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The Tale of Zatoichi / The Tale of Zatoichi Continues , a review by Antares

The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) 4/5 - My favorite genre in films is Film Noir, but running neck and neck with it is jidai-geki chanbara films from Japan. A few years ago I started catching a lot of these films on IFC on Saturday mornings. Unfortunately, they would start at 9AM and being in the hospitality industry, I'm usually still sleeping at that time. So I've caught most of these films in midstream. One of my favorites of these genre of films are the Zatoichi films. Now that Criterion is streaming free films on Hulu, I've gotten to see the first two films in their entirety. A lot of the character traits of the blind masseur are still to be worked out in the following installments, but the basis of the character is intact. He's a master swordsman who likes to gamble. He calls himself a yakuza, but the moniker doesn't fit. In this first film, we get a Yojimbo style screenplay with Zatoichi in the middle of two rival yakuza clans. It takes a while for Zatoichi to draw his sword, but when he does the action is fast and furious. Subsequent films would get to the action much quicker, as fans wanted to see the prowess of this master swordsman and less of the character development that this film had. What also sets this film apart from it's successors is that Zatoichi is a bit more cynical in this one. Later on, he would come across as comical, and that's why I think the first few outings are the best.

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962) 3/5 - With the success of the previous film, Daiei Studios knew that they had a profitable alternative to Toho's Yojimbo character and they quickly shot this film to capitalize on it. The hurried nature is well evident in the patchwork screenplay. The story itself is good, but there really isn't anything to sink your teeth into. The fight scenes are frequent and relatively good. But as sequels go, this pales in comparison to Kurosawa's . Even though this entry is rather light, I'm looking forward to the next four films in the series, as they are also freely available on Hulu.

(From Antares' Short Summations on January 10th, 2012)

Office Space, a review by DJ Doena

Ron Livingston    ...    Peter Gibbons
Jennifer Aniston   ...    Joanna
David Herman   ...    Michael Bolton
Ajay Naidu   ...    Samir
Diedrich Bader   ...    Lawrence
Stephen Root   ...    Milton Waddams
Gary Cole   ...    Bill Lumbergh
John C. McGinley   ...    Bob Slydell

Synopsis: Peter works in a software company and he and his colleagues are scanning program code for possible Y2K bugs and change the code to a 4 digits system. But his work doesn't fulfil him, he feels useless and the job is repetitive and tedious. When he seeks counselling he gets hypnotized but never awakes from it because his shrink dies of an heart attack. From now on everything is different. Life is easy, he goes to work when he pleases, he works only on stuff that is actually useful and he even gets promoted for it - while his friends get fired due to "reorganization". But they have a contingency plan - they plan to steal "virtual" money.

My Opinion: This movie feels so real and Peter's life before his hypnosis is pretty much the same that I am currently leading, especially the boringness at work. Now I only need to find the diner where Jennifer Aniston is working and I will get hypnotized, too.
The supporting characters are also very great, especially Milton and his stapler.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on June 19th, 2009)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

9. The Wish
Wanting to be rid of Xander for good, Cordelia comes to the conclusion that Buffy is the cause of all her problems and makes a wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. A demon grants the wish and Cordelia's world suddenly changes.

My Thoughts:
This has always been one of my favorite episodes... I loved getting a peek at the alternate reality of what Sunnydale would have been like if Buffy never made it there. I really liked the vampire version of Willow and Xander. This is just one of those episodes that is just pure fun to watch.

10. Amends
While the gang prepares for their Christmas vacation, Angel is haunted by visions of his violent past. The ghost of Jenny Calendar appears to him and reminds him in great detail of the evil deeds he has performed. At first she almost seems to be taking pity on him, but gradually her counsel grows more sinister.

My Thoughts:
Another really good episode... and if I am not mistaken the only Christmas episode in the entire 7 year run of the series. Not to mention our first look at "The First Evil" which would later come back for the final season.

11. Gingerbread
Picking the wrong night for mother-daughter bonding, Joyce discovers the bodies of two children in the park, apparently sacrificed in an occult ritual. Deeply disturbed by what she has seen, Joyce rallies the adults of Sunnydale, convincing them to rid the town of all magical and occult influences. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that Buffy, Willow, and Amy are themselves considered a part of the occult threat to Sunnydale.

My Thoughts:
And this makes all 3 episodes on this disc good ones... Another episode I liked a lot. If I am not mistaken this episode also has another first... the first (and possibly only?) time we see Willow's mother. This is also the episode that Amy turns herself into a rat and stays that way for a very long time... till Willow can figure out how to change her back.

(From Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon on November 14th, 2007)