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r-m-duffy
Reviews
Golden Kamuy (2024)
Corny Adaptation
The Golden Kamui manga should make for an amazing quasi-western. It's got the frontier setting, with war vets seeking their fortunes, native peoples in the mix and swords and guns determining survival and justice. In other words, it has everything a great western needs.
Unfortunately the great story is wasted by terrible direction and an average style. Instead of a cool, stylized western, we get a run-of-the-mill, fit-for-tv drama. This isn't surprising considering the directors less-than-impressive library (a bunch of high-low movies). What's worse, the costumes look like bad cosplay. And the actors look straight out of the make-up room, too clean and pretty for their situations. The final product looks and feels so corny. Where's the grit? Where's the style?
Oh well. I'm going to go rewatch the old Abashiri prison movies to get this bad taste out of my mouth.
30 for 30: The Last Days of Knight (2018)
Great Info, Poor Presentation
This documentary's style can't match its content. Although it offers in-depth, well researched information, it's the most run-of-the-mill, least engaging 30 For 30 episode so far. How do you make Knight's story boring? Even the narrator seems to be falling asleep.
Console Wars (2020)
Finally a Documentary About the Console War
The Console War refers to one period in history where two companies, Nintendo and Sega battled it out for market supremacy. Nintendo long held a stranglehold (ie monopoly) on the industry due to both innovation and monopolistic practices. Sega of America sought to open the market through... well, watch the documentary and find out how they did it!
I enjoyed how Console Wars built up Nintendo as a villain, then gave them credit for saving the fallen video game industry. But unlike other documentaries, this one doesn't pull punches and mentions some of "cute" Nintendo's cut-throat practices. War was declared and strategized by the upstart aggressor - Sega, which means the documentary focuses on Sega. There's not much nostalgia or other video game history here, just the story that the documentary seeks to tell - about THE Console War and the two companies that took part in it.
Marvel's 616 (2020)
Unabashed Marvel Commercials and Propoganda
A series of Marvel documentaries?! Sign me up! - is what i initially thought.
But a few episodes in, I couldn't help but feel that Marvel's 616's main purpose is to sell Marvel merchandise and propagandize recent titles. Only the episode on the Japanese Spiderman TV series struck a true documentary tone and I loved learning about how that series came about. The other episodes strike a classic, TV paid programming tone of commercials masquerading as content.
ThunderCats Roar (2020)
This Parody/Homage is Silly Fun
I know, I know - I'm in the minority of people who actually enjoy the show. Despite hating the previews, I'm the type of person that'll watch anything once, so I gave Thundercats Roar a chance. In this case I watched once, then twice, then thrice. By that time the series had won me over and I looked forward to each new episode.
As far as Thundercats fandom goes, I'm as old school as it gets. I remember looking forward to the original show's primer and tuning in everyday after school and even saw the live stage show. I also loved the serious, anime styled remake in the 2000's.
TCRoar plays like a homage/parody, in the spirit of so many bubble-head/super-deformed anime parodies (DD Hokuto no Ken, CB Chara Go Nagai World), that pay tribute to serious source material by poking fun at it. It's a unique entry in the TC franchise: we have the original series, a serious remake and now a lighthearted parody. For me it's a silly but cute and funny addition to the Thundercats universe.