Reviews Written by Collectonian
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August 28, 2006
One of the Best Movies in Years!
Pros: Powerful, moving story that will make you think
Cons: Can be hard to hear at times (hence my love of subtitles)
I'd seen the commercials for this movie before it hit the theaters. It looked interesting enough so I popped it in my rental queue at Netflix. So earlier this month, I went to pay for my mailbox. There was a Columbia House mailer in with my stuff featuring V for Vendetta. The guy at the counter asked if I had seen it yet. I said no, it was in my rental queue. He replied that when I got it, I should watch it immediately, then watch it again cause it was just that good! Later I hit Hastings, wanting to rent something and having no Netflix to watch. I picked up three anime disks, and decided to go ahead and get V for Vendetta. At check out, the guy there also mentioned that it was an awesome movie.
So after getting home with some Chinese and the movies, I popped in V for Vendetta. After two such glowing reviews, I figured I was in for a treat. I'm happy to say, I was not mislead! V for Vendetta is a deep, multi-faceted movie with an awesome story, great graphics and special effects, and good acting. Evey Hammond is one of many living in a world where fear and "religion" rule, and the thing people fear most is their government and it's religious leaders. Her world changes when she breaks curfew to see her lover and is caught. As those responsible for enforcing the law are getting ready to rape her to teach her a lesson, she is saved by strangely verbose fellow who eventually calls himself V. This encounter changes her life forever as she learns that what is right isn't always gained by following the rules, and what true inner strength is.
Apparently it is based on a comic book, but I've never read it so I can't really comment on whether it was true to the source or not. I do know, however, that this is a great movie. The world created within V for Vendetta is rich and well detailed, with just enough reflection of what could happen in our own world to make it a frightening prospect. V himself is a wonderfully complex character, not entirely good, but certainly not evil either. The action is well balanced, with the emphasis being more on the story and not on the fighting.
It's hard to say too much without giving too much away. I will say, don't let some of the trailers fool you. It is more than just a vigilante at large story! I can certainly understand the glowing reviews I received, and I think the best I can say is to echo them. If you haven't seen it, watch it! Even better, just go ahead and buy it, because it is definitely one that will benefit from multiple viewings.
Also, I'd go for the two disk edition for more extras. The first release was a single release with few extras. ... -
July 8, 2006
Doesn't Shy Away From Harsh Realities
Pros: The dogs are awesome, breathtaking scenery
Cons: Seal scene not for young kids, romance aspects unnecessary
The basic story line of Eight Below is that eight sled dogs have to be left behind when an Antarctic Research team has to evacuate suddenly, and they then spend almost six months alone in a harsh winter alone. It's based on a Japanese film called Nankyoku Monogatari (also called Antarctica), which I haven't seen cause it isn't available on DVD and the prices on the VHS are just plain stupid.
On its own Eight Below is a pretty good movie, in spite of it being a Disney release. The eight dogs have distinct personalities and great screen personalities. The human actors do fairly well, though they can occasionally be a little cheesy or clichéd. There is some great camaraderie between the dogs and the humans, particular with the dogs' owner who obviously loves his "kids." While we watch the dogs try to survive we also see his life practically fall apart in his grief when he can't go back for the dogs until spring.
When I first heard about this film, I honestly expected it to be fun fluff, a Disneyfied film that cutsies up tragic circumstances. So I was pleasantly surprised that Disney didn't completely go into the "everything is perfect" is world. Eight dogs are left, but not all of them survive the adventure. Parents should be warned, I wouldn't show this to young kids because there is death and at least one fight scene is likely to scare them.
That said, Disney did tone down the story some (and for obvious reasons, made it light even though for that time of year the dogs should have spent almost all of their time in darkness). Although I couldn't find a lot of details about it, in the Japanese version had around seventeen dogs left behind, but only two survived. The original Japanese movie is based on a true story about one of their research teams, purportedly from the 50s.
As for complaints, the big one is plot holes and missing details. It's never explained how the dogs ate most of the time (I figured out immediately that they ate ice to get water). Also, from the little we see of them eating by the end of the movie the dogs should have lost weight, but they looked fat and healthy and amazingly clean! It's also not explained why they were not left with any food when the team pulled out and left them behind. My only other major complaint is that the leopard seal was obviously computer generated. The whole scene seemed a little unrealistic in terms of how the dogs reacted (considering the intelligence shown throughout the film, the rather stupid actions here seem improbable, though I guess one could say hunger made them a little careless).
