Sekiro: No Defeat (2026) Fantasia 2026

SEKIRO NO DEFEAT made my jaw drop and my eyes go wide. A true cinematic piece of art this is one of the greatest works of animated art from the last 25 years that I’ve run across. The images are stunning and this should be running continuously in a fine art museum.(The image of Wolf's father's face near the end is one of the greatest pieces of character animation I have ever seen)

And it’s a film that kicks your ass emotionally.

Set in a Japan of warring nations the film follows a young noble man, who has had everything taken from him with the exception of one shinobi, a man named Wolf. Wolf has sworn an oath to protect the young man. As a result of the noble’s possessing dragon blood neither can die. It is a power that other warring factions want and the reason they are trying to capture the boy. It is a violent tale of honor and loyalty and what it means to be alive and human.

I love this film,

I love it so much I don’t know where to begin.

The artwork and the pacing and the editing are a mix of styles that leans heavily on classic art, theater and music. There are silences and pauses until there is an explosion of action and violence. Everyone is trying to live according to their code. It is a deeply philosophical film.

The film is beautiful.

I adore that the images go from stills to regular animation, to painting to 3D amination back to 2D one to something else. Director Kenichi Kutsuna​cc does what ever is needed to make each and every moment pitch perfect. I don’t know if it was intended to be like this or a result of budgetary issues, but it doesn’t matter since every choice is perfect. This is a work of cinematic story telling, period full stop. It is not just an animated film but something higher, like the work of the great live action directors, Akira Kurasowa being the most obvious one.

I spent much of the film talking to no one about what a glorious achievement this is. Yes, I have seen films that have mixed styles but way too few actually manage to meld it all together in one. Even the pacing which can seem painfully slow at times is actually dead nuts on  point because when the conclusion comes and suddenly everything happens quicker, the pacing seems even more rapid fire and frenetic.

This is cinema at the highest level.

One of the truly great films of 2026- and one of the greatest works of animation that I’ve seen.

The Keeper of the Camphor Tree (2026) Tribeca 2026

A toung man is gotten out of trouble by his estranged aunt who want him to become the keeper of the shrine of the camphor tree. The tree has magical properties and can make wishes come true.

That isn't wholly true, but the tree has special powers....

Based on a novel, this cinematic tale feels like they got all of the plot on screen but left out the internal monologs and shadings. While there is enough here to follow the plot all of the details that make us connect with the characters is gone. For the most part there is no depth to anyone on screen. Yes we know who they are but we don't feel for them. By the half way point I felt like I had missed two chapters of explanation.

While not bad, the  film is good enough that you realize that with a better script this would have been a great film. 

Jinsei (2025)

This is the arc of a life over 100 years. From being an outcast in school as a child, to meeting a friend, becoming an idol, to death and beyond.

This is a hell of a film. Less a conventional cinematic narrative, this plays like an inde comic book come to life. Scenes are very structured like on a comic page. There is limited motion (which is understanbdable sinc writer director Ryuya Suzuki did this all on his own). There are silences where the image is supposed to convey the information.There are silences. Words are at a minimum. 

This is absolutely a one of kind work of art. It is a film that many people are going to fall head over heels in love with. It is also a film that a lot more people are not going to get. I understand that this is not a conventional film, nor is it a conventional animated film. The style requires that the audience work with the director. We have to fill in gaps. It doesn't move like the wind. If you can go with that you will love this.

If you want an off the beaten path film, one that isn't Hollywood and one of a kind, try JINSEI (Life) when it plays near you.

CHAO (2025) opens this week

Set in a future Shanghi a reporter tries to find out how the merpeople and humans came together and ends up learning the story of human Stephan and the mer-princes Chao, who met him and declared that she was going to marry him.

Studio 4 C is back with a visually amazing film. It's a film that will make you want to stop the film just so you can look at everything happening in the frame.  I was blown away. It's so amazing that I can't wait to see it again when I can watch it and stop the film periodically to see what is happening in the frame.

As good as the visuals are the problem is the narrative and the story telling are allover the place. As loud as the visuals are some of the sequences are. Bits of the story seem to be missing or overwhelmed by a side bit. This is a problem for Studio 4 C. while they make some of the best visual films, their narratives  and feel scattered if they don't have a director who can hold the reins tightly.

I like this but I didn't love this the way I should have.

