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Month: August 2009

Manga Review: Ponyo, Volume One

"She's not just a gold fish, she's Ponyo."

Ponyo Volume One, covers the first quarter of the long awaited movie from Hayao Miyazaki.

Highlights

In the dark depth of the ocean, the seeds of new life are being dripped form the bottles of life-giving elixirs.  A new Jellyfish is being born from each drop of the elixir.  Fujimoto is the man responsible for distributing the elixir, and while he's doing that, his daughter, Burnhilde, is sneaking out of their home (a submarine).  Burnhilde hides herself on a jellyfish and drifts up to the surface.  

Book Review: The Art of Ponyo, A Film by Hayao Miyazaki

 

 

With the release of the newest Miyazaki animated feature film, Ponyo, Viz has released The Art of Ponyo book. Being a huge fan of the art and genius of Hayao Miyazaki it is very easy to pick this hefty book up. For those who are not familiar with his work and enjoy the insight provided through books, you will find this one a real delight.

Highlights

Anime Blu-ray Review: Full Metal Panic, The Second Raid

 


 

The beloved story of a boy, two girls and the Mecha that the boy uses to destroy the bad guys. Yep, that is right. I know that all you Anime Fans are familiar with Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, but for all of those who are not it is a story you should get to know. There are many reasons why Full Metal Panic or FMP has such a large fan base that the act of bringing it out on Blu-ray was only natural and exciting to see.

Highlights
Sousuke is the tormented young man who more often than not is consumed by his dedication to the mission. He has been given a great opportunity but sees it as a burden and does not want it. The opportunity is that he is the pilot of a Mecha called an Armed Slave with leading Black Op technology. For some reason it only works when it wants, not when he wants it too.

DVD Review: I Love You, Man

 


 

The term 'bromance' has become steadily more accepted in pop culture thanks to favored heterosexual mates for life like Joey and Chandler from Friends, Silent Bob and Jay from Kevin Smith movies, and then Judd Apatow's stream of buddy flicks. Bromance is about the love between two straight men who are extremely close to one another, almost to the point of parodying an actual romance. In April the newest bromance comedy was released starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, titled aptly I Love You, Man. Hilarious and full of heart, the film did very well in the theaters with a generally high review rate from critics. It is now out on DVD and Blu-ray, so it's time to cue your Rush music on your iPod and slappah de bass!

DVD Review: Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Second Season

The box has a clear outside sleave with only Bret and Jemaine on it, so you can put it on any DVD to create the illusion of New Zealanders flying over the content.


Flight of the Conchords
is one of those shows that, though many of your friends may be into it as well, still feels like it’s “your show”. The series is based around New Zealand’s comedy-folk-hip-hop duo, Flight of the Conchords, and their struggles to make it big (or play a paying gig) in New York. What sets Flight of the Conchords apart from other comedy TV shows is the plot-relevant music videos seamlessly intertwined into the story of each episode.

Blu-ray Review: The Last Starfighter

Back in the day (Read: the 70's and the 80's), Disney went on a huge Sci-Fi movie kick creating some of the most loved Sci-Fi cult classics such as TRON, The Black Hole, Flight of the Navigator, Escape to Witch Mountain, and others using their then state of the art, top of the industry know how of special effects wizardry. The results of which stuck in peoples minds to this day. Recently, Disney has been reviving these said classics in several different ways, TRON is finally getting a full blockbuster movie sequel as well as a Witch Mountain remake with Dwane "The Rock" Johnson along with rereleasing their older counterparts in order to gain interest in these new remakes. Enter the 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray release of The Last Starfighter.

Reviews

DVD Review: Wolverine and the X-Men Volume 2: Deadly Enemies

Wolverine and the X-Men are back for more adventures in Volume 2: Deadly Enemies, now available on DVD. This set includes 5 episodes from Season 1. Following the events of the Heroes Return Trilogy (Volume 1), Wolverine has been slowly trying to get the band back together and trying to find ways to stop the dystopian future that Professor Xavier has warned them about.

Episodes:

Overflow
Professor Xavier contacts Wolverine from the future and warns that Africa will soon be destroyed. Wolverine travels to Africa only to find that Storm has been possessed by the Shadow King! Can he stop his former teammate before she destroys her own country?

Anime Blu-ray Review: Origin: Spirits of the Past

 


 

Another Anime favorite has been offered up to the "Blu-ray" technicians. In this case, they have once again added a new dimension to the already respected anime offering.

Highlights
The never ending struggle between Man and Nature is explored in this beloved tale. In 2006 the creators at Gonzo served up this post apocalyptic story of the future where Scientists created a strain of plant genetics that have a full conscience and is able to affect the human genetic structure too. The world is split into two factions, one is Nature and the other is the Waring Mechanical Humans, in the middle is Neutral City. One day a young lady awakes who had been asleep for 300 years and just so happens to hold the key that would free Humans from the new Super Power, The Forest.

DVD Review: Transformers – The Complete Series


"Me Grimlock say you full of cesium salami."

I grew up on Transformers and I have such fond memories of watching the show every morning before going to school. I just loved the idea of transforming robots (a reason that I also eventually loved the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Series as well.) Listening to Peter Cullen's deep voice coming out of Optimus Prime is one of those things that you just can't forget. Optimus was the total personification of good, while Megatron was all that was evil in the universe…it was as simple as that.