Reviews

Final Fantasy VIII is probably the most underrated of all the Final Fantasy games. It had the unfortunate luck of following VII, which was the first title in the series to be created in a 3D style on the Playstation.

While FF8 does have its drawbacks, it's still a better game than FF7 in a lot of ways. The combat system is more interesting, and allows a deeper level of character customization. This is the only game in the series that requires you to draw magic spells from your opponents in order to use them. The graphics are understandably better, being a later installment, but the level of difference between FF7's cartoony, exaggerated characters and FF8's more realistic look is astounding.

Speaking of the characters, there is a much deeper level of complexity to them than found in FF7. Throughout the game, we see into Squall's thoughts. While he's the protagonist, it's obvious right off the bat that he's not the most likeable guy in the world. He doesn't really care about being a hero or doing the right thing like Cloud in FF7. He just wants to be left alone. None of them are as simplistic as Barret, who looks and talks like Mr. T with a gattling gun for an arm and a chip on his shoulder. The level of the story is much more personal. Perhaps too personal for a lot of players' tastes, as it focuses primarily on the relationship between Squall and Rinoa. The world is at stake, but at the same time, there's something much more personal about it.

FF7 will always have its place as a favorite of the Final Fantasy series by many players, but for the reasons stated above, as well as some others that I might not have thought to mention, I feel that FF8 is actually the better game, and is vastly underappreciated by the audience of RPG players.

"Photon: The Idiot Adventures" is amazingly well titled, as just about every character that plays a central role in the story is, to one extent or another, an idiot. Photon, the main character, is a young boy who barely has any dialogue aside from moaning and groaning, and to match, he has all of the intelligence of a box of rocks.

It's really hard for me to recommend this OAV to just anyone. On the one hand, it's insanely funny, especially if you're into wacky animated science fiction comedies. On the other, it's absolutely perverse. The villainous Papacha has his pants down so often that the black dot covering his privates is a joke in and of itself. If you were offended by a film like Dumb & Dumber or have trouble with sexual jokes above a PG-13 level, this probably isn't the anime for you.

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a wonderful series of short stories based around the misadventures of the Yamada family. Varied in length and tone, you never really know what to expect next. However, while it is indeed a great film, it does have its drawbacks. Chiefly that being the fact that the film is probably too long. Since there is no solid narrative to carry the film through, there isn't a normal sense of pacing, and it can be a struggle for some people to make it all the way to the end in one sitting. Aside from this complaint, the film is still a must see.

Some sequences to watch out for:

The family's young daughter, Nonoko, accidentally gets left behind at a shop while on a family excursion, causing the family to panic. Meanwhile, Nonoko simply waits for them, assuming that her family somehow got lost.

A chase scene in which the father imagines himself as Kamen Rider, the hero of a popular Japanese kid's show.

A scene in which some characters are watching a baseball game on television, and the deceptively simple animation style is used to depict scenes from a real game.

After Miyazaki created the more maturely minded Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away is an excellent return to some of his earlier themes, such as childhood innocence and how love and friendship can save the day, all without the typical shmaltz that infects Hollywood childrens' films. The film is a blast for older audiences, whether they watch the film with children or others their own age.

Die hard Miyazaki fans will recognize the soot balls from the director's 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro, which also strongly focused on childhood. Though, where Totoro was a lighthearted romp, Spirited Away is definitely darker, much in the sense of Alice in Wonderland, though it has nothing to do with Lewis Carrol's work. The atmosphere is entirely Miyazaki's own, and after watching it, it's easy to see how the film set a box office record, becoming the highest grossing domestic film in Japanese history, right ahead of Princess Mononoke.

Eternal Darkness had an unusually long period of development. Work on it began in 1998 as a game for Nintendo's Nintendo 64 system, but when the game's developer, Silicon Knights, was made a full subsidiary of Nintendo, the development was switched to the then still in development Gamecube hardware. Although many games that spend four years in development have a lot left to be desired, Eternal Darkness overcomes that barrier, delivering an experience that no other game has ever produced.