Reservations aside the visuals will blow you away and any chance you can get to see this big must be taken.

WHOEVER STEALS THIS BOOK (2025) NYICFF 2026

Based on a novel WHOEVER STEALS THIS BOOK needs to be expanded beyond the 85 minutes here.  The film is the story of a family who guards a cursed library that requires the caretaker to hunt down the thief in a world refashioned in the style of the stolen book. However, there is a great deal more going on…

Told in a breezy style that shifts genres, WHOEVER… is one hell of a tale. It’s a film that take a while to get a handle on, but once you are into the world it’s a wonderfully suspenseful tale as we jump styles as different books are stolen.

The trouble is that because the film is so short, this could use another 30 to 40 minutes, details are only supplied late in the game when its too late for them to affect how we feel about the outcome or for them to make us realize just how complex the story really is. For example Mifuyu’s past is not fully filled in nor are we told facts about her family such as her father is a writer. In the end we are told everything but its done in such a way that everything feels like  bad murder mystery where all the real clues are found to have been with held until the final moments.

Don’t get me wrong, WHOEVER is a good movie and worth seeing, but it would have been a great one if they had found a way to include the clues earlier.

Worth seeing at NYICFF

Chimney Town : Frozen in Time (2026) Berlin 2026

Fluff and Lubicchi

Before I start really talking about the film itself, I want to say that while you do not need to see POUPELLE OF CHIMNEY TOWN in order to enjoy this sequel, doing so will make this sequel hit harder. The film gives us the back story of Lubicchi and it informs his mental state. While you will get enough to understand and you will feel some emotion, you will get kicked in the heart by what happens if you see the first film.

In this film Lubicchi is still mourning the loss of his friend Poupllellle (a robot of sorts made of garbage).Despite his efforts to bring him back, nothing has worked. When a mouse steals Poupelle's braclet bracelet, Lubicchi gives chase. He ends up falling into a fountain and ends up another world where the clocks of everyone’s lives are maintained. While the world deals with clocks, the clock that runs that world has stopped. Lubicchi is tasked with getting the clock restarted, something he must do if he wants to get home. Teamed with a surly cat he names Fluff, he sets out to find a way to restart the great clock.

CHIMNEY TOWN FROZEN IN TIME does everything that a great sequel should do. It expands the world and the characters of the first film, while marking out its own territory. This film expands our understanding by giving us one the great romances I’ve ever seen the one between Gus and Nagi. It doesn’t quite seem that way at first, but once the film finishes ordering all its ducks we find everything is so much greater. It’s a staggering achievement that film series rarely, if ever do, build a stronger series by giving us great new characters.

This film moved me to some where beyond tears. I felt deeply for all the characters all through the film and I was openly crying at the beauty of the images, the construction of the story and most importantly by the arc of the characters. These are real people doing real things, namely dealing with love and loss. It’s a magnificent examination of how we mourn the loss of those we love.  Its an examination the likes of which I’ve never seen in cinema before.

I was truly rocked.

I want to talk about everything here but I’m going to keep it down to just  a couple of things.

CHIMNEY TOWN‘s worlds are glorious. They are drawn in styule that frequently makes them look like they were created using pen and ink.While the various places and characters may look familiar there is something unique to them There is a real world heft to them. The characters are perfectly rendered. They are not animated characters but ones that mirror our friends and families.

The score is magnificent. It’s one of the best ones I’ve heard in years. And  the song that Nagi sings and haunts much of the film is simply the best film song that I’ve run across in at least a decade.

This film is just perfect or as close to it as to make nit picking moot. It is the height of what animation can do to the human soul.

One of the best films of 2026, CHIMNEY TOWN:FROZEN IN TIME is going to live in my heart forever.

SCARLET (2025) NYFF 2025

SCARLET is Mamoru Hosoda’s riff on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. While it is a starting point with echoes, it takes it into its own universe.

The film is the story of princess Scarlet (Hamlet) whose father is killed by her uncle.  Before she can kill him she is poisoned and sent to a kind of purgatory world that she has to cross to get to the infinite land. However, her uncle has also died, and he is entrenched in a castle guarding the path to the infinite land.

Visually arresting, SCARLET is a film you will want to see on a big screen. Images, such as the giant godlike dragon who floats over the world will blow your mind. This film as some of the most incredible images you will see all year.

