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Reviews
Cam (2018)
Very satisfying sci fi story (parable?)
I found this story of an ambitious cam girl pushing the envelope of what she's willing to do just for ratings wonderfully layered. The "Alice" references and the 7 Deadly Sins and her ambiguity about her self-worth are all well played by a good cast, and her environment -- real, virtual, and imaginary -- makes sense especially today with the Belle Delphine phenomenon fresh in our heads.
I found the ambiguous conclusion satisfying and not disappointing or confusing at all. Whether there really is an actual online AI analyzing and replacing the cam girls one by one, or Alice is simply coming apart at the seams breaking her own taboos, really doesn't matter. Science Fiction is mostly allegory anyway. What is significant is that she decides to stay committed despite the dangers and fight harder to stay a whole person despite all obstacles. I was also pleased that her mother Gets It.
Prodigy (2017)
Familiar story beautifully done
Okay, you won't experience any big surprises in this one-set piece of a battered psychologist trying to save a brilliant and dangerously-powerful little girl from vivisection by the military in 80 minutes. But if you're okay watching a good, if familiar, story with mostly very good characters, you will be caught up in the elegantly paced drama that unfolds with tautness and grace. Richard Neil is very likable as Dr. Fonda, a certain project leader's choice for Last Resort, and young Savannah Liles is electrifying as the "sociopathic killer" with the scary powers who dares him to do what no one else could do. It's a stock situation but a lot of thought and care has gone into this treatment, and if it falls somewhat short of being deeply moving, it doesn't fall far short. Well worth your time.
Kuroyuri danchi (2013)
Twisty, underrated thriller
The Complex isn't a perfect film, but it builds on a time-honored formula: Nothing is what it seems to be. 'Ringu' director Hideo Nakata is back with a thriller that may annoy you with seemingly random plot twists, changes of scene, and viewpoint changes, but stick with it, there's a terrifying story behind all the confusion. In fact, The Complex resembles a Korean thriller more than a J-horror flick, in the kaleidoscopic subjective-cinema way things are frequently turned upside down to reveal more of what's really going on.
The truth, once you discover it, is nothing really new, but its truly thriling in the way the pieces fall together (I'm pretty sure a lot of the low ratings were from people who got lost), and it's genuinely scary all the way through, and the lovely cinematography and some fine performances by the young stars help lift it up to near-Ringu status. But what puts it over the top is an exciting, compelling score by veteran composer Kenji Kawai, which keeps the heart racing.
I've seen them all, and this one still scared the heck out of me, while doing an ingenious job orchestrating the threatening power of grief and guilt in a way I haven't seen since 'Dark Water.'
Berusaiyu no bara (1979)
Accurate history while using interesting substitute character
Rose of Versailles is a great anime to show young people to spark an interest in European history. For the most part, the events depicted are pretty accurate, and the portrait of the doomed young Queen is pretty much spot on. A lot is made of the lead character, Oscar, being "fictional," but it should be pointed out that her place in the drama of the French Revolution is not fictional -- the role she plays is the role of Lafayette. Lafayette did, of course, fight in the American Revolution, he was appointed to commander of the Garde Nationale when things turned bad, and he was protector of the Queen, and he did try to stop the violence and ultimately switched sides in the Revolution. He was also a glamorous figure who always appeared in uniform and was quite popular with the ladies at court. It works amazingly well to have a woman as Lafayette. A lot of interesting discussion can be generated by weighing the results of re-imagining him as a woman.