And now we come to the end of the ride. After nearly twenty years of delivering a bazaar of culture and commentary, this will be the final post on Popzara.

Ever since I was sent the Toshiba Rice Cooker last year, I’ve been using it like crazy to not only cook rice, but also stews, cakes, and more. For the longest time, I’ve heard about the famed company Zojirushi and their top of the line rice cookers that professionals use, especially the hilarious YouTube personality Nigel Ng aka Uncle Roger that swears by their products.

I won’t deny it, the cutesy looking artwork on Kimono Cats drew me in to check it out, as I had no idea it had already been released on mobile devices last year. After playing it for a bit, it does remind me heavily of most mobile device games thanks to having small but fun mini games, collectables, and even some building and managing your town that’s perfect for passing the time whenever you need to.

I’ll start off by stating I’m a huge fan of the now classic 2012 PlayStation 3 game, Journey. It literally took me on a journey of emotions as I made my ways through different lands while having random online players helping off and on to reach the end of it.

Quality is a big deal when we're talking about gaming peripherals, but comfort's also important in its own way. If you’ve ever finished a multi-hour gaming session and taken off your headset with a sigh of relief, you've got a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about.

The Mafia series has always occupied a special place in the wide world of crime simulators. Compared to the satirical action of something like Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row, Mafia tends to be the more serious, cinematic alternative.

With jaw-dropping entries like The Wild Robot and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, DreamWorks continues to show us why it owns the crown in terms of American animation quality. While other studios keep trying to perfect the same digital animation style we’ve been seeing since the mid-‘90s, the Universal-owned studio has found a way to bridge the hand-drawn look of yesteryear with the sleekness of modern-day computer graphics.

Going through so many games that have released lately, I would often hear about Medieval Dynasty and how people enjoyed playing through its survival and building challenges to create a thriving town in ancient times. It only made sense for publisher Toplitz Productions to build upon this (pun intended) and release a feudal Japan version called Sengoku Dynasty.

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast, where our in-house movie nerds Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans take you on an unscripted journey yakking and chatting about some of their favorite movie moments and cinematic scenes, from past and present, presented without snark and snobbery for your listening pleasure.

For this extra-special episode the guys take a look back at 1973’s American Graffiti, George Lucas’ cinematic love letter to a bygone era that would redefine the word nostalgia and would become one of the most beloved films of all-time. Its impact on the culture would be profound, influencing everything from cars, music, fashion, and politics, and would introduce iconic talent that would dominate Hollywood for generations, especially writer/director George Lucas, Ron Howard, and Harrison Ford.

Among the most successful efforts of the ‘New Hollywood’ era, our hosts discuss the meaning of nostalgia itself, the surprising similarities between it and Lucas’ followup, Star Wars, perhaps the greatest soundtrack in film history, and why capturing the liminal space between yesterday and today continues to be so elusive.

More than anything, they discuss how American Graffiti (and films like it) prove that good storytelling can make us care about the troubles and concerns of another generation, about the universality of being human, and why the things that mattered can still matter long after the lights have gone off and memories are all that remain.

You've got a new console, and now you've got a problem: the second controller dilemma. You want to play with friends or family, but the thought of shelling out nearly a hundred dollars for another official gamepad is a tough pill to swallow, and this gets even more painful when you start thinking about having groups of friends over.

If you're a PC gamer, there's a point you might reach when you realize literally everything on your desk is glowing. Your mouse, your keyboard, your PC case, maybe even your mousepad - they’re all pulsing with rainbows of RGB lighting.

It’s hard to argue that Japanese developer M2 haven’t been great stewards of porting games from a certain era, and their relationship with Konami has been especially fruitful. Going back decades, it’s produced some of the best retrospective compilations of the developer’s best series, especially with their Contra and Castlevania Anniversary Collections.

Every gamer has a hierarchy of accessories, a sort of unspoken tier list of the stuff you love and the stuff everyone else gets to use. For instance, you’ve almost inevitably got your main controller, the one with the perfectly worn-in thumbsticks from hours of play with the tension that's just right.

There’s a certain subset of gaming hardware that serves as an announcement of intent. You don’t just casually end up with a high-end racing wheel or a HOTAS flight stick setup.