Narratively the film is all over the place. Some sections work to the point that you will be reduced to tears, and others are simply intellectually interesting. Characters are unevenly drawn, with some of the uncle’s henchmen seemingly to be little more than a sketch despite having important roles. The rules of the after life also seem thrown together (the timeless nature for example)  for no really good reason except it allows certain things to happen. While never fatal, the film simply isn’t as narratively strong as any of Hosoda’s other films, despite having moments that are among the best things he’s ever done, which means they are high points in cinema history.

While Scarlet is imperfect, it is still a deeply moving film. While a doubt it might get an Oscar I do think it is a must see. This is a film that is going to influence a generation of filmmakers and story tellers.

Chao (2025) Fantasia 2025 Japan Cuts 2025

Set in a future Shanghi a reporter tries to find out how the merpeople and humans came together and ends up learning the story of human Stephan and the mer-princes Chao, who met him and declared that she was going to marry him.

Studio 4 C is back with a visually amazing film. It's a film that will make you want to stop the film just so you can look at everything happening in the frame.  I was blown away. It's so amazing that I can't wait to see it again when I can watch it and stop the film periodically to see what is happening in the frame.

As good as the visuals are the problem is the narrative and the story telling are allover the place. As loud as the visuals are some of the sequences are. Bits of the story seem to be missing or overwhelmed by a side bit. This is a problem for Studio 4 C. while they make some of the best visual films, their narratives  and feel scattered if they don't have a director who can hold the reins tightly.

I like this but I didn't love this the way I should have.

Reservations aside the visuals will blow you away and any chance you can get to see this big must be taken.

Brief thoughts on Nyaight of the Living Cat (2025) Fantasia 2025

Takashi Miike exectutive produces this manga adaption about world where cats are infected with a virus that turns people into cats if they com into contact with them. 

I'm not going to say a lot about this series owing to the fact that its available on Crunchy Roll. Word is already leaking out and it doesn't need my selling it.

This is a wonderful little series that turns the whole zombie apocalypse genre on it's head. It perfectly sends up the tropes while paying them reverenace. I had a blast.

For those who are wondering about Miike's involement, itn actually makes perfect sense. Miike has always bent genres in whatever direction he needs to tell a good story and the send up/homage nature of this seies makes sense.

This series is going to be a delight for horror film fans in addition to anime fans. 

Recommended.

Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window (2024) NYICFF 2025

The film begins  before after the start of Japanese war with America, the film follows you Toot-chan as she bounces from school to school. She bounces because her bubbly personality gets her into trouble with teachers. Eventually settling into a school where some classes are held in train car Totto-chan begins to  thrive. The film follows her life from 1940 until her family flees the city because of American bombing.

This is in episodic tale that follows as the young girl builds a a group of friends and changes the lives of everyone she comes in contact with. This is especially true of  one introverted boy with polio who only wanted to read. Totto gets him into the swimming pool and to climb up trees, places he never thought he could go.

This is a wonderful film with a dark undercurrent, it's a film about the joys of being a kid even though adult danger is just out of the frame. This makes it a film with some odd shifts in tone. It helps that this is from the point of view of a first grader so she is shielded from a lot and the film doesn’t need to explain. 

If the film has any flaws it comes in the handling of some of the darker bits. The death of one character is foreshadowed right at the start, and the integration of the war images are not as well integrated as the might have been. They are excellently done but their placement into the film feel less than natural. The use of Uncle Tom’s Cabin feels less than natural, especially since Totto-chan and her family can’t use American terms lest they be suspected of being spies.

Ultimately these are minor quibble since the film largely soars and ends up being great times with great characters.

Highly recommended

KIZUMONOGATARI -KOYOMI VAMP-(2024) Fantasia 2024

KIZUMONOGATARI -KOYOMI VAMP is a prequel to the series MONOGATARI containing three early stories for the characters that were cut together from three unavailable in North America feature films.

This is more a pointer than a review. The problem is that while very often prequel stories are good starting places for a film or series, this one doesn’t function all that well. There is an assumption that you know the characters and their world and if you don’t you are going to feel lost. I did.

While I liked the visuals, not connecting to the characters and the world made this a very long two and half hours.

Recommended for fans only.

Look Back (2024) Japan Cuts

Two young women meet in school and bond over a love of drawing comics. Over the course of the film we watch as the pair are shaped by their relationship and their art.

Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator Chainsaw Man goes in another direction in a story about friendship, creation, finding someone who shares your passion, and how our lives go in unexpected ways. It is also a wicked exploration of what if we don't do what we love.

In one way or another this is my life. I lived almost every god damned moment of this film. From being king, to finding out you may not be, to giving up what you love, to returning to it, to finding people you can create with and then having life intervene. I lived some form of this, and I sobbed ugly repeatedly a I connected to the tale of the need to create at all costs played out. For  me this wasn't a drama but a waking memory

This is the cinematic version of the the song from A Chorus Line, What I Did For Love. The song is not about romance with another person, but the love of the things we do, and what happens when we can't do it any more. (It's sung after an injury has a dancer leave after a probable career ending injury occurs). This film is a look at what we all do so we can do the thing we love.

I have no words. I suspect that if you create, especially if you do it with friends you too will have no words - other than to express how the film will make you feel seen. 

As a straight forward film it's a very good film. Yes, the narrative is bumpy with some links missing, but at the same time, it's not the literal narrative that's important. It's the emotional journey. Its that journey that will kick your ass to the curb.

This was an unexpected treasure. It is a film I will forever hold tightly to and press closely to my heart.

LOOK BACK is currently sold out at Japan Cuts. Keep checking the website to see if they release more tickets because you need to see this.

Magic Candies/ Klutzy Witch Double Feature at NYICFF 2024

MAGIC CANDIES
World premiering at NYICFF this short film from TOEI Animation is based up upon Heena Baek‘s picture book, The film tells the story of a young lonely boy who loves marbles. Buying a cool bag of them he finds they are actually candy, magic candy. Each candy will give him the ability to speak to or hear something hidden. First his couch talks to him, then his dog… and then… well that would be telling.

Photo realistic backgrounds are mixed with a stylized animation in a little film that may have you tearing up. This is a lovely tale that reals the connections we have to each other, even if they aren’t readily apparent.  I smiled and laughed… and teared up.

The screening was attended by a lot of people connected to the film including director Daisuke Nishio and author Heena Baek who wrote the book.  The Q&A was a joyous event and the kids asked some good questions (see it here - though I bounced my camera, again, so it's better as radio).

They also brought along a lot of goodies, bags, paper hats and other things for the kids. They even had  cut outs that the kids could use to enhance photos of themselves on the red carpet.

It was, as most NYICFF special events are, truly special

KLUTZY WITCH
Hour long tale of the daughter of a white witch who is a bit of a klutz. She ends up a pawn in the plans of a banished dark witch who wants to escape her imprisonment and get revenge on those who locked her away.

This is an hour long short feature should have been turned into a series. While the film covers a lot of familiar territory (no doubt the result of it’s short length) there is enough here that it’s clear this could have been expanded. While what here is really good, I would have loved to see more with all of the characters. Back stories are hinted at that would make for fantastic little films/episodes.  That is not a knock at the film, rather an explanation that this film is so rich material you’ll want to revisit.

If there is any real flaw it’s that the short run time causes a bit of friction in the telling between the klutziness of the early part of our heroines tale and the serious of the second.  Things don’t blend as well as they would have in a longer telling.

Regardless this was a delight and I would happily line up for a sequel.

The Concierge (2023) (aka The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store ) NYICFF 2024

 

A young woman takes a job working as a concierge at department store that serves animals. 

Episodic tale feels more like the manga that it  is sourced from. It feels like three episodes of a TV show more than a feature film. The first is her first day of work, the second is her involvement in several stories of romance and the final is a number of Christmas stories.

This is a wildly uneven and very messy film that wanders all over the place. At  times it feels like it is juggling way to much. There are so many idea in this film, from the basic tale of finding your place in the world to serious pondering of how humanity is destroying environment and killing off species.  It was such a mess that I thought I was going to write a review trashing the film. However by the time the film ended the film had pulled it all together and I was getting misty. 

What a joy. Sure it's messy, but it's a joy.

Recommended

Suzume (2023)

SUZUME tells the story of a 17 year old girl who ends up on a quest to lock the doors between dimensions so that a giant worm can’t escape and destroy the world.

SUZUME is a very good film. It’s a grand romantic adventure that pulls us in and drags us along. It has arresting visuals, magnificent set pieces and a score I need to run down and add to my collection. It’s a film that looks spectacular especially on a big screen where the sound and image will make you audibly gasp.

