StrangeInterlud e

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The Transformers: The Movie

An actual review of the film on ...
By StrangeInterlude in StrangeInterlude Blog
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"Although I understand why there's discussion of the new Michael Bay theme park ride on the Transformers animated movie page, I'm annoyed that nobody's stepped up to actually review the earlier flick. Save the Bay boos and bravos for the Transformers 2007 page! I just rewatched it last night in a fit of nostalgia, and came away both surprised at what had held up after twenty-odd years and also somewhat disappointed at what hadn't. I had also forgotten that the movie is a pretty Star Wars-ian streamlining of the Transformers mythos, killing off or otherwise jettisoning a whole bunch of the classic Generation 1 characters (notably Optimus Prime, who gets a couple of fantastic scenes at the beginning) in favor of a ragtag band of new heroes who you may either love or hate, depending on your enjoyment of Judd Nelson's voice acting skills.Thoughts? I'll elaborate on mine later, but I did enjoy it. " [More]

Paprika

Best animated film of the year.
By StrangeInterlude in StrangeInterlude Blog
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"Where to start?Although Satoshi Kon's films are rarely straightforward affairs, the narrative of Paprika takes twists and turns that demand (and reward) the viewer's full attention, boosting it above and beyond the standards of typical animated fare from both East and West. It's a literal waking dream of a film, with an inventive Freud-meets-Miyazaki catalogue of evocative visuals and an instantly appealing and iconic heroine in its title character. More importantly, its premise offers not only a fresh spin on a by now familiar sci-fi trope (people using unlikely technology to enter/invade the subconscious of others) but also a post-post-modern critique of film and anime fantasies in general.Although this film seems to be doing well with reviewers (at this writing, it has 85% freshness on that other movie site's, ahem, "red fruit-ometer"), I fear that many mainstream critics will be too wrapped up in all the delicious, delicious eye candy to take notice ... " [More]

The Castle of Cagliostro

The world's most wanted!
By StrangeInterlude in StrangeInterlude Blog
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"In reference to chesterfilms review below, this film should not necessarily be viewed as a part of Miyazaki's main body of work, but is better seen as an interestingly divergent piece of the larger Lupin the Third series.For those uninitiated, Lupin the Third is one of the best-loved anime/manga characters of the last 40 years. He's a crime-fighting master criminal who specializes in daring heists and spy games, along with a little bit of girl/world-saving action. His adventures typically take equal inspiration from James Bond and Bugs Bunny and put him up against outlandish supervillains, as well as his pseudo-nemesis Inspector Zenigata, a hapless detective trying to bring Lupin to justice. Lupin is assisted by his three main accomplices, Jigen (a slouch-hatted, constantly-smoking gunman), Goemon (a stoic samurai with a nigh-unbreakable sword), and Fujiko (a sexy femme fatale who shamelessly leads our lecherous hero on), who supply cool gun-fu action and Marx Brothers-l ... " [More]

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Like a three-hour trailer for t ...
By StrangeInterlude in StrangeInterlude Blog
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"Normally, I'm astounded by the way in which summer blockbusters underestimate their audience by overexplaining plot points or simplifying story elements to the point of spoon-feeding. Amazingly enough, POTC: At World's End pulls off the reverse trick -- it fails by telling a twisting, seemingly complex tale that totally forgoes exposition in favor of incoherent CGI action setpieces. It doesn't so much elaborate on the muddled mythology of the previous installment (POTC: Dead Man's Chest) as pile layer upon layer of needless obfuscation on top of it. I'm sure all of the Davy Jones backstory and unexplained narrative turns make some sort of sense to the screenwriters, so it's too bad they chose not to let the rest of us in on it. This movie feels like watching a three-hour trailer for a non-existent POTC 3, one where the confusion of the previous film is resolved and Jack, Will, and Elizabeth are given an actual ending instead of a slow free-fall into noth ... " [More]