It’s rare for a long-delayed sequel to feel like it should exist - especially one so tied to a specific era. But Freakier Friday, the follow-up to Disney’s 2003 Freaky Friday, slips back into its body-swap chaos like a favorite old hoodie: familiar, comfortable, and surprisingly welcome.

It's interesting to observe the evolution of a genre over time. An initial foundation is one thing, but real gaming gems tend to arise when developers build on what came before.

It feels like we’re in the middle of a golden age for game development coming from China. Studios are producing absolute bangers that have been taking the world by storm, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Souls-like genre.

To hear it described, Earthion probably isn’t for you. A side-scrolling shmup (shoot ‘em up) developed for a dead console that was discontinued 30+ years ago, it’s hardly cutting-edge.

I was already a happy camper late last year when I got my Apple Watch, as I finally got to see what all the hype was about with wearable tech. Just when I thought I couldn’t love my watch any more, here comes MAGEASY with not one, but two must have accessories for it with the MAGEASY Odyssey Apple Watch Case and Nappa Leather Apple Watch Band.

I’ve always wanted to pick up an Apple Pencil for my iPad Air, but that $130 price tag always kept me from buying one. I was more than excited when MAGEASY reached out to me to review the MAGEASY Instinct iPad Stylus Pencil that works just as well as the Apple Pencil while being much easier on your wallet.

Seems like it was just last year when I was a teenager trying to get my hands on any anime I could watch back in the mid-1990s. I remember finally getting my hands on the famed Grave of the Fireflies, a film focusing on two siblings caught near the end of World War II.

While going through many of the newest anime series out there, I kept hearing about one that would always rise to the top of the pile, Dan Da Dan. After smirking to myself about the title and its premise of dealing with UFOs and ghosts, I decided to give it a shot and it turned out to be one of the wildest, most fun shows I’ve seen.

Fourth time’s the charm - well, almost. Fantastic Four: First Steps is easily the best cinematic take on Marvel’s First Family to date, which is both a win.

There’s a certain kind of person who derives primal satisfaction from breaking things. I don’t mean in a malicious way; I mean that feeling you get from popping bubble wrap.

The year 2025 is looking like a renaissance for ninja games, especially those of a very particular lineage. While Ninja Five-O proved some relics should remain in the past, Ninja Hayate HD-Remaster was available if you craved 1980s anime with limited interaction.

One of my relatives was looking into picking up a dash cam for their SUV, and I remember reading on companies such as Garmin and Vantrue which produced some very good ones that I suggested. I would’ve never guess Vanture’s PR reached out to me about one of their latest products, the Vantrue E1 Pro 4K Mini Dash Cam that also looks to be one of their greatest cams as well.

After covering numerous Turtle Beach and SteelSeries headsets, the Audeze Maxwell Wireless Gaming Headset was a breath of fresh air with its balanced sound quality, a snug enough fit, and long battery life that really made it stand out from the rest. Audeze was kind enough to send over the Xbox version that features an embedded Dolby Atmos license to use with the console to make this the only wireless headset you need.

There are game developers, and then there’s Hideo Kojima. It’s a distinction you have to make, because few figures in the industry inspire such a mix of adoration and exasperation.

You know, sometimes I think about how much easier life would be if I could just transform into a giant, fire-breathing beast to deal with my daily annoyances. Imagine trying to get through rush hour traffic, and then poof, you're a dragon and suddenly the commute is a lot more.

James Gunn’s Superman isn’t really a Superman movie - at least, not the one fans expected. It’s a James Gunn movie first and foremost, with the iconic hero buried under layers of quirky humor, bizarre characters, and a script that plays like leftover Guardians of the Galaxy bits stitched together.

I remember seeing the trailer for Amazon Prime Video’s Heads of State some time ago, and I’ll admit it grabbed my attention with it’s 80s and 90s buddy-action flick vibes with some comedic situations thrown in to bring the laughs. After watching it, it turned out just as I thought it would, a fast-paced and funny movie that’s perfect for watching with friends and family with food and snacks in tow.

