Monster Movie Muzak!

Monster Movie Muzak!

For a while I've had some You Tube compilations of various assorted title music from a number of my favorite creature features from the '50s and '60s. I noticed a few (Lost Continent, Angry Red Planet, etc.) were missing from the selections.

On searching for them I decided to You Tube the whole film, Lost Continent (Lippert, 1951.) just for the opening credits music. I noticed the composers' name, Paul Dunlap, in the creds and decided to use the You Tube search option in the hopes I could get the isolated opening score. Much to my delight I found two compilations of Mr. Dunlaps' music, the first of which started off with the very selection I was looking for.

Below are links to the various Sci-Fi movie music compilations I've downloaded. If you want to save these selections (Or anything else from You Tube!) to your hard drive then go to savefrom.net and follow the instructions. I've found it to be a VERY handy online site for grabbing stuff from You Tube and Dailymotion.


Giant Monster Music here.

Classic '50s Sci-Fi themes here.

Classic '50s Sci-Fi themes pt. 2 here.

Film Music of Paul Dunlap pt. 1 here.

Film Music of Paul Dunlap pt. 2 here.

The Building

The Building

by

Jay Agan


It lies at the end of a street in an industrial park at the edge of town. Three floors, no windows, surrounded by TWO electrified chain link fences topped with razor wire.

Inside the fencing there are cars parked abound but no one is ever seen coming or going. In fact, there's no indication that the cars have ever been moved at all. Every so often, a nondescript individual is seen cleaning them.

Mounted remote cameras scan the immediate area.

About once a month a large black car is seen at the entrance. Two men in black suits are seen going from the car to inside. In a minute or so, they can be seen on the roof where they proceed to a large dish antenna. There, they open up the instrumentation box beneath and exchange what look to be electronic components of some kind.

Then they leave.

Just what is that building for?

Why the secrecy?

And after the sun goes down, why does that antenna track that part of the night sky where hardly any stars can be seen?

Curious ...

END

Story copyright © 7-14-14 Jay Agan


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. Ifn' there's a buncha' articles under this 'un, then yer already there.

Some Walking Dead Humor

From my admittedly limited viewing, this is what I get out of it.

Some Walking Dead Humor


Having nothing better to do and presently suffering from creative bankruptcy, I decided to look up and share some stuff I found on a show I pretty much dislike. Reasons for which I will give later this week. For now ... Enjoy ...

This pre-dated Night of the Living Dead by a couple years.

Hmmm ... If it was like this I might watch it. Then again ... maybe not.

I like late '30s/early '40s period pieces with late '40s/early '50s cars. I also have
fun spotting vapor trails in westerns too. Then there's the one where one of the
three kings is seen wearing a wrist watch!

I always liked Christopher Walken. Even as Max Schreck.

I also like those films where the "last man on earth" keeps running into people.

That's it for the moment. Stay tuned Friday when I actually vent a little on the show itself.

Sees ya' ...


An "Honest Trailer" advertisement on You Tube for The Walking Dead here. Check these out! Better than Siskel and Ebert ever could have been. You'll laugh your keester off!

A Screen Junkies idiots' guide on You Tube to The Walking Dead, seasons' 1-3 here. More info than I cared but certainly saved a lot of time for me!

The Zombie Apocalypse That Never Was by C V Ford (Me!) here.

Fanfiction dot net link to C V Fords' (Me! Darn it!) profile page and stories list here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. If there's a buncha' articles under this one then you're already there.

Starbuck: Lost in Castration

Dirk Benedict as Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica wields a couple of phallic symbols of male
domination. Ladies should always remember that to defend ones self with a gun is to give in
to male domination thus, the criminal/rapist has won. Yeah ... RIGHT!

The following is an excerpt from an article by Dirk Benedict decrying the sad PC state of affairs in mass media science fiction and (I feel.) the way things are in the entertainment industry in general. The article, written in the early years of the last decade, is to me, even more topical now than then.

The whole article can be read here.

xxxxx


Starbuck: Lost in Castration (excerpt)

by

Dirk Benedict


There was a time – I know I was there – when men were men, women were women and sometimes a cigar was just a good smoke. But 40 years of feminism have taken their toll. The war against masculinity has been won. Everything has turned into its opposite, so that what was once flirting and smoking is now sexual harassment and criminal. And everyone is more lonely and miserable as a result.

Witness the "re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica. It's bleak, miserable, despairing, angry and confused. Which is to say, it reflects, in microcosm, the complete change in the politics and mores of today's world as opposed to the world of yesterday. The world of Lorne Greene (Adama) and Fred Astaire (Starbuck's Poppa), and Dirk Benedict (Starbuck). I would guess Lorne is glad he's in that Big Bonanza in the sky and well out of it. Starbuck, alas, has not been so lucky. He's not been left to pass quietly into that trivial world of cancelled TV characters.

"Re-imagining", they call it. "un-imagining" is more accurate. To take what once was and twist it into what never was intended. So that a television show based on hope, spiritual faith, and family is unimagined and regurgitated as a show of despair, sexual violence and family dysfunction. To better reflect the times of ambiguous morality in which we live, one would assume. A show in which the aliens (Cylons) are justified in their desire to destroy our civilisation. One would assume. Indeed, let us not say who are the good guys and who are the bad. That is being "judgemental". And that kind of (simplistic) thinking went out with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne and, well the original Battlestar Galactica.

