Tag Archives: review

REVIEW: Howl’s Moving Castle

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This movie is good for ONE REASON ONLY:

Christian Bale Bird Man!

Bird Man - played by Christian Bale

Oh yes, Christian Bale becoming bird man. It’s the only explanation!

I lied, there’s two reasons:

BA scarescrow

The most bad ass scarecrow to have ever existed...

But, seriously – continuing the Miyazaki trend, I recently watched Howl’s Moving Castle. Did you know that Miyazaki throws in sub-themes as casually as strolling into a party where jeans and a t-shirt at a business casual event? Neither did I, and because Arrietty was my first of Miyazaki’s films, I was under the impression his other works would be a little more sensible.

Now, I can take chaos. The movie’s premise of a girl who feels old, ugly, and incompetent and being cursed to reflect her mood is an enchanting premise, and I was really enjoying the movie for a while as we explored Howl’s gigantic moving ‘castle’ and its ability to warp doorways was awesome.

Then came war.

Now, a funny little note here is every single time (and I mean every. Single. Time.) the characters talked about war or we saw war happening, my friend would turn to me and say, “Hey, Kappy, did you know this movie’s about war?”

As annoying as that may seem, it was funny to me because it felt like the concept of war was literally shoved into the movie as a skeleton to the plot being driven by Sophie (I think that’s the spelling) and Howl. Was war really what the movie was about? It shouldn’t have been, but in the end it was.

I applaud Miyazaki for trying to weave a story of two who belittle themselves and are cowardly and, in the end, confront their problems head-on with war being the wrong solution to problems, but was that supposed to be a metaphor for how we as people need to confront our problems head-on with discussion instead of duking it out? Maybe, but if so, it was executed poorly.

We would go from a scene with Sophie to towns and villages being destroyed and Howl just flying around destroying battleships. Um, OK, great. Why? Why was the war even there? How did it start? Why was Howl summoned by both sides?

Let’s move onto something a little more positive: the voice acting and characters. Here’s where this movie really shines. Disregarding any lines about war, the characters develop wonderfully. Being able to actually see Sophie come to terms with her feeling old and weak was incredibly powerful. The supporting cast really helps move things along, and that living scarecrow is easily the greatest character in film history. There, I said it. I loved that scarecrow. It was funny, but really helped Sophie grow, and I thought that was awesome.

Talking of characters, let’s talk about the voice acting. Since I watched it on Netflix, I listened to the english dub, and I was once again impressed by it. Especially Howl, who was voiced by none other than Christian-fucking-Bale. That’s right, Christian Bale voiced Howl in this movie, and damn does he sound good when not talking like Batman!

And how can I forget the gorgeous visuals? The animation and art were, simply put, stunning. Panning across the sky or an open lake was 10-12 seconds of delicious eye candy, and a few of the scenes (specifically when they ‘moved’) were animated really nicely.

All in all, this movie was good. There were some things I think it could have done much better concerning execution and the development of their sub-themes, but other than that, everything was great. I’m excited to watch more of Miyazaki’s work!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Also the concept of Christian Bale turning into a bird man is hilarious.

And credit to the photoshopped photo of Christian Bale goes to my friend Jacob (Xyless)!

Just sayin’.

REVIEW: The Secret World of Arrietty

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It’s rare that I come across a movie that I find absolutely fantastic, but I found one last Thursday when my friends and I went to go see The Secret World of Arrietty, a Disney-translated and dubbed Kari-guarashi no Arietti. 

Based off the award-winning book, The Borrowers, The Secret World of Arrietty starts us off going from the city of Tokyo to the countryside, where a boy named Shawn (Sho) is staying to rest before a heart operation the following week. As he arrives, he notices Arrietty (Arietti), a 14-yeard-old Borrower. In highly stylized fashion, we watch Arrietty nimbly dodge the pet cat, Nina, and escape through a grate into an area underneath the house Shawn is staying. Indeed, the art style and animation are truly marvelous eye-candy, and I found myself enjoying the animation throughout the film. Seeing the world through Arrietty’s eyes makes something as simple as a house an entire world to explore, and explore we do as Pod (Poddo), Arrietty’s father, takes her through a few of the rooms of the house to ‘borrow’ a cube of sugar and tissue paper.

I usually take Japanese animated films and shows subbed. Rarely do I find a dub worth mentioning, and this one is definitely worth mentioning. You can tell Disney took time to make sure they had a good voice acting cast, and did they deliver. What really stood out to me during the opening credits was Will Arnett, whom I know from Arrested Development. All of the cast was great, and I felt each voice fit each character nicely, and they really play off of each other.