Let’s get straight to it: if you’re just here for some basic dinosaur thrills, can tolerate a paper-thin story as long as it looks good, and find mediocre effects acceptable when the camera work is solid, then Jurassic World Rebirth might be exactly what you’re after - and I mean that sincerely. Some people just want dinosaurs on a big screen, and that’s fair enough.

In 1959, American International came out with Gidget, about a teenage girl who falls in love with surfing even though she doesn’t know the first thing about the aquatic sport. If we as an audience weren’t already privy to surfing, the titular protagonist’s enthusiasm would’ve been enough to at least pique our interest.

It's always nice when two great things are greater together. I tend to mention this when we talk about genre-blending games like Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, which has a little tower-defense, a little action and a whole lot of style to offer.

When I first saw the trailer to KPop Demon Hunters from Netflix, I didn’t know what to think or expect before sitting down to give it a shot. Thank goodness I took the plunge as it turned out to be a pleasant surprise filled with infectious KPop songs, and also a nice amount of demon fighting action that families are sure to watch again and again.

After loving the Bebird’s EarVision Complete Ear Cleaner I reviewed last year, I was more than excited when I learned about their latest product, the Bebird EarSight Plus Flexible Otoscope Camera Light. Not only did they improve on their eye cleaning tech, they’ve made it super easy, convenient thanks to a carry case, and dare I say, fun to use.

Everytime SteelSeries sends something my way, I always get excited as they have yet to let me down with any of their releases. While they released their Arctis GameBuds late last year, they stepped things up with their limited edition SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds Glorange Wireless Headphones.

Now we have The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 4, marking the middle of our journey with Bill Watterson’s beloved comic strip duo, the first time in many moons that it’s been republished with this much zeal. Some may scoff at the smaller form-factor of these new editions (this being the fourth volume of a planned seven), but there’s no denying these rectangular reprints are extremely well made, look fantastic, and contain some of the best and most creative comic strips ever made.

Since 2014’s Mr. Mercedes Stephen King has treated fans to an unexpected turn in his sizable oeuvre; sausage-factory fiction, the kind pumped out on the regular by literary superstars James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Lee Child and others, applying his gift for characters, dialogue, and Hail Mary horror to the rather predictable world of these soap opera serials.

Remember the Switch? The original console from 2017 that started a hybrid gaming revolution? Things are about to change: the Switch 2 is here and it's bringing a new era of less-questionable ports. One of the first that's going to blow your mind is Street Fighter 6: Years 1-2, the latest and most complete version of Capcom's hit fighter that launched in 2023.

When 28 Days Later hit theaters in 2002, it redefined the zombie genre. Danny Boyle’s gritty vision of an empty London, rage-infected citizens, and humanity on the edge created something raw, immediate, and unforgettable.

Retro game collections can serve two very important functions. First, they offer gamers something to play between droughts of new releases.

AMD took the opportunity to outshine Nvidia by doing one simple thing; make a mainstream gaming graphic card without ripping anybody off. That part didn’t take much effort, considering how much hate Nvidia received with their Blackwell-based GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs at the beginning of this year.

Eight years ago, an eternity in console gaming, Nintendo launched the original Switch, a hybrid mix of home and portable console that embodied everything that was unique and quirky about the company and would become one of the best-selling consoles of all-time. In very un-Nintendo like fashion, however, the house of Mario plays it safe with its successor, the Switch 2, the first direct console sequel and a marked improvement over the original in nearly every way.

Even if boxing isn’t your cup of tea, it’s difficult to deny how well-designed the sport is for building movies around. Few sports are as intimate or personal as a single person, vulnerable, giving his all against another.

Those who’ve followed Alison Bechdel’s career from cartoonist to cultural icon over the years (the term ‘Bechdel Test’ is named for her) knows the creator of the popular ‘Dykes to Watch Out For’ comic strip and several graphic novels knows how to tell a joke about even the most uncomfortable topics. With Spent the focus is on satire, blending reality within a progressive ideological wonderland so exaggerated it feels like a checklist of every liberal trope imaginable, and possibly some new ones created just for this book.

