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Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer, a review by Danae Cassandra

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
Year of Release: 2002
Directed By: Robert Trachtenberg
Starring: Stanley Tucci (narrator)
Genre: Documentary, Musical

Overview:
Everyone feels a connection with Gene Kelly. He's a guy's guy to men. To women, he's a knight whose shining armor is a T-shirt and khakis. And he solidifies that link with a vigorous, athletic way of dance he calls American Style. Gene Kelly makes us all fee like we should be dancing and singing in the rain.

The life and career of this innovator whose work includes Singin' in the Rain, On the Town and An American in Paris are recalled in this study of the driven genius - often narcissistic, always a perfectionist - who reenergized the movie musical and redefined dance on screen. Packed with marvelous clips and interviews with family and Hollywood colleagues, Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer is the definitive look at a magical talent whose story has never been fully told until now.

My Thoughts:
A really nice biography of Kelly and retrospective of his career. Kelly is not only an icon of dance, but an icon of the American film. Quite thorough and worth a watch for fans of his.

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)

Ocean Waves, a review by dfmorgan

Title: Ocean Waves
Original Title: Umi Ga Kikoeru
Year: 1993
Director: Tomomichi Mochizuki
Rating: PG
Length: 72 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Nobuo Tobita
Toshihiko Seki
Yoko Sakamoto
Yuri Amano
Kae Araki

Plot:
Rarely seen outside of its native Japan and never before released within the U.K, Ocean Waves (also known as Umi Ga Kikoeru and I Can Hear The Sea) is one of Studio Ghibli's most obscure and sought after titles. Directed by Tomomi Mochizuki (Princess Nine) and based upon author, essayist and playwright Saeko Himuro's most popular, best selling novel, Ocean Waves is one of the most poignant and unsung masterpieces within Studio Ghibli's legendary creative output. Wonderfully detailed and incredibly subtle, there are very few films in the histroy of animation that have managed to capture so well the joys and drama of adolescence and teenage alienation.

Kochi is your average coastal town on the sleepy, idyllic island of Shikoku and young Taku is definitely your average high school student. But soon his quiet life will be turned upside down with the arrival of Rikako: a beautiful, female student recently transferred fromTokyo. By the end of term Taku will have learnt a valuable lesson in love and friendship.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers


I only watched and reviewed this in February so my thoughts are still much the same. At heart a sweet and gentle love triangle. Taku and Yutaka have been friends since starting high school. Yutaka as the class representative is asked to show a transfer student, Rikako, around. Rikako has transferred in from Tokyo following her mothers separation from her father. Taku realises that his friend has feelings for Rikako but tries to not get involved. However fate has other plans and stirs things up until the friendship starts to strain. As a short film there isn't a lot of character development and some bits of the storyline appear rushed. It is obviously not a Miyazaki film as most scenes featuring trees, plants, fields, the sea are static images but then again it was also a low budget film.

A bit of background as, like Only Yesterday, this film has not been released in the US. Apparently, as a made for TV film, Disney decided not to accept this as part of the overall Studio Ghibli catalogue it wished to promote. Optimum Releasing, from the UK, had the opportunity to take this film in 2009 and did so. They released the film to DVD in its original Japanese language with subtitles as part of their Ponyo promotion in early 2010.

Overall still an enjoyable film but I'll drop the 4 rating down to 3 now that I've watched this following other Studio Ghibli titles

Dave

(From dfmorgan's Studio Ghibli Marathon on July 7th, 2010)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Knight Rider (1982)
Gear up for action with Superstar David Hasselhoff and his supercar, K.I.T.T., as they throttle crime in every high-octane episode from the first season of Knight Rider, finally available to own for the first time on DVD.

The series follows the thrilling adventures of Michael Knight, a detective thought to be dead, who's been given a new face and identity. His assignment: to fight crime with the help of an artificially intelligent, talking car named K.I.T.T., a high-speed, futuristic weapon outfitted with high-tech gadgets and a personality of its own. Driven by justice, they set out to take down criminals who operate above the law in this 21-episode DVD set tricked out with loads of Special extras, including a bonus disc featuring the movie sequel, Knight Rider 2000.

Knight of the Phoenix
Michael Long, a policeman, is shot and left for dead. The shot is deflected by a plate in his head, but ruins his face. He is saved and his face reconstructed. He is reluctant, but agrees to use K.I.T.T. to help the Foundation for Law and Government fight.

My Thoughts:
Another series that I grew up watching. And one I always loved. The pilot episode does a great job of introducing the characters. And offers a few laughs. I loved the running gag in this episode of the crooks trying to steal K.I.T.T. And the demolition derby was a fun way to show off things K.I.T.T. could do.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 23rd, 2010)