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demonicDeimos
Reviews
Engel & Joe (2001)
A beautifully shot story that we've all seen before.
Perhaps it's me, but I tend to tire of true stories. And Engel and Joe just happens to be one of them. The plot seems old and cliché. A sappy love story on how love always prevails. The film brings nothing new to the plate.
It had it's moments however, mostly attributed by the excellently crafted atmosphere. The films aesthetic values, particularly the cinematography and music, are what maintain any sense of interest.
Don't, however, attempt to avoid seeing this film. After all, no matter how many times we've heard it before, it seems like people never tire of stories from the heart.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Perhaps I'm Biased
This is going to be difficult.
There have been 9 Final Fantasy games released so far. To those who are unaware, none of these games have anything to do with one another. They all take place in different worlds with different settings. What links all nine installments together are the themes and ideas.
Everything from the concept of a 'living' planet to that of one's dreams and assumed identity recur. The characters in every single game draw upon similar intents. It seems to be three males and two females, each representing a mindset (the main character often seems to be a pessimist, the antagonist often impatient and maniacal). Along with this, similar plot twists and events also occur within all the games.
This is perhaps why I was so ecstatic with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. It stays entirely true to the original series. The ideas are there. The plot is true to the tradition of Final Fantasy. It contains the intriguing blend of anime sci-fi with Star Wars fantasy. Similar themes and characters appear (particularly Dr. Sid, on a literal level, who appears older and wiser from FF6, FF7, FF8 and the movie).
As a film, it has major flaws. The lacking music. The awful dialogue (which some might be able to tolerate, and maybe even reminisce, because of the loosely translated games). And, of course, average voice performances.
Hironobu Sakaguchi, originator of the series, wrote and directed this picture. This is a direct testament of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within being the most accurate translation from another medium onto the big screen.
Oh, and the animation was good too.
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
A surreal and sumptuous fable
Short films like Blood: The Last Vampire are few, particularly in a day and age where imagination is left to the books.
Most people have been judging the film solely upon its face value. It is, after all, difficult to look at anything else because of Blood's predominant use of atmosphere and mood.
Atmosphere aside, it has been said that the plot to Blood is poor and disgraceful. The plot is not incomplete, nor is it cheap or poor. It is simply a glimpse. 45 minutes of a much, much larger picture. Hardly anything is said to the viewer, but so much is implied. Herein the beauty lies. The film enables us, as active viewers, to fill in the holes. It allows us to come to our own determinations and conclusions. The imagination is an extremely powerful tool - and one that is, unfortunately, believed to be out of place within the visual images of film and TV.
Blood: The Last Vampire is a classic among the likes of Akira and Ghost in the Shell. This artful masterpiece truly is the pinnacle of Anime.