I’ve been a huge Predator fan since seeing the original 1987 classic when I was a kid, and I enjoy watching the famed alien hunters in all of their film entries, both good and bad. It seems like the right person has finally come along to save the franchise and push it to new heights with director Dan Trachtenberg, who brought us 2022’s Prey which placed a surprising and refreshing spin on the film series that it so desperately needed, and he's looking to do it again later this year with Predator: Badlands.

Doom: The Dark Ages, the third entry in Bethesda’s modern reboot of id Software’s iconic grandaddy FPS franchise, does something truly audacious. It takes the two most controversial elements from its predecessor, 2020’s Doom Eternal, i.

If I said Etgar Keret’s Autocorrect was slim, that wouldn’t come as a surprise to fans of the acclaimed Israeli author, nor would the fact that the stories collected inside are on the shorter side. The very shorter side.

Keeping your electronic devices clean can sometimes be a pain, especially when small crevices and vents are involved. Most times a can of compressed air is the go-to for keeping devices clean, but they can possibly be dangerous to use and are expensive.

Ever since I picked up an Apple Watch late last year, I’ve been in the market for a charging system that allows me to charge it as well as my iPhone at the same time if needed. Thanks to our friends at Scosche, I was able to check out their Scosche MagicMount Base Pro that more than fits the bill as it charges just about anything you have with cool features to spare.

There’s a new addition to Michael Connelly's literary family in Nightshade, Detective Sergeant Stilwell, a smart investigator who butted heads with the wrong brass and is now trying to rebuild his life - and career - miles away from the mean streets of Los Angeles. Unlike those of favorites like Harry (and, increasingly, his daughter Maddy) Bosh, Renée Ballard, and Mickey “Lincoln Lawyer” Haller, this adventure is laser-focused on the mystery itself, though Connelly brings the same focused intensity and eye for minute details that’s made him a favorite among crime fiction writers.

I’m not sure what people hate more, the Disney live-action remakes or the fact they even exist. What began as an eyebrow-raising experiment over a decade ago has now turned into what might seem to some as a masochistic craving for futility.

Let’s face it, life can be rough at times if not most times for us. With fear, stress and anxiety lurking around every corner of our lives, it’s always nice to find positive ways to escape those negative feelings whenever possible.

From the moment Ethan Hunt first dangled upside down, a cinematic icon was born - along with a franchise that’s defied gravity, logic, and expectations ever since. Now, after three decades of death-defying stunts and globe-trotting missions, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning brings the saga to a definitive close.

While Star Wars Outlaws had a rocky start when it was released last year, I have to give Ubisoft a ton of credit for taking the time to fix it up and making it fun for fans of the franchise and those of action-adventure titles. After releasing the Wild Card DLC late last year featuring the beloved Lando Calrissian, the second one, Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune, has finally come and brings a lot of cool things to the Sabacc table to keep players busy long after the last mission is done.

I’ll just say it: Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is my favorite arcade versus compilation so far, and it’s not even a contest. While last year’s Marvel vs.

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast, where our in-house movie nerds Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans take you on an unscripted journey yakking and chatting about some of their favorite movie moments and cinematic scenes, from past and present, presented without snark and snobbery for your listening pleasure.

On deck are two blockbusters directed by Steven Spielberg that are as much science-fiction spectacle as they are family dramas, and whose success and innovative film-making would help reshape the movie industry forever.

First is 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg’s follow-up to 1975’s Jaws that proved the shark’s success was no fluke. By not making the aliens malevolent but benevolent, it was a revelation at the box-office, bested only by George Lucas’ Star Wars. Next is 1982’s E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, the heartfelt story of an alien lost on Earth who befriends a young boy that quickly became the most successful movie in history (a title is kept for 11 years until it was dethroned by Spielberg’s own Jurassic Park).

Our hosts examine the relatable inspirations for both films, realizing their continued success owes as much to nostalgia as groundbreaking cinematic storytelling. Listen as they discuss the surprising connections between Spielberg’s films and George Lucas’ Star Wars (did you know E.T.’s species has an official name?), how E.T. inspired a hit Neil Diamond song, and speculate if Spielberg’s 2022 autobiographical The Fablemans can be considered a thematic followup to both films. All this and more when you listen today!