Despite those complaints, though, I highly recommend this film to dog lovers as long as you can handle seeing the dogs go through a few harsh times. I kinda wish it had focused more on the dogs and less on the people (and the romance issue was totally unnecessary and just wasted film time).
Still, it's fun, exciting, and definitely plays on the emotions as I laughed and cried, sometimes with in the same scene. And, of course, we get to see 8 pretty dogs (6 Siberian Huskies and 2 Malamutes) running around on screen for over an hour against the backdrop of some amazing scenery (filmed in Canada and Norway).
Now here's hoping all the hype about it will get the studios to release the original Japanese movie on DVD as well. ... -
January 6, 2006
A Beautiful Entry into Foreign Film Libraries
Pros: Great acting, beautiful scenery, powerful visual effects and well done subtitling.
Cons: The ending just makes you want to scream
Originally titled Tian yu (why?), Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl is a Mandarin tale from either Hong Kong or Japan (not sure which). It was banned in China because of its political and sexual content. Oh, and I should note now, that I saw this on video, rented from Visart, not on DVD.
Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl tells the story of one girl, Wen Xiu, who becomes one of the many youngsters in China who is sent to "trade" camps, where they learn manual labor skills to enable them to be more productive members of society. When they have completed their training, they are given papers which allow them to return home proud and celebrated in town. Without those papers, if they return home they are disgraced and most likely would be subject to ostracization, so it really wasn't that voluntary a program. Xiu Xiu is sent to the remote Sichuan steppes to learn to be a horse herder.
Like many politically created programs, this Cultural Revolutionary system was strife with corruption. The many pretty young girls sent to the camps become subject to forced prostitution to buy themselves a way home with all of the proper credentials. So it becomes with Wen Xiu (called Xiu Xiu by her friends), after her year with a quiet Tibetan horse herder passes and no one retrieves her. She hates having to be the sex slave of the officials and their friends, but saying no would guarantee she never gets home to the family she loves so much. Lao Jin, the horse herder Xiu Xiu is training with, realizes what is going on, but knows that Xiu Xiu would suffer if he interfered as well. In the end, though, this quiet man is forced to take an unthinkable action to free the girl he has come to love from the nightly attentions of the men.
This movie is subtitled from the original Mandarin, however it also uses a lot of non-verbal images and facial expressions from the actors to convey its message. Such techniques really are, in my humble opinion, a true sign of a great actor...one that can express a feeling or thought without having to verbalize it.
Lu Lu, the girl playing Wen Xiu, has definite potential as a high caliber actress. She does an excellent job of counter balancing the seriousness of Xiu Xiu's situation, while reminding us that Xiu Xiu is really still just a teenager, both innocent and with a little attitude all of her own.
Lopsang was the perfect choice for Lao Jin. He clearly helps us see how much affection he develops for Xiu Xiu, while barely saying a word. Through his movements, facial expression and eyes, there is little question as to whether he is angry, hurt, sad or happy. Lao Jin is a very quiet man, and generally appears serious, however, in great part to Lopsang's fine acting, we discover that he has an almost impish sense of humor and is a man of great heart and honor.
The on site filming adds in some of the most beautiful scene shots and backdrops with the lush green grass and gorgeous skies. The sky almost appears to change in relation to the happenings amongst Xiu Xiu and Lao Jin.
I loved this movie, and would highly recommend it. If you've never tried a foreign language film, give it a shot. I personally recommend subtitled over dubbing any and every time, since a great part of an actor is their voice. Usually, when films are dubbed little effort is made to maintain any resemblance to the original actors voice and inflections. Subtitles also tend to be more accurate and are not as hard to read or distracting as some might think. Once a person is used to them, they almost blend themselves to the scene and the mind just automatically reads it while giving concentration to the screen. Only bad part of subtitling is that you can't turn away from the screen, which isn't too bad to me.
