leturtle Reviews

Cowboy Bebop (1998–1999)

Do yourself a favour and watch it!

[18 June 2010]

If you like shows that blend all kinds of genres almost seamlessly, you will love Cowboy Bebop. It blends almost every genre you could think of into its story. I wouldn't have been surprised if there was a musical episode somewhere along the way (unfortunately there wasn't :P) If you like shows with lovable, fascinating characters, you will love Cowboy Bebop. The secretive badass Spike, the blunt but kind-hearted Jet, beautiful and insecure Faye, the strange and oddly flexible Ed and adorable 'data-dog' Ein all team up to scour the universe for bounties to collect. They all have such subtle development over their mostly episodic adventures that your barely even realise how much you're connecting with them on an emotional level until the final episode.

If you like shows that have amazing music to enhance basically everything, you will love Cowboy Bebop. Much like the storyline itself, the music branches across all kinds of genres, but manages to fit their respective scenes perfectly. The final scene and the song that goes with it will stick with me for a very long time.

If you like shows in general, you will love Cowboy Bebop.

It doesn't even matter if you're an anime fan, or you've never watched anime in your life- Cowboy Bebop should be made required viewing for everyone.

Watch it! (I also posted this review at www.anime-planet.com)

Cloverfield (2008)

Absolutely loved it

[7 July 2008]

I'm pretty sure nearly everyone knows about Cloverfield's premise by now- a giant monster is destroying the city and it is filmed from the point of view of a hand-held digital camera, similar to the effect of The Blair Witch Project.

At first it may seem to be just like any other monster movie and nothing we haven't already seen. But if you think that, you are dead wrong.

The one big thing different about Cloverfield, is that the monster's origins or motives of attacking isn't explained, and is probably not destroyed in the end either, though that is one of the many things left in the open.

This is a very good thing because it's much more fun to have questions about what's happening, and to come up with your own conclusions.

Not only that, but there are some great special effects and thrills in the movie which make it more effective.

I will definitely be giving Cloverfield repeat viewings, I may possibly see things I didn't pick up before. An awesome, awesome film.

8/10

Amélie (2001)

Amazing

[30 March 2008]

Not many movies can make me look at the world an entirely different way after watching it. Amelie is one of those.

The plot revolves around a young French waitress named Amelie (hence the title) who, after an incident involving Princess Diana, a bathroom tile and a perfume bottle cap, decides to enrich the lives of those around her.

The result is a hilarious and wonderful story as Amelie (brilliantly portrayed by Audrey Tautou, who made me an instant fan of hers) continues to make the lives of her colleagues and friends happier.

However, she becomes so busy doing this that she forgets about her own happiness. She falls in love with a strange young man called Nino, and plays small games to catch his attention, but always ends up backing out just when she has the chance to finally confront him.

With beautiful cinematography and an Oscar-worthy screenplay which was cruelly stolen by Gosford Park, Amelie is a must-see... as soon as you can! You will not regret watching this, and you will walk away with a big, cheesy grin on your face for the next week.

10/10

Futurama: The Sting (2003) Season 5, Episode 9

Easily the best episode of the series

[11 January 2008]

The writers of this show are absolute geniuses. They make a cartoon which is very often hilarious and sometimes moving and powerful. This particular episode is a great example of their talent.

Leela and the crew are sent to collect honey from giant bees- which is how the previous Planet Express crew died. Eventually, Fry and Leela get stung by one of the bees. Leela gets a small scratch but Fry got the full impact and she feels extremely guilty and depressed for causing his death.

What then follows is a series of bizarre hallucinations (including a hilarious scene where they all suddenly burst into song) and dreams and she becomes more and more certain that Fry is still alive.

This is an incredibly clever episode, with a great twist in the end and truly touching ending. I won't give away anything- but if you haven't yet seen this one, do so! It is the best work the crew of Futurama have done to date.

The Golden Compass (2007)

I have a mixed opinion on this one

[3 January 2008]

Last year when I heard that there would be a movie version of my favourite book I was pretty excited. When it finally came out, I heard very mixed reviews, saying either it was terrible or awesome. I'm glad there were equal amounts of both so I went in with no expectation whatsoever.

Overall, I quite enjoyed it. The good things do outweigh the bad, thankfully, and I will list them here, starting with the good.

• The visual effects and cinematography was simply STUNNING- maybe even Oscar-worthy. The enormous budget really shows in this part and captured the atmosphere of the book well.

