COMIC CON 2022 is Here!

 

Jeri Jacquin

San Diego Comic Con 2022 is back and it is time to get in the best cosplay outfits or even just a good pair of tennis shoes to experience a two-year absence from our skyline!

Beginning on Wednesday, attendees had so many choices going from San Diego Central Library to Food Wars at the Marriott to seeing the films THE DARK CRYSTAL, STAR TREK The Wrath of Khan and BLADE RUNNER to games and Anime.

Of course, there were costumes, meeting up with friends and fellow ComicCon lovers who have been absent for the last two years and lots of collectibles and special items to be bought and had. It is just the beginning to four more days of catching up!

Thursday began with the thrilling return to Hall H for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant and so many more. Unleashing the greatest evil the world has ever known might be a little harder than they could have imagined.

Showing right in Hall H was the new TEEN WOLF: The Movie panel with Sarah Michelle Geellar, Jeff Bryan Davis, Tyler Hoechlin and Tyler Posey.

Ballroom 20 was taken over by GHOSTS! The CBS comedy follows Samantha and Jay, a couple who discovers their home has been taken over by ghosts from over the span of time. The series stars Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar as the couple with Brandon Scott Jones, Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock, Asher Grodman, Roman Zaragoza, Sheila Carrasco, Rebecca wisocky and Devan chandler Long as the misty houseguests.

Also in Ballroom 20, NATIONAL TREASURE: Edge of History from Disney+ and the panel included Jordan Rodrigues, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano, Lisette Olivera and Jake Austin Walker. A woman sets out to discover the mystery that is in her family and maybe find lost treasure as well (bonus!).

Hall H brings on the celebration of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: 40 Years. That is a big deal in my household considering that we spent afternoons and Saturdays watching the show. It is amazing and a little scary that so much time has gone by yet, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is still a staple of childhood.

Ballroom 20 brings the Appletv+ series SEVERANCE and if you have not watched the show then you really, really should. The series is coming into its second season as moderator Patton Oswalt speaks with Dan Erickson who is the creator and writer of the show.

Also, on the panel was director Ben Stiller, Britt Lower, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock and Tramell Tillman. If you want a show that is original, trippy and just has your head scratching before theories kick in, then SEVERANCE is for you.

Finally in Hall H, it is SHATNER ON SHATNER as William Shatner talks about the documentary of his life brought to the screen by Exhibit A Pictures and Legion M. Talking about how it came together, he says, “For years I’ve had people approaching me to do a documentary about my life, but I turned them all down because it didn’t feel like the right fit.”

Continuing, Shatner included, “When I heard how Legion M wanted to incorporate audiences to be part of it, it was perfect.” He acknowledges that fans have been ‘responsible for my career – it only seems right that they should own this documentary.” Well said captain my captain!

All of this is just the beginning with three more days of panels, talks, and sites to behold for 2022’s San Diego Comic Con International!

GKids Brings the Delights of Animation with OKKO’S INN

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from GKids and SHOUT! Factory comes the look at a young girls life changing with OKKO’S INN.

After losing her parents in a car accident, Okko (Seiran Kobayashi) must go live with her grandmother Mineko and other family. It is immediate that she is a city girl as the local bugs and lizards are something that cause her panic. What Okko can’t explain to the others is that she sees a ghost in the house and is surprised to learn who the ghost truly is!

Mineko also run the inn and once the young boy ghost Uribo gets Okko to admit to wanting to help at the inn, grandmother puts her in a kimono and the training begins. She finds a bell and doesn’t realize she has released the food stealing ghost named Suzuki. Grandmother also announces that Okko will be starting at the local school. She meets Matsuki who is very standoffish and classmates call her ‘Frilly Pink’ and their meeting doesn’t go very well.

But the class embraces Okko very quickly and good thing too because she doesn’t want them to know she’s seen another ghost. On her way home from school she meets a father and sick son who need a place to stay. After the boy Akane gets upset and yells at Okko, it is her grandmother that must intervene to teach her to be kind to the guests.

Okko finds a way to make the ghosts she is meeting help around the Inn. They aren’t happy about it but it’s a way for them to stay with Okko. When grandmother tells her to check on guests Ms. Glory Suiryo, Okko discovers that she is a fortune teller! She tries to talk to Matsuki about it but she only wants to make Okko feel bad.

Glory and Okko become friends and decide to go on a shopping spree together. On the drive Okko remembers the day about her parents and the ghost friends help her through it. After a day of shopping together, Okko discovers that Akane’s father was a writer and did a review of their inn! It was such a success that now the inn is crowded with people who want to meet her.

Matsuki is upset with Okko thinking she doesn’t take her dancing seriously. That’s when she explains that both of their dances is how the girls will be taking over their family’s respective inn’s. Uribo also learns that there may come a time when Okko doesn’t see all of her friends anymore.

