Blog Archives

Wolf’s Rain (2003)

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Posted on September 3, 2006 by Deni

A relatively young production company made up of a bunch of inarguably experienced — and talented — people from another little studio called Sunrise, Bones Inc has in the last 6 years since its inception, become a name synonymous with quality. Of course, it wasn’t until the cinematic release of an OAV subtitled Knocking on Heaven’s Door that people really started to sit up and take notice, but once Bones was on the map, it was on the map to … (read more)

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Space Firebird 2772 (1980)

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Posted on August 20, 2006 by Mat

A little while ago I was fortunate enough to catch the film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem at the Mercury Cinema in Adelaide. Why I was fortunate was that the film opened my eyes to different ways in which to convey a story. You see, what made Interstella 5555 a unique anime experience was that it contained no lines of dialogue whatsoever. Instead, the film consisted of the animated story with an audio track contributed by … (read more)

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Heart, Beating in the Dark (2005)

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Posted on August 13, 2006 by Deni

Heart, Beating in the Dark is not the sort of film you expect. Labelled a remake, a sequel and a continuation, the first thing you’d expect it to be is confused, but it is far from that. Director Shunichi Nagasaki weaves these seemingly disparate purposes into a deft and rich fabric with little to no apparent effort. In his original film, an independent production shot in 1982 on Super8, Ringo and Inako are hiding out in an apartment, trying to … (read more)

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Red Shadow (2001)

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Posted on July 30, 2006 by Deni

Ninjas. Ninjas are cool; ninjas are deadly. They are masters of the hidden arts and dress in tight, black leather. They work in the shadows. They conk their heads on low hanging beams…

It’s somehow impossible to imagine that director Hiroyuki Nakano didn’t have his tongue planted at least a little in cheek during his Toei Studio 2001 film Red Shadow. In fact, it’s almost as if he couldn’t resist having just a little fun, and that light-heartedness might … (read more)

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Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003)

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Posted on July 23, 2006 by Mat

Having watched Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, I really don’t believe that I can possibly watch another Godzilla film, and it’s not because it’s a bad film. Quite the opposite, in fact. I just can’t stand the thought of disappointment from any of the other Godzilla titles that I am yet to watch.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes Tokyo SOS such a fantastic Godzilla film. However, I must point out that when I say ‘fantastic’, I am making a … (read more)

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Godzilla vs Megalon (1973)

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Posted on July 2, 2006 by Mat

With around 28 films, the Godzilla franchise has definitely seen its share of highs and lows. It seems that for every brilliant and truly inspired Godzilla film, worthy of critical acclaim, there’s a Godzilla film that is so bad, so poorly concocted that it’s the spawn of Lucifer himself. True, I may exaggerate a little, but it does seem that there is a great discrepancy between Godzilla films. Thus, it should be of no surprise to hear that Godzilla vs … (read more)

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Apart From You (1933)

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Posted on June 18, 2006 by Christian

Mikio Naruse has often been attributed to the defining directorial triumvirate of early Japanese cinema; consisting of himself, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi. Despite this illustrious comparison, the works of Naruse have remained relatively inaccessible and unknown to audiences both inside and outside of Japan.

Apart From You is Naruse’s 20th film, made during his most successful era of silent film. The story’s modest scope is serviced by a small principal cast consisting mainly of three characters. Kikue (Mitsuko Yoshikawa) … (read more)

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Hold Up Down (2006)

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Posted on June 11, 2006 by Alison

One of the most popular boy bands in Japan working with Sabu, one of the hottest directors: what could go wrong?

Thankfully, not much, as we see. Sabu’s talent makes a meal of what could have been a simple bank-heist-gone-wrong story, and the six members of V6 apply themselves with much energy and verve to characters that don’t tax their skills unduly. There’s car chases, almost compulsory in a Sabu film. There’s sudden unexpected lurve, that pops up at the … (read more)

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