Fantasia : Death Note and Death Note : The Last Name

Death Note is based on a manga and anime, and it shows. Some shots feel like they were taken straight out of a comic book. The characters are over-the-top, but always interesting. One character in particular, "L" truly steals the show as a sweets-eating boy-genius. The design of the Gods of Death are awesome. The first movie is the best and ends with one of the most awesome cliffhanger I've ever seen. The second seems to loose it's footing at first, but comes back at the end with a few clever twists, although a couple of those involves the characters being much smarter than they could and knowing much more than they could. 7/10 with a butt-factor of 1 for Death Note, 6/10 with a butt-factor of 1.5 for Death Note : The Last Name.

Fantasia : Jade Warrior, EXTE : Hair Extension and End of the Line

Welcome to my annual Fantasia review. As always I will be giving straight-up "last paragraph-only" reviews of the movies I see at Fantasia. Only 11 movies this year, down from last year's 26. My butt just can't handle the Hall's seats anymore, for any extended periods of time anyway. So I went with a reasonable 11. I will still put in my butt-factor, which is the penalty given based on the pain in my butt. For example, if a movie score 6/10 with a butt-factor of 1, it means the actual score of the movie probably would've been 7/10 if I hadn't been distracted by the pain.

I usually attend the opening night movie, but this year I was on vacation, so for me Fantasia opened with the Finnish/Chinese movie Jade Warrior. Jade Warrior's premise is interesting, to say the least. An ancient artifact from feudal China is discovered in Finland by Finnish researchers. The movie switches back and from between modern-day Finland and ancient China. Much less action than I anticipated and a rather slow pace made this a rather average movie, despite the original premise. The cast is good, the cinematography is good but nothing special. It is much more about characters and their internal struggles, than about kung-fu. Although you do get some form of white-dudes kung-fu action. 6/10 with a butt-factor of 1.

Moving on to EXTE : Hair Extension with the stunning Chiaki Kuriyama. This one is both hilarious and scary as only the Japanese can do. Treated with the utmost seriousness at times, and extreme silliness at others, it is bound to left most westerners scratching their heads. Fortunately for the director, who was present for the screening, the Fantasia crowd got it, and laughed their asses out at all the right parts. The finale had me practically in tears. Did I mention the presence of the ever-gorgeous Chiaki Kuriyama? The bad guy is also awesome/ridiculous. 8 out of 10 with a butt-factor of 1.

Moving on to the End of the Line for the End of this Entry. When a film is a Canadian production, I will always be more prone to go see it, even if it looks and feels like somewhat generic. I was very pleased at last year's The Descendant, but I enjoyed End of the Line even more. It's effective, scary, and has an unusually attractive cast that are also better than the genre's standards, performance-wise. Thumbs up for on-hand director
Maurice Devereaux and everyone involved. A few cheap scares that takes away some points, but real ones and a great story that puts this score up to 7.5, with a butt-factor of 1.

Vote, and don't vote like a retard

In two days is the provincial election. As always not a lot is at stake, and at the same time, with every election no matter the level, everything is at stake. You might be tempted not to vote. Don't take the easy way out. Get off your butt and go to the polls. Every elections we have a chance to show the powers that be what we think of them. There is only one good way to vote, visit the parties' websites, read their platform, and pick what YOU think makes the most sense. Most people add tons of strategic layers on top of that very basic electoral concept. I like party B, but I'll vote for party C otherwise party A will win and thus I'll have wasted my vote. This kind of thinking is highly unhealthy and plays no small role in the lack of progress our country and province go through. It also benefits the corrupt old parties and the money-backed far-right newcomer. The media, through polls, dictate the line the people must follow, and the people vote for those parties that get the most exposure.

Let's do something revolutionary and actually vote for the party we find the best. Don't vote like a retard.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to anyone passing by. Merry Christmas and take care of yourself!

Cheers!