Reviews

Enduring Love (2004) tells the tale of a tragic hot air balloon accident that brings to mens life's together. Joe (Daniel Craig) a university lecturer who teaches the values of love, (which is closely examined in the film) and character Jad (Rhys Ifans) who appears mysteriously where the balloon accident took place, and starts to bother Joe. Both characters are played brilliantly by the actors and send an overwhelming feeling towards the film. Showing the passion of love, and loneliness.

The films camera works are also used brilliantly, and the visual style from director Roger Michell, and Joe Penhall screenplay helps adapt Ian Mcewan's novel. Its a modern British film, that includes suspense, drama and a feeling of sadness for the characters involved.

8/10

Oh how i long anticipated this fine release in Region 2 DVD format. Finally this animated feature came, delivered by my local postman! I received it on the 26th April a few days after it's release in the Uk and was overblown by just looking at the cover! it was a feeling of something i'd love. The DVD features two discs and with a revisiting to what happened in the Final Fantasy VII video game (perfect for beginners to the story and misses of the game). And explains about The Planet, Lifestream, Materia everything you need to know about Final Fantasy VII.

The film begins with the ending of Final Fantasy VII, and with an explanation about the lifestream from narration of the character Marlene. I was always cautious at first with the English voices, before it was released i was imagining these over the top voices but i have to say the team of Square once again got it spot on. The storyline is perfect and i was highly impressed with the graphical details and enhance's in technology. The world looks stunning and to see The Forgotten City and Midgar is beautiful. I was so happy to see the church where Aeris would grow her flowers on the original game, and the beautiful musical score from Nobuo Uematsu. I loved the fact that the techniques that Cloud and Co used well fighting in the game version would actually be used in the movies, all there special combo techniques, and one of my favorite scenes is Tifa's battle in the church. Also to see members of the Turks, Reno and Rude making an appearance and using those same get away stride you later see in the movie is superb. The character interaction is superb, as the talk that we see them use on the FF VII game can be seen here. With Yuffie thinking of Materia, to Cid talking about his Highwind plane is superb! and for a fan (like me) and die hard fans will be over the moon about this. Great to see Vincent Valentine also making cool appearances and looking as sharp as ever!

10/10

Overall the film is sharp and has a compelling story that can always be relied on to go back too. Final Fantasy Advent Children contains some of the best fight sequences i have ever witnessed (Along with The Matrix) and the animation is splendid. Die hard fans will love this (unless your super super picky), and i don't see where anyone can pick faults. Great story, a thinking film and in moments funny. My pick of 2006 releases!

So Mima asks with paranoid illusions and a movie that is just sheer perfection in the movie world. If Satoshi Kon was to never work on anything and deliver this would be it. It's truly superb! Perfect Blue combines an Alfred Hitchcock style horror turn based into this beautiful unravelling thriller. Junko Iwao plays Mima Kirigoe, the ex pop idol leaving the band Cham (english version) who now sets of on a career in the acting. Rumi (Rica Matsumoto), and Tadokoro (Shinpachi Tsuji) are Mima's agents and land her a role in a TV drama being made, where Mima loses the innocence that was provided with her as a pop singer, and once a rape seen his filmed, Mima starts to have paranoid feelings, with hallucination's, and on top of this (Masaaki Ôkura) Uchida the fan becomes more of the obsessing fan. It's my personal favourite anime movie, and i hope that this has helped people and encouraged them to see it. From 10/10 Satoshi Kon combined horror, style, and an innocent look and slightly true of a pop idol searching for fame in another industry. Great film, that's powerful and thought provoking through to the final credit.

As the trailer says. Ninja Scroll is one of the better action movies i have seen from Japan, and explosive anime action, that in times is daring, sexy and passionately beautiful, as it shows Japan in carnage. Plague's spread through the towns, well an evil force lurks, with 8 devils rise to take the land. It all begins with Jubei Kibagami (Kôichi Yamadera, Japanese version) a traveller who passes town to town with a hidden past. Well coming across Kagero (Emi Shinohara) a woman who tests food in her village, and has the curse of any man who makes love to her will die. It's beautiful in parts, and the animation is superb. The directing from Kevin Seymour and Yoshiaki Kawajiri is superb. Also written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Winner of the 1993 film festival of Japan and worth the watch, i've owned it since i was 16 now, and still gets a play from time to time. 8/10

X combines some of the best action sequences that i have seen in an anime production, with highly explosive action that goes in detail of Tokyo, Japan in wreckage. This movie is adapted from the comic strip X, which goes into more detail of character i believe. A simple story, of good against bad like many movies, and with people that have powers just like seen in X comic i am told. Abilities to control water, fire, machinery, and one who has the help from an invisible dog.

The story is about Kamei (Tomokazu Seki) who is seek-ed by both sides of Dragons of the earth and Heaven to see which side he will join in the showdown for planet earth. A simple story which some would say and know has been done before, but for the anime or fantasy fan who loves action and dazzling anime then look no further as X could be the one for you. Movie viewers who are looking for a more complicated orientated adult anime, then this one is for you, the movie has it's moments of high's but also lacks originality. The characters are bought to life quite well, and the English versions feature the voice overs of Toni Barry (Karen Kasumi) and Rupert Degas (Shuogo Asagi). Overall there is worse out there, and is definitely worth checking out. 7/10