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BethelAbba
Reviews
Sukurappudo purinsesu (2003)
Tired old themes that don't mesh well in Anime
Religion... Bad.... Restrains freedom.
Yawn. This age old rhetoric finds little new ground here in what I thought would be a fascinating tale of a princess nobody wants. Instead I find that the themes and subject matter are simple one dimensional rehashings of a tale as old as time: Nobody likes religion, therefore it must be inherently bad.
While the Anime itself is pretty well done (hence my rating of 2, rather than 1) and at times is quite fascinating to look at, sadly that is the only thing that stands out in this yawn-fest of simplistic predictable characters and story lines. By the time I had gotten to the 3rd episode I could already tell you who was going to be the main protagonist for each episode... and from that point forward I never missed a single one. There are no surprises here.
If you are looking for fascinating sci-fi.... turn to Blue Gender, Full Metal Alchemist, Armitage (Poly or Dual), or any other number of far better Japanese anime. If you're just looking to waste time and be bored... well... here's one you'll not regret on that front.
BTW: Obviously those who did the subtitles even got bored --- they couldn't get "Cis" (or Cz) name right ONE SINGLE TIME when she was in child form. Kept calling her "Cin"... which doesn't even sound close to what was being said.
Trust me... this is one to take a pass on... I sure wish I hadn't spent the money on it.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Not bad for a sequel
You know how the story goes... the first movie makes hundreds of millions of dollars & the Hollywood Moguls stand up and take notice. ---- "Must be on to something good, let's see if we can duplicate it...." ---- and thus begins the generally horrific tedium of re-hashed plots, over-paid actors, horribly bad script-writing, and a force-fed public looking to find something worth grabbing on to. It almost never works.
Let us for the moment consider: Shrek / Shrek 2. Toy Story / TS 2. Terminator / T2. Batman Begins / Dark Knight. Alien / Aliens. In each of these cases the sequel that followed far surpassed the original, in every sense of the word. John Q Public was treated to that rare case of suspense, drama, comedy or action which built upon the existing story and brought the characters more to life.
Now let us consider Batman Forever / Batman & Robin, Terminator 3 & Terminator Salvation. Aliens 3, 4, AvP & AvPr. In all cases, a solid waste of time, money, effort and sadly --- brain cells. In each of these sequels it comes across that someone, somewhere up there in the heights of Hollywood mega-offices, was looking to pay off a third wife's alimony. You could insert here the second Blair Witch Project, A-N-Y horror Genre flick (there's far to many bad sequels here to list), Mission Impossible 2. (3 was OK, but not great) and hundreds more. The fact is, generally speaking, sequels suck. And John Q Public knows it.
So why have I spent so much time getting this point across? Because Iron Man 2 rises to the effort flawlessly. It brings us more depth to the existing characters. Introduces more to their back-story which actually makes sense. Brings in new supporting characters who actually add flavor to the overall story. And lastly, gives us a Russian villain with a honest-to-come-by grudge that we can understand and appreciate. (Even if his powers of mastering complex computer languages IN English and typing at seeming hyper-speed is a little bit of a stretch) Top all that off with some solid IN-YOUR-FACE action scenes that show off Tony Stark's collection of cool gadgets & you have the makings of an incredible sequel. (And I, for one, really would love to have some of Scarlett Johansson's uber-cool toys.) That's not to say that the story doesn't have it's flaws. This is not Dark Knight. Then again, it shouldn't be compared to that either. This is Return of the Jedi. This is Lord of the Rings: Two Towers. This is a story in arc with still yet more to tell. And we're given fleeting glimpses of what's to come in different ways throughout the movie. I do hope that the cast / crew / director / writer's can be given another shot with the Iron Man hero.
I will not spoil things for you. I know that the movie hasn't come out yet in America --- I live in Taiwan & we're rather privileged to have it before you guys. But I will state up front that the movie gives depth and breadth to the Iron Man Character(s) and allows you to both enjoy yourself and walk away hoping there will be more. As a sequel goes --- they got this one pretty close to perfectly balanced.
I will say this --- just in case it doesn't come across elsewhere --- but there is something to watch for AFTER, and I do mean AFTER, all the credits. Stick around, it's a tease you'll not want to miss.
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Crouchng Plot line, Hidden Meaning
I have long hated this movie, and was tempted to give it a rating of " 1 " (I resisted and gave a 4... there is some redeemable quality to it...) for just the reason I listed as the subject title: Where's the plot?
This movie is about a sword, no, it's about love, no, it's about revenge, no, it's about a theft, no... it's about ... a hair-comb???? What gives? There is no solid direction here, just a lot of cut & paste scenes of great martial arts followed by acting with no direction. What's sad is that this really would have potential, if they chose one plot line and stuck to it.
I've watched many thousands of movies, own over 2500+ DVD's... and in all of this, CT,HD strikes me as one of the weirdest and most confused visions ever set to film. It's not a complete waste of time... at least the martial arts scenes stand out as eye-candy if nothing more.
Did anyone else out there see it this way?
Serenity (2005)
An incredible ride tying up all loose ends
I'm not a fan of Joss's other shows, so my attraction to Firefly was based purely upon curiosity. Once I hooked into it (Via the DVD set) I managed to turn many of my friends onto the wry humor, daring adventure & compelling story lines of the show.
The movie does a fine job of collecting all the loose threads that remained unanswered, & tying them into a nice neat bow. Like the show, the movie doesn't pull punches. 2 characters I've grown to love die. That is reality, it is life. People die, sometimes valiantly, sometimes sadly. Joss's creative genius gives us something to cherish... people we can relate to. Whereas the Star Trek universe is full of shiny trinkets & sanitized landscapes... Serenity gives us the nuts & bolts of living... & makes no apologies for it in the end.
I fell in love with the series, it remains dear to my heart. Serenity, as a movie, only served to make me love it all over again. Thanks, Joss, for an incredible ride through your universe, & the people I've grown to love because of it. I only wish the trip were longer....