliest Catch or American Pickers. Most of these shows are addictive because of a combination the personalities that populate them and the bizarre world that they live in. Bidding on abandoned storage units isn’t exactly the most glamorous profession. As such the main characters of Storage Wars are more or less blue-collar workers. At the top of the food chain is Dave Hester, “The Mogul,” who seems as interested in bankrupting the other buyers as he is in making a profit. Caught in the middle is Darrell Sheets, “The Gambler,” who tries to be cold and calculated but from time to time can’t keep himself from being helpful. The bottom feeder of the group is Jared Schultz, “The Young Gun,” who is occasionally accompanied by his wife Brandi. Schultz runs a thrift store and doesn’t have much experience. He’s competitive to a fault and tends to get exploited by Hester and Sheets. Then there is “The Collector,” Barry Weiss, who is the wildcard. He’s looking for collectables, rather than trying to make a living off of his finds. He’s known for his outrageous tactics and equally strange wardrobe. I don’t really like, or identify, with any of them.

You’d think, by not really having a rooting interest, that I’d find the series unbearable. That’s not the case. For me the show is all about digging through someone’s abandoned possessions and finding the hidden gems. As the series progressed I found myself silently bidding on the various units, playing against the featured buyers and amassing my own running ledger of profit and loss. I even found myself looking up storage auctions in my area.

Storage Wars is about venturing out into the great unknown at a price that most viewers could afford. Would we have the same success as the featured buyers? I doubt it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy living vicariously through the show’s characters. I know I was certainly excited when Schultz discovered a box of collectable toys. He had no idea what he had stumbled upon but the geek in me knew that he was sitting on a goldmine.

I can honestly say I’ve only seen Bambi once.  It was years ago when Disney released it, or re-released it on VHS, so you can imagine my memory of the film is somewhat fuzzy.  I’m not sure why I never watched it more, other than it’s a rather sad film, and it doesn’t have a princess in it.  (Sorry, I like the princess movies).  I always had a fondness for Thumper, though, and I found the tune “Little April Shower” very catchy.

I didn’t really know what to expect from Bambi II Special Edition.  At first, I thought this would be a sequel and follow the adventures of an older Bambi, but rather like Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas, this film takes place in the middle of the original.

The movie begins immediately after that Really Sad Moment in the original film, and Bambi’s father, the Great Prince of the Forest, explains that things are very different now.  The Prince tries to find a doe to look after the young fawn, but he eventually realizes that he must take responsibility for his son.  The regal Prince (voiced superbly by Patrick Stewart) tries to teach Bambi to look after the other deer and find food.

Bambi tries hard to please his father, but he’s young and wants to play with his friends, and he has trouble navigating some of the rockier terrain in the forest.  His father’s patience is tested time and again, but a relationship slowly develops between them as the ice of winter melts and the flowers of spring begin to bloom.

The animation in this film is beautiful.  Much better quality than I ever would have expected from a direct-to-video release.  Let me say it again:  the animation in this film is beautiful.  I know that Walt Disney had the animators study live animals during the production of the original Bambi, and this new film maintains that same level of quality.  Though perhaps not so true to life, the animals’ eyes are huge and expressive, providing emotion without dialogue, and though the story is simple and straightforward, I was still drawn in and entertained.

Unfortunately, the music isn’t very memorable, but it’s subtle and neither adds nor takes anything away from the film.  Overall, I think it’s a sweet film that will mostly appeal to young children and fans of the original Bambi who want to see more of Thumper, Flower, and Faline.  I also think fans of animated movies in general will appreciate its artistic quality.

Bonus features include a deleted song entitled “Sing the Day,” interactive learning games, a tutorial on how to draw Thumper, a featurette about the history behind Bambi II, and pop-up text that reveals fun facts about the movie.

I recommend watching it at least once.

1990 was supposed to be a big year for Captain America. To celebrate the super soldier’s 50^th anniversary B-movie director Albert Pyun (The Sword and the Socerer, Cyborg) attempted to bring Steve Rogers to the masses with the “big-budget’ feature film aptly titled Captain America. Working from a screenplay by Stephen Tolkin (Legend of the Seeker) the film starred Matt Salinger (J. D. Salinger’s son) as Captain America and Scott Paulin (The Right Stuff) as Red Skull. But Pyun’s film never actually made it into American theaters. Instead the film received a direct-to-video release in 1992 and passed into obscurity soon after. In the wake of Captain America: The First Avenger MGM debuts Captain America officially on DVD for the first time as part of their Limited Edition Collection. Whether or not that’s a good thing is still up for debate.

