harsawa Reviews

Get Smart (2008)

Would you believe the big screen Get Smart is actually very funny? You should.

[9/10 · 30 June 2008]

No, Get Smart isn't going to be the highest pinnacle of film making to come. But considering how much drek has appeared in recent comedies, especially comedies based on popular TV classics (Bewitched being the worst in recent memory), Get Smart is actually pretty good. Would you believe that? The first thing is the quality of the performances. Certainly, Steve Carrel is no Don Adams, but Carrel's performance as Smart is honestly better than I expected. The reason why: He knows he's not Don Adams, so he doesn't try to be. I expected Carrel to try and imitate Don Adam's down to his accent, and do a crappy job at it. He doesn't, Carrel instead focuses on crafting his own version of Maxwell Smart, and he does a damn good job. This screen version of Smart won't out-do Adams version, but he doesn't try to, which is a good move really. If only Steve Martin realized this when he did The Pink Panther. Anne Hatheway does a good job as 99, and Terrence Stamp puts a little menace into Siegfried (Although in terms of humor, Siegfried is one of the lower points of the film.) and dear god dare I say it, The Rock is solid, funny and even a little cool as Agent 23.

The plot of the film.. isn't really all that great, but thankfully it doesn't read too much into it. The plot is full of clichés, but as with the TV series, it's really just a skeleton to put a background setting behind the characters. They make up the meat of this movie, they just use the skeleton to get themselves into something funny. And funny is something this movie does great. There were several moments I found myself bursting into full blown laughter, a hard thing to give to me. The funny thing is, a lot of the jokes have been done a lot recently, but somehow this film pulls them off. Is it the direction of the film? The scripting? Maybe even the acting? I don't know, but the fact is it works. This is the film a lot of recent comedies tried to be, but failed to be. There are some moments where the humor even kind of resembles the old TV series. There are of course more modern jokes and crude jokes, but even they feel like the sort of thing the original creators would have done had the censors of the time let them.

So, all in all, would you believe the big screen Get Smart is actually very funny? You should. For those who love the TV show, they're going to find a well made tribute and update to the TV series. For those who don't know it, hopefully this movie will make them fans. It appeals to those nostalgic for the show, but it will bring laughter to those who haven't even heard of it.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

A brilliant mix of dark humour, haunting visuals, and great music make for one of Tim's best films!

[10/10 · 29 February 2008]

When I heard that Tim Burton was doing Sweeney Todd, to be honest, I had low expectations. I had no interest in the play, at the time I thought it was nothing more than a story about a couple of killers, a baker and a barber. I had no idea that it was so much more complex, and I am very glad a good friend of mine drug me too it.

Yes, there is lots of butchery in this film, but it all goes with reason. The music is excellent, a dark orchestra fills the background with an almost menacing overture in certain parts, and although many of the songs repeat themselves, they find ways to stay fresh or catchy.

There is a good dose of horror and black comedy in Sweeney; for example, the ending shot alone will haunt you for a good while, while some numbers, such as Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney's conversation when she figures out how to make good meat pies, will have you rolling. Even if black humour isn't your taste, you might find something to laugh at in this scene or the odd 'By the sea' number which almost blinds you with it's brightness and cheeriness compared to the dark visuals of the rest of the film.

There are only a couple downsides I can think of, and they come in the form of some of the performances.

For one, Alan Rickman has a hard time hitting notes. He has a fine voice, but it goes off tune sometimes.

Other's include the character of the 'Beadle,' who thankfully only has one singing number, but you will want to claw your ears off when he does so.

There isn't really anything wrong with the people playing Johanna or Anthony, they sing fine, but they sometimes seem to be a little bland when they aren't singing.

On the other hand, the rest of the cast turns out wonderful performances, one notable side attraction is Sacha Baron Cohen, who does an absolutely hysterical portrayal of an Italian barber who runs scams on people.

It's a wonderful film, from beginning to end, it looks amazing, sounds amazing, and it lives up to the style with great performances and brilliant direction. What more could you ask for?

StarCraft (1998 Video Game)

A game that truly reaches epic proportions- easily the best game of it's kind, if not the best ever.

