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My Neighbours The Yamadas, a review by dfmorgan

Title: My Neighbours The Yamadas
Original Title: Houhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun
Year: 1999
Director: Isao Takahata
Rating: PG
Length: 104 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Yukiji Asaoka
Toru Masuoka
Masako Araki
Hayato Isohata
Naomi Uno

Plot:Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Storyboard Comparisons
Closed Captioned



A very weird film. Based on a popular manga this is a series of vignettes very much in the comic-strip style of Andy Capp, The Perishers, FoxTrot, Blondie and many, many others. The style takes some getting used to, apparently this was the first film from Studio Ghibli to be produced entirely on computer as Isao Takahata did not want the traditional look and feel of cel animation. As to be expected with a film of this concept some of the vignettes work better than others, one of my favourites is when Mr. Yamada is 'watching the baseball' and Mrs. Yamada wants to watch a movie. The ballet between them as Mrs. Yamada tries to use the zapper to chanage the channel and Mr. Yamada blocks with his newspaper is well executed and nicely choreographed.

I did enjoy this to a degree, some bits worked some didn't so a 3

(From dfmorgan's Studio Ghibli Marathon on August 1st, 2010)

Astaire & Rogers: Partners in Rhythm, a review by Danae Cassandra

Astaire & Rogers: Partners in Rhythm
Year of Release: 2006
Directed By: Tara Tremaine
Starring: Chuck Klausmeyer (narrator)
Genre: Documentary, Musical

Overview:
Featuring clips from all 10 films Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together, from 1933's Flying Down to Rio to 1949's The Barkley's of Broadway, this glorious salute captures the sweat, determination, inspiration, talent and scintillation chemistry that made the team an icon of elegance in motion. Candid photos, behind-the-scenes tidbits and sidelights about such famed Astaire-Rogers collaborators as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Hermes Pan and George Stevens add to the fun. Take some gliding, sliding, tapping, twirling steps back in time with Astaire and Rogers Partners in Rhythm.

My Thoughts:
Fine little retrospective look at the partnership of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, featuring a bit of biography of each but mainly focused on their RKO career together. Brief, but worth a look for fans of the duo. There's still nobody out their like Fred & Ginger.

Bechdel Test: Fail (N/A)
Mako Mori Test: Fail (N/A)

Overall: 3/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 17th, 2016)

Sliders Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. GENESIS
Home isn't necessarily where the heart is when Quinn and Maggie discover the Earth Prime has been taken over by warrior Kromaggs in their absence.

My Thoughts:
While I normally don't care for the ongoing Kromagg storyline... this is a very good episode. Unfortunately we have to say goodbye to Wade in this season. One of my favorite characters.

My Rating:

2. PROPHETS AND LOSS
The Sliders jump to the scary side of organized religion when they land in an eerily peaceful Los Angeles ruled by an oracle the sends people to "the Other Side."

My Thoughts:
This is a pretty good episode. Though they used this "help the rebels" part of the storyline on more then one occasion before. So that took away from it a little for me. Though I did like the rest of the storyline.

My Rating:

3. COMMON GROUND
The Sliders land in a world where the Kromaggs conduct ruthless experiments on humans, but trusting a Kromagg commander may be their only way out.

My Thoughts:
This is one of the several Kromagg related episodes... and one of the several I didn't care much for. I found it pretty slow and boring actually.

My Rating:

4. VIRTUAL SLIDE
Maggie's sanity is a danger when she's captured by a greedy businessman who uses virtual reality scenarios to try to get her to reveal the secret to sliding.

My Thoughts:
Not a bad episode... but pretty much average. At least this one don't have any Kromaggs in it.

My Rating:

(From Sliders Marathon on November 29th, 2009)