Collecting Movie Reviews
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Nostalgic Videos for anyone who's really into Big Country
A Rewarding Ending To A Fantastic SeriesThe Moving Mountain Range (A-): Orphen takes in America as it's military. Yuu, Hime and Nakki are captured by Chinese villagers and they visit a Brain Powered graveyard.
The Governor's Ambitions (A): Kant tries to pilot a Brain and the American Grand Chers are destroyed by "Brain Ghosts".
A Problem of Hallucination (A): Hime finally talks to Orphen and the Americans commence a nuclear missile assault on Novis Noah.
All or Nothing (B+): Yuu brings his sister to Novis Noah where she actually settles in gardening with the children. However, her Grand Cher has other plans.
Sweet Memories (B+): Baron takes over Orphen while more Higgin's past is revealed.
Tricking Memories (B): Quincy Issa steals Hime's Brain in order to find her own Grand Cher. When she finds it, she discovers the history of the Isami familty.
Orphan's Hesitation (A): The Brains make a final assault on Orphen and Quincy lets Orphen swallow her.
Flight (A+): The rest of the Brains are transported back to Novis Noah while Hime and Yuu are left inside Orphen to fight Baron. Plus, Baron's identity is revealed.
The packaging, like the last volume, contains key terms that should help you understand the show better. The extras on this volume include a production gallery of the Brains and Grand Chers and the continuation of the interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino and Yoko Kanno from the last volume.
Overall, I was rather pleased with the ending to Brain Powered. It remained true and original right up to fanatastic ending that didn't slow the show down one bit. If you have never seen this series, by all three volumes right now. It is well worth it. Brain Powered is a fresh mecha series that should appeal to every anime fan. Highly recommended.
Get Wild with "City Hunter" Now, allow me just this little bit of time to open to flood gates of my ego, I promise you I won't be long. When it comes to anime, I tend to think of myself as more learned than the average otaku. I mean, I've been around this anime block several times over the course of several years and I've seen several titles come and go, sometimes for the best. Then there are the familiar faces, you know them all, the ones that have been here longer than most, they know the game better than any recent title. And you're glad that you know them. "City Hunter" falls into this category. In short; this is (say it with me class) classic anime.
Created in 1985 by famous manga-ka Tsukasa Hojo, the story focuses on Ryo Saeba, a "sweeper" (sort of an urban mercenary, or a...city hunter! Aha!) who takes on all sorts of dangerous jobs. A cool-as-ice fighter with marksmanship skills that could rival Vash the Stampede. With his .357 Colt Python, mini cooper, and a host of partners in the business, he's the man you call when you are out of options and desperately need the job done. It would help a lot more if you were a pretty woman though. You see, Ryo is what we like to call a "sex-fiend," very much in the same vein as Golden Boy or Lupin III. Although Ryo works hard to get his man, he works even harder to get his woman. Which is both his skill and his undoing.
The series was one of the better action animes to grace the screen when it first arrived circa 1987-88. The series enjoyed mass appeal by the Japanese public. Hailed by many critics as "The worthy succesor to Lupin III," the series went on to produce 100+ episodes, several movies, TV specials, and manga. The manga and the TV specials are available stateside and belong in any otakus collection. Right, now with that short history lesson over, let's move onto an actual review.
"City Hunter" is a fun series. However, like most series that go for 100 episodes, it doesn't follow one plot as it does several tiny stories. Most of these stories are great, some are good, and there's a small batch that is kinda boring. Luckily, since this DVD box features the first 26 episodes, repetition isn't given any time to settle in.
The animation is a bit dated, but it really doesn't detract from the action or the story-telling of the series. The art is enjoybable because it manages to remain true to Hojo San's original drawings and maintains his style of story-telling. It might irk some newbie otakus, but that's how you seperate the "men from the mice."
Speaking of action sequences, this anime has manged to combine all the best elements of some of the greatest action movies. From wild car chases to insane gun fights, every episode boasts its own thrill ride.
The music is filled with an 80's kind of cool. Sort of "Miami Vice" but much better. This is 80's j-pop and j-rock, which is pretty much anykind of 80's music you can think of but with Japanese voices and lyrics.
The characters are endearing and easily likable. Ryo and his cohorts in crime(?) all have this sense of sly coolness and unbridled siliness. A little bit of recognition has to go to Akira Kamiya, Ryo's voice actor. He has been hailed as one of the greatest male voice actors of any anime and his extensive list of characters include Piccolo in "DragonBall," Kenshiro in "Fist of the North Star," Shun in "Maison Ikkoku," and Roy Fokker in "Macross." Just so you know.
