Geek of Oz

Thanks to our good friends at the Japan Foundation, we've got 3x double passes to see the Japan Academy Award winning comedy film Key of Life during JFF ENCORE! Screening at Event Cinema George St Sydney at 6:30pm on July 11th, Key of Life is the hilarious tale of two men whose lives are switched during an unfortunate accident. What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in the shoes of a cold-blooded assassin? All you have to do is fill out the form below and you're in the running to win a double pass to see Key of Life on the big screen thanks to Japan Foundation Sydney and the Japanese Film Festival . Don't forget, you can get yourself a bonus entry just by  following us on Twitter  or  liking us on Facebook! THIS COMPETITION HAS CLOSED E ntries close 11:59pm on Sunday 6th July 2014. Your details will not be used in any way other than for the delivery of your prize. Geek of Oz and Japan Foundation Sydney do not take any responsibility for th...

CGI extravaganzas are usually reserved for the likes of Michael Bay but this film, based on a long-running manga series of the same name, uses CGI to create nostalgia, not explosions. Always Sunset on Third Street (ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日) by director Takashi Yamazaki takes place not long after World War II over the course of one year while Tokyo Tower is being built. During the course of the film we meet seemingly disparate members of the local Tokyo community and following them through a series of life events. Released years ago on DVD by Madman, Always Sunset on Third Street is all but impossible to find locally. Thankfully, you'll be able to see it on the big screen in all of its honey-soaked glory. The real strength of this film is the characterisation of not only the main protagonists, but also secondary characters and Tokyo itself. The reason that these characters work so well is because they're all inherently flawed, as we all are. Their foibles to only highlight their hum...

This film, the latest in Michael Bay's multi-BILLION dollar franchise, is critic proof. There's nothing that I could say that the viewing public doesn't already know or anticipate. This is another Transformers film which is better than its predecessors in certain aspects and worse in others. Transformers: Age of Extinction is a Michael Bay film. Set four years after the previous film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the Autobots are on the run from a special CIA squad, "Cemetery Wind" (aka Corpse Fart), which has been tasked with the eradication of mechanical alien threat. Optimus finds himself begrudgingly teamed up with Marky Mark and not-Megan Fox before they destroy a great chunk of Hong Kong. Don't go blaming me for spoiling anything. This is all in the trailer. This film sees Shia LaBeouf replaced with Mark Wahlberg and while Marky Mark's emotional range doesn't seem to extend beyond a perpetual quizzical look, he's a welcome cha...

Oz Comic-Con Melbourne is just around the corner and their stable of local comic book creators is massive! Among the finery you'll see Tom Taylor, Dillon Naylor, Tim Molloy, Colin Wilson, Jason Franks, Paul Bedford, Justin Randall, T-Rex Jones, Andrew Constant, Wolfgang Bylsma, David Yardin, Nicola Scott and many, many more .  To prepare ourselves for the coming awesomeness we had a chat to Futurama, The Simpsons and MAD Magazine artist, Dean Rankine. Ryan: You recently made a comment on Facebook which garnered all sorts of reactions. Would you say that your general advice for up and comers is "don't complain, just be better"? Dean Rankine: Ah, crap! I was thinking before the interview, ‘I hope he doesn’t ask about the facebook comment’! And BAM! Straight out of the gate! It’s true, I DID make some comments about ‘Australian’ comics and it sparked quite the lively discussion. And to be honest I’m not really sure what I was trying to say. But I thi...

We're back once again with another volume of ASK MADMAN where YOU ask the questions of Australia's biggest anime company! In this volume you asked about Attack on Titan, Studio Ghibli, Monkey Magic, Rurouni Kenshin and more! The very first question is answered with some exciting news coming out of Supanova. Don't forget, you can get your questions answered in next months volume by filling out the form HERE . r0lan65: Two questions! Are you planning on licensing the remaining 2 Rurouni Kenshin films released later? ALSO! As a huge Asian horror fan, are you planning to release more Japanese/Korean/Thailand horror films on DVD? Thanks! Madman: Pleased to announce that we have just licensed these films . You’ll be able to see them on cinema screens before the end of the year. (Madman also just announced that Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods will also be getting a cinematic release later in 2014 - Ryan) As for other live-action horror films, we have at least...