In the bleak and miserable, "re-imagined" world of Battlestar Galactica, things are never that simple. Maybe the Cylons are not evil and alien but in fact enlightened and evolved? Let us not judge them so harshly. Maybe it is they who deserve to live and Adama, and his human ilk who deserves to die? And what a way to go! For the re- imagined terrorists (Cylons) are not mechanical robots void of soul, of sexuality, but rather humanoid six-foot-tall former lingerie models who f**k you to death. (Poor old Starbuck, you were imagined too early. Think of the fun you could have had `fighting' with these thong-clad aliens! In the spirit of such soft-core sci-fi porn I think a more re-imaginative title would have been F**cked by A Cylon. (Apologies to Touched by An Angel.)

One thing is certain. In the new un-imagined, re-imagined world of Battlestar Galactica everything is female driven. The male characters, from Adama on down, are confused, weak, and wracked with indecision while the female characters are decisive, bold, angry as hell, puffing cigars (gasp) and not about to take it any more.

One can quickly surmise what a problem the original Starbuck created for the re-imaginators. Starbuck was all charm and humour and flirting without an angry bone in his womanising body. Yes, he was definitely `female driven', but not in the politically correct ways of Re-imagined Television. What to do, wondered the Re-imaginators? Keep him as he was, with a twinkle in his eye, a stogie in his mouth, a girl in every galaxy? This could not be. He would stick out like, well like a jock strap in a drawer of thongs. Starbuck refused to be re-imagined. It became the Great Dilemma. How to have your Starbuck and delete him too?

The best minds in the world of un-imagination doubled their intake of Double Soy Lattes as they gathered in their smoke-free offices to curse the day this chauvinistic Viper Pilot was allowed to be. But never under estimate the power of the un-imaginative mind when it encounters an obstacle (character) it subconsciously loathes. "Re- inspiration" struck. Starbuck would go the way of most men in today's society. Starbuck would become "Stardoe". What the Suits of yesteryear had been incapable of doing to Starbuck 25 years ago was accomplished quicker than you can say orchiectomy. Much quicker. As in, "Frak! Gonads Gone!" And the word went out to all the Suits in all the smoke-free offices throughout the land of Un- imagination, "Starbuck is dead. Long live Stardoe!"

I'm not sure if a cigar in the mouth of Stardoe resonates in the same way it did in the mouth of Starbuck. Perhaps. Perhaps it "resonates" more. Perhaps that's the point. I'm not sure. What I am sure of is this…

Women are from Venus. Men are from Mars. Hamlet does not scan as Hamletta. Nor does Han Solo as Han Sally. Faceman is not the same as Facewoman. Nor does a Stardoe a Starbuck make. Men hand out cigars. Women `hand out' babies. And thus the world, for thousands of years, has gone round.


Whole article here.

Mr. Benedicts' web site here.

Wikipedia article on Dirk Benedict here.

Wikipedia article on Battlestar Galactica here. The real one. Not that abortion from 2004.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.

Ray Bradbury: A Giant Has Departed

Ray Bradbury drawing from the NY Times Book Review.

                                      Ray Bradbury: A Giant Has Departed

      This was the guy who gave me my initial boost out of the kiddy sandbox in regard to Sci-Fi & fantasy. Before that it was pretty much cartoons & comic books where I got my "fix". After this, I was out of the juvenile stuff for good.

... Dad bought this book & left it laying around ...

      I remember back in the sixties Dad bought this book & left it laying around. Picking it up I read a few of the stories. It confused me a bit as the "science fiction" I then knew & loved was about spaceships, ray guns & giant bugs. While some of these elements were contained therein most of the stories were of either a subtler kind or downright weird. The one about the astronauts being "replaced" through disection gave me a weeks worth of the "willies"!

      Rest in peace sir. You opened up new worlds to me. I hope the one you're in now is beyond even your wildest imagination. I mean that in a good way. God bless you sir.


Wikipedia Ray Bradbury bio here.

Review of The Machineries of Joy here.

The Aardvarks' tribute here.

Aardvarks' Plumbline here.

Go to Main Page here.

Lifeforce/Return of the Living Dead: Two That Left Me Cold

Patrick Stewart accomodating Steve Railsback on the trail of the "energy
vampire" in Lifeforce. Credit: Tri-Star Pictures

                      Lifeforce/Return of the Living Dead: Two That Left Me Cold

                                                                by

                                                                   Jay Agan

      After having done a previous article on End of Evangelion, I got to thinking about other films I thought disturbing for the same reason(s). These two came to mind.

      While both have a babe running around butt-nekkid for much of the picture, I found that more discombobulating than disturbing. As much as I like being discombobulated as much as the next guy (Sin is fun for a season, then you pay.), I don't think it adds much to the story though it certainly does catch the attention.

      It was their respective "takes" on the afterlife that got to me.

      Lifeforce involves "energy vampires" whose goal is to store up human souls for a 75 year "food" supply every time Halleys' comet comes around. Return of the Living Dead postulates ones' soul stays in the grave & experiences the pain of rot & loneliness forever. Or at least until you finally go to dust. Both forecast a miserable "hereafter" thus showing life as nothing more than a sick joke. I disagree.

