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Disneyland Resort: Imagineering the Magic : 3 of 5
5.08.2008 7:38 AM \| Link	This is a new two-disc DVD set available only at the Disney parks, but I was lucky enough to read about it and order it directly from Disneyland! When I first looked at the packaging, I was worried that this would be a simple rehash of the material included on the Disneyland: Secrets, Stories & Magic DVD set, but it's actually all new material organized into each of the Disneyland lands with brief Imagineer interview clips. There were no new surprising facts revealed for me here (this is kind of a "junior" look at Imagineering), but I was amazed by some vintage black & white footage that I had never seen before that was pretty spectacular! My favorites were watching test rides of Peter Pan's Flight (when it was just the seats suspended from the track), as well as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (without all the flats separating the building into rooms). My only complaint about the documentary is that several old clips are presented in the wrong aspect ratio - I guess they wanted the whole show to fill the screen on HDTVs, but I hate seeing squashed video. Besides the hour-long feature, there are some bonus segments on the second disc about new attractions (unfortunately all old news, since everything is already open, even though this is a brand new DVD!) and a ridiculously easy quiz, plus a quick look at Disney's California Adventure, which will all be irrelevant someday as they redesign the park. I really enjoyed watching this DVD (most of it with my Disney pal Melinda), so I'd definitely recommend it to Disney park maniacs just getting started on their obsession with Imagineering! Labels: disney, dvds
Cat Girl Kiki : 2 of 5
5.07.2008 6:36 PM \| Link	I guess I'm continuing with this embarrassing trilogy that started with Legend of the Doll, but at least these movies are short and silly enough to get through quickly! This movie has a really similar plot to the last one, featuring a lonely guy who takes in a stray cat, only to find it transformed into a cat-girl (fully human with kitty ears, but no tail) named Kiki. The first half of the movie is just what you would expect - drinking milk, playing with toys, and even learning how to speak (and don't forget trying on a maid costume), but then the plot quickly changes as we realize the guy is a shut-in whose life has fallen apart, and it becomes apparent that no one else can see Kiki. It's crazy how dramatic it gets, and the acting isn't half-bad actually, since the guy really stirs up a lot of emotion. This movie definitely has an amateur feel to it, but not as bad as Legend of the Doll - I'm pretty sure it was shot on video, but at least they used high-quality cameras and tripods this time! The editing and camera angles are better, too. Discussing the filming techniques of a simple otaku fantasy flick makes me sound like I'm trying to turn Cat Girl Kiki into art, but I'm definitely not! I just enjoyed watching it because it's fun to see the stereotypes of Japanese culture portrayed so boldly, which will be my same excuse for watching the third and final movie in this series soon. Labels: dvds
All Monsters Attack : 3 of 5
5.06.2008 7:56 AM \| Link	After a long pause in their release schedule, Classic Media is back with more definitive Godzilla DVD releases, which I bought as soon as they were available! I decided to watch All Monsters Attack first, even though it has a bad reputation as the worst Godzilla movie ever made, and I can see why. This particular film was actually targeted at kids, so it has a young boy as the main character Ichiro, who lives his life as a latchkey kid who has a scuffle with some bank robbers. All of the monster action takes place in Ichiro's fantasy world (on Monster Island), where he dreams of watching huge battles with his pal Minilla (the goofy son of Godzilla), and then uses various fighting techniques he observes to outwit the robbers (and a bully who has been giving him trouble) in a kind of Home Alone style! To top it off, most of the monster battle footage was lifted from previous Godzilla films, so there are crazy inconsistencies like three different Godzilla costumes (the changes are subtle, but you can definitely tell!). Thankfully, Classic Media can make even a so-so movie like this one into a fantastic experience, since it's always fun to see these movies in the original Japanese, and their commentary tracks simply cannot be topped. This time the commentary discusses where all of the reused footage comes from, and talks directly about each scene as we watch it, mentioning lighting, sets, and so on. There's also a brief documentary on director Ishiro Honda included. Actually, I still had a blast watching this film - the child acting is pretty amazing to me, and I certainly don't mind a silly movie from time to time. I'm just glad there are new DVDs for a Godzilla fan like me to devour! Labels: dvds, godzilla
High School Musical 2 : 3 of 5
5.05.2008 7:38 PM \| Link	For a Disney fan like me, it's taken way too long for me to get caught up the huge High School Musical phenomenon, but now I can say I'm ready for the third movie when it comes out! I completely forgot to review the original movie, but I promise I did rent it soon after seeing the local stage production, and I thought it was really fun - I especially loved he fact that Kenny Ortega, who worked so hard on the Disney bomb yet cult favorite Newsies, finally has a real hit on his hands. This second movie pretty much takes the plot turns you would expect - after high school, you've got to have summer vacation, and after Sharpay lost Troy to Gabriella, of course she has to spend the whole movie trying to get him back. The location for everyone's summer job is a gorgeous country club with some spectacular scenery, and the outdoor shots really have a fantastic color palette! There are some great songs this time around, such You Are the Music in Me, which is a nice ballad that gets hilariously Sharpay-ized, and I was also really impressed by Bet On It, since Zac really knows how to go all out on his performance (and if anyone can offer me his hair, I will pay out the nose). Unfortunately, there are some total dud songs, too, like I Don't Dance (singing on the baseball field just doesn't work), and the goofy Hawaiian number (apparently only available on the DVD version) is flat-out embarrasing. The whole thing is just under two full hours, which is pretty long for a Disney Channel movie (which still has the annoying pauses for commercials), but I had a great time watching the whole thing. It definitely made me want to get outside in the sun and pretend I'm one of the cool kids! Labels: disney, dvds