The film begins in Fascist Italy in 1936 where a young boy is kidnapped and used in an experimental program intended to create super soldiers. One of the scientists, Dr. Vaselli, objects to the use of a small boy against his will and flees to America where she continues her research in a more ethical environment. Seven years later Vaselli is able to create a single soldier, Steve Rogers, before being assassinated by a Nazi spy. The world is now under the threat of the Nazi empire and a diabolical monster known as the Red Skull. The Red Skull is threatening to launch an attack on Washington D.C. and Rodgers, code named Captain America, is sent to stop him. He doesn’t exactly succeed seeing as he ends up strapped to the missile as it rockets towards the White House. At the last moment Rogers is able to redirect the missile and crash lands somewhere in Alaska where he is frozen in a block of ice until he is discovered by researchers1990.

In Captain America’s absence the Red Skull has masterminded the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy and now his sights are set on the U.S.’s current leader, and environmentalist, President Kimball. The plot goes on and on and on and gets more and more ridiculous as it meanders to its absurd ending.

Despite having reportedly cost 10 million dollars, Captain America looks like a made-for-television film from the early ’80s. The script is mind numbing, the special effects are ineffective, the production design is cheap and the performances leave a lot to be desired. Luckily Captain America is terrible to the point of being unintentionally hilarious (unless you’re easily offended by the mistreatment of superheroes) and that might justify picking it up out of pure curiosity. I’m just thankful that it hasn’t been converted to be in 3D.

In 2004 director/writer Stevan Mena unleashed his slasher film Malevolence on the horror world. Shot on 35mm for less than $200,000 the film won numbers awards at genre festivals like New York Horror Film Festival. Bereavement is a prequel focuses on the childhood of Martin, the killer in Malevolence.

Kidnapped as a young boy, Martin (Spencer List) is raised by Graham Sutter (Brett Rickaby) in the crumbling carcass of a meat processing plant. There Martin is exposed to the depravity of Sutter’s troubled mind as he abducts and viciously murders numerous women. When Martin draws the attention of seventeen-year-old Allison (Alexandra Daddario) she threatens to expose Sutter’s sick and secret world. But Sutter will go to all lengths to keep Allison quiet and Martin by his side.

Bereavement is far more complex than Malevolence. Rather than a straightforward slasher film Mena has attempted to create a film that is as psychologically troubling as it is gory. The film does a fine job establishing how and why Martin grows up to be a heartless killer but the characters and the subplots surrounding Martin’s story are a bit muddled and unclear. Mena reveals the reason behind some of the confusion in his audio commentary where he discusses at length editing out sections of the film while editing, the various changes that he made while shooting the film and the reasoning behind some of the characters’ motivations that lurked underneath the surface (particularly in regard to Sutter).

The cast, which also includes Michael Biehn as Allison’s uncle and John Savage as Ted, the father of Allison’s love interest William, is quite good and helps to carry the film over its more laborious moments. Daddario, Rickaby and List are both fantastic in their roles.

Bonus features include Mena’s commentary where he spends a lot of time explaining some of the less effectively told nuances of the film, a handful of deleted scenes, a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes, the theatrical trailer, a TV spot and a collection of still photography.

Bereavement is a flawed, but still recommendable, horror film that would have benefited from a tighter edit and a more focused script. Fans of Malevolence won’t be disappointed and Mena promises a sequel to conclude the trilogy’s story arch. I’ll be looking forward to that.

When I walked into the Sundance Film Festival industry screening of Skateland two years ago I wasn’t expecting to walk out having seen my favorite tribute to John Hughes and utterly in love with Ashley Greene (or at least her character, Michelle Burkham). Truthfully, I expected just the opposite. Most films that try to play tribute to the ’80s end up lampooning the decade of excess rather than celebrating its eccentricities and as far as I was concerned Greene was just another pretty face capitalizing on the success of Twilight.

Skateland tells the story Ritchie Wheeler (Shiloh Fernandez) and his group of friends that live in a small town in Texas in the early ’80s. Ritchie has worked as the skating rink manager at Skateland for the last four years but with interest in roller skating fading the rink’s owner has decided to close up and sell the building. Ritchie is forced to consider a life beyond the rink, the weekend parties at Kenny Crawford’s (Taylor Handley) lakeside home and the post-high school apathy that has taken over his life.

Greene plays Michelle, the beautiful younger sister of local motocross legend Brent Burkham (Heath Freeman), who works at Musicland, decorates her bedroom with posters of The Cure and Depeche Mode, makes mixtapes from her extensive vinyl collection and wears excessive blue eye shadow. She’s also one of the few people pushing the reluctant Ritchie towards a college education. She’s independent, intelligent and, for lack of a better word, dreamy.

