Eirtakon: A Gallery of fun.

Last weekend I was at Eirtakon. The No.1 Anime convention in Ireland. Here I got to interview the magnificent cosplayer Riddle, Courtnee Draper the voice talent behind Elizabeth the hero from Bioshock Infinite and then I met Steve Blum and we had a great old chat. Along the weekend I met with some great cosplayers, video game enthusiasts and we all just had a lot of fun kicking back and nerding out. This is a gallery showcasing my interviews and some of the stuff I got up to at Eirtakon.

I'd like t thank Shane Collier who was the camera man on hand. He got all the right photos and the video's for my interview were of a high quality, they are coming later. Eirtakon is a growing European anime convention, each year Eirtakon goes from strength to strength giving higher quality in talent and events going on. Eirtakon has a dedicated staff who strive every year to give all the anime fanatics somewhere to go around this time of year and they succeed every time. If you need an intimate and focused anime convention head to Eirtakon 2014. I know I will.

Myself and Courtnee

Myself and Riddle

A lovely bit of swag at Eirtakon

More of the same stunning artwork which seems to jump out at you

Absolutely stunning artwork

I stole Zack's buster sword, kind of like Cloud

Courtnee and a chuffed fan show off some wonderful art

Some enthusiastic Zelda Cosplayers

Some wonderful artwork of Adventure Time and Pokemon at hand

A talented artists graphic novel

There were even Furries....

Ironhide was on site with Vincent out of Catherine

Two volunteers helping out at Eirtakon

Harley giving a great interview

Steve giving us his Wolverine

Seriously we are best friends now

Steve and a huge fan.

Steve and Courtnee discuss line lengths

Steve Blum, nuff said

Riddle being lovely

Riddle again being lovely

Myself and Steve, best buds

Digital Biscuit 2014

DIGITAL BISCUIT 2014

LAUNCHES AT ANNUAL MEETING OF IRISH DIRECTORS

JANUARY 22 - 24 2014



Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI) officially launched Digital Biscuit 2014 at their Annual Meeting for Irish Directors in Dublin on November 21st. Digital Biscuit takes place at Science Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin from January 22nd to 24th 2014 with tickets now available on www.digitalbiscuit.ie

Those in attendance at the AGM included Irish directors Conor Horgan, Maurice Sweeney, Paddy Breathnach, Steve Woods and Brian Kirk. Irish Film Board representatives were also present and special guest, acclaimed French director, Arnaud Desplechin.

The inaugural Digital Biscuit 2013 proved a resounding success with both the industry and the public with over 4,000 attendees over the 3 day period.

Digital Biscuit 2014 places creatives at its core while also serving as a digital expo for new technologies. The 2014 event promises a varied and packed programme: amidst cutting-edge presentations and product unveilings, representatives from the creative industries will deliver talks, discussions and seminars on matters that are crucial to production today, with an aim to not only inspire but also enable and spur on productivity.

“The aim is to make directors and people generally aware of the most up to date digital technologies in film making and indeed TV production” says Ciaran Donnelly, Chairman of SDGI and Director of The Tudors and Vikings. The aim of Digital Biscuit is to improve the production capabilities of our most talented creators from the simplest ideas to the highest budgets.

At Digital Biscuit 2014 The Paccar Theatre in the Science Gallery will host screenings, presentations, and panel discussions. This ticket only area will host talks from exciting global talent and creatives including: Carlos Velasco (CEO, Neurosketch), Christian Fonnesbech (Director, Cloud Chamber), Jack Reynor (Actor, What Richard Did, Delivery Man and Transformers: Age of Distinction) Nick Meaney (CEO, Epagogix), Philip Einstein Lipski (Lars Von Trier Collaborator for Nymphomaniac) and The Secret of Kells Director, Tomm Moore will be giving us an exclusive sneak peak into the making of his upcoming feature Song of The Sea. This year’s Honorary Guest Director is Alan Taylor, who has clocked up credits on Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and most recently, Thor: The Dark World. As Honorary Guest Director, Alan will engage in an informal conversation about his work and career.

Directors, writers, photographers, producers, editors, directors of photography, students and members of the public once again will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the bustling displays and demonstrations of new technologies in the KinoPlay Area, which is aimed at enhancing the production process and market for their creators.

