Just Awesome Cinema: Tidbits- 9/15/12

Its been a while here at the Dusty Video Box since I've last posted. Mainly, its because of my work as a genre author; I've been trying to actually single out which project I'm going to tackle over the next few months. Anywho, as I've mentioned beforehand, I'm finally published in "Aliens Among Us" from Pulp Empire..."Blackout '77" by Melvin .L. Hadley(that's me, baby).

But enough bragging. I'm still hitting the cinemas as usual, on the prowl for celloid goodness. I've also recently...ahem...checked out Redbox. Yes, I checked it out. I'm desperate for my fix of straight-to-video slashers, and since there is no Blockbuster and Hollywood Video to get them, I have to settle for some automated dispenser. Whatever. So expect a return of "A Big Sack" soon, a look at straight-to-video horrors.

Alright, here is what I've watched over the last few weeks:

The Dark Knight Rises: I never liked the name, but I adored the movie. Five Stars. A tour de force unlike no other, and I'm not parroting critics. Its the ultimate cinematic crafting of a superhero legend; while Avengers gave us the ultimate superhero fantasy, I will argue that Christopher Nolan and his team gave us the ultimate crimefighter story(at least, so far). Telling the end of Bruce Wayne's(Christian Bale) journey from his start in that muck-filled alley, standing over the body of his dead parents, the film picks up eight years after the last film, with a practically crimeless Gotham celebrating their martyred "White Knight" Harvey Dent, who had essentially locked up the bulk of the criminals. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne has become a recluse, seen as eccentric by his fellow billionnaires. However, a chance encounter with cat burgular Selina Kyle(Ann "Impressive" Hathaway) sets off a chain reaction that results in the return of the Dark Knight and an encounter with his ultimate opponent, the malevolent Bane(Tom Hardy). A+++++ is the grade for this wonderful masterpiece, superceding its genre trappings.

The Possession: It is funny to watch this film and realize that the main protagonist is the Comedian from Watchmen(Jeffery Dean Morgan). Here, he is a high school coach, and more importantly, the father of two girls, teenager Hannah(Madison Davenport) and ten-year-old Em(Natasha Calis). He is also recently divorced from their mother, Stephanie(Kyra Sedgwick), who seems to be a hippie of sorts...demanding Clyde(Morgan) to remove his shoes when he enters the house for example. Already on the edge from the divorce, Clyde and his daughters are soon taken to the next level of anxiety when Em finds and purchases a mysterious box at a yard sale...which turns out to not be filled with Playboy mags. Soon, Hannah is beseiged by moths, and Em is hearing haunting voices, experiencing violent mood swings, and becoming extremely obessesive with the box. And no, our hero doesn't think it is simply hyperactivity. The film takes its time to build atmosphere, and it has okay scares. However, never been a big fan of possession films; I'm more of a slasher geek. Grade: B

The Expendables 2: Chris Hemsworth seems to get quite the demotion...from the godly member of the Big 3 of the Avengers to the sort of kid sidekick for the all-star action crew, the Expendables. And yes, it is all an action movie fan can ask for. Bringing back the cast from the original, including Gunner(Dolph Lundgren), Stallone leads his merry men this time against rival merc Jean Vilian(Jean Claude-Van Damme) for vengence. Besides Hemsworth's energetic sniper Billy The Kid, our heroes are also joined by easy on the eyes Maggie Chan(Yu Nan), originally to retrieve a device for government agent Mr. Church(Bruce Willis). However, when the mission goes south, Chan joins the pack. Other gems include a return of Mr. Trench(Arnold "I'll be back" S), and the introduction of "lone wolf" Booker(Chuck "Ultimate Badass" Norris). The first and last action sequences are the greatest. There are only two detriments for me: Jet Li was not in it as much...and I expected more from the final fight between Van Damme and Stallone. Don't get me wrong, it was not bad...just that my expectations were extremely high. Grade: A.

