vittoriobaky

It's probably because I wasn't born in Italy that I'm not a huge fan of Italian comedy - in fact, apart from a few classics like Fantozzi (who got old as well) I hardly can stand today's so called "comedians" like De Sica or Boldi. Then what was I expecting from "Fascisti su Marte" (Fascists on Mars)? I liked the concept, and despite the fact that I've never seen the source material TV-show, I thought this could be entertaining. I couldn't be more right.

The concept is as simple as it gets - Fascists are sent to conquer Mars, but as always, only a bunch of people with little to no food or any resource are sent. The problems are many, caused not only by the lack of resources, but also because Mars has no air, no water, or no life whatsoever. Or does it? When the strange rock-resembling creatures that apparently say "mimimmi" appear, things turn out very differently, and what seemed to be an easy task in a place full of nothing but sand (a clear satire of the attack on Libia), turns out to be a matter of interests, whereas the "Duce" sure wouldn't let our heroes lose (also to mention that the 5 men are bringing around a bust of Mussolini himself).

When the war against inanimate objects isn't going on, the soldiers act as typical Italians - they laugh for bad jokes, they play soccer, they quarrel. But all this mindlessness causes trouble, which makes it necessary for the soldiers to create commissions, real politics in an otherwise anarchic situation - institutions as the MIN.CHI (which is a vulgar Italian pun), which in theory should make all easier, but in reality do not work at all (any resemblance with real history is unintended of course). Constant adoring of the Dux and typical Fascist behaviors of the protagonists force the viewer to know how Italian history went, because while the movie is fun for the situations itself, the funniest thing is the political and historical satire it makes - it even jokes on the war on terror in Iraq for example. But it also makes fun of movies like Schindler's List and 2001: A Space Odissey, so you'd better have a good general knowledge too.

We could say that an Italian film that ridiculizes the Italian (and not just that) history is very daring, especially when one-sided jokes clearly insult other countries (like England who were "still hunting beavers while we were already conquering"), and indeed Corrado Guzzanti (the director) made a great job, without caring of possible controversy (but then the source material is already around from a long time, so no trouble).

The actors, all knowable but none are very famous, are doing a great job, even the less important ones. In the last part of the movie many new actors appear as the story continues, but the level remains high. Also, congratulations for making a believable Mars scenario with such limited budget. I'd also mention that there's a small cartoon sketch on the "mimimmi", I don't know who drew that one, but it's pretty funny and well made. But then you shouldn't expect A pretty lenghty review with no bad sides? Not really. As I said, you need to know a lot about Italian history, and even better, you'd better be Italian to get this movie fully. There's just no way ANY translation could give this movie any justice, because you just can't "translate" the typical Italian behaviors. Also, if you could get offended by one-sided political and religion points of view, you'd better not watch this movie, because they're even making a hypothetical Fascists Madonna (extremely funny if offensive). In the end, this movie is extremely funny if you know what's so funny about it - but this is not your typical USA comedy with random jokes, so only watch this if you know a lot on Italian history and Italian culture. In that case you won't be disappointed.

I Am Legend must be the dream of every actor. A 1.5 hour movie where about 1.4 hour passes with you and no one else on the screen. The actor, in this case Will Smith, sure had some fun with this movie, but are the spectators in for a Will Smith showcase?

New York is deserted because a virus that went spreading a few years ago. For reasons unknown, our hero is immune - it appears that he's the only person IN THE WORLD being immune to such virus - or is he? He has no one anymore but his dog, as he lost his family in the evacuation of the city. He goes around New York City with awesome cars, loads of weapons, etc.. Because he's alone, he also simulates people with manikins. Like Cast Away's volleyball, these manikins just show that our hero's brain is fusing because of loneliness and paranoia. If that wasn't enough, during the night some infected people (zombies) lurk the city searching for food, and so the life ain't easy. These zombies are pretty stupid and have weak points like not being able to be exposed on light, therefore surviving is hard but not impossible.