Arriving at the Inn is the Kise family and their little boy name Shota. The problem is Shota’s father is having problems with the food their inn is serving. Okko realizes that she needs help from the most unlikely of places – Matsuki herself. The surprising thing is that Shota’s father loves the food.

That is when Okko realizes who Shota’s father is that she must come to terms with the path her life has taken. It is the good friends she has made along the way as well as those who have watched over her that has her seeing a bright future.

SHOUT! Factory has grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty And The Beast. Also their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of what SHOUT Factor has to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.

GKIDS brings award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. The company has received ten Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations including The Secret of Kells, A Cat in Paris, The Tale of Princess Kaguya and The Breadwinner. GKIDS is also a distributor for Studio Ghibli films including Spirited Away and Princess Monokie and many more. To learn more about GKIDS please visit www.gkids.com.

The Blurays Special Features include Interview with the Director, Interview with Seiran Kobayashi (Okko), Question & Answer with Director and Producers at Japanese Premier and Trailers.

OKKO’S INN is absolutely delightful in every way! The story is that of a girl who loses her parents but also understands the importance of friendship, family, love, loyalty and surprises she never saw coming.

The animation is stunning and beautiful which adds such richness to the story that is being told. This is a story that is relatable in its telling on so many levels which means that although sad at moments, it is those around Okko that help her reclaim her the life she so richly deserves.

‘The waters of the Harunoya springs are a gift from the gods; they welcome everyone and heal everyone’. What a lesson it is for us all to learn!

In the end – all are welcome here!

Prepare Yourself for THE NUN

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres from director Corin Hardy along with writers Gary Dauberman, James Wan and Warner Bros. comes the beginning of it all with THE NUN.

It is 1952 and the Vatican has asked Father Burke (Demian Bichir) to go to the Carta Monastery in Romania to discover why a young nun has thrown herself out of a window. Joining Father Burke is the young novitiate Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) who needs to help with the Abbess of the cloistered abbey.

Meeting the duo is Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) who made deliveries to the monastery and found the young nun dead. Immediately it is clear that there is something dark and unholy taking over the abbey. Father Burke meets the Abbess only to learn that he can not be there after sundown but assures him he will find the answers he seeks.

Sister Irene meets other sisters and learns that there is a history that lives deep in the walls and floors of the abbey. The castle builder summoned an entity that was eventually sealed by a Vatican artifact that is missing. The ground was opened again by the bombs of war and the entity Valak has taken up residence inside The Nun (Bonnie Aarons).

A battle is inevitable as the Father, Sister Irene and Frenchie take on the entity that wants to destroy them all. It is a fight for their souls and for those that will follow from that fight on.

Bichir as Father Burke doesn’t miss a beat when taking on the assignment to go to Romania. Still dealing with his own personal battle of a previous exorcism, it does not deter Bichir’s character from discovering the truth that lay in the bricks of the abbey. I am a fan of Bichir and love that he took on his role cementing himself as part of THE CONJURING universe.

Farmiga as Sister Irene is a young woman who is waiting to take her final vows. I have to admit that this character has nerves of steel and even when things get a little spooky, she keeps it together and soldiers through to keep evil at bay. It is a tad unnerving to see the younger Farmiga when I am so use to see her sister Vera in THE CONJURING stories but wow, how perfect a fit she is.

Bloquet as Frenchie knows that there is something at the abbey and although hesitant, finds himself involved in helping the Vatican sent duo. His role is one that will be brought up connecting THE NUN with first CONJURING.

Aarons as THE NUN gets a shout out from me mainly because she actually made me shout out in the theatre! I love a good jump, love an even bigger scream followed by a chair jump.

Other cast include Ingrid Bisu as Sister Oana, Charlotte Hope as Sister Victoria, Sandra Teles as Sister Ruth, August Maturo as Daniel,Ani Sava as Sister Jessica, Michael Smiley as Bishop Pasquale, David Horovitch as Cardinal Conroy and Lynnette Gaza as Mother Superior.

This all started in 2013 with THE CONJURING and I have been hooked ever since. As much as people love slasher films, I am not really a huge fan. I don’t need smack-in-your-face bloody horror to make me jump so I was (and still am) thrilled when the first film came out.

Instead, director Wan brings back the feeling of the ‘scary movie’ by using music, shadows, and the scare we bring to ourselves. Each of the films brought the best of jumping in the seat with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson and director Hardy brings it around full circle with Birchir and sister Taissa Farmiga.

There is enough action, scare and mystery built into the story with a dark castle with enough hiding places to keep you on edge. The cinematography is very cool keeping the audience in the dark where all good creepy things come from.

So conjure up your friends because there is a monastery in Romania that has an entity for you to meet.

In the end – pray for forgiveness!