Reviews

I saw this "movie" twice... the first time was a two-hour English dubbed version that packed the first three or four episodes into one full-on demonic assault. Never has Tokyo been destroyed so well... I was thoroughly confused but seriously into it. The immense amount of violence, and strong sexual content (and that's putting it lightly), are, at times, unnecessary, but not too offensive. The plot is pretty deep and involved (especially for an anime of this nature), and at times it gets downright cool! The dubbed version ends with a rather huge cliffhanger, and I was left hanging and jonesing for another installment in the worst way...

So I promptly went out in search of the rest of the saga... and that's how I came across the entire series in Japanese with English subtitles... and that's where everything went to hell. I watched the first four episodes (essentially the unedited version of the dubbed copy) and became wary. Every part that had been cut out involved violent sexual scenarios of the more disturbing ilk... nothing all that ground breaking, mind you, just pretty dammed disturbing. Nevertheless I watched the first four episodes and wasn't all that unhappy... the plot was a little more comprehensive, and, as everyone knows, the anime was much better in the original Japanese... the parts that had been cut for the English were more or less unnecessary, but, as I said, not too nauseating. Then I watched the rest of the series...

I probably missed something vital in the sensory onslaught but as far as I could tell, they had thrown the plot pretty much completely in the trash and moved on to hard-core anime porn. By the sixth or seventh episode I wasn't even watching the movie... I was too busy calculating the average number of male genitals used in the rape of every single girl that happened to walk on screen (I think the number was around eight). And to make matters worse there was still no real conclusion at the end of the horrific thing... the cliffhanger was even exactly the same!

Legend of The Overfiend is the only anime I have ever seen that is better, nay required, when seen in the dubbed version... don't bother with the Japanese, you're not missing anything.

The biggest gripe I had about this movie... besides that it really kind of sucked... was that it claimed (on the poster, in the ads, etc.) to be from the creators of Trainspotting. Now, forgive me if I nit-pick, but Irvine Welsh 'created' Trainspotting, and he had NOTHING to do with this picture; neither, really did Danny Boyle or Andrew Macdonald. Which means I went to this flick expecting some sort of spin off of Trainspotting (not a re-make or a sequel or anything, but a movie with the flavor of Trainspotting)... which it wasn't. This isn't false advertising I'm claiming... but stupid advertising! The by-line puts you into a specific mind-set (call me brainwashed, if you must) and then the movie delivers something totally different, unexpected, and stupid. What gives!? Why do that!?

The movie is far too shallow. It isn't even deep enough to provide plot holes... it's just there, like a puddle; sure, maybe you want to jump around in it for a second, but I don't want to spend two hours standing in a puddle... at least not this one. There are moments of mild entertainment, but without anything cohesive, they're just not worth it. I didn't care at all about anyone anywhere remotely near this thing, and left just wondering who in the hell these little smart-asses thought they were.

I was only ever given the chance to see Bananaman if an episode of Danger Mouse happen to run a few minute short... Nevertheless it is one of my favorite childhood TV experiences. The absurdities present throughout every situation and character and cell are simply a delight. It never tries to take itself seriously, but doesn't resort to the inane in its attempt to entertain. Bananaman is a quite little show that, as far as I know, doesn't have a single dissenting viewer... we all loved Bananaman... all of us.

Pi is one of those movies that thoroughly freaked me out. I spent the next several hours wandering around in a complete daze. Every aspect of the production lends itself to this. The grainy, B+W, unsteady camera work, the sound effects (esp. the pill popping), the crispness of the narrator and Max's character in general, even more so when compared to the characters around him (which are, for the most part, utterly normal). As a mathematician this movie was utterly intriguing, bringing up facinating points about the interrelations of Math, Nature, and everything in general. But the movie's 'voice' and feel are the true gold mines here.

This is the most depressing movie I have ever seen. What is astonishing is that there is very little sadness to accompany this feeling. The characters never ask you to feel sorry for them... they never fear what they are. The vision is stark, blanched, and utterly truthful. Stellar performance from Buscemi, probably the best of his life.

This is one of the most baffling movies... I paid the full $7.50 to see it knowing it wasn't going to be the best... but Hey! John Malkovich... you know... how bad can it be? ... ... I was utterly stunned by the degree of ineptness Julia Roberts displayed in what was obviously supposed to be her vehicle. Malkovich is thoroughly uninspired and under-used, but you can't blame everything on the director... he probably could have tried harder... or at all. I spent a good two or so days trying to forget this movie ever existed but it remains to this day... and I still want my 7.50 back