[10/10 · 24 May 2007]

1998 was an absolutely monumental year for gaming. Two of the greatest titles ever were released- StarCraft and Half-Life. I never cared for WarCraft, I found it's lack of an original premise and compelling story to be a major weakness. StarCraft did everything a game should. It's graphics were beautiful, the vibrant artwork lends amazing detail to the futuristic battlefield even today. The soundtrack fits the atmosphere well, when traversing the cold vacuum of space it only lends to the atmosphere when you here the creepy tunes of starcraft. Then the gameplay itself. Each race is unique, and works in different ways, but is perfectly balanced. The difficulty is just right- not too easy, not too tough. Then there is the story. WarCraft didn't have a very compelling story; nor did Diablo or many other Blizzard games. StarCraft has quality writing that makes the campaign even more amazing. Each race has it's rich history, and you can't help but take interest in at least some of the things they engage in. The game also has multiplayer, and StarCraft also excels here. Multiplayer is just plain FUN. If you get bored of massing and destroying your friends in a 1on1 or crashing the computers party in a 2 on 2 compstomp, then all you need is to select 'Use Map Settings'. The variety here is amazing. THere are brand new games and minimods created in this area, hell, there are even MOVIES that are often times very funny. StarCraft has NO flaws WHATSOEVER. There's thousands of maps shipped with the game that can be used in multiplayer and in your own skirmishes. The editor has all you need to make a brand new campaign or new game modes for online, the story is amazing, the graphics are amazing, the whole entire package is worth your time; and as long as Battle.net exists StarCraft will keep you entertained till time stops.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

A strange, stylish, comedy-turned-romantic-tragedy. It's hard to put it into one genre, but as funny as it is sad, it's simply a must see.

[10/10 · 9 January 2007]

When I first started Moulin Rouge! I felt like I was on a trip, in fact, I found it so incredibly off I didn't watch it. I couldn't watch it. Too strange. But then a friend of mine convinced me to give it another try, which I did, and I don't regret it. Moulin Rouge! is a hard movie to place, it's hysterically off kilter, it's depressingly sad and emotional, it's musically sensational, and it's definitely different. It tells the story of Christian (Ewan McGregor) a young poet and writer who has come to Paris in search of a job, against his fathers wishes, who warns him that he'll end up wasting his time with a Cancan dancer at the Moulin Rouge, and that there is no such thing as 'freedom, beauty, truth, and above all things, Love.' Which is something that Christian believes in more than anything else. So then,an unconscious Argentinian falls through his roof, along with an artist named Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) (A real person, so I've heard) and herd of other rather eccentric people, trying to find a good song for their next production (Christian comes up with 'The Hills are Alive') and is then whisked away to the Moulin Rouge, an enormous night club owned by eccentric Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), the main attraction being his 'Diamond Dogs'. One of his star women, Satine(Nicole Kidman), wows the stage, and is to have a private meeting with a Duke shortly after her act. Well, Christian and Toulouse have already ran into the Duke, and when Zidler points out the duke to Satine, she does not see the Duke, but rather Christian, who instead shows up at the private meeting. Sound weird enough to you? It's even weirder to see. All the music in the movie is great, but if it seems familiar, that's because all but one song (The gorgeous 'Come What May')are remixes of classic rock and stage play songs. It still sounds unique and it all matches the on screen looniness. All though it's established that Moulin Rouge! is a weird movie, it's also a very sad movie. Each character has their own unique charm, and the silliness doesn't totally leave the movie, it stays consistent, but it of course, had to be toned down to make way for the more emotional, and serious main act, which will leave you in tears. I admit, the scenes leading up to the saddest part of the movie do seem unfitting as the end is a hard blow out of a rather exciting scene, but it's clear that the comedic part has made it's end, and it's time for the main act to deal out it's sad story. The movie does what a lot can't: It provides two different stories, that remain consistent with one another. The comedy act almost always hits, with you snickering or even laughing out loud at the overall craziness of the characters, but then the romance act sneaks in, and it's genuine and true, and in some points, even does a collaborative dance with the comedy act, but the romance ends in Tragedy, which severs it's ties with the comedy, though it never loses step. It's a wonderful movie, it's funny, it's sad, it's weird, and I would recommend this movie to anyone.

