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Epithet Erased (2019)
The limits placed on this production underscore a refreshing, humors and surprisingly heartfelt adventure.
Everyone will first notice the limited animation, which determines right out the gate who this series appeals to, and I happen to be one of those. I never watched the table top RPG streams the creator played with his friends that it is based on, but I enjoyed the humorous take downs of popular video games and anime on his YouTube channel done in same style. He takes that to the next level with his first full fledge series.
The voice acting carries a lot of the humorous and dramatic weight of the show to great effect. The limited movement along with the exaggerated poses and facial expressions at key moments sell what happens, but it is really the performances that bring any investment to the action, and the cast does a fantastic job of pulling that off.
It took me a little while to get into the story, but it surprised me that there was genuine heart behind the proceedings instead of nonstop antics. Apart from Molly as the grounded, audience POV, everyone is some manner of oddball meant to befuddle her. However, they begin peel back layers as unexpected dynamics develop between the various factions vying for the amulet. Those surprise insights and heartfelt moments keep me hooked to happens next.
Give Epithet Erased a watch for its unexpected style and more three dimensional characters than their appearance would have you believe.
Last Exile (2003)
A Brilliant Series that Could Have been More
"Last Exile" was a series I yearned for for a long time, a story focused on characters and subtly engaged within a profound and fantastical world. However out of a need to finish the plot, the character development necessary to bring the story full circle falls short.
I loved this series for really taking the time to show who the characters are and really let them take hold of the story. The tone and pacing of most of the episodes reminded me of the HBO series "The Wire" which also let the story fall together one pebble at a time. The series is brilliant for capturing small moments between characters that hint at their growing bonds and frustrations like a scene in a crowded elevator at a casino, a soldier chanting before a battle and when one character puts on the clothes of another in the desert. The two leads Claus and Lavie's relationship portrays itself as a chameleon jumping from comrades to partners, childhood friends, surrogate siblings and repressed lovers. The central bond though lies with Claus and the shy, mysterious girl Alvis who hold and drive the characters and the story together throughout the series.
"Last Exile" seems quite conventional in terms of plot, but it is only when it supersedes the characters that the series falls flat. For most of the show's running time that does not happen though. It bears a unique sense of drama that I find hard to see in other forms. Nowhere but in anime or Greek tragedy could you a see a person fall in love and heart break in the same moment.
Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Jo (2007)
For Those Who Will Discover It For the Very First Time
Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone permeates limitless possibilities and pathways in a story so connective and universal yet shakes the foundations of the genres on which it stands on so much a new and profound experience emerges from its daring. Young Shinji Ikari arrives in Tokyo-3, a city rebuilt after a cataclysmic event called Second Impact that shed the world of half the human population, to meet and work for his estranged father. It turns out he only wants his son now to pilot a giant humanoid machine named Evangelion Unit 01 made to stop unknown beings referred to as Angels from eradicating the rest of humanity. Shinji is shocked and broken hearted but nonetheless agrees to pilot it. The question he now asks is why?
Evangelion 1.0 wants to know the answer. Besides saving humanity from eminent destruction, what does Shinji want, desire, need or even get from piloting such a contraption? Praise from the world? Respect? Purpose? His father's love? As Shinji begs for the answer to these questions the city befalls attacks by Angels that serve more than just an excuse for action scenes. When the Angels attack Shinji sees the sides of people around him he never saw before. It forces him and the others around him to understand their relationship to one another.
One of these is Shinji's follow pilot Rei Ayanami, a cool and collected girl who spends better part of the movie giving a ponderous stare into space more or less oblivious to those around her. When she does react she hardly seems to understand her own feelings. Shinji asks her why she pilots an Evangelion and her answer is as simple and contemplative as the movie.
The film is the first in a planned production of four films that re-imagine the 90s series Neon Genesis Evangelion. One of the most remarkable things about this movie is how easily the episodes translate into the arch of a feature length film. Despite that the movie is as much if not more so for viewers who have never seen the series. The movie itself refines certain points left unclear in the original show, making this version more clear and understandable for old and new viewers alike.
Though the final film in the set of four promises a completely new end to the story, old fans will find the first movie very familiar. However old fans who pay close attention to certain scenes in this movie will learn that the film does more than retell the story and in the process may redefine two of the most overused formats ever in the history of cinema.
Gake no ue no Ponyo (2008)
Welcome Back to Childhood
For readers who have already seen one of Miyazaki's films: he is still in top form and made another worthwhile experience. Okay, you don't need to read any further now.
I already guess most readers are older than the two protagonists of this picture, so I should say Ponyo is not so much a family film as a chance to remember the feeling of being a small child: discovering the world as you wanted to see it, making up your own rules and boasting an exuberant enthusiasm at doing things on your own for the first time. Ponyo swerves away from many of the problems that all-age films tackle. It never condescends, all the characters have good genuine hearts and believable problems.
