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Afro Samurai (2007)
Sweet Badasss Splatter Saga
Afro Samurai started as life as manga before animation studio GONZO adapted the story into a five episode series that premiered online January 1 2007.
Like most contemporary anime, Afro Samurai is another exercise in culture jamming, straddling genres as diverse as Blaxploitation, kung-fu cinema, splatter flicks, western and, of course, Japanese animation. Samuel L. Jackson lends his talents in the voice department, and is also credited as one of the shows producers.
The plot revolves around Afro - nicknamed after his hairstyle - a perpetually silent and bloodthirsty master swordsman, whose quest involves exacting bloody revenge on the man who killed his father, and claiming the title of 'Number One'; a warrior whose powers are comparable to those of a god. Given only five episodes to work with, structure is pretty tight here, so there are no filler episodes or meandering off-sides or tangents to distract from the narrative's focus. Although the series seems to lack that 'epic' journey feel, episodes are never anti-climactic; this is a relief to the casual anime viewer who just wants to get to the carnage.
And carnage there is a-plenty. The plot of Afro Samurai is really just an after thought; it's the fight scenes that are really the star of the show here. A word to the squeamish: Afro Samurai is one of the bloodiest, goriest and most anatomically detailed anime series on the market, so if you've got stomach issues with splatter flicks, avoid this one like syphilis. If, however, high-definition animated gore-porn is your thing, Afro Samurai will not disappoint. Each fight scene is beautifully choreographed and fluidly animated to deliver some truly jaw-dropping, gut-wrenching, wince "oh man, that's gotta hurt"-inducing scenes of unadulterated devastation on the human body. Be-heading, disemboweling and eye-stabbing are just an entrée.
The only thing wrong with Afro Samurai is that it's all over too soon. Most anime fans are used to more meat on the bones, so for many the narrative will feel underdone and the characters under-developed. This is probably a side-effect of the show's creators attempting to cross anime over to a mainstream Western audience, but, in doing so, seem to have sacrificed content for carnage. And while carnage seems to be the whole point of Afro Samurai, five episodes is still remarkably short. Although the series swiftly resolves itself in a fairly predictable way, there is an immense potential for spin-off projects (there's a movie rumor already doing the rounds in cyberspace) and the show itself is re-watchable many times over, if only to sample the audacious ultra-violence again and again. For those of you with an unquenchable blood-lust, Afro Samurai will have you screaming with delight.
Cinéma, de notre temps: David Cronenberg, I Have to Make the Word Be Flesh (1999)
A poetic insight into the man and his films / flesh
David Cronenberg is one of the most unique film-making talents to emerge over the last twenty years. His work is often visually and psychologically confronting, and each of his projects is imbued with his thematic trademarks of bodily invasion, mutilation and augmentation. 'I Have to Make the Word Be Flesh' is an insightful and candid interview with the man himself about his films and his motivations. Cronenberg is cheerfully frank about his often grotesque images and controversial subject matter, and clearly relishes in the opportunity to explore the themes and motifs behind each one. He responds enthusiastically to the questions posed to him and provides a glimpse into his strange psyche that gave birth to some of the most uncompromising and disturbing films of the last twenty years. For fans of Cronenberg and his art this is a perfect opportunity to discover more about the twisted universe he inhabits, particularly for his motives behind his remake of 'The Fly' and 'Crash' - his most controversial film to date. For those uninitiated, this will wet your appetite for Cronenberg and will hopefully be the beginning of a long obsession with his films.