Spiral (2000)

I can credit it for being a truly unique film, but not much else

[7/10 · 16 September 2006]

Uzumaki succeeds as at plunging you into a bizarre surreality where Uzumaki shapes haunt and curse a town. It fails at being a competent horror movie. While the film is sure to draw attention mainly to it's bizarre plot line and a few interesting visual treats, it's going to come off better as a dark comedy than a horror film. It's definitely a film you should see if your into the kind of stuff- but if your looking for a scare or even a small chill, you'll want to look elsewhere. Uzumaki doesn't really have much else up it's sleeve but a great chain of odd events.

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Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

It says a lot about your sense of humor if you can make fun of yourself; and this movie does just that

[8/10 · 28 August 2006]

while it's not as funny as clerks, but Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a funny piece of work that shows that making fun of yourself can prove you have a sense of humor. The 'plot' (If you could call it that) is that Jay and Silent Bob are given a restraining order due to their actions while standing around the quick stop all day. While trying to find a new place they find out they haven't been payed for a movie being based off a comic that is at the same time based off them. After learning about the internet, they hear lots of people bad mouthing them and their movie. So they try to head to Hollywood to stop the movie from being made. Along the way, they make so many attacks on Hollywood, as well as well known characters, and best of all, well known actors and comedians appear as themselves (Or at least reference themselves as a separate character) and take a s*** all over themselves. One of my personal favorites is when they are in Hollywood, they are looking for a monkey that was taken too Hollywood to be an actor (That they were keeping because Jay was under the impression a girl he met, who wanted to 'liberate' the monkey, was blown up, so he wanted to keep the monkey as a reminder of her) and they end up on the set of another scream movie. When she unmasks the villain, it is the monkey, and she walks over to Wes Craven and tells him 'Wes, what's happening!? Your not even trying anymore!' 'Well, everyones gonna love the monkey!' and Jay and Silent Bob come in and say 'We LOVE the monkey (While taking it)' and then Craven says 'See?' It's not perfect, but it's unique, and while it is extremely crude (And in many places, very stupid, but it was meant to be) it has a very intelligent form of humor (Beleive it or not!) Because what better way to take a s*** on Hollywood than to have The actors of Hollywood take a s*** on themselves?

Tommy (1975)

A great film with the potential of being excellent, if only the music had made a better transition.

[7/10 · 15 June 2006]

Review: I love the album. The movie is good- but mainly for the way the concept is adapted. Visually it is a true adaptation of the concept, complete with the usual acid inspired scenes (I'll give you an example, his mother is watching commercials. First up, a bean commercial. Then a chocolate commercial. Then it switches to Tommy, she is scared to see him on TV so she trys switching, laundry detergent, but it keeps switching. She smashes the TV after hearing Tommy speak with his mind. Then out comes a stream of laundry detergent. Then a stream of beans. Then, not surprisingly enough, pinball's and chocolate. She messes up the entire house, then Frank comes home to see his wife flopping around on the floor like a loony.) However, the music does not translate so well. Keith Moon can't sing. Jack Nicholson can't sing (Who the hell cast him in this anyways?) Oliver Reed can't sing either. Much of the instrumentals have been changed, and the entire overture as well. Some tracks were left out for songs that weren't even the movie. It's still good to listen too, but this is probably the worst version of Tommy music wise, with the exception of Eyesight to the blind, The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, I'm free, Sally Simpson, and We're not gonna take it/ Climb the mountain which are sung by either professional singers, Roger Daltrey (The lead singer of the Who) or the Who themselves. This movie would be one of the best I've seen in awhile, if it weren't for the fact that the music is butchered in many areas. But still, if you're looking for a good acid film (but coherent enough that it won't overwhelm you) with a good story, and decent acting from the people who can sing. Tommy isn't the greatest movie you will find, but if you like the music or if you just want a good movie to while away a boring afternoon, Tommy's a great movie to check out. 7/10 (I would give it a 8 if the music was adapted better)

Silent Hill (2006)

As a fan of the series- I was worried. In the end, I was surprised, there's nothing a fan should be worried about!

