Reviews

I have to disagree with comments made that the Masterpiece Theater productions 'Sleepers' and 'Clarissa' are "clunkers" or in the case of 'Clarissa,' "downright repulsive." 'Sleepers' is a charming tongue-in-cheek romp into the spy genre -- I still have it on VHS though it is rapidly decaying: Two forgotten Russian spies planted in London in the 1960s are discovered in the KGB files. When they don't respond to Moscow's directive to return for assignment, the hunt for the now reluctant spies begins.

'Clarissa,' though heartbreaking, is hardly repulsive. Based on the 18th century British novel by Samual Richardson, it is a classic telling of the 'rogue and the innocent.' Sean Bean plays the arrogant rake Lovelace, whose obsession with deflowering the beautiful but oh-so-chaste Clarissa leads to the destruction of his soul, his life, and the woman he comes to love. Much better a real story with some meat on its bones than the safe period dress 'soap operas' Masterpiece Theater has often offered over the years.

Moon Child is an offbeat, occasionally awkward but often beautiful film offering superb performances and surprisingly creative action sequences. It is most definitely a genre film -- a kind of futuristic Asian gangster saga with a vampire twist. Although low budget in its presentation, each scene overflows with a heartfelt love for movies, action and storytelling. Hideto Takarai's portrayal of the listless, sardonic Kei (Hyde) is excellent, but the true gem of the movie is Gackt Camui (Sho). Gackt has a story writing credit, although I have no idea of his level of contribution. Where he shines for me is on screen. He is admittedly easy on the eyes, but that only carries any actor so far. It is his emotional intensity, conviction and engaging acting style that kept me glued to the screen. I hope for great things from him in the future.