Recent efforts to localize classic Japanese manga have struck a comfortable balance between entertainment and education, especially imports of underground cult classics from the 1960s through the mid 1970s originating in the magazine Garo. The originators of the term ‘gekiga’, or manga designed for more mature audiences, we’ve seen a huge influx of freshly translated work from the likes of Shigeru Mizuki, Yoshiharu Tsuge, Saito Nazuna, Yamada Murasaki and others.

Once I saw the trailer to Maliki: Poison of the Past, I knew I had to give it a chance as the cool looking anime-like vibe pulled me in (the characters are clearly based on the late, great Akira Toriyama’s style), as well it’s unique turn-based RPG battles that keeps things fun and interesting. Based on a French manga series (which explains the anime look), the plot places you into the life of a young lady named Sand.

Back when I was just getting into gaming on PC, I remember hearing about comic artist Benoît Sokal jumping into the gaming world with Amerzone: The Explorer’s Legacy in 1999 on PC and the original PlayStation. I also remember how he continued teaming with game developer and publisher Microids with the famed Syberia titles that made him and the company legendary.

After years of overstuffed narratives, forgettable villains, and an overreliance on the multiverse to generate excitement, Thunderbolts* arrives as a much-needed reset for Marvel. It’s a sharp, character-first film that favors substance over spectacle.

In today’s contentious social climate, it’s undoubtedly difficult to urge an audience to be sympathetic towards a select group of people without being accused of making those people feel helpless in the process. As though pity has become a bad word.

Free at last, free at last, Thank God almighty, Ryan Coogler (Creed, Black Panther) is free at last! From languishing in the corporatized big-budget prison known as IP, one of Hollywood's few fresh black faces has delivered an original story as timely as it desperately needed. Sinners is a beautiful, stylish, fun genre film that feels like a breath of fresh air against the stale franchise fare usually taking up the time slots for your local IMAX.

Few genres of game have been through the wringer of public opinion quite so much as the humble Japanese RPG, or JRPG, if you prefer. It wasn't that long ago when a game could expect to lose a fair chunk of Metacritic score if it featured turn-based combat or - horror of horrors - had an anime aesthetic.

There are films that entertain, and then there are films that stay with you - Sinners is the latter. Ryan Coogler’s latest is bold, haunting, and deeply human.

Lunar: The Silver Star is a cornerstone of my gaming life, as it’s the first RPG that I fully committed to back in early 1994 on my Sega CD. Everything about it made me so glad I had Sega’s infamous add-on, from the cool looking anime artwork, to the amazing soundtrack and voice acting, it’ll always have a special place in my heart and mind.

When I first saw Rusty Rabbit and the cute but grizzled main character named Stamp, I didn’t know what to think. At first I thought it was going to be some Animal Crossing wannabe title, but was completely wrong once I saw him leaping into a mecha-like suit and drilling and dashing his way through levels.

I’m a pretty big fan of action-platform games, especially some of the classics such as Donkey Kong Country, Crash Bandicoot, and others. The game developers at VEA Games feel the same way as they’ve made a personal love letter to those titles with the release of Nikoderiko: The Magical World - Director's Cut.

26 years is how long the SNK faithful have been waiting for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves to finally arrive, the follow-up to 1999’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Obviously, comparisons will be made but Fatal Fury has since become a staple that endures in a charming old-school way that contemporary Street Fighter and Tekken entries no longer possess.

Arcades in the early 1980s enjoyed an explosion of popularity as the new art form swept the world and collected millions of quarters in the process. Kids love them.

Arcades in the early 1980s enjoyed an explosion of popularity as the new art form swept the world and collected millions of quarters in the process. Kids love them.

Ever since the glory days of construction paper and glue, I've been absolutely hopeless at crafting. Sorry, world, but you're not going to get any fantastic handiwork out of me.

SteelSeries continues to knock their awesome lineup of products out of the park with one of their latest releases, the SteelSeries QCK Performance Mouse Pad. Going back to the drawing board on their original QCK pads and reworking them to be better in every way, they’ve come up with a perfect variety of new ones to fit any kind of PC gaming style.

If I’ve learned one thing as a parent, it’s that kids love Jack Black. They loved him as the evil Bowser in The Super Mario Bros.