[8/10 · 22 April 2006]

Silent Hill was announced awhile back, and I was afraid it was going to be awful. Even though the previews all looked good, I was still afraid it would be another Doom or Resident Evil. Boy was I wrong! The movie has it's problems, but it still ended up being awesome! It did need a little more appearances from the monsters, and the ending didn't do much for me, but when the monsters did appear, it felt like the games! The town was recreated brick from brick and the story is well written (However there are some plot holes that only fans of the series would be able to fill, so if your a regular movie goer check them out!) and transfers well into a movie, with a few changes that don't harm it much.

The movie isn't as creepy as the games, but it does retain a certain amount of that atmosphere we all love. The world shifts and changes, creatures are twisted and yet seem almost human. The special effects are great too! Though some effects (The revenge sequence) were a little too over done. The sound is great! The soundtrack is good, except some of the remixes don't sound as good as they did on the CD's or in the games. Silent Hill is a shocker! A video game movie that isn't B-grade drek that's torture to sit through! It may not be up to the mark, as it will disappoint some, but for me, I was pleasantly surprised!

The Pink Panther (2006)

Has it's moments, but will never touch the classic films.

[5/10 · 2 April 2006]

The 2006 version of the Pink Panther has it's moments, the title sequence is a true homage to the originals, with Harry Mancini's now famous tune with the hijinks of a pink panther. The movie has it's funny bits too, but while watching you'll notice something....... Martin is no Sellers. Martin is one of my favorite comedians, and I thought he'd be a decent Clouseau, but as it is proved doesn't do a good job as Clouseau at all. They try too hard to make it more of a tribute than a remake by throwing in classic gags, but they get pulled off poorly that you'll be missing the originality and humor of the original films.

This Pink Panther is considerably better than the last 3 films after Sellers death, but this does not warrant it a good or exceedingly funny film. I would say it's worth renting, but as of now don't bother seeing it.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

Possibly the funniest movie I have ever seen!

[10/10 · 1 April 2006]

The Pink Panther was a decent flick, but it took too long to become funny or even understandable, the first 2 sequels were funny, but they still don't touch The Pink Panther Strikes Again. After Charles Dreyfus was admitted into an asylum after being driven mad by Inspector Clouseau's incompetence, is let out after being cured of his problem, only to run into Clouseau again, this forced Dreyfus back into his state of madness and then he isntantly goes out to gather up criminals and kidnaps a scientist for only one reason, to hold the world ransom for what? Killing Clouseau.

Of course, after a demonstration of Drefus's machine, many countries have hired assassins after Clouseau, only to all fail just because Clouseau is a n idiot. This is where the series gets really ridiculuos, there were things about the previous 3 movies that were beleiveable, but very cartoonish, The Pink Panther Strikes again is entirely cartoonish, and pulls of the humor very well, as it is one of the funniest movies ever made, and by this point Seller's Clouseau character is perfect, so what is there not to love?

Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)

Wow- what a film.

[9/10 · 1 April 2006]

