Reviews
Pâfekuto burû (1997)
I crave for animes that really do make you think
Mima, who is a pop singer, eventually retires and enters the word of film acting. However, when Mima starts her new career, she is stalked by an angry fan of hers and a series of bizarre events begin to happen.
This film portrays the consequences of fame in a rather extreme matter: we see Mima slowly become insane when she has hallucinations, forgetting her true self, suffering from a lot of paranoia and more.
I crave for animes that really do make you think and this one is definitely one of them. It's violent, it's scary, it's disturbing, it's mind f!@#ing and is also needed to be seen more than once. PERFECT BLUE is awesome!
Shinseiki Evangelion (1995)
I've loved anime ever since I saw this
There are monsters destroying the world, whom of which are known as Angels. However, a secret organisation known as NERV, located in New-Tokyo has the ability to destroy the Angels with giant robots, known as Evangelions, that are piloted by teenagers. The main character in this anime is Shinji Ikari, who is a very shy, emotionally weak and lonely teenager and is forced to pilot an Evangelion in order to save the world from total destruction.
Because of the first few episodes, it will make this anime look like another clichéd giant robots versus evil forces thing, but it's not a clichéd one. This one is extremely different, after each episode you see, the deeper this show gets; it will become more philosophical, psychological and the characters will turn into people who you can care for. And a lot of the music in this cartoon is so haunting, that it's beautiful and some of the cover versions of the song 'Fly Me to the Moon' are really good, which are heard in each ending credits sequence.
However, one of the only things I didn't like about this anime was some of the animation, which went a bit dull at times and the last two episodes, which didn't properly wrap up this fantastic saga, but thankfully it was perfectly (I repeat, 'perfectly') ended with the movie NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: THE END OF EVANGELION.
This anime is an anime I'll never forget. With a thanks to NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, it has made me in love with anime ever since.
Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Air/Magokoro wo, kimi ni (1997)
The deepest film I've ever seen
This is the official ending for the saga, meaning the last two episodes weren't after the mass disappointment from many of the fans of the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION TV series. This time, we now take-off where episode 24 left us, where we find Shinji in a traumatised state after killing the final Angel and Asuka in a coma. The soldiers of SEELE and the 9 new Eva units created by SEELE have been sent to attack NERV, whilst Gendou Ikari tries to bring Third Impact into the world with the help of Rei. Nothing is able to stop Third Impact, except for mankind's only hope, which is in the hands of the disturbed Shinji Ikari so he can bring an end to the destruction. Can Shinji save the world in the final battle of mankind or will the world be turned back to nothing? When I saw this, I was blown away. It was absolutely impossible for me to look away from the screen, even after sitting through the end credits, I was just sitting there with tears rolling down my cheeks and thinking of nothing, except for what I just saw. It was also really hard to put the DVD back in its case after finishing the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION saga with this film. It was so sad to see the series end like this, yet it was so good to see the series end like this. The soundtrack was even more haunting than any of the songs played in the TV series, especially songs like 'Komm, Susser Tod' and 'Thanatos - If I Can't be Yours'. The dialogue was excellent, including the conversations between Shinji and the people he cared for. The battle scene between Asuka and SEELE's 9 Eva units is very bloody but beautiful as well (sorry to sound like psycho). It was also really sad (for the EVANGELION fans that is) to see a lot of the characters who we got know and care for a long time in the TV series, see them for the last time on the screen.
This film can really make you ask questions to yourself like 'will we be reborn after we die?', 'would everything be better if humanity ended and then reborn?', 'is destruction really a bad thing?' etc.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: THE END OF EVANGELION is without a doubt, the deepest film I've ever seen and probably ever will see and thankfully there is not going to be a sequel to this film, and that's the way it should be.
Thank you so much Hideaki Anno for giving us the proper end to this awesome saga.
Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Shito shinsei (1997)
It's intention is to make you forget about the last two episodes
After the mass disappointment by a lot of the fans because of the last two episodes of the TV series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, the creators decided to make an alternate ending known as NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: THE END OF EVANGELION, but before that, they made this film, which is only the build up to it. Split into two segments: the first segment is DEATH, which is just the whole TV series in a very condensed form, which only shows you all the events that have happened up until Shinji kills the final Angel. Then comes the REBIRTH segment, which is just the first 30-minutes of THE END OF EVANGELION.
