17 Jul 07
Just finished watching The Last Unicorn for the first time. I know several people who love this film. They all saw it first when they were kids. And I think that explains their love. I just don’t think it’s a great film. Why? Well, I’m no big fan of America’s music; it’s okay, but it’s […]
29 Jun 07
Saw Ratatouille tonight. The 6:30 P.M. showing was sparsely attended, which shouldn’t have been a surprise for a “kid’s movie.” It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in a long time.
9 Jun 07
Finished watching Bubba Ho-Tep today. Surprisingly fantastic film. Yes, it’s cheesy at times—the plot involves the real Elvis, stuck in an old folks’ home, who confronts a 4,000-year-old soul-sucking mummy—but like all really good films, it transcends its concept by really examining its concept. Imagine an Elvis who’s old. Way past his prime. Spends almost […]
31 May 07
Tom Swift and His Jetmarine was as thoroughly entertaining as I’d hoped. A great read. Now, on to Shogun.
29 May 07
I finally got my hands on a Tom Swift book. By luck, it’s the second book in the Tom Swift Jr. series (Tom Swift and His Jetmarine). I’ve been curious about the quality of these rousing adventures for years. And boy, is this book fun. It’s all breathtaking adventures and sci-fi inventions, though the author […]
28 May 07
Saw Spider-Man 3 last night, during a lovely evening spent with Mandy and Kirstin. I have a troubled history with the Spider-Man movies. The first one had comparatively little web-slinging action. And what action there was, was stunted by Peter’s lack of experience. It just didn’t have full-scale fun Marvel battles. Okay, I thought, it’s […]
27 May 07
Just finished reading Neal Gabler’s exhaustive biography, Walt Disney. What a man. He spent his entire life dissatisfied. The animations were never good enough. The parks never had enough rides. His legacy wasn’t big enough. This from a man who legitimized an art form, then immediately created several classics within that form. Then he revolutionized […]
Slow-Motion Gunplay
I’ve now watched my first Hong Kong John Woo movie, A Better Tomorrow. Overall, I’m impressed. It’s about two mafia friends who get involved in a disastrous situation, after which one is crippled and the other serves three years in jail. The ex-con spends the rest of the movie trying to go legit, while the crippled guy wants revenge, and the ex-con‘s brother (who’s a cop) is hell-bent on re-convicting the ex-con. So […]
You’re clearly not ready for a Spriggan!
To continue with yesterday’s anime review, this evening I watched Spriggan. Fortunately, it was exactly what I wanted to watch tonight: beautifully-animated action with a plot just interesting enough to engage a few brain cells, but not enough to require much real mental effort. The plot concerns enhanced humans who fight to keep humans alive, and a plot to resurrect a massive artifact that will, naturally, destroy the world. Katsuhiro […]