DerrickLech

All right, All right, this movie isn't great, but like many have said before it is a minor distraction. Much like DEATH RACE 2000 and DEEP STAR SIX, this film is one you can fall asleep to after a night of bingeing on cocaine and booze. While the film just takes from a few black exploitation plot devices -Mama's character is great, a throwback to 70's backtalkin' Mammys- and films like THE WARRIORS and possibly THE LAST WARRIOR, and don't forget THE ROAD WARRIOR; it makes them more digestible, what I mean by that is SURF NAZIS MUST DIE is popcorn, while those other movies, in this critic's personal opinion (with the exception of the LAST WARRIOR) are true, complex, thoughtful art. It should be stated that this film isn't really Troma, it was actually directed by Peter George who let Troma release it. This make it completely different from Toxie and Kabukiman, because Lloyd Kauffman didn't make it, and is more along the lines of the Buddy Giovinazzo flick, COMBAT SHOCK. In closing the film is a mediocre trip into the world of 1980's post-apocolyptica(CREEPAZOIDS and even HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN did a much better job) and while I don't think it should win anything other than a Turkey Award, I think this film is a great party film and a nice pass out flick. 3 stars

Prince of space is a pretty crappy movie, but it isn't the so called "Starman" series. The Starman series, which has been released in two volumes from Something Weird video, features a tights-wearing japanese man running around laughing and beating people up as they fire guns, which they know can't kill him, for he's made of steel. Shintoho, a company that was an off shoot of the great Toho production company created these films which range from bad to so horrible that you want to spray mace in your eyes so you can't see the screen. Walter Manly, the man responsible for delivering these messes to America made it worse by cutting them down from serials and turning them into 75 minute films about salamanders and monsters, and emerald planets... I really couldn't follow the plot I was to busy throwing up... anyway, their are some really classic moments in the films, weird, American serial influenced fights against hordes of creatures or even space facists, and mutants dressed in costumes you'd think were made by the producer's mother for $15.00. There are four films made for American release (even though there were nine films from Japan, three of them were turned into "The Evil Brain From Outer Space" which, sadly, is one of the better ones. My favorite of them all is "Invaders from Space, which has some nifty acrobatics and isn't as boring as some of the others. Prince of Space does suck, but then again so does Starman... if you've got nerdy friends and you're either drunk and/or high and your looking for a giggle, check them out.

With all the things people say about "broken" homes, it's good to see a film that is not afraid to come out and say "as long as there is love in the family it's all right." Lilo and her sister are the "imperfect" family and when Stitch comes along it becomes even more imperfect. However, as the movie continues it gives comfort to those children who come from homes like this that it's all right and everything will be okay. Lilo and Stitch seem to be the new attitude of Disney films; crass and strange. Lilo is a manic girl with an overactive imagination, a far cry from the older, dumbed down fairy tale adaptions of decades past.

That's not to say that SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS is inferior to this movie, they're just diffrent. I think kids of today, while still in awe of the earlier films, will identify with Lilo and Stitch, two obviously flawed characters, than a perfect woman and a charming young prince. I found this movie to be thorughly entertaining. It had a lot of wonderful humor that most children would not probably get, but enough humor that they would get to make it a great movie experience for them as well a la Shrek Grade:A

Much like Blade before it, this movie had amazing action sequences. Yet, because of the advances in Movie Technology the film is flawless in its action. Blade 2 takes place about a few years after the first one and starts in Eastern Europe. He finds out there is a mutant strain of vampire, and the Vampire Nation wants Blade to help them dispatch the monsters. They give him a group of vampires called the Blood Pack and then proceed to destroy vampire after vampire. Okay, so the plot is basic and simple. But somehow the movie is extremely fun. This isn't "Monster's Ball" or some other art film, but a crowd pleaser with plenty of kicks and even wrestling moves. Leonor Varela is horrible, in fact, one of the worst actress I've ever seen (Next to Lee Lee Sobeski) but Wesley and Kris make the movie better. Then there is Ron Perlman... who actually does a good job being a bad@#$. My favorite part was the gore. Being a huge fan of horror the film hit home, and I was impressed with the wonderful CGI. This movie isn't for everyone, and guys may want to leave their girlfriends or wives, or even best friends, home if they are squeamish. However bad the movie's plot is the excitment pays in full. B-

In 1764 a French town is being ravaged by a beast that kills women in children. Two men try to stop it and become entangled in a battle between God and Nature, "Savage" and "Civilized" and "Good" and Evil. So what is there to say about this film. For one it was a beautifully directed film, so well directed it was almost gaudy. Yet being French much of this 3 hour film was a drawn out and rather pretentious discussion on philosophy and other things. The thing I liked most about this film was its refreshing look at film. It was dramatic, disturbing, and thought provoking all at the same time. While most films are dramatic they lack volume, they lack girth and they lack intelligence. I am beginning to like this winter, where all these great movies are coming out and Brotherhood of the Wolf is one of them. Call me crazy, but I think the French actually did something right! I give this film an A- It had great acting, a great (if sometimes pretentious) script and its action sequences where a feast for the eyes. Go see this movie!!!

I first saw this anime on the USA channel when I was 13 and it introduced me to the world of anime. Every since that fateful day I have been watching anime; and I still find this film to be one of the best anime films I've ever seen. So what does the film have. An awesome gothic tale, a kick butt main character, who is cool and taciturn yet surprisingly sensitive. Even if you don't like Japanese animation you may like this movie, it being in the same vein as Blade and John Carpenter's Vampires. The film is dark, violent, and ultra-hip, I suggest it to anyone who wants to get into Japanese animation. A+

This film is one of the best Anti-War films ever made! Seita and his sister Setsuko are two of the most likable and adorable characters in all of anime, you really feel there suffering as the movie goes on. If you are planning to watch this film like most other anime, don't. Where as most anime is graphically violent with a pop theme, this movie is a gritty, realistic, and all together heartbreaking film that stabs at your soul with a pitchfork of depression. One person I lent the film to cried for most of the movie and was depressed for the rest of the night. If you are looking for a film that may change your outlook on war, even the war being fought at this time, this is a great film to check out.