Change Your Image
sinaku
Reviews
Jessie (2011)
Entertaining for all the wrong reasons
On the surface, the concept of "Jessie" would be the promotion of acceptance of diversity and overcoming prejudice. The setup is that of a rich couple who has adopted children of varying ethnicities, and how they are taken care of by a small-town-girl in a big-city archetype, the titular Jessie.
However, this concept is immediately over-ridden by the show's reliance on stereotypes and the nasty attitudes of many of its characters.
Emma is white, blond, ditzy, and materialistic. Ravi is Indian, teaches Yoga, eats sandwiches made of nothing but bread and hot peppers, and is occasionally the butt of jokes regarding unpronounceable Indian words. Zuri is black, a lazy schemer, who tries to avoid schoolwork and responsibilities. Luke is the only Ross child that doesn't seem to be based on stereotypes, as he is self-confident and honestly a good dancer, and overall, one of the least offensive characters as far as his overall personality is concerned; however, he is incredibly annoying at times.
This is bad enough, and it only gets worse. Many of the jokes revolve around disgust at people's physical traits and the ongoing insults towards various stereotypes. Agatha, a bit character, is continually derided by all characters over her appearance, as she has huge warts on her face and a huge snaggletooth. She is also supposed to be British. Another character, whose name escapes me, is a stereotypical annoying, cloying nerd, and all of the characters constantly point this out when he is around.
Even Jessie, who is supposed to be the authority figure (and who is generally nice and easy on the eyes) is constantly the butt of jokes about how bad her lovelife has apparently been. And, even as the authority figure, she is just as judgmental as the rest of the characters.
Another problem is the almost complete lack of parenting on the show. While the parents do appear from time to time, and it is generally shown in a loving way, it's clear from the average episode that they have almost zero part in their children's lives. So, the obvious nature of the children as tokens racial acceptance is immediately obvious.
Luckily (?) the traditional awful writing and bad acting of Disney Channel shows keeps this show from being as poisonous and vile as it could be, but the simple fact that every episode runs against its intended message is astounding.
Unfortunately, it's also why I keep watching.
Splice (2009)
Not quite the movie I thought it would be; better, in fact
I initially wrote Splice off as a Species knock-off, based on the commercials and other promotions I saw. It was a story I didn't feel the need to see again, at least not for the price of a movie ticket. When I rented it, I was pleasantly surprised to find out I had been wrong, and regretted my decision not to see it on the big screen.
Splice isn't exactly a monster movie, nor is it exactly a horror move. It's more a parable with many morals to tell, some of them hypothetical. It does this without ever being preachy. All of its lessons are learned through visuals, dialog, events.
It is at times beautiful, creepy, gross, and haunting, and ugly. Some times it is more than one of these at once. Its topics run the gamut from bad parenting to dangerous science to role reversal, in more ways than one.
Although I was able to guess most of the plot turns, it was never until right before they occurred, and it never detracted from my enjoyment of the movie.
If Splice is a horror movie, its horror lies in the fact that if the atrocities in it are possible, they aren't far off. If it's a monster movie, it explores humans as monsters as much as any creature.
Definitely recommended for all well-thinking movie goers.
Dragonball Evolution (2009)
I watched this movie, intending to hate it, and was surprised
I'm not going to say that Dragonball: Evolution is a great movie. Far from it. I haven't really enjoyed anything Dragonball since before Dragonball Z and its 10-episode fights and ****-measuring contests in the form of "power levels." But I always enjoyed Dragonball, the original creation of Akira Toriyama. It's ludicrous, but in a genuinely funny way, and despite the standard evil-doer-wants-to-rule/destroy-the-world motif, it manages to stay light-hearted and fun.
Where this movie surprised me was how faithful it actually was to the story it's based on. Sure, characters are missing (it's only a movie after all, limited in time,) the Nimbus and Goku's rod are gone, but the characters remained fairly faithful to the original concepts, the basis of the story is here, and the settings are great. We get not only the populated areas but also the sparse wilderness and badlands the show/comic is known for. Piccolo's green, we get to see some Saiyan ape Goku action...honestly I don't know why actual fans of the original Dragonball complained so much.
All in all, it's not great, but it's watchable, and fans of the original Dragonball should enjoy this as long as they keep expectations reasonable.
Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Jo (2007)
Well worth the time, but don't watch the show right before it!
It's odd watching a cartoon remake--at least this one, because the character designs are the same, the setting is the same, and any differences from the original stand out like a sore thumb, which fans will appreciate or be annoyed by depending on their personal preferences. With filmed remakes, I think it's easier to miss changes because everything and everyone are going to look different to begin with.
On the other hand, it's because of that reason that maybe--depending on your viewpoint--an animated remake SHOULD differ significantly.
Quality-wise, the animation is great, better than the show and on-par with the movies. There was one CG moment with an Eva in an elevator I didn't like (I can't tell you how glad I am they didn't use CG sequences for the Evas and angels!) but the crayfish-like limb fluttering of Shamshel and Ramiel's shape-shifting were great. I can't wait to see Sahaquiel and Leliel! Storywise, it is nearly identical to the show, albeit in a compressed form. Most of what's lost is comedic sequences and Shinji's interactions with his classmates. A few elements are ignored (how exactly do Shinji's classmates know he is an Eva pilot?) and the scene where Shinji sees Unit 01's eye is sadly missing. Though it is still shown, the symbolism of Shinji going back and forth between tracks 25 and 26 of his music are lost, given that there is no longer "episodes" 25 and 26, or the controversy surrounding them in this version.
However, hints that possibly big changes are to come occur when about 3/4 through Misato takes Shinji to see...something...even the audience hadn't seen until far into the series, and at the end, when Kaworu shows up (though this does not mean he will enter immediately in the next part, we'll have to wait and see.) Overall, simply great, I loved it. However, you probably shouldn't "warm up" by watching the show right beforehand because it is SO similar you might get bored.
Silent Hill (2006)
Questions about cast...spoilers?
So the cast and crew says Valtiel and Eddie Dombrowski were characters in Silent Hill? Pyramid Head floored me, I was awestruck, but I never noticed Valtiel. Or Eddie for that matter. Did I miss something obvious, or were they cut from the movie? Believe me, with the references to Silent Hill 1, 2, and 3 in the movie, I WAS looking for Valtiel playing with some valves or something. The cast mentions Henry Townshend from Silent Hill 4 also. Can anyone help me? "So they want me to use 10 lines. I say, blah!" I loved the apartment jumping scene, the car ride with the song scene, stuff like that. the little touches of the games really made up for the crappy dialogue, in my book, BTW. All I wanted out of Resident Evil was a dang crank.