The essence of a film like “The Romantics” which premiered at Sundance in 2010 revolves around the essence that everyone has experienced a love that should have been but ultimately wasn’t. The initial conception of the film revolved around a stage play which inevitably gives the film its pace. What buoys it is the relatability of the stars in the form of Josh Duhamel and Katie Holmes. While the former does little but try to appear sorry in relation to the narrative, Holmes seems well perceoved with a kind of world weariness that suits the part. In this outing, she is the one who lost out to her more conventional, balance-minded best friend played with distinct aplomb and guile by Anna Paquin who directs the wounded bird functionality with considerable dexterity. While most of the action happens inside rooms doing make-up or under trees, there is an undeniable fragility to the proceedings that serves it well. The direction is not too sure-handed but evenly tones itself nonetheless because as a writer/director piece, the word becomes non-changeable which both restricts and structures the outcome. In one way the film becomes monochromatic cinematically because of its play-like structure but within another essence it survives succinctly because its characters are that inter-relatable. Ultimately the relationships plays a little bit too close to change but the ending effect is resoundedly vague in a good way. The extras (as in the effort of acquisition titles) fosters to its independent roots with a quick but effective behind-the-scenes progression that tends to require itself more in praising the director than the psychological tomes the film discusses. Out of 5, I give “The Romantics” DVD a 2.
The Romantics – DVD Review
11 FebSekirei: Season One [Funimation] – DVD Review
10 Feb
In creating a notion of battlegrounds melded with an Eastern motif and modernism, nothing balances the structure more than women fighting in juxtaposition to the men around them. “Sekirei” offers an interesting parallel in that the men themselves cause the women to emerge making them more powerful than before. While the obvious fantastical and pseudo-psychological basis prevails, the relationship and comedy elements obviously play lighting offering fun but whimsical interplay.
Disc 1 The aspect of a gladiator-like competition where girls who have emerged fight in a city to win time with their “ashikabi” (those who have made them blossom) is, of course, a mixed metaphor with the best intentions. While the lead Minato who gets not 1 but 4 sekereis (those he has emerged) to be with him, the whole point is that all these beautiful women around manages to make him not know what to do. It is a little bit of a loser situation since they all want to “wash his back” (as it were) which creates a fun and light function. The narrative is not overtly structured but (like the earlier “My Bride Is A Mermaid”) works on the possibility of Eastern traditionalism with a new modern twist. Musubi who is the first Sekerei that Minato finds is the most interesting and tempts the most while the rest have their cool points. The ease is that they all fall under the same roof where Ms. Miya, whose connection is not quite known yet, keeps the progression swift but not overwrought or too serious. The music, works exceptionally well, especially in the menu system.
Disc 2 The second half of episodes begins with a problem that needs to be solved outside the structure of Minato’s inner circle. A weak Sekirei and her Ashikabi want to leave the system and not have to fight. At this point, the gamemaster locks down the city and proceeds to have the Sekireis fight each other, one at a time. The bigger threat is a group called the Discipline Squad who take down others for the Gamemaster. In addition to this, Uzume who also lives at the house is taking down other Sekireis at the order on the MBI (run by the gamemaster) in order to keep her ashikabi alive who is in the hospital. The progression displays a lot of holes, especially when #3, a high ranking Sekirei who just seems to be a drunk and obsessed with love, enters in and thwarts a would-be assassination of the weak Sekirei. Ultimately, foolishly not thinking of his own safety or his girls, Minato decides to try to help these lost souls cross the border. It is here that Musubi goes up against opponents more powerful than she. The final resolution is helped along by an angelic voice and an ally that up until the last moment was divided from her compatriots. The final battle is interesting just because of the consecutive actions going on but does not resolve any of the questions asked, except that Minato indeed loves his first Sekirei.
The additional extra scene is a nice bit that plays more comedy than anything else which is what gives the series, like “My Bride Is A Mermaid” its buoyancy but with a little more of an adult edge. The scene involves Shumi and Musubi helping the younger Ku participate in the shopping race by helping her. It shows a very consuming aspect of compassion. The textless opening and ending songs are both uplifting and sardonic at the same time. The trailers that stand out the most because of their melding of different animation styles are “Desert Punk” because of its fluid camera work and unusual backgrounds for an anime and “Birdy The Mighty: Decode” because its darkness and cutting style play all the more unusual.
Progressive and yet retroactively traditional, “Sekirei” has fun with its motifs affecting to a tongue-in-cheek progression while still balancing both excitement and emotional tones despite some story gaps. Out of 5, I give it a 2 1/2.