      God created us for the purpose of loving Him. The spiritual meaning of life is "To love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul, mind & strength, & to love thy neighbor as thyself."(Mark 12:30 & 31) It is partially through this one can avoid a dismal eternity (For specifics, click on this link here. It is imperitive you read this, particularly the second half.).

      I refuse to think of life as a colossal, meaningless joke. I don't want to miss out on eternity & the opportunity to delve into the greatest mind ever. I've many questions to ask & wonders to experience (1st Corinthians 2:9). We are all looking at eternity & I want nothing  in my way. "Messages" in movies included.
     
                                       Article copyright © 8-17-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.

Starship Operators: One of the Better Anime Space Operas

Sinon Kouzuki leads the crew on a wild ride in
Starship Operators. Credit: J. C. Staff

                      Starship Operators: One of the Better Anime Space Operas

                                                               by

                                                                   Jay Agan

      For the 73rd graduating class of the Kibi Defense University on the flagship Amaterasu, there is no ceremony or diploma. No honors or comissions. No careers, nor for that matter, a home to go back to. What they have:

      Seems while out on a training/shakedown cruise, the planetary nation of Kibi was sucker punched by the Henrietta Planetary Alliance & the peace inclined government folded like a wet towel. With the regular crew jumping ship without the cadets the "Class of 73" has only a mission to look forward to: Carry on the fight!

      This plot has been done in sci-fi before, but it comes with some interesting twists.

1.    As they need financing/support/supply they can't just go off privateering. They get it in an exchange deal with the Galaxy Network, a Hollywood based transgalactic TV net looking for a reality show. With correspondent Dita Markov & anti-grav cameras in tow, it's off to the war!

2.    No giant robots!

3.    Let's see. A ship named Amaterasu (The founding goddess of Japan.), the planet Kibi (A kingdom of 4th century Japan.), a neutral planet Shu (A province of China with a long history.), enemy ships named after battles involving east vs west some from the Second World War ..... I wonder what that's about.

4.    No giant robots!

5.    "Realism." Battles in space are at extreme distances with the enemy not seen with the naked eye. Cost/damage factored in. The ships don't "fly" in airless space so no banking, "soaring", etc.

6.    In case I didn't mention it before, NO GIANT ROBOTS!

      Through various strategies thought up by XO Sinon Kouzuki (The tactical brains of the outfit.) they prevail. In one ingenious ploy, using the ships' gravity generating system, the ship is "converted" in effect, to a highly maneuverable/fast swiveling "gun turret", taking out a multiple enemy (Brings The Last Starfighters' "death blossom" to mind.).

      Alas, toward the end, things get out of hand when the main Earth Federation/UN intervenes to take advantage of the situation in a power grab (Also violently shutting down Galaxy Network/the reality show & broadcasting BS propaganda. Sound familiar?), forcing the cadets to abandon ship in a bittersweet, open ended conclusion in episode 12.

      I recommend Starship Operators. It is one of the more intelligent/realistic of the sci-fi anime out there.

                                    Article copyright © 5-12-2011 Jay Agan

Interesting website on realism & space travel/sci-fi here. Be sure to see the Common Misconceptions section.

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.


      

Can Someone Tell Me What's Going On?

      When I started this blog I was hoping for a lot of hits as anyone would. It started slow & things began to "pick up" in February (380 hits.). Some were starting to notice. March started out at the same rate until Japans' crisis took precedence & peoples' attention diverted to that. When after it took a back seat to the fracas in Libya, the blogs' hit rate started to climb again though I doubted the last week and a half of March would get past 250 let alone the 380 of February.

      Then a strange thing happened & is still going on. I get home from work in the AM on the 28th of March & go online to check my stats. At the right end of the chart I see this flurry of activity. 43 hits for that day! (That was a  lot at that point. In February I got 25 one day & thought that was a big deal at the time.)

      Seems one of my articles got popular. I wrote Call of Cthulhu: One Really Worth Watching back on February 20 over a month ago. I'd like to think it's because it's a great article (Of course it is. I wrote it! My being humble prevents me from telling you how GREAT this GREAT article is. That's me, humble & proud of it!) about a great movie, but as just about all of the hits are coming from Google Image Search, I think it's because a lot of people want to snag that image, a demotivational poster I snagged from elsewhere. I hope some of these folks actually read the article (It's now over 500 hits on it!).
     
      The only connection I can see for such interest is the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society is putting the finishing touches on their latest film The Whisperer In Darkness & taking it to some film fests in Europe, thus the attention. I haven't found anything on a major studio releasing anything Lovecraft related.

      Anyone know what's going on?

You Tube link to Call of Cthulhu trailer here.

You Tube link to The Whisperer In Darkness trailer here.

You Tube link to The Whisperer In Darkness trailer 1 here.

You Tube link to The Whisperer In Darkness trailer 2 here.

Link to H.P. Lovecrafts' Dark Heritage article here.

Go to Main Page here.

Worlds' First Cosplayer

Mister Monster, Dr. Acula, the poormans'
Vincent Price. Whatever you called him, he
was Uncle Forry to me.

