DVD Movie Review #116 Gakuen Alice

Hello again I am back with another wonderful DVD movie review. Today we are covering Gakuen Alice. Ever since I saw this advertised years years ago I was drawn to it and eventually it went on sale through Rightstuf.com's 12 days of anime sale. I immediately went for it and have now gotten to see it after years of anticipation.

Mikan and Hotaru have a close friendship as children. When Hotaru has to move away to go to a private school Mikan decides that she has to see her and finds that Hotaru is actually attending a school for super powered students called Alice's. Mikan breaks in and joins the school in order to get closer to her friend and learning to make others while at the same time learning the good and the bad about the Alice Academy.

This is a very interesting series. Even though the only option is Japanese I can't help but feel this series call out to me to watch yet another episode. The characters are well written and mostly likable. They even have a nice clever story that keeps you involved and invested in the show. The colors are bright and the animation is for the most part great to look at. The music is appropriate and the total product comes together well.

The series does have a few animation snags that kind of bother me. I also continue to have occasional issues with the japanese but that is normal. Overall I don't hate this series.

In the end this is a fun and pleasant series for all to watch.

Rating: 8/10

This is the limited original edition by Nozomi

Used:     $28.49     Amazon Marketplace

New:     $32.99    Ebay

DVD Movie Review #115 Voltron Collection 7

Hello again and welcome to another one of my greatly sought out DVD movie reviews. This time I am covering the 7th volume of Voltron which is based off of the land team. After buying up the metal lion sets the OCD side of me had to get volume 6, 7 and 8 which followed the alternate Voltron Vehicle team. Great news is that there is only one volume left and these only have 12-13 episodes instead of the 30 per volume that Andy Griffith was.

This volume continues to follow the teams as they look for more inhabitable worlds. You get a little more in depth information about the Drool Empire and their reasons for trying to find a new world. The internal conflicts between those that want peace those that want war and those that want power is a continued aspect. 

I don't fully understand why this series was less popular than the original. I admit the lions are cooler but the way the story has been constructed here is much better. I see some actual depth in the characters even after the United states butchered it. I also feel the animation is much better in this series and this improvement is a good step. 

Ugh...well the voice acting is foul but that is par for the course. The story is mostly repetitive and only is good for small servings at a time. The music is predictable and some of the characters are extremely frustrating. I don't really feel that this series is a great one but it is still a classic that most need to see. 

Rating:  6/10 

This set is in a sturdy box though cardboard it is still a nice set.  

Used:     $10.03 Amazon Marketplace

New:     $7.46  Second Spin

DVD Movie Review #114 Eden Log

Hello again and welcome back to my new DVD movie review. This time I have Eden Log a $1 dvd purchased on a whim at MovieStop during one of their sales. This movie looked cool and odd and I like cool and odd.

Well This movie stars a guy waking up without any memory of his former life in an underground world. It looks like things have gone sour here and he must figure out why before he gets devoured by demons within and without.

This movie is creepy looking. This is something that I feel makes the movie good for what its' worth. The acting is done well enough that you can feel the characters are going crazy with the weird mutant thing going around. The world is filmed in a why that enhances what you are supposed to see and feel. The music is also done to appropriately feel.

The plot has let me down in a big way here. It does one job perfect which is to confuse you but it never clears you up from confusion. You are left at the end saying "what was that thing I saw?" I must say that the slightly poor camera work is very much increasing the confusion.

Well that is it for now enjoy this if you get it on the dvd I did.

Rating:  5/10

Used:     $2.44 Amazon UK

New:     $7.74 Amazon Marketplace

DVD Movie Review #113 Walking Tall

Hello again we are back with another of my patented DVD movie reviews. This time I am reviewing the Movie Walking Tall. This movie came with a big movie lot that I had ordered on Ebay. I figured a good random 200 movie lot for $100 was a good deal and I had a lot of mixed results.

The movie follows a man returning home after a falling out with the military. He realizes that the little mill town he once knew is now dominated by drugs, gambling and corruption. After multiple failed attempts at resolving the issues the right way he takes up his cedar club and dealing out vengeance. There is a new Sheriff in town and he's gonna serve out some justice.

I have been meaning to watch this film for a long time and now after making a breakfast casserole I finally get to see the Rock in all his glory. This movie had everything you could want in an action movie: Wooden acting, head bashing, venting and an evil douche bag that you want to see get his come uppins and guess what you  get what you want. When this movie starts rolling it starts with a vengeance. The music and effects are fitting for the film and make it work out really well. And yest wooden predictable acting is actually an asset here.

Well for what it is I have a hard time finding fault other than for what it is. I mean other than it being an remake of something I haven't seen so I cannot judge it fully. The movie is pretty unoriginal but it is expected for the type of movie that it is. Now following this I have to say that the biggest weakness is the work on the plot to make it look a little better yet they spent a good amount of time trying to create plot exposition instead of just getting down to the action.

Overall pretty decent action movie.