The movie moves along a little slow; it takes a long time for Arrietty and Shawn to speak, let alone Arrietty letting Shawn see her. Yet, despite this slow pace, I found myself enjoying it. Many movies today are action-packed and full of quick, high-intensity situations, so it was nice to watch a simple movie that had characters that really grew. You can feel Arrietty’s conflicting emotions as she walks down the nail staircase from Shawn’s room after he saves her, and even tries to convince her father that not all beans (a Borrower mispronunciation of ‘being’) are bad.

The music plays off of this quiet, slow style well. The music, all written and composed by French artist Cecil Corbel, really fits each scene well, and I love a movie with excellent music. I especially love Arrietty’s Song. None of the music is fast or intrusive. It just gently ebbs and flows with each scene, even the more spurring pieces able to stay soft whilst letting you know that the characters are pushing themselves.

The ending is a little abrupt, but understandable. I was wishing it had been a little different, but it didn’t really jar me. It was a good ending to a wonderful film.

All in all, The Secret World of Arrietty is, at its core, a children’s film of friendship, but told in such a way that anyone of any age (or those who love animation) can enjoy. I highly recommend you see this.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Oh, and Hayao Miyazaki co-wrote the screenplay.

Just sayin’.

REVIEW: Panty & Stocking

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So, last week I decided to start up watching anime again after a 4-5 month period of nothing but school and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. And since I kinda got hooked onto its music a week or two prior to watching, I decided to watch Panty and Stocking!

Panty & Stocking

A quick summary of the series: two sibling angels (named Panty and Stocking) were banished from heaven for being obnoxious as fuck and now have to keep Daten City safe from evil spirits called ghosts. Upon defeat, ghosts drop ‘Heaven Coins’, and once enough are collected the sisters may return to heaven. To help them is Garterbelt, a priest who runs the local church, and Chuck, who is Gir’s (from Invader Zim) long lost younger brother.

Simple enough, right? WRONG. This anime takes the “obnoxious as fuck” part and plays it hard. Combine that with some American-style animation, some of the best music I’ve heard in ages, and a Gainax plot, and you have yourself one memorable anime.

Let me start out by saying that each episode is split up into two mini episodes ala most 90’s American cartoons. After the first part of episode 1, the first thought that ran through my head was, “This is a lot like Powerpuff Girls.” For those of you who remember and loved Powerpuff Girls, I think you’ll really enjoy Panty and Stocking. It’s got a lot of the core elements of Powerpuff Girls with a little bit of standard Japanese anime style thrown in there.

Let’s dive in!

Art and Animation:

I actually really enjoyed the art style because it’s so PPG-esque. I’m not really a fan of American art when it comes to modern-day cartoons, so this was really refreshing to see American style that I really enjoyed. The animation really fit the series. Everything was quick and jarred, and the sound effects being worded out gave it a kind of comic book feel, which really went with the art style. The only episode I didn’t really enjoy was part 2 of episode 5, where they went with a more traditional Japanese style. Other than that, the animation was great!

Score: 7/10

Plot and Characters:

Let’s start with characters. I enjoyed how they took Panty and Stocking and really played the “fallen angel” bit about them. They swore, they stripped, they beat the shit out of shit and other grotesque demons. And the way they interact with each other, Garterbelt, Chuck, Brief, and their two rivals, Scanty and Kneesocks, are hilarious. I especially enjoyed Scanty and Kneesocks, because they reminded me SO MUCH of MoJoJoJo from PPG. And that kind of character was a great addition midway into the series. And Chuck, because he’s like Gir. What a badass.

And now for the plot. I don’t mind the plot; it’s coherent enough where progression happens. It’s the stupid ending that I HATE. I enjoy the occasional curveball, but not curveballs that don’t make any sense. Gainax decided to do that with Panty and Stocking, and that really disappointed me, especially since I had really been enjoying the series until then. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen the series, but prepare yourself… it’s one hell of a curveball.

Score: 5/10

Music:

Listen to this:

Then to this:

And tell yourself this music isn’t ridiculously good. I love the music. It’s great! It’s PERFECT for this series, and it’s memorable. There’s not a lot of anime where I’ll download an entire soundtrack; I downloaded the entire soundtrack. It fits every scene to a T.

Score: 10/10

Presentation:

A no holds-barred show about two angels who need to get back to heaven? Not a bad idea. It reminds me of PPG; great idea! The way the show speaks to the viewer is pretty clear – make fun of everything that presents itself onscreen with crude humor and a hint of satire. There are a lot of references to everyday things (like going to the bathroom and having “the top” in high school) that get blown out of proportion, and it works.

What doesn’t work is the way the show ends and a few parts of episodes here and there that just didn’t seem to fit (I’m looking at you, Chuck to the Future).

All in all, it doesn’t shy away from its message, and the way it presents itself goes pretty well with the art, the animation, and the music. Some polish, I think, definitely would’ve helped.

