DVD : 4/5 Rating : Downfall

LINKS :
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Wikipedia
Trailer (apple.com)
Official Website
Blue Dot

IMHO REVIEW :
saw this movie the other day... it was a very hard movie to watch. the movie covers the last few days of Adolf Hitler in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.

i think if you're a huge history buff (especially war buff) + you have a high tolerance for gore you'll like this movie. i for one had a very hard time with it - because the gore (sawing off someone's leg / arm - killing children via poison) was just too much. the realism as well as the casualness of some of these scenes (which i'm only guessing to be what it might be like in a war situation) was just too much.

i turned away many a times hoping the scene would end. but as for the acting and the storytelling it was great. especially the actor who portrayed Hitler. the character starts off being a strong figure and as the movie moves on starts to become this frail defeated shell of a man. the characters around him / the mood and everything starts to errode and turns chaotic.

i would not recommend this movie (even though i think there's some good acting / story / etc...) unless you're a war / history buff. i had a very hard time viewing it due to the content in this movie... and anyone who knows me knows i don't get freaked out too easily.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Throne of Blood

LINKS :
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Wikipedia
Trailer (videodetective.com)
Official Website (The Criterion Collection)
Blue Dot

IMHO REVIEW :
hmm... it has occurred to me that i seem to be on a samurai / japanese kick - it wasn't intentional, it just seems to have worked out that way.

now for the review of throne of blood - this movie is from the Criterion Collection. it's a lovely movie - just not as good as the previous Criterion Collection movies i've seen.

the overall story is interesting (it's based on shakespeare's Macbeth) but for some odd reason it didn't get me super excited. perhaps it was because i knew where the story was headed or perhaps it was because the theme seemed so familiar. it just didn't do it for me - both Rashomon and Hara Kiri were interesting, unique (in the sense it was new to me).

with that stated i think if you've enjoyed Rashomon and Hara Kiri i think you'll enjoy this movie as well - but for me i wanted more. i would recommend this movie, but i think that you'll agree - the plot is pretty self explaintory. after the first 10 min you'll know how it will eventually play out.

DVD : 5/5 Rating : Grave of the Fireflies

LINKS :
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Wikipedia
Trailer (Madman.com)
Website
Blue Dot

IMHO REVIEW :
so a friend of mine asked over the weekend if i could recommend some anime.

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the best anime i've seen to date. it's the only anime that actually made me tear up. it was the first anime which made me see that anime isn't just about big robots, teenage girls in uniforms or any of those other silly things.

the story for this anime is series stuff - it follows two siblings (older brother & younger sister) right after WW II. both their parents have past away during the war and the story continues from that point. it is extremely sad so be-forwarned but it's extremely good as well.

as for the title - Grave of the Fireflies comes from something that is actual. during WW II most of japan was made of wood (houses, stores, etc...) even in the cities so the US would fly over japan dropping hot metal beams - causing the cities to catch on fire. at night when the US would drop these hot metal beams they would look like fireflies - OF DEATH! (sorry, couldn't help it).

again - one of my fav animes - very sad / very good.