And as good as the film is, it’s kind of disappointing. I say this as an earlier adopter of director Makoto Shinkai, whose films VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR and 5 CENTMETERS PERS SECOND are among the greatest films ever made. (They are and this is absolutely not open for discussion), The problem is that Shinkai’s films have gone from glorious masterpieces  to variations on a theme, namely a young girl at the center of some mystical experience that puts her in contact with a cute guy. His last three films, SUZUME, WEATHERING WITH YOU and YOUR NAME kind of the same story with different details. Even his GARDEN OF WORDS is related. His story telling has become derivative with Shinkai lifting bits from other films, which is odd because his first few films were nothing if not brilliant original.  As much as I enjoy Shinkai’s films, and I do, I just wish he would get back to making a film where I haven’t felt I’ve seen the tale before. Basically I want a story as magical as the visually we get every time out of the box.

Does the repetition mean that SUZUME is bad? No, it’s not. It just means that when you see it it may seem familiar, though you may not care. The fact it is one of the highest grossing animated films of all time suggests that other people don’t care either. It’s good enough that the film is in some talk for an Oscar nomination this year (Shinkai’s films are always in the Oscar talk)

SUZUNE is a good fantastical romance that’s worth a look.

Take 2: The Boy And The Heron (2023) NYFF 2023

I  have seen THE BOY AND THE HERON a second time. I went to the first public screening. 

Actually I took my niece to the film. It was her first film festival screening and her first Ghibli film on the big screen.

For me the film the second time the film was much deeper. It plays very much like a novel. There is a complexity there that you only realize on a repeated viewing. Yes I know in my original review that it was dense, but there is even more there than I thought.

What amazed me was that on this second time through how much the film was now part of my DNA. I watched it the way I watch films I've seen dozens of times.

May god is it good.

But what I think doesn't matter. The real question is what did my 13 year old niece think?

Her one word review " AWESOME"

She would gladly go back if I could score tickets(assuming the Parakeets don't stop me.)

My brother said that she was leaning forward, eyes wide and staring. 

You all need to see this.

Thoughts on THE BOY AND THE HERON (2023) NYFF 2023

When THE BOY AND THE HERON was opening in Japan no images other than a single one of the heron was release and there was no effort to explain the plot. Everyone thought it was a brilliant marketing move, but having seen the film I completely understand why it was done- the plot is ever changing and the fantastical images from the second half  are misleading as to what the film is. Ultimately you have to just see the film to really know what the film is.

That is not hyperbole, that is the truth. Nothing I can tell you is going to prepare you for what you see and until you see it it’s kind of pointless to discuss the plot.

If you what to know what the film is, it’s the story of a young boy, who moves with his father to the country after his mother is killed when the hospital she is in is bombed. However the film is so much more than that.

It is not hyperbole to say this is the greatest film that Hayao Miyazaki has ever made. It is the work of a master animator operating at the highest level, making a film about life and death and kicking the ass of the audience.

And when I say the film will kick your ass I wasn’t kidding. It’s a heady and emotional roller-coaster that starts in one place and ends somewhere else. It’s a film that is full of wonder that over whelms you with ideas and images that leave you emotional moved at the end. Indeed, about a minute into the end credits I suddenly began to sob uncontrollably. I can not tell you what did it or why, I just know that I suddenly needed a box of tissues I did not have with me.

When you see the film you have to go with it. The construction is something special. It begins as a conventional narrative, slips into dream logic, then abandons that for pure emotional ramblings. I can’t discuss what happens because until you pass through it you won’t understand it.

Visually it is largely unlike anything Miyazaki has done. Yes, we have his images, but he goes outside of that into the realm of the surreal. He is operating in the realm of his friend and partner Isao Takahata who created images to match his story, hence POM POKO  doesn’t look like GRAVE OF FIREFLIES nor like the TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA. Indeed this film seems to be the next film Takahata would have made if he were alive. It is in a way it’s a huge tribute to the late master.

