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cheezman20
Reviews
Avalon (2001)
beautiful
i would give anything to see this on the big screen. odd, but great choice for oshii to film this in poland in polish. the visuals are great with what seems to be a lot of jeunet and caro influence as well as a real-life anime/manga style. while watching i began wondering what a sci-fi movie from j & c would be like (with an original story... not Jeunet's Alien 4). having been a game tester there were times where i was so tired that i thought i was in the game and as games are growing more and more realistic and interactive i think this is going to become more common. of course when the real world begins to fall apart more people will be playing these games and the way the movie discusses reality/gameworld/heaven is (i think) pretty accurate about how life will be. secret societies, religion, violence, reality are discussed well here and accompanied by the best original soundtrack i have heard in a long time. highly recommended.
Candleshoe (1977)
teddy and piggywig
I loved this movie as a kid and watched it so much that i had all the lines memorized and wore out the betamax tape. I love David Niven in this movie and it was actually the reason I wanted to see the David Lean movies... my favorite scene is where Lady St. Edmund and Priory share a last dance. Some of the puzzles have remained in my head (For the sunrise student there is treasure among books) and have formed a long-lasting obsession with pirate treasures and real-life hidden treasure stories (oak island and rennes-le-chateau). Too bad movies of this type are no longer being made.
Equilibrium (2002)
Like a bolt of lightning...
I don't understand how this movie passed by me. Did the Weinsteins even put money into the advertising? After being fairly letdown by Matrix Reloaded's "Episode 1" detachment from the main characters and the fighting it was great to see something that actually had good choreography and characters. It is corny on some parts, and the music is a bit annoying (just like the Matrix), but the cinematography is beautiful and you definitely feel that the director has more tricks up his sleeve. The symbolism and references to utopia story authors were a lot of fun. I can't believe this was made for $20 mill... every dollar is on screen and actually worth it (unlike the Matrix). I guess it was best this didn't get the hype it deserved. Now it'll be one of those "cult-classics".
9/10
Hei tai yang 731 (1988)
Enjoyed the movie
I found this movie fascinating in the way it took the standard war movie format (there's a character with glasses named, Specs) and merged it with a documentary Schindler's List-type realistic movie. There's a little about how the young boys were trained to hate "marutas". There's scenes of violence which I felt were pretty shocking (and i was born and raised on horror/splatter/violent documentary movies). Then there was the genuinely creepy laugh of the general(?) which managed to send chills up my spine. I'm a big fan of history movies and was riveted to this movie. However, it's definitely not for everyone.