Having grown up on films and soundtracks of Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Some Kind of Wonderful I tend to by very critical of films that attempt to tap into the nostalgic atmosphere of the ’80s. Skateland does it exactly right as it features the expected archetypes but never submits to cliché. It’s the polar opposite of Topher Grace’s unbearable Take Me Home Tonight and easily outshines Sundance alum The Informers, the lifeless cinematic adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ short stories.

Sadly bonus features are limited to 30 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes that are interesting but were wisely left unused. An audio commentary from writer/director Anthony Burns and writer/producers Brandon and Heath Freeman would have been ideal.

Sadly Skateland was never given the theatrical release or publicity push that it deserved. Hopefully the Blu-ray and DVD release helps the film to find an audience. If you have any love for the ’80s, John Hughes or want to change the way you look at Ashley Greene as an actress I insist that you watch Skateland.

When Frank’s (Rainn Wilson) wife (Liv Tyler) runs off with a sleaze ball drug dealer (Kevin Bacon) he loses his sense of purpose and falls into a deep depression. Touched by the hand of God Frank decides to become a masked vigilante known as the Crimson Bolt and fight back against the crime and injustice of his small suburban community.

When Super was released theatrically I found the film to be a major disappointment. I don’t know what I was expecting. I certainly didn’t want a carbon copy of Kick-Ass and to its credit Super is decidedly different from that comic book caper. The problem is that Super is as bi-polar as its main character as it jumps from being an absurd comedy to a dark, violent and malevolent decent into madness.

Watching the film a second time, and then a third with the audio commentary by director/writer James Gunn (Scooby Doo, Slither) and Wilson, the runaway violence and escalating insanity that consumes Frank seems more appropriate. The tone is still wildly inconsistent but even the ultra-violent behavior of Frank’s sidekick Boltie (Ellen Page) feels more like a comment on modern society than bad writing.

If you didn’t see Super during its theatrical run you’ll want to at least give the film a rent. I don’t know that it will ever capture the cult status it desperately wants but it is better than I initially gave it credit for.

The bonus features are highlighted by the lively and informative audio commentary and a look at the making of the animated title sequence. The rest are rather fluffy and unnecessary unless you like watching Rainn Wilson run around Austin dressed in his Crimson Bolt costume shouting, “Shut up crime!”

Guest author Kondroid is here with the second part of this year’s Comiket coverage – his Guide to Surviving Comiket!

As discussed in our first article, attending Comiket can be a pretty harrowing experience for the unprepared. If you’re ever planning on attending Comiket, here are ten pointers which will make the experience a little easier to bear.

1- ACCOMMODATION. Don’t expect to be staying anywhere near the convention center itself. Any room that will still be available (hint: better luck finding a speck of pepper on a black sand beach) will be astronomically priced. Find somewhere to stay elsewhere in the city and just take the train in like everyone else does.

2- GETTING THERE. As mentioned above, take the train. The Yurikamome line or the Rinkai line will take you right to the convention center… the only issue will be, it will seem like everyone one else in the entire city will also be riding the train that day. Overcrowding does not even being to describe it. Be prepared for the worst. Once you get out, don’t even worry about trying to find the convention center if you’re not sure where it is. Just follow…

3- THE LINE. Expect to be in it for a long time. “Oh, I’ve been in long lines before–” … no. Not like this, you haven’t. The world “Colossal” does not do this line justice. It starts early in the morning, as overnight line waiting is not allowed, meaning the truly devoted have no choice but to catch “first train”, normally getting there around 5am. By the time the doors open at 10am the line stretches further than you can see, from every corner of the massive Tokyo Big Sight convention center.

Bringing a DS or PSP should be a must-have – anything to take your mind off the tedious standing/shuffling around (they will move the crowds into more organized lines closer to opening time, so be ready to move when they tell you).

4- FOOD. Surprisingly, food is not too over-priced at the various vendors inside and around the convention center. Still, it’s probably a better idea to bring something to eat and drink with you. Bring something to keep you going while waiting in the line in the morning, as well as something to munch on over the course of the day. Just a note, though: try not to walk around while eating, as Japanese people consider it rude (don’t ask me why, no one really knows for sure!).

– Food vendors outside the convention center. –

– If you’ve got plenty of ¥100 ($1) coins with you, then you can take advantage of the many vending machines around. Just be warned that under heavy traffic they can run low (or empty) of your favorites (Have you tried Pocari Sweat yet? It’s a must when trying Japanese vending machine drinks for the first time!) –

5- INSIDE. Once you get in to the halls themselves, good luck trying to navigate the sea of people. Comiket is divided into several halls, each of which is the size of several football fields. Depending on what day you’re attending, those halls will be divided into different themes based on what is available in each area. If you’re attending in hopes of finding something particular, your best bet would be to purchase the Comiket Catalog before you come (available at comic stores around Tokyo, as well as online), so you’ll know exactly where (and when) to find the vendors you’re after. Once you find them, however, depending on how popular the circle in question is, you may be required to wait in ANOTHER line just to purchase their doujin. If you’re only interested in doujin from top circles, you may find yourself standing in lines all day and only having a handful of comics to show for it.

