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Zatoichi's Cane Sword, a review by Antares

Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967) 84/100 - Ichi has just had a windfall in a crooked dice game, and he decides to celebrate his luck with a bowl of noodles and hot sake. Sitting next to him is an old man who appears to be drowning his sorrows. Ichi offers the man a drink and the two begin a conversation. As is typical in Zatoichi fare, he is then attacked by yakuza members who ran the crooked game. He dispatches them with ease and pays the restaurant owner for the damage and he leaves. The old man he was talking to asks him to come to his home for a brief moment. As they enter the old man's home, Ichi surmises that the old man is a blacksmith, due to the foundry type smells associated with that profession. The old man tells Ichi he used to be a swordsmith of great reputation and he asks Ichi if he can take a look at his cane sword. At first Ichi is apprehensive, especially after the ambush he just endured, but he senses that the old man is honorable, and he hands over his sword. The old man inspects it and then tells Ichi that his sword has wrought a lot of death and that it was forged by his old mentor. He then informs Ichi that his trusted sword, has a small, unnoticeable crack near the base, and has reached the end of its life and will shatter the next time he kills with it. Ichi is visually shocked and then a sense of foreboding doom comes across his face as he realizes that with out his trusty weapon, his rogue lifestyle could be his downfall. He decides to give up his life as a roving yakuza gambler and settle down in this village as a masseur at a local inn. Before he leaves, he grants the old man's request of keeping his mentor's crafted sword as a memento of his one time sensei.

This was probably the boldest screenplay so far in this series, as it places Ichi in the most vulnerable situation he has had to face. Aside from the earlier scuffle at the noodle bar, there would be no action pieces for the next hour and twenty minutes. But during that duration, the story sets up a situation involving the old man creating one last great sword, that will eventually be stolen by the yakuza boss of the village as a bribe for a corrupt local magistrate. Ichi, while working at the inn, overhears the magistrate and the yakuza boss plotting to take over the entire region. He now realizes that he must return to his old lifestyle to right the wrongs about to be inflicted upon the village, well knowing that he will probably be killed when his sword fails him. What follows is one of the best plot twists I've ever seen in a chanbara film, and elevates this film to the top of list when comparing the entries in this canon. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. The final action scene, almost an hour and a half into the film, is easily one of the best in the series. As I've written before when it comes to Zatoichi movies, a little patience makes for a better payoff when the final showdown arrives. This will definitely be a repeat viewing experience for me in the future.

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 May 8th, 2014)

Autopsy, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Autopsy: After Dark Horrorfest III
Year: 2008
Director: Adam Gierasch
Rating: NR
Length: 85 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Jessica Lowndes
Ross Kohn
Ross McCall
Ashley Schneider
Arkady Golubovich

Plot:
A group of recent college grads is taking a final vacation together when an accident leaves them hurt and stranded on a lonely Louisiana road. An ambulance arrives and takes them to Mercy Hospital, an eerie , half-empty place that harbors a chilling secret: a doctor conducting inhuman experiments on its helpless patients.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Closed Captioned
Miss Horrorfest Webisodes

My Thoughts:
This was a blind buy I made last months in the hopes of watching it for my marathon. Unfortunately I never got the chance to watch it then. Let me tell you... if you like gore then this is a movie you will want to see. This movie has more then it's share of gore. The storyline could be a bit better.. but it is entertaining enough to keep your attention. The crazed doctor in this movie is played by Robert Patrick. Doing all kinds of experiments on helpless victims to try to save his wife. This one is worth checking out if the gore don't bother you.



(From Addicted2DVD's November Alphabet Marathon on November 7th, 2009)

"Big Bang Theory" Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. Pilot
Brain doesn't have much of a chance against brawn when Leonard and Sheldon try to retrieve Penny's TV from her muscle-bound ex.

My Thoughts:
I think this was a great start to the series. You get to care about the characters fairly easy... and think the chemistry between them is there from the start. Obviously my favorite character has to be Penny... but this is one of those rare occasions where I actually like all the characters!

2. The Big Bran Hypothesis
Leonard tries to keep Sheldon from fighting chaos in the universe, the center of which is Penny's messy apartment.

My Thoughts:
I found this to be a hilarious episode. I am the first to admit I am a little bit of a slob... so I could just imagine how I would have reacted. But hey... at least it would save me a lot of work! just leave my door unlocked every night! 

3. The Fuzzy Boots Corollary
Leonard has a date - with Penny. Too bad he hasn't told her about it.

My Thoughts:
This is pretty much just an OK episode in my opinion. I mean it was still enjoyable... but it seemed to be a step down from the previous 2 episodes. I think... for me... the best part of this episode had to be the vomit joke (poor guy on the bike). I believe that was probably the only laugh out loud moment for me in this episode.

(From "Big Bang Theory" Marathon on September 22nd, 2008)