Vash the Stampede, the wanted man of 60,000,000,000$$
If you are a die-hard anime fan than no doubt you have already seen this one. If you haven't already, shame on you! Go download/buy/borrow it right now! Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
Trigun is a very traditional anime, but at the same time very good. Traditional in the animation techniques used (it was made in 1998 and computers were back than not yet such an integral part of animation as they are right now), which are definitely not bad, visual speaking this anime does even now after 15 years still look amazing. If you have seen a lot of anime than you will definitely recognize some of the visual art tropes this anime has that are unique to anime (For more information about those take a look here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JapaneseVisualArtsTropes ).
What makes this anime stand out from the crowd is the story. The mood you get from this anime during the first half of series is that Vash the Stampede is really on a desert planet in the distant future. It is definitely a cool mix of the old American western culture and a distant future with cool technology where human colonists set out to colonize other planets. The first half of the series is without a doubt a hilarious, action-packed, phenomenal and awesome piece of artwork you will not soon forget. The stories are really of a fantastic quality.
The second half of the series is where it gets serious and where (in my opinion) the anime loses some of its quality story-wise. Its still good, but the fact that Vash is portrayed as some kind of Messiah that walks the earth trying to undo his errors from the past and who's life-motto is to do no harm under any circumstance gets to a point where it becomes annoying and makes him look like a pathetic douchebag not worthy of the enormous bounty on his head (For example, at one point in the anime in an attempt to save someones life he strips naked and barks like a dog in front of a group of thugs he can easily take down).
Nevertheless, This together with Cowboy bebop (http://trakt.tv/show/cowboy-bebop), Neon Genesis Evangelion (http://trakt.tv/show/neon-genesis-evangelion) and to a lesser extent Berserk (http://trakt.tv/show/berserk) are the anime series from the Nineties that every fan of anime should see at least once in their life time. Without these on your watched history pages here on Trakt the term Anime Otaku does not apply to you ;)
Millennium Actress, which is directed by Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Paprika, Paranoia Agent), is without a doubt his defining masterpiece in my opinion. This movie is a complete directorial tour de force and Kon literally blew my mind away with the editing, style and art that he displays in almost every scene. This is ultimately a biographical story about a young girl chasing after her first true love while becoming a popular Japanese movie actress but it morphs into something much more.
Millennium Actress probably had one of the most unique forms of story telling that I've ever seen in a movie. I loved how Chiyoko's story had a dualistic perspective as Kon seamlessly melds together images and scenes from the story of Chiyoko's own real life and from her famous films (which vary wildly from taking place in the Sengoku period to post-WW2 Japan to outer space). These transitions really add to the feeling and intensity of Chiyoko desperately chasing after and searching for her lost love. And you can't help but fall in love with the passion shown by both the main characters, Chiyoko and Genya. Just as Chiyoko says at the end, it was the "chase" that she truly loved and, by god, this film was one hell of a thrilling chase. This is an absolute must-watch for fans of Kon's other works.
To the best of my recollection, no show has dealt with a major character death as well as this episode of Halt and Catch Fire.
Of the 5 principle characters (Joe, Gordon, Cameron, Donna, and Boss), it's safe to say that no character is as beloved as Gordon. He is hard working, genuine, and deeply care about people around him. He raises the bar for others to emulate. In my opinion, he's more responsible for bringing positive transformations for other 4 characters than anyone else.
All untimely death of a beloved character is filled with regrets. Haley is no doubt the most impacted. In the next remaining episodes, we will see how others will pickup the pieces, work toward healing each other, and bring "re-launch" into fruition in honor of Gordon.
Halt and Catch Fire is always beautifully shot, and unexpected lens flare in the middle of the episode was particularly effective (and I speak as someone who is sick and tired of lens flare tricks). It really stood out as something oddly unusual, foreshadowing Gordon's flashback later on.
The clash between Donna and Joe was my second favorite scene in the episode. In this final season, Joe has been the surprise understanding voice, always patient, always listening, and caring. He lost some of his composure with Donna, but the clash brought honesty and start the process of bringing Donna back into the circle.