6- WHAT DAY TO GO. Yes, this makes a massive difference. Because there are so many circles vying to get in to peddle their wares at Comiket, they’ve had to restrict who is allowed to sell what on certain days. As a result, days have “themes” assigned to them. Day one is “girls day”, with the majority of vendors displaying all manner of homoerotic match ups from everything you can think of (even if you didn’t want to imagine what a romance between Yoshi and Luigi would look like). Day two is devoted to more “normal” stuff, with day three being the biggest: “guy’s day”, with your regular run-of-the-mill hentai stuffs (largely devoted to whatever the current popular anime is – this years favorite was ‘Madoka.’).

7- SHOPPING. If you’re planning on buying anything, please don’t whip out a ¥10000 (about USD $100) bill for that ¥300 (about USD $3) comic and expect to see a smile on the vendor’s face. If they run out of change, they do not have the luxury of dashing off to get some more. Carry around a stack of ¥1000s ($10’s) in your wallet and you will be everyone’s friend. Also, if you missed out on picking up that Naruto doujin from your favorite artist you had had your heart set on, not to worry… There’s a pretty good chance you might be able to pick it up in Akihabara or Otome Road from one of the many doujinshi re-sellers that exist… for an exorbitant mark up (the average price for a doujin sold at Comiket is about ¥500 ($5). To find one of these doujin at a shop later may run you ¥1500 to ¥5000 ($15 – $50), depending on how rare and in demand it was. Some doujin can ever make it as high as ¥10000+ ($100+)… suddenly you can see why there is such a rush to be the first one in the doors to buy a certain doujin before it sells out).

8- COSPLAY. This is important. If you are planning on cosplaying in Japan (this goes for anything, not just Comiket), DO NOT WEAR YOUR COSTUME TO THE EVENT. This is considered to be in extremely bad taste by Japanese cosplayers. There are changing areas where you are expected to change into your costumes (once inside the con) and storage areas for you to ditch your bags. This year’s Comiket saw a “crackdown” on skimpy costumes, with new rules such as “no visible underwear” and “not too much exposed flesh” being enforced…. This didn’t stop everyone from pushing the envelope, though.

– Cosplayers will often show up with a suitcase containing their costume and change once they have reached the designated changing areas. There are places to check your suitcase during the day so you don’t have to lug it around. –

Once you’re in costume, you’re free to walk around anywhere you like. Just be prepared to be inundated with requests to pose if you’re in the cosplay photo area. (Note: if your costume is particularly good, you may be getting more requests than you can handle. Feel free to say no if you wish.)

9- PHOTOS. Common sense prevails when photographing cosplayers. Always ask. Even if there is a crowd of people already taking photos themselves, always ask. There’s one catch, though: do not, I repeat DO NOT take photos of cosplayers outside of the designated cosplay photos areas. YOU WILL BE KICKED OUT IF YOU DO NOT ADHERE TO THIS RULE. This is not an exaggeration. The rule applies to attendees taking photos, attendees having their photos taken, cosplaying vendors sitting at their booths, and even staff in costume. The one exception is the corporate booths who employ professional cosplayers to dress as their characters, but even then, you still need to ask. One note of courtesy would be try not to clog up foot traffic, as that was the main reason the rule was created in the first place.

– Cosplay photography: don’t do it like this guy… unless you ask first. –

10- LEAVING. As was mentioned in my last article, once 4pm rolls around the whole  con shuts down for the day. By that time the majority of the crowd will have disbursed. Everyone will have picked up what they were after and headed home – or off to Akihabara to sell their swag and/or find what they had missed out on while it may still be in stock at the doujin re-sellers (for probably triple its original price). The congestion getting back to the city is just as bad as getting to the con itself and goes well into the night. If you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere, your best bet would be to jump on the train heading in the OTHER direction (away from the city), go a few stops till the train gets to the end of the line and turns around, thus ensuring you’ll have a seat all the way back! (common sense, you would think, but only ever see a handful of people exploiting this seemingly obvious tactic).

And that’s it!
So do you think you have what it takes to tackle the biggest con in the world? (or more importantly, now that you know what it’s all about, would you even want to?)
x__x

…check out part three of our Comiket coverage coming tomorrow – The Cosplay of Comiket!