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TylerNess
Reviews
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Toy Story 3: As good as it gets
With Pixar delivering one masterpiece after another, you get your hopes high. I dare saying Toy Story 3 might be the most anticipated western animation movie of all time. Usually this kind of anticipation comes at the price of disappointment. So what about this movie? The Incredibles is probably my favorite Pixar movie. Mostly because i love the characters so much. For me Ratatouille was the best so far. It just captured that magical Disney feeling so well. Wall-E and Up were excellent, but the first half of these movies was so strong, the end just didn't make that much of an impact and was a little lost in the shadow. So where does Toy Story 3 fit in? Toy Story 3 just set another bar for perfection. There is simply not one thing to hate or even dislike about this movie. At the beginning it was obvious we're not just watching another animation movie, but a 200 million dollar Pixar heavy weight champ. The highly impressive action captures the audience immediately and the movie never lets it slip. I couldn't find a few minutes where the movie got boring, if only a little.
What i like the most about Pixar movies is deeper meaning and sense they always make. The story around the kid letting go its Toys was quite amazing. It's hard to explain what it really is, but its mostly very convincing. I might dare saying it's because the acting is actually very very good. And second, because the story makes a lot of sense. From the kid getting too old for its toys, to the little kids violating the toys and to the point where they end in the trashcan.
Now we all know Pixar movies are about the best looking possible. So how does Toy Story 3 hold up? To be honest, it got even better than I thought. The perspective of the toys in the huge world is better looking than ever. Combined with the lighting and setting it creates an astonishing ambiance. The adventure at the Sunny Day Care was at its darker moment almost creepy.
So what about the fun factor? The movie is hilarious! From the common subtle Pixar humor to the point your laughing you ass of with Ken's facial expressions or Buzz Lightyear's Spanish mode. There is hardly a lack of humor in this movie and its executed so well. I never becomes too obvious, simple and cheap like in every Shrek or Dreamworks movie. Its very well thought of.
And my favorite part of the movie was the thing I disliked the most about Wall-E and Up. Again with the bar set so high in the first half of the movie, I was worried for the second half. But it got even better! The moment the dolls embrace their fierce end and they hold hands, my body went stiff. I couldn't believe how convincing and intense the feeling of that scene was. Normally I only experience this level of emotion with Japanese Anime. But Toy Story 3 has proved that its not just a mere western animation movie that's entertaining, good looking, fun, extremely detailed, makes a lot of sense, but it can compete with the Japanese intense level of emotion.
I don't think I'll let The Incredibles go as my favorite Pixar movie, but there's no denying this is by far the best thing Pixar ever created. I can only look forward to what they come up with next.
Deadliest Warrior (2009)
Inaccurate junk food that doesn't taste reasonable but seems to do the job
I love history, mythology, legendary warriors and the ancient arts of war a lot. Once i noticed this show i was very much looking forward to it. And since i watched the entire first season in one day i can conclude that it kept my interest. But i also love science. Accurate, fair and logical sounding science. That part frustrated me a lot. So in total what was the show like?
Lets start with the thing i loved the most. The weapons! Of course we know a lot about the 'Tommy Gun', William Wallace's insane sword and the weapon of weapons: the legendary Katana. But seeing them do their job in power testing action was surprisingly interesting. The pure impact of some weapons was absolutely astonishing. Also the effect on the gel torso's, pigs, skulls, pieces of wood and other test objects was captured pretty well from a cinematographical (?) perspective.
But when the show got to its point of comparison i found myself swearing a lot. It felt really suggestive, hardly consistent, accurate or logical most of the time. Its like the challenges in Top Gear on the BBC. They seem to be planning everything to be very close. It felt hugely scripted, hardly accurate and hardly proper scientific. I don't know if im right but it looked like agility and supporting weapons had no effect in the system whatsoever. Pure muscle seem to win most of the time. That just didn't make sense.
Example: 'Spoiler'
Ninja vs Spartan We all know that the effect of pepperspray is pretty intense right? I saw people hyperventilating, puking etc. The ninja seem to use something like that, but also pulverised glass for the eyes. Would a Spartan warrior really blink his eyes one time and go on fighting? Just because he was trained to have physical pain? That just sounds rubbish. Out of a 1000 battles the ninja could these sort of tricks over and over again. Why? Because the spartan warrior was made just like a roman warrior to fight entire armies. To work in a group, forming one big shield and deal devastating attacks to huge and not agile moving masses of flesh. The ninja is a one on one specialist. But according to the system he looses 65% of the time due to heavy damage the spartan can deal. But leaving a man cripple on the ground as the effect of glass or pepper in your eye will lead to the same thing. A ninjato in you neck, which is an instant kill. I got the feeling the system did not counter these sort of combo attacks, if you could call i that.
There seem to be a lot more of these plot holes. Which at times can get really frustrating. But when your looking for good fun and the effect that some weapons have, do watch. You'll enjoy it!
Sutorenjia: Mukô hadan (2007)
Cliché in the most adorable way
To be really honest the movie contains a few clichés. It just has to be sad. But with that part out of the way, I can only speak of great appreciation for this movie. The story is not the most brilliant and again it might be a little cliché, but in a very adorable way. In my case it didn't bothered me for a second. This might be because I really love the traditional anime way of capturing samurai hero stories. For people who have a little more trouble with that, just looked passed it. Because the other parts of the movie have been worked out better than most of the movies I've seen so far. Let's begin with the looks of the movie. For a pretty much traditional drawn anime it is just beautiful. And it gets even better with the action scenes. They are drawn, animated and captured very well. They are fast but clear, they contain a lot of cool moves (if you can put it that way) and are supported by absolute wonderful sound effects and music. The thing that really captured me and makes me watch the final scene over and over again, is the perfect balance between action and music. This movie might not be the industries best, but contains something a lot of the other movies don't: Heart.
If you like traditional anime, samurai and hero stories, this is absolutely one to watch!!