• The polar bears- WOW! They were incredible! Especially the very loud and slightly gory fight scene was awesome, probably the highlight of the whole film.

• Most of the acting was very well done, especially the impressive debut by Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig also live up to their reputations as some of the best actors around at the moment.

They're the main things anyway. It would seem there was more bad stuff in the movie, but that's just because they stick out in my mind more.

Anyway here are the bad things: - The kid who played Roger (Ben Walker I think his name is)- while not a bad actor- was a terrible choice for the role. If I remember correctly from the book, Roger was the same age as Lyra. In the movie he looks like a little, immature kid. I don't know how they will depict this particular character in the future parts of the trilogy considering... um... what happens to him at the end of the first book (I won't say so I don't spoil it) - They completely left out a pretty important subplot about Lyra's jail cell and the cell mate she meets. This doesn't annoy me as much as some of the other things but I feel it should be noted that they should've dwelled on the ice bears story some more. Even if just so I can see them some more (well, they did look awesome).

• They also left out the religious concept of the book- I don't see why. To escape controversy? Maybe, but I think that controversy actually helps movies at the box office and it was vital to the plot so there was no reason to leave it out. How will they explain what Dust is without the religion? (Read the books and you'll understand better) - Easily the worst part- THE ENDING! Man, it was horrible. The finale of the book was spectacular and contained the biggest twist of the story. The ending in the movie was drastically different, twistless (if that's actually a word), and it plain annoyed me. Thankfully, though, it was left wide open for a sequel so I hope that the rest of the trilogy will be made.

I didn't go in expecting a word for word copy of the novel- that would have been boring. But it could have at least been a more faithful adaption of the book I loved- keeping the same ending would have been good for one thing.

But why not treat yourself to a thoroughly eye-pleasing and entertaining fantasy movie? Whatever your expectations, you will most likely enjoy it 7/10

Gosford Park (2001)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

[14 December 2007]

I'm sorry, I really am, but this load of steaming bullcrap won Best Screenplay at the Oscars?! And to make matters worse, it won it over Amelie! I mean seriously. Aren't screenplays supposed to- you know- have a STORYLINE or at least a PLOT? There are about a million characters in Gosford Park so it is hard to feel with them and really care about what they're doing. Well, actually they didn't really do anything at all.

The first five minutes or so were quite good though. I thought Maggie Smith's character being such a selfish cow was funny. But then she, like all the others, descended into a dull blur.

For an hour and twenty minutes, absolutely nothing happened except that a few birds died, a guy played piano almost non-stop and some rich snobs played bridge. Woohoo. It was all so exciting I just had to keep shaking myself to wake up.

Finally, when the crime occurred I was able to watch the movie and take in what was going on. But no, a few minutes later it went back down to flat and boring mode.

When I managed to find the energy to movie my hand I switched it off after 90 minutes. Normally I can't stop watching a movie half way through because not knowing how it ends would be annoy me. But for this, I was at the point where I just simply didn't care at all.

My rating: 2/10 I'm not giving it a 1 because of some rather nice art direction. But a movie does actually need a story.

Hairspray (2007)

Awesome!!

[8 December 2007]

I said in a previous review of High School Musical that musicals were dead. But I also said that I would change my mind about that if a new musical came about.

Hairspray has not only changed my mind, it blew my mind!

The energetic style of the movie picks up right at the beginning minutes with a Good Morning Baltimore belted out by the lovable Tracy Turnblad (played by Nikki Blonsky in her film debut who has a promising career ahead of her!) and doesn't let up even for the end credits.

The standout performance is easily John Travolta (as you've never seen him before!!) who was ROBBED of an Oscar nomination. Oh hell, the whole cast was just brilliant.

Hairspray almost explodes with amazing sets, costumes and just so much colour. And I can guarantee you will leave with a big cheesy grin on your face.

If you didn't get to see it in theatre, grab it on DVD! Or however you see it, don't miss Hairspray.

Over all rating: 9/10

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

It was alright...

[24 October 2007]

*Mild spoilers in this review*

Don't get me wrong, I love strange and silly humour. But there was just something about Anchorman- I'm not really sure what- that made it so unlikeable.

Though I'm not saying it was awful, it starts quite promisingly, but quickly spirals down into plain stupidity. I knew I wasn't going to enjoy the movie much anymore when it got to the fight scene. I'm sorry, but that was just way too bizarre and random. While there is nothing really wrong with being bizarre and random (actually, most of time I quite enjoy it), but Anchorman completely failed at this.

