Your Friendly Neighborhood Critic

[SpideyWrex]

Decided to finally start a journal of my own (and also have somewhere to post my anime and movie reviews without disrupting your daily postings). But first, a little about myself, once again:

First Name: Wee Boon

Age: 30

Birthday: 21st March

Race: Chinese

Nationality: Singaporean

Interests: Catching up with older movies, anime, and TV shows that are considered classics or popular; video games, visual novels, Spider-Man (of course) and good stories in general

Favorite Anime: Madoka Magica, Shiki, Nichijou, Paranoia Agent and Gunslinger Girl; though note that my favorites tend to change very often due to my fickle taste

Favorite Kinds of Anime: Dark, psychological, and tragic anime

Disliked Kinds of Anime: Most shounen and romance; slice of life; anything with moe

Favorite Movies: Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Casino Royale and The Prince of Egypt

Favorite Genres of Movie: Thriller, Horror and Sci-Fi

Disliked Genres of Movie: Historical, War, Romance, YA

Favorite Video Games: The Mass Effect trilogy, Detroit: Become Human, Fallout: New Vegas and Super Animal Royale

Favorite Kinds of Video Game: Games with different endings based on your choices

Disliked Kinds of Video Game: Puzzle games, challenging games, military FPS, RTS games

Favorite Visual Novel: School Days

Favorite Food: Large chunky fries with lots of salt

Favorite Drink: Coke Zero

Disliked Food: Vegetables, onions, tomatoes, pickles; anything that tastes sour or weird

Hello, I'm Wee Boon from Singapore. That's "Wee Boon" as a first name and never "Wee" or "Boon", though my local friends do tend to call me "Boon" or my surname "Tang" as a shorthand. But I digress. A little more about myself.

My relationship with anime is on-and-off over recent years, though I've seen just about most of the classic titles out there like Higurashi, Death Note, Gurren Lagann, Clannad, Angel Beats, Steins;Gate, FMA:B, Monster, Ghost in the Shell, Lain, Hell Girl, Cardcaptor Sakura, Haruhi, Cowboy Bebop, Digimon, Pokemon, and many more. If you name it, I've probably seen it if it was released before 2010 (except shounen titles like One Piece and Naruto; I don't like shounen). But having seen all the big time "must-watch" titles, I guess I just got tired of the newer ones and didn't really find anything that catch my interest.

But recently, I'm having the "on again" phase of my anime relationship, so I picked up where I last left off with Blood+ and Monogatari Second Season. Can't say I regret it actually, considering that Blood+ had a lot more depth in its characters than just another generic vampire anime and was the right kind of melancholy for me, while Monogatari SS' characters were masterfully written... and episode 20 broke me. Dang, didn't see that coming at all. First time I cried that hard to an anime for a looong time since Clannad.

My first love was not anime, however, but movies, and I've also seen many classic titles like Back to the Future, Star Wars original trilogy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Ghostbusters, The Godfather, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind, Taxi Driver, the first "Alien" to Prometheus, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Dracula (the original one), Frankenstein (original), Wolf Man (you get the point), Nosferatu, Pixar movies, Disney movies, and It's A Wonderful Life. I've experienced so many heartfelt stories, drama and horrors through the magic of the silver screen, love movies with all my heart, and I'm still discovering movies every year.

Last but not least, I love Spider-Man. He's my favorite superhero of all time, next to MCU Captain America. I just love his sense of responsibility and righteousness despite being an average Joe like us with an average morality and all the selfishness that comes with it. You are admirable if you always do the right thing like Cap, but you're even more inspiring if you do the right thing in spite of your heart tempting you to do the easy thing. That's Spidey for me. Persevering in the face of insurmountable odds. Minus MCU Spidey. He's a spoiled little Zoomer and an Iron Man fanboy, and I dislike him with all my heart.

I think that about covers it. If you have any questions about me, feel free to drop a message here.

Until then, I shall be posting anime, movie and TV series reviews every now and then. We'll see. I'm fickle like that.