Resident Evil: Retribution: I f******* love this film series, and while it has its detriments, you can't deny that it is a fun-filled adventure to enjoy. And let me say it here: Resident Evil fans(of the games) are truly justified in the hatred of the films, as they do not resemble their source material at all. I always make the joke that if Alice were in any of the games, they would simply be Devil May Cry, because Alice shares similiarities of Dante, the games' protagonist...including the need to dispense asswhuppings stylistically. Anyway, this film, which wonderfully resurrects characters from the first entry (Michelle Rodriquiez's Rain Ocampo), sees Milla Jovovich's Alice captured by the everpresent Umbrella Corp in an huge underwater base, and having to escape with the help of sexy former Wesker operative Ada Wong(Li "Hotdamn" Bingbing). They track through spacious weapon testing enviornments, each a copy of world famous cities(and one cliche "Surburbia"), along an escape route. Meanwhile, rushing to meet them in a group of soldiers, led by Leon S. Kennedy(Johann Urb) and Luther West(Boris Kodjoe, from the last installment). Various enemies from the game series appear, including the Las Plagas soldiers from Resident Evil 4. As a fan, I truly enjoyed the film, and had no problems with it. Sure, its more popcorn than cerebral, but the films(and the games that inspired them) are also all-genre inclusive: we have zombies and zombie outbreaks, but also an evil, omnipresent corporation with their own faceless soldiers, and a evil computer(The Red Queen), trying to wipe out humanity. Grade: A.

Big Tidbits - 3/24/12

It's been quite a while since I've updated the 'ol blog, mainly because I was pretty busy trying to penetrate the short story market. I've decided to give it up. I'm really terrible with short stories, anyway; don't let people tell you that writing them is easy, because they are not, let alone trying to sell them. My big plan was to introduce my "franchise" characters within the stories until later when they are properly introduced within the novels proper. However, with no one wanting to buy them, I've decided to hang this part of my master plan up.

However, I will continue Wedding Blitz if more people are interested. The character of Gossamer/Mariah Grey plays a giant role in my future novel, and stupidly, I took the risk of introducing her freely to the internet. But hey, if it can get someone reading the story, its cool, right?

Work and research continues on my first novel. Originally, I wanted to write a novella series concurrently with the novel, but I decided that my confidence was not up for the task. Also, I don't think there would be any buyers without name recognition. Thus, novella series banished to the backburner. And to probably give you an example of what a hard sell it could possibly be, it involves lesbians(in a fantasy exploitation vibe) and lots of bizarre erotic situations. Can't risk revealing more...Mariah Grey is enough.

I plan to start the novel in May. I still have tons of research to cover, as well as building the fantasy world infrastructure.

And man...I'm waiting for Sleeping Beauty with Emily Browning. It's a film from her native Australia about her as a college student named Lucy, who basically ends up in a position as a sex worker providing services to clientele by falling asleep(hence the title) and letting them have their way with her.

And she gets naked.

I've been lusting after this gem since it came out at the Cannes Festival last year. I'm a huge Emily Browning fan...I'm possibly infatuated with her. She has gusto, man...going from the spectacular exploitative siren that was Babydoll to displaying her pixyish birthday suit in Beauty. Yeah, I know the movie is supposed to be for the artsy crowd, but I could care less. I have a confession to make...Emily Browning inspired the main character in that novella series I mentioned earlier. Call me a creep, a pervert, whatever...but Browning, in my selfish, low-brow opinion, would have been awesome as a genre actress...like a scream queen, battling monsters and showing them who is boss.

Well...I can simply write the novella series later on with my take on this Aussie goddess.

Speaking of scream queens, I plan to break out my Tiffany Shepis movies soon. I have The Hazing and Nightmare Man on tape, and I hunger for more. But with no Blockbuster, I have no more access to this wonderful woman:(. I definitely plan to write her in a horror film of my own one day.

On the big screen front, John Carter was awesome. It was somewhat surprising that Disney would release a movie filled with so much violence and mature themes. I only say somewhat because they did release Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time a few years earlier. Although not grindhouse gory, this did come from a company whose main live-action forays were duck sports teams and singing princesses.

Anyway, the film introduces us to the titular character, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who also gave us that "crazy white man" as Richard Pryor puts it, Tarzan. One of the fabled inspirations of Superman, John Carter begins with our hero, a shell of a man after fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War, somehow encountering a strange man within a cave. After dispatching the man with a well-aimed shot, Carter is teleported to Mars(revealed by the various natives to be known as 'Barsoom') where he develops astonishing leaping abilities and superhuman strength.

