StuJM

**please note, I've marked this with a spoiler warning, although I will not be mentioning exact moments or giving anything away**

The Ideon - Be Invoked, the 2nd of 2 films which wrap up the Space Opera 'SpaceRunway Ideon'. Seeing as no one has reviewed this film for IMDb other then using its star rating, I felt compelled to write something so that others would know of this Gem of an anime that sadly has gone unnoticed by western audiences.

Be Invoked is the titanic climax of the series Space Runaway Ideon, which was cut short from its initial planned amount of episodes to end abruptly on Ep.39 due to audience ratings. As as result of fan unrest, Tomino made 2 films to conclude the series, 'A Contact', a retelling of the first 38 episodes, and 'Be invoked' concluding the series from Ep.39. Usually to cancel a series would be a bad thing, and it very nearly was the case, but I'm now of the opinion this was a real blessing as it allowed Tomino to make this film. The animation, and remember it was made in 1982, is superb for its age and a clear upgrade of the animation from the rest of the series, the cells are smooth and the action looks all the more fantastic for it.

The film picks up (and ultimately replaces) ep.39, with the Solo Ship who having been turned away from Earth are pursued by its enemy, The Buff Clan. With the realisation of just what kind of power the Ideon has to unleash and facing overwhelming odds to survive, the Solo Ship and its crew prepares for its destiny.

This is an action film, a 90minute roller-coaster ride with no stop fighting, explosions and loss, showing the struggle of the Solo Ships crew against the pursuing Buff Clan, whose intention is to wipe them out. Its extremely gritty to watch, and has a very dark atmosphere and ultimately bloody with the body count on both sides mounting as it races to its conclusion.

Nearly 30years on, Space Runaway Ideon and its films are still unknown to all but Tomino fans or hardcore anime buffs. Its extremely unlikely this series will get the release to Western audiences and that's the biggest crime here. Aside from its now legendary climax, this is a film (and series) about the ever increasingly desperate lives of a band of survivors of an unprovoked attack who find themselves fighting for their very lives against their own kind and an alien enemy. Tomino is excellent at telling a story, and in this series he excels in doing just that.

I first caught a viewing of Kaze no tani no Naushika around 2 years ago when it was being shown (abeit, an English dubbed) on TV one late afternoon when I was ill from work. Im was 22 at the time and fell in love with Nausicaa and her world. Since then I have purchased it on DVD, and seen it in its original dub.

This film might be a shade under 25 years old, but do not let that put you off, this is 1 animated film that stands up to the test of time and looks as amazing now as it must have all those years ago. The story will grip children & adults, presenting to them a Post-apocalyptic era where the world is partially inhabited by Humans, and the rest to giant Insects in an uninhabitable areas known as the Sea of Decay. Its a mixture of morals about living together in cooperation and of protecting the Environment, but is so well presented into the narrative that it doesn't force it onto the viewer.

The characters are all presented and given enough time for us to learn about them and not just added in as cannon fodder or fillers to the main protagonist. Speaking of whom, Nausicaa is standout character which all Studio Ghibli films produce, someone we just cant but like and love whilst never being weighed down in clichés or by others.

This is a film for anyone, of any sex and of any age and all will find enjoyment from it, and possible a bit more. Its a timeless classic by which you can judge any animated film to, and I cant recommend it enough. 10/10

To start with, I am a fan of the last 3 Indy films and even after the Star Wars Prequals, I went into the cinema expecting this film to make up for the disappointment of Lucas's last adventure into film making. Sadly, it wasn't to be. If the 3 Star Wars prequels was a let down, this really destroyed any faith I have in George Lucas now.

What made Raiders of the Lost Ark & The Last Crusade is what they was built on. Indiana Jones is historical based film, and both Raiders & Crusade have Historical facts around which the plot is made and to which makes it relevant to Indy & his job/hobby. KotCS has none of this, the plot is paper thin and its so ill thought out that I forgot what they was actually doing with the Skull. The Russains appear to have little interest in the Skull other then to play the bad guys to Indy's protagonist, and what there is isn't exactly explained in length or detail. Other then Indy, I cant say I was too fond of his support, Mutt is the same would-be apprentice/helper from any adventure film (glimemrs of Hayden Christenson's Vader in the SW films) and wasn't easy to warm too, while Karen Allen arrives quite late with little reason to be there. I also couldn't figure what Ray Winstone's role was other then for comic relief, and I don't think Lucas actually knew anymore then I did.

