December 2007

Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori

/ / Home Video

Ever just wanted someone who wronged you to just disappear?  Well Hell Girl will “exact your revenge” with only one cost, the string puller and the victim of your straw doll, shall go to hell.

Hell Girl is a young girl who will come to you if you enter someones name into the Hotline to Hell website.  Except, the only time that the Hotline to Hell is accessible is at midnight every night, and only those with true hatred can access it, otherwise the site just times out.  The Hotline to Hell and Hell Girl idea is considered just an urban legend, and no one believes it is real until they use it for themselves.

Hell Girl
4 Stars

Ai Enma and her band of three take you on a series of straw doll deaths, allowing you to see what she does, and also to and show you more cases of when Hotline to Hell has been used.  These cases finally lead up to the following of one character.  The “Devil Child,” also known as Takuma Kurebayashi, is followed for the rest of the series. Takuma is first is visited by Kikuri, a purple eyed girl who is with Hell Girl, in episode fourteen.  Throughout the series you hardly know anything of Hell Girl or the other four, but towards the end it flashes back to their pasts and how they met.  Wanyuudou was originally an aid to a princess, and he died along side her in a stage coach accident.  After he died he continued to haunt the road where the accident occurred as a flaming wheel.  Hone-Onna was once a geisha who was betrayed by her friend Kiyo.  Ren Ichimoku is known to be an artifact spirit, meaning he was once a katana.  Slowly you find out who Ai Enma was, and Kikuri stays a secret until the very last episode.

Ai Enma, once an ordinary girl, is to wander the world doing the bidding of others.  She is forced to carry on the sins of others by taking people to Hell.

Takuma and Ai Enma have lived similar lives.  Everyone in Takuma’s town are blaming him for the murders and disappearances.  Which coincidentally are caused by Ai Enma and everyone accessing the Hotline to Hell.  Ai Enma is forced to carry out each request unless the person declines the contract, eventually she disobeys her ‘master’ which leads to her death by yet another angry mob.

Ai Enma always explains with each customer that, “If you truly wish to eliminate your antagonist you must until that red string.  If you remove the string, you shall officially enter into a contract with me.  The one you see revenge upon shall be taken immediately to Hell.  However, if I deliver your revenge, I must have you make restitution to me.  When one person is cursed, two graves are dug.  If you accept the contract, thy soul shall fall into the pit of Hell.  But that is only after you die.”

This series was pretty decent, but it was not exactly as much of a horror as I heard it was.  In the beginning the series started out a little strange, with no real characters, but once you started to identify with Takuma it was easier to get into.  I enjoyed the idea of the series, having a Hotline to Hell is neat, but anyone could send literally anyone to Hell in an instant.  To me, a world like that would be a little scary, it would be hard to trust anyone.  Especially when you see family sending other family members off to Hell, or supposed best friends sending the other to Hell.  It seems like a rather frightening dog-eat-dog situation.

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Comic Book Movie News

/ / Film News & Trailers

Well, the cast for 2010’s Justice League of America is finally set.  The final two spots, those of Batman and Wonder Woman, have been given to Armie Hammer and Australian model Megan Gale.  Also of interest is the reported casting of Zoe Kazan in the role of Iris Allen and rumors of a funeral for Barry Allen (Woody Harrelson???) being incorporated into the film.  Interesting…  The rest of the cast, in case you forgot since the last time we reminded you, includes Scott Porter (Superman), Adam Broady (The Flash), Common (Green Lantern), and Teresa Palmer as Talia (the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul).  To compare how the actors measure up to their comic book counterparts check out the Full Diagnosis.  You’ll know more when we do!

Justice League of America
N/A

Meet the League:

Armie Hammer as Batman

Scott Porter as Superman

Megan Gale as Wonder Woman

Common as Green Lantern (John Stewart)

The Flash family, Woody Harrelson (Barry Allen), Zoe Kazan (Iris Allen), Adam Broady (Wally West)

Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul

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Comic Rack

/ / Comics

Hmm, we’re about to talk about comics so it must be Wednesday!  Welcome to the 50th Issue of the RazorFine Comic Rack boys and girls.  Pull up a bean bag and take a seat at feet of the master as we look at the new comics set to hit comic shops and bookstores today from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, WildStorm, Vertigo, Dynamite Entertainment, IDW Publishing, and Image Comics.