[unoduetre]

Oh, we have a person from Singapore!!!

Hello and welcome!

[SpideyWrex]

Oh, we have a person from Singapore!!!

Hello and welcome!

Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you.

[SpideyWrex]

Our first review begins with...



A girl who fights monsters. Basically Japanese Buffy, but with a katana instead of stakes.

But under the careful guidance of Production I.G, the simple premise and seemingly overused vampire setting of Blood+ is turned into something more thoughtful and satisfying. Originally a 2000 movie titled "Blood: The Last Vampire" by the same studio, Blood+ has a similar premise as Buffy in that it has a girl as the Chosen One destined to fight vampires, but that's where the similarities mostly end. Instead, the protagonist, "Saya Otonashi", goes on a more dramatic and epic journey that's not too different from your traditional Shakespearean protagonist, one that's larger than life and goes beyond the American formulas of "vampire hunter by night."

Also, it's sad. Like incredibly sad. Like "Buffy almost looks like a Disney sitcom compared to Blood+" sad. While the anime starts out like any typical shoujo or even shounen anime, where the main character has good times with her friends, just fooling around like there's no tomorrow, things become bleak pretty fast as people start dropping dead, and Saya becomes so numb that she curses her own existence and literally just wants to die. Try that for depression, Buffy fans.

[video=youtube_share;Y7TvUlwn-ls]https://youtu.be/Y7TvUlwn-ls[/video]
This sorrowful tune will constantly play throughout the series as the characters lament their morbid situation.

When I first heard of this anime back then, I dismissed it as just another typical vampire fighting story. In many ways, Blood+'s plot is traditional like that, lacking that need to insert unexpected twists or self-parody elements you see in modern TV. What you see is what you get, which is a bit of surprise considering that Production I.G. was known for much more complex works like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. When I saw the studio's name attached to such a seemingly generic work, I was naturally intrigued and gave it a shot, and you do see some elements of their style here, like the heavy use of political jargon (without being too excessive that the plot becomes confusing) and the unrelenting use of mature subjects. In fact, much of the morbidness found in their Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelation adaptation could be found here, with characters often questioning the worth of their own existence, and their morality and motivations are often blurred in grey, including the kind-hearted Saya herself.

But what stands out in Blood+ is its hope in all the doom and gloom. Most vampire anime tend to just emphasize on how brutal the world is, but here, the optimistic Okinawan idiom, "Nankurunaisa" ("everything is gonna be alright," as said by Bob Marley) is constantly repeated by the characters as a catchphrase to remind themselves that the sun would shine again tomorrow in the darkest of nights, no matter how many times the good guys lose (and boy, do they lose a lot).

Another distinctive element found in most of Production I.G.'s anime is its patient exploration of the side characters. Like literally, the anime can be very slow in "getting to the good part," but never was I bored by the story because it's always focused on something important, be it character development, character revelation, or just a reflection of a character's philosophy. Much like Buffy, there's usually a theme in each episode and a message to be learned by the characters.

Arguably, the best part of the show is its avoidance of romance as an easy way to attract the audience. Much like Buffy, there is a forbidden romance sub-plot in Blood+ too, but it's rarely focused on, which is good, because they are fighting a literal war where people die everyday. Kissy smoochy stuff like that just wouldn't make much sense, and it's befits Production I.G.'s nature to keep their worlds realistic and believable.

Overall, Blood+ has been a satisfying and solid experience worth giving a look. It's not Production I.G.'s best, and I do favor Hellsing Ultimate over this just because I like my action to be more fun and exaggerated, but this heart-rending story is well-crafted and emotional enough to be worth a look.

★ ★ ★ ★

[Teeny]

Welcome to Journals [mention=121876]SpideyWrex[/mention]!

I like the Halloween franchise & Michael Myers ^^
I like Nightmare on Elm street too although I've not seen all of them.

[unoduetre]

Would you like to create a review thread in our Anime & Manga section?

