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raptorsnest
Reviews
The God Who Wasn't There (2005)
Started out strong then just broke down
Before I begin this review I must say I am surprised that I am even writing it. My reviews mainly consist of big blockbusters and anime. Do not get me wrong I enjoy documentary and fiction based stuff (Bill Maher's Religulous is one of my favorites) I just don't feel the need to comment on them, but with is film I felt needed to.
As an agnostic I truly take no sides in the thesis or atheist argument when it comes to religion, I am a person to who see's both sides of any debate. Therefore I have seen interesting films that are both religious and non religious and The God who wasn't there was another one of these films.
The beginning of the film is quite interesting where the director brings up inconsistencies in the Gospels and showing how other religions had similar figures to Jesus and his life; also it was good to show some people in both the religious and political spectrum twist certain ideas of faith to fit there own agendas and justification of violence.
However, the director lost me when he returned to the fundamentalist school he attended as a youth where he basically tricked and cornered the school superintendent into trying to admit his teachings were wrong.
While I am agnostic and have no real opinion on faith, I do think any sort of belief is a good thing and to go and make it seems like brain washing or something evil is just wrong, after watching the film it seemed more like a personal purging of the directors angst rather than a impartial argument of the existence of God.
In closing, I would not say do not see this film it brings up some good points, but go in knowing that it is not unbiased view point. Otherwise it will leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005)
A masterpiece in animation and storytelling
Being a Japanese anime fan, I have had a general disdain of American based animation, moreover the lack of quality when it came to the Nickelodeon network, I grew up watching fun shows like Doug and Ren & Stimpy and now it just seems there has been a lack of effort to make a good show. Then quite by accident I watched a mini marathon of a show made change my mind, at least somewhat. That show is called Avatar.
Set in a fictional world where Earth, Air, Water and Fire are manipulated as weapons of war by people called 'benders', Avatar is based around a young man named Aang, frozen in ice and seclude from the world for over a hundred years, he emerges during a time of war, the Fire Nation stands poised for domination, the Water Tribe and Earth Nation scrambling and fighting for the survival of their homelands.
Aang being the last remaining member of the long dead nation of Air Nomads,he is also the powerful being known as the Avatar, the one who must master all four elements in order to keep balance within the world, realizing the war will rip the world apart Aang, along with a small band of friends & allies, he must make a long journey through the world to master the power within himself in order to face his density.
The beauty of Avatar is overwhelming at times, using the main stays of Japanese animation, the slow and yet beautiful movement of kung fu, and some deep spiritual motives, the action based series is built around a emotional story of a makeshift family trying stay together in the fires of war, it is highly dramatic all while having a lovely streak of humor as well.
If you are looking for animated series both your kids and yourself can watch then have a look at this amazing and touching series. You won't be sorry.
Supernatural (2005)
A welcome return to the thriller\horror genre
I have to admit, when I first rented Supernatural at my local DVD place it didn't impress me at first as I only rented first disc on the first season set, and then I decide to give it another try and I immediately became a fan.
Following Sam and Dean, two brothers trained in the art of hunting the creatures of the supernatural and American folk lore based origin are now in a search their missing father who is hunting the creature who murdered their mother and Sam's girlfriend, the two estranged brothers set out a quest across the U.S, encountering various bad creatures, helping those in need, all the while finding small pieces of their father's trail, eventually finding him and learning some very disturbing facts about the demon they have been hunting all their lives.
The great thing about this show is it is genuinely scary at some points, having some of the dark & brooding presence of the X-files and Millennium but all while having the great sense of brotherly bickering and unspoken love (being a brother myself they got that down perfectly) and dark humor about what the brothers Winchester do for a living.
Along with the humor is the emotional story about a family who has been torn apart by loss and the evil which they see on a daily basis and through their journey Sam, Dean and their father John come back to each other, realizing that only as a family can they face the darkness.
Having just finished the first season, I am anticipating the release of Season 2 so I can be caught up and ready for the third chapter in this incredible story.
The Postman (1997)
A true underdog in the apocalyptic genre
The Postman....hailed as one of the worst movies ever that one Mr. Kevin Costner should be ashamed of, but I ask........why?
