Bang Movie Reviews

The fourth and concluding volume of the series offers four episodes. In the first, Sir Integra Hellsing--leader of the Hellsing Organization dedicated to defending "God, Queen, and Country" from the ravages of vampires--must battle for her life after slitting her throat to avoid becoming undead after a vampire attack. In the episode, much of the history between Alucard and Integra is revealed, though never exactly why the vampire serves a human against his own kind.

Ensuing episodes culminate in a battle between Alucard and the evil Incognito. The ending doesn't exactly convey a true sense of completeness, suggesting a sequel in the works, as neither do we find out who was responsible for the artificial freak vampires or what becomes of Integra.

If you haven't already figured out who Alucard really is--from his own statement of the anagram nature of his name (look at it in a mirror!) to his method of dispatching Incognitio, neither the series nor I shall come right out and tell you--but you'll figure it out.

The animation itself is done really well in terms of visual quality, with a blend of CG and hand-drawn cel work; however, it is somewhat more static in nature than much contemporary anime, comparable to that done for the Record of Lodoss War series.

The audio, though presented only in stereo sound, features a soundtrack you'll want to hunt down like a freak after fresh blood. Surprisingly, the english dubbing is quite good, featuring British-accented voice actors far superior to the average anime dub.

Hellsing is an excellent addition to any anime fan's library and a must-watch for vampire lovers everywhere.

Hunting the undead is a nasty business, but someone has to protect Her Majesty and Britain. In the Hellsing organization its more than just an objective, it flows in the bloodline that's been culminating in those veins throughout the centuries. To achieve these ends, some oddly fashioned means must be adopted, though, including the use of state-of-the-art technology, forces that are highly trained in the matters of disposal, and a certain secret weapon called Arucard. Yes, it is their duty to dispose of the threats to queen and country, and even the use of something as powerful as he, a vampire that seems almost unstoppably magnificent in his abilities, is suitable as a weapon to forward those causes. May God and her majesty be with you.

In these last 4 episodes bringing the series to a head, many things take places that work in the realms of explanations, dealing with the loose ends that seem to trouble even Arucard as he struggles to find suitable prey as it does so. This leads to oceans of blood and a rich atmosphere of violence that climaxes in the best of fashions, rewarding those who have been proud enough to stand throughout the continuing struggle. None of these rank in the realms of the disposable, either, building upon brick after carefully laid brick and making it all the more worthwhile.
The orders included are:

Order 10, Master of the Monster, where the mysterious connection between our beloved vampire and his master are finally revealed, plus some finality is given to some of the deeds taking place in Order 9. Herein is the explanation I know I was waiting for, helping to bring to light not only the mysterious Arucard but also Sir Integra and her ascension to the top of the Hellsing ladder.

Order 11, Transcend Force, spotlights a plan that is thrown into action of the darkest sorts as an army of ghouls is created from some specially trained forces and used to threaten her majesty herself. Still, Hellsing is ready to play ball - or are they? This order touches on some undead ranks of past episodes, playing games with the parties of a powerful nature.

Order 12, Total Destruction, sets things into motion that with a battle that pits Freaks against the legions of Hellsing, Arucard against the nemesis he's been desiring, and Sir Integra against the military? Within it is one of the sadder moments in the series as a something a valuable member of Hellsing is lost, too, not to mention some of the more interestingly intense struggles within the realms of brutal struggle.

Order 13, Hellfire, finally brings many of the mysteries within the series to a climax, pitting, amongst other things, Sett against a fully unrestricted Arucard in a battle that amounts to the sheer pleasure. It also holds many of the keys to Hellsing and Sir Integra's unsure future as well, rewarding the viewer with a few feats of lovely carnage and out-and-out undead warfare.

If you are a newer recruit to the ranks of Hellsing, do not skip ahead! Follow the exploits of the organization from the onset to the climax, and you will be rewarded in your struggles. If you have followed these instructions, then this comes as something of the highest recommendation order.

The fourth and concluding volume of the series offers four episodes. In the first, Sir Integra Hellsing--leader of the Hellsing Organization dedicated to defending "God, Queen, and Country" from the ravages of vampires--must battle for her life after slitting her throat to avoid becoming undead after a vampire attack. In the episode, much of the history between Alucard and Integra is revealed, though never exactly why the vampire serves a human against his own kind.

Ensuing episodes culminate in a battle between Alucard and the evil Incognito. The ending doesn't exactly convey a true sense of completeness, suggesting a sequel in the works, as neither do we find out who was responsible for the artificial freak vampires or what becomes of Integra.

