pfsombrero

"Rupan Sansei - Towairaito Jemini no himitsu" is the eighth Japanese television special of our beloved Lupin III, released in 1996, directed by Gisaburô Sugii.

In this special, set mostly in Morocco, Lupin III is searching for the missing half of a diamond, which, once reunited with the other, will bring to light the treasure of the "Gelthi" tribe, a native minority persecuted by the rival tribe and the police.

Lupin, together with his trusty companions, embarks on an adventure in search of the lost treasure, including chases, love stories, shootouts, plot twists and the inevitable inspector Zenigata.

All seasoned with an atmosphere from: "One Thousand and One Nights".

In conclusion, this special is quite enjoyable. The drawings are well done and inspired, the setting is alternative and pleasant. The plot is linear, but there is no shortage of plot twists. There is the right balance between serious and funny moments, even if sometimes the film is a bit slow, the fights are not always spectacular and the soundtrack is not very inspired.

It must also be said that the Lupin TV specials are more than 20 and cover a period of time that goes from 1989 to 2019 (for now), so it is easy to often see different directors directing these films and they do not always manage to make the protagonist express his best. But I must say that this one succeeds quite well and I find it well balanced.

An excellent film for teenagers and also for adults, nice and intriguing. Enjoy the show.

Squid Game is a South Korean TV series released in streaming from 2021 to 2025, directed by Hwang Dong-Hyuk.

The series consists of three seasons and a total of 22 episodes and features "Seoung Gi-Hun" as the protagonist: a man with financial and gambling problems, a very sick mother, and a daughter.

Soon Gi-Hun, due to his gambling addiction, accumulated debts and the need for money for his mother's treatment, finds himself accepting the bizarre offer of a shady and convincing individual to participate in a "Prize Game", which will also turn out to be a deadly and sadistic game. Where hundreds of people in economic difficulty are offered a "last" chance to redeem themselves.

The series shows us the various phases of the "game" from the point of view (mainly) of Gi-Hun and many other characters, both participants in the game and the organizers.

The themes addressed are many: greed, gambling addiction, poverty, wealth, unbridled luxury, the cruelty of human beings and at the same time the ability to show oneself human even in the worst situations.

Squid Game is a very complete series, capable of transporting the viewer into a universe of madness, violence and cruelty, in search of good and hope in people. All enriched by excellent characters, plot twists, action, investigation, emotions and a beautiful soundtrack that will remain in your head for months.

Personally, I highly recommend watching Squid Game, both to lovers of Korean cinema and to everyone else. In particular, I think the first season is the best, excellent from many points of view.

I must instead give some demerits to the second and third seasons. Overall, the series remains enjoyable, but there is an undeniable decline from all points of view. The characters lose character and depth, the soundtrack does not hold up to the comparison with the first season, everything seems more hasty and not very in-depth. I find some plot choices forced and not very shareable, and, especially in the third season they try to make the viewer cry a bit forcedly.

Having said that I think Squid Game is a series that overall deserves a 7/10, but that could have been managed better in seasons 2 and especially 3.

First time for Borderlands at the cinema. After 6 video games dedicated to the Borderlands universe, the first film dedicated to the vault hunters arrives.

The film is directed by Eli Roth and the main actors include names such as: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jack Black.

The plot features Lilith, a skilled bounty assassin, who, hired by the "Atlas" corporation, must find Tina, the kidnapped daughter of the corporation's president.

Roland, officer of the Crimson Lance, accused of the kidnapping of Tina and Krieg the psycho, as strong as he is crazy are the other protagonists of the story. Which between adventures, fights, action and explosions, will lead our heroes to unite for a common purpose.

After this little introduction, I move on to my personal opinion on the film: the film itself is just enough. The story is rather linear and obvious. It lacks twists and everything goes exactly as expected.

The characters aren't bad, Claptrap for example was made very well and doesn't make you regret the one seen in the video game, but for the others nothing exciting.

In my opinion the problems don't end here. Although I recognize that it is not easy to transpose the Borderlands video games to the cinema, I believe more could have been done on some aspects, such as: showing elemental weapons that are characteristic of the game, using the various special powers that distinguish the vault hunters, but above all I would have preferred a film with completely new characters, set in the Borderlands universe.

In fact, in my opinion, using high-sounding names from the saga such as: Lilith, Roland, Tiny Tina and so on, leads to comparisons that are difficult to bear and fans of the game end up panning the film before it even comes out.

A new story would have allowed the introduction of new characters, to be made canonical in subsequent video game titles. As was done for "Tales from the borderlands".

In conclusion, the film is a limited sufficiency, supported by some characters such as Claptrap. The settings aren't bad, but the plot is flawed on all sides and the fights don't resemble the video game in the slightest.

If you want to see it, go ahead, but this film adds nothing new to the Borderlands universe.

Good vision.