Rating:  

R-Point is a Korean horror film set in 1972, during the Vietnam War. What? Koreans in Vietnam? The average American viewer (like me) will probably be surprised to learn that the Korean government sent several military units to assist the American army during the Vietnam War. Since most movies about the war tend to emphasize the hellishly surreal atmosphere of jungle combat, the horror elements of R-Point don’t feel out of place at all- it seems a logical progression from Apocalypse Now or Platoon. You almost have to wonder why no one thought to set a horror movie during the Vietnam War before 2004, the year of R-Point’s release.

The film opens with a fairly standard premise. Romeo Point is a strategically important island located off the coast of Vietnam near Saigon. Battalion 53, a unit of Korean soldiers, was sent to hold it but failed to report back to headquarters. Superficial searches produced no clues as to the mens’ fate, but six months after the disappearance HQ begins to receive radio transmissions from R-Point, the same sinister, repeated message over and over, “We are dying.”

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m sitting down right now watching Imagine, the John Lennon biographical documentary, and once again I’m reminded of my seething hatred for his widow, Yoko Ono. Here are ten reasons for said hatred (with assistance from my brother, who shares this hatred).

1. Bed in the studio.
2. Julian who?
3. John Lennon kiddie undies.
4. Single-handedly ruined what could have been a great performance in the Rolling Stones’ Rock n’ Roll Circus.
5. It’s impossible to even simply enjoy Lennon’s memory (which she steadfastly curates.)
6. The 1990 tribute concert.
7. She makes Japanese people look bad.
8. Her incessant chattering.
9. Her “art”.
10. C’mon - she’s Yoko Ono.

Back when I was a news editor over at PlanetPS2, I floated an idea for an article comparing and contrasting the differences between Eastern (read: Japanese) RPG’s and Western RPG’s. The senior editor never picked up on it, but I still think it’s a contrast well-worth considering, especially with the volume of Western-crafted console and computer Role Playing Games.

One game franchise I never hear mentioned in the same sentence as RPG, however, is Grand Theft Auto. And…I wonder why? I’m sure the implied geekiness of the term is partially responsible (after all, GTA unrepentantly appeals to the lowest common denomimator of the gaming crowd, even as it satirizes it).For all of it’s other virtues (and they are many), the Grand Theft Auto series, especially after the move to its’ current open-world model, is in many ways more of a pure role-playing experience than many other well-known RPG’s. And Grand Theft Auto IV, released yesterday, reinforces this notion.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yellow Menace celebrates both its relaunch and the anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion with a long-overdue review of the original series’ concluding movie, End of Evangelion, released theatrically in Japan in 1997 and on DVD in the US in 2002. Along with its companion piece, Death and Rebirth, the film represents a second shot at concluding the landmark anime series. Intriguingly, End of Evangelion can be viewed either as a replacement to the series finale or merely an alternate portrayal of the same events.

As we mentioned in our original review of Death and Rebirth, Evangelion began with the standard teenagers-in-giant-robots-save-the-world premise and then veered into dark psychological territory and murky conspiracies. The series protagonist, Shinji Ikari, becomes steadily more alienated and withdrawn throughout the series, a psychological journey that mirrored creator Hideaki Anno’s own bout with depression.

Read the rest of this entry »

Note: As Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth retells many of the events depicted in Neon Genesis Evangelion, this review may contain spoilers for those who haven’t seen the complete series.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most well-known and influential anime programs ever. Some have called it the best anime of all time, while others froth about the psychological drama and symbolism that engulfs what at first appears to be a standard teenagers-in-giant-robots-save-the-world plot. Although the show attracted legions of fans in Japan and overseas, many were disappointed by the show’s enigmatic ending.

In response, the show’s creators presented an alternate take on the concluding episodes. Originally planned as an OAV (Original Animated Video), Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth was released instead as a theatrical feature, followed by a sequel, End of Evangelion. The two films retold the Evangelion story, offering slightly different version of the events at the conclusion of humanity’s conflict with the terrifying beings known as Angels. Now Death and Rebirth is available on a handsomely presented double-sided DVD from Manga Entertainment.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rating:  

Feng Xiaogang’s Legend of the Black Scorpion (aka The Banquet) isn’t the first Shakespeare re-make by an Asian director (Kurosawa’s Ran and Throne of Blood come to mind), nor will it be the last. But there’s no doubt in my mind that it is one of the best.

Benefiting from gorgeous cinematography by Zhang Li and fight choreography by legendary master Yuen Woo Ping, as well as taut, grand performances from Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Daniel Wu (New Police Story), Xiaogang has crafted a sweeping, mythical epic that succeds in every way possible.

Using the bard’s Hamlet as source material, writers Gangjian Qiu and Heyu Sheng have spun a remarkable re-iteration, taking as much inspiration from their own culture as they have from the original play. Using ancient China as a surrogate for Elizabethan England does little to diminsh the power of the story. All the passion and intrigue is completely intact and, coupled with some truly spectacular visuals and action, Legend of the Black Scorpion makes for some serious entertainment.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just like our website, Viz Media’s online store is sporting a new coat of paint. If you’re looking for some way to ditch that tax relief check next month, why not buy lots of anime-related stuff. I mean, bills? Only losers pay those.
Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t care what anyone says, out of the top 5 live shows I’ve ever seen, Oasis were probably three of those. At the top of the Brit-Pop craze of the late 90’s, those bastards were un-touchable. Best Rock Band in the World? Too right, mate…

So anyway, defensiveness aside, I was pleased to see this afternoon that the elder Gallagher is still an irritable twat - having recently taken to taking the piss out of the former Thai Prime Minister (and current owner of the Manchester City football club) Thaksin Shinawatra over the planned sacking of player Sven-Goran Eriksson.

To wit:

“Eriksson has given the City fans a lot of pride. He’s a graceful dignified man.
“I’d be amazed and equally appalled if I met a City fan who thought getting rid of Eriksson was a good thing. We all love him up there.
“Shinawatra’s living in cloud cuckoo land.
“(If I saw Sven today) I’d give him a big kiss and I’d say ‘you know what, you take him to the cleaners’.”

Not as much cursing as I’m used to seeing from the Gallaghers, but I’ll use any excuse to devote a post to them when the opportunity arises.

UPDATE: Ooh! The Spoiler has audio of Mr. Gallagher mouthing off. Bonus!

If you want a site avatar to show up in your comments, please be aware that we are using the Gravatars system for our site. If you’re not familiar with Gravatars, go here. It’s a nice way to create an internet-wide avatar that you don’t have to change every time you go to a new site - unless they don’t use Gravatars, that is…

The site’s current design is somewhat of a work-in-progress. I didn’t intend it to be so, but - the first version of the new Wordpress site had a few flaws that didn’t manifest themselves when I was developing it on the WAMP server on my laptop. When it went live, there was some wonkiness that necessitated a fallback to an earlier theme (the one you see now).

I will likely be testing a few new themes over the next week or so, so if the site design changes radically, please don’t freak out I expect the dust to settle soon enough. Thanks for your patience.

UPDATE: Okay - that’s a little more like it. I think I’ll see how this goes…