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Reviews
Expedition Overland (2013)
Basically a commercial rather than a show
They're sponsored by so many different things that this sounds more like an extended commercial than a documentary.
In addition, many people drive portions and/or all of the Pan-American Highway every year. Not to claim that it's an easy task, but the fact that you can watch multiple channels on YouTube of people performing and completing it solo on 250cc motorcycles makes this look like a glorified vacation road trip. Six people in a three vehicle caravan with equipment costing well into the six (if not seven) figures? Please.
The whole production is tremendously toot-your-own-horn tryhardiness.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
I suppose I'm probably biased.
Yes. Biased. Biased because I think Quentin Tarantino is probably one of the most overrated directors ever.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 is just the latest edition in a line of many pretentious Tarantino movies. He's been considered a visionary for not making movies like everybody else makes them--but that's because he doesn't seem to care that his movies need to be realistic, believable, or have characters you become attached to. It's just scene after scene of script that didn't take very much thinking to write.
This movie is an example of such. The story is ridiculous. Laughable, even. It's the kind of story you'd expect from the novel rack at an airport bookstore. The dialog is even more so. Scenes are shot in the most mind-numbingly annoying way possible. Split screens and back-and-forth college-student-film cuts make several appearances. Silly gimmicks like censoring The Bride's real name have been called genius, but truthfully it's just a way to keep your brain working so you forget that the story is absolutely simple. Stupid costumes, some of the worst ever seen in a movie. The gore is pointless and boring. Some people have called this the bloodiest movie of all time, and yet I don't see it. Sure, it's bloody, but it's a boring kind of bloody. The marathon of a fight scene late in the movie featuring The Bride singlehandedly slicing and dicing a hundred or so men in Lone Ranger masks left me yawning and even getting up to get another drink; no matter how much watery blood you spray, it's not going to improve such a badly choreographed fight scene.
Now I've clicked the "Spoiler Alert" box in case this counts as a spoiler, but how can it? This movie (and the sequel, obviously) gives away the ending in the title. Bill gets killed. Subtle? Hardly. If you can really know how this movie ends and be amazed anyway, it's time to read a book or two, preferably something by a respectable storywriter and not a hack.
I did not hate Tarantino before seeing this movie--as a matter of fact, I had a pretty so-so opinion of him. He made movies, most of which I hadn't seen. Upon seeing this film, I purposely went back and watched other Tarantino films to see if maybe he just dropped the ball on this one. He didn't. It's the same style as the rest.
If you want a movie that makes you think, skip this one. Rent a Star Trek movie. I'm not even a Star Trek fan, but some of the films featuring the original cast (Shatner, Nimoy, and those other people) are better-written than this movie.
Blood Work (2002)
Full of gimmicks and plot holes.
I've heard people say "I guessed the ending to this movie XX minutes in," and in this case, it took me 30 or 45 minutes. Once I figured out who the main badguy was, it was just a matter of sitting through the rest of the movie to see how Clint Eastwood put 2 + 2 together and made 4.
As it turns out, Mr. Eastwood doesn't do a very good job of doing this. This movie is rife with plot holes, continuity errors, and gimmicky reasonings that truly leave you feeling that the characters were written in the direction of the ending, rather than believing that they are acting as real people.
Ultimately, a stilted story and rigid writing ruin what could have potentially been a good film. I'm giving this movie a 2 out of 10 rather than a 1 because nobody takes 1-out-of-10 votes seriously, right?
The Animatrix: Final Flight of the Osiris (2003)
I'm disappointed this got the highest rating...
In my opinion, this was an okay short. It was nothing compared to my favorite (Detective Story), and the sole purpose of this episode was to simply be eye candy.
Yes, eye candy. From the fight/striptease at the beginning to the closing credits, the short is VERY visually attractive, but the acting is sub-par and the story is simply a typical Matrix action scene minus the plot. Yes, I understand it is the story of the Osiris discovering the Machine invasion heading for Zion, but the short itself is simply...kind of dull, honestly.
If you like computer generated asian girls getting naked with katanas and some shady mention of a backstory setting up the movies, this is for you. If you like a neat short story with neat little inner tidbits that stands alone without the movies, watch Detective Story.
FLCL (2000)
...Unique. Yeah. Unique.
Firstly, I'll come right out and say that this is a review for all the non-diehard anime fans out there, such as I. The only anime television show I've come to really love is Cowboy Bebop because there isn't any of what FLCL has.
First, the good points. The animation is really great when it isn't being totally bizarre and confusing (I daresay stupid) at times. The bizarre/stupid things I refer to, of course, are giant sweat drops, jerky animation when somebody "freaks out," totally outrageous facial expressions, etc. When things are being normal (and that isn't often), the animation is superb.
However, the voice acting has its highs and lows as well. In serious moments, the voice acting is excellent, but FLCL falls into the anime pit of "freak out noises" that people make which usually accompanies the aforementioned "freak out animations." I've never seen the humor in it.
Also, it's off the wall. Now, it's not really a bad off-the-wall (I'm a fan of Sealab 2021, after all), but FLCL does have an identity crisis, not entirely sure whether to be serious or crazy. People seem to stress that the show is nothing but insane goodness, but that isn't true. Episodes do have plot and they do have meaning. You'll see stranger things in the Adult Swim lineup.
So, from a non-anime-fan, I give this a 2.5 or 3 out of five stars. Otakus would give it a 12 out of 5 stars.