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Reviews
Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad (1994)
A few small saving graces
I am not going to claim this show was good. It was never good. The plot was formulaic, the battle sequences bored me to death, and save Sydney, who was moderately interesting (aka had half a brain and a character flaw or two), the good guys were one-note cliches. So was Kilokhan. And I felt most of this back when I was 7 and watching it, probably somewhere in the show's target audience.
There was ONE good element to this show, and that was Malcolm and his storyline. The idea was a big stroke of genius on *someone's* part, I'm not sure if it was in the original Japanese show or not.
Malcolm was someone you actually loved to hate, yet couldn't help but feel a little sorry for, a supercilious jerk who was Draco Malfoy before the world knew Draco Malfoy. He was far smarter than the good guys, although his lack of people skills more than made up for this, and was the only one with genuinely amusing lines. His using Kilokhan and the viruses to fulfill his personal vendettas was perfectly in-character for what was created, and it actually made the story fun.
I loved to see the interactions between Malcolm and Sam, hating each other yet never knowing that they're the cause of each other's problems in the digital world. It's actually a very interesting concept that I've never seen anywhere else. The Christmas episode where they temporarily discovered each other's identities was the first time all the characters held my attention, and it also played up on the three dimensions they managed to give Malcolm: the fact that he uses Kilokhan because of the lack of control and happiness in his own life, and his disillusioned belief that the virus lord actually cares about his wellbeing.
If you take it outside the context of the show, it's a very interesting story in itself.
Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical (2001)
An embarassing performance
When I told a friend (a long-standing Jekyll and Hyde fan) that I'd rented the David Hasselhoff version of this musical, she jokingly made some comments about fearing for my life, and to not go over to the dark side. I responded that it couldn't be that bad, and went happily to my DVD player to enjoy the performance. Several months later, we were discussing Hasselhoff's first transformation from Jekyll to Hyde with another friend, who had also been unfortunate enough to see it. "It was very accurate, actually," he said, having seen the show performed on stage a few times. He paused for effect before adding "...if he was trying to imitate a fish out of water, the resemblance was uncanny." If you have no knowledge of Jekyll and Hyde, listen to the Anthony Warlow concept album. Then listen to the original cast album with Robert Cuccioli. Then, if you MUST see this actually performed, you can rent the DVD or video of Hasselhoff's performance. But hear it done excellently before you see just how bad it's performed in this version, so you can appreciate just how unintentionally funny the performance is. Or better yet, just avoid it-unintentional fish out of water and all-at all costs.
The Fantasticks (2000)
First act is ridiculous, but El Gallo makes the movie great
The Fantasticks, in my opinion, starts slow with what seems like a trite tale of adolescent love. Even as an adolescent myself, I can't relate to the young lovers torn apart by 'feuding fathers', who are really just pretending to do so, in order to arrange the marriage of their children. It's a cute concept, and it's very lost here. After hearing the original cast recording of this musical, I can understand why some reviewers here have said The Fantasticks was butchered on screen. With just a harp and a piano, there's the sort of nostalgic charm that Try To Remember creates when used as the opening number. That's lost somewhat in the movie version, which leaves the 'first act' rather lifeless and idiotic; Jean Louisa Kelly is surprisingly bad, Joe McIntyre is totally unlikeable, and I have no love of any of the songs performed. Even Joel Grey, who I loved in Cabaret, is unenjoyable. After 'This Plum Is Too Ripe', the story picks up somewhat. There's more of a focus on El Gallo, the very mysterious and very charming carnival master who orchestrates the 'abduction' that brings the lovers together in the first half of the movie. While he was a welcome spark of life in the boring first half, even he was subdued there as compared to the second part of the story, where he charms Kelly's character and seduces McIntyre into the bright lights of the sideshow in order to teach them both some valuable lessons. You could say that maybe I haven't learned what Louisa learns in the film, about the seductive effect of illusions and where it really leads you, but I can completely understand why she finds El Gallo wonderful, even as the tents of the sideshow are crumpling and lightning is striking at a snap of his fingers. He's both captivating and cynical, a welcome bit of charm and life, and I would have welcomed the bigger role I've heard he has in the original stage show as the narrator throughout. I'm surprised there aren't a thousand shrines to this wonderful performance, not to mention a cult of El Gallo fangirls. Only from his 'real' swordfight with McIntyre's character Matt onward did I become interested in this movie, but once I was hooked, it was addictive. The simple but wonderful monologue that begins 'There is a curious paradox...' nearly set me crying; I can't think of a single person who can't relate somehow to those words. Even with my lack of love for the teenage leads, I enjoyed them finding each other again through my appreciation of that message. But to everyone who wants to see The Fantasticks: buy the DVD version; some of the best scenes were cut, as well as The Rape Song, which was one of the few songs I genuinely enjoyed. All the funniest moments from the beginning were cut, which was probably a large part of why it felt lifeless. And finally, the end of El Gallo's monologue, cut from the movie entirely (including the DVD) and beautiful in itself to make me whisper 'wow' a second time: "...I do not know the answer, I only know it's true. I hurt them for that reason, and myself, a little bit, too."