But its the action sequences that let it down for me. Usually a highlight in any Indy film, this one was marred with Lame CGI and images so bad & cheesy I wanted to cry. Im sure somewhere, sometime when George wrote this it seemed like a good idea but it just didn't excite me as when Indy is battling Nazi's on a Tank in a desert canyon. In particular its Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett (both conveniently good swordsman BTW) duelling over 2 speeding jeeps in the jungle, and equally as bad was when Mutt "Tarzan swings" with a group of Monkey "allies". None of these however, even get near the biggest crime of the film, which is the finale and what the Skull is all about. Honestly it ruins everything that was even good in the film, and it so laughable, its just untrue.

When it was announced Indy 4 was being made, Il admit I was excited and nervous (from the SW prequels) but I had hoped Spielberg might have kept Lucas under control. But it wasn't to be. The CGI looks awful, even compared to Revenge of the Sith, which fault ridden as it was, had some amazing eye-candy effects, there's too many cringe moments (gopher's at the beginning, the Jungle battle) and not enough Indy magic. There are some good moments in the film, the beginning is enjoyable and Ford plays Indiana like only he can. But the good is few and far between, and while its an enjoyable film, its not a good one and its certainly not a good Indiana Jones film. I managed to watch National Treasure 2 the day before, and its everything Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull should have been, Good fun, enjoyable and a decent film to watch.

After completing the epic that was mobile Suit Gundam, i had no hesitation in ordering Zeta on DVD. Having read some reviews online, i was expecting something good, what i got was something more.

OK, lets get the bad stuff out first. The main complaint is that after such brilliant characterisation of MSG 0079, there is hardly any changes in characters through the series, the characters start the series in full view, with the exception of Camille and Fa, who are the few that actually change in the series. Secondly not everyone will like the animation, but anyone whose grown up around the likes of Modern anime, and not used to 80's animation, it may seem a little out of date.

OK the good stuff. The story, unlike MSG 0079, the story clearly divides the opposing sides as to who is the good and bad guys. The story then adds some more twists with the introduction of Axis midway into the series. The action scenes are well done, and look fantastic even for its age. The music goes really well, and makes a change from the JPop that is included in modern Animes. Tomino's stroke of genius however was to include fan favourite Char (aka Quattro Baggina) as one of the lead good guys, although a failure to build of Chars budding Newtype potential from MSG did annoy me.

At the end of the day, when all the smoke has cleared, and all the dust has settled you will love this series, it is a masterclass in how Aime's should be made. You will love it for its blatant idea that it doesn't matter if your a minor or a main character, if you are in the series, your fair game.

Gundam as it should be.

OK, firstly, i'd like to state that this review is for the English dub version of Gundam Wing, but only because i have not had the time to watch it in its original audio track. OK, on with the review.

I'd like to begin with the plot. Many people may claim that its a spin on the original MSG 0079 series of the UC series. OK, maybe there's a hint of it, but compared to others (such as SEED, which I'm told is a re-telling of 0079) this couldn't be further from the truth. For the first 6-7 episodes the beginning story is that the colonies have sent 5 gundam pilots to earth to fight for the freedom of the colonies from the oppressive Earth Sphere Aliance.

The characters of the series are a mixed bunch. Of the 5 gundam pilots, i only ever truly liked Duo and Heero, whilst not caring to much for the others (Quatre drove me nuts with his whining and Wufei was non-existent for much of the first half, and complained a lot). Many people have argued that Heero's counter part, Zechs is a blatant rip-off of Char (of 0079) and in terms of looks he is, but he is one of the better characters that emerges through the series. Whilst I'm talking about characters, id like to bring up Relena. Now she has to be the most annoying character EVER !!. No, really, I can understand why she was included in the series, but i think that they put too much emphasis on her being the peace-wanting person, as in the end it was just frustrating to watch any scenes that she was in.

Despite the serious nature to the show, i always felt that it was just too kiddy-like in how it was presented. Where as in some of the other Gundam series or other anime, people die, even main characters. However, whilst we see many mobile suits blow up, or a glance of the pilots face, very rarely do we see a main character die which isn't what id expect from a series that is trying to show that war is wrong. This leads me nicely to my next complaint with Gundam wing, is that it takes itself far to seriously. The constant theme of Pacifism, i lost count how many times it was thrown in a sentence (mainly Relena).