A Minecraft Movie is a loud, chaotic rollercoaster built for one specific crowd: TikTok-savvy teens and gamers fluent in Minecraft-speak. If you’re not part of that world, buckle up - this movie doesn’t ease you in.

Milestone has been handling the official Supercross game releases for quite some time now. While some of them have been hits, a few of the later entries haven’t hit pay dirt like they should.

It’s The State of Gaming Podcast, Popzara’s in-depth look at what’s shaking up the gaming landscape delivered on a monthly basis. Listen as hosts Cory Galliher and Nate Evans guide you through the best, worst, and everything else making headlines and headway in the world of interactive entertainment.

The biggest games of the month include: South of Midnight, Steel Hunters, The Talos Principle: Reawakened, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, and Tempest Rising

Other notables include: Blue Prince, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (PS5), The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PC), Days Gone Remastered (PC, PS5), Forza Horizon 5 (PS5), Monument Valley (1+2 Switch), Ninja Hayate HD and Time Gal HD Remaster, Lunar Remastered Collection, Commandos: Origins, and Promise Mascot Agency.

But there’s more! Nintendo makes the Switch 2 official! It’s powerful! It’s expensive! It’s coming June 5! The Last of Us Season 2 returns this month! A Minecraft Movie breaks box-office records! And speaking of movies, the Death Stranding movie finds its writer and director in Michael Sarnoski (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One).

Unless you’re a student of photography or heavily interested in animation, chances are your only exposure to the name Eadweard Muybridge in recent pop-culture has been the brief mentions he gets in Jordan Peele’s 2022 release Nope, where Keke Palmer's character describes a two-second clip of a galloping horse being shown as the first example of a ‘motion picture’. It’s actually from a later effort, "Plate Number 626", in which the horse, Annie, is named while the jockey riding her is not.

There are two ways to talk about Rendering Ranger: R2, a hybrid run ‘n gun platformer and shmup (shoot ‘em up) from German developers Rainbow Arts released only for the Japanese Super Famicom back in 1995. The first would be to discuss the game on its merits, specifically how Rainbow Arts attempted to push Nintendo’s 16-bit hardware further than most in a time when the switch to newer 32-bit consoles was well underway.

In the day and age where sci-fi introspections on working class exploitation like Severance are all the rage, Bong Joon Ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer) seems primed to deliver his own eccentric critique of capitalistic exploitation that would fit snugly into his previous lexicon, only this time with his biggest budget ever. It’s unfortunate that Mickey 17 is a surprising misstep in an otherwise stellar record of insightful and timely works.

Since its groundbreaking debut in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has stood as the cornerstone of Disney’s animation legacy, setting the gold standard for fairy tale adaptations. As the first full-length animated feature, it not only changed the industry but also captivated generations with its timeless story and unforgettable characters.

Fans of the site won't be surprised to hear that I'm something of a Japanophile. I've visited the Land of the Rising Sun before, will be heading that way again soon, and am not sure I'm ever going to get over my love affair with the Far East.

Deception is a core theme of spy films, where the tension between truth and lies drives the narrative. Steven Soderbergh's Black Bag takes this concept and places it within the more intimate confines of marriage.

It's not easy to make it as a writer! You've got to play video games all the time, write what you think about them, eat delicious snacks while you do it..

Yarrr! It's a pirate's life for me, matey! Hop aboard the good ship Popzara and let's go on a journey full of scurvy, sea lice and vermin! Wow, when I put it that way, the pirate's life actually doesn't seem for me at all. Scurvy's awful, I really don't like bugs, seasickness is a thing and it's pretty gross.

As popular as the Looney Tunes franchise is, it’s hard to believe there’s never been a theatrical film release of it that’s solely animated (sorry but Space Jam, it’s sequel, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action don’t count). Thankfully we have the first with The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie that blends classic slapstick comedy with some modern twists that’ll have you laughing to the moon and back.

I’m always down for checking out family friendly films, especially those featuring animals going on crazy misadventures like the recent Paddington in Peru I reviewed. When I first learned about Night of the Zoopocalypse last year, it grabbed my attention right away when the creators said it was like Madagascar meets The Walking Dead.

