Trisha’s Take: “Star Trek Continues: Pilgrim of Eternity” review

Star Trek Continues Pilgrim of EternityStar Trek Continues – “Pilgrim of Eternity”

Directed by Vic Mignogna
Written by Steve Fratt and Jack Trevino
Story by Vic Mignogna and Jack Marshall
Starring Vic Mignogna, Todd Haberkorn, Larry Nemeck, Chris Doohan, Grant Imahara, and featuring Michael Forrest
Rating: This series is suitable for all-ages.

As a bit of a disclaimer, I was never really into the Star Trek franchise as a young geek. The Original Series was long gone before I was born, and since my parents aren’t into fiction that strays too far from reality, I didn’t watch “Star Trek: The Next Generation” with my parents, like many of my fellow geeks did with theirs. Therefore, when I heard that anime voice actor Vic Mignogna was involved with a project to continue the original serial, I didn’t think too much of the project at first.

At the same time, this is the same Vic Mignogna who produced his own fan-film for Fullmetal Alchemist titled “Fullmetal Fantasy” where he dreams that after receiving a replica State Alchemist pocket watch, he has transformed into main character Edward Elric and that everyday people around him have been transformed into characters from the series; this is definitely a form of meta-fan service as Mignogna is the English dub voice for Edward Elric. According to Mignogna, there were some legal issues regarding his showing it at anime conventions for a while; this ban seems to have been lifted since the short film has now shown up on Mignogna’s concert DVD.

I believe I saw “Fullmetal Fantasy” within the first year of its debut in either 2004 or 2005, and I remember being impressed with how professional it all looked, even to the point of one of the scenes taking place during a rainstorm, one of the most expensive effects to reproduce for filming. After doing some more research on the production staff of Star Trek Continues and learning that Steve Dengler, philanthro-geek extraordinaire was an executive producer, I knew I had to see at least one full episode. Continue reading “Trisha’s Take: “Star Trek Continues: Pilgrim of Eternity” review”

Trailer Watch: The Green Hornet first trailer

I’m going to come right out and say it: I totally believe in Seth Rogan as the Green Hornet now.

Here’s the synopsis:

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Jay Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. But in order to do this, they decide to become criminals themselves – protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.

Like many geeks, I was dubious at the thought of Rogen as an action hero, but then I was correctly reminded by the trailer that it wasn’t Van Williams who kicked ass in the 1960s TV show, but Bruce Lee as Kato.

I think I’m also fond of what Rogen seems to understand about Britt Reid as the movie-going audience of today will see him. He’s not as smart or as hot as Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark, nor is he as tortured and angst-ridden as Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

The Green Hornet comes to theaters in the U.S. on January 14, 2011.

Warner Bros. to turn “Supernatural” into an anime

If today you feel a wave of “WTF?” wash over you, check your nearest “Supernatural” fangirl for the source.

For according to Anime News Network and Cinema Today, Warner Bros. and acclaimed anime studio Madhouse are teaming up to turn the hit show about brothers who fight against the dark forces of the world into an animated series.

From the ANN article (because I can’t read Japanese):

The anime project will not only remake the best episodes from the live-action version, but also depict original episodes not seen in the live-action version. Those original episodes will include prologues of the Winchester brothers’ childhood, anime-only enemies, and episodes featuring secondary characters from the live-action version.

The project will be co-directed by Shigeyuki Miya and Atsuko Ishizuka (“Aoi Bungaku Series”), and there’s no word yet on which Japanese seiyuu (aka voice actors) they’ll get for the project.

Warner Home Video Japan will be releasing the 22 episodes on Blu-Ray and DVD in Japan over three volumes starting on January 12, 2011; no work on if there will also be an English-language release.