Next Club Meeting:October 17, 2026,at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Animatrix Network is an anime & manga fan club located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We usually meet on the third Saturday of each month (except when holidays or conventions coincide). The meetings are free and open to the public. Join us for a day filled with anime.
This site provides news, reviews, commentaries, and previews of the world of anime and everything it inspires in today's pop culture, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.
DYNAMO DREAM, is a science fiction dystopian cyberpunk web series created by Ian Hubert,
and acts as both a sequel and a parallel story to the main Dynamo
series, as well as a reboot introducing newcomers to the world of
Dynamo. Surprising everybody, Ian Hubert, VFX Artist and a renowned Blender guru, has released this fantastic series as a mix of live-action and CGI visual effects as an independent filmmaker.
Step inside the Pitch Meeting that led to Avatar: The Way Of Water
2009’s Avatar was the highest-grossing movie of all time. Naturally, that meant sequel-time, and FAST. Okay maybe not fast. Maybe not even slow-paced. Maybe THIRTEEN YEARS LATER James Cameron has brought us back to the world of Pandora, along with all the characters whose names we definitely remember.
Avatar: The Way Of Water definitely raises some questions. Like why spend so much money bringing back Colonel Quarritch to life, the guy who famously failed the last time he attempted something similar to this mission? Why does Jake suddenly decide that it’s suddenly time to run away after literally heading into battle regularly? Where did all the ocean people go in the third act? How many decades until the next movie? To answer all these questions, check out the pitch meeting that led to Avatar: The Way Of Water.
Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure and introduce the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons to the existing battle on earth between Autobots and Decepticons. Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, the film arrives in theatres June 9, 2023.
“The Little Mermaid,” visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action
reimagining of the studio’s Oscar®-winning animated musical classic, opens
exclusively in theaters nationwide May 26, 2023. “The Little Mermaid” is the
beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst
for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant,
Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting
the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to
interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the
evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land,
but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (“grown-ish”) as Ariel; Tony
Award® winner Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton,” “Snowpiercer”) as the voice of
Sebastian; Jacob Tremblay (“Luca,” “Room”) as the voice of Flounder; Awkwafina
(“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as the voice of Scuttle; Jonah Hauer-King (“A
Dog’s Way Home”) as Prince Eric; Art Malik (“Homeland”) as Sir Grimsby; Noma
Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns”) as Queen Selina; with Oscar® winner Javier
Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Being the Ricardos”) as King Triton; and
two-time Academy Award® nominee Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
“Bridesmaids”) as Ursula.
“The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar® nominee Rob Marshall (“Chicago,”
“Mary Poppins Returns”), and written by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee
(“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”), with a live-action story adaptation by
David Magee, Rob Marshall, and two-time Emmy winner John DeLuca (“Tony Bennett:
An American Classic”), based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, and
the Disney animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is produced
by two-time Emmy® winner Marc Platt (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,”
“Grease Live!”), three-time Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,”
“In the Heights”), Rob Marshall, and John DeLuca, with Jeffrey Silver (“The
Lion King”) serving as executive producer. The score is by multiple Academy
Award® winner Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”), who won two
Oscars® for the music in the animated version of “The Little Mermaid,” with
music supervised and produced by Mike Higham (“Mary Poppins Returns,” “Into the
Woods”). Music is by Alan Menken, lyrics are by Howard Ashman and new lyrics
are by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
V E S P E R Opening in theaters and VOD on September 30
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed father, meets a woman with a secret who will force her to use her wits, strengths and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of having a future.
The Iron Mask sees action legends Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger team up in a high concept fantasy historical epic featuring breath-taking fights and stunning visuals. Set in the 18th century, The Iron Mask follows English traveler Jonathan Green as he journeys from Russia to China encountering dragons, black magic wizardry, and a dragon king during an incredible but deadly adventure. The action-adventure also stars Charles Dance, Jason Flemyng, and Rutger Hauer.
Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss (Us, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale) stars in a terrifying modern tale of obsession inspired by Universal’s classic monster character. Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant scientist, Cecilia Kass (Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister (Harriet Dyer, NBC’s The InBetween), their childhood friend (Aldis Hodge, Straight Outta Compton) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid, HBO’s Euphoria). But when Cecilia’s abusive ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House) commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, Cecilia suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of eerie coincidences turns lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia’s sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. Jason Blum, our current-day master of the horror genre, produces The Invisible Man for his Blumhouse Productions. The Invisible Man is written, directed and executive produced by Leigh Whannell, one of the original conceivers of the Saw franchise who most recently directed Upgrade and Insidious: Chapter 3.
In 2014, fans and former cast members organized a fan-made short film called Prelude to Axanar, setting up a Kickstarter project with a target of $10,000, but which raised well over $100,000 instead. This short film is planned to be followed by a full-length feature film called Star Trek: Axanar, funded by a much larger Kickstarter project. These films star Richard Hatch, J. G. Hertzler, Kate Vernon, Gary Graham, Michael Hogan, and Tony Todd, all mainstream actors who are veterans of Paramount's Star Trek franchise and the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. Prelude to Axanar features both new and familiar characters from the Star Trek universe:
Richard Hatch as Kharn, the Klingon Supreme Commander
Michael Hogan As Captain Robert April
J. G. Hertzler as Captain Samuel Travis
Gary Graham as Soval, Vulcan Ambassador to the Federation
The short film for Prelude to Axanar was released in June 2014. In August 2014, the production raised $638,000 on Kickstarter, and writer-producer Alec Peters went into pre-production for the feature film Star Trek: Axanar.
On December 29, 2015 the project was hit by a lawsuit from CBS and Paramount Pictures filed in Central California federal court, stating the Axanar works infringed upon their intellectual property by making use of "innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes." In March 2016, Peters' Axanar Productions filed a motion to dismiss or strike Paramount and CBS's claims, saying the elements mentioned in the court filing are not protected by copyright and is seeking premature relief from a work, the Axanar feature film, that does not exist. The motion to dismiss or strike was denied by the court and the case went to a jury trial in January 2017. On January 21, 2017, the lawsuit was settled.
On June 26, 2016, during the Axanar lawsuit, CBS and Paramount released a set of guidelines for Star Trek fan films to follow. Notably, these restrictions require films to: Be no more than 15 minutes long and have no stories longer than two installments (for a total of 30 minutes); play on YouTube without commercials; and all participants are required to be amateurs who have never worked on Star Trek or another licensee of CBS or Paramount Pictures. The creation and release of Axanar will be allowed only on these terms.
The Wandering Earth is a 2019 Chinese science fiction film directed by Frant Gwo. It is based on the novella of the same name by the Locus Award and Hugo Award-winning author Liu Cixin, and was released on February 5, 2019 (Chinese New Year's Day). 流 浪 地 球
In the near future, the Sun ages and is about to turn into a red giant, pushing the nations of the world to consolidate into the United Earth Government, a world government, and initiate a project to move Earth out of the Solar System to the Alpha Centauri system, in order to preserve human civilization. Huge thrusters running on fusion power are built across the planet to propel it. Human population is reduced severely due to catastrophic tides that occur after the planetary engines stop Earth's rotation, and later as the planet moves away from the Sun, much of the surface is frozen due to lowered temperatures, forcing humans to live in vast underground cities built adjacent to the engines.
At the beginning of the film, Liu Peiqiang (Wu Jing), a Chinese astronaut, promises to his son Liu Qi (Qu Chuxiao) of his eventual return before his mission to a space station that helps Earth navigate as it moves out of the Solar system, and hands guardianship of his son over to his father-in-law Han Zi'ang (Ng Man-tat).
Several years later, Liu Peiqiang's mission is about to end and he will soon return to Earth. To celebrate Chinese New Year, an adult Liu Qi brings adopted sister Han Duoduo (Zhao Jinmai) on a trip to the surface in a truck they steal using Han Zi'ang's clearance as a trucker. They are arrested, and meet Tim (Mike Sui) as well as Han Zi'ang who unsuccessfully tries to get them released.