I really need to see this film again to truly discuss it. I knew that twenty minutes in. There is so much to contemplate from the place herons hold in Japanese culture, to seeming riffs on things like the work of Kenji Miyazawa and NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILWAY, Michael Moorcock's Eternal Hero, to the films notions of life and life after death, of what makes a family and several dozen other things. I need to see the film again because the denseness of the narrative has me certain things that I missed things. What I mean by this is that events early in the film that you would think should lead to something, don’t seem to for a good while, until an hour or more of screen time passes and a line or an action that we thought was a lost thread back snaps into sharp context., 

Yes, I’m being vague- but I have to because for any points I want to make require a context you can only get from seeing the film so I need to wait until everyone sees the film when it releases to fully discuss my thoughts. I will be writing more after by second pass through, but for now this should get you going. Until then know that this is one of the best and most thought provoking films of the year and quite possibly the best film that Studio Ghibli has ever made.

This film will rock your world.

And try to see it knowing as little as possible.

The First Slam Dunk (2022) Fantasia 2023 Japan Cuts 2023

With THE FIRST SLAM DUNK Takehiko Inoue has turned his legendary manga into one of the biggest films in Japanese history. Its the story of a high school basketball team battling their way into the the big game. They are led by Ryota, a point guard who learned to love the game from his older brother. Beginning in the big game, the film then flashes back to show us the guys and how they came together.

On the face of it the film shouldn't be as moving as it is. Its a mix of well worn cliches mixed with driving score and gorgeous animation, and normally that would be a sure sign that the film was trying to distract us from any flaws. But the truth is Inoue isn't interested in the flash, but the human. He's crafted a very real and very moving group of guys who we pull for. While the film is mostly focused on Ryota, the truth is everyone is beautifully drawn. We get a sense of them beyond the screen. This is clearly the result of the film coming from a 31 volume manga series, an earlier TV adaption, and several earlier films. The result is a film that moves us and makes us feel well earned emotion.

The animation is impressive. Using a variety of subtle palettes for the different part of the film, the animation adds to the story telling in ways we could never have gotten if this were live action.  For example look at the rich details in the flash back sequences and contrast it with the hard edged game sequences, Yes it all looks essentially the same, but at the same time the differing pen and brush strokes entirely alter our feeling. You can't get that level of image change in anything live action. This is why some films need to be animated.

This film is awesome.  It's a wonderful human tale you need to see on a big screen at Fantasia or Japan Cuts or where ever you can.

Recommended.

Knights of the Zodiac (aka Saint Seiya: The Beginning) (2023)

I need to say right at the top that I enjoyed the hell out of KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC, but at the same time it proves a maxim  that is almost always true, which is that the vast majority of manga and anime probably should not be turned into a live action film. It's not that the stories are bad, more that what we accept animated or in a few pen and ink lines really pushes the boundaries of what we are willing to believe in a real world setting.

The film is loosely based on the classic manga Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada. It ran for 28 manga volumes and 114 TV episodes. It follows Seiya, a young man who is tapped to become a knight to help protect a reincarnated goddess Athena who is going to wage a war against the other gods who want to take over earth. I read some of the early chapters back in my mad manga/anime days but it never clicked with me enough to stick. On the other hand it is considered of of the most successful manga/anime stories there is.

The current feature simplifies things down a great deal. Focusing just on Seiya who is  surprisingly good fighter, who is unaware of his supernatural abilities. When he  kicks the ass of a cage fighter he is put on the radar of a named Guraad (Framke Jensen) who wants his abilities for her own. Seiya is rescued by Alman (Sean Bean) and his right hand man, Mylock (Mark Dacascos) and brought to his secret mansion where his adopted daughter, and reincarnated Athena is kept safe. Guraad and Alman were once married but an accident involving the infant goddess' powers left her convinced that she must die. Some good set action set pieces happen in what is clearly intended to be the first of (now never happening) series.

Once I realized that this was going to be a simplified manga adaption I was pretty much fine with the film. I realized this was going to be an arc or two of the story, and I realized there was going to be a lot of mumbo jumbo that would only make sense if I was fluent in the source or if we had more films to lay more ground work. The action sequences were pretty good. The character arcs were fine, with a wonderful dark gray to both Bean and Jensen's characters (I mean they were married and they did do a lot of bad things as well as good things). Every one sells their role, and it was a joy to see Mark Dacascos being a cool bad ass good guy. On its own terms it's a lot of fun.

Okay yes the condensing of the plot can be wonky, the visual effects are sometimes uneven and it has a really bad training sequence that should have been rewritten or done away with, but if you want a popcorn film to pass the time there are a lot worse than this.