When I see the Postman, I see a subtle told story of the end of the world.
There are no wastelands of great cities. No horribly mutated zombies roaming about the landscape, no "ultimate truth endings" as so many of these genre pieces show.
It simply tells the story of world barley clinging to life and of a man who unwittingly brings hope to a populace needing it desperately, and of another man who takes the words of a madman as gospel and becomes a tyrant.
Don't get me wrong, something do hurt this film, the whole scene with the cabin and Abby could of been cut down or just done as a montage.
They're should of been the big climatic battle between the Postmen's and Bethlehem's forces instead of their wrestling match....some more explanation of what actually happened to the country could of explained better....was it a bomb? A plague?, what was this war that Bethlehem speaks so fondly of? It is these sorts of thing makes the movie a tad confusing sometimes but still watchable.
What the movie lacks in storytelling it more then makes more ii its visuals and acting, the beautiful Oregon country side where the film is mainly based, it just takes your breath away.
Now I must say I am not the biggest fan of Kevin Costner but I must say he does an exceptional job here, as the Postman he plays a man who feels constantly awkward and embarrassed for his status and his lie as a hero of the people, his range goes form comedic, serious, insane at some points and courageous too, where as Will Patton plays the cold and poetic villain of Bethlehem, with array of unique characters through out the film evolution you will not get bored meeting new faces.
While some may scoff at this film simply because it was too long or did not live up the standard of Costner's previous epic "Dances with Wolves" The Postman is a truly unique in the Post apocalypse genre and should be looked at with an open mind. You will not be disappointed if you do.
King Kong (2005)
A modern telling of the Tragedy which is Kong
Being a Peter Jackson after his making film trilogy of a my all time favorite Book Lord of the Rings...I was extremely interested to see if he be able live up to the film legend which was King Kong.....I was not disappointed in the slightest.
Being a writer, I was very impressed by special effects and such as I am sure everyone who saw it was, but the story and characters are who drew me into the movie......Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have such a wonderful talent of making even the simplest creatures sympatric and watch able......
They wrote the story how it should have been written not a cheesy monster movie with overly funny scenes and senseless violence, that in fact it was a tragedy and must taken seriously.
Unlike the previous two films (and am not bashing either, especially the original) Jackson make the beast God Kong a tragic, aggressive, confused and sometimes heroic character, and the writers who very well, that I was not Kong who the monster but in fact it was humanity itself who were the monsters....unwilling to understand Kong and more willing to restrain and exploit him and when he tries to defend himself they ultimately kill him....and we empathies with him and feel our heart break somewhat when he passes. True testament to good story telling, it was one of few rare films where I wept at the end.
Despite it serious tone, the filmmakers do sprinkle light humor to keep it somewhat light in some points, Jack Black was very good...it was interesting to see him in a dramatic role.
All in all, any monster movie fan or just movie fan in General will like this masterpiece. HIGHLY recommended!
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
could of been a lot better but still a lot fun
I heard that they were making the sequel to Jurassic Park, I was excited because I read the novel and since Spielberg was directing I hoped he was stay as a somewhat faithful as he mostly did to the first book, I was wrong.
The thing that hurt this movie was the stuff they did NOT need. Malcolm did NOT need to have a daughter, there did NOT need to be two teams (though Roland was one of my favorite characters in the piece.), Ingen did NOT need to come in strip mind the place, some of the original characters and story lines could and SHOULD of been shown, and last but not least the entire sequence in San Diego with T.Rex could of been cut or made a heck of a lot shorter, though the scene with the little boy seeing big Rex was very funny. It just these little thing that gripe when should have been enjoying.
Despite it short comings, the film was just as good visually as it was the first time around, Golblum surprised me where he took the character of Malcolm, not being the smart cocky Mathematician that he was in Jurassic Park, turning him into somewhat more darker and fear filled man (who would NOT after surving the ordeal he did) but still have dry witty humor that audiences loved about him.
