Pixar’s Up (2009) Movie Review

Pixar goes about making movies in a different way than the vast majority of movie studios do these days. For one thing, these movies take a very long time to make. Pixar says that “Up” took five years to put together and of course, “Up” cost a fortune. Because Pixar only puts...

May 30th, 2009 | Read More

Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) Movie Review

You can’t keep a good zombie down. Well actually you can, with a perfectly placed shot to the forehead, but that’s easier said than done. Just ask the residents of Raccoon City, the fictional town that was laid to waste when the Umbrella Corporation’s experiments went bad and produced flesh-eating...

December 18th, 2008 | Read More

Kung Fu Panda (2008) Movie Review

“Kung Fu Panda” is the story of a fat (is there any other kind?) panda that dreams about being an awesome kung fu warrior, and when given the chance, rises to the occasion. In-between those moments, we get plenty of fat jokes at the panda’s expense, and enough cartoon kung fu violence to, possibly,...

June 11th, 2008 | Read More

Gumby: The Movie (1995) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Dan MacIntosh) You may approach Gumby: The Movie with some trepidation, and rightly so. After all, that little green glob of clay might represent a memorable period in your early television watching days. And who would ever want to stain such a sacred viewing landmark? The good news...

May 8th, 2008 | Read More

Kite Liberator (2008) Movie Review

The original “Kite” was a controversial, yet fascinating exercise in style and mood. Thematically similar to Luc Besson’s near-classic “Le Femme Nikita,” which was, at its core, a remake of the classic tale ‘Pygmalion,’ “Kite” explored the dark and seedy subjects of child abuse, emotional...

May 5th, 2008 | Read More

Princess (2006) Movie Review

Given the enduring popularity of Eastern style anime and manga, Denmark probably isn’t the first country to spring to mind when considering adult themed animation. Step forward then Danish director and comic book creator Anders Morgenthaler, whose “Princess” is easily one of the most...

March 28th, 2008 | Read More

Karas: The Revelation (2007) Movie Review

When I previously reviewed “Karas: The Prophecy,” I noted that it was a visually spectacular film that suffered from a criminally underdeveloped plot and slap-dash execution. There were so many good parts to what made up the first film: the brilliant conceptualization of near-future Tokyo,...

October 27th, 2007 | Read More

Stolen Life (2007) Movie Review

The latest project from Nanoflix Productions is a full-length feature film that uses the AG Engine, the latest in a computerized animation process, widely called Machinima, to bring to life what has been hailed as a film-noir-esque, science fiction. This “future-noir” mystery, set on, and...

September 29th, 2007 | Read More

The Invincible Iron Man (2007) Movie Review

If you enjoyed Marvel’s initial ventures into direct-to-DVD animation with “The Ultimate Avengers” and its sequel, then the company’s third offering, “The Invincible Iron Man”, will probably go straight into your DVD collection. And why not? It’s everything you...

February 3rd, 2007 | Read More

Karas: The Prophecy (2006) Movie Review

“Karas: The Prophecy” is, bar none, the most visually spectacular animated feature I have ever seen. It is also the most idiotic, poorly constructed, convoluted, and pointless film I have ever seen. It is a triumph of technical skill, meticulous attention to detail and computing horsepower;...

December 5th, 2006 | Read More

Renaissance (2006) Movie Review

As computer processing power has increased over the years, we’ve seen more and more creative integration of CGI into film. For the most part, the technology has been restricted to rendering ever more convincing F/X for sci-fi and fantasy films. However, over the past few years we’ve seen...

October 18th, 2006 | Read More

Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther (2006) Movie Review

“Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther” is the sequel to Marvel’s first line of animated direct-to-video superhero franchise, “Ultimate Avengers”, which pitted a team of superheroes led by a resurrected World War II supersoldier named Captain America against alien invaders....

August 14th, 2006 | Read More

A Scanner Darkly (2006) Movie Review

It’s odd when you realize that the novels and short stories of Philip K. Dick have been adapted to the screen almost as frequently as that of Stephen King or John Grisham. Odd because, unlike the pulpier writing of both King and Grisham, Dick’s stories are quite cerebral and, in the most...

July 20th, 2006 | Read More

Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (2006) Movie Review

“Ultimate Avengers: The Movie” is apparently Marvel Comics’ first salvo at the direct-to-video market, having conquered theaters with one successful comic book movie after another. The plan, it seems, is to release one major DTV animated movie every year or so, using the Ultimates comic...

February 17th, 2006 | Read More

Dead Leaves (2004) Movie Review

“Over the top’ is an expression loosely thrown about by film critics to describe anything a little too far out of the ordinary in terms of violence, sexual content or any other thematic material of a transgressive nature. However, in the case of the Japanese animated film “Dead Leaves,”...

December 13th, 2005 | Read More

Violence Jack (1986) Movie Review

Anime is seen by many a film enthusiast as a deep form of cinema, on par with the noirs and cult classics of the world. And with films like “Akira”, “Perfect Blue”, “Tokyo Godfathers” and “Spirited Away”, it’s hard to disagree with the fan base. However,...

October 9th, 2005 | Read More

Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children (2004) Movie Review

Guest Movie Review by Alex Lui For followers of the Final Fantasy games, “Advent Children” comes as a reward for those long hours spent in front of the TV pushing buttons and ignoring a social life. For everyone else, this is pure eye candy, especially since the film has a story continued...

October 4th, 2005 | Read More

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005) Movie Review

Is it laugh out loud funny? That depends. Do you like “The Family Guy’s” brand of over-the-top and sometimes over-the-line sense of humor? If the answer is Yes, then Yes, you’ll find the direct-to-video feature-length “Family Guy” movie “Stewie Griffin: The Untold...

July 31st, 2005 | Read More

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) Movie Review

With Disney and Pixar firmly entrenched on the side of CGI for their animated efforts, it looks like Japan and the FOX Network are the last bastions of hand drawn animation. Perhaps the most revered name from this old school is Hayao Miyazaki, best known in the US for “Princess Mononoke”...

June 17th, 2005 | Read More

Voices of a Distant Star (2003) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) “Voices of a Distant Star” is a movie unique in a number of ways, starting with its creation. You don’t think of animation as a one-man operation, but writer/director Makoto Shinkai created his short film almost exclusively on a Mac G4 computer using mostly...

June 11th, 2005 | Read More