The only thing I hated about this movie was the end. I don't wish to give it away, however I will say that while it was plausible it just wasn't the one I wanted or expected. It wasn't quite as sh ... -
January 6, 2006
Unexpected Comedy and Drama With The Right Blend O
Pros: Great acting, thought provoking issues presented, does a great job in dealing with "sensitive" scenes and having an erotic undertone
Cons: The "sensitive" people and those ignorants among us might have problems with the same-sex intercourse scenes or with the gay bashing/rape incident
I was channel surfing one night when I saw the title of this movie on the HBO listings. Read the description and since there was nothing else on, I turned to it, though it was half over. I was glued for the rest of the movie. I watched it when it came on again (though again I didn't realize it until it was half way over). I finally was able to get set up to record it, and I'm glad I was finally able to see it from the beginning.
The basic idea of Relax...Its Just Sex is to follow a group of friends as they deal with some serious problems, while maintaining contentment and happiness in their own lives. During the first 30 minutes or so, we get to meet this well rounded group of friends, which are composed of two gay male couples, a lesbian couple, a straight couple, a single (involuntarily) gay male and a female who jumps from a 9 year lesbian relationship to a heterosexual one.
Tara, well played by Jennifer Tilly, is a slightly hyper, but adorable to watch woman trying to have a baby and deal with her boyfriend Gus who is constantly claiming he is leaving any minute to explore the world. She is the main central friend who seems to have connected most of the others to each other. Her beau's gay brother Javi (beautifully done by Eddie Garcia) has recently been diagnosed with HIV.
Mitchell Anderson's Vincey, one of Tara's best friends, is dealing with the joys of being single. It doesn't help when a guy he meets and brings to dinner, Buzz, falls for Javi instead. Diego and Dwight are fun to watch as a Christian gay couple. Serena Scott Thomas plays Megan, who dumps her lesbian lover, Sarina, for said lover's male cousin. Sarina, done by Cynda Williams, turns to the very butch lesbian Robin, who is played perfectly by Lori Petty. Paul Winfield makes a cameo or two as an outrageous friend of Vincey's who is gay and effeminate.
Now, I think the acting in this film was great. TC Carson shows his true acting abilities bringing Buzz to life in this film, and Lori Petty was the perfect choice for the role of Robin. Lori does a great job in subtly showing Robin's joy at having her own secret dream come true (getting Sarina) while also having the frustration at Sarina's desire to go slow apparent.
I'm not a person who watches a film just because its this or that, so I haven't seen that many "gay" films. I don't really consider this one to be, but thats because I don't really think along those lines. To me, this movie did a wonderful job of presenting relationships, gay, lesbian, and heterosexual, in a normal light. The sex scenes were tasteful and erotic, but they also didn't shy away from them.
One of the things I liked best about this movie was its subtlety. On the surface, its basically a movie about normal people with some tragic and major events occurring. But it also has several interesting views and ideas introduced that, unfortunately, do get lost in the film's "normality" during that first viewing.
Buzz's controversial statements on AIDS and HIV, for example, are not that far fetched and could provide for interesting debates among friends. The gay-bashing incident will probably have viewers discussing the lines of right and wrong, whats going to far when punishing someone, etc.
The film quality might appear to be poor, but in fact its shot in a style similar to the hit TV show Homicide: Life on the Street, to underscore that "normalcy" feel to things.
Obviously this movie isn't for anyone who is ignorant when it comes to homosexuality. I think this film would make a good film for a group of friends or a couple, for its thought provoking qualities. ... -
January 6, 2006
A Pretty Faithful Adaptation of a Classic Tale
Pros: Great acting, beautiful scenery, touching tale
Cons: Younger viewers might have problems dealing with deaths, though they are not as graphic as in the book
From the first time I read it, I have loved Wilson Rawls' classic novel, Where the Red Fern Grows. When I first viewed Family Home Entertainment's 1974 film adaptation I was pleased to see how well they stuck to the book and still managed to produce a great film (Disney, are you noticing this?).
This film is the introductory work for Stewart Peterson, that ended up being his only major work. In this film he shines as Billy Coleman, a young boy raised in the coon hunting realm of the Ozarks in the 1930s who wants for nothing more than a great pair of hounds of his own.