If you haven't already figured out who Alucard really is--from his own statement of the anagram nature of his name (look at it in a mirror!) to his method of dispatching Incognitio, neither the series nor I shall come right out and tell you--but you'll figure it out.

The animation itself is done really well in terms of visual quality, with a blend of CG and hand-drawn cel work; however, it is somewhat more static in nature than much contemporary anime, comparable to that done for the Record of Lodoss War series.

The audio, though presented only in stereo sound, features a soundtrack you'll want to hunt down like a freak after fresh blood. Surprisingly, the english dubbing is quite good, featuring British-accented voice actors far superior to the average anime dub.

Hellsing is an excellent addition to any anime fan's library and a must-watch for vampire lovers everywhere.

Hunting the undead is a nasty business, but someone has to protect Her Majesty and Britain. In the Hellsing organization its more than just an objective, it flows in the bloodline that's been culminating in those veins throughout the centuries. To achieve these ends, some oddly fashioned means must be adopted, though, including the use of state-of-the-art technology, forces that are highly trained in the matters of disposal, and a certain secret weapon called Arucard. Yes, it is their duty to dispose of the threats to queen and country, and even the use of something as powerful as he, a vampire that seems almost unstoppably magnificent in his abilities, is suitable as a weapon to forward those causes. May God and her majesty be with you.

In these last 4 episodes bringing the series to a head, many things take places that work in the realms of explanations, dealing with the loose ends that seem to trouble even Arucard as he struggles to find suitable prey as it does so. This leads to oceans of blood and a rich atmosphere of violence that climaxes in the best of fashions, rewarding those who have been proud enough to stand throughout the continuing struggle. None of these rank in the realms of the disposable, either, building upon brick after carefully laid brick and making it all the more worthwhile.
The orders included are:

Order 10, Master of the Monster, where the mysterious connection between our beloved vampire and his master are finally revealed, plus some finality is given to some of the deeds taking place in Order 9. Herein is the explanation I know I was waiting for, helping to bring to light not only the mysterious Arucard but also Sir Integra and her ascension to the top of the Hellsing ladder.

Order 11, Transcend Force, spotlights a plan that is thrown into action of the darkest sorts as an army of ghouls is created from some specially trained forces and used to threaten her majesty herself. Still, Hellsing is ready to play ball - or are they? This order touches on some undead ranks of past episodes, playing games with the parties of a powerful nature.

Order 12, Total Destruction, sets things into motion that with a battle that pits Freaks against the legions of Hellsing, Arucard against the nemesis he's been desiring, and Sir Integra against the military? Within it is one of the sadder moments in the series as a something a valuable member of Hellsing is lost, too, not to mention some of the more interestingly intense struggles within the realms of brutal struggle.

Order 13, Hellfire, finally brings many of the mysteries within the series to a climax, pitting, amongst other things, Sett against a fully unrestricted Arucard in a battle that amounts to the sheer pleasure. It also holds many of the keys to Hellsing and Sir Integra's unsure future as well, rewarding the viewer with a few feats of lovely carnage and out-and-out undead warfare.

If you are a newer recruit to the ranks of Hellsing, do not skip ahead! Follow the exploits of the organization from the onset to the climax, and you will be rewarded in your struggles. If you have followed these instructions, then this comes as something of the highest recommendation order.

Well OK, I can put up with things like the military uniforms of British military servicemen looking like 1950's football players, but there are some other things I can't handle in the storyline. Like, for example, the ONE GUARD outside the entire Hellsing compound. Right. And then there's the giant ROCKET LAUNCHER the one bad vampire pulls straight from his ass to blow a hole in the Hellsing headquarters.

The series got worse later for me. The dragged out background episode for Integra, the plot holes like why the SAS just stay in a castle when they originally said they were just looking around, why Integra decides to hire gun-totin' rednecks as opposed to special forces, and finally...why the hell does a British soldier salute like an American? It doesn't take a Bachelor's Degree in Military History to understand that THEY DON'T!

Hellsing showed me that in the world of anime fandom, if thousands of otakus thing some thing is "f***ing awesome" then I am most likely going to hate it. I'm sorry if I don't get easily turned on by big guns, but I look for other things. Sorry.