Hello! Project 2008 Winter / Kettei! Haropuro Award '08 : 4 of 5
5.04.2008 7:59 AM \| Link	After being a little disappointed with Morning Musume's fall concert, I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed this giant winter concert by the full Hello! Project arsenal. This is the kind of show I wanted to see, held in a giant arena overflowing with fans, and the moment all the girls started filling the "race track" stage gave me goosebumps! Seeing old timers like Nacchi and Yuko singing side-by-side with Berryz Koubou is so sweet, and gave the concert a nice sense of history. The camera work was pretty good, and I love the fact that the girls definitely know where the cameras are so they can ham it up! There were lots of earpiece monitors in use, but that sure didn't stop them from lip synching way too much. Of course, Aya and Nacchi completely out-class everyone else by sounding terrific totally on their own, but I still enjoyed everyone else's performances, too. In "news from the past", Biyuden makes a quick apology for their sudden breakup, and Ongaku Gatas announces their new album. The concert is themed as an awards show, so the usual MCs Makoto and Mari go through these goofy announcements for categories like Best Smile and even Best Yay Yay. Morning Musume gives a nice performance of Love and Peace (with plenty of cute kisses), and it's really fun to see Lin Lin and Jun Jun speaking Chinese, since they can really rattle it off. During the finale, I always enjoy seeing the older Musumes get emotional and let a few tears fall - it really reminds me that these performers for the most part really love what they do, give it their best, and are actually thankful to their fans and staff for the opportunity to sing and dance in such a huge show! It's this kind of mutual fan/performer admiration that makes Jpop my favorite form of musical entertainment! Labels: dvds, jpop, morning musume
Triple event weekend
5.03.2008 9:23 PM \| Link	This has been a jam-packed weekend so far, and tons of fun! Friday night there was a bachelor dinner in honor of Jonathan's wedding (coming up in a couple weeks!), so all of gathered for a long meal at the Clay Pit with plenty of drinking, story telling, and lots of laughter. After dinner we decided to walk to the Cloak Room, which is one of Jonathan's secret late-night haunts. Most of us had never been there before, and it was cool to discover this tiny, dark bar that's famous for being filled with Texas legislators (since it's right at the foot of the Capitol). It was a really fun evening! Today I got up early to get my weekend chores done so I could head out to enjoy Free Comic Book Day! Matt decided he wanted to check it out also, so we went to Capstone Comics (a really nice place that I'll definitely revisit) and ran into George and his grandson Devin, which was nice since I love seeing kids getting excited about free comics. The store really went all out for the event with raffle drawings, guests artists signing things, and even guys in authentic Star Wars costumes! Next, after an hour or so of rest, the Greatest American Heroes drove to Temple to play a benefit for the American Cancer Society. We played in a high school football stadium, right on the 50-yard line, and although we were missing Chris on guitar and had a guest bassist, we had a great time and seemed to be well received. It was so refreshing to play outside in the beautiful weather, and then have an awesome meal together at a 50s themed diner. Now I'm finally home, a little sunburnt, and a lot tired, but I've enjoyed every minute of this crazy weekend! I'm definitely going to kick back tomorrow! View photos: Jonathan's Bachelor Dinner View photos: Comics & Heroes Labels: bands, life, pals, photos
Yo-Yo Girl Cop : 3 of 5
5.02.2008 7:46 AM \| Link	Even though I already downloaded and watched Sukeban Deka back in 2006, I was so surprised to see this movie get a US DVD release that I wanted to buy it just to support the cause! In case you don't know, Yo-Yo Girl Cop is an action-adventure about a yo-yo weapon-wielding school girl, staring the Jpop talents of Matsuura Aya and the Biyuden gals. I wasn't overly impressed with the movie the first time, but since then my Jpop fandom has grown and changed a little, so it was really fun to watch it again with new eyes. I also wanted to check out the "official" subtitles, since I thought the translations I had seen before were hilarious with tons of F-bombs, but the Japanese is just as loose this time around. I noticed many more genre techniques (like woosh sound effects for camera zooms!), and I thought Rika was much cooler than before (I guess I'm a bigger fan now!). Of course, I still enjoyed Aya's legs and her action scenes are great, but I was more impressed with Yui's acting - for her first (and maybe only) movie, she does a nice job playing such a sad introverted character! I was a little more moved by the brief dinner scene where Aya has dinner with her father (though she doesn't know he's her dad), so overall my movie watching experience was better this time. It was cool to watch the long Making Of segment with subtitles, and I think it's awesome that Aya did her own stunt work, even the difficult wire flying moves! The best part is watching Aya have a brief conversation with the actress who played the first Sukeban Deka, as they compare yo-yo props and talk about the difference in film making techniques. Yo-Yo Girl Cop isn't a great movie, but I'm glad I gave it a second chance - it's still a fun way to enjoy being a Jpop fan with a tokusatsu flair! Labels: dvds, jpop, tokusatsu


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