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Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman, a review by Antares

Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman (1971) 77/100 - Well I guess that old saying that Third time's a charm is adequate for this installment in the Zatoichi series. Toho, in the first two films they produced, seemed unable to grasp what it was that made the series so spectacular for Daiei. They'd try all of the motifs that had been used, but never quite got it to gel. But with Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman they finally find the correct balance of action, comedy and pathos that make this film a real treat for Ichi fans. Another interesting idea, but I hope it's just used this one time, is the crossover with the successful Hong Kong film star Yu Wang. I've never been a big fan of chop-socky films, but here in tandem with the Zatoichi character, it makes for a fun romp. The story also throws a bit of ambiguity into the mix as the two main stars can't communicate with each other, due to their language barrier. Is Ichi responsible for ratting out the one armed swordsman for a reward? Of course, if you've watched any of the previous films, you know that's not the case, but it's addition into the screenplay makes for a nice diversion to the usual plot lines in the series. If you're a fan of Shaws Brother's films, then this may be a good starting point for you if you're thinking about delving into this wonderful series of films. The only disappointment for me is that I wish Criterion would have secured the rights for the Hong Kong release of this film, as it was released with a different ending. It would have been interesting to see Ichi meet his demise in that film, and there definitely was plenty of room on the Blu-Ray to fit it in.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on November 14th, 2014)

Puss in Boots, a review by GSyren

Title	Puss in Boots (5-051368-237053)
Director	Chris Miller
Voices	Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris
Produced	2011 in United States
Runtime	90 minutes
Audio	English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles	English
Overview	You loved him in Shrek... now see where the one-and-only swashbuckling feline found his fame – and a very big pair of boots – in the "hilariously funny" (Associated Press) animated epic!  Lover, fighter and outlaw Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) is off on the adventure of his nine lives as he teams up with Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) for the ultimate showdown with the notorious Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris).  Here's the true story of The Cat, The Myth, The Legend – Puss In Boots!
My thoughts	I liked the Shrek films, so I was intrigued by Puss in Boots, but I wasn't sure the character was strong enough to carry its own movie. Well, now that I could get it cheap I thought I should at least give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. While I didn't like it quite as much as I liked the Shrek films, I found it pleasant enough. Antonio Banderas does a mean Puss, and Salma Hayek rocks as Kitty Softpaws. I definitely did not like Humpty Dumpty. No refection on Zach Galifianakis. I just find Humpty Dumpty too silly as a concept. Still, the movie is very entertaining, leaning more towards adventure than comedy, which makes it different from the Shrek films. And that's not a bad thing. The BD looks and sounds great. The extras are mostly kiddie oriented. This would have earned a strong 4 stars if it hadn't been for Humpty Dumpty.
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on February 18th, 2014)

Grey's Anatomy Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Main Cast:
Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
Katherine Heigl as Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens
Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
T. R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
Isaiah Washington as Dr. Preston Burke
Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd
Kate Walsh as Dr. Angela Sheperd

---

1. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
Meredith attempts to work with Mrs. McDreamy, the headstrong Dr. Addison Shepherd, while Dr. George O'Malley is pegged as the group's gossip hound – after a long day, Meredith and fellow intern Dr. Cristina Yang share a few drinks, as well as their experiences dating residents at Seattle Grace.

My Thoughts:
While this is a good episode... I was expecting more from the first episode of the season. The main case they had to work on was of the bartender at the bar across the street from the hospital. So they make a big deal out of it and how everyone there knows him and is worried for him. Unfortunately we never see much of this character in previous episodes so it is hard to care about him the way they expect us to. But I blame the fact that season 1 only had 9 episodes to work with.

My Rating:

2. Enough is Enough
Predictably, tension mounts between Meredith and Addison, which becomes odd when Meredith finds herself warming to the surgeon. While all the interns work to save an injured family, the truth is revealed as to why Addison and Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd divorced.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one. A teen boy has the hard decision on whether or not to save his abusive father... and I must say I like the decision he came up with. Then there was the case where some guy got off on swallowing doll heads.

My Rating:

3. Make Me Lose Control
Cristina and Meredith wrestle with whether to tell Dr. Preston Burke that Cristina is carrying his child while Dr. Alex Karev and Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens start to catch each other's attention. Meredith's mother becomes a patient, with George put in charge of her care.

My Thoughts:
A very interesting...and enjoyable episode. Secrets are revealed...and new friendships starts to bloom. They have a patient that can not control her blushing so she has an operation to fix it even though there is some pretty big possible complications and side effects.

My Rating:

4. Deny Deny Deny
Cristina, unhappy with being on the sidelines, re-exhausts herself in an effort to prove she's worthy of being a doctor. To make matters worse, Cristina's mother comes to stay with her to help her recuperate. The arrival of Dr. Ellis Gray sends Seattle Grace spinning.

My Thoughts:
This is a fun episode. While Cristina makes for a very good doctor... she is not very good at being a patient. She just could not sit back and relax and heal. And I definitely got a kick out of Meredith's mother, who is patient with  alzheimer's, keeps getting out of her room reliving her days as a surgeon.

My Rating:

5. Bring the Rain
Derek and Meredith work to convince a devoutly religious man that his daughter needs a life-saving procedure while Meredith makes a shocking discovery about her mother's past and George and Alex find themselves trapped with a patient who needs emergency surgery.

My Thoughts:
Good episode. Dr. Grey and Dr. Sheperd must find a shaman before they can treat a patient. And 2 of the interns gets trapped in an elevator with a police officer that was shot in the chest...giving them no choice but to operate right there in the elevator. Jimmy... I thought of you while watching this episode... There was a guy in this episode in chronic pain but alergic to all pain medication... so what does he do? He watches porn 24/7. Supposedly the porn releases indorphans that makes the pain more managable. Could you imagine having a medical excuse meaning you had to pretty much always have porn on no matter where you were or who was around. Your vacations to your mother's house would really be interesting, huh?

My Rating:

(From Grey's Anatomy Marathon on September 6th, 2009)