The second DVD in the series picks up right where the first volume left off. The Hellsing Organization, a powerful private enterprise headquartered in Great Britain and dedicated to defending "God, Queen, and Country" from the ravages of vampires, has come under increasing fire, first from the media as a reckless investigative journalist delves into their existence and operations and then from a couple of crazy vampire brothers who attack Hellsing's very headquarters!

The vampire Alucard only grows more impressive as he combats the elder of the two Valentine brothers, employing powers that devour Luke's legs as he taunts the vampire and demands a good, challenging fight that the freak cannot provide. His companion and creation Seras Victoria must deal with the issues of being a new member of the creatures of the night, and Integra Hellsing must defend her organization at a meeting of the Knights of the Round Table, a secret society apparently involved in running Britain.

The animation itself is done really well in terms of visual quality, with a blend of CG and hand-drawn cel work; however, it is somewhat more static in nature than much contemporary anime, comparable to that done for the Record of Lodoss War series.

The audio, though presented only in stereo sound, features a soundtrack you'll want to hunt down like a freak after fresh blood. Surprisingly, the english dubbing is quite good, featuring British-accented voice actors far superior to the average anime dub.

Hellsing is an excellent addition to any anime fan's library and a must-watch for vampire lovers everywhere.

after purchasing BLOOD BROTHERS, I had to check out the remaining volumes, previously i knew nothing about HELLSING, but now i'm fortunate to collect most of the EPS/VOL HELLSING looks like a hybrid of popular genres/chracters like BLADE,DEVIL MAY CRY and even a bit of RESIDENT EVIL thrown in, (ZOMBIFIED FLESH EATING SOLDIERS "AAAAHH")

arucard (Dracula spelled sideways) is the main character and show stealer, but the supporting cast seras,integra and the faithful servant walter adds more "blood" to this series
not to mention the villains are just as cool.

i personally dont care for english dub, it's no where as good as japanese voiceovers who put their heart and soul into the shows as oppossed to "picking up a paycheck" lol.

the opening and closing intros with cute jingles like cool logo and shine (from 80's band mr. big) made great "bookends" for each epidsode and the bonuses like the HELLSING creators' interview were great and hey i even got a free HELLSING PATCH inside the DVD box. ;0P

THIS SERIES IS NOT FOR CHILDREN. Very disturbing imagery, but an amazing story. two thumbs up :)

THIS SERIES IS NOT FOR CHILDREN. Very disturbing imagery, but an amazing story. two thumbs up :)

Ingmar Bergman, meanwhile, employs the variously clumsy and preposterous technique of having his characters address the "audience" (i.e., the camera) directly in a few scenes. This isn't to say that this doesn't work well in other films, but within the sober and somewhat naturalistic tone of the film, the "soliloquys" come off as nothing so much as... well, goofy. The entire project of Autumn Sonata seems to allude to a director who has become more comfortable telling us rather than showing us. The exposition and the interminable arguments seem to preclude the audience from ever appreciating the characters as anything but an collection of neuroses and hang-ups.

Meanwhile, as if the verbal sparring and exposition were not sufficiently burdened with clunky symbolism, Bergman decides to give Liv Ullmann's character a sister with (seemingly?) some sort of degenerative muscle disease--whom, of course, the mother despises, as an all too obvious symbol of her maternal failures. (The film goes even further, with Ullmann accusing her mother of precipitating her sister's ailment with, of all things, her poor mothering. The delivery and context do nothing to mitigate the absurdity of this accusation.) The movie-of-the-week melodrama reaches a fever pitch when the sister crawls out of her room, barely able to lift her head off the floor, calling out for her mother. (Get out the hankies, right? Wrong. As previously mentioned, none of these characters rises above the status either of case study or of plot device, so you're more likely to feel manipulated than moved.) Then, in addition to all of this, Bergman also throws in a dead child (of Liv Ullmann's character).

Before you look for the Lifetime Movie Channel logo in the bottom right corner of your set, however, remember that this is a Bergman film, and as such it is not a total loss. The camerawork, as always, is meticulous; a few exchanges between the mother and daughter are effective (such as when they play dueling Chopin and when the mother first arrives); and--I don't know if this makes sense--even though the acting is not successful in rising above the material, it's somehow interesting to watch. Nowhere does the work of acting become more foregrounded than in a film that is underwritten, and Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann are certainly no slouches in that department...

The acting is magnificent and the slow, barely perceptible comprehension of the source of the anger between daughter and mother (Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman) is breathtaking in its intensity. The tension-filled. The scene where, in the brief interlude from the fight, the afflicted younger sister crawls onto the stairs and pierces the silence with incomprehensible speech is riveted into my brain. Great film and great acting.

