Finally Watched It

atthequillsmercy

Finally Watched It: Over the Garden Wall Episode one – The Old Grist Mill

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Yet another Cartoon Network show which garnered gasps of horror when asked about it and I say I’ve never seen it (or even heard of it).

Brothers Wirt and Greg are on their way home when they get lost in the woods. In this episode, they end up at some woodman’s cabin and encounter a wolf that follows the candy trail Greg is leaving behind them.

I think Greg is a lot like Steven from Steven Universe; innocent, silly, and positive no matter what’s happening. This series is wonderfully animated and voiced. It’s a quality I’m not quite used to with a lot of the dreck I see on TV these days (I’m looking at you Teen Titans Go and Breadwinners). So far, it’s the right balance of creepy and cute to be enjoyable.

Since the episodes are so short, I don’t think I’ll do an entry for every single one. They’re only about 10 minutes long. Unless you want me to. So, let me know!

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Finally Watched it: “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” vol 3.

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Again,this volume follows the manga but there are some more strange camera angles or the calm voice of the actor not matching the screaming face of the animated figure (or the reverse). But the music is amazing and the movements are clean and smooth. The plot is tight and there are so many anime out there with tons of filler that it’s nice to see a narrative get to the point and stay there.

I had fun watching this series and I think it’s a wouldn’t mind coming back to watch more than once. It’s dark but also adorable and heartfelt. I’m glad I took time for this one. Anything that thoughtfully turns tropes upside down is welcome. Its super creepy that Kyubey is one obvious metaphor for being taken advantage of during one of the most vulnerable time in a young person’s life. And poor Homura… But seeing her in action?! Picking up all those techniques?! Fucking WIN!

Now, I have been poking around and there are other manga for this series that I may try to hunt down and read. If I can find them, I may review those as well.

All in all, this was fun and I LOVE being back into anime again.

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Finally Watched It: “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” vol 2

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This volume follows the second volume of the manga pretty closely and while the voice acting and music keep their quality, there were a couple of questionable camera angles that had me confused. They were super diagonal or oddly framed in a way where you know no human being would have deliberately placed a camera. At one point two characters were sitting at a table and I think the camera would have to have been sitting on the girl’s lap, at an angle, with the zoom at 150%. This only happened a couple of times so it wasn’t too distracting.

The tone also is constant but I was a little taken aback by the gore being blacked out. Perhaps I’m spoiled by other anime were zero fucks are given and people spill gallons of blood all the time. I wonder what this would have looked like if the animators were really allowed to let loose.

Overall, I’m enjoying this! I don’t know if this is an anime I’d watch more than once, though.

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Finally Watched It: Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist

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I was talking with a patron about the sad state of live action video game movies and he mentioned this to me. So, I give it a try and… Well…

This movie goes into Ken and Ryu’s training in the mountains with their master and while, yes; this movie is much better than Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Dragonball, and BloodRayne, I have to say this was very boring.

I understand these are video game avatars before they are characters but they are so cliche and predictable, I couldn’t even find it funny. Whoever made Ken’s wig was clearly out to torture the actor. I know that’s what the game character looks like but I have true difficulty believing any person – especially a martial artist whose survival may depend on a clear field of vision – would leave that much hair hanging in their face all the time.

Even though it’s campy, predictable, and somehow so slow I was bored enough to fall asleep (I never made it to disk 2), I can tell there was more effort, pride, and care in this movie than in any other movie I’ve mentioned in this post. I wanted to like this, I really did; but I just felt tired during this; wondering what book I could be reading. And that’s a shame, too. It’s a pretty movie to look at and, like I said, effort was obviously made to make something cool for the genre.

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Finally Watched It: Mad Max: Fury Road

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When this movie came out, all my friends were on me to see it. I finally got my hands on the DVD and gave it a watch.

Do I really need to summarize this movie for you? Geez, check out the IMDB page…

This movie doesn’t fuck about. It picks you up in it’s teeth, locks it’s jaw, and shakes the shit out of you only stopping to check if you still have a pulse. Then by the end you need a cigarette.

I have a soft spot in my heart for action movies that keep you on the edge and every character is strong and worth watching no matter what gender they are. Man, did I ever enjoy this movie; even though I have to say Beyond Thunderdome is still my favorite in this series. More movies need to use practical effects in their action scenes. Limited CG is best, in my opinion.

I think my only real gripe is the one thing all these apocalyptic and dystopian stories seem to forget: Bicycles! Fucking bicycles! No gas needed and there are ways to to heavy loads with them. And how awesome would it have been to have a hundred bikers pulling a war machine like sailors rowing a ship?! Yeah, the sand would be a bitch but not needing massive amounts of fuel has got to be a plus.

Anyway, I’m glad I watched it. Totally worth my time.

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Finally Watched It: “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” vol 1 by Magica Quartet and Hanokage

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Obviously, this is the anime which tells the same story as the manga I have been reading and reviewing. And it was completely worth it to see this on screen.