On a plus side, the gundam designs are excellent and very unique compared to each other. The animation is brilliant and still stands well today compared to some more modern Animation. Another plus is the music score, especially the opening song for the first half of the series "Two-Mix; Just Communication" is catchy (although cheesy, plus spot the sexual under-tones)

To conclude then, this is a good anime, one that most people seem to see in order to get into anime (it was my path). Whilst it has excellent animation an fight scenes, its dragged down by its plot and some of the characters that are too bland and 1 dimensional. Make no mistake, a good anime, but not the best Gundam series.

6.5/10

OK, if your like me, and your a fan of Friends, you might be expecting something similar in Joey. When the Pilot was released I was lucky to find a copy of it some time before the series started, and to be honest, I was not to happy. The jokes in the first few episodes about Joey tended to be a bit unfunny, with most of the jokes being aimed at Joey's sexual habits or his stupidity or Drea De Matteo's Breats.

Many of the jokes are similar to Friends, yet these just didn't feel right. However, having seen the first 10/11 Episodes now, the show seems to be finding its feet. In fairness to the show, the casting is great, with each of the actors being well placed in who they are.

It seems quite strange that none of the Friends cast has made cameos yet, although I have noticed that a number of episodes have been directed by David Schwimmer.

Despite being about its title character, Joey, I cant help but feel that some of the episodes should have some emphasis should be on the other characters similar to how 'Frasier' does this with their characters, with sub plots that happen over the episodes.

All in all, its been a rocky start to Joey, and although its getting better, I still feel as if it should get funnier, as compared to other sitcoms, the jokes do not come so thick and fast. Whether this series will last as long as friends is yet to be seen, but on the whole, this is turning out to be an enjoyable series, if not as great as others.........Yet.

Buying this film on a recommendation by a friend, so i did and watched it the following nigt. OH MY GOD this film was amazing. Firstly its a mix between A clockwork orange and lord of the flies. The most striking thing about this film is the violence although not really the killing, but how its done. its probably seen as being more disturbing that a class of teenagers have to kill each other rather then a group of adults, esspecially since the kids know each other. The real message is about friendship, and how they're tested with everyone, such as that between the girls in the lighthouse.

This is a really enjoyable film dispite being a little controversial. You must see this film and you will enjoy it.

I love black adder, hell i love it 'possibly' more then Red Dwarf (and that really means something), and this is by far my fav series of BA.

**** Possible Spoiler *******

The series makes humour in what is now look at as a no humourous war. For instance the episode with the brilliant Ace Flash heart, when Black adder and Baldrik join the 15 minuters and the final confrontation between Flash heart and The red baron had me in stitches, i had to re-watch the epsiode again so i could see the ending !!! Make no doubt this is British humour at its best. If i had to choose between 'Friends' or this, the Mclaren wrecking super star would get my vote anyday.

*****/5

I loved Wayne's World, so imagine the joy when i found out that a sequel was made. And boy i wasn't disappointed. The first film was fall of memorable moments and quotes, but WW2 changes the formula, it now spoofs other films and had the some of the best quote ever. The new characters are brilliant, esspecially Del Preston with his memorable "1000 brown M&M's to fill a brandy glass" speech is by far the best speech ever.

If you loved Waynes world, then chances are you will love this. If you havent seen the first, it'l be better to see it first as some stuff you may not understand.

Excellent, 4/5

When this was 1st (and as i can recall only) time on Sky in England, I was fortunate to watch it on an old sky channel, and was blown away. really it was the 1st of few anime series ive seen and possibly remains my fav cos few people know of it, and if it came out on dvd, i'd seriously consider buying it.

Story is basic, earth invaded by aliens and mysterious figure 'teknoman' takes up the fight for earth, and gradually the war swings in earths favour (thanks to some technology & tactics)

4.999/5

yes, I LOVED THUNDERCATS. Back when i was less then 8 years old, 2 programs ruled my life, one was the mighty transformers, the other was Thundercats. Based on a group of Cat/human people from Thunderer who escaped their exploding home planet and settle of 3rd Earth (or something like that) they then become enemies with Mumm-Ra. Sounds sad, but My god it was ****ing brilliant for a kid in the 80's. I had the VHS that had the story of the thundercats, and how they escaped they're home planet, etc. I'm now at uni, and HOPE that the video is still 'somewhere' in my home, like i said, i hope. Back in the 80's this & Transformers was the bomb, and when the people who made this get they're act together and put it on to dvd, I'l be a very happy man. 10/10 for everything

Funny, gory, cheap effects pants acting, brilliant fun.