The 1st half of the movie creates the atmosphere. Shows you how the city is, what happens, what does Will Smith do, how's his dog, etc. etc.. A few flashbacks pretend to explain what happened, but it's a very superficial explanation in reality - not to talk about the actors who showcase in these flashbacks are not quite on par with Will Smith's great performance. This part of the movie, despite making a great premise, is pretty boring. One would think the 2nd part of the movie which shows some interesting change (some people survived) would then rule everything, but some plot-hole ruin this part too. Or maybe these are not plot holes - but we get such a superficial explanation of what happens why that it's unclear what is logical and what is not. Indeed both zombies and people do things that defy any logic. In a scene for example, zombie dogs can't cross a tiny stripe of light, because that'd hurt them. Near the end though, hordes of zombies run without problems between lamps and explosions, which are making quite a lot of light as well. Also I don't see why a virus would make you turn into a zombie which is killed by the light, but that's not relevant. Not to talk about the characters doing things that I definitely don't imagine that people would do if they'd find themselves alone in such a big city, but that's not too important either. The last 15 minutes build up a great suspense despite the plot holes and the lack of real explanation - and the end is simply bad. I'm not spoiling it in case you didn't see it yet, but it does not make much sense, as the 2 final events are one good and one bad:

• the good one could have happened about 3 years earlier

• the bad one could have been EASILY avoided Thus, making for a very inconsistent finale.

As for the look, the movie is gorgeous: awesome CG, impressive effects, great actor work, and deserted New York City looks absolutely unbelievable. But pretty look does not make up for the often predictable, often flawed and often illogical story, which sees Will Smith on a 1.5 hour long mission to survive - but seeing the mistakes he does, I wonder how could he survive 3 years. He even falls in a trap that he usually uses. Also the last part has a very War Of The Worlds feeling, but in a bad way, as that movie, in my opinion, is superior to this.

I said many bad things about this movie, but is it bad? Not really. It's actually entertaining - but the storyline is extremely flawed. If you're a fan of the book, of Will Smith, of apocalyptic movies in general, or you simply want to sit back and enjoy an action-packed movie for 1.5 hour - watch this movie. If you want a real storyline, plot twists, or any sign of "intelligence", don't watch this. The story in fact looks like cut out straight from an arcade zombie shooter from a bowling alley - and, no wonder, there's even a semi-official game for this movie. But its final line is the same as my review for this movie: it's a decent idea done half-decently. And that's not good.

When the 1st episode of Dragon Ball kicks in, no one would even imagine where this is going to lead. That single episode led to near 500 episodes divided into 3 series, about 20 OAVs, real-life movies (one of them still being produced), hella-long mangas, mass hysteria when it ended, fan fictions all around, rumors about a new series that never arrived, several videogames and gadgets... did I forget something? Probably. Dragon Ball is what brought animes outside of Japan to the mainstream. And it did deservedly, as Dragon Ball, as a whole, is one of the best series ever made.

But let's focus on Dragon Ball, the famous prequel to the even more known Dragon Ball Z. Forget the extreme sci-fi from Z. Forget the huge muscles (well, do not, just imagine them smaller), put in loads of humor, and you get Dragon Ball, the first series. The story is funny, but smart and thrilling, and despite the obvious ending of all the parts, there's still some thrill to be had - mostly with the typical superhero scene where you wonder "How will they get out of this?" even if you know for sure they WILL get out of that. The characters are hilarious, but given the impressive amount of them, you'd better not start loving too many of them, because there could pass dozens of episodes without seeing certain people. This is quite a flaw in the Dragon Ball formula, in fact the power levels of the characters raise so fast that someone who appears to be the strongest person on the world, will be beaten by half of the cast about 50 episodes later.

The drawing style is very typical and good, although sometimes it's a little flawed - nothing bad though. Another flaw is that some sagas inside the story are quite boring - the last episodes are quite a filler that do not inflict the later storyline in any way, so it could have been avoided, and cut at the last fight. Otherwise, Dragon Ball all things considered is epic. You might watch it today and think "What's the fuss all about?" - you might not get it with today's eyes. But believe me, this thing was huge, and I could re-watch it anytime. And it leads to Dragon Ball Z, which is one of the best TV-shows ever made.

Dragon Ball, and especially Dragon Ball Z, is quite a love or hate show. It's one of the longest series ever produced, with the plot that is ALWAYS about an evil guy coming to destroy the Earth and the good guys stopping them. So there are people who might not find this interesting. But if you "lived" the Dragon Ball legend, you can't object how amazing Z is. In fact, despite some big flaw, it's hands-down the best series of the Dragon Ball universe, with some scenes that are ought to go down in the history of television.