The story is the same but it was so awesome to see the characters moving and talking. The soundtrack is amazing, the animation is clean and sharp, and the voice acting is on point. One thing I will say that the anime does better than the manga is the witch labyrinths. Seeing that in color and moving was like seeing a twisted wonderland where all the cute things are designed to kill you. And I’m thinking this is entirely the point.

The anime shies away from gore but it does take more time to revel in the horror. You can turn a page fast but having to watch the characters cry and suffer is a different experience.

Again, I am enjoying the different take on magical girls. I’ve said that a lot, but it’s true. There is another volume (so I don’t feel guilty for watching this before reading volume three since volume three isn’t on this DVD) which I’m waiting to get into my hot little hands and of course, I will be reviewing it.

Seeing the same ole stories in a new light is always fun and I can’t wait for the next one!

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Finally Watched It: One Missed Call

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Whenever there’s an American remake of a foreign movie, I make it my business to track down the original; which is how I found out about the REC series. When I heard about the American movie, I skipped it and went for the Japanese version. I just assume it’s better on principal now.

The premise of this movie is that this group of young people start getting calls from their own numbers. Upon listening to the voicemail, its the audio of their own deaths; essentially making it a call from the future bout how they will die. Obviously, they all run around trying to avoid their fate and solve the mystery.

What I like about films like this is the slow build, the quiet, the dark lighting, and thoughtful dialog. It is just simpler and – to me at least – more frightening than all the fancy CGI, slow-mo, and dramatic music. It makes everything feel so much more unsettling. It can drag a little sometimes but it’s nice to see any media take it’s time with you rather than inundate you with images for instant gratification.

I don’t particularly want to inflict the American version on myself to compare the two but if repeatedly asked, I may do so.

As I work through these movies (I have a list!) I am hitting more good movies than not, and I’m grateful for that. I’m sure I’ll come across some duds but seeing these has been awesome.

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Finally Watched It: The Host

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After a couple of idiot scientists decide the best place to dump a bunch of chemicals down a drain that leads to Han river, some creature mutates and starts attacking people. After getting no help from the authorities, one family decides to rescue a young girl themselves.

This movie calls itself “one of the greatest monster movies ever made,” and I have to agree. It’s tense, interesting, original, and just plain cool. You can tell there’s a bravery to it and some humor. The story is told well with some fun surprises and the creature effects are fairly impressive.

I also enjoyed this film’s realism. When people get hit, they go down and stay down. They don’t shake off a three story fall like in a lot of other action movies. I can’t speak to all the physics but when a character hits a wall, you don’t see them for a bit. They are indeed hurt.

If I had one complaint, not to spoil much, it would be this grieving scene that just goes on and on. At the start, I was touched, perhaps even shed a tear… But as it went on I started to think “Okay, plot time now! Time to wrap it up.” Overall, a totally awesome movie! Everyone who told me this movie was worth watching was right.

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Finally Watched It: REC 4 Apocalypse

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Unlike REC3, this installment in the franchise picks up from where the second movie left off with the reporter, Angela, being taken onto a quarantined ship with the soldier who rescued her and an elderly woman who survived the wedding in REC3. While Angela is there, the found footage is not, remaining in third person with shaky cam… Sadly disappointing as the found footage worked so well in the first two.

Anyway, the way this works is the survivors are on the boat with some scientists trying to work on a cure. The idea is that if something goes wrong, they can just blow up the ship and any infected people with it. Having a lab on the ship drains the power so the lights go out from time to time. The scientists and doctors believe that since Angela survived and keeps testing negative for the virus despite being exposed to it, they can use her blood and the blood of the infected monkey they keep on board to develop a vaccine.

I hate to say it but I hope this franchise is over. Not because this movie was overtly bad, it’s just the same story beats as every other horror movie out there. Don’t get me wrong, demon possession as a virus is a cool idea, the characters were entertaining, the actors were competent (at least in my opinion), but with the first two being so different I can’t help but feel let down by these last two. If they do another one, I’m not sure I’m going to bother watching it.

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Finally Watched It: Quarantine 2: Terminal

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In this installment, some contrived circumstances lead to the same plague from the first movie ending up on a plane. They gotta land and they get locked in a terminal to keep the sickness in.

This movie lost me at the first shot; which is a woman’s cleavage. The entire thing can be summed up with “What do you get when a bunch of cliches get on a plane with a zombie?” And like REC 3, this movie completely ditches the ‘found footage’ angle. It’s just a formulaic zombie movie. You can tell who’s gonna die within the first ten minutes and you’re either relieved because they’re stupid or you don’t care because you saw it coming a mile away.

Also, I am certain I’m on some sort of government watch list now because I was researching proper quarantine procedures because I’m sure the movie got something wrong.

Unlike REC 2, which was tense and interesting, I got nothing new from this movie. It’s every thing you’ve ever seen in a bland horror movie from the characterization, to the predictable writing, the standard camera angles and over-the-top gore. I watched this and Watership Down in the same day and the dead bunnies disturbed me more. It just had no heart and is absolutely forgettable.

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