2014 has been such a phenomenal year for cinema that my list of top 5 films has blown out to a top 10; there were just too many staggeringly good films this season. I strongly urge you to track down these films if you haven’t seen them. 1. Her directed by Spike Jones 2. Inside Llewyn Davis directed by the Coen Brothers 3. The Grand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes Anderson 4. The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese 5. My Sweet Pepper Land directed by Hiner Saleem 6. The Raid 2 directed by Gareth Evans 7. Under the Skin directed by Jonathan Glazer 8. Only Lovers Left Alive directed by Jim Jarmusch 9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo 10. Nebraska directed by Alexander Payne What's the best film you've seen this year? - Stu

The Japanese Film Festival is, without a doubt, one of my favourite events of the year. Not only is it incredibly well organised, but the line up is always assured to be top notch. But what happens if you miss out on seeing one of your most anticipated films? Running from the 9th to the 13th of July 2014,   JFF ENCORE  has got you covered! You can now see some of the best, Academy Award winning Japanese films of recent years. I sat down to have a chat to Masafumi Konomi, Artistic Director of Japan Foundation Sydney, to find out what we can expect from JFF ENCORE. Ryan: First of all, how did JFF Encore come to be?  Mr Konomi: 2014 marks the 18th year of the Japanese Film Festival, our main event in the JFF calendar. Over the years, more than 300 titles from a range of genres have been enjoyed by audiences across Australia. The Japanese Film Festival is traditionally held each year between October and December. As Artistic Director, I try to select the most...

Can you believe it? Geek of Oz is officially 1,000 posts old! After starting Geek of Oz all on my lonesome, it has now grown to be something that I'm immensely proud of. Not only is it a website/blog that I'd want to visit myself, but it's also home to 8 of the coolest geeks I've been privileged to know.  Over the past few years I've experienced things that, as a geek myself, I never would have dreamed of. In the early days I was lucky enough to interview Neil Gaiman in the foyer of a Hobart hotel, just the two of us and much tea. This interview would eventually be my first published work with Mark Millar contacting me personally to use the interview in the pages of CLiNT magazine in the UK. Soon after, I took a road trip Mr Gaiman's wife, Amanda Palmer , and her tour manager, a beautiful man by the name of Eric Sussman . As time went on, I met even more wonderful folks, each of whom left an indelible mark on my geeky soul including JJ Abrams ,   Brian Mi...

Aussies do many things well but subtle isn't always one of them. Far too often stories taking place 'down under' can descend into a torrent of clichés complimented by the obligatory tracking shot of bounding kangaroos. Australia as a setting has a lot more to offer the world than what Crocodile Dundee or Baz Lurhman's 'Australia' showcased. My point being, the Australian setting is one all too easy to get wrong. And then there's Broken Line from Gestalt Comics which seems to effortlessly embrace this setting without resorting to any of the aforementioned 'Ozploitation' tactics.  Written by Andrew Constant with art by Emily Smith, Broken Line #1 bears the high production values and top notch story telling we have come to expect from Gestalt. Issue one opens with a stunning full page spread of a mushroom cloud, establishing a sort of post-apocalyptic setting, followed up by a close up of a rotting corpse almost zombie-like in appearance. A...

We are back for another week to bring you the title which caught our eye from Image's shiny new titles. While I stay very firmly in my comfort zone and deliver yet another Mark Millar review (what can I say? I'm a bit obsessed) new recruit Chris checks out the space-noir RED CITY #1 . Hope you enjoy our reviews as much as we enjoyed writing them. As always please let us know if you checked out any of these books and agree or disagree with us! - Christof STARLIGHT #4 Written by Mark Millar Art by Goran Parlov Christof: Another week sees another title from Mark Millar and his Millarworld brand. Unlike the bulk of Millar's work, Starlight has been surprisingly heartfelt, reveling more in nostalgia and emotion than the over the top cussing and violence Millar is usually known for.  Starlight #4 sees retired swash-buckling hero, Duke McQueen, busted from prison by rebel leader Tilda Starr.  This leads to some thrilling jet pack shenanigans and is undou...

For many geeks, Transformers was their first foray into the world of Japanese cartoons. Whether we realised it or not, this now legendary franchise was equal parts American cartoon, Japanese anime and universal toy selling monster. This collaboration between Sunbow, Marvel, Toei and Takara spawned 4 direct seasons (97 episodes) and a seriously expansive extended universe. Like it or not, the success of Transformers as a franchise was helped along, and no doubt dictated, by the sale of transforming die-cast robots. While some may see this a slight against the integrity of the series, I didn't and still don't particularly mind. Some of my earliest memories are of playing with my Transformers toys while watching early morning cartoons before school. Then I'd pack my school bag and sneak in a couple of the smaller bots like Seaspray, Beachcomber or Cosmos. So, to say that this series will be reviewed through rose-coloured glasses is an understatement. This is where i...

Just when you thought there couldn't possibly have more free anime available, Hanabee announce that they too are entering the simulcasting ring ready to knock you out with a one, two punch. Announced at this weekends Supanova in Sydney, Hanabee have launched an all new streaming service which has in turn completely changed their homepage experience.  Hanabee Entertainment steps into the Simulcasting Stage Australia and New Zealand’s fastest growing anime company has added video on demand to their expanding list of anime services. The new BETA version of www.hanabee.com.au integrates three components in one space: watch anime, shop for anime, and interact with Hanabee. President and CEO Eric Cherry states “The talent here is immense and it's allowed this young company to step into an area typically reserved for those with a lot more resources or simply acting illegally, and that’s a really rewarding accomplishment. We’re both excited to enter this space and h...