And finally, Bos. His relationship with Cameron has always been very special. They fill much needed void they longed for. In a way, all five principle characters in Halt and Catch Fire are after filling a void. Donna falsely let her her ambitions take over, in a pursuit of filling her void. To Gordon, it has always been about family and friends. And Joe has realized the same by working with Gordon and Haley, bringing immense peace.
Silicon Valley is and has been that second wave California Gold Rush. At one point or another, all five principle characters got that piece of gold. But their dream is something else.
When the Hellsing TV version was initially released I was really into the show's edginess. At that time we didn't even have a broadband connection and so for most episodes I was left with checking sequences from the already downloaded packets and waiting for it to complete (funny how times have changed). Despite all this I never actually watched the whole thing. So to check this off I decided to watch the OVAs instead since they have been released for some time now.
Most people with the intention of watching "Hellsing" already know this but I'm saying it again; there is little reason to check out the TV version with the existence of the Ultimate OVAs. They are not only superior in production values but also true to the manga source material. So instead of fighting ghouls and vampires created by computer chips this builds to a showdown between religious factions and an army of vampire Nazis in the middle of London.
The thing is obviously not perfect. The comedy feels a bit misplaced and the pacing towards the end a bit uneven (with a lot of focus on shots of impaled people, blood streams, crosses or ruins) and the chief Nazi was quite anti-climatic.
Still, if you're up for a ride with one of the most overpowered protagonists ever and are not put off by a rain of blood and body parts this will suffice and is probably the only show of it's kind to receive this deluxe treatment.
I've waited a long time to say anything about Halt and Catch Fire. It seems too easy or pointless to use a word like "underrated." It's hard to say the most compelling aspects are "subtle." No matter how many times I try to dismiss the whisper "masterpiece," it still returns. This isn't a show that wastes time trying to "work its angle" well enough that you get cheap glimpses into "the computer world." It doesn't try to impress you with talk that makes you think of a snobbish adviser they consult with too often. It doesn't try to make profound statements about family or entrepreneurship. Halt and Catch Fire is the grind. It's the thing that gets you to the thing.
I crave entertainment that makes me think. Halt puts me into a kind of meditation. I can adopt the skin of practically any character and feel like I know how I'd react to any other. I want to forgive and grow and try and disappear as they did. I want to root for them, and be cut deeper and deeper each time I try to believe again. I want to feel like my home is where my heart is, and my heart can reside in so many people and everything we've tried to create together. This show can let you feel a dynamic and chaotic beauty and drive for every ounce of the pain it takes to do so.
I've reached a point where I can't find anymore words to wrap the swelling in my chest with that will quell what I'm going to miss now that it's over. What these characters have, what this story shows, is human perfection. Bloody, confusing, tumultuous and heartfelt perfection. While the show can end, what it represents is everything I want my life to be, and I feel humbled that they were able to strike the chord so soundly.
[6.8/10] It's not like this was a bad episode, but here's the thing. One of the things I've always liked about LWT is that Oliver feels like an honest broker. Sure, he has a certain slant, and always has, but it felt like he was spotlighting things that received too little attention to have political spin, or that he'd wade into more mainstream politics but try to approach the topics even-handedly.
That hasn't really been the case lately. Don't get me wrong, I can 100% understand not being able to keep your journalistic objectivity when you're talking about Donald Trump and the things happening in his wake, but it makes Last Week Tonight a more run of the mill program to me, just part and parcel with the scores of shows out there pointing to how terrible this stuff is with an admittedly amusing brand of snark. Sure, when Oliver talks about the new Republican health care plan, he's more informative about what's in it than most, but it comes off like doing the same thing everyone else is doing.
The best thing to say is that he does find a unique angle on it at the end, essentially saying that whatever you think of the bill, it's not the bill Trump promised, and it's likely to be the best he can do. But even that isn't a sterling or especially novel insight into it. There's some dada-ist glory to the show's "Catheter Cowboy" repeatedly asking Trump is he "gets it" but otherwise it becomes part of the din. And bits like making fun of local news anchors for their responses to International Women's Day or a MadTV level gag reel about Samsung products exploding doesn't do much to distinguish the show either.
Again, it's not bad. It's all sound enough and true enough and funny enough, but for a while there, it felt like Oliver had brought a different tack and a different energy to the political comedy show, and it's starting to feel like everything else.
Oh boy, was this one a disappointment.