It reached its low at the zoo where the dog was talking to the bears. I was just staring at the television like... what the-?!

However, there are some brief moments of greatness- particularly a scene involving Jack Black, a dog and bridge. Unfortunately, these are fleeting and rather rare.

Anchorman isn't a completely horrible film, but it is severely overrated, awfully written and just not that funny.

Overall score: 5/10

The Village (2004)

Ugh

[30 September 2007]

Such a shame. This was advertised as a horror movie, right? I am probably one of the easiest people on this earth to frighten, but I didn't get scared once throughout this whole film.

Here's a short breakdown:

Story: 4/10 Once again, such a huge, huge shame and waste. The story sounds very promising- an 1800s village surrounded by a forest containing monsters that will kill on sight. Thus they can not leave the village. Not as good as it sounds.

Writing: 2/10 Godawful writing. The story is translated to screen terribly. I feel it would've done much better as a novel. The twist- if that's what you can call it- it revealed WAY too early int he movie and the rest that follows is just boring almost nothingness.

Acting: 3/10 Not good either. Bryce Dallas Howard was just awful as Ivy. It may be just me (though I doubt it) but was she supposed to be playing a blind person? I didn't even notice that she was blind until one of the elders said 'BUT SHE'S BLIND!'

Visuals: 7/10 One of the very few good things about this movie. The scenery and picturesque forest is easy on the eye, and I actually quite liked the brief scene with the contrast of the red flower and the yellowy ground.

No, The Village is entirely awful, but it is stupid, boring, poorly acted and written and I wouldn't recommend it or watch it again any time soon.

4/10

Chicago (2002)

Wicked...

[30 September 2007]

That one word sums up Chicago. Wicked. The acting, the story, the cinematography, direction, songs, everything was perfect.

Velma Kelly (portrayed, if I may say again, wickedly by Catherine Zeta-Jones) is one half of a popular cabaret act, who murdered her sister and husband after finding them in bed together.

Roxie Hart has a dream of being a performer. She is having an affair with a man who she ends up killing because he lied to her about having connections. Her husband Amos almost takes the blame, but Velma and Roxie eventually end up meeting each other in jail. A hilarious rivalry ensues.

Here is a break down:

Story: 9/10 Fantastic and entertaining story which will keep you engrossed and watching to the very end.

Writing: 10/10 Absolutely brilliant writing, cleverly inserting songs into the story to delve in character's personalities, and help move the story along even better.

Acting: 9.5/10 You can hardly get a better cast than this. Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly all fully deserved their Oscar nominations (Zeta-Jones even more deservingly winning for her role) and portrayed lovable and believable characters.

And its pretty hard to make a murderer lovable!!

Visuals: 9/10 The great set design and cinematography make Chicago seem even bigger than it already is- exploding with colour, costumes and eye candy.

Chicago is probably one of the few movies that actually deserved to win as many Oscars as it did, maybe should have won more.

Aww whatever just watch and enjoy Chicago!!!

Overall score:10/10

High School Musical (2006 TV Movie)

I hated it

[13 January 2007]

There was lots of hype and people telling me it was excellent when HSM made it to my television, so I watched it expecting the next Grease. Maybe that's why I hated it so much.

It's probably one of the most overrated movies ever, and one of the worst. The storyline, the songs or just pretty much the whole movie in general was corny, horrible and predictable.

I fail to see how this appeals to anyone. Two things I've learned from watching this are: Never expect too much from a film. Musicals are a thing of the past. I may change my mind about the second one IF a good musical comes along anytime in the near future. Which I doubt.

Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County (2004–2006)

What the heck is this?!

[28 December 2006]

Laguna Beach is the most horrible, disturbing, most annoying show I have ever seen.

It is disturbing because this is a reality show, and there are ACTUALLY people who act like this. Quote: "My mum fired our maid because she stole our silverware and I'm not used to cleaning up after myself."

Yes, really.

I can't believe someone thought that this was a good idea, hired a film crew, went to Laguna Beach and spent lots of money filming this "drama". If that's what you can call it. More like a half-hour-long complaining marathon of 15 year old's saying random things.

Television has gone to a new low. A very, very deep low. Bottom of the ocean deep.

In fact that's where I wish everyone who was involved in making this 'show' were thrown.

1/10. Man I wish we could vote a 0, or negative numbers.