Since this is an overall summary+review, I'm giving you another heads up, *EXCESSIVE SPOILER WARNING* /SPOILERS I had heard of Jacob's Ladder for years, but only the name. I had only bothered checking it out because I've heard it was the inspiration for one of my favorite games- Silent Hill, and I'm surprised I hadn't seen this draining film (As it fits in one of my favorite genres) It begins with a supposed Vietnam flash back, where out of no where they began to be attacked by a seemingly invisible force (All is explained later) and then it stops, and we see Jacob Singer, a seemingly normal man in his 30's or 40's on a train when he notices something odd about the one other passenger. He then gets off the train only to find the station is barricaded, so he trys to find a new route. He does make it home, but things have been changing. He's been having visions of his tour of Vietnam, and they all seem weird as he does not remember them. Eventually he starts to see more weird things, people, or creatures are hunting him down. He tries to find more information from the army- but the army denies all, even that he was ever in the Vietnam war. He gets a call from an old army buddy, who is freaking out. Saying he's going to hell, that they're coming for him. After the meeting, his car explodes taking his life. Strange things continue to occur up until Jacob is injured. He is then dragged through a seemingly hellish hospital, where they tell him he is dead and experiment. He wakes up to be rushed out by his chiropractor (A seemingly angelic character) who heals his injury and gives Jacob advice. The demons, or whatever you'd like to call them, are not taking him to be tortured in inferno, but if he is to make peace and accept the fact that they are coming for him they are really angels trying to take his soul from the cruel earth. He gets another call, he's found the information he's needed from the army. As everyone knows, the army has been rumored to have experimented with drugs to make "Super soldiers", well, this was confirmed by this strange man who has also been following Jacob. He was commissioned during the Vietnam war to create a drug for making super soldiers, The Ladder. The ladder was a dangerous drug- first tested on primapes. They then used it on Jacob's unit, saying that they'd get the highest kill ratio. They did, however, the invisible force from the beginning was their allies. Their kill ration increased, but the ladder made them so violent they began to kill each other, and apparently this drug was the cause of everything Jacob has been seeing. He tries to get in contact with his 2 remaining children and his ex-wife, but cannot find them. He remembers what his doctor told him, and as he is alone with the creatures, accepts his fate. And the demon becomes his dead son, who takes him to heaven. They then have one final twist for the viewers- none of it happened. You see a Vietnam medic camp, and the medics are operating on Jacob, he has just died after the attack seen in the supposed flash backs./SPOILERS END /REVIEWI highly recommend seeing Jacob's Ladder, it's rare you see a film quite like it. Certain shots and scenes have their own visual style, and the acting is actually pretty good, and the story is great, and some sequences are so downright weird and creepy what's there NOT to love about a film like this???? /REVIEW END 5/5

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Not on par with Spirited Away- but still an amazing film.

[9/10 · 1 March 2006]

I have and always will love Hayao Miyazaki's films. I first descovered him when I saw もののけ姫(US "Princess Mononoke") when it first hit the cinema. Howl's moving castle is his second adaptation of a novel by the same writer (The first being "Castle in the sky") and his latest film. It opens fairly quickly with not a lot of time to establish the characters, but then after a few other goes-by-fast events, the movie starts into an acceptable pace. Sophie is a young girl working for a hat-shop in a witch and wizard version of Europe. One of the most well known Wizards- Howl lives inside a giant legged castle, and is commonly believed to come down and steal the hearts (literally) of young and beautiful women. When the watch of the waste comes into the hat shop, after a brief argument of sorts, curses Sophie and turns her into an old woman. She then flees her town to the wastes in hope of finding a way to have the spell broken, and along the way finds a cursed scarecrow whom she asks to find a place to stay- and finds Sophie Howl's castle. When inside she meets Calcifur, a demon of flame who promises her he would break her curse if she freed him from Howl, he uses him as a slave. I do not know how close this adaptation is to the novel, as I have never read it, or even heard of the authors name until recently. This movie is extremely well done, as with Miyazaki's other films, but when it comes to Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, or any of his other films, Howl's moving castle falls short. It's lacking some of what made his original films so unique (Not to say it doesn't have some of that style) and doesn't feel as fresh or interesting as his others.

Yellow Submarine (1968)

A strange and unique animation featuring one hell of a good sound track

[9/10 · 10 February 2006]

Yellow Submarine is a film based off the song by the well known band, "The Beatles" It opens with an unearthly paradise called "Pepperland" filled with happy music loving people. However, the music hating "Blue Meanies" have taken over, and the remaining "Unbonked" citizen of Pepperland takes a yellow submarine to bring the Beatles, the closest thing they can get to Sgt. Peppers lonely hearts club band to save them. The movie is extremely colorful, there's practically no color that isn't used, some people may even see a color they've never seen before. The movie goes by quickly, but does not stop it from being a unique and bizarre story, and the soundtrack is an undeniably excellent one, as is the case with most songs by The Beatles. Some people may not enjoy Yellow Submarine however, some may find it childish, and some may find it too colorful and strange. That's exactly how I like it, and if your into that kind of stuff, check it out. If not, get the soundtrack for the very least.

