Cowboy Bebop (2000)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Deni

Borrowing heavily from gangster and Noir film for characterization, from the detective films of the 50’s and 60’s for some of its plot elements and from westerns, sci-fi and jazz and blues for its style, not to mention a bit of Hong Kong heroic bloodshed and kung-fu thrown in for good measure, and Cowboy Bebop is quite obviously anything but your conventional space ace anime! In the tradition of the best works in Science Fiction, technology is an expansive yet … (read more)

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Cowboy Bebop Best Sessions (2003)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Ching Yee

Corgis are much maligned. Nobody thinks of them as being particularly groovy. Eddie from Frasier is cute, Lassie was smart and you don’t want to mess with Inspector Rex. But mention corgis and one thinks of the fat rolling bundles nipping at the Queen’s feet or soft targets for bored pitbulls.

Not so Ein, the super smart Welsh corgi from Cowboy Bebop! The life of the party, loyal friend of Ed and a saviour in many critical moments … (read more)

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Dark Water (2002)

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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)

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Dead Leaves (2004)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Andy

Dead Leaves is subtle like a brick through a plate glass window. It is fifty minutes of ultra-violence, prison sex and bodily functions. The humour is pitched at the level of a fifth grade repeater. And it’s the most refreshingly original anime I’ve seen for a long time.

Pandy with her circled eye and lightning bolt cow lick and the monitor-headed Retro are an anime Bonny & Clyde. The pair are oddly endearing with their, ‘magazine clip is half full’ … (read more)

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DOA & DOA2 (1999)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Ching Yee

After the quiet reflective tone of Sandy Lives, I was jolted into hyper reality by this Miike Takashi double trouble celluloid gross fest.

My only other dalliance with Miike is The Happiness of the Katakuris so in my well-informed and knowledgeable opinion, after viewing a mere three films by Miike-san, I have come to the conclusion that his films always open with a bang.

The first 10 min always kicks arse — in Happiness of the Katakuris, it … (read more)

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Double Vision (2002)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Eugene

I really didn’t know what I was getting into before walking in on this one. I knew it involved a serial killer and had Tony Leung Ka Fai and David Morse in it. So pretty much I skipped along to my screening of Double Vision with expectations of Silence of the Lambs or Seven. After the second or third macabre ritualistic murder, it was really hard to not draw parallels with Seven. However, while that may very well … (read more)

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Fallen Angels (1995)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Alison

Now we’ll have no nonsense about post-modern this or metaphors for urban that: for me, Fallen Angels is nothing more nor less than lush visual art set to a soundtrack that will send your cool meter spinning.

The saturated colour makes even an MTR station look exciting (I think it’s Mongkok, but I can’t be sure). Chris Doyle’s inimitable camerawork, combined with some of the most beautiful faces in the biz, should make everyone with a pulse want to down … (read more)

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Final Fantasy Unlimited (2002)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Andy

Final Fantasy Unlimited is based on the Squaresoft’s epic roleplaying series currently now on Playstation 2. The series is up to its twelfth iteration which makes something of a mockery of the finality of its titling. I’ve done my fair share of playing games in the series with Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X under my expanding belt. As each of these games take well over forty hours to complete, doing the maths either makes me crazy or something … (read more)

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