[SpideyWrex]

Would you like to create a review thread in our Anime & Manga section?

Woo, I could do that? Sure, why not? I'll just reserve this journal for my non-anime reviews then.

Welcome to Journals [mention=121876]SpideyWrex[/mention]!

I like the Halloween franchise & Michael Myers ^^
I like Nightmare on Elm street too although I've not seen all of them.

Thanks!

The first Halloween was very good, just a guy in a mask who snapped as a kid. Horrifying, and makes you think what demons could haunt a person's mind for him to do something like that.

Nightmare on Elm Street was good too; I haven't seen all of them either, nor do I like all of the ones I did see... Wes Craven's "New Nightmare" was kinda fun though.

Anyway, time for another review!


Season 2

A teenager who fights monsters.

So for the past month or so, I've been catching up with three '90s TV series, namely The Simpsons, The X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Why now? Why so? Don't know. Just in the mood for catching up.

And almost a week ago, I've finished the final episode of season two, "Becoming, Part 2", and it was the kind of quality television that I enjoy watching. But this was not always the case. Once upon a time in season 1, Buffy was a much cheesier teenage drama with "monster-of-the-week" episodes thrown in. The demon-possessed robot was probably the best example of how schlocky Buffy was like back then. But eventually, Buffy came into its own in season 2, when showrunner Joss Whedon (Dark Angel, Alias, The Avengers) became more confident in deciding what the show should be like - a dark and edgy teen drama with many allegories for growing up. You could usually find this type of progression in quality in many television shows (including Simpsons and X-Files), where "Season 1" has the writers figuring out the show, and "Season 2" has the writers settled down on a consistent tone.



The story of Buffy is a simple and familiar one resembling a shoujo anime (cough*Blood+*cough): A teenager named Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) finds out she's the Chosen One, a vampire slayer destined to fight demons and vampires alike. Along with her own brand of Scooby-Doo gang, Buffy struggles to survive the turmoils of teenage issues and high school while fighting vampires by night. The one prevalent element of the show that earned its fandom in particular is the saucy romance, particularly the one between Buffy and Angel (David Boreanaz). Watching this pairing and their interaction, I could quickly tell how it attracted its teenage female demographic. Angel is like that mysterious nice guy with a tragic past that you wanna date when you were 15, but he's a vampire and Buffy's a slayer, so these star-crossed lovers could never be together. Very Shakespearean.

Speaking of forbidden lovers that could never be, this season also introduced a new recurring character Buffy fans would come to fall in love with, the bad boy vampire Spike (James Marsters) with his British accent. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), "Spuffy" (Spike x Buffy) wouldn't come into play for many seasons to come.



On a personal level, the whole "bad boy"/forbidden romance/teenage drama thing is a little past my age and I do find it to be a little dated. But for what it is, I've enjoyed Buffy for its non-romantic elements, particularly when Buffy has to deal with being the Chosen One and have all her friends and family be at risk of being killed by her vampire enemies every week. The show holds no punches when it comes to the subject of death, and you could feel the weight of it all as the characters are still burdened long after a character's passing. Season 2 quickly loses most of the spunky cheerleader appearances Buffy once had in season 1 and adorns an edgier atmosphere where the main protagonist has to endure the responsibility on her shoulders, carrying the guilt of any tragedy with her. That kind of edgy teenage angst where one never feels comfortable enough about her own existence is pretty much the element that attracted me to the show, the kind of moody self-reflective doubt about one's identity. Done poorly, it can be too melodramatic, but Buffy managed to incorporate some lighthearted and witty humor between it all (it's Joss Whedon after all) to keep the tragedy from feeling unrealistic.

My bigger concern while watching wasn't that it would become too dark or depressing, however, but that the romantic "will they/won't they" element would overshadow the more interesting character development where Buffy learns to suck it up and deal with the darkness and tragedies of real life. Thankfully, while still eye-rolling, the "Bangel" romance doesn't quite occur often enough to distract or annoy... even if I often couldn't really remember how Buffy fell in love with this dark guardian angel in the first place.



