Godzilla vs. Kong - A Monster Flick That Is Pure Escapism

Let's admit it. When one goes to watch a movie called “GODZILLA vs. KONG”, one should not be expecting much other than a massive showdown between two alpha titans.

It does not matter if you are Team Godzilla or Team Kong. The payoff for having the two monsters get into a loud, messy fisticuff is quite a thrill.

The CGI is great for some parts, and generic for most of it. However, it is the camera work that takes you on a visceral ride while Godzilla and Kong engage in their smash and bash. For a few seconds, you are up close and personal with Kong as his eye stares right into a space-age travel pod, or you are placed in the middle of the melee, as your line of sight swerving around angry monsters in the heart of central Hong Kong. It seems that director Adam Wingard had tailor-made the scenes for an amusement park ride.

Netflix's Pacific Rim: The Black Expands The Franchise's Lore in Intriguing Ways

Kaijus, mechas, anime-style action and Idris Elba. That was what made “PACIFIC RIM” the 2013 creature feature directed by Guillermo del Toro, so much fun to watch. And also Idris Elba. Mmmmm, yes ... Red Dot Diva has to mention him twice.

Five years later, the sequel “PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING” did not fare so well. It was missing the magic touch of Guillermo del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham. Despite the loud action sequences, the story was flat and souless. Thankfully, Netflix's new anime series “PACIFIC RIM: THE BLACK” sets things right for the franchise.

The anime series is set in Australia, where various kaiju have taken over the continent. After a terrible battle with a bunch of kaijus five years ago, the jaeger pilot parents of siblings Taylor and Hayley decided to leave them and a few other children at a remote natural sanctuary near an abandoned base of operations. They then went off with their jaeger Hunter Vertigo looking for help, with a promise to return. Since that day, the Pan Pacific Defense Corp, who are in charge of the Jaegers, had implemented an initiative called "The Black". What exactly that is, no one really knows.

Cartoon Network Premieres New Animation Series MONSTER BEACH on 25 April 2020

To the agony of fellow Red Dot Islanders, Circuit Breaker just got extended. It is going to be tough to keep the younger ones interested and energised till 1 June, while keeping them safe at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To add on to the list of fun things that the children can do, Red Dot Diva recommends Cartoon Network's brand new animation series called MONSTER BEACH. Surf-siblings Jan and Dean have been sent to live with their distant Uncle Woody on a tropical island called Iki-Iki. Hanging out on the island's very happening Monster Beach, is a kooky and colourful gang of monster surfers.

Together, the siblings and their monster friends cruise around the island attempting to solve a series of freaky mysteries and legends, while fending off the resident bad guy Dr. Knutt, who happens to be the leader of a tribe of tiki monsters. It is simply the kind of cool, endless summer vacation that any kid would dream of!

Take a peek at this karaoke sing-a-ling video to get acquainted with the various misfits of MONSTER BEACH:

Are You War Ready for "Pacific Rim Uprising"?

Kaijus going head to head with Jaegers. Or in non-geek speak - Monsters vs Super Machines. That was the main crux of "Pacific Rim", the otaku-pleasing, Guillermo del Toro-directed monster film that became an international hit back in 2013.

The movie had thrilling action sequences, a great chemistry between the two leads Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, a wonderful Asian female character, fun witty repartee, and the guiltiest pleasure of all -- Idris Elba. Since then, fans (including Red Dot Diva) have been clamouring for more Pacific Rim.

In the years that followed, Guillermo del Toro tried his best to get a sequel off the ground. He had a script ready, however due to conflicts between Legendary and distributor Universal Pictures, production was put to halt. Finally, in early 2016, Legendary announced that the sequel called "Pacific Rim Uprising", will go ahead with a new director and script, with Guillermo del Toro staying on as a producer.

The new director is Stephen S. DeKnight, who is best known as the creator and writer of Starz's "Spartacus" series, is also the showrunner for the first season of Marvel's "Daredevil" TV series.

STGCC 2017: Booth Highlight - Get Drawn Into the Surreal Magical World of Jessica Emmett's Art

Pandas, dragons, unicorns and cute meowfaces! Those were the things that attracted Red Dot Diva to Jessica Emmett's art when she first met her at last year's STGCC.

Since then, they have kept in touch on Facebook, and Jessica's charming and colourful visual ideas were exactly Red Dot Diva needed for the RDD blog's rebranding project.

Jessica has a knack of infusing the familiar and the strange, especially when she decides to let her imagination fly with drawings of monsters and creatures from the fantasy realm. While Jessica was very busy preparing for STGCC 2017, Red Dot Diva asked her a long list of nosy questions!

Red Dot Diva: Please introduce yourself, and tell us how you got into the career of illustration and graphic design.

Jessica: I’m Jessica Emmett, a freelance illustrator and artist from the UK who’s now living and working in Singapore.