“We look forward to Digital Biscuit being once again a dynamic hub of national and global industry leaders, concentrated on enabling creativity by focusing on Ireland’s capabilities as a creative and technological leader in innovative film and television production” commented Birch Hamilton, Digital Biscuit Executive Director.

TICKETING INFORMATION

Tickets are on sale from today, November 21st 2013 on www.digitalbiscuit.ie . Early bird tickets for the Paccar Theatre will cost 80 euro and will be on sale for one week only until November 28th 2013.

Workshop access requires registration on www.digitalbiscuit.ie with a registration fee of five euro, guaranteeing pass holders a place. The printable pass ticket pass is required on the day and will be the only way to gain entry to the workshops. Non ticket/pass holders can still enjoy the KinoPlay area and atmosphere of Digital Biscuit.

All information on Digital Biscuit 2014, including information on partners, speakers, and the schedule will be available onwww.digitalbiscuit.ie

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: The Fans React

Not too long now.

Last weekend we were all treated to a harrowing storyline which centred around the Doctor and his 50th Anniversary. With a trip down memory lane, not one not two but thirteen Doctors and an introduction by Ron Burgundy himself this was an event to remember. I myself was in a cinema screen loving the 3D effect which the episode was given. Not only did the 3D effect feel justified but it wasn't over used, like everything in this cinematic episode there was just the right amounts of every element. Just enough of Ten(David Tennant) with his incredibly dark speeches that turned into fluffy little jokes, just enough of Eleven(Matt Smith) trying to out cool everyone and just enough of the newly christened War Doctor's(John Hurt) wonderfully cheeky jabs at his older-selve's. Doctor Who has always been known to go out there for it's stories and the 50th was no exception, with paintings which were bigger on the inside to thirteen Time Lords showing everyone what they can do when they are together this episode delivered on the spectacle and then there was that story, a story that deals with what happens when a bright young man goes to war and becomes what he hated, a warrior.

Doctor Who Debate

The Doctor Who 50th was a fanboy's and fangirl's dream. Fans of young and old were given reminders of why they become fans of Doctor Who. From references to the Brigadier and his legacy to Amy and Rory Pond and. Then there was "Rose", wow. This was an episode that celebrated the wonder of this universe. Even if the episode did have a somewhat weak villain(the Zygons were not needed in the episode I would go as far as saying that no villain was needed just focus on the Doctor's past and him finally coming to terms with it). With the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary I decided to get some opinions on it during Eirtakon and there were some wonderful views on the episode, which ranged from who's the best companion to what fans thought was missing from the episode. I hope you enjoy and let us know here at Agents of Geek and Fortress of Geek what you liked or didn't like about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary. 

I'd like to thank my camera man Shane Collier for the fantastic work he did, Eirtakon for allowing us access to their guests, panels and the floor and I'd like to thank Erica, Stephen and Antanis who gave us a great Whovian debate. 

Saving Mr Banks Film Review

She's having none of it.

A new film, a new review. Welcome to the Saving Mr Banks film review. Knowing the history of this story I was interested in seeing whether Disney would stay true to the integrity of the history of the Mary Poppins character and the trouble they had bringing her to the big screen and how disappointed author Pamela
P.L. Travers was with the end result. This film was going to be an interesting experience for many reasons but I'll get to that later.

Pamela Travers(Emma Thompson) or Mrs. Travers to her friends is a difficult woman. For the past 20 years she has been dogged by Walt Disney to sell him the rights to her beloved character Mary Poppins. She believes that he will ruin her character, turn her into fluff as a has with Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. Unfortunately with a lack of funds Mrs. Travers has to entertain the notion that she must hand over this treasured piece of fiction to ensure she won't lose everything.

Saving Mr Banks is filled with wonderful performances that give us an insight into what happened all those years ago. Spliced in between the events with Walt Disney(Tom Hanks) and Mrs. Travers is a heart-warming story about the relationship between Pamela and her father(Colin Farrell) who is clearly the figure in her life who inspired her. As we go through the film we learn all about the genesis of Mary Poppins, Mrs. Travers's love for her father and the trouble Walt Disney had trying to translate the magic of the book to the big screen.

