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Reviews
FLCL (2000)
FLCL - It's wonderfully weird
Fooly Coolly (abbreviated FLCL) is so outrageous that it virtually jumps out of the screen and hits you on the head with a bass guitar. As you start watching it, the serious emotional drama involving the lead character Naotas, a 12-year-old boy, keeps you grounded as the crazy sci-fi drama unfolds. It may take a few episodes before you get that there is an actual storyline though. I have never seen anything like this before with the possible exception of Excel Saga only FLCL has much more style. Because of the sexual references it is definitely not for little kids. It is extremely hilarious, weird and loads of fun. Just hang on to the yellow Vespa and enjoy the ride.
Samâ uôzu (2009)
Best animation I've seen this year
My Christmas eve 2010 was spent with my extended family but I had the pleasure to spend that Christmas day in a movie theater with the Jinnouchi family. I went to see the movie Summer Wars in San Francisco on that rainy Christmas day and it was well worth the 100 mile drive.
In my humble opinion Summer Wars directed by Hosoda Mamoru is the best animation I've seen in a long time.
The heroes of this exciting, hilarious and heartwarming movie are Kenji and the Jinnouchi family. The best animations have authentic believable characters and here we find several of them most notably Sakae, the family's charismatic matriarch. If there was an Academy award for best supporting actress in an animation it should go to her. In what could have easily stayed a simple scifi adventure alone, Hosoda has seamlessly weaved in an extensive cast of charming heart and togetherness.
The male lead Kenji is a shy math geek who has never even dated a girl before. He agrees to a summer job escorting Natsuki, the most popular girl in school, to her family's gathering. A sprawling earthy ancient rural family estate where the Jinnouchi clan has gathered to celebrate the family matriarch's 90th birthday. This is the real world setting where the enemy strikes however the movie doesn't just take place in this world. It starts introducing you to the white sterile appealing online universe called OZ that has all but completely taken over all the worlds workings. As in "the Wizard of OZ" something there declares it self as "all powerful" and starts stealing peoples very identities and online privileges.
Kenji stuck in the middle of nowhere like a fish out of water has to ask for help from the people he just met and instead of saving the day alone, is becomes the catalyst that helps unite the family together in battle.
Yes it gets deadly serious, and just when you think the battle is over the villain strikes back once more and then once again putting you on the edge of your seat.
Not being Japanese, I enjoyed being introduced to things like the ancient card game of Hanafuda Koi Koi and the anime cliché wherein a shy boy gets a nose bleed when kissed by a beautiful girl.
If you liked Mamoru Hosoda's the Girl Who Leapt Through Time (and why shouldn't you) then you'l definitely love this movie.
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
DreamWorks bold move
This film in one of my guilty pleasures. Yes there are some story flaws if you take it too seriously, however don't forget, this is a comedy/action movie. In making this movie, DreamWorks made some bold moves. First they made this there first 3D animation. Second they blended a love of B monster movies with a "Dirty Dozen" idea of prisoners being let out of prison to defeat a greater threat. Third they gave Henry Jackman his first break in scoring the music, who did a fantastic job. Focusing on the character of Ginormica (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) they tell a story of a young woman letting go of her smallness and accepting herself and her true power. Besides being a flawless job of technical animation, the character of Ginormica may be one of the most beautiful girls ever to be computer animated. It is unfortunate that DreamWorks said there will not be a sequel.
Read or Die (2001)
Read or Die = See & Die laughing.
Yomiko Readman will "just die" if she doesn't finish reading her book, but wacky super-villains are trying to steal it from her and use it's secrets to destroy all human life on earth. A situation scary enough to make the President of the US wet his pants. Left on her own Yomiko would happily spend the rest of her life and all of her money buying books to read. Unfortunately for her now she has to become Agent Paper, a super powered secret agent working for the British Library. Step aside James Bond, now Agent Paper (with the ability to make common paper do anything, and I mean ANYTHING) along with Miss Deep (with the ability to move deep through solid objects) and weapons expert Drake (who is having a bad day) are needed to save the world. If you set aside some miner plot flaws you may find this campy spy spoof a hilarious guilty pleasure like me. I love the kick ass music, action, humor, as well as what evolves into a deeply moving relationship between Yomiko and Nancy.
Toki o kakeru shôjo (2006)
See this anime before your time-jumps expire!
Time waits for no one, unless your a 17-year-old high school student named Makoto Konno. After a mysterious event in the science lab and later being hurled into two oncoming trains, Makoto discovers that instead of dyeing she gains the ability to "leap" backwards through time re-living periods of her life again. Reminiscent of both "Run Lola Run" and "Groundhog Day" it begins as a playfully fun comedy of errors then shifts gears, as Makoto begins to realize the consequences of using her new powers thoughtlessly. She literally falls on her face several times before she comes to learns some hard life lessons about what is really important and what she needs to do to make things right again before her time-jumps expire. The ending is bittersweet, heartwarming and triumphant. It is not surprising that this anime is so good when you realize it was made by several talented ex-Ghibli studio refugees. After buying this movie I have watched it again and again.