Also the spirit of the first film is very much there, a survival man vs. nature piece, sort of magnified seeing how this band of explorers and hunters do not have a park security system or a team of techies backing them up and knowing that this place is the dinosaurs home and they are the intruders.
Though not being the ground-breaker is predecessor was, the lost world will entertain audiences, I mean come on, everybody loves a baby T.Rex :)
Jurassic Park (1993)
One of those movies that truly scared me as a kid
When Jurassic Park came out in 1993, I think I was about 9 or 10 and I had seen a few mildly intense films and since I was such a dino nut as a kid I thought it would be. Good Lord was I wrong I don't think it was visual aspect of the film that scared me, I had seen dinosaur bones and paintings of them all the time, it was the incredible sound of the film, the screams were loud, the animal noises were vicious, feral and sometimes gentle, you could hear flesh being and glass and it made you feel like you were there, thus was at my mother's side the whole time sweating and whimper a little in her arms, not one of my proudest moments but hey I was a kid :) As I got older and watched a few more times I realized just how wonderful this film really is, a visual masterpiece with superb acting, Jurassic Park will remain one of those films that continue scaring and amazing audiences for years to come
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
"So say we all" A true sci fi epic for a new generation
Batlestar Galactica, now I must say I did see a few of the originals and I was somewhat disappointed; it just seemed like another of late 70's Sci fi series. Overly hunky heroes and overblown plots made it seems a Bit much for me.......but when I caught the revamp of it the series (Both in it min and regular series formats) I was intrigued to say the Least, true the main premise of show and the character names are the same But the genuine of these revamp simply is grounded in reality in a Fantastic world.
As the series progresses you see the tragic nature of the ragtag group Of survivors as they must swallow an imaginable grief of watching Their entire race be slaughtered in front of them and strive for a new Home that may not even exist, all while being pursued by an enemy that May already be among them.
I know w this review it not an uber long one but it a very simple this Show is very good.....visuals are amazing and the stories are very Human driven. From what I seen it will be around for a looooooooooooong Time *s*
Ekkusu (2001)
Love. Hate. Life. Death. Loyalty. Betrayal. Desenity.Will. Heaven. Earth. Tragedy The End. X.
I first became aware of X when I bough the 1996 film version in high School, when I saw it I was blown away the visual aspect of the film, The battles were brutal fast and intense and the ending was truly Tragic.
But being the writer I am, I was sorely disappointed the two dimensional Characters that film portrayed, it focused mainly on Kamui, Fumma and Kotori...and the other Dragons of both Heaven ad Earth's stories were Mere footnotes and gave the Angels and Seals no life.
Then a friend told me that Clamp was writing a TV series based on the Original manga, I was ecstatic, I immediate got my saved birthday cash And purchase the first five volumes and was immediately Engrossed.....the beauty of the TV series is that there no one main Character, they ALL have weight & residence....you don't have to commit Yourself to one, each have their own unique story, personality And own sense of tragedy and justification for fighting on the side They fight on, while some of them truly do have an evil aura about them, You cannot help but feel sorry for them in some aspect.
The other great thing is the story takes it time, while this can mean death for some anime titles, for X is works very well, it lets you get a feel for everything that is going on, Fumma as the leader of Dragons of Earth is one of the coolest bad guys in anime history, he revels in his power and delights of suffering of his foes (and sometimes his allies) Kamui, is sort of like this the beginning of the series being cold and unfeeling those around him where Fumma was warm and under standing but was the series progresses the roles switch and Kamui must face his destiny in order to save his friend.
The colors of shows mix nicely together, being dark but no so you can't see anything, being bright but so much as making the colors bleed on the screen, the English voice overs did very very well. bringing veteran voice actors who fit their characters perfectly. Music was very very good, mixing between techno and orchestral pieces making it seem very brooding and intense at the same time.
All in all, X is one of those animes that you can watch over and over and find new meaning in stories and characters, whether it is the love story between Ahrashi and Sorta, or the bitter rivalry between Sabauru and Seishiro, the refining of her humanity in Satsuki, the innocent and heartbreak in Yuzuriha or the epic main story of Kamaui himself, there not one person you will not be interested in. Go see X. Now.