Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, suffers the same array of problems that the Michael Bay directed Transformers films have suffered. The film takes emphasis away from the title characters of the film to put an increased focus on the human characters. To the film’s credit, it doesn’t clutter up the film with the samedegree of human characters as the Transformers film did, but those elements of the film distract from the main thrust of the narrative. Further, the rest of the film’s action is so cluttered and chaotic that it can’t compensate for the rest of the film’s weak points. Continue reading
Category Archives: Reviews
Reviews of Video Games, Movies, and Books.
Film Review – Deadpool
When I heard that a Deadpool movie was in production, as a fan of the comics I was pretty pumped. That said, a situation like that is almost a recipe for disappointment – Star Wars: The Phantom Menace really shows how much high expectations can lead to equally high disappointment. Fortunately, there was no disappointment to be found for me in this film. Continue reading
Film Review: The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 4: Police Tactics
The problem with getting into the later installments of the Yakuza Papers series of films is that by the later installments Kenji Fukasaku has gotten into a stylistic groove when it comes to what this series of films are – what they look like, what they sound like, and how their action is presented. Continue reading
Film Review – The Spy Who Loved Me
There is one Bond film that, before today, I had not seen: The Spy Who Loved Me. I refer to official Bond films, as opposed to parodies like the ’60s Casino Royale, or knockoffs like Never Say Never Again (which I have seen), and spiritual ripoffs like Operation Double 007 (as seen on MST3K). Continue reading
Video Game Review – Dragon Age II
Due to the Copyright Strike putting a crimp in my Let’s Play, this time I’m doing a video review of Dragon Age II, with my thoughts on the game. Continue reading
Anime Review – Angel’s Egg (1985)
This is a gorgeous, darkly beautiful work of film that’s probably the most surreal work that Oshii has made (helped by the fact that Yoshitaka Amano did much of the art for the film and co-wrote the story). It is the first film I’ve seen that I don’t feel qualified to analyze. Continue reading
Film Review – TMNT (2007)
TMNT is a film that has the heart that the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film had (and the other two sequels lacked), but it falls short in a few significant places. Continue reading
Film Review: The Yakuza Papers Pt. 3 – Proxy War
Proxy War, along with the second film in the series, Hiroshima Deathmatch, are really where the Yakuza Papers series really kicks into high gear with showing the real nature of the Yakuza life. Where the sophomore film in the series introduced a new character, followed him through his induction into the yakuza, until his ultimate death, Proxy War returns us to following Bunta Sugawara’s character, Shozo Hirono, as factions within the old guard start playing the new generation of yakuza against each other, while Hirono himself tries to reconcile this current chain of events with the yakuza code of honor. Continue reading
Film Review – A Christmas Carol (1999)
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is probably the work of literature that has been most frequently adapted to the screen that wasn’t written by William Shakespeare. With so many adaptations, it’s probably hard to pick the best. I’d probably put the Muppet version at the top of my list, but aside from that, the 1999 made-for-TV version starring Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge is my number two pick. Continue reading
Movie Review – The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 1: Battles Without Honor and Humanity
Due to the copyright strike on my Youtube channel, I’m going to hold off on doing film video reviews for the immediate future, aside from works from companies with a proven track record as being forgiving when it comes to film criticism (such as the Criterion Collection). However, I still want to keep talking about film so, for now, I’m going to do those review as prose reviews. If there is an interest from my Patreon Backers (which you can be one of), once the copyright strike is up, I’ll go back to re-do some or all these reviews as video reviews (depending on what films they’d like to see reviewed).
These reviews are also being posted on my Letterboxd page. I’m cross posting them here because I remember what happened to Screened, and I’d like to make sure I don’t lose any of my reviews.
With that out of the way, I’m taking a look at a Japanese Yakuza film from the 1970s – and the first part of the Yakuza Papers/Battles Without Honor Or Humanity series of films. Continue reading
Anime Review – Rage of Bahamut: Genesis
This time I have another anime review, of the recent title “Rage of Bahamut: Genesis”, licensed by Funimation.
Film Review – The Return of the King (1980)
This week I’m reviewing the second of Rankin-Bass’s J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations, and the first time the Return of the King was adapted to the screen. Continue reading
This week I’m doing an anime review, with a look at the first two seasons of the anime series “Hayate the Combat Butler”. Continue reading
Concert Review: RePLAY – A Symphony of Heroes
Another vlog-style review. Last night (3/6/2015), I went to the performance of “RePLAY: A Symphony of Heroes” at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Here are my thoughts on the concert. Continue reading
Book Review – Jamie’s Food Revolution
This week I’m doing my first ever cookbook review, as I take a look at at the companion cookbook to Jamie Oliver’s cooking show “Jamie’s Food Revolution” Continue reading
Book Review – The Sword of the Dawn
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Manga Review – Hayate The Combat Butler, Volume 7
I have a manga review that’s actually topical for Valentine’s Day next week.
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Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 7 by Kenjiro Hata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Whenever I’ve had a rough day, and I feel like I can’t remember the last time I laughed, one of the manga or anime I turn to, in order to lighten my spirits is Hayate the Combat Butler. The blend of oddball comedy and reverentially referential humor, along with a willingness to just chip away at that fourth wall blends together well to make an enjoyable comic, and the fact that the characters are incredibly likable really helps to keep me coming back in a way that TV shows like Family Guy, which also relies on referential humor, fails to do. Continue reading
Manga Review: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Vol. 2
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Volume 2 by Eiji Otsuka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery service is a very interesting manga to describe, in terms of being a horror manga that contains elements of the supernatural, but is ultimately bases its horror out of what people do to each other, then it does with the actions of the restless dead – though those elements are there. Continue reading
Manga Review – King of Thorn, Volume 2.
(Originally Published on Goodreads)
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King of Thorn, Volume 2 by Yuji Iwahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This volume is causing the series to risk becoming cluttered, from a plot standpoint. Coming into this volume, the plot had the main driving conflict of “How do these characters, which are almost all infected with a disease that could kill them, survive in this post-apocalyptic world with massive thorny plants that have consumed everything, and freaking dinosaurs?” Continue reading
This week I’m reviewing another film in the Criterion Collection – the samurai film “Sword of the Beast”.
To Terra…/Towards The Terra, Volume 1 Review
To Terra…Volume 1 by Keiko Takemiya
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a kind of slow-paced manga. This volume does a lot of world-building with regards to Terran society and Mu society, as well as our two leads views of their respective societies, Jomy Marcus Shin for the Mu, and Keith Anyan for the Terrans. (Cont. below the Cut) Continue reading
Book Review – Black Blade
Cover of Black Blade
This week I’m finally getting back to book reviews, with a look at the horrible novel by Eric Van Lustbader – Black Blade. Continue reading
Video Game Review – El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
Well, it’s been a long time since my last video review, but I’m back, and I’m taking a look at El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.
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Gameplay Footage by GhostRobo
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Movie Review – Mission: Impossible IV – Ghost Protocol
This week I’m reviewing a recent movie – Mission: Impossible IV – Ghost Protocol.
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