For what it's worth, I do really like what Buffy's character gets out of this romance: she's the Chosen One who has no one else in the world that could relate to her burdens and responsibilities except Angel, and yet they could never be. I particularly love the theme music between them, aptly named "Close Your Eyes" (you'll know why it's aptly named watching the last two episodes of the season; it's a tragic reason). By now, I'm sure even non-Whedon fans know how he has a knack for torturing his characters, putting them through happiness... then deprive them of it in the most tragic ways. Cruel, but effective storytelling, and I can't help but love it.

Regarding Spike as a character... I really couldn't care less about him, probably because I've already seen my share of bad boy character archetypes that he just failed to impress me at all, making me fail to see what all the hoopla about him is all about. He's passable enough as a villain/anti-hero, but again, dark leather clothing and slicked back hair, too '90s and dated for me.

But its inevitable faults aside, I've always seen Buffy as one of the last icons of strong female characters that I could genuinely like, way before I even watched the show, in fact. Without a need to assert her authority in front of men, she stands proud and strong just by being herself, undaunted by all the evils and darkness one faces in life. Between Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor and Princess Leia, she manages to stand among them as one of the most memorable TV icons even 'till this day.

I'm looking forward to season 3. Having seen what is probably a fan-made trailer on YouTube, it looks like the most exciting parts of the series that solidified its fandom is coming up next.

★ ★ ★ ★

Footnote: Did I mention that Buffy has one of the most iconic and badass theme songs of all time?

[SpideyWrex]

"Order of the Phoenix" picked up where we left off in the previous Harry Potter film very nicely. What I find most annoying is when a series fail to properly acknowledge the effects of character deaths in the past, and Harry's PTSD hits all the right notes with the rage, guilt and self-doubt he feels. In fact, most of the film hit the right notes; Dolores is just the right kind of bitchy and unethical fascist she is (though I heard she's a lot darker in the books); and Voldemort is the typical kind of pompous and prissy little Princess you would come to expect of most villains, frowning upon Harry's hope and friendship.

David Yates will be continuing with the directing from this point on in the series, and I don't really have arguments against that. I like a lot of what he did here in "Order", particularly how Harry slowly descends to the dark side, being tempted to give into his rage. That Crucio, damn. You almost want Harry to do it.

Fun fact that I heard: Harry's scream after the character death was silenced because it was too terrifying and painful. Damn. Should've left it audible, since I felt the death was a bit lacking in impact, coming out of nowhere all of a sudden.

But amid all the torment and misery, Harry finds strength and hope in his... friendship and loving heart, blech. I don't know what is it, but I guess I'm just a little bored by now how the same note plays in this kind of character progression. It's not bad writing per se, just... textbook and predictable. I've seen it a dozen times in countless children's cartoons and anime, so seeing it played out in the same exact way again is the reason why this film won't receive a score above 4 stars out of 5 for me; it lacks that innovation in storytelling.

And that's what got me concerned about Yates. His directorial debut for the HP franchise is fine enough, if formulaic. It's a solid effort, but I feel like I won't have any surprises soon nor the kind of emotional resonance most HP fans do. It lacks that punch.

Snape's role in the movie foreshadows some bad blood between him and Harry's family, which we'll get to see developed further in "Half Blood Prince". In spite of my remarks, I am actually content with seeing how it all ends in three movies. It's not gonna be as memorable as some of the best movie trilogies I've seen, but it will probably stand among the top 100 ones.

★ ★ ★ ★

[SpideyWrex]

Dark times are coming. But that doesn't mean we won't have time for snogging. Lots, lots, and lots of snogging.

I was a tad surprised to see some of the harsher reviews for this film, having (relatively) enjoyed the film myself. But I can definitely see why people were peeved. It's one thing to still have the overplayed YA "will-they-won't-they" romance in Goblet of Fire, when things haven't taken a dark turn yet, but being the third film before the end of the series, and with the Death Eaters kidnapping wizards all across the globe, it is somewhat disappointing not to witness something more dramatic and related to the battle against You-Know-Who.