The whole series starts where the first Dragon Ball ends - Goku and Chichi marry, and now they have a new son, Gohan. But a mysterious Saiyan, who later turns out to be Goku's long forgotten brother (Radish), notices that Goku did not do what he was asked for - kill the earthlings. Therefore, he gets Gohan as a hostage to make him change his mind. This starts it all, with some unexpected alliances, and some extremely lenghty enemies. Many situations are actually extremely famous by now - Vegeta-saga, Frieza-saga, Cell-saga, Buu-saga, they're all well known. This is because, despite the similarity of the stories, they're all exceptionally written.

If you like these kind of super-fights, you can not miss Dragon Ball Z. But it has many aspects from the 1st series as well, like the characters being very charismatic, and the humor, which is now a lot less, but it's still good. The drawing style is good, you always understand what is going on the screen. And while in the bottom of your heart you always know that in the end the good guys will win, but there's still plenty of suspense.

There is some bad side of the series though. There are many fillers, the pace is slow, and there are plot-holes (well, no wonder, in so much time it's easy to forget details) - but even considering that, Dragon Ball Z is amazing. It knows full well the limits, and it doesn't even try to sell this thing as a big romance or anything. This is massive fights with some humor in it. Nothing else. But the way it's done, is fabulous, because you'll remember "OVER NINETHOUSAND" good scenes and good characters who will keep you entertained for the whole time! Easily the best part in the Dragon Ball universe, don't miss it if you like animes.

Many people bash Dragon Ball GT for being simply a commercial hit by Toei Animation, because it's not made by Toriyama, and because Z is 100000 times better. I can agree on these points, they are all true, but GT is not as bad as it could have been.

Biggest Dragon Ball fans know full well that after GT ended, fans were so wanting for more, even if GT wasn't quite the big deal - it was even cancelled after only 64 episodes, compared to the total of over 400 of the previous 2 series. Many, many fan-fictions were made (at times, I even made a few, I so loved the world created by Toriyama). Dragon Ball GT, in a way, is a fan-fiction, as it's hardly even related to Toriyama, if not for a few concepts like the SSJ4. So, a Dragon Ball made purely to make the crying fans shut up, by different authors who didn't properly follow the previous events of the series? Well that sounds just terrible. The series though, isn't all that bad.

The Dragon Ball fan-base was always split in 2 - those who preferred the comicity and absurdity of the 1st Dragon Ball series, and those who loved the sci-fi macho fights between ubermuscle'd saiyans of Z. GT obviously tries to give bread to both fan-bases, making the 1st part of the GT series a tribute to the 1st series with all the searching of the Dragon Balls - some plots even rip-off completely previous plots from the 1st series! Even the trio, Goku, Trunks and Pan seems a homage to the Goku - Yamcha - Bulma trio of 1st series. In fact, the 1st part of the series is actually pretty lame. It gets interesting in some parts, but only the Baby part really changes the things for the best, thus making GT actually worth a watch.

This part is obviously a homage to Z, more like to Buu series, and it's the longest enemy in GT, lasting quite some episodes - which is good, because I find this part far the most interesting in the series. Here we get some insane combats, some actually pretty inventive, but most of them kind of missing the thrills of DBZ, but with many situations that are resolved by luck and not by skills. This thing happens later on as well, in the following enemies, which are far less interesting than Baby in fact. The way Toei tries to continue the android-saga over 3-4 years after it ended is quite mad, as it really adds no depth - except for the final words about it maybe, which I won't spoil. The last part of the series focuses on a situations that fans were "what-if-ing" from several years - what would happen if the Dragon Balls turned against our friends? Well, despite the logical happening of that, this part is actually very boring, and only at the very end it gets any interesting, even thought it's very much like the Janemba movie of Z. The ending is fairly logical, but it's not worth the wait, and I think a better ending should have been made.

At the end, GT is not bad, considering. The core fighting is still very good, and some fights are really well-done, especially for the time. Some parts though fail very hard, because they completely rip-off earlier plots. The characters aren't as good as before either, with Pan being so whiny that it's often annoying. Goku turned out to be stupid as well. And there's some heavy plot-hole. But at the core, this is Dragon Ball. If you liked the mindless combats in Z, there's no reason for you to miss GT either. Just be prepared that GT is a cheap and unofficial way to end an amazing series, and while it's not bad compared to general animes, it's quite a downfall for Toriyama.

A must for hardcore fans, otherwise you won't be missing much.