He is soon caught up in a new civil war between the various factions of Barsoom, including the city of Helium, where Princess Dejah Thoris resides. If you are a fan of Star Wars, this film touches the same vein that makes Lucas's galactic fairytale so special. It's not just a space hero story, but has that combination of genre elements that conjures a unique presentation. Just as Star Wars drew inspiration from chanbara(samurai cinema), John Carter draws from Westerns. It is very fun to watch. Here is hoping that there will be a sequel!

I apologize for the brief blurb on the movie. I'm going to admit it, I'm being lazy at the moment.

Just Awesome Cinema: Capsule Reviews - 11/14/11

I have to apologize...been very busy, trying to put together my novel, among other real life things that occupy us. After a few weeks, I thought against the idea of continuing The Syndicate of Carnality, although in its place, I'm thinking about writing a one-shot rebooting the Overmaster Wars franchise...bringing back Overmaster Wars: Resolute. A few months ago, I was against the idea of more Overmaster stories, mainly because I was worried that it would take attention away from my novel. But, more on that later; I'm here to talk about movies!

• Immortals: It seems that the unreliable narrator of 300(the same studio produced both) told this mishmash of Greek Mythology, which is supposedly focused on Theseus's legend(famous for the labyrinth and the Minotaur). However, only names are lifted from the ancient source material, and, similar to the Clash of the Titans remake that preceded it, is so far distorted that it could easily be considered an original Greek myth in and of itself. Also, just like Titans...the so-named "Titans" do not resemble their mythological counterparts in the least. The film tells the story of Theseus's(Henry Cavill)conflict with King Hyperion(Micky Rourke), a Conan-esque warlord conqueror who searches for a magic bow that can free the so-called Titans from their prison in Tarturus. Meanwhile, a small cadre of Greek Gods(contrasting with their 12-member counterparts, the Olympians), lead by Zeus(Luke Evans) try to stay above the conflict, hoping that the humans will have the initiative to solve their own problem. If you ignore the fact that the myths are not followed...the movie is pretty fun. It tends to be formulaic at times...King Hyperion as an evil tyrant who castrates his men, tortures virgin priestesses, and sends giant barb-wired wearing bullmen reminds me all to much of the villain of the last Conan film, which I hated. But, the fight scenes were awesome...and I swear, this is the first time I've seen a knock-down, drag out, brutal throwdown with the Greek Gods(well, half of them) going all out. Usually, you'll simply have them sitting around, discussing the affairs of men like at an immortal social club. But here, Zeus and his tiny crew of random deities get down, cutting down the "Titans". I should talk more about this film...maybe I will. I give it a C+.


• Puss In Boots: It was funny to learn that this was a prequel to the Shrek franchise. I don't know...I thought judging by this film, the Cat in those leather boots could make a good character to hold a franchise of his own. Voiced by Antonio Banderas, Puss's film focuses on his origin story, rising from an orphaned kitty, to a local hero, and later a disgraced champion, while in a friendship with Humpty Dumpty(Zach Galifinaikas). Still bitter at Humpty when the two meets again years later, Puss is convinced to join the eggman and his accomplice, "cat" burglar Kitty Softpaws(Salma Hayek), to steal the magic beans(of Jack and the Beanstalk fame) and grow a beanstalk, scale it, and steal from the Giant's Castle. This film is much darker than the Shrek films, and seem to have concepts and jokes aimed at an older audience. For example, Jack and Jill(yes, the pair that went up a hill) are gangsters, and Jack...wants to settle down and have kids. In the end, this movie is wonderful, and fun for the whole family. A+.

Just Awesome Cinema: X-men: First Class(Including Spoilers!)

One of the most appealing scenes in X-men: First Class to me is Raven Darkholme(played by Kentucky-born Jennifer Lawrence, with much more heart than her predecessor)in a robe, brushing her teeth in the bathroom mirror and pining over her azure scaly skin. This simple application of human element to a superhuman character, one in a myriad of other examples, is what sets this wonderful movie lightyears above its previous installments, filled with license-spotlight stealer Wolverine gobbling up much needed myth-building time for the forty year franchise.

X-men: First Class is a prequel to 20th Century Fox's X-men franchise, which begun in 2000 with the first installment. Instead of series regular Bryan Singer or his later successors Brett Ratner and Gavin Hood(of the Wolverine film),Matthew Vaughn, he of Kick-Ass and Layer Cake, stepped into the role of helming Marvel's mutant cinematic exploits...and he does not disappoint. In fact, similar to Nolan's interpretation of Batman, Vaughn's celluloid vision is strong on atmosphere, story, and character, so strong that I pray that this film becomes the reboot of the whole franchise, as opposed to just a prequel.