I dug Saving Mr Banks, as I said before there is a lot going for this film talent-wise. Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell and Ruth Wilson to name but a few. The character I was interested the most in the development was surprisingly Colin Farrell's character (Travers Robert Goff). Every time Colin Farrell wasn't on-screen I found myself wishing he was. He gave an absolutely stunning performance as the complex and broken father to Pamela. With the other characters it was the usual affair, actors pushing for Oscars because they know this is a film built for the Oscar season. Tom Hanks is his usual affable self and Emma Thompson plays an uptight, proper English lady. The film is one of the more well rounded Oscar contenders that I have seen recently,look at my Gravity review to see what I think of other films that are going for Oscars next year.
Rating; 3.5/5

"Change" is coming to "The Legend of Korra"

Changes are coming.

Book 3 in “The Legend of Korra” series will be titled “Change.”

Speakeasy interviewed the creators of the hit Nickelodeon series,Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and they offered up a look at the current season, Book 2 “Spirits,” and a look ahead at coming episodes. The finale for Book 2 in the “Korra” saga is already online, and is due to be broadcast on TV this Friday on Nickelodeon at 8 pm ET.

[Spoiler Alert!]

“The title of Book 3 is going to be called ‘Change,’” DiMartino said. “It’s all about Korra dealing with the change of the world in this point in time. At the end of Book 2 she says it’s a new era. And it really is and we’re going to show how Harmonic Convergence and her battle with Unalaq and Vaatu kind of shifted the world a bit.”


DiMartino also said “We don’t have an airdate yet. We’re already working on the first few episodes of post-production for Book 3. So that’s all going very well.” I'm surprised to see that deviation from the theme of elements to the title of The Legend of Korra series since every season has always had an element as it's title, even Spirit is considered an element in my eyes since it is used in the same way as the other elements. So how excited are you about this news? This could mean that the lads at Nickelodeon don't want us waiting as long between seasons any more. Comment below, follow us here at Agent of Geek to keep up to date with nerdy news and beyond.

Fozen Movie review.

Disney 's latest outing in animation is the tale of two princesses, an ice seller, his reindeer and a suicidal snowman. I know, it is an intriguing mix of characters. I hadn't watched any trailers or looked at any press details so I was going into this blind. I was excited to see Disney's latest 3D animation. Before I go into my review of Frozen I would like to give an honourable mention to the short which was shown before Frozen. I won't spoil any of the details for you but I will say this, the level of technology behind animation is now at a staggering point. The short is without a doubt the best animated short I have seen in a long time. The skill involved in the animation process behind this short is astounding. Now on to the review of Frozen.

When two kids  meet.

There are two Princesses of Arendelle: Elsa (Idina Menzel), the soon-to-be Queen, and Anna (Kristen Bell). Elsa has the ability to create snow and ice, yet has been suppressing these powers after a traumatic childhood incident involving her sister. After letting her cryokinetic powers get out of hand during her coronation, she goes into hiding, only for her emotions to trigger a magical, eternal winter that freezes the entire kingdom. The arrogant Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk) plots to turn everyone against "the monster" Elsa for his own fiendish needs.

Anna, a fearless and daring optimist, must journey with mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and reindeer sidekick Sven in an epic journey, encountering mystical trolls, a comical snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad), Everest-like extremes and magic at every turn in a race to find Elsa, save their kingdom from eternal winter, and make things right before it's too late.

What I really enjoyed about Frozen was the characters, Anna is a treat. She's a wonderful protagonist who you just root for throughout the entire film. She has an infectious charm and a fantastic bubbly attitude. Elsa is interesting, as both a protagonist and antagonist she is given an unusual duel role in the film which is refreshing to see. They are given a wonderful supporting cast which compliments them wonderfully. The songs are your usual Disney affair so they are naturally very enjoyable, the humour however is another thing to take note of as it is fantastic, Olaf the snowman gets all the best lines, there are a few exceptions but for the most part the suicidal snowman gets the lion's share. Unfortunately there are some hiccups in Frozen.

Olaf and Sven.

The villain of the film feels rushed, uninteresting and stops this film from being a 5/5 and you feel a little cheated that you never find out about the source of Anna's powers, it just seems like yes there is magic and that's all you're getting. Apart from these small issues though Frozen is a strong film. One of Disney's best in recent years, with the introduction of not one but two Disney princesses and a whole host of wonderful characters this is the definitive Christmas film to bring all the family to, even if the film is set in July.

Rating;4/5