                                             
                                               Worlds' First Cosplayer

                                                              by

                                                                  Jay Agan

      The vast majority of anime fans have probably never heard of Forrest J Ackerman. Yet he had more of an indirect influence on anime fandom than most realize.

      Writer, literary agent, actor, collector, punster, promoter of the fantastic in film & in print. Superfan. As editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland he was a great influence in my formative years. Every month I would get an education in the cinematic worlds of horror, sci-fi, fantasy & mystery.Though the magazine was somewhat juvenile in nature (So was Mr. Ackerman!), it nonetheless took one behind the camera & intro-d you to the people & methods of the "magic" that made these movies great. Many big names in Hollywood & around the world were inspired by this man & his magazine to enter the industry. It is safe to say the world of western cinema would not be the same today if not for this man.

      Forrest Ackerman may also have been the initiator of the field of cosplay.

      At the first World Science Fiction Convention (1939) in New York City, he showed up in costume (See photo below.). This caused quite a stir, so much so, that the 1940 con had several more people so attired. Cosplay went from there to what we see today at anime & sci-fi cons the world over.

Forry cosplaying at the 1st World Science
Fiction Con in New York City, 1939.

      There is more to this story however. Though it's mentioned from time to time its' implications aren't considered & should be.

      Mr. Ackerman was not the only one in costume at the con in '39. Accompanying him was Myrtle R. Douglas, the designer of the costumes they wore (She was attired as a character from Things To Come.). That's right! Forrest J Ackerman was the first sci-fi geek/"otaku" to show up at a convention with a ..... GIRLFRIEND! (Until "recently", how many otakus, anime or otherwise, have even HAD girlfriends?) THAT, my friends, is what is called HISTORY!

      Hats off to ya Forry! You were one of the people who made my life a little more fun & interesting than it otherwise would have been. Though you were a staunch atheist while among us, it is my sincere hope that you have been (And still are.) pleasantly surprised. God bless you sir!

                                Article copyright © 3-17-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.

Angel Beats Episode 4.5



"Oh Yuzuru! This really sucks! Everyone's acting like a
buncha Yuis on habanero sauce!" "Yeah, babe. I know."
Credit: P. A. Works, Aniplex.

 
                                                          Oh Geez!

                                                               by

                                                                 Jay Agan

     Have just seen the Angel Beats OVA (episode 4.5), & wish I hadn't. I guess I'll start with the premise.

     Scheming to get face to face with GOD (Insert lightning flashes & peals of thunder.), Yuri cooks up a plan (Operation High Tension Syndrome) wherin everyone pretends to be fired up/enthused over school activities for a period of 12 hours. Of course, since they're faking it, & thus not finding "fulfillment", none of the gang will vanish "in the twinkling of an eye" (Take THAT, Hal Lindsey!). This is to confuse Angel/Kanade into thinking something isn't quite right in the "matrix" & she'll run to the Supreme Being and report. Yuri & co. are to follow her and finally confront the "Uncaused First Cause". If the operation is unsuccessful, everyone (Except Yuri) is to go on a seven day waterless fast!

     This is kind of like the dog who chases cars. What's he gonna do with it if he ever catches one? I'm no theologian but I think God's a little bigger than a Buick & I'm including the 1960s/70s "Deuce & a Quarter" in that estimation. Details ..... details .....

     Did I say the gang was to be fired up? More like exploding! To anyone who wanted to see other members of the SSS be more like Yui (An irritatingly hyperactive, though lovable, moron.) here's your chance. Hyper they are (And LOUD!) but minus Yuis' endearing charm. Never before, have I seen so many characters be so obnoxious & annoying at one time. They make the Three Stooges look like paragons of reserve & civility. Classes & halls are disrupted with gang members personality traits amplified beyond max tolerance levels. It's the invasion of the uber-Yuis with Angel & Otanashi vainly being characters for the viewer to identify with. The only thing more irritating is the omni present, beeping "high tension meter" in the lower left corner of the picture. Oh yes, Yui is "worse" than her usual self. Something I originally thought impossible.

     I hope this isn't IT for the OVA. And I hope any further chapters don't get this extreme. I really like this series & any attempts to "pad" it out like this, could only hurt. I would not introduce newcomers to anime (Or this show.) with this ep.
                                                           
                                         Article copyright © Jay Agan

For exact plot details, go to LuRas' Anime Blog here.
                                                 
Previous Angel Beats article: Not A Haruhi Clone here.

Angel Beats article: Angel Beats Redux here.

Return to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP

I Meet Someone Famous

                            

Ray Harryhausen contemplates skeleton model for his film,
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Columbia Pictures, 1958.

                                           I Meet Someone Famous

                                                             by

                                                                Jay Agan

      
      It happened to me during MARCON at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio last Memorial Day weekend. He was attending the H.P. Lovecraft seminar. Most of the seminar went by interestingly enough before I noticed him. The presentation/discussion drifted to the authors' well known love of cats.

      Across the aisle, to my right a few rows ahead, a very distinctive voice made some comments. My mind went into overdrive (transmission slipping, gears grinding) trying to place it. It resolved itself as I remembered those stentorian tones from interviews on various dvds.