I saw the warning signs straight away and I was never expecting it to be as good as Soul Eater, but it's just so "meh" that, had it not been for the Soul Eater connection, I doubt I would have started watching it in the first place.
First and most importantly - this is nothing like Soul Eater. It may have been animated by the same studio (Bones), but everything is different, including the art style (there's no better example than what they did to poor Maka. Maka in Soul Eater: http://i.imgur.com/xKkDU0d.jpg vs Maka in Soul Eater Not: http://i.imgur.com/bdc2brV.jpg - ugh), theme and just overall tone. Rather than Shounen fighting, you have some pretty lackluster slice of life adventures with a lot of Yuri teasing. There is an antagonist, but it's not a particularly impressive one and nothing really comes of that arc (which considering this all happens before the events of Soul Eater isn't a big suprise, I guess).
The few action scenes that you do see are pretty lame and not very well animated at all, further evidence that the B Team at Bones worked on this, considering that Bones is quite well known for being capable of very impressive action scenes (Cowboy Bebop and Sword of the Stranger for example). You get a few cameos from the cast of Soul Eater proper, but all that does is remind you how much better it was and makes you wish you were watching that.
All in all a massive disappointment. If you haven't seen Soul Eater, for the love of god don't start with this - watch the proper thing instead. If you have seen Soul Eater, I still wouldn't bother.
How they all knew he'd die as soon as he cut himself. That was terrifying to look at.
I never liked Owen in movies before but in The Knick his performance was absolutely amazing.
His death almost overshadows Tom setting up Harriet. That was a big surprise for me.
I knew he is a bit iffy around the edges but generally a good and caring guy under that hard shell. But screwing her over like that?
Wouldn't have thought he is so strictly against "abortionalists" but tolerated it anyway out of love for her.
Herman getting radiation poisoning serves him right. I got a headache by simply watching him getting his first x-ray, where the salesman wanted to demonstrate the machine and told Herman he needs to stand in front of it for couple of hours.
Henry being responsible for the fire was kinda obvious but not that he is such a ruthless killer, as he threatend Cornelia. Who in return fled the country to be free from him and out of his reach. While Lucy got what she wanted all along, a man in the upper stand and a corresponding status for herself.
Soderbergh created this show as a two year arc, even though a season 3 script was ordered.
The tying up of all loose ends makes this apparent. So, in case there will be a third season, this is the "true" end.
Alongside the end for season 1 of American Crime, this is my most favourite season/show end.
Do not watch this movie. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone definitely make a cute couple. They should just produce a romance with them. Wait for that movie instead of watching this now.
The characters seem to loose dimension. The plot between Peter and Gwen is basically:
"I am going to go." - "No don't go." - "Yes, I will go." - "Don't go away", etc. Who wrote that?
And then there are the two villains... Electro is a laughably 1 dimensional character that is simply ridiculous when he is still a human. As other form, he can atleast fight, kind of. The action scenes were actually so bad that I wanted to watch the whole "I will go to somewhere else" thingy Peter and Gwen got going on.
The green goblin is not too bad, however there are so many enemies in the Spider-Man universe, I don't think they should've brought one of the few back there were in the original trilogy. However, I already should've stopped watching when Electro first appeared, so what does it really matter anyways.
In conclusion:
- Weak characters development from the first movie "simplified", terrible dialog, missed potential, laughably terrible villain
+ Cute couple, 1 villain that is not complete %$§&
Do not watch this movie.
"Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
Finally! I don't no why it took me so long to see one of the most acclaimed films of all time. The Shawshank Redemption really moved me.
The emotion that was put into it, was something really truthful and real. Even when there are moments where you predict what is going to happen next, its subtleness and immense depth affects you anyway. Since the very first moment, we are attached to it and not many films do that with the audience. Such a simple story but with such content.
Frank Darabont direction was amazing! The film has over two hours and you never get bored, you are driven by the emotion of the events and the great cinematography makes you feel the terrifying life in prison.
The performances from all the cast are something great to see but Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins are the ones who gave absolutely phenomenal performances. The performances of a lifetime.
I can see why many people love this film. They love it because is power makes it unforgettable. Now I love it too, and I will always remember it.
An absolutely beautiful story about hope and friendship.
