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Burakku Majikku M-66 (1987)
Shirow Masamun's version of the Terminator
Black Magic M-66 is an anime based on Masamune Shirows manga of the same name, or to be more precise on the chapter Booby Trap. It was also Shirows first and last time he took a seat in the director's chair, there being so many problems behind the scenes that he refused to have anything to do with the future of the franchise. Luckily he met Mamoru Oshi and the rest is history.
The anime is clearly influenced by James Camerons the Terminator and Aliens. The story is about an seemingly indestructible cyborg on the hunt for some hapless victim. It is a fast paced, short and action packed anime that manages to hold your breath for its complete run of 50 minutes.
The animation is similar to that of Appleseed the ova which was released the following year and which was also based on a Shirow manga. The animation clearly makes it a product of its time, the late eighties early nineties, and are perhaps a notch or two better than that of Appleseed. Nevertheless if you like cyberpunk anime like Appleseed or the first Terminator movie you should give this one a try.
Notice that there are many first in the crew, like Hiroki Hayashi (Bubble Gum Crisis 2040) and Hiroyuki Okiura (Jin-Roh).
Appurushîdo (1988)
Simpel but good cyberpunk anime
Appleseed is an anime based on Masamune Shirows manga of the same name before he became famous with Ghost in the Shell in the mid nineties. Being released just before Akira it got unfavorably compared with the latter and could never hope to reach the bar that was set so high by Katsuhiro Otomo's creation.
This is in fact the first installment of the Appleseed franchise although there is a gap of 16 years between this OVA and the 2004 movie.
Although this 1 hour OVA never covers the entire manga, in terms of plot and story it still does a good job albeit the story being kept rather simple. Nevertheless the philosophical and political tropes of Shirow are well dealt with albeit not so deep as in Ghost in the Shell or in the two later Appleseed-installments.
Animation-wise it is clearly a product of an era before Akira gave anime that huge boost.
If you like cyberpunk anime from the 1980s and early nineties and if you enjoyed Shirows earlier work from the same era, like Black Magic M-66 (1987) or Dominion Tank Police (1988), then you will surely like Appleseed the OVA.
Long men kezhan (1967)
Classic Chinese Swords Movie
There are some movies that stick by you over the years and this Chinese swords movie from the middle sixties is one of them.
King Hu's Dragon Gate Inn has all the ingredients in it to make this movie a classic. Not only does it have good swords fights and combines these with an excellent story and plot but on a more subtle level the background music adds a really good atmosphere to it that draws you even more into the movie and story.
I can recommend this movie for anyone who is interested in Chinese film in general and anyone who is interested in Chinese swords movies with a good story and plot.
10 out of 10 points from me.
Shao Lin mu ren xiang (1976)
Early Jackie Chan
This is a very interesting Jackie Chan film. It has the usual revenge cliché's but already you can see several elements that would become common place in his later movies.
Two scenes stand out in this movie: the opening scene with the fighting monks and the final fight scene where 'Dummy' confronts the killer of his father.
The scenes with the Buddhist non are for some reason quite touching.
This film is a must for die-hard Jackie Chan fans but if you are an occasional Jackie Chan viewer you might be put-off because this early movie is much darker in tone than his later movies (e.g. Project A) and thus has none of the humor that characterizes his later movies so much.
Sono otoko, kyôbô ni tsuki (1989)
A nihilistic film with nihilistic protagonists
Sono otoko, kyoubou ni tsuki or Violent Cop is a nihilist film with a nihilistic protagonist and a equally nihilistic antagonist. Violent Cop is a cumulation of yakuza films since the 1960s. It is also the first Kitano film years before he became a well known international star.
As said above this film has no moral or message to tell. It simply shows the violence as it is, there is no justification of the violence whatsoever given in this movie. It simply is there.
It does show however that the System always continues to function even if nihilistic violence tries to upset it, it is just a brief diversion from daily affairs. This is seen profoundly at the very end of the film: the diversion is over, lets do business as usual.
The two antagonists have much in common with each other. Both of them are loners operating on the fringe of their respective organizations, and often take matters in their own hands, and both of them are ousted by their organizations.
If you are a fan of violent films that do not seek to give a justification for the violence portrayed then this film is for you.
For Kitano fans this film is obligatory.
Hotaru no haka (2005)
A great series
This made for TV mini series is a different adaption from the same novel of which the by far more famous anime was made. This is Japanese 'hoamu doruama' (home drama). Fans of that should know what to expect when seeing this.
This series not only shows the suffering of both children in a very vivid way but also shows the perspective of the aunt. It clearly shows what difficult (immoral)decisions people have to make during war-time.
You should ask to yourself if you would make a hard decision like Seita and his aunt have to make. This series thankfully doesn't judge the aunt as immoral, she is simply a mother who has to take care of her own children.
It shows what war can do to people, in this case both to Seita and his aunt.
This series also depicts the hollowness of war-time slogans and how misleading they can be.
The acting is super be, all the cast give their best performance but especially Sasaki's performance is marvellous and touching. It can only be hoped that we will see more of her in the future.
I can recommend this series even if you have already seen the anime.