meteoraxv Reviews

Gackt Live Tour 2000: Mars sora kara no houmonsha/Visitor from the Sky - La réminiscence (2000 Video)

Excellent is the word

[10/10 · 3 January 2013]

I just watched this concert video like 2 minutes ago, and I had to immediately come here and write a review.

I'm kinda familiar with Japanese culture and I knew about Gackt and some of his songs when I was in high school waaay back. So to get back into his music, along with other Japanese artists, is really a nice continuation of where I left off after high school ended.

Japanese rock/pop music, to a Western person like me, sounds very exotic. Melodic, weird, artsy, differently structured than pretty much all Western pop music. Gackt's music is just that. You don't need to know a word of Japanese to be able to enjoy and experience the expression of Japanese music. It sounds amazing and it's really something else.

I mean, this was just great. Not only do you get to hear some great music provided by Gackt and his excellent band of musicians, the visual aspect of the show is grand. I particularly liked the lighting setup, it made the whole thing look really big and it went really well with the music.

I can't really say much else about it. Excellent is the word. You HAVE to watch it and see for yourself. Highly recommended.

Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992)

Could've used a heavy metal soundtrack lol.

[6/10 · 30 May 2012]

A very "industrial" film. Flesh and metal are one. Steel and concrete are everywhere. Not blood, but corrosion is being drawn.

A lot of people say that this film had a higher budget that the first one (which I haven't seen yet). It didn't really feel that way to me. The movie looked very, very low quality and felt very "small". Could've used a heavy metal soundtrack lol. The plot was hard to follow. Whereas a lot of other films are very high on dialogue, this one didn't really had enough dialogue to really be able to follow the story. It was very loose.

This movie is being tagged as sci-fi/drama/horror. Sci-fi and drama are about right, but if you're looking for a horror film, meh. Not really.

I loved the shots of the skyscrapers. It really added to the industrial feel of this movie.

It was alright. Nothing I would really re-watch. I'll check out the first one very soon. I heard there's a part 3 too, so that should be interesting! 6*

Talking Head (1992)

A necessary watch for ANYONE studying film

[7/10 · 30 May 2012]

'Talking Head' is a necessary watch for ANYONE studying film, or any other type of art closely related to it, for that matter. This movie has surreal elements and is high on dialogue, and thus it is probably impossible (at least it was for me) to digest everything in one sitting. It is one of those movies that HAVE to be seen at least twice to fully understand it. Quote from a character, Mr. Morita: "It's necessary to see it twice."

A lot of twists and turns can be seen. A lot weirdness can be enjoyed. I especially like scenes in the little van that doesn't move.

Good watch, it definitely could've been a bit shorter though. You can easily lose your attention. You'll definitely miss a few lines. You might even fall asleep. Not all movies can pull off being 2+ hours long. 7*

The Guard from Underground (1992)

A real Japanese B-movie

[9/10 · 27 May 2012]

The female main character, Akiko, works in a corporation for a Department 12 that apparently doesn't officially exists. She's a newcomer to the company, an art historian it seems. The story takes place in the building where Akiko is working. The building, even though there are people working there just like in any other company, has a very empty and desolate feel to it, which really sets the mood.

She is stalked by an huge-murderer-sumo-wrestler-declared-insane, working as the new security guard in the same building on the same day as Akiko.

The whole Department 12 thing is a funny affair. The newly formed Department itself is not really recognized as an official department of the company. The people that work there don't really seem to...belong the company. Neither do the head security guard and the new recruit.

Nothing really exciting happens until halfway into the movie. Until then it's mostly chilling suspense. The last 25 minutes or so really remind me of the ending in Night of the Demon (1980), albeit more stretched out of course. There's a scene with a locker that was so brutal and original I had to watch it twice. And I don't do that often. That scene was easily THE best scene in the movie.

A real Japanese B-movie. I loved the cheap, low-budget feel and atmosphere. The camera angles were just how I like them. The suspense was great. Soundtrack is just right. It's a cheap flick, but I happen to like a good ol' cheap flick as much as (and sometimes more than) high-budget films.