As Earth passes by Jupiter, it is captured by Jupiter's gravity, causing devastating earthquakes that disable many thrusters across the globe. The four escape amidst the chaos and attempt to make their way out using the stolen truck, but the truck is requisitioned for a rescue mission by the military; they are to transport an engine component to the damaged thruster in Hangzhou, supervised by soldiers led by Wang Lei (Li Guangjie). In the remnants of Shanghai, they lose their vehicle, and while transporting the component up the ruins of a skyscraper Han Zi'ang is killed. With news that the Hangzhou thruster was fully compromised and the city was completely destroyed, the group temporarily despair. They however find a new vehicle where the on-board engineer, Li Yiyi (Zhang Yichi), convinces them to transport an engine component to repair a larger planetary engine in Sulawesi.
In space, Liu Peiqiang discovers that MOSS, the artificial intelligence commanding the space station, has directed it to escape rather than to assist the humans on Earth. He breaks out of forced hibernation and attempts to stop the spacecraft along with Russian cosmonaut Makarov, who is killed by the spacecraft's automated security measures. Liu Peiqiang arrives in the control room, but his clearances were revoked due to his undisciplinary acts and he can do little to override the escape process.
Liu Qi's group arrive at Sulawesi to find that the engine was already fully restored. Globally, most of the planetary thrusters have been repaired as well. However, Earth has moved past Jupiter's Roche limit and will be destroyed anyway, with the restored thrust unable to propel it away. The group despairs on learning this, but Liu Qi, inspired by recollection of his father's explanation of the thrusters' mechanics as a child, proposes to ignite Jupiter's hydrogen-abundant atmosphere to blow Earth away. Li Yiyi proposes to concentrate the Sulawesi engine's power to fire a beam high enough to ignite Jupiter. The group overcome various challenges, such as renewed aftershock tremors that injure several members, and are able to mostly reconfigure the engine to carry out the plan, however they are not able to push the firing pin of the engine to ignite it.
Liu Peiqiang, learning of this, is able to persuade the United Earth Goverment to use its communication channels to call assistance for the party at Sulawesi, even though MOSS reveals that the solution being attempted has no chance of success based on probability calculations. Other rescue and repair parties arrive and the engine is fired up, but it falls short of being able to ignite the hydrogen. Liu Peiqiang decides to use the space station's engine itself to ignite Jupiter's hydrogen; after disabling MOSS using a fire started with vodka that Makarov smuggled on-board, he pilots the spacecraft into the cloud between Jupiter and Earth, sacrificing himself as the ignition succeeds. Earth is saved from destruction, and continues to move towards the destination star system.
As the film ends, Liu Qi recounts and envisions the stages of Earth's migration, a process to take 2,500 years and still bound with uncertainty, in a hopeful tone.
V A L E R I A N and the City of a Thousand Planets
VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS is the visually spectacular new adventure film from Luc Besson, the legendary director of The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy, based on the ground-breaking comic book series which inspired a generation of artists, writers and filmmakers.
In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
M A X S T E E L Mattel'slive-action superhero movie
It’s a family, coming-of-age superhero movie with some comedy elements. One of the things that people will love about the movie is the relationship between Max and Steel, the little floating alien dude. It has a buddy comedy vibe to it, the heart and the banter of the film. But ultimately it’s an origin story for this Mattel brand that is about a superhero that is literally the combination of an alien and a teenager.
Based on a toy and animated series, the film chronicles the adventures of 16-year old Max McGrath (Winchell) and alien companion Steel, who must harness and combine their tremendous new powers to evolve into the turbo-charged superhero Max Steel. As these two unlikely friends struggle to accept their oddly connected fates, they begin to uncover unimaginable secrets, working together to find the truth, and fighting the mysterious forces threatening their world.
Max Steel is set to blast into movie theaters on October 21.
