The Cat Returns

I want a kitten.
Let me start off this review by saying the movie itself is a five star treat. I rented, after being on a Miyazaki and Ghibli streak, wanting to see all this Japanese studio had to offer. This one blew me away. It made me renew my love for cats, and I know this is one that my best friend, a feline fanatic himself, will probably be proudly displaying next to his What's Michael? japanese comics. Something the collective asian conscience gives them an affinity for cats, and it helps this movie shine. Anyone who has kids or cat lovers will enjoy this tale, but some may be a little lost. There was a movie before this one called Whisper of The Heart, not translated into english, but it isn't the same storyline, just the same characters, so you wont be missing any info, just dealing with a huge plot. Its worth investing in though.

WARNING!: Long Plot Ahead! (You should probably just skip to the end and then watch the movie, but it's here for the confused)

School girl...

A surprising choice . . .
I am not doing this review based on the Disney release, but on the original Japanese release. This charming little story is a product of Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, but it is directed by Miyazaki's associate, Hiroyuki Morita. It is actually a sequel to the excellent and equally charming Whisper of the Heart, another beautiful though very low-key Ghibli product. The strange thing is that Whisper of the Heart has never been released in the U.S.; releasing the sequel before the original is a bit odd.

That being said, a wealth of details about the films (and everything from Studio Ghibli) can be found on the tremendously informative nausicaa.net Web site. Since this film is being released with Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and Porco Rosso on February 22, it can only be hoped that it will ride somewhat on the coattails of the two better-known Miyazaki works and will have decent sales. It's an excellent family film and is a refreshing change (like all of Ghibli's works)...

Okay but mixed
Fans of Miyazaki-san and Studio Ghibli will appreciate this release, even though, once again, the Guardians of American Culture at Disney have tinkered with the dialog and plot line to suit their agenda. The release seems ham-handed and rushed.

Quite annoying and unforgivable is the use of so-called "dubtitles" to accompany the Japanese dialog. Thus we get the altered meanings, extra conversational clutter and hip dialog revisions of the English dub, instead of a literal translation of the Japanese script. Why no true subtitles? Probably a budgetary/profit margin decision.

Anyway, it's not too bad, even though, as other reviewers have noted, the release to the N. American market suffers from lack of antecedent -- just who is The Cat, and why should we be excited at his return? Return from where, exactly?

2012 update: okay, I see now that The Cat's Repayment is a more accurate translation of the Japanese original title, which reaffirms anyway that the...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Step Up 2 The Streets

Motivation? If you don't need motivation, you don't need plot. It's about dance!
The fellow below me is, in all aspects, correct. If what you look for in a dance movie is to be highly distracted by a shabby plot. Me, I loved Step Up 2 for this very reason...

Most dance movies aim too high: they want killer dance scenes -with- an excellent plot. What do most wind up with? Trite, familiar plots they still try to execute even though we've seen them before (so we know well enough to follow along) while still delivering a sliver or two of dance sequences... but nowhere near the amount the usual viewer wants to see.

Now, Step Up 2 says a big "yeah right" to that entire idea.

There is next to NO plot. Yeah, it's there, barely. Enough to pretend that it's not one long music video. But, it really IS like one long music video--and that's wicked awesome. The dance scenes are long and intricate, the music is great, and it delivers on everything I want to see in a dance movie: less talking and more dancing.

So if you're into these...

Dazzling
Everything about this film FAR exceeds the first in the series. First of all, the actors are way more talented, in both their dancing and acting skills. Where Channig Tatum was practically robotic in the original, Rob Hoffman is charming and funny. Brianna also adds a good element, because where Nora was the goody two shoes, Brianna's more tough, and fights for what she wants. And the dance sequences will absolutely blow you away. Rather than looking overly rehearsed, the moves come across as smooth and amazing. The plot as a whole seems to be less cliche-y as well.

I think that this is a movie that anyone can enjoy, but it seems that people are split on which is better. Some think the first is better, while others prefer this newer, more hip version. Either way, this movie is DEFINITELY worth checking out!

Terrific
This movie was definitely better than the first one. The dancing, acting, and plot line were all much more interesting and convincing. I liked how they tied it into the first film while introducing a completely new cast. I saw this movie three times in the theater and cannot wait for it to come out on DVD!

Click to Editorial Reviews

Lost - The Complete Third Season

After a shaky beginning, Season Three rebounds marvelously for a very strong finish
Warning! Major spoiler alert!

I believe that Season Three of LOST is one of those seasons of a show that will have a significant impact on the dynamics of television quite apart from the merits or demerits of the season itself. This is mainly due to various tensions the networks have had in broadcasting serial dramas. Season Two of LOST provoked vast viewer anger over the seemingly endless repeats. All season long they would give us four or five new episodes, only to do three or four repeats. No one knew sometimes if they would be tuning into a repeat or a new episode. To counter this, ABC made the decision to broadcast six episodes in the fall to be followed by sixteen episodes shown without interruption beginning in January. Unfortunately, the six episodes they showed in the fall were almost universally perceived as the weakest group of episodes in the show's run. The results of all this I think will be threefold:

1. In the future, I think the trend...

Definitely a great show
(This review is being entered after watching until episode 18 out of 23)

The third season of Lost introduces brand new amazing characters and great surprising flashbacks. Previous story lines are covered with exciting revelations and the entwining series of events leads to new astonishing connections eventually raising new questions to other mysteries. Some readers will find themselves sympathetic with whom they thought were bad people, while others will reconsider their opinion about some original character. Episodes of the 3rd season delight us with a new locations, new vehicles and new super-powers leading to an incredible number of twists and turns completely unprectitable.

Below is the episode-centric list

01 - A Tale of Two Cities (Jack)

02 - Further Instructions (John)

03 - The Glass Ballerina (Sun)

04 - Every Man for Himself (Sawyer)

05 - The Cost of Living (Eko)

06 - I Do (Kate)...

Finally! The Greatest Show In HD !
With a show like Lost where there are so many vivid colors and beautiful beaches (not to mention women) it needs to be in high-def to fully appreciate it! Thank you disney for stepping up and releasing it on Blu-ray, I just pre-ordered it. I had the enjoyment of watching season 3 of Lost in HD and let me tell you it rocked my socks! sadly I don't own a tivo so I only got to watch it once when it aired on HD. I'm looking forward to finding out what exclusives with be on the Blu-ray version because I read they are putting extra things that won't be on the DVD version. And of course I am drooling at the thought of season 1 and 2 on Blu-ray in the near future! but for now December 11th can't come soon enough!

Click to Editorial Reviews