      He worked from behind the camera. Many of you have seen his films. Though he wasn't producer/director he might as well have been as his works were the center of the films they appeared in. He's still active today in regard to the marketing and enhancement of his & others movies. I had to meet this guy!

      The seminar over, I approached. As I did so, I heard a couple others mention his name. He was sitting there reading, as I introduced myself.

      "Excuse me sir." He looked up. "You have a very distinctive voice," I paused and, "are you who I think you are?"

      I then noticed his name tag to bear a different moniker.

      "I'm sorry. I see by your tag you're not the one I thought you were."

      "Actually, I am someone else," he replied in that unforgettable voice.

      "I understand sir. It was good to meet you." I left the room. He wanted his privacy. I can respect that.

      I don't think he had an event or seminar at the con. Was he in central Ohio on business? Visiting relatives? Who knows? Outside, I ran into one of the seminars' speakers.

      "Do you know who that was you were talking to a few rows back?"

      "No, who?" Replying with some concern.

      "--- -----------."

      "Really? You sure?"

      Another attendee walked up confirming what I said. She recalled he was sitting behind her when the speaker mentioned some work in a Lovecraft related film wasn't as good as --- ------------s. She said she heard him say, "Oh, he gave me a plug."

      I really wish I could tell you who he was. Yeah, frustrating. For all you know, I'm just making this up and I don't blame you for thinking so. At best, you're thinking he was mistaken for someone else. If it wasn't him, it had to have been his twin.

      He wanted his privacy & to be left alone. I have to leave it at that.

                                                Article copyright © Jay Agan


Addendum: As he passed away on May 7, 2013, I can now reveal that it may have been Ray Harryhausen I had inadvertantly met. If it wasn't, it sure looked & sounded like him! Needless to say, I find it interesting that he may have been an H.P. Lovecraft fan.

Photo & links added 5-9-13


Ray Harryhausen: Farewell To A Master here.

Night At The Drive In (One Million Years BC) here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.　

Angel Beats: Not A Haruhi Clone

The three protagonists of Purgatory: Otanashi, Yuri, &
Angel/Kanade. Credit: P. A. Works & Aniplex.

                                                     
                                             Angel Beats: Not A Haruhi Clone                      

                                                                    by

                                                                        Jay Agan

      One thing I've liked about anime is the willingness of the artists involved to try new concepts & ideas. Unlike the "safe"strategies followed by our animators, the Japanese "school" of animation exhibits a much greater willingness to experiment. To be sure it's pretty much hit or miss, but when it does hit, it can be an interesting viewing experience indeed.

      One of these "hits" is Angel Beats. Even if an anime is seemingly of a sub-genre I don't care for, (In this case, cutesy, moe, school girl crap.), I'll take a chance if it has a plot/theme I might go for. Here, the high school schtick is merely part of the backdrop. In actuality, the show is a techno-theological, action thriller.

      I've read some opinions likening this to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, some even going so far as to refer to this (& one of the protagonists) as a Haruhi clone. I beg to differ. This series is so different as to stand on its' own. The only "sameness" I could find is that one protagonist bears a very superficial resemblance to Haruhi. How many other anime series feature "magical", assertive/energetic, schoolgirls? Not too sure but I THINK there may have been a few.

      On first viewing, I thought it was rather disjointed (Still do but much less so.) as well as violent & bloody. The final episode (More on this later.) however, made me want to rewatch the series.

      Theologically, it has something for every one. A Catholic(?) purgatory (In the form of a large high school boarding academy.), where those whose lives were lacking in some way come to resolve failed experiences/mistakes, and unload spiritual/emotional baggage before "passing on" (It must be Purgatory. The data tech there is Windows!). Reincarnation is a factor. There is even a "rapture" element in the way those who find peace leave the scene. (I'm what some would call a Christian fundamentalist though I don't subscribe to the "gospel" of Hal Lindsey or Tim LaHaye.) No matter what faith/theology one follows, anyone willing to see past what might be looked on as "pagan/infidel" & focus on what's compatible, may find this show intrigueing.

      The series centers around three main characters: The amnesiac, Yuzuru Otonashi who regains memory(s) overtime. Yuri Nakamura, a resentful girl who has it in for God due to a horrendous experience when she was alive. The target (Literally!) of Yuris' resentment is title character Angel/Kanade Tachibana. She's ostensibly there to enforce the "status quo" & help others find peace, sending them on their way. Due to Yuris' ongoing war with her, she's more preoccupied with countering (through VR tech-data manipulation) the operations of the Afterlife Battle Front, Yuris' band of "merry men". Thus all the gun & swordplay going on. Oh yes. Since you're already dead when there, you can't be killed. One usually "revives" a few minutes to a day later, either where you fall or in the schools' infirmary. Still hurts like,  uh.....purgatory, though. Ouch!

      The series is 13 eps long, packed with interesting twists & turns. Iwasawa, lead singer of the battlefronts' diversionary rock band (Girls Dead Monster) finds fulfillment in her music and disappears before one and all (ep 3). New enemies emerge (eps 5,7, & 10). (One, Naoi, joins the battlefront.) Differences with Kanade & Yuri are eventually ironed out (ep 7) then "rekindled" (ep 9). Yuzurus' memory is fully regained & back story told (Important!) (ep9). Yuri realizes the futility & waste in "fighting" God & has a "temptation of Christ" moment (ep 12).