Although the game features an intricate storyline, a diverse cast of characters and an excellent system of play, what sets Eternal Darkness apart from all other games before it is the Sanity Meter. As characters are spotted by enemies, the meter gradually empties. Although it can be refilled, when the meter is no longer full, the game begins to play tricks, not only on the character that is going insane, but also on the player. A diverse range of insanity effects keeps players on their toes, not knowing when an effect will occur or what it will be.

While the Sanity Meter is a major part of Eternal Darkness, it wouldn't be enough to sustain a game by itself. However, Silicon Knights has put together one of the best gaming experiences in recent memory. Very little about the game can be considered truly flawed. Even the graphics, which show hints of its days as a Nintendo 64 title, have a certain charm to them, the faults overcome by the overall presentation of the game.

The plot is very intricate and incredibly thought out for a video game. Rather than play existential as Metal Gear Solid 2 ended, everything weaves together to form a coherent knot. The voice acting is top notch and only adds to what is a truly incredible experience. Eternal Darkness is sure to be recognized as a classic and destined to be followed by many inferior imitators.

More and more, studios are turning popular video game titles into movies. Unfortunately, more often than not, these films tend to turn out between mediocre and awful. The one film that rose above the norm in my opinion was Final Fantasy, which, despite its shortcomings, still provided some wonderful entertainment.

Resident Evil is much like Final Fantasy in that respect. For one thing, it never pretends to be anything more than it is, a film based on a video game that already has a B-movie plotline. Naturally, it's not going to win any academy awards, but Paul Anderson managed to make a film that should leave most viewers satisfied as long as they aren't too condescending in their opinion.

The action sequences are energetic, which is an accomplishment when you consider that the vast majority of the monsters in the film shuffle along at about two miles an hour. Some of the scenes with the zombies massed together resembled a literal mosh pit of the damned.

While the film doesn't contain any characters from the video games, it's obvious that Anderson did his homework when he wrote the script. The movie functions well as a prequel and to my knowledge doesn't contradict plotline of the games. In many respects, the movie was tailored a bit more to the fans of the games than the general viewing public. Perfectly setting up room for a sequel, fans may yet get a chance to see some of the game series's heroes in living color. It certainly deserves a sequel more than Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, in any case.

To sum up, while Resident Evil is most certainly a popcorn flick, that doesn't necessarily make it a bad film. It has its entertaining moments, and if it's given the benefit of the doubt, it has its rewards as well.

In a line of distinguished video games such as Final Fantasy, there are bound to be games that set a new standard for the series. Final Fantasy X does just that, becoming possibly the best game in the series since Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy X brings the game series into a lot of new territory. It being the first FF game for the Playstation 2 console, the graphics are even more incredible than those in any game before it. It's also the first game in the series to use spoken dialogue. Each of the main characters has a distinctive voice. While the acting isn't top notch, it's easy to listen to most of the time and the voices fit the characters well. For a first attempt, Square did a fantastic job.

Changes to the way the game works came as well. Rather than a normal leveling system, in which characters become stronger in every category by gaining X amount of experience points, the stats of each character are improved through use of the new Sphere Grid system. Characters earn points to move around the grid and use spheres to activate points, allowing them to boost individual statistics, such as maximum hit points or magic defense, as well as learn new spells and abilities.

The player also has the option to switch characters in and out of battle at will. A welcome addition, now every character can get in on a fight and gain points to use on the Sphere Grid.

Last but not least, the storyline of Final Fantasy X is wonderful. The characters have definite personality, and the protagonist, Tidus, is a great character. Unlike past Final Fantasy heroes like Squall and Cloud, Tidus isn't a brooding, stoic person lacking in the emotional department. He's outgoing, adventurous, humorous and has a full range of emotions, making him feel more like the average guy rather than yet another tragic hero.

