stanteau Reviews

Dogville (2003)

Nihilistic and without any type of a point

[3 April 2004]

I'll keep this short.

Clocking in at 3 hours Dogville tells the story about an immigrent coming to America where she is abused by the townspeople. The movie is shot entirely on a sound stage with no props, just chalk outlines for walls and is littered with title cards.

What must be said first and foremost is that the director, Trier, has never been to the United States and says he never will. By watching that movie that becomes all too apparent. He stereotypes all Americans as sexual predators and the such with no basis. The characters are all completely uninspired and even at 3 hours very few are even memorable enough to know their name. The entire chalk outline thing is very pretentious and in general the movie is a complete chore to sit through but also an effing embarrasment for any US citizen.

Trier should be ashamed for what he has made and maybe research a country when you portray it in this bad of a light. This may come as a big shock but everywhere has poverty and the fact is this movie would've made absolutely perfect sense had it been set in China or Singapore.

2 out of 10

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

The Single Most Incredible Theatre Experience Ever!

[10/10 · 10 October 2003]

Kill Bill holds a very dear place in my heart. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I liked, nay, loved, nay, MEMORIZED everything Quentin Tarantino has

ever been affiliated with. Started with a spur renting of Reservoir Dogs to finding my parents copy of Pulp Fiction which I LITERALLY destroyed by watching so much and within a year I had everything he'd ever starred in,directed,or written under my belt. I'm not exaggerating when I say me,my dad,and my brother have memorized every single line in Pulp Fiction.

At the same time I LOVE Japanese and Hong Kong cinema. I've watched almost every "big" HK kung fu movie and quite a few of the "small" ones. I've seen 14 Zatoichi movies for christ sake,and of course,Battle Royale.

Now,enter about nine months ago. I go on imdb and type in the QT man and find that he's directing a 4th film! Within an hour I've memorized the actors in it (SONNY EFFIN CHIBA!) and seen the teaser a good 3 times (I can't even begin to count how many times I've seen it now). This is MY film. This film was ALL I could talk about for the past 6 months and today at school I told EVERYONE "Eff House of the Dead, it's about Kill Effin Bill!" and everyone more or less hates me now cause of this stupid movie. SO! How was it?

In one word, scrumtulescent.

The movie is a train ride from the very beginning. The first thing we see is an AWESOME "Feature Presentation" logo, the kind you'd see in a 70's release of a Wu Tang flick. From there we open up on the bloody and scarred face of Uma Thurman as the mysterious Bill talks off screen. An amazing Tarantino soliloquy follows and then the credits. Nothing more than white text on black background while Nancy Sinatra's haunting "Bang Bang" plays.

Based on this alone you can get an idea of what Kill Bill is like. It's dark, it's bloody, it's gory, but it also has it's little hilarious quirks. This film is so quirky it's insane. It's shot in the Tarantino order,AKA,out of order but at NO point does it seem like a gimmick. At the same time Tarantino has no qualms with completely ruining the flow we've all come to know in the average movie. The best example I can give of this is when Tarantino launches into about a 10 minute anime back story (animated by our friends at Production IG,god bless ya'll) of one of the characters. Literally out of the blue. It does NOT seem out of place or anything at all, in fact, it's a great breath of fresh air.

The action is just...god, I can't even begin to explain it. I LOVE old kung fu stuff but lately it's too complicated. The fights go on far too long and involve such ridiculous stunts that by the end I just don't care anymore. This is old school all the way. Excluding 2 or 3 flips it is ALL grounded and it's kept nice and sweet. She doesn't play chicken with 50 guys for an hour, she beheads, dismembers, and mutilates about 80 or so characters in about 7 minutes and it's AWESOME! The violence is so ridiculously out of control that you can't help but just laugh at it but also be amazed at it's entertainment value. It blows anything the Matrix has even attempted out the water and this didn't need a bullet time gimmick.

And now we come to the ending. Something that everyone has been dreading since it was announced the film would be split. Does the ending work? Hell, mothereffin, yeah. The ending leaves you with a closed chapter but a plot twist that leaves you in suspense, but not the insane suspense of the Matrix. In the end I'm glad it was split, as I doubt even I could appreciate a 4 hour nonstop gore revenge flick.

My only complaint is that there isn't more. I don't mean the sequel, but I mean just more of the plot. I mentioned the anime sequence above. Now, I used to LOVE anime, I was knee deep in it, but I haven't seen an ounce of it in probably 2 or 3 months because it's just all poppy cheery kiddy crap or the same recycled romantic/shounen plot over and over. Well this is anime I LOVE! It's gritty, it's violent, it's dark, it's just some of the best animation I've ever seen. I just wish there was a fullon 24 episode series of it. At the same time, I know once the movie is over I'm gonna want more Tarantino hack and slash fun. I can only pray that this becomes Tarantino's "Bond" series where he makes a new installment every few years.

I gave this movie a 10/10 but no matter how you cut it, A+, 100%, this is an amazing effin movie.

Ranma ½ (1989–1992)

Eh, I loved it

[29 December 2001]

Ranma succeeds at one thing,being fun to watch.The first season was magnificent as stated in another review but the second season isn't a complete waste by anymeans. It's not gonna win any awards but everything after season 1 is still fun as hell to watch. BTW, I like the English VA's better :)

My Dog Skip (2000)

Cliches to the fullest

[1/10 · 16 June 2001]

This movie was torture.Horrible cliches that are already overused,a pathetic story,and bad acting.The story I guess is actually decent.It has no real plot other than a boy and his dog are friends.But the kids act like idiots a lot.And the dog of course gets hurt and we get the most overused scene ever,a boy talking to his dog on the medical bed.Also,theres a pathetically non-funny part about dogs in the war.

Gunbuster (1988–1989)

very unique but with a crappy ending

[7/10 · 26 May 2001]

The story is extremely unique.It's about these 2 pilots saving Earth from alien beings but they have to use a special speed that makes everything around them age rapidly.The whole series is about the pilots dealing with the loss of time,friends,and mentors.

The ending COULD have been fantastic.It started to end on a total down note and leave a real mark but instead ended on a super happy Disney note and annoyed me VERY bad.

The animation is decent for 89 but can't compare to nowadays.I have also heard many complain about the cheesiness of the nudity.I actually found it to be somewhat decent.The nudity for the most part was warranted except in episode 2 where there was an excess.

Overall it deserves a look but the ending keeps it from being a classic.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)

DEEP!

[10/10 · 28 April 2001]

Going into this movie I had just finished the EVA series and was mentally drained.The first part,Air,left me totally stunned visually and emotionally.All my favorite characters were dying!Than came End of EVA ............Shinji's scream epitomizes the entire movie.It delves into the deepest,darkest human emotion and experience.From the amazing choking scene to the heart drenching "Farewell mother" scene EoE is perfect.I rewatched Kaoru and Rei's speech 3 times in a row.And Yui's advice to Shinji left me in complete tears.As the credits rolled there I sat,tears strolling down my eyes,wide eyed,with my mouth wide open.

People complain that it made no sense and they are right......to an extent.EoE makes you create your own movie.It is very mental as to what is happening.But what everyone (even Asuka) says to Shinji is so......deep and profound.....I will never see anything more meaningful,artistic,or emotional for as long as I live.