Wednesday, September 3, 2003

Bought a bunch of films over the weekend. The clerk commented on the nice, wide variety of titles. “And, of course, the obligatory anime,” he smiled. He knows me well.

Let’s tackle the list alphabetically:

All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku is great Golden Age anime, and by that I mean early 1990’s. Beautiful character designs, ridiculously detailed and fluid animation, and a story that’s just plain fun. It’s not brilliant by any stretch, but it’s solid entertainment, especially for someone who can appreciate the wonderful insanity of anime plots. In this case: A brilliant scientist and his nine-year-old son flees his domineering wife with the android prototype he’s designed. He needs a brain for the android, so he inserts the brain of a cat and she becomes his “daughter” and their protector from his ex-wife (and her prototype military mecha). The six-episode miniseries hasn’t taken itself seriously yet; the whole set-up is just for laughs. Great fun.

When I first heard the Sci-Fi Channel was making Children of Dune, I was skeptical. It was an incredibly difficult job. I’ve only watched the first third of it thus far, but they’ve done a tremendous job thus far. Their casting is almost universally spot-on this time. The direction is a bit too claustrophobic for my tastes, but overall it’s quite well done thus far.

I’ve only seen one scene from Eat Drink Man Woman, but that was enough. This is a…errr…family romantic comedy drama. Sort of like Steve Martin’s Father of the Bride, but this one’s about a widower and his three grown daughters, and their difficulties. He’s a master chef, and the film lovingly depicts the meals he cooks for them, and how that weaves into their story.

I hardly need explain my love for Haibane Renmei; I created a website for it, after all. I now own volume 1, thankfully. It’s a quiet, beautiful series. And in re-watching it, I’m amazed at how much of the plot is hinted at in episode one.

Finally, one of my favorite kung fu films: Jackie Chan’s Legend of Drunken Master. A comedy and martial arts masterpiece, with some of the most incredible, dexterous fighting ever put on screen.