HEROIC CINEMA @ MERCURY CINEMA   Week One: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust & Boogiepop Phantom (4 Oct 2002)
The first week of the Heroic Cinema season at the Mercury Cinema was such a cracking success that not only did the session sell out completely, but they ran another session immediately afterwards. I must first offer copious thanks to the Merc magician, Mark Pogorelec, who orchestrated the evening. He lined up a performance of tae kwan do from a bunch of guys from Lee's Academy, and said performance was tres funky. He also had some giveaways, which immediately transformed the semi-sedate audience into a frenzied froth of grasping hands. My next bundle of thanks go to all the anime devotees who turned out for this fine evening. Let's hope they turn up again (and again and again and again). Mike Walsh gave them a talk they didn't expect: the Heroic Cinema manifesto, comprised of equal parts politics and sass.	Boogiepop Phantom
And onto the movies...First up was an episode of Boogiepop Phantom. Hmmmm. A trifle weird, but intriguing. As soon as this insane season is over I'm off to rent or buy the rest of these, 'cos I do want to know what happens next. But the main feature was a standout, and I'm extremely impressed at Mark P's foresight in running this one first. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust was outstanding. I can't say it enough. I was blown away by the whole thing. The story twists and turns like my cats with a toy rat (although it didn't go under the wardrobe or down the back of the couch). The visual field was rich and detailed, and the voices were superior to any voice acting I've heard in quite a while. Plus, and this is a large plus, it avoided nearly all of the available cliches throughout. Stunning film. I may just buy a copy on DVD to treasure. Alison Jobling reporting	Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Week Two: Tai Chi Master plus Love Hina Back to the Heroic at Merc main page

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