Dragon Ball – Tien Shinhan Saga, ep 84-101 — 8

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280249/

I know that this is not the beginning of  the Dragon Ball series (the original, not Z, not GT) but a while ago, and before i created this blog, it came upon me to watch the original series. I like DBZ growing up, but never saw how it all began, so one day i decided to get them and to start watching them. So I will pick it up here and continue with it till the series is finished.

This is the 2nd tournament saga in the DB series and being so used to DBZ i had no idea that Tien was originally a bad guy. It seems impossible to me now to even figure that he was once bad. Although through the course of the tournament, Roshi finds a way to convert him out of the path of killing, and into a good path, he does it using only words, and the words drive into Tien so deep that he starts loosing it.

As is with most of the tournaments, you already know who will make it to the final round thanks to a simple plot, Tien and Goku. but there are always small surprises on the way, or basically just things to bring up the emotions of the combatants so that the fight seems more intense.

This was also he saga where each person had enough energy to actually do more than one energy attack, so this is the birthplace of the famous, scenes where characters ‘power up’ for 3 episodes it feels like making noises like they are trying to pass a giant rubber poop monster through their bowels. but since this is the beginning of those days, it actually was very well balanced, and they only used the attacks sparingly by comparison to how much they do in DBZ.

All in all this saga was not to bad, and at the end of it they gained 2 allies, Tien and Chiaotzu. But at the end of the saga, someone came and stole Gokus dragon ball, and while doing so, he killed Krillin, it never showed who or what killed him, but krillin is no longer alive, and someone has stolen a dragon ball. I guess it left it open for the next villian! and also the next wish on the dragon balls.

base score = 7

+1 for well balanced fighting

+1 for getting some backround on DBZ and how Tien and Chiaotzu came to be

-1 for knowing what the next wish on the dragon balls will be.

= 8/10

Fast Times at Ridgemont High — 8

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083929/

So this is a movie i’ve wanted to see for along time, but never really got around to it until today. In its entirety this movie is actually pretty good, but what caught me off guard more than anything was the amount of actors in this movie that were not famous at the time, but are incredibly famous now. It is really weird seeing a ton of actors when they were nobodies and now are utterly famous.

This movie also covers grounds that would not be touched at all by today’s filmmakers; such as abortions, under age sex, etc. The main premise of the movie is not sex though, but rather just high school life. Even though i was born in the 80′s and went to high school late 90s, early 2ks, most of the things that happened in this movie still apply to todays standards. its really weird to me that no matter the generation, the same things keep on happening.

There were a few slow parts during the movie, but they never dragged on for too long. Also I liked how there was a little bit of every different cliche’ in high school covered. you have the stoners (Sean Penn nailed it amazingly), the jocks (Forest Whitaker) actually played a football game, but on screen it lasted all of about 3-5 minutes total, the nerds, the uy who is willing to sell you anything, the asshole teacher that everyone hates. The amazing teacher that takes you on the most memorable field trip of your entire life. Its all there, all covered.

It was honestly like taking a trip back into my own high school years, and the characters are so diverse, that there is one character for everyone to relate to, its fantastic.

-1 for slow points

+.5 for diverstiy

+.5 for a great ending.

= 8/10

Inglourious Basterds — 9

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/

Godamnit Tarantino! i fucking love you!

I straight up love Quentin Tarantino. His movies are some of my favorites of all time. I also notice that he likes to reuse, Time Roth quite a bit and there were parts of this movie where i couldn’t help but think back to the bellhop from Four Rooms at times.

The opening of Tarantinos movies are always fan-fuckin-tastic. This one is no exception. This movie takes place during the Nazi occupation of France, and takes place in France. As much as i hate WWII, it is still a part of history, and having Tarantino take on a history film is weird, but he definatly proved one fucking thing. He still has fucking style.

The movie uses several languages throughout the movie to make it seems like it actually was more real. A good thing to accomplish and i am glad he did that.

I wont go over most of the film as its a great one and it should not be ruined. but there is one point where they talk about the ‘Bear Jew’ a jew who basically homeslams Nazis in the head with a baseball bat.

Then there’s HUGO STIGLITZ! This is a motherfucker whos got fucking style! and Tarantino proves it. When he is introduced, the best thing in the world happens, its both fucking amazing, and hilarious all at once.  I will save that for when you actually see the movie.

The only beef i actually had with the movie, which is odd for a Tarantino movie, is that in the middle there was more dialog than i actually cared for. the movie was over 2 hours, which made some of the dialog to far fetched to be needed, like when they were playing the card game in the bar, you could have cut out that scene out and it would have actually been a little bit better paced.

Although the ending more than made up for the slow parts and the uneeded scenes.

base score 8

-2 for uneeded dialog

+1 for killing hitler

-1 for being a little to long

+2 for filling hitlers face into swiss cheese

+1 for Stiglitz and the Bear Jew

= 9/10

Anvil! The Story of Anvil — 5

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/

This movie was supposed to be another rockumockumentary, in the fashion of This Is Spinal Tap. However i found myself insanely interested in about the first 30 minutes or so of the movie, it was actually entertaining.

It told the story of how a bunch of bands went on a huge concert tour to Japan and every band made millions of record sales and became huge, except one, Anvil. It then went on the tell to modern day story of Anvil of how the 2 original band members just are regular Joes who actually have real jobs despite them being in a band still. they have to make a living because since they didn’t make it big, and they do so by having crappy jobs. hey still play shows and venues whenever they can actually get a gig, but mostly they are in Europe since apparently Europe is the place to be if you are into Metal.