This week includes Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Dynamo 5, Infinity Inc., Justice Society of America, Ms. Marvel, Silver Surfer: In Thy Name, and the first issues of Countdown: Arena, Infinite Horizon, Northlanders, The Vinyl Underground, and World War Hulk: Aftersmash.  Also don’t forget the truckload of new graphic novels including The Atom: Future/Past, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Panel to Panel, Danger Girl: Body Shots, Hellboy Animated Volume 2: The Menagerie, Madman & The Atomics Vol. 1, Silver Surfer: Requiem, Transformers: The Premiere Edition and much, much more.

Enjoy issue #50

…

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The Namesake on DVD

/ / Home Video

Mira Nair (Vanity Fair and Monsoon Wedding) creates a beautiful and traditional family journey from the colorful streets of Calcutta to dirty New York City: The Namesake is the family film for “generation now”. A stunning mix of traditional Indian beliefs and the American way; based on the bestselling book by Jhumpa Lahiri, the film follows generations of family from native India born and arranged marriage to first generation American born with freewill and choice.

The Namesake
4 & 1/2 Stars

A choice cast brings together a wonderful mix of color, comedy, love, talent and confusion about identity and family. The Namesake creates a since of security for the viewer, an attachment to the cast and a belief that they are a real family, the audience gets to smile warmly and cry with all their hearts as the two generations go through the trials and tribulations of life.

The Namesake begins with Ashoke (Irrfan Khan) taking a trip to go see his grandfather. An older gentleman is sharing his space on the train with an accident happened that changed Ashoke’s life. The older man had told Ashoke to travel the world, gather a pillow and a blanket and travel see what there is to see and get the experience of a lifetime. After an almost near shake with death he decides to end his journey in New York.

Shortly after we are led back to India for a traditional arranged wedding between Ashoke and Ashima (Tabu), to this point Ashima has been completely raised as a traditional Indian bride. She does what the families say and leave her home with her new husband to arrive in a cold and frigid foreign country, New York. Confused and scared she begins with shrinking every sweater Ashoke owns, but conquers and shortly becomes a mother. True love grows quickly between Ashima and Ashoke and when Gogol (Kal Penn) arrives their bond only gets stronger. Gogol is their first, shortly followed by a little girl, Sonia (Sahira Nair). Both children are raised in the American way with a short side to tradition and belief of their ancestors from India.

Keeping connections with back home and making new family with other Bengali families, the Gangolis keep their children aware of family and tradition, still allowing them to get the American dream with education, career opportunities and love. Gogol’s journey begins with his name, his father named him after a Russian eccentric author, but Gogol doesn’t find out the true reason to his name till he becomes an adult.

After his father passes, he begins to think about his role as a Bengali and regrets not knowing his father better. He does what every good son should and stays by his mother’s side till she pretty well kicks his butt out of the house and gets him to move on. He falls in love with a woman he had met as a young teen and marries her. Come to find out, that even after you go through a traditional wedding, true love may not be the best reason to marry, but more over arrangements are the opportunity to get to know someone new. Sometimes tradition isn’t always a bad thing.

Loved it, The Namesake was a joy and wonderful experience. Great escape into a world I recognize and a new colorful world. I would recommend this film to anybody with taste and interest in family tradition and other cultures.

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This Week in Film

/ / Film News & Trailers

Philip Pullman’s story of a young girl (Dakota Blue Richards) from a parallel world who travels the earth to rescue her friend comes to the big screen.  Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Ian McShane, Sam Elliot, Christopher Lee and Kristin Scott Thomas star along with Freddie Highmore and Ian McKellen who lend their voices for the characters of Pantalaimon and Iorek Byrnison respectively.  Check out the official site.  The film opens everywhere on Friday and we’ll have the review!  Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.

The Golden Compass
N/A

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