The Sacred Blacksmith [Funimation] – DVD Review
2 Feb
“The Sacred Blacksmith” is about a girl and a town on the verge. The narrative follows the elements of a would-be knight who has not quite found her full potential but must stand up against challenges, both personal and professional that try her representations of life. Mixed with some lurid fighting scenes in paradox to the psychological mistrust that revolves in almost all of her relationships creates an interesting dichotomy in the story without too much melodrama.
Disc 1 Following the travails of a new would-be female knight, what becomes abnormally clear is that despite having a strong will of structure, Cecily (The Knight) has too much of a soft side to be a warrior. That, and everyone seems to pay unusual attention to her breasts (which might just be the animator’s structure of humor). The beginning of the disc plays to a darker vision with the animation bruised in fire with some cool war sequences which highlight the anti-hero of this series: Luke, the local blacksmith who has an otherworldly control of katanas. What begins to anchor the story is the essence of the demon sword. Like the mechas that populate other more modern anime, this angle of more medieval structure revolves around the essence of demon contracts that take over people’s souls. Aria, who is the first demon sword to be brought to fruition in the story, does not want to be used as a weapon of death yet that is who she is. Cecily herself has problem killing her first demon in battle because she believes that the human still resides within. This of course makes her the perfect master for a demon sword. The story is also seen through the eyes of Lisa who is Luke’s assistant. She too seems to have a power over the katana that can defeat other demon swords. The last progression on this disc has the supposed daughter of the Emperor who has three female guards with her intent on taking Aria. Again when Cecily falters, Luke comes to her rescue even though he refuses to make her a katana. The tension is there but Lisa seems all the more intuitive about it.
Disc 2 Resurrecting into the second disc, the narrative continues upon the fact that Cecily is both forgiving but undeniably structured into a notion of traditionalism which at times makes her a less than viable knight. The crux in the first few episodes revolves around the vetting of the Emperor’s daughter and her claims to royalty. What becomes interesting in this structure is the psychological cross-section, however fleeting, where the princess connects with Lady Campbell, Cecily’s mother, as a surrogate figure. This drama is offset by the comedic wrangling of the head maid who forces all the girls to dress up and do chores. The notion of Luke as a wounded hero persists more into play when the possibility of the scourge of the Empire impacts on his protection of Lisa which turns out to have a much darker origin than originally conceived. Topped upon this, Cecily’s mother asks her daughter to be more feminine in securing Luke’s affections. This balance serves the story well without overplaying it too much offering a bit of levity from the darker underlying baseline. Luke, in fact, lost a supposed girlfriend three years before who is very similar in personality to Cecily which makes interrelation that much harder. The progressing problem happens upon when the Man In Black (as is normal) sends a Demon Sword and soldier of his own to kill Lisa. The revelation of Lisa as a demon, made out of the death of Luke’s former love, gives the story the depth it needs. However it exposes complicated through-lines which continue to mount. Ultimately the Emperor’s commander Siegfried is revealed as the instigator of the attack on Lisa (and, by extension, the town). Unvariably though, his motivation and overwhelming arc seem a bit light. The final attack on the city where undead creatures are summoned forth definitely offers the artists texture to explore style since the color palette simply jumps with energy with the oranges, reds and blacks. Unexpectedly though, this approach simplifies the feelings and explanation of Cecily’s defense of Luke and his unrequited love for her simply leaving her perception of closure for another day. The extras on the disc are spare but effectively structured offering the opening and ending songs without titles but also showing unseen previews that give more a glimpse into the original storyteller’s mind.
“The Sacred Blacksmith”, as an anime, follows conventional structure, but in dealing with dark themes, especially in balance, it offers a little more paradox to the nature of archetypes. Everything maintains a grey melancholy motif while the positive aspect of human nature rallied in forgiveness and hope is adequately maintained. Because of this complication in its favor, I give “The Sacred Blacksmith” a 2 1/2.
The Roast Of David Hasselhoff [Comedy Central] – DVD Review
13 Jan
When one thinks of roasts, those old commercials featuring Dean Martin come to mind which invariably speaks to the level of celebrities that were sensibly structured there from Bob Hope to George Burns to Frank Sinatra to Lucille Ball.
“The Roast Of David Hasselhoff” affects no such lofty ambitions, simply a need of comedy wrapped in the notion of a party.
Interestingly enough, the person with the most cache hosts the experience in the form of Seth McFarlane, the creative force behind “Family Guy”, “The Cleveland Show” and “American Dad”. McFarlane, as is apparent in person, enjoys this kind of public interaction as he took his big band show on the road similarly.