In short, Final Fantasy X is an excellent game and shouldn't be missed. Even if you've never played a role playing game before, it's easy to pick up and learn. Years from now, fans of the series will have many fond memories of this game.

I had been waiting, as many had, for Fellowship of the Ring to be released since the film's preproduction had been announced. I admit I'm not what one would call a Tolkien fanatic. I haven't read the books for nearly a decade, and most of the memories of the novels has faded away. Nevertheless, I entered the theater with so many butterflies fluttering in my stomach that there was a chance I could have become sick.

However, in the end, it was worth it. The cast and crew deserve all of the awards that should rightfully be coming their way. Peter Jackson proved his cinematic prowess that should escalate him above his detractors that only remember his early films like Bad Taste. The entire talented cast performed their roles perfectly, and if there was an Academy Award for Best Cast, it should go to them.

Many times, special effects overwhelm a film, and even though their used with good intentions, they end up detracting from the picture. However, the effects used in LOTR only serve to enhance the storytelling and make the fantastic seem believable.

It is with this that I have no doubt the upcoming sequels, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, will be just as good if not better. The filming has already been done, so all that remains is piecing the remaining chapters together.

As of this writing, Fellowship of the Ring stands at the top of IMDb's top 250 films. While some may quarrel with this, I find it perfectly fitting. Years from now, The Lord of the Rings trilogy will be considered a classic piece of cinema. There's not a doubt about it in my mind.

X has some of the most beautiful images ever put in an animated film. The attention to detail is something to be proud of, and the action sequences are fun to watch. If only there was more to the film than this.

Unfortunately, the film is ultimately mediocre, if not outright bad. If you don't know anything about the characters from the manga, then everyone will appear as cardboard cutouts. There's almost no characterization in the film whatsoever. The situation is set up, and then everyone dies violently fighting each other.

If anything, the film is still worth watching for its visuals, but aside from that, it doesn't have anything of interest, except for the most diehard fans of the manga. It's been rumored that CLAMP intended the film as an experiment to see how people would react if such an ending were used for the still incomplete manga. Hopefully, the print version will be done much better.

Of the few episodes that I've seen, this show is very interesting. Although formulaic, it does certain things better than other series in the "Magical Girl" genre of anime. For instance, there is a conflict in the fact that although the heroine does her duty in destroying the evil forces, the police still come after her for the destroying priceless artifacts they possess in the process.

Another nice touch is the fact that creators actually provided a significant difference in the physical appearances of Kaitou Jeanne and her secret identity. Too often, the heroines in "Magical Girl" shows have followed the Clark Kent/Superman logic in that it should be blatantly obvious that the heroine and secret identity are the same person. However, Kaitou Jeanne and her alter-ego are distinguished by completely different hair styles. Still a minor change, yes, but more significant than most.

Utena is one of the more original television series, animated or not, to be released in the past several years. The characters are portrayed with a large amount of flair, yet are still shown to be very complex, especially later on into the series. It's a shame that Software Sculptors has only released the first thirteen episodes in the U.S since most of the complexity doesn't appear until after this point. Hopefully, having just released the theatrical Utena film (another excellent piece), Software Sculptors will get around to releasing the remaining episodes to the American audience.

This show was at best, mediocre. The premise was interesting. A reformed thief is framed for murder and discovers that a race of aliens were using him in an experiment to test humans in preparation for an invasion. One of the executive producers was Francis Ford Coppola. The Sci-Fi Channel picked it up for three seasons right from the start. This show had a lot of promise, but it was all for not.

Most of the episodes focused on rooting out individual experiments, but rarely tackled the big picture, the impending invasion, head on. The series was decent, but it appeared to be stuck in neutral most of the time. At the beginning of the third season, they attempted to bring swift changes with the introduction of Jordan, played by Traci Lords, the leader of an underground resistance movement, but they were unable to get the jump start they were hoping for.

There are some series that, despite short runs, make an impact on the audience. The original Star Trek is the best example of that. However, now that the third and final season of First Wave is over, the series will quickly fade into the background. It was an OK series, but it just couldn't get over the hump.

