bennyjayruss

We've now had two boring episodes in a row setting up events for the future. Very little entertainment in this episode. It's a competent snoozefest.

Season 1 and 2 managed to have interesting dialogue and multi-dimensional characters that made up for any lack of action in the middle of the season. Season 3 feels disjointed, with characters lacking anything interesting to say or do.

I had hoped for so much more from this season, being set in an incredible place like Thailand. Unfortunately the writing is severely boring. Its biggest flaw is that its characters up until this point have been painfully uninteresting.

We all know and agree that John Carpenter's original Halloween film is a masterpiece in its own right, one that is almost impossible to top. With that out of the way, let's look at this competent reboot.

Zombie decided to begin the story with an overlong display of Myers' rough upbringing, which I suppose gives it that different edge to any of the previous Halloween films. For the most part during these sequences, the acting could be better and the overall atmosphere should have been creepier. We were supposed to be looking at a child with the devil's eyes, but all we saw was a misunderstood little psychopath that wasn't all that intimidating. I commend Zombie for attempting to do the backstory justice, but it was all in vain.

Once we get past the small glimpses of originality in the script, we then move onto the slasher portion of the film which takes up roughly the last hour. Zombie surprised me with the crafty way he recaptured the spirit of the original Halloween. The acting from Laurie and the two children was thoroughly convincing, and for brief moments the atmosphere was thrilling. It was a worthy recreation in my view.

At two hours long, this movie should have felt like a slog to get through, but it was engrossing enough to keep me interested until the end. That's more than I can say for a couple of other Halloween films produced over the years. While some of the character depictions (particularly Laurie's) were horrendous, I was pleasantly surprised at how competent the movie was. My special shout-out goes to Malcolm McDowell for doing justice to Donald Pleasance's immortal portray of Samuel Loomis.

Finally, I would rate this film somewhere around a 6 or 6.5/10, but I feel the overall rating on IMDB is too low, so I've bumped it up to a 7*.

This is the 2nd chapter of the Takami-kun series, an LGBT romance made in Japan. I quite liked the first instalment, but I'm happy to say that Nijiiro no garasu is an even better chapter of this young romance. It's well-made, beautiful, entertaining, and surprisingly emotional. At times it made my heart sing with glee, then it made me quite angry, but best of all, it made me feel heartbroken by the end. This is a show with a heart and soul. It tenderly displays the romance of a young, gay couple, and all the complications of their relationship.

Takami-kun and Gii have been going steady for the past year. The new year brings more drama in the form of a lover's quarrel, and a romance that blossoms in the midst of a terminal illness.

Series 2 of Takami-kun was made around 2 years after the first series, which is a very long time considering they only go for one hour. I'm not sure why they delayed the sequel, but obviously the two leading actors from the previous chapter moved on from the show. They were replaced by two very similar, convincing actors. I'm not gonna lie, I was saddened to see the original Takami and Gii go. I guess that means I formed an attachment to them in some way.

I enjoyed it mainly because of the introduction of Morita, a handsome and intelligent first-year. His character caused quite the commotion in the mind of Takami, who believed that Gii had fallen in-love with Morita. This storyline was filled with emotion like jealousy, anger, fear, and heartache. It was done well enough that it made me feel quite upset myself. There are dark moments and light moments concerning the character Morita, making him the character I enjoyed watching the most.

There's some sort of sad farewell to a character we're supposed to be well acquainted with. To be perfectly honest, I do not remember a thing about that character! It appears as though I should have been heartbroken, but I just didn't know who he was! Gii then went on and on about this character's terrible illness, which would have been upsetting had it not been for the less than stellar performance by Kyosuke Hamao. He just looked like a deer in headlights, gawking at poor Gii with zero expression. You'd think he'd show some kind of emotion on his face, but there was nothing there. That performance, as well as the fact that I didn't know the character in question, made the whole sequence very slow and monotonous.

The final act of this episode is absolutely heartbreaking. Even though I wasn't fully connected to the minor characters involved… their romance and their ending just tore me to pieces. The flashbacks of their meeting and their friendship were just devastating to me. The way they executed this tear-jerking sequence was absolutely perfect. The scene of the refracted light shining through the hospital window is pretty damned moving.

Even though I wasn't completely chuffed with this chapter, there was a higher degree of emotion, and enough interesting content to keep me entertained. I was pleasantly surprised at the extent to which they showed the lovemaking scene. I'm sure it was a pretty big risk concerning mainstream Japanese morals. I'm ever so glad the creators stuck to their guns, because it provided a wonderful climax and showed off how much Gii and Takami love each other. So in the end, I truly enjoyed Nijiiro no garasu, which is so far the best instalment in the Takami-kun series!