Comparo: Terra vs. Skywhales

Bit of a brew-ha-ha here over the trailer to what the folks over at Cartoon Brew consider to be yet another in a string of me-too 3d features, complete with a credit roll larded down with 'voice talent' and ho-hum designs. 'Battle for Terra' has an interesting concept, though...always wanted to do the 'alien invasion in reverse' story, wonder why no one's ever tackled it before in any real way. And if a studio has, please, let me know.

The film brought to mind (the mind in this case belonging to Chuck R.) a short film from way back called SkyWhales...essentially evoking the same kind of alien imagery as Terra, an alien race living side-by-side with giant flyin' critters. Anyhoo, both are presented here for your delectation. More to come!

Minushi on DVD!

Tyler Gibb, he of the self-animated sci-fi feature Minushi, has a great holiday surprise. The film is out on a special edition 2-disc DVD! You get the full film in Dolby 5.1 (wonder how many orcs he had to slay to pull THAT off) as well as full director's commentary, subtites and "Details", his production documentary that runs through all the nitty-gritty involved in creating a feature-length film solo. Just in time fer Christmas...and it's only 19 bucks! Bargoon. Go buy it at the Minushi e-store!

OIAF '07 notes: Aachi & Ssipak

Back agin' with a few words on the features shown at Ottawa this year. Ottawa features are, well, they've been really hit n' miss in the past...can't even remember the features from 2005 and 2006, quite frankly. Then, something like this year happens...two really strong features showed up in our Nation's Capitol. Persepolis, I'm not gonna talk about. Cuz better folks than me have already weighed in...it's a damn important film, go see it, and grab the DVD when it comes out.

This film I can talk about though, cuz I've been waiting for freakin' YEARS for the likes of it...an unapologetic, punk-ass, balls-to-the-wall action sci-fi freakfest, Akira by way of Stephen Chow as designed by Marv Newland. Just check out that (grainy, sorry) trailer. First released in 2006, it had it's North American premiere at a fest in Seattle, and blew everyone out the door in Ottawa. Haven't seen it? It's comin' to Toronto, for the Toronto_After_Dark film festival in October. Man, my cup runneth over. Can't say much now, but TAIS will have a hand in seein' that Aachi & Ssipak get a warm welcome. Fest trailer below. Cheers!