Blu-ray & DVD Review: Rome: The Complete Series
There are some work collaborations that just sound like genius from the get go, and HBO pairing with BBC to create a dramatic historical rendition of Ancient Rome was one of them. The show Rome caused history buffs to drool, literature snobs to squeal, and everyone else to think 'lots of sex, nudity, violence, and an epic bromance. We're so in.' Unfortunately after two seasons it was cancelled due to the costs of keeping such a vibrant and accurate series alive. Now Rome: The Complete Series is out for Blu-ray and DVD, and this is your best chance of seeing this spectacular series from beginning to end for a reasonable price.
Book Review: Battle Royale
In 1999, Koushun Takami gave this world the novel Battle Royale. The story was dark, controversial, and could be interpreted in many different ways. Taking place in an alternate history of Japan, or as it is known here the Republic of Greater East Asia, the book told the story of a class of students who have been chosen to participate in the Program. Mainly focusing on male student #15 and self proclaimed rock star, Shuya Nanahara, as he attempts to find away to escape The Program.
Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 21
Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 21
President Bradley is the target for an assassination plot. The State Alchemist and the Orders have all been decided, rebels against the Government. Ed and Al have been separated, but are reunited by unpleasant means.
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Manga Review: Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka volume 6
Naoki Urasawa takes on the beloved icon Astro Boy in the new 8 volume set Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka. He explores an arch that dealt with Robot programing, why create an ultimate robot, and then limit its abilities with Human limitation and protective limitations or protocols. Pluto is presented as a detective murder mystery and spends the majority of the series following a Europol Detective, Gesicht, who also happen to be considered the most advanced robot alive.
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DVD Review: Evangelion 1.01: You Are (Not) Alone
Evangelion 1.01: You Are (Not) Alone
Episodes 1-6 banded together to make a theatrical version, with remastered work using new ways of expression. Evangelion is planned to be released in four parts, with this 1.01 being the first installment. 14-year-old Shinji has been chosen to pilot the synthetic humanoid Evangelion Unit-01. His dad is the one in charge of NERV, but doesn't show much emotion to the fact that his son has a great chance of getting killed while piloting.
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Manga Review: GoGo Monster
GoGo Monster
"There's a face in the water drop…"
Yuki Tachibana is in the first grade. He doesn't have many friends, only the gardener and one of the "Others," who Yuki calls Super Star. A new Transfer student named Makoto Suzuki becomes the only student in Yuki's class that actually talks to him, and eventually gets into his mind and brings him to reality.
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Supernatural In Review: The Road So Far…
The Road So Far…
"Changing Channels" had so much potential, yet failed to meet it. First of all, the actor who played the Trickster got lied to… that hair dye is not doing him any favors. Secondly, the jokes were a bit predictable. The soap opera in particular was extremely overdone. "Dr. Sexy?" I mean seriously. Everyone, including soap fans themselves, can appreciate soap opera jokes, but that was a bit over the top. In the end we got a mediocre attempt to be funny with some weak foreshadowing tacked onto the end.
DVD Review: Zorro- The Complete First and Second Seasons
In 2001, to honor Walt Disney's 100th birthday, the studio teamed up with film critic/historian Leonard Maltin to release a series of "Treasures" of early works culled from their extensive archives. Each subject gets a deluxe DVD set in a fancy tin case, with little collectibles and a numbered certificate of authenticity. Each set is introduced by Maltin who explains a little of the history and context of the presentation, and includes a disc of extras relating to the "making of" and background info. Three or four titles get the treatment on a roughly annual basis, and now they have worked their way up to Zorro- The Complete First and Second Seasons.
Anime Blu-ray Review: WitchBlade, The Complete Series
West meets East, and tide has begun to turn, or has it? WitchBlade is a well-franchised American comic that made it's way across the Pacific to find a new life by the hands of the artists at Gonzo Studio. In this version, the heroine is a kinder, gentler woman who is all about being a hapless mother, but still the all encompassing Mother figure. The story of a woman cursed with the ultimate power, a young daughter with a mysterious past, and some powerful entities after the WitchBlade itself.
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Manga Review: Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit, Vol. 3
Ikigami The Ultimate Limit
The "National Welfare Act" was designed to inspire the citizens of Japan to respect the value of life. Every year, the first-graders of Japan get an immunization shot, with one in every one thousand containing a nano-capsule that is programed to follow the blood stream into the pulmonary artery. The nano-capsule will rest there until the predetermined time and date (usually between 18 to 24 years of the persons life), when the capsule will rupture, killing the individual.
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DVD Review: The Answer Man
There are all sorts of films that come out of the Sundance Film Festival, and while some of them are celebrated and adored, some of them fall straight into obscurity. The Answer Man is in the second cateogry, since it did not make a huge splash in theaters when it was released in July, and even now DVD lovers might scratch their heads and go 'when was this movie out?' This sweet and sour romantic comedy stars Lauren Graham, Jeff Daniels, and Lou Taylor Pucci, with nice side appearances by Kat Dennings, Tony Hale, and Olivia Thirlby. It's about the man that everyone believes has all the answers, and how, in fact, he has none at all.