If you're looking to shake up your life with an exhilarating experience, it's hard to beat a little bit of travel! The world's a big place and there's no shortage of amazing things to see and do out there. If the real world isn't enough for you, the world of gaming has plenty to offer as well! Capcom's Monster Hunter games really drive this home with their variety of settings, each packed with totally docile and not-at-all-murderous wildlife, and the majestic Eastlands of Monster Hunter: Wilds are no exception.

When it comes to visual novels, there are few publishers I trust more than PQube. While they definitely have their misses (looking at you, Celestia: Chain of Fate) they’ve put out some great titles like Bustafellows and Arcade Spirits.

As noted in my review for the volume one of The Liminal Zone, first published in English back in 2022, fans of Junji Ito can expect two types of collections these days: freshly translated work from his seemingly bottomless well of content, and brand-new stories. It was firmly in the latter camp, created exclusively for the LINE manga app (which is way more popular than you’d think).

The strange journey of Hudson Soft’s Ninja Five-O (or Ninja Cop, as it’s known in some areas) from obscurity to cult status is a strange one, but it makes sense when you look at the game in content. Originally released in 2003 for the Gameboy Advance, it was a game that already looked, sounded, and played like an ancient throwback even at the time.

One of the nice things about living in the modern age, at least if you're a video game fan, is that practically everything gets localized. Anything that isn't localized probably gets a fan translation.

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast…for the year of 2024! And what a year, especially when it comes to the movies we loved, liked, and loathed. Regular hosts Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans are joined by editors Susana Bojorquez and (making his podcast debut) Brian Kwayi in a spectacular, extra-long episode overstuffed and ready to explode with everything that made this year in cinema what it was.

Did your best/worst make the list? Ours included The Wild Robot, Joker: Folie à Deux, A Different Man, Dune: Part II, The Substance, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Fall Guy, Anora, A Real Pain, Nosferatu, Deadpool & Wolverine, Thelma, Civil War, Blink Twice, Godzilla x Kong The New Empire, Ricky Stanicky, Saturday Night, Gladiator II, The Bikeriders, Sing Sing, Juror #2, Alien: Romulus, The Beekeeper, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Red One, Challengers, Sasquatch Sunset, Rebel Ridge, Transformers One, and many, many others. Listen now!

Countless authors have written about death, even their own, but few have been able to document their almost deaths as publicly as Salmon Rushdie, who in August 2022 survived an assassination attempt at New York's Chautauqua Institution (ironically, just as he was about to deliver a speech about the creation of safe spaces for writers in America from elsewhere). Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder gives the impression the acclaimed writer is almost disappointed by the mediocrity of his would-be assassin, a young man radicalized not so much by what Rushie had written, but what had been written about him.

Time flies, doesn’t it? As SEGA’s acclaimed Virtua Fighter series celebrates its 30th anniversary, it’s almost hard to believe that nearly 2/3 of that time has been tied to the fifth iteration back when it originally hit the arcades in 2006. At that time, Virtua Fighter 5 was lauded as a next-gen marvel and served as a glimpse of what gaming hardware and the fighting game genre could be, if technical quality alone could carry a title.

I remember some time ago back in the early 90s when I rented a book from the library about classic monster films, and seeing the famed Nosferatu creature from the 1922 movie that creeped me out and still does. We now come to the latest take on this classic tale with Robert Eggers version of Nosferatu that’s filled with an amazing and eerie atmosphere that draws viewers in, but some may turn away from the long run time and slow burn it brings.

Fans of classic shooters (or shmups, if you’re cool like that) were spoiled for choice in the late 80s and early 90s, though not equally. For US and Japanese gamers consoles ruled the roost, though in Europe the popularity of cheaper home computers helped created a world where Japanese-led productions weren’t the only game in town (pun certainly intended).

Growing up with the British Paddington shorts from the early 80s, I’ve always been a big fan of the character and his many (and often comedic) adventures. Needless to say I absolutely loved the 2014 film as it captured what fans love about the famous bear perfectly.

Orcs Must Die! is one of those unusual franchises that's stuck around for long enough to have run into multiple industry-spanning trends and survived to tell the tale. The first two games, Orcs Must Die! and its sequel, were hybrid tower-defense and third-person shooters at a time when tower defense was the thing to be.