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Elsewhere on the Web
Air Doll (Kuki Ningyo) (2009)
We all know the story of Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who longed to be a real boy. When he finally got his wish, things didn’t go quite to plan and at one point he burns his feet off. There’s also that whole lying/long nose thing … The gist of the story is that Pinocchio is an inanimate object that is defined by his maker until he finds the gumption to go out and define himself.
Well, flash forward to 2000 … (read more)
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Team Heroic’s Top 5 for 2009!
Mark
John
Deni
Eugene
Tom
Samson
James
Ching Yee
Andy
Mother
Bong Joon-Ho jumps genres once more with this engrossing film about a mother’s conviction that her son is innocent; offbeat and engaging, the best film I saw in 2009.
Another beautiful masterwork by the ol’ anime master himself, this treasure swims along with a loopy logic all of its own.
Donnie Yen turns his ego down to “watchable” and delivers a powerhouse period … (read more)
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Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)
I knew very little about Bodyguards and Assassins going into the theatre. I had heard a basic plot outline that could be described as ‘16 Blocks with a team of kung-fu fighters instead of Bruce Willis’. Having now seen the film I think that sentence does a disservice to the film.
B&A is set in 1906, British ruled, Hong Kong. Revolution is in the air with student protests and rebel groups finding their footing. With police and other forces … (read more)
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3 Idiots (2009)
There are three guys in this film trying to make their own independent, free-thinking mark in life. Apparently that’s what makes them idiots according to their elders. Only an idiot would give up a high paying engineering career to become a photographer. Only an idiot could possibly fail to overcome the fear of failure that stops him from achieving high grades when his impoverished family’s future is at stake. Only an idiot would want to take a conceptual approach to … (read more)
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The Treasure Hunter (2009)
So let’s get some levels of expectation for Treasure Hunter out of the way first of all. Whilst I thought Jay Chou was fine in both Initial D and Curse of the Golden Flower, his performance in both instances was such a blank slate, it was just a masterstroke casting decision to give him characters that were similarly bland. So certainly not a fanboy of the man. Have probably heard a song or two of his but certainly don’t … (read more)
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The Chaser (2008)
Na Hong-jin’s incredibly assured feature debut is the best Korean crime movie since Memories of Murder. Upon release, The Chaser helped bring Korea’s domestic box office out of a half-year slump and for the first time since the arrival of Choi Dong-hoon (The Big Swindle) and Jang Jun-hwan (Save the Green Planet) announced a new genre auteur worth following.
From the first few opening moments it’s clear we’re in good hands. Aided by some wonderfully … (read more)
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Disgaea (2006)
Ever have one of those experiences where you’ve read a book or watched a film and you can see all the parts that should make it good and enjoyable but for some reason you can’t put your finger on why it just doesn’t work for you? That is my current predicament with Disgaea (pronounced: Dis-Guy-Ah).
Based on, what sounds like, a really epic Tactical RPG, Disgaea follows a trio of characters, Flonne a angel in training who was sent to … (read more)
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Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991)
Over its 30 year history, Gundam has become so popular that I would not think much of an introduction is necessary. The giant robot is featured in anime series and movies, mangas and video games, and models of Gundams are owned and treasured by many. If you happen to be a fan of mecha animes, you would have seen quite a few, if not most or all, of the Gundam animes. Even if you are not, chances are that you … (read more)
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