The producers did a fantastic job with scenery, shooting on location and giving plenty of sweeping vistas of the wild beauty of the Oklahoma backwoods. Offsetting scenes is music by The Osmonds and Andy Williams.
The actors did a great job of meshing with their book characters. A much younger Beverly Garland plays Billy's mother, who loves her family but opposes Billy's hunting love for fear he will be hurt. Garland would go on to do several movies and TV shows, with her most remembered probably being Scarecrow and Mrs King.
Another great acting job comes from the redbone coonhounds playing Little Ann and Old Dan. The chemistry between the two dogs is well developed, giving a better sense of the love between them and Billy, and their love of hunting.
The best part to me, however, is in the faithfulness of the adaptation from the book. A small scene was added at the beginning to further emphasis Billy's longing for some hounds, but primarily minor scenes were cut for brevity. The main major changes I found were with the scenes from town (the first confrontations were skipped) and the battle with the mountain lion (and its results) were cleaned up to be a little less gruesome, which is understandable.
Still, FHE has always, to me, done a great job of presenting movies that stick more with the book (such as The Last Unicorn) than the more lauded and profitable Disney. Another big plus? There is no real Disneyfication here. The ending isn't changed to make a "happier" story, enemies don't magically become friends with some singing. ... -
January 6, 2006
For a Book to Movie Adaptation, It Is Not Too Bad
Pros: Good acting, good soundtrack and great color
Cons: Threw out the book's true message; overly modernized and made more politically correct
According to the Internet Movie Database's exhaustive records, Louisa May Alcott's novel "Little Women" has seen itself recreated in four TV series, four made for TV movies and five feature length movies since 1918. The most recent version appeared in 1994 and features Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, Samantha Mathis, Eric Stoltz, Susan Sarandon, and Gabriel Byrne. As a long time fan of the novel, who has happily carted her large leather bound gold-gilded unabridged edition whenever she has moved, I find that I was disappointed in this newest movie version. As a movie lover, however, I found the movie to be an enjoyable experience.
The decision of the screenwriter and director to cut out what I felt were several story arcs and scenes from the novel was very disappointing. For example, in the movie there is no mention of Beth’s shyness, or of her overcoming that shyness to become friends with Mr. Lawrence. The scene in the novel where she gathers her courage to walk over to his house and thank him for giving her his piano is one of the most defining moments for Beth. Overall I found Beth and Mr. Lawrence to both be sadly underdeveloped in the movie. Mr. Lawrence appears in only three scenes, while many of Beth’s key moments also vanished. Jo’s wonderful tomboyish nature is also severely tone-down for this version. She does not say “Christopher Columbus” nor any of her other slang words. We never see the scene where she longs to go be a soldier fighting in the war and wishes she were a man. They transformed the character of Meg from someone who longs for finer things and tends to be snobbish into the wise older sister who does not care about such things. Lacking is the wonderful moment when she realizes that she does not care about Mr. Brook’s poverty as she staunchly defends her love of him against Aunt March. While Amy’s quest for a perfect nose is mentioned twice, there is never a scene showing some of her efforts such as her wearing the clothespin on it at night to make is straight, nor do we get enjoy watching her artistic endeavors such as her attempts to make a plaster cast of her foot.
It really was not unexpected, though, considering most of the first two chapters of the book were cut out of the film. We never get to see the scene where they grumble about having no Christmas presents and decide to buy ones for themselves, only to change their mind when their beloved mother comes home and they realize that they would rather give her presents than buy things for themselves. The simple joy of their giving the presents to Marmee before gathering to hear their father’s letter would have been a more welcome opening. Indeed, we do not see very many of the lessons that the girls learned in the novel that turned them from young girls into little women. When Amy burns Jo’s manuscript, later falls in the pond, and almost drowns because of Jo’s anger, we never see Jo’s disgust at herself nor do we see the wonderful conversation she had with Marmee about learning to control her anger.
More than likely this, and other scenes, disappeared because they did not fit the new modern ideas being incorporated into it. The dialog often had a feminist and modernized slant to it. In many scenes, the message is clear that that the women of the March are independent and free thinkers who really do not need a man to do anything. There are also scenes with obvious modern touches, such as Meg and Mr. Brooks kissing in the doorway, and Laurie kissing Amy in the middle of a field. The girls in the book were raised to be “good girls” and such public behaviors were not have been taken lightly at the time, especially considering that their father was a chaplain, which is something else never noted in the movie.