King Kong (2005)

A satisfying film- with some major problems

[8/10 · 23 January 2006]

Almost everyone knows the story of King Kong, and even if they don't know the story, they at least know the name. Peter Jackson does a great job remaking the classic. The CGI is well done, the action is well choreographed, the acting is superb, but the biggest problem of this film, is it's length. I'm all for long movies, I like a movie if it's longer, but King Kong was not meant to be this long. They aren't even back too New York by the time the original movie would have been over. The biggest downfall of the length, is the fact that while most of the new ideas are good, some of the new stuff is uninspired, or it's just the same scene drug on forever. It's really the last hour or so that really interests you. When they take Kong back to new york, the final sequences are really the best when Kong is rampaging in New York. The movie is definitely worth seeing, whether you liked the original or not. (My friend Chie hated the original, but loved this version) Just be prepared for a LONG movie. If you can not sit in the theater for 3 hours, go and watch a another good movie, or just watch the classic Kong film.

Son of the Mask (2005)

I can say one amazing thing about this movie- it was an 80 million dollar prank

[1/10 · 6 January 2006]

This movie isn't very good. The jokes have no originality at all, they're either dull as hell, or taken directly from an old cartoon and poorly executed. The plot is basically just that Tim Avery is a cartoonist with nothing to do with his life. Then the mask just happens to float into Fringe city *Error, the dog from the first movie got the mask, so how did it float somewhere else?* Then Tim gets ahold of the mask and puts it on. When he gets home, he leaves the mask on and conceives a child. Big mistake, the child has the powers of the mask now. Meanwhile, Loki, the owner of the mask is in deep s**t with his father, Odin, because he let the mask fall into mortal hands. Now he has to find a baby and take it too.

The movie isn't very funny, and the special effects are awful, the first movies special effects are 10 years more advanced, pretty bad for a movie made 10 years after. I can credit one thing to this movie, Jamie Kennedy made this movie as an 80 million dollar prank for a special on his show. I don't think anyones ever spent so much money on a prank.

Garfield: The Movie (2004)

I love Garfield, but this movie doesn't cut it.

[2/10 · 4 January 2006]

Garfield is one of my favorite comic strips, I even on occasion dig up my old papers and books just to read them. I never really got into the TV show though, but when I heard of a movie I actually got quite excited. The plot sounded OK, and Bill Murray sounded like a great fit for Garfield. I was right about one thing, Bill Murray was good as Garfield. That was really about it. The humor is dry and doesn't really come close to any of the wit that make the strip so great, the characters *Other than Garfield and Odie* seem to be excluded and don't really matter *No Arlene, Jon was awful from acting to character, and Nermal appeared like once, and Liz is pretty much without character* The story is pretty much rubbish, and it's just not very good at all.

The only audience I truly see enjoying this film are young kids, fans of the TV series, or people who've never even read the strip.

If you love the strip, avoid this at all costs!!!!

Silent Hill 3 (2003 Video Game)

Silent Hill 3 patches the problems of the first and second games and provides a satisfying experience.

[23 December 2005]

Silent Hill-3 May not be the best in the series in my opinion *That would go to The Room* but it comes closer than either of the first two- which were already amazing games. Silent Hill 3 is were the series gains momentum, begins to define it's place, and truly begins to fix problems. Silent Hill 3 opens in a dream sequence, a bloody and ruined theme park. Deja vu for fans of the original. However in this sequence you die. When you wake up a weird old man appears to be stalking you so you escape from a bathroom window. Bad idea. You just walked into the portal between your quiet town and silent hill. In this transition, creatures stalk you till you actually get into the town. Silent Hill 3's story progresses slower, and so does the game. But it quickly gains speed and throws you into your worst nightmares. The music is the best of the series, and has the first uses of lyrics in Akira Yamaoka's music. Silent Hill 3's story is just as bizarre as the first 2, however it's best to be familiar with the first one too fully understand SH3. I would recommend highly recommend Silent Hill 3 to any survival horror fan.

FLCL (2000–2001)

An amazing work of art- funny, weird, and hyper active, but takes some getting used too if you've read the original story

[9/10 · 22 December 2005]

Furi Kuri (FLCL) is a warped show based off a manga project by Gainax (Hajime Ueda mainly). But if your used to the manga, the anime takes awhile to get used too. While the general story and characters are the same, the way things happen, what happens and when they happen are completely off from the manga. Some things are added and changed to add or remove depth- it's not a very long series. The sense of humor is still just as good- it's bizarre, isn't afraid to go over the top and goes by so fast your either laughing your butt off or you don't know what just happened. The music as well is great. The pillows lend their unique music to the unique series, and it fits right in (even if they lyrics have nothing to do with what's happening) The acting is well done, but sometimes the acting gets a little thin at times.