Honestly I expect this film to get a fan following once it hits streaming/cable and people can just pop in and see it.

The real question that I have concerning the film is how did it get made and who thought they had a shot at a series? Leaving changes to the source alone, the real problem is that a large number of fantastical manga live action films don't work. It's not that the films are bad as such, but more that seeing characters as living breathing characters in the real world doesn't usually work. If you need proof look at the design of the Knights' battle armor, it looks silly. Guraad's storm-troopers look better, but even some of their abilities look laughable. As for the image of the reincarnated Athena floating with her staff, it looks less real and more like really good cosplay. In context it's fine, but at the same time we never buy it to consider it real. 

Additionally the plots of so many manga/anime are so complicated that there is no real way to get them into a two hour movie. It always just the plot, but the world creation. All comics and animated series and films work because they are inherently of another world. We are open to whatever we are told about this new world because we have not been there before. With anything real world there is the basic problem of it looks real so we have to apply what we know of this world to that. Going into a live action world created from a piece of art we are less open. In someways watching animated feature film based on anime or manga, or comic property is easier because we are willing to give that film a slight pass. For example  m brother has loved several features based on material my niece loved because he just went with it. He never tried to make sense simply because he knew it was another world.

I never bought much of this as real, even if I enjoyed the ride.

But getting back to  the question of who did Sony decide this was a good idea? I don't know. Did they think the source fans would turn out? If so I'm even more confused since there is zero attempt to connect it to the manga/anime while outside of the US the film is branded as SAINT SEIYA: THE BEGINNING. I had no idea what the film was until I looked it up on-line.

Frankly Sony and their PR people set this up for failure in the US- and that's a huge sin, because frankly, this is better than a lot of the big studio releases. 

If you can go with it and if you can just let the film be what it is, with no expectations, I think you will be entertained. (Not sure I can say so for 20 bucks a seat but for the 12 I paid I had a good time).

Metropolis (2001) plays the Japan Society December 16

With METROPOLIS playing the Japan Society on Friday here is a post from 2012 that  is based upon a journal entry I made after seeing Metropolis for the first time in 2001. If you've never seen this on a big screen you MUST go see it.

I saw the animated Metropolis which is based on Osamu Tezuka's comic inspired by the Fritz Lang film.

Visually its one of those ground breaking animated films that the Disney Studio thinks they've been doing for years, but haven't been.

Visually its a masterpiece, on odd mix of cell and computer animation. It's incredible.....

Storywise...its good. not great. I wanted to jump ship after twenty minutes of visuals overwhelming the story,but I'm glad I didn't, suddenly it kicks in and well its not perfect but it has neat little things in it. Its like the characters and the city-the plot gets lost in this vast maze. I honestly don't know what to say, about it beyond that...

The use of music is beyond masterful, so much so that at one moment toward the end (Ray Charles) I suddenly found myself siting up and going, "holy shit, there's a hell of alot more going on here then I thought" I wasn't certain what it was but it was going on....

Yes, its a masterpiece, yes it takes things to the next step...I'm not certain what to make of it wholly, its better than Akira for certain...

Watching this in the theater for the first time I keep asking when, if ever will American films be as daring and as technically brillant as what the Japanese were doing. I know that part of my uncertainty was the result of simply knowing what I was going to see in advance...of course it was the next step in animation, I saw that in the trailer...

The things that are being done in Japan are light years ahead of whats being done here....

This, along with Escaflowne (which was playing down the hall when I saw Metropolis) are pushing the visual medium farther than ever before....these are films which could never be done live action, who's stories need the medium of animation to be told visually....

The movie started and my first emotion was Disney is f***d. I know I harp on Disney but they have not done anything ground breaking in years-their idea of pushing the envelope is to release a feature in Imax 3D. Atlantis was a half an attempt. Its bold daring story was hampered by the Disney need to be family friendly. Family friendly is good for the pocket book but stagnates the medium, and will kill them in the end. Why are Pixar and Dreamwork films big hits? Because they aren't Disney.

The last daring thing that Disney did was Nightmare before Christmas, but they at first distanced themselves from, lest it blow up in their faces.

As uneven as Metropolis is , its still more daring in what it does than anything Disney has done... Which is why Columbia Tristar has released it.

Kudos to them for letting us see, on a big screen a landmark in the history of animation.

Out on DVD