This movie is only worth watching if you've only seen the TV series with the last two episodes, since the intention of this movie is to make you forget about those two episodes and get you prepared for THE END OF EVANGELION. Other than that reason, it's not worth it.
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
If you like THE SIMPSONS, then watch THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
Everyone's favourite dysfunctional family is now on the big-screen. After a campaign against polluting the Springfield lake succeeds, Homer makes one stupid mistake by polluting it, causing him to become the most wanted man in Springfield. But to avoid getting being found, he escapes from Spingield with his family to go search for a place where no-one can find him.
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE was a lot better than I expected. I seriously didn't expect it to be that funny and I thought using 3-D with a mix of 2-D animation wouldn't work, but it did, especially because it was for the big-screen. A lot of the gags were silly and were about as subtle as a rocket launcher, but they were still guaranteed to make you laugh. Plus, there's also moments in this film that they wouldn't even dare show on TV, since the censors would find it too inappropriate.
My advice to you is that if you like THE SIMPSONS, then you have to see THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. It's good fun.
Erufen rîto (2004)
Pretty awesome
A diclonius (a human with horns and psychic abilities) escapes from an army base, after being experimented on, killing a whole heap of guards and ends up on a beach, with her memory lost. When a boy named Kouta starts to live with his cousin Yuka in the beach-side inn, they find the diclonius and name her 'Nyu' and look after her, but that's when the horror begins.
Yes I know, it does have a lot of nudity (most may find it a bit gratuitous) and also, after looking at the first part of the first episode, it looks like you've seen it all before (a person escaping from a place by killing a lot of guards with their super-powers), but it's not one of those cartoons; this cartoon can be really deep at times and you can even feel for the characters. Also the ending of this anime will really make you stare at the screen blankly and think of nothing else but ELFEN LIED.
The animation in this anime is pretty cool, with a nice touch of CGI. The opening sequence of this cartoon is quite nice as well, although I don't think it's as good as other people say.
Overall, ELFEN LIED is a pretty darn good anime, but it's not for everyone.
Hokuto no Ken (1986)
Anime classic but not a must see
After the world has been turned into a nuclear holocaust, it's now a place with a global population that's now minimal, the land is nothing but a desert filled with destroyed cities, battling empires, biker gangs and mutants with super-powers. Anyway, during the nuclear holocaust, a fighter named Ken, who has super-human strength, must rescue his kidnapped girlfriend and make peace in the war ravaged world.
The dialogue and some of the voice acting was cheesy and the songs in the film weren't very good but one of the songs used in the film named 'Heart of Madness', was awesome (even though it was really tacky) and I thought it should've been used as the film's opening and ending credits song, instead of just using it in this one fight scene, and that way it would've got rid of the not-so-good credits music. By the way, did I forget to add that the ending was a let-down?
Other than that, the animation was quite well-drawn (but it is dated) and the bright colours that were used stood-out perfectly (at least most of the time) and the fight scenes always had plenty of gore and kicked ass.
Overall, this film is worth looking at and it is an anime classic, but don't expect it to be one of the best animes of-all-time.
Sunshine (2007)
It was good, but when watching it, forget about science
It's now 50 years into the future and our sun has been infected with a Q-Ball, which will cause the sun to die unless it's reignited, and that's why Earth sent a team of astronauts to reignite the sun.
SUNSHINE is filled with fantastic special effects, that do manage to take your breathe away and with Danny Boyle's direction each second is always suspenseful and cannot make your eyes move away from the screen. However, this film does have its major flaws since nothing like some of the things portrayed in the film can happen in real life due to science (eg. none of the characters disintegrate when they're near the sun, even though the sun doesn't have enough energy to support life on Earth).
But overall, it's worth a watch, but just forget about science whilst watching it.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)
It was good...up until the end
VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST has a simple plot: a girl is kidnapped by a vampire named Meier Link. The father of the kidnapped girl pays a badass vampire hunter named D and a group of vampire hunters known as the Markus brothers (whom of which hold a grudge against D). And so begins the journeys of the vampire hunters to save the girl in a battle of good versus evil.
VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST has got good animation (even though some of it may seem pretty basic in some scenes) and it's action scenes will give you the thirst for more and more.
This anime was good... up until the end, which sadly seemed to have lost its feel. But nonetheless, it's a fun watch if you've got some time on your hands.
