Blog Archives

Twilight of the Dark Master (1997)

(from , dir: )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Jonathan

malnourished/ adj. suffering from the absence of some essential elements necessary for health.
underdeveloped/ adj. not fully developed; immature.
generic/ adj. characteristic of or relating to a class; general, not specific or special.

I had originally intended that the above definitions alone would comprise this review, but while those words may each be employed in the description of most of Twilight of the Dark Master, their use is not really warranted when discussing … (read more)

Comments Off on Twilight of the Dark Master (1997)

s-Cry-ed (2001)

(from , dir: )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Andy

An inexplicable disaster, a rebellious teenager with super-human powers and a government agency showing totalitarian tendencies are the mainstays of Japanese manga and anime. As are acronyms which s-CRY-ed launches into early on to soften up the viewer. A government agency HOLD and its Alter User arm, HOLY, seek to capture and recruit Native Alter Users. So it’s not long before teen rebel Kazuma comes into conflict with HOLY.

It’s hard to get excited about s-CRY-ed. It trots out … (read more)

Comments Off on s-Cry-ed (2001)

Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

(from , dir: )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Andy

You know, reviewing all these Studio Ghibli films is beginning to take its toll. My thesaurus is shredded trying to find new superlatives and let’s face it, if I say, perfectly realised characters one more time the Reviewers Guild is going take away my keyboard, fez and ceremonial dagger.

In Kiki’s Delivery Service Myazaki explores a character’s need to define themself and establish their independence in the world. His heroine Kiki, bursting with verve and enthusiasm, moves to a large … (read more)

Comments Off on Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Dark Water (2002)

(from , dir: )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Mark Morrison

Hideo Nakata strikes again with this sodden chiller which had me nearly crawling over the back of the seat to get away from it. Less berserk than Ring and sharing some plot points, but eventually just as creepy and certainly more moving as a mother strives to keep her daughter safe from her ex-husband and that persistent leak in the ceiling.… (read more)

Comments Off on Dark Water (2002)

Akira (2001)

(from , dir: )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Deni

Akira. A lot gets said about it. Words like definitive, ground-breaking and brilliant get bandied around all over the place like bullets in a John Woo movie whenever it’s mentioned. And rightly so. It was a movie that left a huge, meteoric impact crater on the grown-up, film going, cross cultural psyche that some people, myself included, will never quite get over.

The interesting thing about it however, is that over a decade later it has lost none of … (read more)

Comments Off on Akira (2001)

Vampire Princess Miyu (2001)

(from , dir: )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Deni

You might be wondering what you’re watching when you slip Vampire Princess Miyu into the DVD player. To start with, there’s the whole vampire thing, as in Miyu is one. But hang on, Vampire Hunter D this isn’t, or even Blood: The Last Vampire. For a start, Miyu’s kind of cute. She doesn’t much look like someone who could tear your throat out, and speaking of which, where’s the action? Where’s the fight scenes, the bad guys, the blood?… (read more)

Comments Off on Vampire Princess Miyu (2001)

L/R – Licensed by Royalty (2003)

(from , dir: )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Deni

Dust off your teacups and up your grooming standards, boys and girls. L/R – Licensed by Royalty is a swanky adventure that won’t have you thinking too hard. Smooth operator Jack Hefner and the roguish rebel Rowe Rickenbacher are field agents for the elite special operations group Cloud 7, and together they’re pretty much equipped to handle anything. Favoured by Ishtar’s royal family as spies-du-jour, they tackle sensitive cases with wit, style and classic James Bond aplomb, making it all … (read more)

Comments Off on L/R – Licensed by Royalty (2003)

Hello Kitty’s Paradise (2003)

(from , )
Posted on January 25, 2006 by Alison

Hmmm. A tough assignment. “Review the first volume of Hello Kitty’s Paradise, a DVD containing eight short episodes of Hello Kittiness interspersed with educational quizzes.” Casting a hasty eye over the cover, I discovered that I might learn something about manners, sharing, and various other social niceties. I shuddered. Mark must really have it in for me. How was I going to survive this one? I knew I’d need help if I was to make it through alive, so … (read more)

Comments Off on Hello Kitty’s Paradise (2003)