jon_lajoie Reviews

Cheez TV (1995–2004)

Amazing children's TV

[10/10 · 2 January 2008]

As a child growing up on TV, I found solace in Daytime TV. My earliest memory of such TV was from Jade Gatt and Ryan Lappin, best friends and two teenagers many of us 90's kids could relate to, much in the way Wayne's World presented itself.

Their funny skits from the Cheez files, The Restless Cheez and Cheez News and humorous friends including a woman who did sign language for deaf kids every Tuesday, representatives from planet ark and MS reading society and even a magician they were able to not only entertain, but inform children without insulting their intelligence. Two men who have probably had more impact on my life than any other people ever could.

Tales of Symphonia (2003 Video Game)

Best. RPG. Ever

[10/10 · 3 July 2007]

I've debated for some time about whether to post a comment on this game or not. Never being a big fan of the Final Fantasy RPG's, I found solace in more unconventional RPG's like Super Mario RPG, or extremely popular ones, like Pokemon, because back in the day, you would have to be living under a rock to not know who those critters were. Until one day, when a chance run into my city's Toys 'R' Us led me to the discovery of this game. I have to admit, I had never heard of this game until the day I bought it, but I was glad I did, because the result was an epic adventure filled with intrigue and mystery.

The game starts off with the premise of a young girl, named Colette Brunel, her friends Lloyd Irving and Genis Sage, who had been banished from the town of Iselia for breaking a peace treaty with our main antagonists, the Desians, Raine Sage, a professor at the Iselia school and The mysterious Kratos, a mercenary who saved Colette from the Desian s early in the game. Colette has been assigned the task of regenerating the world under the title of 'The Chosen One' Whereby she must act as a human sacrifice, by becoming an angel, more specifically, reborn as the Goddess Martel, who left the world with an edict: "You must wake me for if I should sleep, the world will be destroyed." In order save the world of Sylvarant from destruction....or so it would seem.

The game often forces the player to challenge their own beliefs, as the conversations and interactions with other players in the game deal with many issues, including acceptance of family, indifference, racism loneliness, crime and punishment, and the ideals of good and evil. This interactions make the game more exciting as many conversations are intelligent and maturely handled. (There are a few exceptions.)

The battle system is also quite unique, allowing players to move freely in a small field and choose which monsters to fight. The Special Moves look amazing (Indignation, Rising Phoenix), and some characters, through the unique unison attack system, are able to combine attacks for even more awesome moves (Prism Stars, Lightning Tiger Blade)

This is the kind of game that will get you back into playing video games; it reminded me why I used to love playing video games, and truth be told, I could go on for another 20 lines about how awesome this game is to me, but I'll finish this with the ending, which is so perfect, it makes me want to play it again...and again...and again. Top notch work from an underrated series of games.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

a pain to the eyes, but...

[6/10 · 1 October 2005]

an interesting form of filming. In my time, watching many drug films, I've found they either show self destruction (The Basketball Diaries, Trainspotting) or just trippy experiences (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.) This film shows both. The film moves at a rather fast pace to emphasise how quickly the effects of drugs take a hold on people. Each story is separated by a short scene, which show essentially what they are addicted to, be it pills, shooting up or money. The films generally dark nature shows each person spiraling into oblivion and although conflicts seem to be resolved, the scenario left to us is not one of hope, but defeat, that although they have survived the worst, nothing will be the same, and it never gets better. If you have never seen a drug film before, make this one your first.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Awesome.

[10/10 · 7 June 2005]

This is the best anime cartoon I've ever seen. Such complexity, and the parallel between The Matrix and this film is clearly evident. The film has a complex, clever and engaging plot and excites the viewer and really brings into question many of the basic things in life we take for granted, even questioning our existence. The film shows also the problems with developing a large scale dependency on computers and technology. The animation is some of the most complex and detailed work in any cartoon, and it's great that there are finally high quality adult cartoons on the market. Such an inspiring tale that should be seen by everyone.

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

twisted, sick and vile

[6/10 · 28 May 2005]

I was in for a shock when I saw this. The rather simple story of 3 guys helping their nerdy friend "get a broad" turns into one of the nastiest rape scenes since Clockwork Orange. In it's simplest form, the story shows the oppression of women. It's portrayal of men as animals (the wild hooting from the boys as they're about to rape her) shows how men have always seemed to dominate for a long period of time over women. Her revenge shows the uprising of women in society, although this is shown as a dehumanization process, rather than anything glorious, that she has sunk to as low a level as the boys. Even at the end when she has the chance to let it go and forgive, she still attacks with ferocity. The film shows no one as a 'good person' but rather as dark people twisted by human urges.

the film is definitely not for the light-hearted, so if you think you've seen it all - brace yourself.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

disappointing

[1/10 · 28 May 2005]

This film was one of a list of films I wanted to see when I turned 18. What a disappointment. The film has no storyline, hardly enough violence to suit an M rating, and an abrupt ending which hardly explained anything. I can see how Tobe Hooper wanted a PG rating for this. As far as horror films go, this one wasn't detailed enough to keep the viewer interested or scary enough for horror buffs. The film has a greater focus on the chase scene then the deaths of 4 teenagers. The one thing I'm thankful for is that there wasn't a sequel. Quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. There is no explanation of motives, or why there was an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, and how a pickup truck appeared out of nowhere to save the day. A poor film with no detail.

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974)

a dark twisted film

[5/10 · 27 May 2005]

This film is twisted and dirty. I just wanted to get that off my chest. Now to my review. I was fascinated by the idea of an R rated cartoon, and Fritz the cat seemed the obvious choice. The film begins with Fritz' wife harassing him about the state of his life. To escape the ranting, he lights up a joint and reminiscences how he came to lose many of his lives. The film ultimately shows that Fritz has no chance to improve his life, as every opportunity he gets he sees as another chance to have sex, smoke, cheat the system, and make an idiot of himself. some trippy scenes follow in this dark movie. I would not recommend this to the faint hearted, the violent scenes of murder and assassination are examples, but if you're looking for something different, give it a look.