      It is during these events Yuzuru & Kanade "connect" & later conspire with two others to help Battlefront members gain fulfillment and leave the scene. One they succeed with is one of the more endearing characters of the show, Yui, a girl who had been paralyzed when alive & wanting to accomplish much. (Along with her slightly "gothed" attire, she sports a set of little bat wings in the small of her back and a spearpoint tail. Took me awhile to notice. Makes one wonder who she's working for. My guess it's an insider joke.) The ending of this characters' last scene (ep 10) is poignant & touching to say the least.

      Many others, (Including the afore mentioned rock band.), partly on Yuris' suggestion & realizing the pointlessness of resisting God, life, & ultimatly, themselves, take their leave en masse (ep 12).  The departures of most of the "principle fighters" of the battlefront take place between eps 12 & 13 & thus are not seen.

      The anti-climactic 13th episode is a masterpiece of a heartbreaker that I guarantee at the end will .....TEAR..... YOU..... UP.  Aptly titled: Graduation, the three principal characters & two others (Hinata & Naoi), hold a do it yourself high school grad ceremony as cloture & say their goodbyes. (I hope I'm as joyful & matter of fact as Yuri & Hinata when it's my time to meet the Lord.) See this episode past the powerful credits ending for FULL IMPACT. You have been warned.

      "Let's meet again somewhere."

      "See ya, buddy!"

                                                Article copyright © 2010 Jay Agan

Angel Beats article: Angel Beats Redux here.

Angel Beats article: Episode 4.5 here.

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Anime Movies I Got: Mini Reviews

           
                                                                        by

                                                                          Jay Agan

    1.                                                Voices of a Distant Star

           

               Makoto Shinkais' first theatrical release, mostly made at his home studio. In spite of the limitations & short length, the film is nonetheless sweeping & visually breathtaking.

               Young lady makes it to the space forces in a war against a vaguely defined enemy, the Tarsians. As the fleet goes deeper into space in pursuit, time differentials make communication with her true love longer & more difficult. Sort of covers the same ground as Gunbuster in a shorter time (23 min) with a different ending. Disc also comes with Shinkais' first film, Short subject: She & Her Cat. Rated TVPG-V


     2.                                    The Place Promised In Our Early Days
      
                Shinkais' third film. Life doesn't always deliver on it's earlier promises. Circumstances, politics, events, etc. tend to curtail or cancel things. Also, what correlation is there between dreams & parallel universes?
             
                Two Young men set out to fulfill their dreams of flight & keep a promise made to a young lady while up against incredible obstacles. One of which is World War lll. Rated TVPG-V


     3.                                            Panda & the Magic Serpent
              
                Found this for a buck at Family Dollar. A little film that impressed me a lot as a kid & made me cognizant of anime. Made in 1956, it's the first full length color anime film & reputed to have inspired Miyazaki to enter the field of animation.

                It's the story of a young Chinese man meeting a young lady who, in reality, is the spirit of a pet snake he had when he was a boy. A hostile, though well meaning magician, believing humans & demons should not meet, intervenes, causing much suffering to the couple. Separated, the young mans' two panda friends & a fish spirit aid him in reuniting with his love. This has got to be G rated.


    4.                                                     The Silent Service
             
                Anti-American screed of a Japanese crew siezing a joint-project super submarine, declaring themselves an independant country (Yamato), & taking on the U.S. Navy. Smug look on the face of main protagonist throughout film, makes one alternately want to slap him around or cheer him on.
            
                 Rated 13 up.

    5.                                                            Paprika
             
                Can there be a technology for entering peoples' dreams for therapeutic purposes? What if this tech ends up in the wrong hands? What if the wrong hands try merging the realm of dreams with reality? It's up to the perky title character (The alter-ego of a co-inventer of said tech.) to seek out the perps & put a stop to the chaos. A total head trip of a movie if there ever was one.

                Warning: This film has a "hentai moment". Not for the kiddies. Rated R (Violent & sexual images.)


     6.                                                   The Sky Crawlers

                The planes are WWll. The pilots are Japanese. The cities are metro Poland. The countryside is Ireland. And the "ambiance" is Euro-American retro from the 40s on.

                Now the wierd part. It's gradually revealed the pilots are clones. Aerial warfare is a form of "entertainment" to control the masses of asses. As pilots are attritioned, they're replaced. The base commander incrementally sinks into subdued insanity as one carbon copy after another of a former lover (& father of her child) cycles through the mill. One must watch past the end credits for full impact. Rated PG-13


      7.                                              Jin Roh, the Wolf Brigade

                The retelling of Little Red Riding Hood against the backdrop of a post-war, mid 60s, fascist Japan. Police/political intrigue unravels as authorities try to disband an anti-terrorist division only to run afoul of a rogue sub-unit, members of which think more like beasts than men. Rated 16 up.


    8.                                                               Akira

                Bikers battle for dominance in 21st century, post-WWlll, Neo-Tokyo, riddled with political unrest, & terrorism. One gang stumbles upon a secret project involving governmental exploitation of mans' next evolutionary stage. Cataclysmic disaster of apocolyptic proportions results with authorities unable to handle it. Biker leader & activist babe take matters into their own hands.