The two main characters may be two of the most believable children I ever saw put on screen. They are not simple minded, arrogant or naive, just curious, enthusiastic and learning the ways of the world. They are so easy to love, but even more easy to identify with. Many films regard children from the outside, as the adult looking into a world only a child could enter. Ponyo brings everyone back to that world. In Ponyo, there lies the first time to learn and choose what you care about most, which the film values with high esteem. It is worth it to remember, to feel it again.
The Golden Compass (2007)
His Dark "City"
"The Golden Compass" shares two distinct qualities with the 1998 film "Dark City" about a man who wakes up without any memories: both move at a very fast pace and tackle complex themes like free will and the essence of humanity. First and for most, "Compass" seeks to entertain and absolve viewers from daily life, just the same as all escapist films do. Beyond that, it pushes the boundaries of what cinema says about our ourselves and the world. (When are institutions wrong? What defines our universe? What are our souls, and what do they say about us?) The ideas brought up in the film never cover the surface of the plot because too much of it derails from the core element of the story, Lyra.
Too many films nowadays push past the two hour mark to lengthen action sequences, exposition and character introductions. Chris Weitz broke the pattern by lifting out anything that could set the movie on autopilot. "Dark City" follows the same rubric: enough action to generate thrillers, dialogue to inform and character development to understand but not hinder or overreach. "The Golden Compass" satisfies the unique way by giving enough story and ideas to refresh us from the common stream, and leaves out what stops us from thinking about it on our own.
Purple Heart (2005)
The Terms of War
I should first explain who I am. If you look at the cast and crew page, you'll see I share the same last name as the editor. He's my father.
I've watched this movie many times over and thought about writing a review for it at some point. I realized that now would be the best time to do that because it will be getting its first public screening in November.
I can understand the assumption people will have about this review being biased, yet I feel the need to help support this movie more than any of the others worked on by my father. I'm not going to raise praise for the film, or even say that it's a must see. I want to give my interpretation, and from that, allow readers to decide for themselves if this is a piece worth seeing.
In the first moments, it becomes automatically clear that this is a story about the effects of war on American soldiers. It's tied down by the life of the young man this war has so tediously hurt. One thing about wars is they always have the same tragic outcome for the people brought down by it, and then, what becomes more clear is the times the soldiers are living in, shape the way horrors make them as individuals. The current period we're living in suggest that we know more about fighting than ever before, from a historical stand point, and also a psychological one. In all the different mediums open to us ( e.g. film, theatre, books) we can imagine and emphasize all the facts and reality of humans killing each other that we want. In a sense, the artificial perspective we have of this genre can now be a tool for who ever wants to use it to their own ends.
The film explores certain levels to war, but mostly the impact it has on an individual at a personal height, and from there, makes a statement of how war is viewed now. Obviously, with the introduction of art into war, the level of reality is entirely blurred. We can make recreations, and re-tellings, look, and sound believable. And that's really all it takes to get a viewer to believe what's right in front of them. It's one of the many levels of this real drama that can be blurred simply by are suspension of disbelief. Even our conscious understanding of whether to take an event as real or believable has layers to it, and even those can be mucked up by what we choose to perceive. One thing that should never be forgotten is that there's depth to everything around us, including war.
If you want to get an idea of the actual story to this movie, have a look at the plot summary made by the director.
After reading this, I hope you can decide whether this is a movie you want to see.
"Purple Heart" will be playing on November 11, 2006 at 3:00 pm in the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, CA for the Artivist Film Festival. More information on the screening can be found at the festivals official website.
The Last Unicorn (1982)
A story more in the spirit of Miyazaki than any Disney film ever was.
The first time I saw this movie was when I was very young. So young, in fact, that the only things I can remember about this movie are subtle images; I couldn't even remember if I liked it or not. Now, more than twelve years later and after reading the book, I can honestly say that this is a truly great film.
I have seen very few films that have actually brought me close to tears, and most of those movies are ones I didn't like. The Last Unicorn is an especially good film not just because it stays true to the book, which animated films are rarely good at, but also because it breaks away from the Disney formula for telling the story. All the characters in this film are sympathetic in one way or another, including the villains King Haggard and Mommy Fortuna. Many people would ask why a villain would need to be sympathetic? The simple answer is they don't. The villains are sympathetic though because they are human. The unicorn herself doesn't truly become sympathetic until she is transformed.
I say this film is in the spirit of the great filmmaker and master animator Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese director, because even though this film is a fantasy, it is not a fairy tale. Miyazaki has become famous for making animated films that are enjoyable for children, but are also sophisticated and deep enough for adults. What makes this movie great is its story.
One of the things that makes this movie so special for me is because it has become one of my favorite love stories. More specifically, it is a story about hopeless love. There are only four love stories, this one included, that I regard as my favorites. One them being Princess Mononoke, one of the many great films by Miyazaki. It is also a unique love story because it is about true eternal love. How is it eternal? I will not say because I don't want to spoil the movie.
My only real complaint about this movie is that the animation isn't very fluid, but I am willing to let that slide because the film was obviously low budget. I only hope that the live-action version will be as good and hopefully even better than the animated version, because even though this movie was well paced there were certain things from the book I hope they mention in the new version that they didn't have time to put into the animated version. I also hope the live-action version is as truthful to the book as this movie was, and leans more to the adult side of the story so more emotion and character development can come out of it.