FLCL is too be viewed with an open mind however, while not exceedingly violent, it does contain a considerable amount of violence and very perverse language and actions. As well as the story, which must be worked out slowly, as it can get very confusing and weird. FLCL is one of the most original and unique animes of the past few years and is an absolute must see.

Silent Hill (1999 Video Game)

Fear of blood generally tends to create fear of the flesh

[20 December 2005]

Silent Hill is not a resident evil rip off. Silent Hill plays nothing like resident evil. Silent Hill is a much more raw game than Resident Evil. Resident Evil was a terrifying experience for it's time- but it was more gore and jumps that highlighted it's fear. Silent Hill takes your mind into a dark universe that is inescapable, activates every phobia and then executes every disturbing and depraved act imaginable- all in the name of fun scares. Silent Hill is the kind of game that one might play alone in the dark and even grow a real life fear. The graphics are dated by todays standards, but still have an eerie toll on you as fog and mist enshroud you. You are Harry Mason. You're on a trip with your daughter Cheryl. It opens simple enough. But then a young woman runs in front of your car. The car falls off the road and drops you right in Silent Hill. You wake up only to be alone. Fog and snow nearly blind you. Off in the distance a small form is running from you. Could it be Cheryl? This hope of finding your daughter leads you into Silent Hill. Every clue leading in a dead end- every sound alerting you to the horrors in the depths of the fog. Yet you persist. Apparently this town was once a resort. You meet up with a cop named Cybil who will help you in parts of the game, but prepare to fight her too. Silent Hill isn't a highly gory game, while it is bloody and does warrant the 16+ rating, it stays low on gratuitous gore and high on fear. Silent Hill is not for the weak of heart- while it may not have monster closets it can stress your emotions, weaken you and then bring you down very quickly. The music is amazing, you don't hear much like it now adays. The story is intriguing and always has new turns, and has many endings depending on how you fight your way to rescue your daughter. Silent Hill is a classic in the horror genre- it uses fear in a way no other does and remains an extremely fun game at the same time with a great story, great characters, bizarre and creepy monsters and an ambiance that will keep you playing till you see everything there is to see.

Doom (2005)

DooM has one thing in common with the game: The name

[2/10 · 26 November 2005]

DOOM is a 2 hour run of idiocy set on Mars. It starts off promising, showing scientists going mad and dieing. Then the actual movie starts the rest of the movie is unwatchable. The story proves the writers know about as much science as a 2nd grader, and then the monsters look very fake. The monsters behave nothing like they do int he games- and they aren't even demons. They're mutants, and there is like 3 of them. Then there are zombies. Lots of zombies. Things get shot, yes. Things get sliced, yes. But is it entertaining? NO! The only scenes you should bother watching are the opening and the first person sequence. Those scenes were worthwhile.

The rest is a boring film that drags you through dark halls with nothing in them.

Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004 Video Game)

Silent Hill 4 is possibly the best and most frightening Silent Hill to date.

[6 October 2005]

Silent Hill 4 is often times underrated, many people will look at it and wonder what it's all about, and instantly dismiss it as "Bad", even if they are a fan of the Silent Hill series. The Room is as atmospheric and unique as the others in the series, and The Room often times interests and involves you more than any of the originals for one reason: The Story. The Story isn't the usual "Something happens and lures them you into Silent Hill so you can find out what the hell is happening and then this occult pops up etc. In fact, the room isn't set in Silent Hill at all, it's set in about 6 different "worlds" that all connect. about 3 years ago you move into your new apartment, room 302, and everything seems to be going fine, until you have this dream, this dream where there is no way outside of your apartment at all, and then this thing (AKA "The Victim") starts to push it's way out of a face shaped crack in the wall of your room. Since then, your room has been chained and locked shut from the inside, no electricity, the windows can't even be BROKEN, nothing, complete isolation. On closer inspection, the door has written in blood "Don't Go OUT!!!-Walter" This leads to something blowing open a portal inside of your bathroom, as well as strange moans and sounds coming from somewhere. Once you enter this portal, you enter the first of the worlds, the subway realm, and the game continues to branch of into nearly 6 different stories, as well as many new worlds. The Room is probably one of the scariest and underrated games in the series, only disappointment in the horror is the fact that some creatures are repeated too often. But it's overall the most intriguing and creepy game in the series. Don't listen to the critics, this is definitely a game to check out. 9.3/10

Brazil (1985)

A dark and strange movie, but it grows on you.