I’ve been creating and making from as far back as I could hold a pencil. I grew up being very dyslexic, so it’s no surprise I gravitated to visuals in high school. On my art foundation I found a passion for photography and ended up doing a Photography degree and a Media Arts masters in Manchester. I was accepted onto a PhD to study how adoption is represented in art and media, given I am a transracial adoptee myself who had worked with many East Asian adoption communities. But life threw me a curveball in the form of the financial crisis which affected me and my husband as a young married couple. I had to withdraw from the program a week before my start date. Devastating, but also an amazing opportunity to re-evaluate what I really wanted to do with my life.

I asked myself what I always wanted to do. As much as I loved photography, I never stopped loving to draw. I also always wanted to do an online comic. Despite my lack of formal illustration training, I created and collaborated on Adopted the Comic that ran for a few years. It continues to be an important resource for the adoption community. Even though I thought I was terrible at drawing I was shocked that people started to make requests for me to do illustration commissions. It led to illustrating an education book, Learn Thai, and on completion of the first book I was hooked! I decided to dedicate myself to illustration.

Alongside my illustration, I’d also picked up sculpting again. It is only recently I’ve started to take 3D work more seriously.
Red Dot Diva: That's quite a journey you've been through!

"Attack on Titan" Movie: Interview with Haruma Miura, Kiko Mizuhara and Director Shinji Higuchi

Add caption

Meeting a fandom's high expectations is a rough deal, especially when a beloved anime is adapted to a different medium. So, it was inevitable that there was a gamut of reactions from those who have already watched "Attack on Titan" (AoT) Part One.

These ranged from the sheer disappointment of hardcore AoT lovers, to the "it's pretty OK" mentions by those who are not too invested in the franchise. Then, there are also the horror fans who relished the uncomfortable existential terror that ran through the course of the film, and those who loved the movie anyway.

AoT's creator Hajime Isayama, who is involved in the production, said that he was perplexed by the hate hurled at the movie adaptation, and assured that he as well as the director, writer and producers are taking in various opinions to better understand the fans' reactions.

Nevertheless, "Attack on Titan" topped the box office in Japan, with takings of about 600 million Yen (about SGD 6.8 million) on opening week.

Fans outside of Asia are eagerly waiting for the English version, and this week, FUNanimation announced the North American premiere dates. The Titans are set to stomp into theatres on September 30 for Part 1 and October 20 for Part 2.

Thanks to local distributor Encore Films, Red Dot Diva had a chance to ask AoT actors Haruma Miura (Eren), Kiko Mizuhara (Mizaka) and Director Shinji Higuchi a few questions:

----------------------------------

Movie Review: Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人) Part 1 - More An Appetiser Than A Main Course

Whether the live action movie adaptation of "Attack on Titan" (進撃の巨人) is worth feasting one's eyes upon would depend on one's palate.

Essentially, "Attack on Titan" is about the remaining clusters of mankind battling to survive against enormous creatures who stampede through the cities' barricades, and whose single purpose is to devour every single human being in sight.

Both the original manga written and illustration by Hajime Isayama, as well as animated series, are hugely popular with anime fans. For such fans, the live action movie may turn out to be a disappointment.

Red Dot Diva understands that there is an almost impossible challenge to adapting the character-rich world of manga and anime into a two-part movie, but in this case, she felt that the key changes made were not entirely to the film's advantage.

Netflix Goes Gore-ific With Upcoming Series "Hemlock Grove"

Blown Away was Red Dot Diva's initial reactions when she saw the latest sneak peek from "Hemlock Grove". The clip was released on IGN's website and then shown at a panel at Wondercon this weekend.

It was a werewolf transformation like she has never seen before.

Gruesome, bloody and yet, oh so beautiful. In fact, it was a painfully realistic transformation - if werewolves do exist in the real world.

"Hemlock Grove" is a new supernatural-murder-mystery set in a Pennsylvannia steel mill town, starring Famke Janssen, Bill Skarsgard, Landon Liboiron, Penelope Mitchell and Dougray Scott. The 13-episode series is produced by gore-meister Eli Roth and premieres on April 19, 2013, only on Netflix.

STGCC 2012: Spotlight On Newcomers - Firestarter & Bleufish

What makes a pop-culture convention energetic and vibrant lies mostly in the people who participate in the event. This includes the organizers, creative guests, fans, promoters and of course, the booth exhibitors!

Many of the larger booth exhibitors are well-known retail store or industry names, but quite a few, especially in Red Dot Diva's favourite area Artist Alley, are manned by indie but equally talented folks. Many may not be household names right now, but who knows? With time, some of them may take their creative work to higher places!

One of the new booth exhibitors at this year's STGCC is the artistic team of Firestarter & Bleufish. Such a fantastical and intriguing name!

Red Dot Diva managed to get hold of one-half of the duo Firestarter, for an introductory piece before the convention kicks off on 1-2 September. She thinks that those who love monsters and colourful whimsical artwork would find their booth interesting!

Firestarter is the moniker behind 25-year-old Sarah Isabel Tan, who is currently a concept designer/ illustrator in a local game company. Sarah confesses that she loves animation, video games, movies, travelling and wheeeeeeee! theme parks!

Here's Sarah telling us more about herself and all poised to bring her fiery artistic passion into the world at large: