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The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer, a review by Antares

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961) 88/100 - My favorite film of the trilogy. War and his treatment by his fellow soldiers has nearly broken Kaji. But the thought of returning to Michiko fuels his desire to survive and he'll stop at nothing to make it reality. This is definitely Nakadai's best performance of the three films. Gone is the doe-eyed zombie of the first film, replaced with a realistically tormented shell of a human being. Kobayashi, throughout the film, emphasizes the luck of having a roof over your head, the first time being when one of the prostitutes mentions it when they come to what appears to be an abandoned farm. Tange says it at one point and Kaji declares it at the refugee camp. But it's when Kaji is trudging through the frozen Manchurian landscape, after escaping captivity, and in his delusional mind, he hears Michiko say it as they entered their house back at the mining camp, that Kobayashi throws an ambiguous twist at Kaji. By now, Kaji knows he's finished and most likely is going to die and he's re-living the happy moments from the past with Michiko, in his mind. He remembers little bits of happy conversation between the two, but we only hear Michiko's lines of dialog. And then, just as Kaji is about to fall forward into the snow, you hear Michiko laughing. Is Kaji remembering one last moment of her exuberance before he dies or is Kobayashi, having the last thing Kaji hear, is Michiko laughing at him, for being so obstinate in his beliefs back at the mining camp and losing his military deferment? And now, instead of being back in Japan, at home with the woman he loves, he's dying, unsheltered on the frozen steppe of Manchuria...alone, a victim of his ideals.

What the color coding means...

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 February 26th, 2014)

Halloween, a review by Jon

Halloween
5 out of 5

After recovering from the utter bollocks that was Halloween: Resurrection, I thought I'd have another look at the original. Peerless. One of the very best slasher movies ever made before anyone really knew what a slasher movie was.

The atmosphere is consistently foreboding, thanks to Carpenter's wide open shots and the classic theme. I love how the screen-title comes up, after the audacious start and Michael's escape from the hospital, "Haddonfield, October 31", then as it changes to the word "Halloween" the music kicks in and completely alters your peception of the quiet little town.

Scream-Queen Jamie Lee Curtis has rarely been better and Donald Pleasance has great fun hamming it up as the Dcotor who is the only one who understands the threat to the town. Much of the films atmosphere is generated before Michael is on-screen, but he has a fantastic presence once he is. The whole concept of the character is brilliantly engineered and he is the best movie serial killer of them all when compared against the almost cartoon like Freddy and Jason's. Of course, I'm not including the sequels! No need. The power of this original film has never been compromised by the unnecessary franchise.

Even part 2 was only written by Carpenter to protect the rights, but he could hardly see the point. Ok, there's the supernatural twist that shows Michael is unstoppable, but that didn't mean they had to follow it up. It just left Michael as a legend, the Boogie Man who may not have even existed.

By the way, if you get a chance to see the TV version, it's worth a look. While making part 2, Carpenter came on set and directed a couple of scenes to insert into the original as they had had to cut it for violence, but keep up the length!

(From Jon's Random Reviews on July 31st, 2009)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Bones
David Boreanaz (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) stars as F.B.I. Agent Seeley Booth, who teams up with forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) to solve some of the most baffling and bizarre crimes ever. Booth depends on clues from the living, witnesses and suspects, while Brennan gathers evidence from the dead, relying on her uncanny ability to read clues left behind in the bones of the victims. Their different investigative styles cause the two to frequently clash, creating an undeniable chemistry and just the right touch of dark humor. Inspired by real-life forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs and state-of-the-art criminal invenstigation procedures, Bones is compelling, cutting-edge television.

Pilot:
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan teams up with FBI agent Seeley Booth to investigate the murder of a Senate intern, the political implications of which may prove to be staggering.

My Thoughts:
This is an awesome series with a great cast. It was a bit weird seeing Brennan's old boss from the first season again. While I enjoyed it I do prefer her new boss now. This is another show where I was left wanting to watch more episodes. Definitely a series I highly recommend.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on November 9th, 2009)