Getting a person like David Hasselhoff to sit and be counted for his sins is a balance between attacking aspects of life and career head on versus the ultimate publicity such an outing affords. Half the roasters are comedians while others are the best collection affordable.
Pamela Anderson, as evidenced by her attendance at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal last year, knows how to take a joke and likes to dole them out as well, even when many of the jokes involve her sex tape.
Hulk Hogan and George Hamilton are simply out of left field and probably did it for the payday which is understandable but the sheer tele-prompter reading moves it along, especially when Hulk looks over and says “Do I have to say this?”
The great delivery of the evening resided with Gilbert Gottfried. No matter what the guy says, even if it makes no sense, one cannot help but bust a gut because the sheer obviousness of the delivery is so absurd.
Comedians such as Jeffrey Ross and the late Greg Giraldo use it as a great springboard for vicious comedy with the people actually in the room which can probably be both a dream and a nightmare. Roasting works this way though, most of the time, it can come off as cheap laughs with a mean spirited edge. Sometimes it is just off-the-cuff for sanity’s sake.
The bonus features optimize an all-in one-night production schedule which ultimately shows great production efficiency. The Behind-The-Scenes shows the lead up with many of the comedians (specifically Lisa Lampanelli) figuring out their own approach to the material. The Red Carpet interviews using a Comedy Central interviewer doesn’t allow the material to shine since the man with the microphone is trying to one-up the roastees and the roasted which takes away from the function itself (if that is possible). The after-show responses take on the same progression allowing for not as much fun and frolic as might have been possible. Watching however, both on the red carpet and after the show, Hoff’s daughters talking and standing behind their old man is an interesting diatribe of celebrity but also speaks to a different perception of life lived.
“The Roast Of David Hasselhoff” knows what it is: fun mindless banter focused on the throttle of a trainwreck filmed with a certain masochistic vibe. Entertainment has evolved in this direction with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor allowing for a little bit of TMZ in us all. Out of 5, I give it a 1 1/2.
True Grit [1969 - Paramount] – BD Review
14 Dec
As a reference of modern society, the Old West pervades the truer nature of American colonialism in a subsequently rawer form. While the nature of Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns were more in the style of a mercenary texture where life revolves not around the law but at times in notions of vigilante justice, John Wayne’s ideals by comparison rested more in the texture of good ol’ boy Americana. Interestingly enough with the release of the Coen Brothers’ adaptation of the original book of “True Grit”, the comparison to this late 60s movie of the same name invariably comes into play. As the film which won him the Oscar for Best Actor, the key to Wayne here is him letting down his guard a little in front of the more progressive persuasion of Kim Darby as Mattie Ross. The wit of both fairly sharp using the inevitabilities of Wayne’s intention.
The inclusion within the cast of Dennis Hopper as a man who meets his end inside a shack and Robert Duvall as the murderous but intelligent Pepper gives the ideals of the movie credence before its time. Hopper’s “Easy Rider” was only a few months away while Duvall would make his entrance in “The Godfather” a few years later. The transfer on BD shows the inherent blues and barren tundra in the area around Ridgeway, Colorado where the film was shot (even though at first glance in the beginning of the film, certain town scenes can be mistaken for the Warner Ranch in Burbank). The use of day for night in a less-than-stellar fashion is glaringly obvious except for one small scene where Wayne’s Cogburn relates his road to bounty hunter of sorts (albeit one with a badge). The commentary by Western enthusiasts including Jeb & J. Stuart Rosebrook is little more than candy filling addressing the vernacular of the times while the most revealing shooting secrets they relate is that Kim Darby was deathly afraid of horses and was having family trouble so she had a hard time remembering her lines. Granted most of the people involved with the picture are not present in Hollywood anymore but even a perception by Duvall would be undeniably prudent.
Other small featurette extras include some parts of the same whole with “True Writing” talking about the adaptation which was written by Marguerite Roberts who earlier had been targeted by the McCarthy hearings. “Working With The Duke” reflects the more heroic textures of the man when the reality of his work style and intent of his health on this particular picture would have been much more telling. “Aspen Gold: The Locations Of True Grit” revels with character the textures of the land which makes the journey an integral part of the story. “The Law & The Lawless” like the writing segment before reflects the archetypal progression of the tide while still maintaining a certain code shared by these outlaws. “True Grit” is a product of its time but undeniably rooted in classic storytelling with true-to-vernacular dialogue. Out of 5, I give the BD a 2 1/2.