And there is many examples that seem to lend it towards being a reboot, as continuity from the previous films seemed to ignored almost wholeheartedly. For example, Charles Xavier(James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr(Micheal Fassbender) approach a certain famous Canuck to join their fledgling team of mutant operatives. From my understanding, Xavier did not know about his existence until decades later, in the first X-film. The same can be said for the existence of Havok(Lucas Till), who, in regular comic continuity, is the younger brother of Cyclops. But I'm not to much of a stickler for these details; one, movie continuity, which is essentially the boiled down "meat" of 40-years of comic continuity, won't exactly be the same as the comic, and two, this movie is so great that to linger over such details would ruin such an awesome experience.

The film itself takes place in the 1960s, and basically traces the origins of Magneto, Charles Xavier, and the origins of the X-men team in the shadows of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The major conflict is between Erik, Xavier, and the Hellfire Club, led by Sebastian Shaw(Kevin freakin' Bacon) and his second-in-command, the splendidly beautiful Emma Frost(January Jones). Other members include Azazel(Nightcrawler's freaking dad in comics in the worst storyline ever, The Draco, played by Jason Flemyng) and the silent Riptide(Alex Gonzalez). With the help of Moira Mactaggert(Rose Byrne) and her connection to the CIA, Xavier and Lehnsherr begin recruiting their own team, including Hank McCoy(Nicholas Hoult), Angel(Zoe Kravitz), the mentioned Havok, Darwin(Edi Gathegi), Raven, and Banshee(Caleb Jones). In between this, beautiful characterization is displayed, sides shift, and roles are taken in the conflict for the sake of both humanity and mutantkind. In a word...this film is a wonderful superhero film that strives for spectacular storytelling...unlike Thor, which, while very entertaining, nevertheless seemed somewhat your typical stock Marvel film.

The film also has a 60s' spy aesthetic to it, which is something I truly loved about it; I love it when a film has its own flavor(Thor has the same thing, more or less...it is the stock final battle that brings it down a notch for me). Although not an expert in cinematic techniques, I think Vaughn seemed to made the film with other 60s film techniques as well.

I am praying for a sequel/reboot!

Further Sucker Punch Comments and Other Movie Tidbits - 4/7/11

If you haven't noticed by now, I've fallen in love with Sucker Punch, a film that literally plays to all of the tropes in my own stories! So, you can imagine how disturbed I was to see all the venom and hate spewed at this wonderful film by "professional" critics, too lazy to get off of their own asses to actually watch the film with an unbiased eye. It says a lot about our present civilization where a film with scantily-clad, but strong female warriors is judged harshly before it can get out of the gate good. Honestly, was Inception judged so harshly? A group of well-dressed men run across ceilings. Sounds stupid, doesn't it? And yet, for some reason, Inception was given immediate respect even before the film was out in theatres. Meanwhile, Sucker Punch is roasted because it has a sexy heroine in a schoolgirl outfit slicing up giant samurai. Mentioned out of context, it might sound silly. However, in context of the film, it makes perfect sense. Then again, it would make sense out of context anyway, because in all honesty...Sucker Punch is anime, through and through. As a guy who has crawled his way through the anime trenches over the years, I found it cool that Zach Synder had another reason for his great heroine story, something about how these women, despite their oversexualized costumes and trappings, persevere and save themselves from misogynistic evil. I admire that. I really do. But Snyder didn't have to work that hard:). All he had to do is point at the anime medium, with its beautiful female warriors, who, despite their sexy outfits, are more powerful than any man. Also, despite overwhelming fanservice, you'd be surprised by the actual stories behind the sensationalism. For example, the Witchblade anime might have heroines and villainesses in skimpy armor, with big breasts and sexual hinting out of the frame...but it also has the theme of motherhood and the importance of having a mother in one's life. Ikki Tousen, another anime, might have big breasted heroines in tiny school uniforms beating the clothes off of each other, but the central story is also about fate...how one goes about either accepting and fighting it. And that's another thing that bothered me when people would complain about this movie...video game references. I'm not saying they aren't there, but to me, that's far too limited a comparison. If anything, Sucker Punch was drenched in anime homages and nods...Emily Browning's Babydoll was more of a callback to Saya from Blood: The Last Vampire(complete with katana) and Mikura(from Mezzo Forte/Mezzo, complete with girlish pigtails and gun), the rest of the girls(in the second-dream reality) seemed like they shared costume and fighting tips with the crew from Daphne In The Brillant Blue and the Dirty Pair. The dream mission set in WWI reminded me of Hellsing(when they are fighting against the zombie German soldiers), and Amber's mecha with the bunny face could have originated in Sakura Wars or Power Dolls...geez, look at all of this good stuff people are missing out on! Anyway, again Snyder, Browning, and the rest...good job. The film may not ever get respect with the mainstream, but really...who fucking cares? Wanting a sequel to this film is selfish...but I would at least want an anime tie-in, ala The Animatrix or Batman: Gotham Knight...maybe a prequel showing Baby's life before she was stuck in the asylum. Anyway, other tidbits:

