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Reviews
Jigokuraku (2023)
Exceptional
I go through a lot of animes and get bored quickly. This one stood out in story, in character, in animation. For those who enjoy blood and battles, this has excellent bouts of actions and gory violence. What starts out as a fairly common edo-Japan era story with supernatural elements diverges into an interesting tale of an ensemble of warriors barely scraping by on a near suicide mission on a mysterious island. I like Naruto because a big part of the battle system is figuring out the bad guy's power and exploiting its weakness. This anime takes not just that concept but even the terms like shinobi using "jutsu" (short for ninjutsu) which seems like an homage / ripoff which I'm fine with haha. 13 episodes only told half the story so obviously there will need to be a season 2! Let's do it!
Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf (2024)
Pretty cool but not mind blowing
I binged this and enjoyed it. It is another martial arts tournament anime in the vein of Baki and Kengan Ashura, although I appreciate both of those more in the end, as they employ a preternatural style (ie bordering supernatural) that I can't get enough of. In those shows, most people are normal and have normal limits, but there are some who can exceed those limits, bearing god-like power. This show however stays firmly grounded in the human realm with no hint of supernaturality (I made that word up). It seems rushed at times, it is only 8 episodes and forced them to jump around and skip over what would've been fascinating fights to see (KODOKU was only 2 episodes!?. Kengan Ashura has spent its entire show on its illegal underground tournament...). The fights also could've and should've been varied more, with differents styles and moves, many fights weren't all that different from each other? Good show, I'd watch more, but the pacing was off for sure and the desire to keep it "real" doesn't mean it can't surprise you and wow you.
All of Us Strangers (2023)
Do you like the twilight zone?
Cuz the writer clearly must've watched "Walking Distance" episode 5 of The Twilight Zone from 1959 and ripped it off badly, for real. In that episode, an ad exec finds himself back in his hometown after 25 years, only time hasn't moved forward, literally. He finds his parents just as they were back then. And if you saw Todd Phillips The Joker with Joaquin, you'll immediately know the movie's twist ending only fifteen minutes in because it was done better in the Joker.
As for this movie, unoriginal themes aside, it's a dark sad ride about loss and the loneliness of being gay. It is damn sad, I'll say that. If you're looking to be uplifted or find a happy ending, I'd advise you to move along. If you want positives, the soundtrack is incredibly compelling and the performances of his parents are truly spectacular and heart wrenching at times. If you've lost something, if you're having trouble moving on, I'm not sure this movie will help you, but it might make you feel just a little bit less alone. As for me, I'm making my wife watch the twilight zone now.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024)
Contrived, rushed
Hmm...don't get me wrong, I love the two main characters and love the two actors but this was really bad in almost every way and yes I did still watch it all. Contrived plot lines (like REALLY contrived) Michonne magically sees and shoots down the one helicopter that happens to be carrying Rick. In an entire country of wilderness, she was underneath at the exact moment and they hit their mark with homemade missiles. Lolz! Stupid! Just one example of the shockingly bad writing that went in here. To the weirdly rushed relationships Michonne makes with friends who they just as quickly kill off around four minutes later, to the bizarrely stupid gullible weak military force that has keeping Rick hostage, just about everything in this series wasn't necessary and was somehow also rushed and not honored. The South African accented character was bizarre and perhaps the least compelling character of the entire WD series. She was a weak foil, as was Jada. The ending was just as badly rushed. No one can ever do anything right, no one can hit their mark except for the two main characters. Weak villains, stupid contrived challenges that the characters overcome without a particularly good reason while everyone else is just a stormtrooper level of aim and competency. I wanted to see them get back to their family but wow, this was a lame way to go.
Gil Bok-soon (2023)
Long but really good
Not a perfect movie and was a bit long but I enjoyed this more than most movies. I thought the gritty action was pretty good and I enjoy strong female protagonists, this lead had a certain Kill Bill confidence. Some people may not have understood what this was really about because it wasn't edited well - but if you have kids you might've noticed. The entire metaphor of this film is the paradox that parents live in, wanting their children to grow up safe, kind and good, trying to shield them from the darker side of the world and ourselves, hiding our vices and damage and work crises from them even as we counsel them to do the opposite of all the bad choices we insisted on making. "Do as I say, not as I do" is every parent's basic maxim.