Steamboy (2004) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) It’s Manchester, England, and the year is 1866, sometime during the Industrial Revolution. Our hero, mechanical whiz kid Ray Steam, toils as a mechanic at the local textile plant, when one day a package arrives from Ray’s grandfather, Lloyd. Inside is a mysterious...

June 2nd, 2005 | Read More

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Oshram ) It’s always difficult to put a stamp on any film as being ‘the best,’ whether of all time, a certain genre, or what have you, but I believe a strong argument could be made that “Laputa: Castle in the Sky” is, in fact, the greatest animated film...

March 2nd, 2005 | Read More

Ichi the Killer, Koroshiya: Episode 0 (2004) Movie Review

Takashi Miike’s infamous splatter-fest “Ichi the Killer” has proved to be a controversial cult favourite, and so it comes as no surprise that it has inspired a spin off in the form of an anime prequel. Although the initial reaction for fans of the original film may be to sigh with cynical...

February 11th, 2005 | Read More

Kaena: The Prophecy (2003) Movie Review

Truth be told, the only notable thing about “Kaena: The Prophecy”, which is hyped as the first French 3D animated film ever, is that American movie star Kirsten Dunst is the voice of the lead character, the titular Kaena. Which, by itself, brings some baggage, in particular the fact that...

January 30th, 2005 | Read More

Perfect Blue (2002) Movie Review

Ahhhh, the vagaries of stardom. Plenty of money, private jets, fast cars, an entourage of “Yes” men doing your bidding, and millions of screaming fans. However, fans sometimes become a star’s worst enemy. We’ve all seen news reports of obsessed fans stalking and sometimes harming...

January 14th, 2005 | Read More

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds (1984) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) “Nausicaa” (also known by the longer title, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”) is based on the manga series of the same name, written and drawn by the film’s writer/director Hayao Miyazaki. The story is set 1,000 years from now, in a so-called...

December 21st, 2004 | Read More

Team America: World Police (2004) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Donnie Saxton) Ironically, just the other day I was asking myself: why in the world hasn’t anyone made a film exploring the geopolitical realities of nuclear proliferation starring wooden marionettes? Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the fire-breathing creators of “South Park”,...

October 21st, 2004 | Read More

Patlabor: The Movie 2 (1993) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) “Patlabor 2″, the sequel to 1990’s “Patlabor: The Movie”, examines the unique status of Japan in the modern world. The country is an economic world power, but due to the constitution drafted after World War II by the Allies, Japan is not allowed...

October 11th, 2004 | Read More

Patlabor: The Movie (1990) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) In the late 20th century, highly advanced robots, known as Labors, were created for construction purposes. Other labors were developed to be used in the military, for undersea exploration and even recreational purposes. However, with the growing amount of labors, there is...

October 9th, 2004 | Read More

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) Movie Review

It’s difficult to dislike Mamoru Oshii’s sequel to his seminal anime work “Ghost in the Shell”, the cyberpunk sci-fi that influenced “The Matrix” and many others. Then again, it’s also difficult to completely like “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence”,...

September 22nd, 2004 | Read More

McDull, Prince de la Bun (2004) Movie Review

One is almost inclined to forgive “McDull, Prince de la Bun” if it had been anything other than pretty good. After all, the original was such a good film, and its epic telling of the life and times of one piglet name McDull would seem to make a sequel quite irrelevant. Not so, as “Prince...

September 15th, 2004 | Read More

A.li.ce (1999) Movie Review

While the title isn’t exactly original, the premise certainly is. “A.li.ce” is an all-CGI feature and it’s a fairly impressive looking movie that gets points for innovative thinking. While not in the same class as other, more advanced computer animated films, “A.li.ce”...

August 22nd, 2004 | Read More

Appleseed (2004) Movie Review

“Appleseed” is a mixture of CGI and traditional anime, and is based upon an early manga by Masamune Shirow, creator of the seminal “Ghost in the Shell” and its sequel, “Innocence”, amongst others. The comic had previously been adapted for the screen back in 1988 as...

August 19th, 2004 | Read More

Wings of Honneamise (1987) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) It’s a bit of cheat, but reviewers will use analogies to describe movies simply because it’s the quickest way to get the point across. Hence, “Volcano High” is “The Matrix” meets “Harry Potter”, and “The Matrix”...

August 16th, 2004 | Read More

Patlabor: The Movie 3 (WXIII) (2002) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) Nearly a decade after “Patlabor: The Movie 2″ comes “W(asted)XIII,” the long-awaited third Patlabor feature. Like its predecessors, “WXIII” is a science-fiction/thriller set in a semi-futuristic world where human-piloted robots (or “labors”)...

August 15th, 2004 | Read More

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) Movie Review

Although I’ve watched plenty of Japanese animation in my time, I’ve never had the occasion to take up Shinichiro Watanabe’s “Cowboy Bebop”, one of the more popular imports to reach the States. “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie” is derived from the series of the same name,...

August 4th, 2004 | Read More

Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004) Movie Review

“Dark Fury” is a 30-minute self-contained animated story that takes place between the events of “Pitch Black” and the just released “Chronicles of Riddick”. It’s not really anything necessary, and I suspect only fans of the Riddick character will enjoy the film...

June 16th, 2004 | Read More

Gen 13 (1998) Movie Review

Back in the mid-90s, the most popular team in comic books wasn’t the X-Men, but a group from independent publisher Image Comics. Created by Jim Lee, Brandon Choi and Jim Scott Campbell, “GEN 13″ was the sexiest, edgiest team on the shelf and a hit with readers. An animated film version...

June 6th, 2004 | Read More

Mezzo Forte (2001) Movie Review

Except for two explicit sex scenes that have no real relevance with the narrative, Yasuomi Umetsu’s “Mezzo Forte” might just be the best action-comedy anime I’ve seen in a while. It’s certainly better than Umetsu’s last effort, the underage-girl-as-killer-and-love-slave...

May 9th, 2004 | Read More

Ghost in the Shell (1995) Movie Review

In many ways, Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 effort “Ghost in the Shell” is one of the more influential sci-fi works out there. Which doesn’t mean it’s one of the best, only influential. The film that benefits most from “Ghost’s” look is the Wachowski brothers’...

January 26th, 2004 | Read More