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Reviews
Rôningai no kaoyaku (1963)
Robin Hood with kimonos
A brisk Japanese tale of an out-of-work ronin, standing up for a few oppressed poor people in his town against their rich overlords. This being basically Robin Hood with kimonos, it's an evergreen story with plenty of opportunity for action. I found the dialogue/translation quite amusing and witty and, for a Japanese film, the plot even (mostly) made sense. The actors certainly don't seem like RADA luvvies when they whirl around with their katanas. Certainly very watchable and rather enjoyable.
Tru Calling (2003)
One of very few TV series I've watched all the way through
I bought the Tru Calling complete boxset for someone for Xmas, not planning to watch much of it myself. After watching the first few episodes, I was quite hooked which is very rare for me. If it was ever aired in the UK, I never saw it. I bought it solely on the strength of good reviews on IMDb.
At times it reminded me of Ghost Whisperer, Without a Trace, Highway to Heaven, Buffy, Terminator, Sliding Doors, Back to the Future and most of all, like a more agreeable, polished version of the German film, Run Lola Run. If you like any of these films or series, you are sure to enjoy Tru Calling. By Season 2, it veers slightly away from these and takes on a feel of its own. I would rate every episode a consistent 7 or 8/10, and the plot of many of them was about as intricate as a 40 minute story can be. Perhaps the show was cancelled because a few of them were a little too intricate for many viewers' attention span.
Such a shame the series was not only cancelled, but not 'tidied up' with a goodbye episode. As Jack says to Tru near the end of the last episode, "It was nice while it lasted."
4th Dan (2010)
Kendo has never been so stylish
A Romanian film about Kendo may not sound like everyone's cup of tea, but at 27mins, try it and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
The cinematography, editing, direction and music are of a high standard. There is little dialogue, so subtitles are few and far between, the lead actor is capable enough and as the rest of the cast seem to all be Kendo competitors from Budapest, the fight scenes are realistic and tastefully shot.
The story may be slight, but for such a short short, I couldn't really fault it. One of the best shorts I have ever seen, and free to watch on the internet too. Recommended.