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Frankysan
Reviews
Doom (2005)
Mind-numbingly awful
Oh my god, this movie just fails to deliver on so many levels it's not even funny. You know how some movies can be fun to watch just because everything is done so badly? Well, this isn't one. It's not scary enough to be horror, not suspenseful enough to be a thriller, not exiting enough to be an action flick. Couple it with some incredibly tacky special effects and a paper thin plot that is surpassed even by its game counterpart and you've got one of the worst movies ever in its genre. Resident Evil, with a very similar plot and approach, did a much much better job, so go see that if you're after a good video game based action movie.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
I think the filmmakers got their priorities wrong with this one
For me, having read the books, the first part of the first film felt like it was in fast-forward, but this feeling subsided when Harry arrived at Hogwarts for the first time. I got the same feeling with this film, only this time, the feeling did not subside. Lots of great material from the book is missing, and has in some places been replaced by, in my opinion, pointless action scenes. I particularily missed the deathday party, for instance. Let's hope for an extended special edition DVD of this movie because, unlike The Fellowship of the Ring, this movie really needs one.
Yonimo kimyô na monogatari - Eiga no tokubetsu hen (2000)
Varied and interesting
Short summary: A group of people get stuck in a railway station because of a sudden rainstorm. One young man tries to make time pass by telling a ghost story to the others. When he can't remember the ending, an older man cuts in with a different story that's connected to the first. The rest of the movie intercuts this first setting in the station with the stories this man tells, all very very different. The first is a regular ghost story about a group of people getting stuck in a small cabin in the middle of a blizzard due to a plane crash. The second is a rather humorous piece about a samurai who finds a cellular phone. The third is a thriller about Chess (I know how it sounds, but it's really very good) and the last one is a sort of hi-tech love story.
I really really enjoyed this movie. All the stories are very different, yet they all seem to have the same type of mood in a way. The first story, the ghost story, was really effective in creating a very scary environment. I usually don't get very affected by this sort of thing, but this part felt very disturbing, a mark of very good horror craftsmanship. The third story, the Chess one, is my favourite. The one movie I can really compare this to is The Game, it has the same feeling of not knowing what is real and what's not. The 'Samurai Cellular' and 'Marriage Simulator' are pretty good, but not of the same quality as the other two stories.
Overall, this movie was a very pleasant surprise for me. I really hope that it'll be released on DVD with english subs soon.
Urusei Yatsura 1: Onri yû (1983)
The best of the UY movies
When everyone in Tomobiki receives invitations for Ataru's wedding, and Lum's not the bride, it doesn't take much to get everyone into an uproar. Things don't get better when it turns out that Ataru's bride-to-be is another alien princess.
This is truly a fantastic movie. Fast-paced comedy, coupled with a romantic story and wacky characters make this movie into a must-see for any anime fan. But to get the most out of this movie, it surely helps to already be a fan of the series.