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BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM - REVIEW

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Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm was the only film based on Batman: The Animated Series to be shown in theatres and, despite receiving critical appraise back in 1993, its rushed release meant it was a flop. It would eventually gain a cult following on home video, though. The film sees Batman (Kevin Conroy, as ever) encounter a mysterious new vigilante called The Phantasm who has been settling scores with various mobsters around Gotham City. It's also something of a prequel as we learn more about how Bruce Wayne became Batman, his relationship with old flame Andrea Beaumont (voiced by Dana Delany) and The Joker's (Mark Hamill) involvement in The Phantasm's revenge mission. This is a tense, melodramatic, layered Batman story every bit as dark and stylish as the best episodes of The Animated Series. The look of Gotham keeps that retro, Tim Burton-esque feel and the whole thing is like a 1940's film noir romance with lots of action and a fascinating mystery thrown in.

THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA - REVIEW

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As the doors of legendary animation empire Studio Ghibli slowly close (though hopefully only for a short time), much to everyone's chagrin, here is yet another example of just how good and important these guys are to the medium. The Tale Of Princess Kaguya may sound like just another surreal folktale on paper but one look at the stunning watercolour/charcoal-style animation used here by visual maestro Isao Takahata ( Pom Poko , My Neighbors The Yamadas ) and you'll find yourself instantly mesmerised by this tale of a baby born out of a bamboo tree. While Hayao Miyazaki was and is a genius at bringing to the screen all-around great-looking, often epic stories, Takahata's forte seems to be to bring an off-beat artistry to the animation and tell predominantly emotional, melodramatic, affecting stories. Case and point: Grave Of The Fireflies . And, to a certain extent, this movie which shows us a young woman's entire life flash by her put-upon parents' eyes as the

ORIGIN: SPIRITS OF THE PAST - REVIEW

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Here's an anime feature I'd been wanting to check out for a long time, the good-looking visuals the trailers boasted being the primary source of interest. Origin: Spirits Of The Past is, indeed, a visually stunning film. Its well crafted mix of 3D textures, detailed backgrounds and fluid animation, when put together with a grand, epic score like Taku Iwasaki's, creates an altogether gorgeous film which really aspires for something meaningful. The film is set in post-apocalyptic Earth which, following a failed experiment on the Moon, is separated between the forest (and its spirits) and battle-friendly humans who want to get rid of the forest altogether since it controls the world's water supply. In the middle of it all is Neutral City, a peaceful place acting as a bridge between both sides. One day, a couple of kids wander off into the forest and find a young woman, Toola, who was sleeping in a glass box, they wake her up and, turns out, she was cryogenically froz

AKIRA - REVIEW

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That Akira is still, to this day, respected this much and seen as one of the great anime classics is no accident. Watching it as a kid, I had no idea what the hell was going on but the film stayed with me, it had an impact. After a re-watch, I can finally say without hesitation that Akira is, indeed, one of the most important anime features every made. First off, it looks amazing. The film's futuristic setting, a neon-lit, 80's-style Neo Tokyo worthy of Blade Runner is not only believably depicted but is detailed, colourful and has depth. It's a violent, dangerous new world but a beautiful one nonetheless. Katsuhiro Otomo's film is visually extremely creative and delivers some of the most unforgettable, craziest anime action sequences you'll ever see. I mean, there's a scene in this where a giant teddy bear, a giant rabbit and a giant toy car go ape shit and start wrecking havoc thanks to a bunch of weird blue old people children. Akira deals with big the

PERFECT BLUE - REVIEW

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Made in 1997 and based on the novel of the same name, Perfect Blue is one of those rare anime features which could have easily been live-action but which works so well as what it is that it's hard to picture it as anything else. A psychological thriller, Perfect Blue follows a character called Mima, the leader of a popular girl band called CHAM! who decides to retire from her music career in order to focus on trying to be a respected actress. Unfortunately, she learns that her new career is a very different, much scarier path to take which demands various un-glamorous undertakings which, she fears, might end up ruining her life. Throughout all this she is not only plagued by a creepy fan who may or may not be messing with her through the internet but also by the ghost of her old self who constantly judges everything she does and might just be driving her insane. Eventually, strange murders start occurring around her and the film world, her hallucinations, her dreams and reali

APPLESEED (1988) - REVIEW

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Based on Masamune Shirow's popular manga, Appleseed  is a sci-fi animated feature set in a post-World War III test city called Olympus, a utopia peopled with humans, cyborgs and bioroids and run by some kind of super computer. Kinda like a more cyberpunky, better version of Elysium . The film follows an ESWAT team (Enhanced SWAT) as they try to stop some cyborg known as A.J. Sebastian who seems to be responsible for more and more terrorist attacks within Olympus. As it turns out, he might not be working alone and there's even some suspicion that there might be a traitor within the police department itself. Then again, there's also the growing feeling that this utopia might not exactly be all that perfect either so the morals of this whole affair are blurred throughout. You could compare the film to something like Ghost In The Shell but it's certainly much lighter in tone and in content. The film does a good job at setting up its concept but it doesn't really

MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS - REVIEW

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Here's one Studio Ghibli film which was basically completely different than what I expected. And, seeing as it's one of the only films from the studio which didn't do all that well at the Japanese box-office, I'm guessing I wasn't the only one to expect something different from it. From looking at it vaguely, I thought My Neighbors The Yamadas would follow one goofy family as they embark on some crazy adventures. In fact, this is a much more artistic and reflective creation more akin to a deadpan comic strip. The humour isn't cartoonish at all, it's actually pretty subtle and restrained. Here we have an ensemble character study about everyday Japanese family life in which everyone looks really weird, like caricatures, and which promotes an overall cosy, poetic vibe. Our focus is entirely on this one family as we pop in and out of their lives depending on what mini-theme the movie wants to tackle. It can be about something really small, like the mother

SPACE ADVENTURE COBRA - REVIEW

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I'd never heard of Cobra , the manga or the anime series, before watching this feature so imagine my confusion when presented with all the random space madness this little goofy flick had to offer! Following the exploits of Cobra, some blond, cigar-smoking dude with a "Psycho-Gun" embedded in his arm who goes around fighting evil space Guilds or whatever, Space Adventure Cobra is a surreal action flick that's kind of a cross between some cheesy 70's cop show, Zardoz and Star Wars . Ok, maybe not Zardoz, so much. Actually, the character of Cobra was inspired by French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, who was mostly famous in the 70's for OTT action thrillers. Cobra's partner is a mouthless robot gal called Lady Armaroid, she's usually in charge of piloting the ship, secretly lusting after Cobra and exposition dialog. There's an obvious charm to Space Adventure Cobra : it's corny as hell but in a good way. You've got a tough guy who smokes cig

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE - REVIEW

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As he took on the very first Star Trek movie, director Robert Wise certainly had his work cut out. Pleasing fans of the original series while translating a somewhat cartoonish 60's show into a legitimate, impressive 70's space opera to rival Star Wars was never going to be easy. How to bring these characters back together? How to update the look of the show without sucking all the iconic charm out of it? Turns out: by making a really long episode :S Yes this Star Trek isn't so much the big, awesome movie you'd expect but rather an extended episode of the original series with different sets, different costumes and better (but still mostly cheesy) effects. Which is not to say it's bad, even if critics and audiences over the years have panned it quite a bit, it's actually very decent (a very decent episode that is). As a movie... Star Wars this isn't. To give you an idea: it takes about 35 minutes for the main crew of The Enterprise to come togeth

SHARKTOPUS - REVIEW

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The great Roger Corman returns with yet another B movie creature feature. Forget Piranhacondas, for now is the time of Sharktopi. Yes, apparently the US Navy, under Eric Roberts' supervision, one day decided to merge a shark with an octopus to create the ultimate killing machine. All was well while the beast was under control but our luck has finally run out and the Sharktopus is loose and out for blood. Why a shark and an octopus, you ask? Because Eric Roberts was drunk, that's why. Sharktopus is every bit as trashy as the title suggests and it couldn't be any prouder of that. You've got a cheap-looking CGI monster, a poorly shot, shockingly acted, mostly overcast Summer horror flick which takes Jaws and Piranhas the hell out of it once more. We've had mega sharks, giant octopi, sharks with two heads, it was only a matter of time before the B movie world would give Sharktopus a shot, really. The film is completely self-aware and doesn't waste any t

THE BATMAN PROJECT - ANNOUNCEMENT

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BATMAN: THE MOVIE - GUEST REVIEW

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Lets begin with a riddle: ‘What weighs six ounces, sits in a tree and is very dangerous’? Answer at the end of this review...   With the release of The Dark Night Rises   drawing ever closer, let us take a nostalgic trip back in time to the year 1966. Bring on the exaggerated acting and props that looked as if Blue Peter had made them. For anyone not familiar with Blue Peter: it’s a British children’s TV show which demonstrated how to make everything from cardboard sea creatures to rockets (I hated that show with a passion!!!!). If you liked the Batman TV series starring Adam West (as Batman/Bruce Wayne) and Burt Ward (as Robin/Dick Greyson) then you will love this film. It’s basically an extended version of the TV show. But having said that, it does stand alone as a movie and feels as if you are watching something more substantial than just a long episode. It has a good plot, lots of retro visual effects and all the mad Gotham villains we have come to love, assemb