I don't agree that Autumn Sonata is a mediocre film. I think Bergman did understand women well, and portrayed this mother/daughter relationship nicely. He was able to show in his dialectically opposite approach, the vulnerabilities of the narcisstic artist and the self depreciating/ martyr. They exposed themselves, faced off and retreated to their comfortable life positions by the end of the movie. The use of the unnamed ailment of the younger daughter represents the other side of mother who often cries as a baby of her back pain, but at least is left whole enough to express herself also in her music. The death of the son at age four I think represents the symbolic death of the innocence in all of the "chamber music" of characters in this film (mother, daughters and husband) which Bergman uses in many of his movies. The sparing use of scenery and number of protagonists adds to the reality of the despair here. Anyway, I could go on too long....enough said. I think this movie is worth a watch and a long ponder.

the film is an exploration of (1)madness and (2)the shadow, under hypnosis a police detective reverts back to a case 13yrs back involving the lotto murders in an unnamed post-apocalyptic european ciy, where he uses a technique drawn out in a book called the element of crime, involving the investigator coming to assume the mindset of the killer, a man by the name of harry gray, suspected of subversive activities. it gets thicker.

there is meaning behind the malice, truly.

As I said, the first thirty minutes really carried my interest a long way. There's Mira Sorvino as a scientist who creates a type of insect to combat cockroaches carrying a dangerous virus through New York City. As usual, God has a weird sense of humor and the bugs start to become dangerously manlike and violent. There are recent murders where people are mutilated, near where Giancarlo Giannini and his boy are (by the way, Giancarlo Giannini is with out a doubt one of the only reasons to watch this movie). Then one day Mira discovers that things may not be all that they seem, so she goes down to investigate. Later three guys go down on their own investigation.

Then the movie stops being good.

The insect, which is very manlike and sinister when seen only in shadows and silhouettes, is revealed as nothing more than a giant bug. Use your imagination...and you'll come up with a scarier looking monster. Oh yes, and it turns out there are hundreds of these things. Then the movie starts indiscriminantly killing off characters like there's no tomorrow, and then I lose all interest in the film. By that point it just becomes cliche giant bug movie.

This movie had so much potential and it just doesn't follow up on it. When it was one mysterious, humanoid insect it was cool, and the story was fascinating partly because the chemistry between the actors (especially the three guys who venture into the sewers) was good.

Then the movie's like, "Awe, screw it. Let's just end this thing. We got Mimic 2 and 3 to crap out..."

Named the "Judas Bug", this little devil is a special combination of Mantid and Cockroach. Its modus operandi? It's awfully good at mimicrcy: drop it off in a cockroach hive, and it will draw the Strickler-infected roaches and poison them. Problem solved, New York's children saved.

Or are they? Cut to three years later: New Yorkers are disappearing in droves, and mysterious, shrouded figures are lurking around the subways and back alleys. Oh, and they like to make funny noises as they stalk their victims, noises like "click-clock-click". Sorvino gets back into the action when one of the Night Terrors comes clicking around her lab when she discovers a new specimen of super-sized mantid in the New York subway system, and things don't let up from there.

Let's cut right to Mimic's stylish, sleazy, richly atmospheric buggy heart: Guillermo Del Toro ("Cronos", "The Devil's Backbone", "Blade II") is a consummately gifted director with a fine sense of style, and "Mimic" gets its hands dirty from the start, delivering on the spooky, buggy fun, serving up gorgeous camera angles and a knack for the perfectly creepy shot. For example, the sequence where a mildly autistic boy encounters the shrouded lurkers in a decrepit church, for instance, is one of the more genuinely horrific scenes ever committed to film. And best of all, "Mimic" has no bones about shredding cute little kids if it needs to---how often do you get that in a film these days?

The acting is all first rate, from a competent job by Sorvino to nice turns by Charles Dutton and the Giancarlo Giannini, and even a nice hot slice of gratuitous F. Murray Abraham, who classes things up a bit. But style and ghoulishly good atmosphere are the real stars of this spookshow, and Del Toro delivers the goods in creepy-crawly spades. All of the set pieces, particularly the climactic scene in the subway, are beautifully designed, and add to the film's sleazy, rotten, infested atmosphere.

For a nice paranoid jaunt into the crawling darkness, you can do far worse than "Mimic": just take along a super-sized can of Raid.