Gensô jodan Elicia (1993)
I enjoyed watching it
ADV films have produced some rather good anime and some rather not-so-good anime, some of which is in the direct-to-video business and may never be distributed onto DVD. ELLCIA has fortunately been distributed onto DVD, but is it really that fortunate? ELLCIA is another good vs. evil cartoon where a small group of pirates must defeat an army of evil pirates but the only way they can is to resurrect an ancient ship called 'Ellcia'.
ELLCIA is a mix of swords, pirates, guns, sorcery and even technology. The animation good, but not great, yet the way some of the characters and weapons are drawn in the cartoon are drawn quite nicely. The dialogue is so-so. The ending song is not bad, but it's unfortunate the singer may sound a tad like a howling dog when singing a certain part in the chorus, but I would admit he is no amateur when it comes to singing. The voice-acting in this cartoon isn't bad, especially if you've got some well-known anime voice actors like Spike Spencer and Tiffany Grant who were and still are involved in the Evangelion saga. The series is quite well-structured and the final episode wraps up the series quite nicely.
I found ELLCIA to be a bit average at times, but nonetheless, I enjoyed watching it. But take note that it's not for what I would call 'everyone'.
Herushingu (2001)
Not as good as I expected
In England, the undead, vampires and ghouls are on the rise and are stalking the living, but the only people who can stop them are the members of the Hellsing organisation: Alucard (a Hellsing vampire), Seras Victoria (police girl turned into a vampire), Walter Dornez (the butler for Hellsing) and Sir Integra Wingates (the leader of Hellsing).
Although HELLSING has cool animation, a cool theme song, badass characters and weapons (especially Alucard's handguns, which are almost bigger than him), it lacks longer lasting action scenes, good dialogue and character development, which would've made the cartoon a lot more likable. The action scenes last for a lot less than a minute, I don't see why there are people that call them 'breathless'. The characters are two-dimensional (no pun intended), in other words, they're just there, which makes the story not all that believable and unengaging.
I'm sure the manga is a lot better than this anime adaptation, even though I haven't read it. I also do plan to watch the reworking of the series, 'HELLSING ULTIMATE'.
Gwoemul (2006)
'Be aware that this film is not you're everyday monster movie...'
Two scientists who didn't quite have their heads screwed poor bottles and bottles and bottles of chemicals into the Han River in Seoul, causing a giant sea monster to evolve out of the chemicals. Meanwhile a shop owner lives with his slacker of a son, named Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho), and his two daughters. But when one of the daughters is kidnapped by the giant sea monster, the the whole family (including another member who lives somewhere outside Seoul) start looking for the kidnapped daughter and rescue her before she becomes the sea monster's dinner.
Be aware that this film is not you're everyday monster movie, this one will make you laugh, jump, scream and could surprisingly move you. A lot of Asian comedies I've seen are both funny and silly at the same time, but this one was surprisingly intelligent and funny as well. When I saw this, I had a lot of fun.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Not good
It's now 2065 A.D, Planet Earth is being invaded by aliens, however, there is always hope. Dr. Aki Ross is a female scientist who works for a military group and is trying to find the secrets of alien invaders by collecting their spirits. However, Dr. Aki Ross and the team are ordered to destroy the aliens, even if it means that the world could get destroyed. Once they start destroying the aliens, it becomes a huge battle of good versus evil.
When I was ten-years-old, I really enjoyed this film, but these days, I don't think it was as good as it was when I was ten. It had some awesome 3D CGI animation and the action scenes were fun to watch but what a shame...if only it had character development and if the film went at a slower pace, since the film was a bit too rushed, it would've been a lot more enjoyable.
Now that I look back on this film, I seriously do not know why I thought it was really good. Maybe it's a film for younger people to enjoy.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
A disappointment
Bill Murray plays as an oceanographer who witnessed his best friend get killed by some mythical shark. So he avenges his friend's death by taking revenge on the shark, but the only way to do so is to organise a cruise on a boat and to also organise a crew to travel with him. The crew consists of quite a good cast of actors including Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe.
After hearing some of my friends say good things about this film, I thought that I should see it. I did so, and I didn't even laugh once, but some of my friends did. This film is watchable but is unfortunately a disappointment all the way through, especially the ending.
Man of the Year (2006)
'This film is a nice try but no cigar.'
Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) is a host of a comedy political talk show (like Jon Stewart for example) who is running for president of the US. After a political debate, Tom gets the right amount of votes to become the next president, thanks to a glitch in these touch-screen computers owned by a certain company. This certain company wants the glitch to be kept a secret, but only Eleanor Green (Laura Linney) knows the secret and wants Tom to know it as well. Can she do it or will she fail?