Still, one might wonder how I can say I found it to be enjoyable at the same time as I noted so many glaring faults. As a lover of both books and movies, I have had to learn how to view movies made from ... -
January 6, 2006
Retelling of the Anime, But Not Based on It
Pros: Beautiful artwork, added story of the town that dislikes strangers
Cons: somewhat rushed, characters less well developed, first of only two volumes
Unlike most manga, Wolf's Rain is based on the anime instead of the anime being based on it. I think it was interesting, however, it is similar to Escaflowne in that it is more of a retelling of the story as opposed to just translating the anime into manga form. There are some noticeable differences, and the characters are not as well developed. Many stories from the anime are not there, however there is at least one added story that really fleshes out Toboe well (I'd say he is the most developed character of this volume).
The artwork, however, is awesome and while I've read some complaints about the wolf forms looking skinny...I'd say that would be accurate considering the constant reminder of how bad times are and how most of the wolves spend a lot of time trying to find enough to eat. Kiba looks awesome as well, softer and more gorgeous. Toboe comes out looking even more feminine, but oh well. He's still a cutie. There is also a segment at the end that shows how the artist came up with the looks of different characters.
Basically the first volume takes us through the meeting of the wolves (similar to anime) and Quint's first attempts at killing them. We get brief looks at Cher and Hubb, but I have a feeling their story will not really be told in the manga. That's a shame too because its sad, but beautiful at the same time. Eventually the four wolves escape the town to follow the kidnapped Cheza (who is blind in the manga...interesting change). They eventually run into a town that is closed to all strangers and whose citizens start shooting at them immediately. Toboe befriends a girl there and gets off pretty easy :lol The others get some wounds while getting past the town, but eventually they meet up again. As they are leaving, Darcia's ship is flying over and Cheza jumps from it, spinning down to where the wolves are waiting.
At the end of the volume, they acknowledge that while the cast and basic setting are the same, its a different take on things and even scenes that appear in both may have different dialogs or outcomes from the manga. On the whole, I'd say its good, however you kind of have to divorce your mind from the anime first and let it stand on its on. Otherwise, the enjoyment gets a little lost from the constant comparisons. I do wish it was more than two volumes, though. I think it could be very interesting if they had expanded it out some. Still, its a totally different take on the anime and still manages to tell a good story with in its short frame. ... -
January 6, 2006
Real Life Doesn't Always Have a Happy Ending
Pros: Explores often ignored teen issues in ways that can also appeal to adults; great stories
Cons: "Mistakes" felt a little rushed; Can be depressing
Many manga fans may have overlooked Confidential Confessions, but it's worth picking up for its unflinching portrayal of teens who are dealing with some of life's toughest issues. The various volumes deal with different issues, with this first one opening the series with two stories: "The Door," which takes up most of the book, and "Mistakes". In "The Door", Manatsu is a lonely teen from a broken home who feels abandoned by her parents and unneeded in the world. Even her teacher doesn't know her name or notice if she is there. At school, she meets another loner girl she nicknames Asparagus. Asparagus introduces her to cutting, a practice of self-mutilation. Neither girl is happy, however, though they like that they have found someone who has thoughts of death in common. It’s like pouring oil on a fire with tragic consequences.
"Mistakes" features Yoshioka, a girl from a poor family whose abusive father has abandoned them. As a younger girl, she would collect leftovers from the school cafeteria to take home. As she got older, one of her brother's friends would use her for oral sex. Desperate for food and supplies when she had her periods, she started shoplifting and blackmailing people for money. Eventually, she stopped going home and eventually dropping out of school. As she got further into the street life, she turned to prostitution, turning a trick whenever she wanted money for anything. After an unsuccessful night hitting the lines to look for a trick, she runs into a street performer named Ryo and for the first time finds love, but sometimes the past can’t be left behind.
