Dilbert (the TV Series)

"I'm afraid your son has ‘The Knack’... a rare condition characterized by an extreme intuition about all things mechanical and electrical, and other social ineptitude."

Animated TV Series

This is the only reason why I ever stayed on the BBC channel for more than 2 mins. I think this was aired through the cable when I was still in college and I suddenly had the urge to look for the animated series again because of the drastic change in the dilbert-dot-com format which caused some flame from the avid fans.

Since (wait. lemme see) February of 2006, I have been a subscriber of Daily Dilbert through email. This means that I've never missed a single weekday Dilbert strip since 2006. Weird eh? I'm an otaku right?

Anyway, Scott Adam's humor is just my brand of humor: intelligent, quirky, sarcastic and most of the times satirical. Not everyone appreciates this; my sister just doesn't get it. She walked out on one of my marathons.

The TV series is the same Dilbert but only better. He breathes and talks on full 2D animation and to top that, the engagement lasts for 30 minutes. A far cry from the quickie of the newspread strip.

It's just sad that it only went for two seasons.

Verdict: If you think you're IQ is at least over a 100 and has some decent sense of humor, this is definitely for you. You'll have a ball gawking at people while they miss at those intelligent punchlines.

Info
Leeched from: torrent, (google "Dilbert torrent")

Kamen Rider The Next

"If you hear Chiharu's song, 'Platinum Smile,' you die."

Movie

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but I'm actually a huge fan of the Kamen Rider franchise. This is not really surprising since I was part of the generation that grew up on Kamen Rider Black show on Sundays on IBC 13. Anyway, this post is not about my fandom but about this great movie.

What sets apart Kamen Rider The Next from other tokusatsu movies is that they've become experimental this time: they added a horror dimension. Think of "The Ring" meets "Bioman." Amazing right? And what's so amazing was that they pulled it off. And with other subthemes on the side like friendship, respect, etc.

The look and feel of this KR movie is very different from the other ones that are released on a yearly basis as a spinoff of the current KR TV series (like Kamen Raidā Den'ō Ore, Tanjō! for Den-O or Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love for KR Kabuto). This was definitely aiming for a different market other than kids and kid-likes.

In the previous movie (The First), they kept the 80's feel in the production which was obviously fanservice to really really die hard (not me) Kamen Rider fans which they've been deprived of since the dawn of the next generation riders (Agito,Kuuga, Ryuki, etc.). That in itself, at the same time making it so contemporary, without falling into the pit of fantasy is just amazing. It was bordering on sci-fi actually.

And I loved "The Next" punchline.

I would have to say that The Next deserves attention because of it's peculiar combination of recipes: horror + tokusatsu. This is again onr of the movies I couldn't help but clap by the time the credits roll.

And what's more amazing is how they threaded the thre frist Kamen Riders, and make a pseudo-remake of the three series. (Kamen Rider 1, 2, V3). Fanservice, I'm sure.

But then again, as I said, Kamen Rider is my fandom.

Verdict: Watch it even though you're not a Kamen Rider fan. Definitely made a mark in cinema for being experimental in form and structure yet successful.

Info
Leeched from: #tv-nihon, torrent

Taiyo no Uta (Movie)

"Tomorrow never knows. It's a happy line."

Movie

Taiyo no Uta (A Song to the Sun) is one of those movies about the most often pairing of love and an incurable disease. But what's more interesting in that this is one of those movies whose OST is strongly tied-up with its entirety (for example Nana, The Love of Siam). Besides, Kaora Amane is a (hopeful) singer.

As music is central to the plot, expect lots of music inserts, which is actually not so bad. For the lack of really energetic atmosphere in the movie, these mini-concerts are its high-points.

This is recommendable, but not so highly because like most movies of this genre (teen romance), it's slightly predictable. I guess age also adds a big factor to its enjoyment; I'm 23 already. But still, it is remarkable to note that I'm hooked to the OST beyond salvation.

YUI is just so adorable, who is also the reason why I watched this movie in the first place. Her music is awesome.



Verdict: Good if you have time to spare; won't completely waste your time.

Info
Info on YUI
Leeched from: Veoh
Subtitles from: kloofy.net