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Reviews
Peep Show (2003)
Seems to get better as it goes
Is it just me or was there a huge time lag between series one and two? In any case this show seems to be gathering more popularity and is coming out with new series more regularly and thank God! There's nothing not to like about this, it is hilarious and somewhat outrageous without ever seeming unbelievable.
Mark and Jeremy are comedy masterpieces, they need each other completely and deep down they know it, but it doesn't stop them wishing everything was different.
The comedy is very clever, but interspersed with a little toilet humour so it should appeal to many more people than it seems to. It's a bit of a tragic comedy, with little on the horizon for both characters and they probably know it. I'm not really saying much about what happens, but give it a go, then watch it over a few more times and you'll fall in love. There's even two DVDs now so it's not a matter of staying up to the early morning to see it as it once was.
Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004)
Not terrible, but Miyazaki's worst.
I honestly believe a lot of people think that if they don't enjoy a Miyazaki film they're wrong, and therefore say it's great no matter what. This film is the best example of it, I think this is easily his worst film to date. I admire the things he attempted to do to change the animation style, but I don't think all of it works, the movement of the castle, for example, I didn't really like.
Basic plot: Little girl becomes old woman and moves in with a wizard in a walking castle.
I've read the book, and wanted a closer adaptation. Miyazaki's Howl is not the same as the book's though he reproduces one scene from the book that doesn't really fit the Howl of the film. The story changes weren't really for the better, but the film mostly stands on its own feet. The ending doesn't work as unless you've read the book you will be unaware of certain aspects of Sophie's character.
For someone who'd read the book, calcifer will be a disappointment I feel. Just too childish in the film. The added war themes are pretty clumsy compared to Porco Rosso, or Mononoko etc. but the message is still positive.
I watched the Japanese subtitled version, which has English completely different to the dubbed track! Odd! The dubbed calcifer is better than the Japanese one, but the Japanese track is better in all other respects.
This film shouldn't be the first Gibhli one you look into, but if you've liked others give it a try.
Umizaru (2004)
Can't believe this has scored so highly!
I think the only reason this has got an anywhere decent score is because it isn't American. If something this by-the-numbers, and cheap looking came out of Hollywood it would be rightly slated, but for some reason, being Japanese excuses this? This film offers NOTHING original, it's an obvious linear plot that only someone very young, or someone who doesn't watch many films couldn't preguess everything that happens.
It's about a guy training to join the Japanese coast guard, he gets teamed up with the well-meaning screw up and thus gets the bad end of the stick in every competition. He rallies his friend to not give-up blah blah, and so it continues. The opening scene is an unbelievably obvious attempt to set up a finale that will tug the heart strings, but is just sentimental embarrassment.
The first time I saw this, it was on Japanese TV and I couldn't understand the dialogue, but the story is SOOO obvious it didn't matter in the slightest. The sequel and the TV spin-off are typical cash-in projects, and I don't imagine there'll ever be plans to release this internationally even though it was a massive hit in Japan. It's almost one of those so-bad-it's-good gems, but the reviews seriously calling it a good film are way off.
G@me (2003)
Certainly a better than average production
I just picked up this DVD because it had English subtitles on the Japanese disc in my local rental shop. I had never heard a thing about it, nor could I even read the DVD box cover, so I was going in with an open mind.
The film starts quite slowly, and goes down a well worn path in terms of plot, (it's basically a hostage situation where the abductor and abductee have planned it together to get back at the abductee's father) and I didn't think much of the acting at the start, though all the main players seem to warm up as the film proceeds. I had this film pegged as nothing special, filler material until the titular g@me actually began, at this point the film really starts to show some nice ideas (nothing amazingly original, but slickly executed). It's quite drawn out toward the end, but I went from thinking nothing of the show to being pretty impressed. This deserves to be seen by more people, I think anyone into twists would certainly enjoy it, and it offers a little something to think about in comparison to the current crop of summer Blockbusters.
Overall an enjoyable couple of hours, I want to give it 6.5, but 7 is too high, the guy is a little too cool toward the girl for how he is supposed to be feeling. The acting isn't outstanding by any means either.