Unfortunately, the Harry Potter movies are a victim of its own design. It has been this way for the past five films, so it's no surprise really that the sixth one would continue the tradition of school life shenanigans mixed with some light doses of Voldemort-related sub-plots. It's stuck in its formula, and David Yates, as I feared, did not have the ambition to change it up to create something truly gripping and mind-blowing. This is no Cannes Film after all; it's an adaptation of a book series for kids for crying out loud. Of course it would play off like a tween drama with infuriating unrequited love.

Nevertheless, I have said that I enjoyed my experience, probably because I liked the character development enough, even if Ron's a big fat buffoon as per usual. Honestly, Ron is one of the most irritating and insufferable characters I have ever experienced over the last decade. His fling with Lavender felt so contrived, like something out of a '90s sitcom. I don't even know why something so artificial and shallow is in here. Half a star deducted just for that, now that I remember that stupid sub-plot. And Hermione was no better, playing the cliched lovesick girl too insecure to really tell Ron how she feels about him, even going down the textbook-route of dating a douche just to piss off Ron. Oh my god, she's supposed to be an intellectual. What was I saying? Oh right - that I somewhat enjoyed my experience. Ahem.

The other characters' development were more satisfying, of course, namely Malfoy and even Snape to some extent. But their developments are more subtle. You really have to read between the lines to see Malfoy's anguish in having a cursed destiny to live up to his father's bloodline, or Alan Rickman's excellent performance in giving Snape the nuances of a man forced to do what he must for the greater good. I haven't seen the last two films yet, but I could already tell that there's more than meets the eye with Snape's actions.

Oh, and there's Harry, I guess, struggling not to fall into the dark side or something. Yawn.

Anyway, disappointing set up for the climatic finale, but with a strong final act to the movie.

Speaking of the ending, most of these films usually have an odd closing scene that doesn't quite fit the tone of the scenes that came before, but I do understand why this is so. I think Rowling has said that her books are about hope in dark times, tragic times even. That's probably why these movies, and presumably her books, tend to end on a bright and light-hearted note, no matter how dark the movie was just minutes ago. Half Blood Prince has a closing scene that's probably the most fitting for Rowling's ideal, however, ending with Fawkes the phoenix flying towards the light over the horizon, where the promise of a new dawn awaits.

★ ★ ★ ½

[SpideyWrex]

Not a review this time, but I thought I would share an insightful video I just watched on Iron Man 2:

"I explained to Justin Theroux, to the writer, and to (Jon) Favreau that I wanted to bring some other layers and colors, not just make this Russian a complete murderous revenging bad guy, and they allowed me to do that. Unfortunately, the (people) at Marvel just wanted a one-dimensional bad guy, so most of the performance ended up on the floor. It is f***ing too bad, but it's their loss. At the end of the day, you've got some nerd with a pocketful of money calling the shots. You know, Favreau didn't call the shots. I wish he would have."
- Mickey Rourke, Crave Online (2011)

[video=youtube;Zz8bQ_K_IjQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz8bQ_K_IjQ[/video]

Ouch. What a f***ing waste. I actually liked what remained of the sub-plot about Howard Stark's legacy that didn't get cut. Those were the best parts of the movie, and they got wasted.

Edit:
This movie needs a director's cut for sure. Jon got f-ed the same way David Fincher got f-ed in the production of Alien 3. And if any of those rumors about the troubled productions of the other poorly received MCU films like Thor: The Dark World are true, then not only is it a freaking waste, but it makes so much sense when you see the little bits of profundity sprinkled in those supposedly shallow popcorn flicks.

[PharaohAtem]

Pickles are tasty just saying

[xMommaWickedx]

Hello and welcome to the journals! :3
I hope you enjoy your time here!