"City Hunter" is a delight for any anime fan, old and new. It resonates with a timeless quality that few anime titles are imbued with today. And since ADV will be releasing future episodes of this classic series in similar box sets, you can tell it is a very good investment.
In closing, spend a viewing with "City Hunter" and you will get way more bang for your buck.
-RW
DRACULA,FRANKENSTIEN,AND THE WOLFMAN ,OH MY!!!!!FRANKENSTIEN-A mad doctor makes a body made out of old and dead boby parts.Full of life from electricity,the monster goes on a murdeous rampage.A must see and have!
WOLFMAN-A man returns to his father's castle in Whales where is biiten by a werewolf.then Mr.Talbot becomes a creature of the night too!A must see and must have!
All 3 movies are great!
Scary Fun!!!THE ATOMIC BRAIN is set inside an evil mansion with a mad scientist, an old woman and three young women as servants. There's grave robbing and brain transplanting---lots of fun!!!
THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE has a crazed surgeon decapitating his fiance. He keeps her head in his lab trying to find a body for her. A real screamer!!!
CARNIVAL OF SOULS is a creepy film about a woman who survives a car accident and becomes a church organist. She becomes haunted by visions of the dancing dead. Keep your friends close when watching this one!!!
NIGHT TIDE stars Dennis Hopper as a man on leave in California. He loves an orphan girl who works as a mermaid. Look out for creatures that kill when the moon is full. Keep your head covered for this one!!!
The Greatest
Dreams of Flight lands on DVD!
Based on a memoir by the wife of a delegate to Thailand, Emmanuelle focuses on the sexual awakening of a naive French diplomat's spouse at the hands of an experienced older man (Alain Cuny). First-time director Jaeckin and producer Yves Rousset-Rouard eschewed going the pornographic route with the story, and instead concentrated on the natural beauty of the Thailand setting and their star, 20-year-old Dutch model Kristel. The film was a runaway success in Europe and America, where it was successfully promoted as an erotic film devoid of porn's misogynistic tendencies. In addition to its box-office impact, Emmanuelle encouraged other softcore filmmakers to showcase travelogue-style locations and less sniggering storylines.
Emmanuelle's success naturally precipitated sequels, and two more adventures followed: Emmanuelle 2 (subtitled The Joys of a Woman in the States), which moved the action to Hong Kong; and Goodbye Emmanuelle, which sent the libertine to the Seychelles in search of a meaningful relationship. Respective directors Francis Giacobetti and Francois Leterrier's efforts were appropriately spicy, but Rousset-Rouard wisely decided to quit while he was ahead after the third picture. The series' worldwide appeal prompted a string of cheap and strange ripoffs, many featuring Indonesian actress Laura Gemser, who appears in Emmanuelle 2. But for cult movie fans, Anchor Bay's set offers the real Emmanuelle in all of her undraped glory. --Paul Gaita
Emmanuelle is a must-see classic
Too Good for TV comes to DVD.....
A BITTER-SWEET SETBitter: this is the first set of the last season before Farscape's forced hiatus[].
If you're new to the series, don't be intimidated by "4th season" listed on the cover. The block of episodes included was designed to introduce new viewers to the characters & the uniquely skewed world of Farscape.
The 3rd season ended (as those who've been following the series...via TV or DVD's...already know) with the group having parted ways...some voluntarily, others not, & one in quite a predicament (okay, it's obviously Crichton, who can find trouble staring out a window daydreaming). This set is the 5-part premiere showing how Moya's crew regroups. It begins with Crichton's space age/mad scientist bachelor life style ("Crichton Kicks"), and leads to Aeryn's (& Scopious'?!) arrival on Moya ("Promises"). In between the rest of the crew show up, new characters are introduced & the villains restart their pursuit with renewed vigor.
Farscape often has a feel of watching a great movie as opposed to a TV show, and the 4th season is no different...better at it actually. The fact that this DVD, as well as the previous DVD sets, play through all eps on a disc only adds to this feeling. It sucks you in with it's characterizations, drama, action, & humor w/o commercial interruptions or delays between the episodes. I am certain long time viewers who were frustrated with the Aeryn being MIA when the episodes originally aired (it took 5 weeks to get the same story on this set), will gain a new perspective & appreciation of this storyline while watching them back-to-back. Farscape is always more enjoyable when watching episodes in groups.
I personally can't wait to get my hands on this set, & especially the sets including the 2nd half of the 4th seasons, which contain some of the best TV I ever seen.
Enjoy!!!
kool movies!!!!!!