Big Trouble in Little China: Volume 2 (2016)

The Return of Lo Pan and How Jack Burton Became King of the Lords of Death (2016)

Authors: John Carpenter / Eric Powell  |  Illustrator: Brian Churilla  |  Page Count: 112

"It's like I always say, you can never really go home! Especially when there's a restraining order involved!"

NOTE: the following text contains spoilers for the Big Trouble in Little China (1986) movie AND for Volume 1 of its comic book sequel. Proceed at your discretion.

If you've read Volume 1 of the series, then you'll know that Jack Burton's antics while travelling the Midnight Road weren't without consequence - he pissed off some powerful individuals, some of whom want payback.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the recently resurrected supernatural entity Lo Pan, butt-hurt and angry due to his marriage plans going tits-up and subsequently being sent by Jack to The Hell of Those Killed by Idiots, is itching for some mystical-style vengeance. Jack's best option is to go on the run with his friend Wang.

Arcane Quest (2013)

Arcane Quest (2013)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: Nex Game Studios

Arcane Quest is a FREE mobile phone game (subsequently also on PC, with HD graphics, but I'll be referring specifically to the Windows Phone version). The game isn't actually HeroQuest on your phone, because that would be plagiarism, or trademark infringement, or something equally as nefarious and icky, but, put simply, Arcane Quest is HeroQuest on your phone. Rejoice!

Voices of a Distant Star (2018)

Voices of a Distant Star (2018)

Author: Makoto Shinkai | Adaptation + Illustration: Mizu Sahara | English Translation: Melissa Tanaka | Page Count: 230

'Bit by bit I'm losing sight of the edges of the world... Sometimes, I forget where I am.'

A belated English language version of the manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's breakthrough anime, first published in Japan in 2005. This version of the story is slightly different to the original short film.

The story is simple but deeply affecting. Mikako Nagamine and Noboru Terao are classmates who are in love but half-afraid to admit it to themselves or each other. When interstellar war separates them, their only means of communication is via long-distance text message on a mobile phone network.

But the further away the war takes Mikako, the longer it takes for her messages to reach Noboru.

If the anime was recreated as is, the manga would probably be quite a thin volume, so, in order to ensure that isn't the case, new content has been added, including a small number of subplots.

Fist of Fury (1972)

Fist of Fury (1972)

Dir. Wei Lo

Unable to silence his feelings, and in direct opposition to the wishes of his recently dead shifu, martial arts student Chen Zhen seeks direct vengeance for the death of his teacher, bringing trouble to his own front door in the process, in a socially repressed Shanghai that's being overrun by Japanese officials.

When he's not kicking (or punching) seven shades of shit out of members of a rival martial arts school, for the majority of the film Chen exists in two basic emotional states: very pissed off, or on the verge of being very pissed off. That's okay because seeing Bruce in action is the reason most of us are watching in the first place.

I don't know how many people will have a deeper knowledge of the sociopolitical nature of the relationship between the Chinese and Japanese people in the era in which the film is set, but the distrust and enmity between the two sides is given a more literal plateau within the story itself, so it should be self-explanatory.

Crash (1996)

Crash (1996)

Dir. David Cronenberg

Open marriage couple James and Catherine Ballard (James Spader and Deborah Kara Unger) have an active but unrewarding sex life together. A series of unplanned events introduce and lure the duo into a bizarre subculture of people who fetishise car crashes. The activities undertaken are consensual within the group, but their hidden world is hazardous to our world.

Reading the J.G. Ballard novel (1973) upon which Crash is based wasn't much fun for me, but it was essential to understanding the otherwise impenetrable aspects of the film. Somehow Cronenberg translated the insipid moments into filmic intensity.

He distorts the traditional role of the viewer by putting us too close for comfort, turning viewer into voyeur - a position of distanced participation. It's uncomfortable and I believe the main reason that most people shy away from even discussing the film in public. It's a shame, because it's a powerful work with some outstanding acting, but it'll take a very open-minded person to see past the taboo wall.

The Ghost in the Shell: Five New Short Stories (2017)

The Ghost in the Shell: Five New Short Stories (2017)

Authors: Toh Enjoe / Gakuto Mikumo / Kafka Asagiri / Yoshinobu Akita / Tow Ubukata | Translation: Unknown | Page Count: 187

'Her cyborg form was an established item and not all that uncommon, but there was something special about the figure she cut. Something divine, divorced from this ugly world.'

The blurb on the back cover claiming that Five New Short Stories is a 'standalone collection' that 'requires no familiarity with the franchise to be enjoyed' is what's known outside of the publishing world as a falsehood, a fib, a damned lie, bullshit, because prior knowledge of GitS is needed.

Even ignoring the fact that someone new to the franchise will have no clue who the characters are, or any knowledge of their particular levels of cyberization, right from the very first story, a first-person narrative named Shadow.net by Toh Enjoe, prior knowledge is needed (specifically, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society).

Warrior Queen (1978)

Warrior Queen (1978)

Dirs. Michael Custance / Neville Green | 6 episodes, approx 25 minutes each

A British TV series about Queen Boudicca of the Celtic Iceni tribe, played here by the striking actress Siân Phillips. It tells of the determined queen's campaign to unite the native tribes in order to drive from their homeland the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in the year 61 AD.

Aiding Boudicca in her struggle is druid priest Volthan (Michael Gothard), a man who hates the Romans more than most because of the slaughter they wrought upon his fellow druid practitioners, even going so far as to outlaw their sacred beliefs.

Volthan's personal agenda sometimes overrides rational judgements, making him something of a dangerous ally. Gothard sometimes overacts the part, but there's no denying his good intentions for breathing dramatic life into the driven character.