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Zatoichi's Flashing Sword, a review by Antares

(1964) 69/100 - After about forty minutes into this film, I started to worry that this would be the first real turkey in the series. But when the fireworks start... literally, the fireworks... figuratively, begin! The story focuses on two rival yakuza gangs who are vying for control of a river passage service. But the twist in this film is that one gang is considered fair and honest, while the other is evil. Ichi is staying with the good gang because the daughter of the boss, rescued him earlier in the story, when he is wounded by a ronin who turns out to be the boss' prodigal son. When the fireworks festival begins, the rival gang crosses the river to slaughter the good gang and take the river concession. But Ichi, who has been evicted from the boss' house because he's considered a wanted man, returns too late to save the good gang. He ventures across the river to exact his revenge upon the rival clan. What ensues is the best action scene of the series so far. The rival boss is named Yasugoro, and he sets his men against Ichi. The swordplay sequence takes place in a long hallway, intermittently lit by candles. Each time a few men lunge at Ichi, he dispatches them with a quick stroke of his cane sword, while also slicing a couple of the candles in half. As the tops of the lit candles fall to the floor, darkness plunges into that section of the hallway, and Ichi has tipped the scales in his favor. The action repeats itself a few times, until Ichi comes to the end of the hall and boss Yasugoro quivering against the wall, basked in the last bit of light from the sole remaining candle on the wall. Ichi slices the final candle, but instead of letting it fall to the floor, he balances the lit top on the end of sword as he toys with Yasugoro. A well crafted and exciting scene which rivals anything I've ever watched in other chanbara films. If you can make it through the tepidness of the first forty minutes or so, it's worth a watch just for this final scene.

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 March 29th, 2014)

Brave, a review by Dragonfire

Brave



I've been wanting to see this one for a long time..but that is normal for me with Pixar movies.  This is another wonderful movie that definitely deserves to be seen.

Merida is a princess who is good with a bow and arrow.  This is a typical princess movie and it is more than an archery movie.

Merida doesn't want to do what is expected of her and she sets out to change things.

There is a really cute, entertaining scene after the credits that I thought was worth waiting to see.  The short before the movie, La Luna, is a bit simple and very beautiful.

The plot is interesting and entertaining.  It isn't complex, though it deals with a few different issues, and even adds in a bit of magic.  The trailers mostly showed things from the very beginning of the movie, and really only hint at what is going on.  The movies goes off in direction that I didn't expect.  I think it is best for people to go into seeing the movie without knowing about that.  A few things that happen are a little predictable, but other things are more surprising.  I thought one thing might happen that ultimately didn't.  I think the story works, though I have already seen that some people feel the story is too weak.  I don't think so.  Some things are brought up and then they seem to be dropped, but I think those things served their purpose.  There is some emotion to the story, though it doesn't have the same level of emotion as Up or Toy Story 3 - but then very few movies do reach those levels.  I think some people are going to get hit by the emotional stuff more than others with this one. 

The animation is of course gorgeous.  There are some beautiful settings used in the movie.  An impressive sequence features a beautiful river.  A bear is involved, and the wet fur is very realistic looking, along with how the fur sort of glows in the sunlight when it is dry.  The music sounds Scottish and fits in perfectly with the movie.  Of the characters, Merida is the most developed since she receives the most attention.  I think she is a good character.  She does have some flaws, but I think that makes her more realistic.  The Queen Elinor, Merida's mother, is decently developed as well.  The voices are all really well done.

This is another wonderful movie from Pixar that I think definitely deserves to be seen.



I did get a longer review posted at Epinions.

Brave


(From Brave on June 23rd, 2012)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

15. The Prodigal
Original Air Date: 2/22/2000
An attack by a normally peaceful demon on a subway train leads Angel to a disturbing connection between Kate Lockley's father and an illegal drug warehouse.

Guest Stars:
Elisabeth Rohm
Julie Benz
John Mahon
J. Kenneth Campbell

My Thoughts:
And here we have another episode with flashbacks to the past. This time from when Angel was first changed into a vampire. So We get some scenes with Julie Benz as Darla. And it is another one I enjoyed every second of.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on February 25th, 2010)