• Battle of LA: This movie is what it says on the tin. Okay, that's not being fair. It is an alien invasion movie, ala Independence Day, but with Marines as opposed to the Air Force. From my understanding, the same FX studio who did the bland Skyline did this film, thus the similarities. Basically, Skyline ripped the Battle:LA folks off or something like that. Anyway...I'll give this movie a B-. The plot is entertaining, basically focusing on a group of marines in combat with the aliens on the city streets of LA, when they initially go on a mission to retrieve innocents caught in the invasion. The characters are your usual stock fare...even though I liked Aaron Eckhart's main character's burden with losing men on a previous mission in Iraq. Anyway, while this movie delivers some good war action, I found the antagonists to be...well, boring. While I hate Skyline, I really liked the creativity of the aliens, using human brains as CPUs to power their giant Cloverfield-esque mechs and other monsters. I just felt that would have brought a lot more fun to the proceedings, as opposed to bland aliens with fire guns. I also found it funny that Michelle Rodriquez was yet a soldier once again...she's a tough broad, but shouldn't she play other roles once in a while? And one more thing...where was the homage/nod/mention of the "real" Battle of Los Angeles?


• I might go see Hanna. I might. While I love tough heroines, I also like a healthy helping of fanservice. Hey, at least I'm honest, lol. Wait...the actress is sixteen? Oh, damn...er, wow, look at the time...


• Waiting on Thor, Fast Five, Green Lantern.

Just Awesome Cinema: Sucker Punch(Includes Spoilers!)

In mankind's eons' long history, there has always been stories, and story cycles. In often the case, stories, while in cycle, always transform with the times, becoming something completely different each time humanity reaches a new era, but maintaining enough consistency to not change completely. Thus, for example, the mythological and folklore heroes of millenniums past become the pulp and superheroes of the modern age. This also happens when stories shift function, from explanation of natural phenomena to entertainment for the popular conscious.

Long story short...the spectacular Sucker Punch taps into the story cycle and story archetype originating with Alice in the world famous Alice in Wonderland(just "remade" last year by Tim Burton) and manifesting later in the heroine Dorothy Gale of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz...i.e. the young heroine trapped in a strange, dreamlike fantasyland. And just in case you did not get the memo, the costume and hairband of our heroine, Babydoll(played by the beautiful Emily Browning(damn, i have a crush on that woman!))is a nod towards Disney's version of Alice.

You can't judge by the typing, but that last remark was typed with a Chesire grin on my face. Sucker Punch not only homages Alice, but Dorothy as well...at least, imo; My reference for the homage comes from the 1939 MGM production, where, at the end of the film, after Dorothy clicks those red heels and return home, it turns out that Oz and her adventures in it were all a dream. Apparently, the movie creators figured that the audiences of the time would not accept the fact that Oz was real, even though that was the case in the novels. And in the modern day, it seems that some audiences and some professional critics can't make heads or tails of this movie, and lash out, calling it "bad". But more on that later.

The film itself, described by its creator Zach Synder as "Alice In Wonderland with machine guns"(although I would use Wizard of Oz), is about a young woman in the 1950s, known only in the story as Babydoll(Emily Browning) who, due to circumstances involving the death of her mother, her younger sister, and abuse by her corrupt stepfather(Gerard Plunkett), is taken to the mental institution known as the Lennox House. There, under the watch of the asylum's main psychiatrist, Dr. Vera Gorski(Carla Gugino) and corrupt orderly Blue Jones(played with despicable perfection by Oscar Isaac), Babydoll awaits her doom at the end of a lobotomy needle, courtesy of a underhanded deal between her stepfather and Blue. Her stepfather wants her out the way, to hide the truth about Babydoll's sister's death, and to obtain the family fortune left by her deceased mother.