Watching this film is one of the best things you can do, sure it was never going to win any awards, but its so entertaining. So many memorable moments, like the Karate Vicar "I kick ass for the lord" or the infamous lawnmower scene.

Excellent film 10/10

Think about it, Alien, excellent film and the title doesnt call it 'a creature that ....', but tells u its an alien, which we learn next to nothing about it (with the odd exception), from this, John Carpenters 'The Thing' follows alien.

******* SPOILERS WITHIN *********

The plot is simple, and is based on a short story, and a 1950's film, Thing from another planet. An alien infiltrates a US artic base in the guise of a dog, this alien kills its victim and the Changes its form to that of its victim. This then leads the cast to suspect everyone, who can they trust. A series of deaths lead to the most suspenceful scene, when they all take a blood test.

Like i said earlier, keeping it simple like the little knowledge of the alien (a name, where it came from and what it looks like in its true form) which leads creates a massive atmosphere filled with fear and paranoia which leaves you guessing until the very end.

This is a film which you will return to watch for a long time to come, and the ending will leave you guessing all the time.

A small town in terror, giant worms have moved in and attack everything that make vibrations on the ground. 2 unlikely heros step forward and lead the survivors to sanctuary. Yeah sounds like the usual B-movie ???, but the film is good, possibly more comic then horror (the couple who are gun made) which makes the film what it is. Shame its always on around midnight, but i always watch it (and the tremors 2 for that matter)

6-7/10

This is one film to watch (along with Lock-stock) to watch that centers around the London underground crime/boxing syndicates. Before I watched this film I thought it was another Lock-stock, but its a completely different film and story altogether. Vinny Jones proves that he can deal with more than 1 line (Gone In 60 Seconds) and isnt a man that can only be good at getting sent off.

The plot is brilliant and throws you in lots of directions that makes you want to watch the film to see what happens next. Watch this film, you will love it.

9/10.

Young Guns is arguably the best film about possibly the most famous out law ever - Billy the Kid. The task of Billy is given to Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, Keifer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dermont Mulroney and Casey Siemaszko as his friends or as they are know in the film and in real life the "Regulators". In terms of plot the film is loosly made around history as it was although some parts never actually happened. However the key part of the film is the acting which is one well considering the cast is quite young.

Estevez plays Billy well, and shows him as the houmouerous character that Billy has was known for all those 100 years ago. However all Billy the kidd films portray him as a trigger happy short tempered man, dispite historical documents that prove other wise.

Despite its historical errors (which are made possibly to make the film better/ more exciting) *like there being around 15 regulators at the fight at the McSween house, and some of the characters getting killed when it actually never happened.

Despite this the film cant be faulted in terms of entertainment or action. Watch this film, its one of the best westerns, certainly of any from the 80's. 8.5/10

As you do, I was up late one night and the advert for this film came on, and as i'd never seen it I though I should give it a chance and watch it. Any regrets?, not really. The story (at the time) is original (ish) as a planet has been involved in a war about some "stuff" on the planet which leads to two armies hating each other. Time passes till one organisation recieves mail about a cease fire, and venture out to talk to the opposing army. When they do they find out that the man in the mail has been dead for many months and this maybe a trap. Up to this, I believe its the best part of the film as you dont know who or what to believe. It also explains about the real killers in the film the "screamers" which are little robots underground that attack u if you dont have a special arm piece. However we also learn the screamers have improved themselves with the Mk3 versions or "Davids" (little boys that follow you back to your base, and the Mk3's which isnt shown on the computer.

Long story short the main characters decide to leave the planet and fight to a secret escape base.

Watch the film, decide if its good story that goes out in a fizz or a bang, I think you'l agree with the first. On the whole, entertaining but not really anything special. *** out of 5

OK, firstly yes, WE KNOW that a few chapters are missing from the film, and yes a *few* parts are made up, but FotR missed a few chapters (or so i'm told). Now ive never read any of the books, but i saw the animated LOTR film, so i knew most of what happened.