As a (huge) bonus, the girl playing Akiko was very cute. 9*

19 (2000)

A bit weird

[7/10 · 27 May 2012]

Movie was a bit weird. Plot is nothing really worth mentioning. Definitely not story of the year-material. But it was a fun watch.

Some guy riding his bike gets picked up by a group of youths. I say "group", because "gang" isn't really the right word. Just a bunch of totally random guys, each one a weirdo in his own right.

Anyways, the guys take him into their "group", and they continue cruising around in their (stolen) car. They turn out to be a bunch of layabouts, not really doing anything useful for society other than effing over some people for money and just going here and there in more stolen cars. They're not really dangerous criminals though, just some idle juveniles.

The main character doesn't have a clue WTF is going on, neither do we, the audience. And it stays that way until the very end. Oh, and after the end.

It was a nice watch, though. Just some guys chilling. Nice film to watch on a hot summer day with a beer and some buddies.

I recognize the guy from Boogiepop and Others here, always nice seeing a familiar face from a good movie in a another good movie! 7*

Biohazard 4D: Executer (2000)

It was alright.

[6/10 · 26 May 2012]

Alright watch, but predictable and nothing really spectacular until the end. I like my movies awesome all around, in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. Not JUST the end. Disappointing.

The story...well...was there any at all?? Meh. Not really, it was just 5 guys getting to someplace, and well...nothing really.

The whole movie just seemed like an excuse to throw around some gore (read: a bit of blood). The only redeeming quality in this movie is the end. And even the end was just 10 seconds of awesomeness and that's it. Too much rice and not enough meat, is how I would describe this short.

It was alright. 6*

Crossfire (2000)

What??

[6/10 · 26 May 2012]

Let me start out by saying I like all kinds of genres, but I don't really like drama films.

This film was supposed to be a horror film.

Well, I read a lot of reviews prior to watching this movies, even some from horror movie review sites/blogs, and now, having seen this movie, I'm thinking: "What??" First of all, this film is NOT a horror film, AT ALL. This is a sci-fi drama film. There is not an ounce of horror in here. If you were looking for that, then move along. Nothing to see here people.

I started up this movie, expecting to see a horror film. I slowly realised that this is a drama film!

Not what I expected, but it was a nice watch anyways, nothing I would re-watch later though. I recognized the guy from Burisuta here, so that was pretty nice, seeing a familiar face. 6*

Boogiepop and Others (2000)

Awesome!

[8/10 · 26 May 2012]

Having read some reviews prior to watching this, I was expecting a movie with horror elements, some people even said "gore". None of that here people, move along now.

Even though there wasn't any horror, I didn't mind a bit! I couldn't stop watching this movie once I started it. It takes place in a high school environment, which is always my favorite kind of environment for movies like this. The cast is young, I like that too. Not that I mind older people!

Apparently it's a live action film. Haven't watched the anime that goes with this movie, cause I'm not really into that, but I might check it out, since I heard good stuff about it.

What can I say? I just really enjoyed it. An exciting adventure. All the important characters were given just the right amount of screen time. Definitely gonna watch this again. Hope I can find some more movies like this! 8*

Crazy Lips (2000)

WTF did I just watch??

[3/10 · 26 May 2012]

"WTF did I just watch??" was the only thing that went through my mind when the credits started to roll.

This movie is messed up in all kinds of ways. An amateur mess of different genres. It just jerks from supernatural to horror to comedy to musical to violence to drama to WTF?? I tried hard to get a general concept of the plot. But there really isn't one at all. It's not worth mentioning the plot because the story is loose, messed up, messy, just not a plot at all.

This movie isn't weird, or even so bad it's funny, it's just plain bad. Maybe that was the goal of the makers, because apparently the project was sold to a Chinese company, who told them what kind of film to make, and so the makers decided to mess up the movie, just to tick off the Chinese company.

I didn't really enjoy sitting through the length of this movie. I've read a lot of reviews prior to watching this film, telling me that it's just a really weird, disturbing, messed up movie. Not really. It was just plain bad. I expected a bit more. 3*