                This film was actually the next stage in the evolution of anime. A fabulous combination of digital & hand drawn animation. Richly detailed & wildly expensive it almost broke the bank for the studio. It also launched the early 90s anime surge. Rated R.


     9.                                              Cowboy Bebop the Movie

                If you have the series, you must have the flick. It is episode 23.5 after all.

                The five bounty hunters of the aforementioned series, a sympathetic corporate operative, a rogue corporation, police & military, are on the trail of a terrorist with viral induced dementia. Aided by a thrill seeking techie, he plans to distribute the same virus on the unsuspecting Mars populace on Halloween. Rated R (Some violent images.).
         
        
          10.                                     The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

                Time waits for no one but you can travel through it.
             
                What would you do if you stumbled on a device enabling you to time travel? Correct past mistakes? See great historical events? "Save/take over the world"? Or something else great & momentous?

                 Or if you're an angst filled adolescent, would you use it to untangle your oh so complicated little existance & make things easier? It is those frivolous little things complicating life & you sure can do without them. Since they're small nagging obstacles, any consequences would be trivial if at all, right? It's obvious this kid hasn't seen The Butterfly Effect or she'd know better. Oh well. The only way she'll learn is to go ahead & get bruised. Kids these days.....                       Rated 13 up.


    11.                                                     Submarine 707R

                Combined UN naval forces are wiped out by a rogue sub navy led by a smirking, self righteous, Nemo type named Admiral Red. It's up to resourceful Cmdr. Hayami & the obsolete title vessel to put a stop to the sanctimonious ones' plans. Rated 13 up.


     12.                                                Barefoot Gen 1 and 2

                 Story of a young boys' survival in Hiroshima after Tibbets drops the big one. Rather gruesome blast/aftermath scenes in spite of the then "crude" animation. Based on Keiji Nakazawas' experiences of survival & endurance, of the loss of most of his family (The scene of his father & two siblings dying before his eyes always gets to me.) & the will to live in spite of the odds. Rated 13 up.

                Second film continues in immediate post-war Japan as Gen & his dying mother (radiation poisoning) struggle to make a living among the ruins. Bittersweet ending. Don't know wether to feel happy or sad. Rated 13 up. 


    13.                                                 Grave of the Fireflies

                 After the loss of their mother in a firebombing, a young man & his little sister experience wandering & unsympathetic relatives in the aftermath. Taking up shelter in the countryside, they struggle to make a life & wait for wars end. A movie you only want to see once, but will keep on your shelf always. Rated 13 up.


     14.                                                    Porco Rosso

                 The only Miyazaki film I have. Yes, I know they're all classic. I also know they're all "kids' stuff". Not that they're bad, they aren't. With the exception of Spirited Away (Overly long & No Faces' puke fest turned me off. Whoa! There he goes again! Baaaaarf!), I actually like them. They're just not my kind of movies. Porco is a bit different.

                 For adults & kids, Porco Rosso wings off for adventure over the post WWl Adriatic, fighting sky pirates & dodgeing Fascists. It's not known why he looks like a pig ("Id rather be a pig than a fascist!"), but he doesn't act like a swine.

                 Sky pirates plot to get Porco out of the way by hiring Curtis, a hot shot American pilot as "hit man". Complications ensue as Curtis' wandering eye gets the better of him. It all ends up in a delightful fiasco involving the hand of a young lady, culminating in a royal air battle & a fist fight in the surf! I love it! Rated PG. 
     

       15.                                                           Memories

                 Three part sci-fi based anthology.

                Magnetic Rose: Space salvagers, following a distress signal, stumble on a virtual reality constructed from the memories of a long dead opera diva.

                 Stink Bomb: Hapless pharmaceuticle lab tech inadvertantly becomes a super bio weapon headed for Tokyo. Military helpless to stop him. Believe it or not, this is a comedy!

                 Cannon Fodder: The war is on & has been for generations. Why? 'Cause that's the way it is.

                 Three great stories. ALL worth watching. Rated PG-13.


       16.                                                  Kite/Kite Liberator

                 Girl asassin meets boy asassin as they skip out on their vigilante cop employers after their last few jobs. Liberator is an unfinished work with an abrupt non-ending.

                 Rated 16 up. Gen. release version (the one I have.) Rated 18 up for other versions.


       17.                   Dirty Pair-Project Eden/Flight 005 Conspiracy/Affair At Nolandia

                Three movies about my favorite semi-homicidal girls n' guns anime duo.
               
                Project Eden: Vizarium makes mass space travel possible. A Prof. Wattsman may know something more about this element than is popularly thought. Complicating the investigation is an adventurer bent on stealing the remaining bottle of De Gaulle, a wine bottled after the liberation of Paris in 1944. Rated TVPG-V.

                Flight 005 Conspiracy: The best of the three. The Lovely Angels investigate a spaceline sabotage involving 800 passengers & no insurance claims. Turns out to be a coverup in the abduction of a scientist needed in a power grab by local govt. forces, & organized crime. Rated TVPG-V.

                 Affair At Nolandia: Another air "accident" this time involving mind control. Local planetary govt. & various factions plan to exploit artificial life for their own ends. The key to it all may be Missani, a little girl Kei & Yuri must find on a remote plateau. One time Pokemon fans might like this for the myriad little critters that show up. Rated TVPG-V.

