Change Your Image
athlynne81
Reviews
Honô no mirâju (2002)
A thrilling and deeply touching series
My very favorite anime; my only complaint is that it was way too short.
Takaya is a sullen and distant high school student whose world is turned upside-down when he meets a monk named Naoe, who informs him they are the reincarnations of samurai lords destined to protect Japan from other clans that have returned to possess the living. It starts out as your basic supernatural, high-school-adventure, then takes a hard turn into serious drama and angst around episode 7. I like the way it turned out, personally, but if you have a problem with yaoi (male/male relationships), you should probably avoid this one.
Based on a long series of light novels (that have sadly yet to be translated), Mirage of Blaze runs for 13 episodes and a 3-part OVA, and is outstanding for its excellent voice acting, beautiful imagery and truly compelling, heartbreaking story. You will lose your heart to these characters and sniffle when they leave you. My only caution is please, PLEASE, watch it in Japanese with subtitles. The English dub is AWFUL.
The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000)
Beautiful
I think many people mistakenly classify these movies as "B" horror, and that's unfair. "The Ascent", in particular, has a few very profound moments, as well as a decent story, great dialogue and a depth that more than makes up for the occasional plot confusion and slightly lacking special effects. Christopher Walken delivers what I think is one of his best performances.
If you like thoughtful movies that will keep you pondering past the credits, this is a good one. Even if you don't much care for the two that precede this one, it's worth a look. The "Prophecy" series does what too few trilogies do - saves the best for last.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
A piece of cinematic genius...
I adore this movie. I could never stand action movies, but T2 is so intelligent and moving that it stands apart from everything else.
First, the story - brilliant, smoothly making the necessary transition from T1. The dialogue runs the gamut from hilarious to heartbreaking, but always strikes exactly the right chord.
The cinematography and effects are stunning, especially the scenes filmed during "magic hour", when the pale gold of sunset casts a meaningful and lovely effect on the scene. Being the first $100 million movie naturally the effects are remarkable for their time, but they hold up wonderfully against anything made today.
It's the actors, however, who steal the show. Linda Hamilton can play insanity and despair like nobody's business, and she gave her all here. Robert Patrick was wonderful in the demanding role of the T-1000, creepy and threatening even during the funny finger-wagging moment. Arnold Schwarzenegger balances non-stop action with a machine's emerging humanity; frankly this movie cancels out every dumb action flick he ever made. New-comer Edward Furlong carried the film with seeming ease, giving an astonishing performance for his age and lack of experience; the "We're not gonna make it, are we?" scene is hauntingly perfect.
James Cameron and his team have given us a classic that has something for everyone. You'd never know that this is the guy who made Titanic.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
This is like a bad dream...
How could they do this? How could James Cameron let them? T2 was and is the only reason I ever give action movies a chance. Its heart and simple but powerful theme has haunted me ever since I was a child, when I would stay up all night and watch it while everyone was asleep, so not a single sound would distract me. It to me is so much more than great special effects that were astounding for their time, more than a huge action blockbuster. It was and is a portrait of humanity's struggle against the horrors we create for ourselves, of the cruelty of fate, of the power of family. It is an example of all the right elements coming together at the right time to create something so powerful and moving that it has inspired a force of loal fans who seem to feel the same outrage I do about T3.
T2 ended with a sense of hope for the future, leaving us all the gift of being able to imagine ourselves the fate of the world. No one could've devised a better ending to the story. T3 (and now T4, I hear) are lame excuses to use a popular name and popular characters to continue a story in a way that sends it spiraling down from the intelligence and power it had in T2. It infuriates me that anyone would cheapen an excellent movie with unnecessary and inferior sequels. Does anyone in Hollywood bother to think up *original* ideas anymore? Maybe I should stop coming up with my own ideas for screenplays and novels and, I don't know, pen a crappy sequel to E.T. ::sigh:: The casting probably bothers me more than anything else, oddly enough, though I would have protested any superfluous sequel no matter who it starred. Frankly, Claire Danes should not be on camera. EVER. Anyone who made the mistake of seeing the trashy remake of Romeo and Juliet, made for those who can't bear the pain of cracking a book, will get what I'm saying. She acts like she's reading off a cue card, and that really only works for Arnold, who will never get my vote for betraying the Terminator story. Linda Hamilton, who gave a stunning performance in T2, was smart enough to stay away, and I hope Eddie Furlong, who did a remarkable job in T2, especially considering he'd never acted before, never sees the imbecile they replaced him with.
I guess the people behind T3 thought they were terribly clever using a female villain, the reasoning being, I suppose, "Hey, she has boobs! That will make up for our utter lack of plot!" I shudder to think what T4 will be throwing at us. Maybe John Connor's future children will fight the machines a la Spy Kids, and Hilary Duff can provide the soundtrack. Sadly enough, if T3 was possible, anything is.
The nightmare continues. Since sequels are proving how undefeatable those machines are, maybe they can transport me back to 1992, so I can prevent this from happening.