Score: 6/10

Overall Score: 7/10

R-Rated Powerpuff Girls. Not bad in any respect, but could’ve really worked on a few things (especially that ENDING!!!)

Chuck’s my favorite character.

Just sayin’.

REVIEW: House of the Dead: OVERKILL

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“If there’s one thing I hate more than mutants, it’s redneck mutants!” – Detective Isaac Washington.

I love House of the Dead. I fondly remember the days where I’d go to my local arcade, feed that hungry machine some quarters, and shoot zombies for however long it took me to die (usually around a half hour). So when my friend mentioned to me that we should play House of the Dead: Overkill, I said sure. I thought this was going to be somewhat classic House of the Dead.

And then I saw the opening video. A stripper pole-dancing. I actually didn’t know it was the opening video until my friends told me it was the opening video.

Um… what?!

For those of you who don’t know, this game was made in the style of an exploitation film, which is pretty much a low-budget movie that promotes any kind of racy content (sex, drugs, violence, etc…). So instead of the classic, somewhat medieval feel of House of the Dead (and subsequent technology advancements in the sequels), this was an exploitation film-style House of the Dead, and damn is it good.

How, might you ask? Because besides the gameplay (which I already enjoyed as a House of the Dead fan. If you’re a fan, you’ll enjoy that, too), but the characters and story are what really caught me. The first thing you see in the game is Isaac Washington punch Agent G (who looks like Keanu Reeves for the badass factor) in the face and say, “Wassup, muthafucka?”

And that’s when the tale began. A tale of one badass rookie secret agent, one badass who doesn’t know how NOT to use explicatives, and one seriously twisted story (and the WEIRDEST ending in history. I’ve never been so disturbed in my life).

And in this tale, you begin to realize that you’re not playing House of the Dead: Overkill anymore. No, you’re playing What’s Isaac Washington going to say next?. Because that’s exactly how it felt. You’d shoot a couple zombies and hear Washington utter, “Shit! Bitch almost had me!” and you can’t help but wonder, through the absolutely awful voice acting, corny one-liners, catchy music, and gore – how is this so funny?

I think that’s why the game can be considered a success, because it takes something like zombies (my bad, they’re MUTANTS, apparently) and throws in an exploitation film plot and characters, and it’s funny. That’s my favorite part of the game. Through every level, you’re almost waiting to hear dialogue between Washington and G. It sounds ridiculous, but it works. It really works!

The visual style itself isn’t high-class, but that just adds to the atmosphere of the game. It’s not supposed to look fantastic because low-budget exploitation films didn’t look fantastic. The gore is surprisingly good, so those who love those gory graphics won’t be disappointed. And I don’t know if exploitation films usually had catchy music, but damn was the music catchy!

Oh, and playing with a friend is fantastic. That’s how I played it, and I think I would opt for co-op over solo on this one. The game is really short for solo play. My friend and I beat it in what was surely less than 5 hours, so playing by yourself can be a good way to kill 5-6 hours, but it’s definitely something I’d try to run through in one glorious night with a friend!

If you’re looking for a game to really give your head a little spin, old-fashioned House of the Dead gameplay, and some good laughs from your new best friend Detective Washington, I highly recommend House of the Dead: Overkill!

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Presentation: 7/10

From the opening video to the level select screen, this game screams exploitation. It’s all very… sub-par, but understanding it’s supposed to be that way really improves the way it presents itself.

Gameplay: 7/10

Classic House of the Dead feel, and the controls worked flawlessly with the Wiimote (I wish we had the Wii Zapper). The boss fights were a little cumbersome, but nothing ridiculous.

Sound: 8/10

Some very catchy tunes, especially during the levels. Nothing entirely memorable, but definitely good while playing. What IS memorable is the voice acting, which is so bad that I’d say it crosses the line over to being incredibly funny.

Visuals: 7/10

So, the graphics themselves aren’t exactly amazing, but… BUT… I think that’s the point of their concept, so it works wonderfully. Plus, the gore doesn’t look bad at all!

Narrative: 7/10

While there is some (READ: very little) substance to the plot, it’s still enjoyable, and while I’m usually one big for narrative, this one didn’t bother me. Although that ending… really, you need to see the ENDING.

Replay Value: 6/10

It’s really something you can pick up again and again, enjoy some of the humor and style of the game, and then put it away for next time. Plus, for hardcore fans there’s a slew of bonus content such as harder difficulties and fan art! The golden brains in the game help facilitate the drive to collect everything for those who want to.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Exploitation film meets House of the Dead. It works.

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Oh, and there are mini-games you can unlock that up to four people can play. I think they were shoe-horned in, so I wouldn’t rush to play them.

Just sayin’.