Geek of Oz

Hey guys, as you may or may not know I've started a spin-off podcast, The Sinner Files . It's the show where we confess, debate and atone for our biggest cinematic sins.  Basically, the podcast takes the Seven Deadly sins (greed, lust, sloth, wrath, pride, gluttony and envy) and attaches them to popular movies. For instance if it's a film I've seen way too many times, then that'd be the sin of gluttony. Each episode the "sinner" leads a discussion in relation to the film and we all play along accordingly. It's a bunch of fun and I highly recommend you come over and check it out. The podcast is available through Itunes and for Android . At the end of each episode the sinner is required to come up with a made up sequel for their chosen film. Check out the clips below for a taste of what we're cooking up.  Films we've covered so far include: Top Gun Die Hard Star Wars: Attack of the Clones IT The Big Lebowski  Con Air  ...

Jonathan Hickman has carved quite the name for himself in the world of comica. Where Grant Morrison is associated with psychedelic trips, Mark Millar with high-octane ultra-violence, and Brian Michael Benids with superhero soap operas, Hickman has his reputation firmly planted in his love of high concept science fiction and intricate plots. Seriously, no one does sci-fi quite like Hickman, and the first time I read one his books, the first volume of The Manhattan Projects, it took me a solid week to process what I had just read. He's a skilled writer with a unique voice to say the least, but there is one slight problem, his schtick is starting to wear thin on me. Hickman has such a clear and definitive writing style that often his characters become overpowered by it, reduced to cogs in the overarching plot machine. Don't get me wrong, I love what the man does, but I would just like to see him change it up a little and tell more character driven stories in his creator ow...

Kill la Kill is nuts. Not quite FLCL nuts but nuts all the same. This series is equal parts Battle Royale, Sailor Moon and FLCL in that Ryuko Matoi finds herself being transformed into a bad arse, fellow student thrashing monster thanks to her anthropomorphic school uniform. Pretty in so many ways, Kill la Kill is one of the more irreverent series to hit screens in years. Honnouji Academy - where the school is ruled by students clad in special outfits called Goku Uniforms. Deriding the student body as "pigs in human clothing," Student Council President Satsuki Kiryuin, along with her loyal underlings, the Elite Four, has the academy under their absolute control. One day, a vagrant schoolgirl named Ryuko Matoi appears and tries to get Satsuki, who recognizes her Scissor Blade, to talk. Was their encounter a mere coincidence or fate? The clash between the two will soon consume the whole academy! Animated by the reasonably new studio TRIGGER, Kill la Kill bears...

Over the years there have been numerous vidja games set in the Tolkien realm and just about every one of them has been worse than a Ring Wraith’s hand writing. Seriously, how are they supposed to have any sort of dexterity with those spindly, armour clad fingers? Anyway, just when you thought all hope was lost, along comes Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor from WB Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Productions. Set between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, you take control of Talion, a ranger of the Gondor garrison who, along with his family, are cut down by some of Sauron’s baddies before being rejected by death. You then find yourself bound to an amnesiac Elven Wraith and adventures abound. By adventures I mean lots of heads get chopped off. Those fiercely bound to Tolkien’s lore will have a bit of an issue with the story as it not only diverts from the general feel of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth texts by focussing on what is essentially a revenge ...

Don'tcha just love the circus? Karneval seems to be the lovechild of a mangaka who wanted to fold Final Fantasy , Soul Eater  and Spirited Away  together and see what came out of such an unholy union. That's not to say the idea couldn't produce something original, but at the same time there's a distinct sense of familiarity. It goes beyond mere homage or utilisation of the tropes of the anime medium and into "I could've sworn I've seen this before" territory. Whether you're one for going over well-trod ground or prefer the undiscovered country will largely determine how much you end up taking to Karneval 's thirteen episodes of colourful adventure making. The story follows Nai, a young platinum-haired protagonist (with strange purple hair-horns) who's snatched away from a fate worse than death at the hands of a shape shifting Eldritch nightmare who'd fit right at home in Yubaba's bathhouse. Nai's saviour, Gareki, brings...

No offense intended but if someone were to recommend a sci-fi series which is filled with Muppets, set inside a living ship, produced in, and starring actors from Australia I'd call them crazy. Luckily, Farscape is the kind of series which shines in spite of expectations.  Flung through a cosmic wormhole, American astronaut John Crichton finds himself fighting for his life in the middle of an alien prison break, inside a Leviathan a living space ship on the far side of the galaxy. Hunted by the relentless Crais, a commander of the galactic enforcers known as Peacekeepers, Crichton joins forces with the alien convicts hulking warrior Ka D’Argo; blue-skinned Priestess Z’haan; diminutive Dominar Rigel XVI; the giant symbiote Pilot and the irreversibly contaminated Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun. Each desperately seeks a way home, but first, they have to find a way to trust one another. Daring escapes and selfless acts of courage forge a measure of loyalty, friendship and even love....

Anime is an amazing medium due in no small part to the extremely varied subject matter which gets tackled from series to series. Many paint-by-numbers titles are perfectly enjoyable while those which throw caution to the wind with story lines which are a little more left of center have a tendency to surprise, thrill and leave an indelible mark on anime fandom. The Severing Crime Edge (断裁分離のクライムエッジ), based upon the manga series of the same name Tatsuhiko Hikagi, certainly delivers a novel story, but flounders a little in its execution. Obsessive hair-lopper, Kiri Haimura, inexplicably finds himself drawn to Iwai Mushanokoji, a young lady whose hair has never been cut... until now. With his mysterious pair of cursed scissors, he embarks on a mission to protect Iwai who is identified as the "Hair Queen" from a constant barrage of attackers who all possess crazy-arse, serial-killer soul-filled implements of their own. Yeah. That's kinda the story in a nutshell ...

Having previously glowingly reviewed Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys , Pluto , and the anime adaptation of Monster , it should come as no surprise that the manga series that preceded those previously mentioned series is another absolute masterpiece. Honestly, I had to head to the superlative store just in case I ran out during this review. In short, don't bother reading this review unless you're in the mood for some unbridled gushing, just go buy this title instead. On of the worlds greatest surgeons, Dr Kenzo Tenma, is faced with tough decisions every day, decisions that can literally mean the difference between life and death. The pinnacle of  morality, Dr Tenma finds himself seemingly responsible for countless deaths after unknowingly creating a monster the likes of which he has never experienced. Suspense is the name of the game and Naoki Urasawa is a star player. This MVP manages to make the titular "monster" seem to be something greater than si...