You might be thinking that the storyline to this film may seem interesting, and it is, but when it's seen, it doesn't quite work out as much as you would've wanted it to. When it's seen, the storyline starts going all over the place and the characters seem to be really uninteresting and people who you can't give a damn about, no matter how well the actors perform their characters in this film. Speaking of performance, Robin Williams gives a top-notch performance with his character Tom who delivers some hilarious gags and one-liners and would be seen as the only funny person in this film. So in other words, he steals the movie, even though it's not really a good one.
This film is a nice-try, but no cigar.
Old School (2003)
Don't watch this garbage!
After watching a short TV-spot for this film, I though that this film looked really funny. A year later, I felt like I was in the right mood to watch this film, that's why I felt like renting it. Boy oh boy, after watching that film, I felt like I made a pretty bad mistake.
What OLD SCHOOL is about is that it's about three guys named Mitch (Luke Wilson), Frank (Will Ferell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn) who are now living their normal adult lives decide to re-live college days by forming a fraternity filled with various people including friends, college students, lowlifes, middle-aged men and old retirees. However, Dean (Jeremy Piven) holds a strong personal grudge against Mitch, Frank and Beanie and their fraternity that they had created.
OLD SCHOOL could've been a rather funny and enjoyable film with a fine casting about a group of adults forming a fraternity, especially if it's got Will Ferrel in it, but unfortunately, it failed. I could've given it no stars at all, but since it had at least two good jokes (the rest of the jokes were extremely juvenile and unfunny), I thought I'd be generous and give it two stars out of ten.
To sum this review up, don't watch this garbage!
Akira (1988)
This was made in 1988?
AKIRA is set in Neo-Tokyo, post World War III, about a biker gang leader named Kaneda, whose friend Tetsuo is kidnapped by an organisation ran by the government to be experimented on in a secret project also ran by the government. But luckily, Kaneda and his buddies journey through Neo-Tokyo to save Tetsuo. Meanwhile, all goes wrong when Tetsuo discovers that he's got the telekinetic powers of Akira after being experimented on and goes on a violent rampage with his powers causing chaos in Neo-Tokyo. Can Kaneda and his buddies stop Tetsuo or will Neo-Tokyo or even the world be destroyed?
In my opinion, AKIRA is the best of all ultra-violent anime; the action scenes are filled with blood, explosions, lasers, bullets, motorcycle gangs and even more, the animation is superb, all hand-drawn and no CGI. The scenery is very BLADE RUNNER-like and can even make you feel like your in the film itself (even though it's a cartoon). And how can I not forget the music? Instead of using synthesisers and other electronic items to give you the futuristic feel, it uses authentic tribal music and it works perfectly (it also uses the organ near the end which also fits perfectly).
However, it is important that if you're going to watch AKIRA, watch the 'Special Edition' version, which contains the newer and better English dubbing, rather than the original English dub because the original English dub hasn't got as-good voice-acting and the dialogue isn't good. Or you can watch AKIRA with subtitles in it's original audio language, which is in Japanese.
And like they say, no AKIRA equals no MATRIX.
One Piece: Wan pîsu (1999)
Great anime series
A pirate named Luffy wants to become the pirate king, but besides that, he is on a quest to go to the Grand Line and organise his own pirate to search for the treasure that that has sent people sailing to the seas, called 'One Piece'.
ONE PIECE is an absolutely fantastic and fun anime. Also every episode in the series cannot be missed, since each episode has something to do with the storyline which make the show more and more addictive, unlike some other TV shows. There are even times where it can actually even make you care for the characters, which also make the show surprisingly moving.
IMPORTANT: Beware of the English dub because it's been Americanised and politically-corrected to make it a kids show. It's been distributed by 4Kids. So in other words, ONLY watch the Japanese version otherwise the American version will turn you off.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Now that's a comedy
Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is a tough cop who is transferred to a small town to join the police force over there. However, he is paired with a goofy cop, by the name of Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) and both of them and the police force start discovering some very bizarre murders and events in the small town which could all be related.
HOT FUZZ is a lot like SHAUN OF THE DEAD. No...wait, let me just correct myself. It's A LOT better than SHAUN OF THE DEAD. It's got more laughs, it's more action packed and it's fantastic popcorn fun. I promise you, HOT FUZZ should definitely be considered as one of the most entertaining and funniest films of all-time. Also, it should be considered as the best cop movie ever.
