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okami36
Reviews
Prairie Fever (2008)
Not what I'd expected...
From the descriptions I'd seen, I picked this up, expecting a cat and mouse game based around transporting a trio of insane women from a small town to the railhead. A horror version of 3:10 to Yuma. Instead, I got a film that seems to have been written by a committee of executives from WE, Lifetime, and the Hallmark Channel.
Neither the writing nor the acting were top notch. Though, between the two, the acting was better. The plot was fairly cookie cutter, and only the mules couldn't have seen everything coming after the first fifteen minutes.
The budget seemed on-par with an episode of Brisco County Jr, and I think they may have shared some sets. Most of the cast was unknown to me, but it was fun spotting familiar faces like Silas Weir Mitchell.
Still, I can't say it was terrible.
Bloodline (2008)
Da Vinci Code meets Blair Witch Project
There's not much to this movie. The director/narrator/prime interviewer rambles around southwestern France with an Englishman, looking for evidence of the Priory of Sion and the bodies of Jesus, and/or Mary Magdalene, and they do some amateur "archeology" that does nothing but disrupt and disturb the "sites" they find.
With interviews featuring such people as a guy who looks like they found him at a bus stop (my hair looks like a bird's nest, your argument is invalid), another who looks like a failed stage magician (complete with bad "dramatic" lighting, barely contained smirking/laughter, and several liar's tells), and locations that look like miniature sets made of clay, Kleenex, and painted styrofoam, its hard to take this film seriously. Its good for a few laughs, but little else. A trip to the film's website for the "latest news" gets you very little but the cast's activities for the last 3 years, and a pitch to spend a couple thousand dollars for a tour of the region.
Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman (1999)
Worst game I have ever played...
Holy crap, this game is freaking ridiculous. The opening song is painful to listen to, the game play is terrible, and the graphics aren't anything to write home about, either.
The concept is a bit strange, but as a fan of westerns and samurai epics, I was willing to give it a shot. I wish someone had shot me in the head. You run around (3rd person) with a katana in one hand, and some over-sized hand-cannon in the other. Try as you might, blasting away without any ability to aim, you will never run out of ammo. Granted, there are a lot of games where that happens, but it still drove me nuts for some reason.
I bought it used for $4.99, and I was ripped off. Most expensive coaster I've ever purchased.
Kodomo no omocha (1996)
Not as badly mangled as some anime has been, but still edited...
Having read the manga and having fan-subs for the first 40-odd episodes, I was rather disappointed by this version. The VAs did well enough, but the translators screwed with it too much...
The opening should be the 1st season "Jyuukyuu no News" (7 o'clock News) opening, and the guy she runs into in the hall is a member of the band Tokio (not Tokyo), who did the song.
Listening to the Japanese track, they CUT the entire conversation with the band member. Maybe its just a flaw on my disc, maybe they figured someone who speaks Japanese would notice their change. They also cut her voice-over of the preview for the next episode.
Rei is her PIMP! That's why everyone is so shocked when Sana introduces him. She doesn't say boyfriend or agent or manager. She calls him her pimp.
Likewise, he takes her picture for a scrapbook or something. I'm not really remember why, but I do know it had nothing to do with a website.
Gone are all the cool little cultural references that Sana screws up. At the beginning of each of my fansub tapes, these get explained.
And this is just from the first episode...
While I intend to get the rest of the DVDs to support the VAs, Obana-san (the manga's author), and the import of anime in general, but they really need to learn how to stop editing the product.
IF YOU WORK IN THE ANIME IMPORTING INDUSTRY, PLEASE STOP EDITING OR "UPDATING" OUR MUCH-LOVED SHOWS!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Decent adaptation, but it needed to be longer...
I just got back from seeing this film. So far, its the low point in the series. I blame this more on the fact that they tried to cram a 700+ page book into a few hours. While it's been a couple of years since I read the book, I was able to keep up with things. However, I can easily see how my fiancée, who hasn't read it yet, thought the film jumped around and felt disjointed.
Other than the directing/writing problems, this movie was well done. The regular cast members continued to do a good job. I had a hard time buying some of the conflicts, but again, that's the fault of the script writer and director for cutting a lot of the little, more telling scenes. The new people did a good job. Likewise, the casting crew did an excellent job of finding people that fit the parts.
The effects were great. That was the best dragon I've seen since DragonHeart.
Overall, I'm glad I saw it, but I'm also glad I caught the last matinée for the reduced price.