To start this off, let me summarize by stating that this film, The Musketeer, was just awful. If the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 were still in production, I would write in and ask that they skewer this film as soon as humanly possible. There was so much wrong with it, anything that went right was dragged down into the abyss of stupidity at the film's center so quickly that I didn't see it.

To begin with, the dialogue was just terrible. The characters spoke unrealistically and much of the dialogue was stilted. From the first scene I could tell that this wasn't a film in which the art of speaking was of high importance. The actors portraying French characters spoke with a collection of accents, including French, English and American. Had they limited the selection of accents to simply the French, it would have been nice, but still not nearly enough to save this film.

The action scenes, while well choreographed, either didn't fit well in the movie or weren't good enough. Between the scenes of trite dialogue, poor acting and the fight sequences that followed, I felt as if I were watching a video game.

If you're looking for a film based on Alexander Dumas's Three Musketeers, you'd better look elsewhere. It's been made and remade a good number of times, and I'm sure that the majority of them are better than the idiocy that The Musketeer turned out to be.

Myst III continues the saga of Myst and Riven with a new perspective on things. No longer limited to purely static images with only minimal scenery animation, the game's technical leaps help destroy the fuel that the series' denouncers have used against it.

Taking the first two games' approach to puzzle solving, you'll still be left out in the open, having to search for the proper clues in order to progress, but unlike in Riven, you won't have to do quite as much footwork to go from clue to puzzle or to see the results that the solved puzzle brings.

The quality of acting in Myst III leaves the performances of the majority of games with live actors in the dust. It would be hard to imagine a Myst game without Rand Miller portraying Atrus, but Hollywood actor Brad Dourif also appears in the game as the central antagonist. The direction seems very competent, unlike in a game such as Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun. You know it can't be good directing when even James Earl Jones looks wooden!

With all that said, if you enjoyed Myst and Riven, you will undoubtably find enjoyment in Myst III: Exile. If you're one of the critics that despised the first two installments, give the game a try anyway. You may end up enjoying it.

Is this film a masterpiece or a disaster? That is what people everyone shall argue over. Personally, I found A.I. the former. It is a Spielberg film that Kubrick would be proud to see. Some may say it's over-sentimental, but the entire central premise, the idea that gives complete credibility to David, is his core programming that gives him a loving bond to his mother. For the entire length of time I sat in the theater, I was completely engrossed in the story of David. Those with the greatest sense of wonder and imagination are the ones that will come away from the film with pleasure. This is in my opinion the best film of the year up to this point, and the remaining films of the year probably won't change my opinion very much. It's a shame that more people can't see the film as I have.

I viewed A Knight's Tale at a sneak preview showing earlier tonight. As I entered the theater, I didn't know what to expect from the film, except jousting and romance. When I walked out of the theater, I couldn't believe how funny the film was! So many scenes in the film were a riot it would be impossible to list them all.

Not that the film is a comedy in its entirety of course. There is a fair amount of drama, as well as romance. Some of the plot was cliche, but given the mood of the film, it was forgivable. It's certainly not trying to be a medieval Gladiator, and as a matter of fact, appears to actually be parodying the Roman epic in several instances.

While some may find the idea of modern music playing to the actions and setting, it actually works quite well. The opening scene had the theater roaring with laughter because it was genuinely silly and was indeed a fine artistic choice. The actors all fit their roles perfectly and made them work well.

If you like medieval films, action, or just want to have a good laugh, I'd say watch this film. This could turn out to be one of the bigger surprises of the year.

Final Fantasy IX brings a welcome change from all of the overly techoncratic Final Fantasy games recently. The characters are made more cartoonish. The game references various things from the games of the past. And like the tagline says, the crystal comes back. In short, this is Final Fantasy's last hurrah of the old school. The game goes back to the style of the earlier games for one last time before Final Fantasy X returns the series to the format it's taken in the past few.

