Blog Archives
Creations of Chaos: ‘Ocean Waves’
On this edition of Creations of Chaos, it’s Studio Ghibli’s John Green novel, without the witty, sophisticated banter. It’s the made for television movie, Ocean Waves.
Creations of Chaos: Grave of the Fireflies
On this edition of Creations of Chaos, it’s the most depressingly haunting film ever animated. It’s Studio Ghibli’s, Grave of the Fireflies.
31 Days of Horror 2016: Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek
It’s the horror film that will actually make you want to turn off the lights. On today’s installment of “31 Days of Horror,” it’s the short, Japanese animated film, Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek.
Creations of Chaos: The Cat Returns
Before President Snow, there was another crazed dictator with an affinity for booby trapping his capital, and he happens to be a cat. In this edition of Creations of Chaos, it’s Studio Ghibli’s The Cat Returns.
Creations of Chaos: When Marnie Was There
An orphan, a mystery, and a secret friendship: in this edition of Creations of Chaos, I reconnect with the types of stories I obsessed over as a child, as I discuss Studio Ghibli’s When Marnie Was There.
Creations of Chaos: Princess Mononoke
In this edition of Creations of Chaos, it’s the Studio Ghibli film that tackles heavy topics, makes you wonder if all humans should be foraging and living in caves, ensures a complete brain meltdown, and will make you start building your sustainable tiny house with composting toilet, it’s Princess Mononoke.
Creations of Chaos: Spirited Away
A magical world, quirky creatures, a nasty villain, danger, and a spunky child heroine, everything that would have made my childhood self radiate with joy. Spirited Away was the very first Studio Ghibli movie I viewed. Little did I know that the act of pushing a disc into a DVD player would stoke a blazing fire of love for a movie studio.
The Ten Percent: Now and Then, Here and There (1999 – 2000)
Poster for Now and Then, Here and There.
“Ninety percent of everything is crud.” – Theodore Sturgeon
Hello and welcome to another installment of “The Ten Percent,” a regular column here on Biff Bam Pop! where every other week K. Dale Koontz and I take a look at the inverse of Sturgeon’s Law; in other words, the ten percent of everything which is not crud. Sometimes it can be hard to remember that for each film or television show that gets people talking years after its premiere, there are hundreds of others that barely cleared the horizon before being (thankfully) shot down. The works that soar above the rest – well, those are the works that stand the test of time. And don’t be fooled into thinking that genre matters to the Ten Percent – slapstick comedy is in here, along with science fiction, animation, bloody horror, toe-tapping musicals, and more. The Ten Percent last for two reasons: (1) they are high quality productions which demand more of their viewer than simple passive reception and (2) they somehow manage to capture something fleeting and rare and preserve it for the lucky viewing public.
All The Pop Culture Was Found At TORONTO COMICON 2016
Sunday, March 20th – the first day of Spring.
And with the spring melteth the carbonite.
Yes!
Superheroes, Star Wars and Ghostbusters. Manga, Anime and Master Chief. Longboxes, movie posters and original art. Everything that was, is and will be pop culture this year, reared itself up from a mighty winter slumber, yawned, and stretched its way out of bed, gathering with a like-minded niche in downtown Toronto.
And all dressed in cosplay, of course!
The 2016 edition of the TORONTO COMICON ran from March 18 through to the 20th this past weekend at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, waving an important hand high in the North American pop culture landscape – successfully ushering in this year’s Con season!
Get the goods after the jump!
The Ten Percent: Cowboy Bebop (1998)
“Ninety percent of everything is crud.” – Theodore Sturgeon
Hello and welcome to another installment of “The Ten Percent,” a regular column here on Biff Bam Pop! where every other week K. Dale Koontz and I take a look at the inverse of Sturgeon’s Law; in other words, the ten percent of everything which is not crud. Sometimes it can be hard to remember that for each film or television show that gets people talking years after its premiere, there are hundreds of others that barely cleared the horizon before being (thankfully) shot down. The works that soar above the rest – well, those are the works that stand the test of time. And don’t be fooled into thinking that genre matters to the Ten Percent – slapstick comedy is in here, along with science fiction, animation, bloody horror, toe-tapping musicals, and more. The Ten Percent last for two reasons: (1) they are high quality productions which demand more of their viewer than simple passive reception and (2) they somehow manage to capture something fleeting and rare and preserve it for the lucky viewing public.
This brings me to one of the most magnificent, and most enduring, anime series ever produced: Cowboy Bebop. A high-flying, hard-boiled, space-western, science-fiction, jazz-noir tour de force, Cowboy Bebop has earned international critical and popular acclaim, and has won awards for character design, voice acting, music, and consistently places in the top five on “best anime ever” lists year after year. The show is something like lightening in a bottle; bringing together director Watanabe Shinichiro, writer Nobumto Keiko, character designer Kawamoto Toshihiro, mechanical designer Yamane Kimitoshi, and composer Yoko Kanno for an incredible, genre-bending collaboration that managed to hit almost every note perfectly.