This is where my MGM Wizard of Oz reference kicks in. Babydoll creates an elaborate fantasy world in her mind, where she is a dancer, brought to a brothel owned by pimp Blue Jones to be sold to the mysterious High Roller in five days(corresponding with her real world countdown to the lobotomy). There, she meets the rest of her crew: sisters Sweetpea(Abbie Cornish) and Rocket(Jena Malone), Blondie(Vanessa "Far from High School Musical" Hudgens), and Amber(Jamie "Making up for Dragonball: Evolution" Chung). When told to dance before Blue and her fellow dancers by the brothel's madam, Madame Gorski, Babydoll, in order to get over her shyness, retreats into a second fantasyworld, where she becomes an awesome schoolgirl warrior. In her first venture into this second-level fantasy world, she is given a mission by a mysterious sensei(Scott Glenn) to obtain five items: a map, fire, a knife, a key, and a mystery.

These five items all correspond with items in the real world, all detected by Babydoll upon first entering the asylum. After succeeding in her first mission in the "inner" fantasy world, Babydoll returns to the first level fantasyworld to learn that her dancing is so potent, that it causes tears in the eyes of Blue and applause from her fellow dancers(when she dances, she goes into a trance, her mind always returning to the second-level reality for missions, where she obtains each item on her list; or an alternate interpretation is that she views each dance as a mission to gain each item). Afterwards, she vows to escape the confines of the brothel(in the real world, this is the asylum) and asks for help from her four new allies.

And thus, Sucker Punch is off and running. As one commercial puts it, it is "Kill Bill meets Inception". I would probably substitute an anime title in place of Kill Bill, such as Kite or Blood: The Last Vampire; but the Inception comparison is correct and unavoidable. Both films play on levels of reality and dreams, and the blurring between them at various points. And unlike what most professional critics and some audience members would lead you to believe, Sucker Punch's exploration of reality versus dreams is definitely on par with Nolan's dream opus. Of course, unlike Inception, the subject of dreams versus reality itself isn't explored...but both are used in Sucker Punch to craft the journey of its heroine from start to finish, initially giving her the will to escape, and finally the mental and emotional strength to confront the monstrous Blue Jones(in all of his various incarnations) at the end of the tale.

Thus...everything, EVERY single thing in the film is justified, from battles with steam-powered Nazi zombie soldiers on the second-level dream reality to the fetish costumes in the brothel in the first-level of her dream reality. In the end, this is ALL taking place in Babydoll's mind, influenced by real world stimuli like orderly Blue Jones's sexual advances(seen, for example, when real-world Babydoll is scrubbing toilets and Jones roughly caresses her face, making her feel like a prostitute) and the various items around the asylum that she needs in order to make her escape. This is similar to the Nightmare on Elm Street series, where characters' actions and even dreams reflect things in the real world.

While the story is very sound, the special effects are awesome, and the battles, while not uber-creative(sharing another trait with Inception's somewhat stock dream battles)are...well, awesome. Yes, we might have a somewhat cliche dragon battle, but it also involves a WWI(or WWII?)style-bomber, girls with machine guns, and their sexy leader, a girl in a schoolgirl outfit and a katana. Did I mention that said girl slit the throat of a baby dragon and stole the very organs that create fire out of his throat? Yes, it happens in a dream within a dream...but it is still cool.

It boggles the mind why this film is getting a bad rep. This is an excellent, quality film, with a wonderful story that invokes Dorothy and Alice and their journeys through dreamlike fantasylands, but with a darker, more adult tone. Instead of the fictional folklore traditions of wicked witches, talking animals, and royalty, director Synder draws upon "folklore" and "story" characters relevant to our present culture...anime and video game standbys like dragons, Nazi zombies, giant samurai, and real world fears like evil pimps and sexual slavery. All is cleverly blended together in a story about a young woman dealing with helplessness by retreating into a dream world.

This movie gets an "A" from this audience member. If this is a bad movie, I want more please.