I picked up the first volume of this series after seeing its description online then spotting the cover at a bookstore. With its darker feel, it stands out well on a bookcase filled with bright colorful spines. The first volume drew me in, particularly the first story that touched on an issue I've had to personally tackle, being suicidal. Watching Manatsu spiral downward, I really empathized with her and couldn't help but to understand why she felt how she did. As I read her story I kept having moments of "that was me in high school." Except for the cutting, she reminded me so much of how I used to be. While I wished "Mistakes" had been longer, I also thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Ryo is such a sweet guy. I wish I'd known a guy like that in high school. It doesn't have the Cinderella ending I was hoping for, but the ending it does have is certainly more realistic and not entirely bad. Still, I like to hope that sometime later, that really good ending does happen and it certainly left room for it and even hinted it could have when Yoshioka felt she was ready for it.
All in all, if you hadn't noticed this series before or gave it a pass, why not give it another look. It will probably leave you thinking about it long after you've put the book down. ...
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Great Bang for the Buck
14 of 14 Yahoo! Users found this review helpfulPros: fast, quiet, affordable, can scan color and B&W 35 mm negatives, nice TWAIN driver
Cons: the negative carriage holder is flimsy cardstock, most of the bundled software sucks
I LOVE this scanner! It has to be the quietest scanner I've ever seen. I was on the phone with my mom while scanning and she never heard it running. The scan time is a lot faster than I expected. At the highest resolution, previewing for negative scanning took 20 seconds. The actual scan takes less than two minutes. The quality of the scans is awesome, regardless of whether you are scanning photos, color negatives, or B&W negatives. This is such a huge change from the Canon scanner I had seven years ago!
So far, I've scanned from regular photos, Polaroids, color negatives, true B&W negatives, and even some color pencil sketches. They have all had rich color, nice sharpness, and it picks up the details from both photos and negatives very well. It even managed to pick up some details in some really crappy old photos I had. The only time a picture didn't come out nicely was from my own photographic boo boos (or if I had a fingerprint on the negative).
Software-wise, the TWAIN driver is very nice with tons of options. It has some basic color corrections, some sharpness corrections, and two modes depending on your experience level (basic automates most settings, while Advanced lets you tweak to your hearts desire; I stick with advanced). The driver works perfectly on my older XP Pro system. The bundled PhotoStudio sucks, however, and I don't use it. None of the actual options seem to take and I just couldn't seem to figure out how to do very basic corrections like adjusting contrast, color, and sharpness. I find that Irfanview (available free on-line) works quite nicely for most of my needs, including acting as a facilitator for batch scanning to file. I have not tried the included OmniPage SE, however I have used an earlier version so I expect it will perform well.
The only review that I found on Amazon before choosing this scanner dismissed this scanner as being more cheaply made versus the 8600F. Well yeah, the 8600F also costs twice as much money. I have no problems with construction of the 4400F at all. If you are abusive towards your equipment, then yeah you should go spend twice as much for something with metal joins and stuff. I, however, treat my equipment very well. This scanner comes with a plastic negative holder which looks like it might be flimsy, but it is easy to use and I think it will hold up just fine. The hinge on the scanner's lid is all plastic, but it opens smoothly and seems well designed. One big perk for me is that this scanner is pretty light weight. I have a glass desk, but it can sit safely on my corner glass which has the lowest maximum weight. I like the sleek compact design as well. My only minor complaint about the design would probably be the cover that you slide down over the negative carriage when not in use. It's basically a piece of thick cardstock like paper. It works, certainly, but I imagine the paper will wear out long before the actual scanner stops being useful. Sliding it into place will require a little patience and practice, but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty easy to get on and off.
The USB cord that is included with this scanner is a pretty good length. It was long enough to have my scanner on one end of my desk and still stretch to the other end to plug into my tower, maybe a four foot distance. The power adapter is the typical big block design, so plan to have to find room for it in your power strip. One thing I can't really comment on is the quick task buttons on the front. They are there and look nice, but I don't use them. I want to play with the settings of stuff too much to go with full automation, however if you like the buttons there are four buttons for scanning straight to PDF, a button to make copies, one for photo/film scanning, and one to scan straight to email.
All in all, I would highly recommend this scanner for anyone looking for a good, fast all purpose scanner for under $100. Well worth the price paid. ...