Rating:  6/10

Used:     $2.06  Amazon UK

New:     $5.83  Half.com

Gaming Review #2 South Park:Stick of Truth (PS3)

Hello again and welcome back to #2 in our wonderful gaming reviews. I have been proud to say that I beat yet another game and quite well. This is a game I have been wanting for years. South Park Stick of Truth was one of the most desired games for the last two years. This game has been delayed for a long time but at long last we have a really good South Park game and not a strange strategy or lame shooter like the other ones released.

This game stars the new kid in town which is a highly customized boy moving into town for mysterious reasons. The kids quickly recruit him in a war of humans vs. elves in a charming role playing game that ends up as a massive battle for the power item "the stick of truth". Things get out of hand and we end up in a war against government foot soldiers, aliens and nazi zombies.

This game has a lot of good points to it and the strongest point is also the weakest one and that is that this game plays and looks exactly like the show. The voice acting is excellent and you feel like you are actually involved in an episode. The main character is very well customizable and should you get to alter your character yet more with tons of costume, clothing, hair and other features. Many of these features add something to your character. Many of the clothing items allow for patches that increase the ability of that item to devastating effect.  The combat system is pretty easy to navigate and will have you learning it without much time spent. The game is pretty simple and due to being easy to learn so you can start having fun right away.  The amount of side quests and the humor poking fun of typical role playing games lends this some versatility. Fans of South Park will rejoice at this being a fun and enjoyable game.

This game has a few issues and one of them is the same as it is in the positive and that is it is exactly like the series but without any sensors to hold them back. This leads to them trying to top themselves with something more obscene and hard to watch almost at every plot point. I find the character development to not be terribly original with the character classes not having a lot of difference overall. The game is also very short only having about 14 hours of game time and a rather abrupt ending.

Well that being said fans of South Park Rejoice you have found your game at last!

Rating:    8/10

I have the Play Station 3 version

Used:    $28.99    Half.com

New:     $33.49   Half.com

SeptumSin's Blue Ray & DVD update Blog 4/20/14

Hello again and welcome back to my next Blue Ray and DVD update. This time I am splitting things a bit as I do not feel that I have the time to do otherwise and I only really have one item at the time of starting this and that doesn't make for a very good update. Well here we go...

Nyaruku crawling with Love! 4/14/14: Ok I love Rightstuf.com and NIS puts out some fun items. I saw this was a play on Lovecraft horror in a cute comedy way and had to get in on the ground floor with this series. I did very much want to change my mind on this but I didn't beat the shipping and I feel it was fate this is a cool set though with a full color booklet and nice quality Blu-Rays. The end this cost me around $47.

Galaxy Express 999 4/17/14: I got this one from Amazon.com due to my wanting to back out of my order and Risghtstuf sending me the sequels. I have been wanting this for a long time and I admit the sale price was right. This is supposed to be one of the major classics and the TV series is not available so this is probably the closest I will get to a necessary classic for all of anime.

TaleSpin Volume 1 4/19/14: Ok this is the first in a three volume lineup. I was seriously having my doubts about buying this series but the third volume made up my mind for me. This was one of the shows I watched when I was young and Disney was on a roll with shows like Ducktales and Rescue Rangers. This is a great show by all means well worth the watch by any and Disney Movie Club had their sale leaving this as the only one that I had to buy for $20.

TaleSpin Volume 2 4/19/14: Yup volume 2 for only $8 at the Disney Movie Club This is the next 27 epsiodes of the series. Initially Disney stopped releasing the series after this volume as with all of its series. This is something that I have a problem with but...

 TaleSpin Volume 3 4/19/14: ...they actually recently decided to finish off the series as a Disney Movie Club exclusive not that long ago in 2013. This actually gives us the final 11 episodes of the series. With this volume you can actually own the entire show! This is probably one of the few ever Disney cartoons that they have completely released on DVD. If you didn't get it as I did though it may end up costing you as it was still an exclusive.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: Rebellion 4/18/14: This is a very important movie. The Aniplex America price tag of around $54 is sadly what has to be paid as I learned with the first two in the series they go out of print fast. This is a wonderful series though the price tag is a little too steep for most and my advice is to work on getting the movies don't bother with the series unless you have old school anime money to spend. I am really looking forward to this as it will explain some of what happened at the end of the series and keep going. New territory and a high rated film to boot. Aniplex pretty much straight exports from Japan to us so this is a legit copy and yet it looks sadly like some of the Chinese ones I still have left.

Adieu Galaxy Express 4/18/14: This is the second in the movie series and I am again very much hoping to get into this series as it is an anime must see. This one came from Rightstuf.com and I am very happy with the sale price of $9. 

Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy  4/18/14: From the distributor Eastern Star that brought us other movies from the series we have the third in the series coming out in 1998. I have felt this was an important movie in the series and well this waited far too long. I had hoped to see the series but sadly they only released the first part of that one. I am very much looking forward to these things.