[9/10 · 21 September 2005]

When I first saw Brazil I was very disappointed. I've always loved Gilliams movies, but this one just..... I just didn't get it. It didn't seem to have the gilliamish humor, or the same style. It's premise is very tough to understand, and I felt that I would never watch it again. Well, I did and it started to grow on me, I can't say it's my favorite movie, but it's a very good one. It still hardly makes any sense, however.

The movie is like a dream, and revolves much around the Butterfly effect theory. A typo, one letter is changed, and then it confuses the earth's government, and sends a man into the biggest hell of his life. Many scenes involve fantasies of him and the woman of his dream.

The characters are just as bizarre as the movie it's self, one that particularly stands out is a renegade heater repairman (Who in the end is discovered and the paper work catches up and suffocates him) Brazil may not seem like a great movie at first, but it grows on you. It's definitely worth watching, but it's definitely Gilliams only overrated film.

Invader ZIM (2001–2006)

Jhonen Vasquez's short lived animated masterpiece

[21 September 2005]

I love Jhonen Vasquez's work, have been ever since my friend showed me an issue of Fillerbunny. When I heard that Jhonen was doing a show on television, I was excited beyond belief. When I heard it was on nickelodeon however, I was afraid that it would turn out absolutely horrid.

When I finally decided to watch "Invader ZIM" I realized that it was just as good as anything else he's ever done, whenever I watched it I couldn't stop laughing. The bizarre series stars Zim, a banished Irken invader who is sent to a "Planet who's name dare not be said" (An attempt by the alien leaders, the Tallest to get rid of Zim forever) and he ends up months later with his idiot robot (GIR!!!) on the planet earth. As he starts to "invade" one young boy notices that Zim is an alien, but because everyone perceives him to be insane, they don't believe him. The series progresses in many tried (and failed) attempts at invading/destroying all humanity, many involving bizarre situations such as hypnotic zits, posing as Santa, and draining the earth's core and replacing it with snacks. Everything that happens in this show will have you laughing until you cry. It's dark humor and the character GIR! are the main points of the humor. Unfortunately however, this show was short lived, but remains a masterpiece in every way, any Jhonen Vasquez fan should go out of their way to see this amazingly funny series.

Quake (1996 Video Game)

Quake is a challenging and fun first person shooter, but fails to compare with DOOM

[16 September 2005]

QUAKE is a great game, the problem is is that it fails to compare with ID's previous FPS hit, "DooM" For the year 1996, the graphics in QUAKE are amazing. The music is creepy and atmospheric, but the sounds over all are a little blah. Doom's graphics and sounds where on par for it's year, Quake succeeds in graphics, but fails in sounds. The levels are well built, but sometimes it gets slow paced, boring and annoying. The game is great, and it's worth checking out, but don't expect anything better than Doom.

Just enjoy the first 2 episodes of Quake.

But don't expect much from the 3rd and 4th, they get a little blah around the end, which is unfortunate because in most games the ending gets better and better, the final boss is a great anticlimax, but this game is great, and you should play.

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Possibly one of the worst movies ever made.

[1/10 · 27 August 2005]

When I heard they were making AvP I was very excited. I have probably spent over 900 hours of my life playing the computer games AvP and AvP 2. Both are some of the finest shooting games ever for the computers. When I went to see this film, I realized that I was the only one remaining in the theater when it was finished. In fact, the theater was full when the movie started. There truly is no plot in AvP. The script isn't even a half of a page long. And there is no predalien. The list can go on and on about how terrible AvP is.

The movie is very short, which is the only redeeming quality. Avoid this movie at all costs!! This is most definitely one of the worst, if not the worst movie ever made.