You'll have an absolute ball when watching this film.
Koroshiya 1: The Animation Episode 0 (2002)
Only watch it if you've read the manga
Do not be confused because ICHI THE KILLER: THE ANIMATION EPISODE 0 is not the prequel to Takashi Miike's 'live-action' version of Hideo Yamamoto's infamous manga, it is the prequel to Hideo Yamamoto's infamous manga.
It's about Ichi when he was a student in high school and how he was bullied, what he was like when he was with his family and friends and how he became a twisted and sadistic assassin.
This prequel is really cool: good animation, a well-written script and a hardcore soundtrack make this film worth a watch. Although some people may find this film too short or too much like a big music video. Other than that, it's worth watching, but read the comic book before watching it.
Koroshiya 1 (2001)
Takashi Miike at his best
Ichi (Nao Omori) is a disturbed and brainwashed killing machine who dresses up in a superhero costume and is controlled by his mentor named Jijii (Shinya Tsukamoto).
Kakihara (Asano Tadanobu) is a sadistic gangster who loves three things: giving and being given pain and looking for the killing machine named Ichi, the person who killed his boss and ran away with his three-hundred million yen. His quest with looking for the mysterious Ichi causes the streets to become a battleground with the gangs of Shinjuku. As the film goes by, the battle with the gangs of Shinjuku becomes more gory than ever.
ICHI THE KILLER is a rare film that we get these days. It contains good cartoon like violence, humour so black yet it would make people laugh, an awesome soundtrack and great makeup effects. Sure, it may not be for everyone but for those that are open-minded or are Miike fans and want to watch something different, this film would be for them.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Now I can see why people call this the greatest film of all time
Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) is a rich businessman who is on his deathbed and says his very last word (you guessed it), 'Rosebud'. But what is 'Rosebud' and why did he say it? That's why a journalist is trying to find out the answer to his last word by contacting the people who knew Charles Foster Kane.
CITIZEN KANE is a classic. I really liked it and I can see why so many people call this 'the greatest film of all time'. But should it really be called 'the greatest film of all time'? I don't think so but it sure is one of the greatest films of all time. But even if it's not 'the greatest film of all time', it should be seen by every film lover in the world.
Hostel (2005)
Don't be fooled, this film is directed by Eli Roth, not Quentin Tarantino
To make a horror film scary, it used to rely on the suspense. But horror films made today now rely on gore to make it scary, which leaves barely anything to the imagination. HOSTEL is a film that only relies on it's gore to try and make it scary, but was it scary? No way!
HOSTEL is about a group of three backpackers who go to a hostel in Bratislava where the women are pretty and will want to party and have sex with you all the time. But later on in the film, the women lure the men into a torture chamber where one by one, they are tortured and killed.
HOSTEL was really unenternainig. The first thirty-minutes was just partying and sex but then it gets to the torture which I was waiting for because I really wanted the characters to get killed, they were really unlikeable. This films is not well-made because it makes you look at your watch constantly making you ask yourself 'how much longer do we have left?', and it leaves you more bored than scared.
By the way, don't be fooled, Eli Roth directed this film, not Quentin Tarantino.
Wolf Creek (2005)
The Australian Texas Chainsaw Massacre
A group of three backpackers are taking are road trip in the Australian outback. When they get to a place in the outback during day time called 'Wolf Creek', the car they're traveling in breaks down. Later on, it's night time and still inside their broken down car, a man in a truck is traveling towards them. Once he steps outside his truck, we are introduced to Mick (John Jarrett) when he helps their broken down car and that's when the horror begins.
WOLF CREEK does give the horror genre a good name. Is it scary? Yes. Is it violent? You bet. Does it put you on the edge of your seat? Oh yeah. If you're in the mood for something scary and something violent that it leaves little to the imagination, put WOLF CREEK in your basket.
Walkabout (1971)
So beautiful
An older sister and a younger brother become lost in the desert and are trying to survive the harsh conditions. With no water or rations they are very close to death until they are saved by an Aboriginie who is on his 'walkabout'.
WALKABOUT is an amazing film. It's definitely one of the best films of all time and definitely one of the best films to have ever been made in Australia. It's so stunning, so sad, so unusual and so ahead of its time. In fact it's definitely a near-perfect film. I love this film and I'd definitely highly recommend it to those people who are wanting to watch something different.