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trique_7
Reviews
Shiryô no wana 2: Hideki (1992)
Unexpected achievement
I went into this film expecting an exploitation-style otaku-for-her and was pleasantly surprised by way of the contrary. For as admittedly ghastly as are much of the acts of violence, the filmmakers succeeded wonderfully in somehow making it look somehow beautiful. I'm thinking specifically here of the fight scene between the two female leads with the white "curtains" providing wonderful contrast to the bloodshed. I can't think of a comparable genre in my country to compare with this. It is no mean feat to successfully inject a psycho killer / gore film with enough symbolism and outstanding camera-work and choreography to leave the viewer with the feeling that he or she just experienced some wonderfully violent art film wrought with psychological complexity and morally ambiguous characterization. The film succeeds on many levels but stands highest as an unexpected achievement in genre subversion.
Paranormal State (2007)
Who is watching this show?
When this show first aired I will admit to being intrigued by the premise and the setting. With an open mind I watched the first two episodes and naturally dismissed it as being destined to run for a half-season at most. I happened to be watching A/E recently and witnessed an ad for this garbage and I could barely contain my surprise. I truly hope people are watching this for a laugh and not taking it seriously. The characters are truly some of the most ridiculous and outright laughable on television, scripted or otherwise. It's obviously generating ratings so I must give the creators credit for establishing and maintaining a fanbase, but I seriously hope no one is watching this under any pretense of seriousness.