DVD Collectors Online

5 Centimeters Per Second, a review by Danae Cassandra

Byosoku Go Senchimetoru  (5 Centimeters Per Second)
Year of Release: 2007
Starring:  Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura
Directed By: Makoto Shinkai
Genre:  Romance, Drama

Overview:
The modern-day anime classic and brainchild of rising star Makoto Shinkai, 5 Centimeters Per Second, presented to you as never before. Witness the story of Takaki, a young man on a journey from Tokyo to reunite with his childhood best friend, Akari. Feel his emotions superimposed on the gorgeous, heavily researched and impressively animated backdrops of Japan, as he travels by train to see her. Join Takaki on a voyage into three interconnected tales of love and lost innocence that span the minutes and months of their lives. 5 Centimeters Per Second, the speed at which cherry blossoms fall from the trees, reminiscent of the pace of life as our lives intermingle.

My Thoughts:
I picked this up because I had enjoyed two other films from Makoto Shinkai, The Place Promised in Our Early Days and Voices of a Distant Star, and this is a very worthy companion to those two.  It's a great little film.

This is a beautiful, romantic film that reminded me why I love anime. It's a wistful, nostalgic memory of first love and the bittersweet joy it can bring in hanging on to it. It's warm and melancholy, as only the best memories are, the ones that matter, that mean something.

The story is very simple - it's about young love and the memory of that love and the distance that time creates between people. What the film is really about is the emotions of the characters, and in that it excels. You feel these people. You understand them. They are real.

It's also a film with exquisitely drawn animation. This is a grade-A+ beautiful film, perhaps one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Even if nostalgic romance doesn't appeal, if you like animation you should give this film a look just for the art, it's that good. Good? Wrong word. Great. Stupendous. Flawless.

Highly recommended.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall:  4/5

(From 5 Centimeters Per Second on July 28th, 2013)

Men in Black, a review by DJ Doena

February, 22th


Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Tommy Lee Jones    ...    Kay
Will Smith   ...    N.Y.P.D Ofcr. James Darrel Edwards III / Jay
Linda Fiorentino   ...    Laurel
Vincent D'Onofrio   ...    Edgar
Rip Torn   ...    Chief Zed
Tony Shalhoub   ...    Jack Jeebs

Synopsis: Officer James Edwards is a normal NYPD cop until he meets a guy who has two pair of eyelids (one of them are gills) and when he learns that the guy who fences stolen watches also fences alien weapons. After he passed a test, James Edwards ceases to exist. He becomes J, a Man in Black, working for the most secret organization on the face of this planet. And his very first mission is to help give birth to a squid. Ah yes, and his second mission is to save the Earth.

My Opinion: Remember the times when 90 minutes for a movie were standard? Now it feels short. The advantage is that it has no lengths; there is not one point where this movie is boring. It is packed with jokes and gags regarding alien visitors and Tommy Lee and Will make a great team because they are so different.
I also loved Linda as the coroner. I only know her from two movies (this and Dogma) and I'd love to see her in more. In both movies she has this nice dry sense of humour.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2010 on February 28th, 2010)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Marathon , a review by Critter

1.03
Witch

Plot: Buffy tries out for Sunnydale High's cheer leading squad. The Scoobies at first suspect that Amy is causing all the havoc but discover that her mother, also a practicing witch, has swapped bodies with her.

My Thoughts: This has always been one of my favourite episodes of season 1. I love the fact that for one 40 minute episode the story manages to have many twists and turns, some that you really don't expect from the start of the ep. I also love the addition of Amy who becomes one of my favourite minor characters throughout the whole show (even though a lot of that time is spent as a rat). I think she is one of the most interesting characters in the show, the way she progesses from being a student who is a victim of her monther, just trying to fit in to school, and then to an antagonist in later seasons. Another thing I love about this ep is seeing the gang pull together and work in almost detective mode, it was quite entertaining seeing them piece this one together. And as always with Buffy eps, this one had some great funny lines. Such as Xanders, "I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away".

Rating: 5/5 

(From Buffy The Vampire Slayer Marathon on May 23rd, 2010)