Reviews

I saw Carandiru after seeing Takeshi Kitanos "Zatoichi" at the Toronto Film

Festival. Let me tell you, my day was full of carnage but it's OK because both movies were very good. The director was there as well as an actor or two if I remember correctly, they spoke about the film with true passion which added to the essence of the final product. It opend my eyes to an event that I never knew of. Highness was a great charater, Graca was my favorite, he should learn

english and get into the indie scene in North America. Good film 7\10.

Seeing as I am a fan of both Beat Takeshi films and the old school Zatoichi films my anticipation for this film was killing me. Well, I saw it yesterday in Toronto at the Elgin Theatre and by the end of the film my expectations were surpassed.

Those who know Zatoichi will be happy to finally see Ichi, the travelling, gambling, masseur anti-hero back in action and bloodier then ever with some gore as well. Those who are happy to see Kitano back will be happy to know that he has reedeemed himself since Brother which seemed lazy and rushed for a Kitano film. Zatoichi is an exellent film nicely paced combining old school samurai film elements with Kitano's own sense of pop-culture, strong characters and of course great bloody swordplay and lots of it. A great film by an even greater director.

My cousin in Italy gave me this movie and a few issues of Dylan Dog when I left there 4 years ago. I just converted it the other day when I realized I still had it. If you've ever seen the comics-Evereret was born to play Dylan Dog.For me the film carried the same tone as Evil Dead 2, which one came first, I forgot to check. What made it a little better for me were the dreamy sequences of the graveyard during the day with those very cool looking trees and how he treid to act like a normal citizen. Very funny espeacially in Italian, some heavy zombie carnage and great camera work give this genre a very good film.

The scene where two bandits are fleeing and are shot by their own, they are hit a split second before the gunshot sound is heard - this is not a mistake. Do you really think Kurosawa would miss that? That scene is done on purpose. So if you see a version where the hit and gunshot are at the same time, its altered. Kurosawa was to much of a perfectionist, please change your claim in

the"goofs" section it's an insult!

Everyone keeps calling this and a few other of Kurosawas films

"westerns." Yes, they do have strong western elements and yes,

Kurosawa was very influenced by John Ford, but for years now

people are calling these great "westerns" - their from the east! Call them "easterns" call them "samurai" films, call them "the

reason you have great action films today." If not for the great Akira

Kurosawa we may not have had Speilberg, Coppala, Lucas.

Leone, Woo, Peckinpah,even Peckinpah had said "I want to make

westerns the way Kurosawa made westerns," and he came close

with the Wild Bunch but no western has the attitude or voice of

Kurosawa.

I like this movie but it shouldn't even be in the top 10 of all time. To put Peter Jackson near the likes of Coppala and Kurosawa is ridiculous. It's like all the LOTR book geeks have outvoted all

of us film geeks to tell us that this is one of the best films made! I laugh at this with madness......

I have commented before on Akira but I want to make some things clear. You CANNOT compare this movie to the computer animated feces that is unfortunately taking over. eg. SHREK, FINAL FANTASY.These movies are synthetic in terms of animation and pure bubblegum fluff in terms of story, which most people seem to love, thus marketable. Akira is hand drawn and although there are some computer effects they act only as an aid to true artwork. When people don't understand something they will stay away and continue in there mainstream way of life;Hence people comparing this to SHREK (what a joke). AKIRA is not what most people call conventional storytelling. In these terrible days of hollywood movies one might think this would be a breath of fresh air. As for the dogs being blasted near the begining of the film; this shows the type of society Neo-Tokyo is with terrorists posing a threat on the city every day. Yes it's brutal and if you understand that , good, your on your way. The people that come on here and compare this to ICE AGE are the same ones walking out of Scorpion King saying "That was great!" There is a story in AKIRA and it does make sense. If you understand the movie and it's social comments and still don't like it I respect your opinion. But to come on here and cut it up and then say "I didn't get it" makes no sense So please stick to your Julia Roberts movies and Oprah Whinfrey viewing and stay away from hardcore storytelling...It's not for you.

THANKS

A boy is experimented upon by the government after an accident that leaves his family dead. Only in anime is this a recurring theme (government using children or adults) for their own purposes. I wonder why this is? Of coarse he escapes and uses these "experiments" to his advantage. There isn't much more to the story except some brutal sci-fi carnage, but in my opinion if you mix sci-fi and violence it should be brutal. There are other characters of coarse but not worth of mention. The diolage is laughable and pure cheese but adds unintentionable comedy to this violent tale. If you like anime and your sci-fi bloody check it out!

The cars in this movie are nice.....but thats all. They have nothing on any of the cars in the movie Ronin. I'm not an old man (24) I'm

probably part of the "target audience" for this movie. I've driven

inside a bad ass Japanese car and it's nice.....but thats all. I've

also driven inside a bad ass Beamer. Comparing the two is like

comparing Britney Spears to Halle Berry ; they both look good but

one is for the little boys and the other, only a man can handle.

Those of you that that really do love car scenes WATCH Ronin. The speed of the cars in that movie is real. The stunt drivers are all

FORMULA 1 car racers. Real driving consists of turning, not just

going straight. Compare just the car scenes : Ronin comes up

with class ; Fast and The Furious sinks with the trash.

If you want to see real cars,(nothing beats Europeon design)real speed, and real filmaking, check out John Frankenhiemers Ronin. The Fast and theFurious has nothing on this movie. Compare the actors, compare the directors, compare the cars, and when you do,the answer should be clear. If you choose The Fast & Furious you know nothing about cars and especially nothing about good filmaking.

I've seen about 7 or 8 zatoichi flicks and both of yojimbos. This is probably the best of zatoichi's films not just because of mifune but the story and craftsmanship of the film as well. The two stars work well together, although the yojimbo character is more p***ed off then the previous two films. I could be wrong but I think we find out who mifune's yojimbo is really working for which would explain why he acts like a scoundrel but in the end serves justice. The movie sports great swordplay and keeps the tradition of both characters

The first time I watched akira i did not like it. I was young(13) and did not understand foreign films as I do now, nor did I recognise anime movies as true film as I do now. I didn't hate the movie either, I just couldn't figure the damn thing out so I rented it again. More things came into light and this time I liked it. I ended up buying the movie and read the comics and loved it. Every time I watch this flick I pick up different messages:the death of mankind trying to play god through technology, friendship, power (definately corrupts) and the abuse of it. Akira is one of those movies that usally leaves one asking what the hell just happend and the only way to draw a conclusion is by watching it multiple times. Even then your conclusion is still what you want it to be and thats the beauty of it. The movie is not for everyone, if you like sci-fi, anime or just love the art of moviemaking like myself give it a shot (o