TTT isn't very friendly to those that never saw/read FotR, as it jumps strait into the screens that have the now broken fellowship. Frodo & sam are continuing to mount doom, Aragon, Glimi, and leglos are running after the orcs that captured merry & pipin. From here we meet arguably the best character of the film, Golum, a possesed king, a girl who can hold a sword. And you may have heard a bit about a battle, Helms deep, which has to be one of the best fights ever. And as FotR had cool fights, Helms Deep easily beats any of these in terms of scale and graphics.

So forget what you heard and part with your money, its too good to miss.

The description of this film on sky made it sound good, so i descided watched it. BIG MISTAKE. Its appalling, i could have made this better.

For instance lets look a particular scene when a mad hungry for revenge captain is fishing for the big croc, well the cast have managed to get of the boat and are wading their way to shore (BTW they were miles out to see), one of them thinks its a good idea to get on a surf board and "surf" to shore. Well he literary does surf into the crocs mouth. Even the stupidity of this film couldnt save it.

Altogether, Poor plot, Poor acting/cast, Poor special effects, avoid this film, i can think of many things you could do in 2 hours then to sit down and watch this.

No score, its off the chart.

By far the best Arnie film, This film doesnt try to be a film that it isnt and this makes it good. Altough this is and always will be overshadowed by Alien and Aliens, this film is as entertaining, stands well on the test of time and will be remembered for a long time to come.

***SPOLIERS****

I watch this film everytime its on TV, Ok the plot is a little like Alien (sort of), A team of Mercenaries (and they are) are asked to rescue some hostages, and on route find a team of ex-commando's (who they knew), questions arise, what are they doing there and why have they no skin ?. Later in the film we find out the hostage scenario was a ploy and they're actually cleaning up the dead soldiers mission: killing the alien,(or have i got this all wrong?) Any one-by-one they are killed until arnie is left to battle the beast to the end.

This is a good, entertaining film and should be enjoyed by all. 8/10.

This is still the best of the 4 films in the alien series. Ok some things look a little dated in some parts, but its still brilliant, after all name another film with such an original, famous scene like the chest burster coming out of John Hurt.

Watch this film its brilliant and it set the standard for Sci-fi films to this day (after all it has a 2nd claim of being one of very few films to have a sequel thats on par with the original)

After the classic that is Alien, you could only expect it to be a matter of time before someone comes along and ruins the best, most successful alien EVER with a poor excuse of a film technically known as a sequel. However life is a fickle thing, and Cameron came along with a film that not only was good, it could be said to be better than the original.

The story at a first glance seems a bit poor to say the least. Ripley is found some 50 years after the last film, tells her story which nobody believes and the inevitable happens, the planet she was on some 50 years ago has ceased to make contact with humanity (coincidence ?)

However its the introduction of the gung-ho marines (and are picture perfect of modern day Americans), who are sent to see why theres no contact. Cue the beginning of a rollercoaster ride of a film.

The action in alien is brilliant, flying at you at neck breaking speed, this film has you at the edge of your seat. Watch it, love it, enjoy it as theres not too many quite like it that come out these days.

This is one of the best British comedies in recent years. Everything about it is fantastic. It follows a patrol of Bobbies that are being filmed by a crew from the BBC. The characters are brilliant, from D.I Beach (the most bizzare D.I on TV), to the really creepy Racist at Camp Alpha. And the Scenario's they get into, these are classic, from running over some royal peoples dogs, to the infamous 'Operation Zoro' Every episode gets better then the last.

Basically everyone should see any of the three series, although I think series 2 is the best. Give it a go, go on, you know you want to.

This IS a film to see. Ok, everyone in England/has lived in england or is England will be on the floor in laughter. That said, most people, where ever they come from should understand 80-90% of the jokes, and Ritchie does put sub-titles in for the needy.

The Cast is excellent and are convincing, with a plot and script that works brilliantly given the amount of separate 'sub' stories going on e.g, the scousers getting the guns. The plot twists and turns to a cliff hanger ending, the only way (although frustrating) to end the film.

I would recommend this film to anyone, and I think no matter what nationality you are you should love this film.

9.5/10

We are Spinal tap of the UK, You must be the U.S.A. From the start of this film you KNOW that this film is going to be something special. The film is full of memorable moments, such as the '11' amps, or the 'black albam' the band release, instead of the planned name 'smell the glove'.

The humour in this film is top class, although paying attention to the film helps you notice its charm and catch most of the jokes.

Everyone who likes rock 'n roll MUST see this film, everyone else should enjoy it.

9/10