This two episode OAV is hilarious! Miyuki is a straight arrow teenager who takes the place of the Alice character in Lewis Carroll's classic tales. All of the other characters, from the Cheshire Cat to the White Rabbit, are replaced by gorgeous, seductive women. The first episode is a short parody of Alice in Wonderland while the second is a loose adaptation of Through the Looking Glass.

Filled to the brim and overflowing with lesbianism jokes and sexual humor, this video is something that is definitely not for kids. However, it doesn't go so far out that it becomes offensive, as nudity is extremely limited.

The one fault I could find with Miyuki-chan in Wonderland is that it's too short. The two episodes put together are only about thirty-five minutes long and could probably have easily been stretched out to a full hour at the very least. Nevertheless, this video is worth watching and despite the tone of the jokes, has been found funny by friends of both genders.

To Heart is a short television series that only goes for thirteen episodes. Unfortunately, most of the episodes follow the same pattern. Hiroyuki and the others meet a new girl at school with some weird quirk (martial artist, psychic, experimental android maid) and try to help her in some way, or a girl that the group already knows that has a problem of her own. The solution is found and everyone is made happy in the end. There are a few episodes that break this mold, but none of them are particularly memorable. However, the show is completely tame, with no violence or profanity, and is perfect for family viewing, if the family doesn't become bored viewing it.

I just watched this film the other night with a bunch of other college aged students. We all had a blast. This is a great film for kids to watch as it contains only a tiny bit of mild animated violence, no profanity, and plenty of laughs.

While the visuals are definitely special, they are the only thing this movie has going for it. All it is is another generic Disney animated film with a plot that resembles the studio's own Tarzan far too closely. Also, Disney decided to give the story a happy ending, even though it is common historical knowledge that none of the Dinosaurs survived.

Even so, the movie might have actually been better had Disney decided to keep the songs out of the film for once. The Disney Animated Musical Numbers (DAMN) have gotten far too old, and frankly, the genre of the musical, animated or otherwise, has been soundly beaten to death by Disney. Of course, without the songs, the film would have been even shorter than its already short 70 minute run.

In short, this film was colossal, a colossal waste of time, money and talent. Dinosaur should have been left extinct.

If you really want to see a deeply detailed computer animated movie, I suggest you wait until the Summer of 2001, when Final Fantasy is released. That film shows far more promise in all aspects. Realistically animated humans, environments, and a deeper plot line should have people forgetting all about Dinosaur, if it isn't already forgotten by then.

Gundam Wing, an alternate universe shootoff of the classic Gundam series, was very good and didn't treat its characters, or its viewers as idiots. Endless Waltz is a grand finale to the series because it ties up most everything neatly. I encourage anyone reading this to go watch Gundam Wing while it's still playing on Cartoon Network, and if they can get their hands on it, watch Endless Waltz afterwards. Hopefully, Endless Waltz will eventually be distributed here as well.

The various Tenchi Muyo series have always been known for their screwball comedy. The other Tenchi movies have also been a source of comedy, but mixed a good bit of drama in as well. This particular Tenchi film is incredibly dramatic, centering on Ryoko and Ayeka's love for Tenchi. While this is a good movie, the film is unfortunately underrated for the lack of comedy, which while unfair, shouldn't be totally unexpected. The film is very good and should not be judged on the basis of the shows that came before it.

Kareshi Kanojo no Jiyou, or Kare Kano for short, is a great series. It tells the story of a pair of high school students, Yukino and Arima, two over-achievers who finally loosen up when they meet each other. The series details the ups and downs that they have in their new relationship as it blossoms into romance.

The show alternates between comedy and drama, with the art style alternating to fit the situation. The balance of extreme comedy and drama is wonderful. It shows how life can be deadly serious one moment and undeniably absurd the next. This is a show that no one should miss.

P.S.: To fans of the film My Neighbor Totoro, be sure to watch episode 11. It's got a hilarious gag you don't want to miss!