    18.                                            Area 88/Area 88, Burning Mirage

                 Area 88: Shin Kazama, tricked by a "friend" into joining a mercenary air unit, fights to survive in the skies over civil-war torn Aslan in the mid-east. Meanwhile, the "friend" plots to take over Yamato Air Lines & steal Shins' girl. Rated TVPG-V.

                 Area 88, Burning Mirage: Sequel. Shin hangs onto living & plots to escape his forced employment. His "friend" tries to marry the girl. Rated TVPG-V.

     19.                                                     Steamboy 

                 Young Ray Steam is caught between his grandfathers' vague idealism & his fathers' corporate collaboration as the victorian world is on the verge of COMPLETE utilization of steam power. A process of unleashing 100% of steam power with no waste will revolutionize civilisation.

                Will blind idealism or corporate greed win out? Will Ray Steam make up his mind? The industrial revolution was never like this! Rated PG-13.


                                                 Article copyright © Jay Agan

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DISCLAIMER: The ratings were taken from the films respective disc cases. Discretion is up to you.

It's A Mind Game, Right, Right? The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 2

Credit: Nagaru Tanigawa, Noizi Ito, Kadowkawa Shoten,
& Kyoto Animation.

                                    

                                    The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 2

                                                                  by

                                                                     Jay Agan

      
      So what is it about The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya  that's had anime fandom by the short hairs since 2006? Sure, the concept, plot, storyline, & stand alone eps are great. Animation, artwork, music (both original & use of classical), are more than well done. These, of course go a long way in ensuring the success of a show. But there's more to it than the sum of the above. I think it's the little brain whacks you're hit with from time to time. They certainly make it for me. Here's a few.

       First, there's the convoluted plot from the light novels made even more so when it was put to the screen. As a result, there are two "seasons". Certain selected story arcs were used for the first season leaving out intertwining events/episodes from other arcs thus leaving "gaps". Not that you'd notice. Second season (Of which I have every intention of getting.) includes the 14 eps of the first plus another 14 with extra material, thus most of the gaps filled. Because of this curious way of producing a program, the show can be viewed three or more(?) ways: Broadcast, "chronological", or DVD. It all makes for a seemingly well thought out tapestry where everything is connected & not as confusing as one might think.

      An interesting little order anomoly is ep 00 of season one: The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina, an amateur film made by Haruhi & the gang as a school project. It's also the "final" ep in The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya story arc from the SECOND season. One wonders why this would be a first ep as the "movie" seemingly makes no sense at all. A subsequent viewing after watching the first season, has all these little details jumping out at you (Oh! Now I get it! Don't know what it is, but I get it! Huh?). It's also a great little study on how NOT to make a movie (Turn off auto focus. Have an actual script & shooting schedule. Get people who can ACT, etc.).

      The Sigh arc, by the way, shows what an inconsiderate, abusive, little jerk the title character can be, resulting in the best & worst scene in the series. Best, as Kyon is about to deck her for her abusing Mikuru (Liquoring her up to make her more compliant for the movie.). Worst as Itsuke stops him (So what if the world could end? Supreme being or not, the kid's got it coming!)

       I find the first few seconds of the first season opening credits sequence, interesting. (I understand a new one has replaced it for season two. It's nice but I really like the first.) A long shot of title character looking up longingly at the night sky. "Camera" sweeps in, accompanied by the sound of church bells & the singing of the first line to the opening number ("The answer is always in my heart."). The heavens open up, a hand reaches down. As she clasps it, the look on her face transforms from absolute, dumfounded surprise to sheer, total, joy of the moment. She's found it! Or it's found her! (Rapture believers, take note.) Amazing how the manipulation of a line or three of a subjects face can make for such a great effect.

       In ep 06/05 (Season 1/season2. I refer to the dvd order.), the Anthropic Principle is set straight. The universe is NOT the way it is because mankind sees it that way. It's as it is because Haruhi sees it as just so. Well I guess that pretty much settles that. One can rest easier in knowing. Vox Haruhi. Vox Dei.  

       The series is like one of those movies (ex. The Wrong Box) where you see something new every time you view it. There's always something going on in the fore/background, some related to not only the ep being viewed, but to later ones. Ex: In ep 07/06 we briefly see two members of the ENOZ rock band practicing under a tree, in a long shot toward the end. They don't show up again until ep 12/26, Live Alive, which has a lot of fore/background action itself.

       The anticlimatic last ep, Someday In the Rain, depicts a rather "ordinary" day for the members of the aptly named SOS brigade. Haruhi, being the user she is, & Kyon, Mikuru, & weasel Itsuke, being the "victims" they are. The only "extraordinary" thing happening is a long sequence of Yuki, "on station", seated, back to the camera, reading a book as we hear events in the school building taking place around her. We've all heard of "the banality of evil". Is this epsode an illustration of "the banality of the divine"? Haruhis' last gesture pretty much says it all. I guess the joke's on us.
   
       Next week: The third and last part of The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya. The head trips within  the biggest head trip of the series. "See" ya then.


Article copyright © 10-11-2010 Jay Agan

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 1

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 3

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.