Darkwing Duck 4/19/14: This is another Disney Gem and one of my favorites as I was a comic collector in my youth and this was Disney's early crusade into the super hero genre. I really thought this was well worth the series. This is also one that I feel is really a good release as for once DISNEY IS PUTTING THE PILOT ON THE FIRST VOLUME.

Darkwing Duck 4/19/14: This is the second volume of the series and I am happy to have it. The sad thing is that this was released over 5 years ago and yet again there is no hint in sight of completing this series. It is sad but the one good thing is that Talespin got finished recently even though volume 2 of that series came out a while ago my hope is that this series will finish as well in the future.

Well that's it for now I am running low on money so Its mostly pre-orders from this point happy holidays!

DVD Movie Review #107 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Hello all and welcome back to my marvelous movie reviews. This time I am reviewing the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This is the one that started many other remakes and there is a good reason why. This was a must see for me and a must purchase for my collection. When I saw it on the 2 for $3 sale at Moviestop it had to be done.

This movie follows a young doctor returning to his home town in California. He is confronted by many people saying that their relatives are not themselves anymore. This problem is later connected to eerie pods that suck the emotion out of people and turn them into evil zombie versions of themselves bent on making more evil zombie versions until they take over the world. Our hero doctor and his girlfriend are having none of this! Will they save the world or become zombies themselves?

This was a beautifully acted movie. Kevin McCarthy does an excellent job in the lead role in a very believable. The story is very good the writers did a slap bang job on this one it is a story that is not only awesome but has been remade many many times. The music is very good for what it was. Finally the effects were quite amazing for when this was done. I felt the effects on the pod people creation itself was very believable and had real suspense.

The age of this thins shows slightly...the music is very much from an older age and you do king of feel that some of the cultural issues are very different for this day and age such as the male to female status in their relationships. Otherwise this movie actually doesn't have much of an issue.

This is a must see classic for all.

Rating:    8/10

This was the standard DVD release version with the trailers and remastered beautiful content.

Used:     $5.48     Ebay

New:     $13.75    Ebay

DVD Movie Review #108 Open Water

Hello I have a lovey review for you wouldn't you love to see it. This time I have Open Water for you. This was one of those movies I had been by the movie stop with my girlfriend and said "I've never seen this" and she said "then you need to buy it" so I did. And here we go...

Here we are with a lovely couple that we all get to love to hate. Well that couple goes on a vacation to go scuba diving and then gets left out in the middle of the ocean to die. Will they die? Look it up its based on a true story. Either way a lot of suffering awaits you.

You know what I really liked about this film...the end. I don't want to blow this for you so I will not and subject you to the full 81 minutes of horror!

What can I say the acting is terrible...though I really hate the main characters in this as they are probably some of the least likable people I can see. This movie is kind of boring as well I mean that 81 minutes is some of the longest 81 minutes in movies since Il Postino. In reality I have had better times emptying the litter box at home with my bare hands and a messy day.

This movie is bad yet not Mr. Jingles bad

Rating:   4/10

Used:    $2.08   Amazon UK

New:    $4.18   Half.com

DVD Movie Review #112 Zombie Hunter

Hello again I hope that you all are enjoying your week or weekend or whenever this gets published. This movie is one of the lot of movies I had purchased from DVDMan who has sent me good quality stuff thus far. This time I got Zombie Hunter mainly for the cover and though I remember listening to the Wetmovie1 (AKA DVDMan) review I still had to get it for the acting credit.

A new designer drug is sweeping the nation and its more addictive than heroin yet it turns its users into flesh eating zombies. Fast forward into the future and follow a mad max wannabe as he goes on adventures in the post-apocalyptic world. He runs into a group of survivors (I think they were a troupe of bad actors) and then the game of humans vs. zombies begins in this post apocalyptic gore fest.

Danny Trejo has got to be the best thing about this movie. The combat scene between him and the uber zombie was one of the cooler scenes in the movie. Sadly his involvement is short lived and we are stuck with the bad actors again. This movie is almost comical in its own wayand this does make for a bit of fun. Of course the desert is the best place to film this stuff I mean it is a place where few people want to go yet all the survivors in these movies tend to enjoy staying in them. The end though is worth some of the price of admission.

Ok well this movie really doesn't have a lot of good points. The acts (if you want to call them that) I would hope are feeling sad that they were in this film and decided "hey lets just earn our paychecks and get off of this ship wreck". This is my optimism talking here and not my "oh god these people need to find a new line of work" sense that I am getting here. The music is standard B movie fair so nothing special here. The effects are pretty old for the time that this came out and they do show. I am hoping in the future I can laugh at them instead of being sad. Of course the saddest part here is that there are no bobbies here just some teasing about some. Did the actresses feel that it would hurt their "careers" to show some skin? Did the director feel that this needed to be a movie that children could go see? I don't really know but in a movie like this bobbie shots tend to be their redeeming features.

In the middle of the bad movie apocalypse this movie is just a tumble weed blowing in the wind.

Rating: 4/10

I got the Blue Ray copy of this film...Unnecessary!

Used:     $6.92  Amazon

New:     $8.95  Ebay