You're never to old to believe in the impossible.
Mononoke-hime (1997)
A love story to remember
I first saw Princess Mononoke when I was in seventh grade. I had only seen minor animes before on television and the only full length anime I saw up until that point was My Neighbor Totoro. As an American growing up around Disney like cartoons, this film came as quite a shock to me. I was more horrified than stunned at seeing the PG-13 and even R like violence in the film. I very much shut out all interest in the film a week after I saw it although I still continued to watch animes.
Nearly three years after first seeing Princess Mononoke I gained a greater amount of respect for animes that were farther from the seat of an American viewer. It was then that I finally came across a original Japanese poster for the film that featured the title character on the front. Upon looking at this picture the first thing that came to mind for me was a line that the main character in the movie said to the Princess Mononoke which I will not repeat here for fear of spoiler. From that moment I was digging my head into as much information as a could get about film and then finally seeing it again with a better understanding of the story itself. I say all of this before my review because being an American who never saw deep anime like this before came as a big shock to me, which is why anyone who is new to anime and is planning on seeing this movie, I advise them to start out slow with other animes like Kiki's Delivery Services and Spirited Away, so that this film won't bring on any bad carma upon the first viewing.
With that said: Upon my second viewing of Princess Mononoke I came to understand the themes that this film deals with. Ashitaka (the main character) is a young man, no older than seventeen, who faces the perils of a war that seems almost unstoppable. Although the film is intended for more adult audiences it still carries child like ideas such as seeing the world as a gift and not a tool, to live and enjoy life and not destroy it, to seeing the world as it truly is without real evil.
This is one of the many things that I loved so much about this movie is that isn't simply and good guy vs. bad guy film. The story is more complex than that. We get reasonable and unreasonable arguments from both the nature side and the human side that in the end only spell that neither side is completely good. Each has there own qualities that make their argument unfit to be considered just.
If there is any true innocence that runs through this story, than it is the love story between the main character Ashitaka and the title character San (the Princess Mononoke). The relationship that these two characters share is not anywhere near important in the story beyond themselves, and the movie is not specifically considered a romance. For the love story this works as an advantage because it is not the focus of the story it is very much cast to the side, allowing their relationship to develop in a more natural way through the events that unfold in the story. Also their love is expressed more through actions than through words which makes it more effective in dealing with the fact that love is seen hear as an emotion and not a story.
I'm not proposing that anyone seeing this movie should be looking for Romeo and Juliet like story, but instead look for the hints at their growing relationship and how they regard one another through out the film. The love story in this film has grown to become one of my favorites of all time, the way in which the film maker, Hayao Miyazaki, deals with story and Ashitaka and San's relationship is further proof of his artistic talent.
Hayao Miyazaki is well known and admired by animators and film makers alike as being a constant inspiration to their work and being one of the greatest and most important film makers living today primarily because of the way he relates the human and nature relationship of today in this film. If nothing else see it for that.
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
One of the greatest animated movies ever seen by the human eye.
The South Park movie has many great themes as to why it is so good; one reason is that it has succeeded in telling a story that could have failed in more than a 1,000 ways, and the movie has been made in such a way that no live action movie could possibly do it better. I'm a person who watches "South Park" regularly (on T.V.), and I can say that the movie is viewer friendly to people who never watch the TV series, is different from the TV series, and it stays true to the TV series. The opening of the movie intentionally makes fun of the opening sequence to "Beauty and the Beast." Although the TV show sometimes does songs, the movie purposely does several songs to keep the movie lively, and turns it into a musical. The first song of the movie is probably the most important because it introduces the main characters. Many people believe that South Park is mindless cursing and swearing, and that maybe true, but the first swearing word in the movie is actually forshadowing of what will happen to Kenny (one of the lead characters) when he dies. The song that has the most swearing in it is the Terance & Philip song. The song consists of the most swearing words I've ever heard in a single minute. What makes this song so great is that it symbolizes how many times a child hears a swearing word before they actually start using it. What people might hate most about this movie is how offensive it is (especially towards Canadians, but I've heard before that anyone who finds South Park offensive is probably not thinking. I personly have relatives who are Canadian. Beyond the story of the movie there are other things that make the movie interesting; such as the bad animation. But this is actually another high point of the movie. Nowadays people have become so familiar with the stunning, breathtaking, life like animation that South Park takes the audience back to when the first animators experimented with stop motion animaition. To date "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" has recieved an Acadamy Award nomination for the song "Blame Canada", has made it into the "Guinness Book of World Records" for having the most swearing (399 times of swearing) and is on IMDb's list of the best animated films. I have made a top ten list of the best animated films, and South Park had made it to number one. Ranking higher than "Prince Mononoke" and "Spirited Away." This is the kind of movie that people should let their kids see, but only if the parents can teach their children the terrible meaning and usage of the words. Beyond that there is no reason why a person shouldn't find this movie entertaining.