Once they started going on the tour, you actually felt sad for the guys, trying to had for so long and not making it. I found nothing homourous in this movie whatsoever, and whoever told me it was a mockumentary needs to be shot, becasue this movie was not funny one bit.

After a while of being on tour in Europe, and having to use public transportation to get around (buses, trains, etc) the drama sits in where all of the members start getting in fights, start yelling at the manager, etc. This was where i just nearly stopped paying attention. I hate drama like this, anything can be solved as long as people drop thier ego and just let conversation take care of problems.

After the tour was over and the fighting had stopped, the movie got interesting again, of course this was when they were back in the US with their families and about another 45 minutes later into the film.

then after the movie had showed them what they were doing again (going back to their real jobs, playing with their children and family) they were once again called on a tour, this time back to Japan for a huge show, an arena that holds 20,000. and at one of the clubs in the movie, there was a show with only 5 people who showed up. Also they were on at 1130am, the first show of the day, so they were incredibly worried about being able to fill up the arena, or if anyone would actually show up.

The ending though? fucking genious. The arena was sold out, they played to 20,000 people and it seemed like they should have been there their whole lives.

base score, i give it a 4, it was not funny like i thought it was going to be, the drama turned me the fuck off, the longevity of it didn’t help either. Having to hear their only hit, Metal on Metal, about 7 times during the movie not to bad, but they have 13 records, there are more songs.

- 1 for being so damned annoying on the fighting

+2 for amazing ending

total score = 5/10

Intro

Well after a while of deciding to start a blog, i am doing so. I am doing this with the pure intention of actually making this a movie review blog. It seems a lot of people i know enjoy the way i talk about and review movies, or just simply tell them about movies. I have a huge collection (over 700+) including well over 400 movies i haven’t watched out of those movies.

I will review old and new movies and whenever i watch one, i will make a review about it. If there is a certain movie you wish me to review, i don’t give a damn. I’ll review what i watch regardless, unless you wish to pay for my movie ticket/DVD, then we can talk about it.

Another thing to know about me is i grade on a scale of 1-10. I never give half points unless i truly cannot decide between a score and even then, it is usually only between a 9 and 10. Very few movies, if any at all will receive a 10, as these are the cream of the crop and to me. If i give a movie a 10, it means i don’t care who you are, you must go see that damned movie. A few movies that have 10s in my mind (mind you these are just examples, and i have not reviewed them as of this posting yet) are Fight Club, Transformers, The Departed and The Dark Knight. These are just examples, but its extremely rare for me to enjoy a movie so much that it actually receives a 10.

I will also review seasons of television shows as i watch them. They are also a part of my collection. These will be reviewed by their season number, unless otherwise indicated. And it will be the whole season that is reviewed, not individual episodes. Individual episodes may be noted, or commented on in the review, but all in all it will just be the entirety of the season.

As a side note, i am a full time student at DeVry University majoring in Electronic Engineering and I work full time, so the time i get to watch stuff is sometimes limited, but if its a movie I’ve been waiting for, i will see a midnight showing of it.

Thank you for reading, and i hope you check back soon!

-Bryce DeShazo

a few additions

I forgot to cover a few things with my intro post, so here are some more.

If i rate a movie below a 6, dont waste your time with it. Its shit and you can find something better to do, or something better to watch.

As far as some more general info about me, I am a native of the Seattle area, but I am currently residing in Dallas. Out of the two place, Seattle is by far my favorite of the two, but i did have to give some time for Dallas to grow on me. I still like Seattle better.

I am a 25, soon to be 26 year old male who has a Triforce tattoo. I am a nerd through and through, and i dont think that there is anything too nerdy for me, except live action DND, or whatever that video is where the guy dressed up as a wizard, throwing paper kept on saying “lighting bolt!, lightning bolt!, lightning bolt!”

yup, thats about it.

District 9 — 9.5

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

HOLY SHIT!

I dont know where to start with this one, fucking great godamned movie from start to end, nearly no complaints, but still amazing and is a must see!

First off, there are no major actors in this movie at all, no one i even remotely recognize, which adds a sense of realism to this film, since they are not actors you have seen before, you have no attachments to them. The main character is such a by-the-books jackass at the beginning of the movie, you actually want to kill him at certain points. But through the progression of the movie, he turns into an utter badass.

The movie starts off as short of a self biography of the main character, and then changes into what seems like interview sessions. The amount of ways the director went out of his way to make this movie seem more and more real is ridicilous, there was no point in this movie where i questioned that the aliens, or Prawns(a racist term in this world) were actually fake, or people in suits. This movie makes them feel alive, like they are actually real. its insane.

I wont go to much into the story I’ll save that you to watch. but the aliens have weaponry, that will only work with their DNA, similar to guns that require a fingerprint to work. And their weapons are so brutal, its crazy, like there is one gun that shoots lighting, but when it hits a living creature, the thing it was pointing at(including prawns, or humans) becomes and exploding pile of mush. like someone shot at a human, replaced the human with red mashed potatoes around a bomb and let it go off. It is a thing of pure genius. I laughed manically along with the rest of the theatre the first time it happened.

Base Score – 10, i fucking love this movie

-1 for actually seeing a few things that had me cringe, like the popping scene. and how humans were treating the prawns.

+ .5 for awesome mech!

= 9.5/10