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srijan_srijan
Reviews
Sucker Punch (2011)
Needs more sex? Otherwise a consistent plot.
It's different... Sometimes different is not good.
The eyes (of males) should enjoy, but the brain will be giving too much meaning to too little, or looking to end its misery.
The scattered plot insults the intelligence while the visuals comfort you with glamorous and sexy lies forcing you to keep hope in thinking 'everything will be OK if I stick with this hot mess a little longer'.
The opening premise and primary prison-style setting feels more like the movie should have been an erotica. If it stuck to one creative invention the film would have been fine, but it wanted to put on a FULL convention with no steady theme or culture.
The movie was just begging to get ****ed up the ass (quite literally), and thanks to the director, it did. The problem with that was it should have been the actresses on screen 'receiving', not the movie itself.
(Action?) It's stylish, but the movie screams its ambition too loudly when it needed to sing a quiet melody.
(The sexy girls?) Aimlessly building a sexual appetite only carries filming so far with incoherent plots present... Unless its pornography. Which Sucker Punch (unfortunately) isn't.
4/10... Edible, but bitter and non-alcoholic.
Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku romantan (2012)
'Samurai X' succeeds
Remember that failed attempt at live-action? ... Huh? "Which one?" You ask... Good point.
Regardless! I'm happy to say this movie isn't one of those!
So we know how hard it is to transfer the charm and grace of fluid animation into acted out cinematography. It is then even harder to hold together a cohesive 2 hour story that does not stray from 90+ episodes worth of critical comparison. These battles of pleasing relentless (sometimes even borderline O.C.D) fans of a popular anime franchise are handled commendably, allowing me to share the good news that this movie is a phenomenal live-action film.
Being quite familiar with the arc (very effectively) summarized into a coherent fast paced action movie, I applaud the efforts of not only doing the popular anime justice but also bringing forth more to offer.
Visual settings: 9/10
Simply beautiful to see the world of Samurai X brought to life in the third dimension. The settings are breath taking and must be seen to be felt.
Plot: 7.5/10
For those unfamiliar to Samurai X, this is a satisfactory story that is as rewarding as the level of interest you chose to uphold. If you bare with the beginning which has a 50/50 percent chance of reeling or losing you, there will be an acceptable ending which won't 'move' you, but it won't 'rudely barge' you either (say, with the death of the female lead which many older anime displayed a compulsion for).
Action: 10/10
The display of martial arts is beyond satisfying. You might even find yourself replaying scenes. Unfortunately they do seem to have a mild funnel effect. The early fight around twenty minutes or so into the movie is the best. The quality of action in fact rises, but how impressed you are doesn't really. Should you keep this in mind then you will be pleasantly surprised by the later confrontations.
Music: 9/10
Nice. The authentic tunes are certainly there and constantly richly enhancing the visual pleasures of this film but you will barely notice over the action being offered at hand here. That said, music does compliment the action brilliantly.
Characters: 10/10
Finally a live action that does justice to its characters! Excellently portrayed and wisely modified. The more ridiculous elements of some villains have been minimized or removed to make for a more 'you can actually take anime seriously once in a while' feel.
Final verdict: Aside from a brief cheesy and slightly stretched monologue (which somewhat fails to be as ambitiously inspirational and heartwarming as it sets out to be), the ending delivers a justified wrap-up to form a neatly sealed and high quality package with that rare stamp of approval that reads: "Safe to play even in the Western World."
9+/10 for this culturally rich and fast paced action movie!
Suzuka (2005)
My review
Review: Suzuka Had a greater potential than its actual success, but none the less It was rather impressive in its own way.
Its introduction of athletics was an original and well incorporated concept which gained it a positive note in my books but what really won me over and influenced my final rating was though the story began with a typical plot line and appeared to be very predictable, it wasn't. There were three or four dramatic turn of events I did not expect and were very effective in getting some important and truly valuable themes across that can be applied in daily life, unlike the unrealistic scenarios many anime provide but I will not spoil what these good ones were in Suzuka.
On the other hand I have a lot of negatives to say about this show also. To put it bluntly it frustrated me, if you are currently in this kind of relationship or a part of one you may be able to tolerate it with nothing but smiles and reflections of, "oh my gosh I was a tool". But! If you have not been a part of one or you have already learnt from such a relationship then the plot can come across as repetitively cold and to an extent upsetting. I did not like the way the 'guy' played his cards but without him screwing up so much there would be no story. Another point worth mentioning is the end was an anti-climax in MY opinion, hopefully my saying that will prove me wrong through your eyes and make this show a little bit better for you but personally I felt the pain to pleasure ratio was way out of proportion.
Story/events/plot: 9/10.
The realism of the events truly deserves some credit without which the story would border towards shi@.
Art/Visuals: 6/10
Nothing great, but no dramatic faults in the art in my opinion. The characters look good but it's their natures which define them.
Music: 9/10
The few moments with the piano in the background were just incredible. Guys who've seen it, you know what I mean. Episode "lips" (very nice)
Dialogue: 8/10
I enjoyed listening to what the important yet peripheral characters had to say more than what the main female and male characters did. Oh, except one random occasion when Yamato finally snaps, that was cool, only because you yourself are already so agitated by 'her' mind games.
Characters: 10/10
Despite my thorough and intense hatred for the female protagonist on two or three occasions, (I also say that under influence because I was routing for another girl), the characters are captured phenomenally. Also to twist the bitterness many people will experience towards Suzuka (female protagonist) into sympathy or some random form of affection is an incredible achievement itself. The peripheral characters are incredible, far, far better than average.
Personal response: A good anime, but a little frustrating for my liking when watching too much of it in one go. I loved the realism, an element absent in many anime I've come across. 3.5/5 stars for its uniqueness but had the potential of more.
All bias aside: It is relatively one of the 'better' anime for its individuality where a romantic story unfolds unexpectedly along with an appropriate reference to the strict disciplines of track and field and realistic depictions of effort necessary to achieve, succeed or 'win over' in life. 4/5 stars Recommended audience: All teens, if you have low self esteem than this will lend you some hope or utterly torture your heart leaving it demolished depending on your interpretation and if you can watch it till the end or not. Little kids, no forget it. Mature audiences may find it lacks a degree of sophistication in areas finding it slightly boring.
Final word: Teens go watch it; you will not be disappointed if you like emotional anime. I applaud the creators (on their side-story characters who were inspirational) yet I hope they learn from the few mistakes they made in the production of this series. And leave the 'beating up' of the main character to someone other than the female protagonist, it's ineffective.