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The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity, a review by Antares

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959) 84/100 - At the time this film was made, only 14 years had elapsed since the end of WWII. This second film in the series, and most definitely the final film must have opened a lot of old wounds and pissed off a lot of the old guard, samurai warrior class in Japan. Kobayashi trashes every facet of the militaristic and bushido doctrine, painting the military hierarchy as lecherous, thieving, maniacal marionettes. In some ways, I thought of this second film as Kobayashi's Full Metal Jacket. The first half is spent in basic training, while the second half is spent in the front lines in Manchuria. But, where I liked only the first half of the Kubrick film, the whole of this film enthralled me, because it showed what it was like to be a front line soldier in the Japanese army. And it's pretty clear that Kobayashi places all of the blame for Japan's loss in the war, to the tunnel vision mentality of the Samurai warrior descendents who made up the officer corp, looking for a bit of the glory to honor their ancestry.

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)

Whip It, a review by Dragonfire

Whip It

(From Whip It on October 20th, 2009)

Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

9. Death in Chains
Hades, god of the underworld, asks Xena to undertake the task of freeing his sister - the embodiment of death - from the clutches of a greedy king who's captured her in order to give himself eternal life.

My Thoughts:
This episode is a bit of a mixed bag. While I found it to be a very fun episode... it is not without it's problems. Of course it's problems is part of the thing that makes this show fun anyway. For example it showed Xena throw her Chakrum at a tree and it works like a buzz saw on a huge branch. Even going as far as making the sound of a buzz saw. Another thing about this episode is it is very inconsistant. In the beginning it shows some people that are mortally injured and un able to barely move... but yet it show other while fighting keep coming at you... like Ha-Ha! Stab me again... I cannot die! But for the most part I just found the episode to be a fun!

My Rating:

10. Hooves & Harlots
Xena has a tall order to fill trying to prevent a war between the Amazons and the Centaurs; and Gabrielle finds herself with some pretty big shoes to fill when she's chosen to replace an Amazon princess who died in her arms.

My Thoughts:
This is the episode I been waiting for... this is the one where Gabrielle becomes an Amazon... and starts wearing that leather outfit... and doing some fighting herself. I didn't realize it was so close to the beginning of the series... I was thinking it was in the second season. Thankfully I didn't have to wait that long. This has always been one of my favorite episodes. I always thought they did the Centaurs good... it has a good story.,, and it somewhat changes the series from this point on. At least the character of Gabrielle.

My Rating:

11. The Black Wolf
Xena fights her way into a dungeon (on purpose) to rescue the freedom-fighting daughter of an old friend.

My Thoughts:
This is another episode I really enjoyed. Once again Xena uses her past to make some people believe she is still bad.I got a kick out of Gabrielle trying to get thrown in the dungeon.

My Rating:

12. Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts
At the behest of Helen of Troy, Xena goes to the embattled city to help end a 10-year war with the Greeks. But while trying to rein in the hostilities, she discovers a Trojan horse who's working with the enemy.

My Thoughts:
While I liked this episode... I didn't care for it quite as much as the previous few. But I really can't put my finger on why. The premise is a good one. It was kinda fun seeing Xena involved in the Trojon horse. But for some reason it just didn't work as good as it should have for me.

My Rating:

(From Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon on November 28th, 2009)