Page 4901 – Capsule Computers

Motorway Review

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December 25, 2012

Motorway
Studio: Media Asia Films/Milky Way Image Company
Publisher: Madman
Format: DVD
Release Date: November 7th, 2012
Price: $29.95 (Available Here)

Overview

Motorway is the latest film from Hong Kong director Cheang Pou-soi, and sets to thrill its audience with fast paced vehicle pursuits. The part crime-thriller, part racing, and part action film has the potential with its multilayered genres and its two experienced lead actors; the film is aiming to be more than the sum of its parts. But does it live up to its daring premise?

Story

Motorway’s story is one that we’ve all seen and hear before: a rookie cop must team up with a veteran officer in order to solve the crime at hand. Nothing new here, however unlike most films with this same-old clichéd setting Motorway takes place on the fast passed streets of Hong Kong, on the motorway (hence the title).

Cheung, played by Shawn Yue, “the rookie cop” is a motorhead and is part of an elite undercover police unit that specializes in high-speed chases. His partner Lo, played by Anthony Wong, “the veteran officer” is a retiring cop who’s seen and past the best years of his career. After a criminal breaks out of prison thanks to the help of legendary, underworld getaway driver Jiang, played by Guo Xiaodong, the two unwittingly team up to catch the crooks. But again, haven’t we seen this before?

Let’s face it Motorway’s plot isn’t at all original, but then again that’s not the main reason why we’re here. As it so boldly states on the box, motorway is what we came for and motorway is what we get. From the very first few starting minutes of the film, we are treated to a delightful action packed high-speed chases down (you guest it) a motorway.

From here on in, the story only real purpose is to set up the next chase scene, which there are many in the film. Down the mountains of Hong Kong, down the alleyways of Hong Kong, through the city central of Hong Kong and well you get the picture. While the action is deal with so well in the film, other aspects i.e the plot are sourly lacking.

For no reason, as it’s unexplained in the film, the two baddies Jiang and the guy he busted out of prison, are betrayed by their criminal gang leaving the duo to conduct the diamond heist by themselves. The diamond heist? Oh yeah about that, it’s the whole reason why Jiang broke out the guy from prison in the first place. It’s not really well explained.

Now while this may seem all a bit silly, the film is acted incredibly straight. While in a western film with a similar premise would have the odd tongue-in-cheek gag or joke (the entire Fast and the Furious series I’m looking at you). In Motorway these moments are virtually non-existent, the film is played dead set seriously and as such can get away with the simplistic plot because it’s so genuinely acted out, there are no cheesy performances here. This is a hardball cop drama; that is while you’re watching. As you steep away from the onscreen sensory assault, there are moments that stick out like a sore thumb.

Of particular note is when Cheung loses the legendary getaway driver Jiang for the first time, due to a sharp 90-degree turn in a very narrow alleyway that he couldn’t pass. The premises is silly to say the least, why couldn’t he just go around the block and cut them off when they get out of the alley?

Yet this difficult challenge of turning his car on a sharp 90-degree angle becomes a major plot point later on. In any other film this premises just would simply not work, yet in Motorway because of it’s straight delivery it somehow works – though it’s completely predictable of where and when Cheung will use this mastery of the 90-degree turn * cough cough * the very last chase scene.

It’s moments like these when you release the vast plot holes within the film. And while we are taken for a thrilling action packed ride and are willing to suspend our disbelief for the sake of entertainment, just please don’t treat us like we’re stupid. Many things within Motorway are left unexplained or just glossed over as we are then quickly cross to another exciting chase scene.

Visuals and Audio

Much of Motorway is set during the night and as such the City of Hong Kong is a standout with its bright lights and unique cityscape. The film is shot as you would expect standard camera set ups and all that jazz; that is until the chases sequences, which if you haven’t caught on by now, are a many. The highlight of the film is the extensive chase sequences.

Camera angles constantly switch positions in a frantic yet non-disorienting way and slow motion is used stylistically to emphasis the stunts. The chases themselves are highly entertaining to watch, though they can get a little confusing to watch as later chases sequences in the film are too dark and it’s often unclear which characters we are following. But If Motorway gets one thing right it is the car chases.

The sound of the cars is evidently present within these sequences, audio is top notch as you would expect. As the movie is set in Hong Kong, the characters speak (mostly) Cantonese. Don’t worry if you’re not a native Cantonese speaker, the film’s English subtitles work fine with a hiccup.

Extras

Now for the real disappointment, there are virtually no extras to be found on the DVD apart from Motorway’s theatrical trailer and a few other Madman Eastern Eye films. It’s a real shame as it would have been good to have seen a behind-the-scene making of the stunts and chases sequences, which are just so good in the film.

Overall

While Motorway has moments of greatness these are unfortunately muddled in an overly simplistic, yet very well acted plot. Hong Kong cinema is renown for its quality action films, from crime-thrillers to kung-fu movies, yet Motorway does not live up to past classics.

While it has some fantastic chase sequences, heck the whole film is based around them, it’s story is predictable and one that we’ve previously seen many, many times over before. The fast cars and action may allude some viewers and get them across the line, Motorway is trying to do too much at once and as a results falls flat on it’s bland plot.

Tenchi Muyo! Movie Collection Review

Travis Bruno

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December 24, 2012

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Tenchi Muyo! Movie Collection
Studios: AIC, Pioneer LDC
Publisher: FUNimation
Format: DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Price: $69.98 – Available Here

Overview:
While the Tenchi Muyo! franchise may have paved the way for many tropes used in anime today, it is also one of the most confusing series of all time thanks to the fact that the OVAs originally created back in 1992 and aired until 1995 spawned not one but two alternate universe storylines which are not related to the plot of the original OVAs, though used the same characters.

Now not only did these other series, Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo make things a bit more confusing for fans, the original OVAs would continue eight years later in 2005 to wrap up the story. However during that eight year span of time not one, but three movies were created. Now FUNimation has taken these three movies, Tenchi in Love, The Daughter of Darkness and Tenchi in Love 2, and brought them to Blu-ray for the first time ever. Are these movies worth checking out now that they’ve finally arrived on Blu-ray?

Story:
As mentioned before, the Tenchi Muyo! series is something of a mess as far as continuity goes between series. Therefore it is worth noting that the movies contained in this package do require the knowledge of not only the Tenchi Universe series but some knowledge of the original Tenchi Muyo! OVA packages would help the viewer understand some of the happenings throughout these three films.

FUNimation has chosen to package these movies in a bit of a strange way, with Tenchi in Love and Daughter of Darkness on the same disc while Tenchi in Love 2 (also known as Tenchi Forever) is relegated to a second disc which contains negligible bonus features. However for the sake of continuity it is recommended that these movies are actually watched in the order of Tenchi in Love 1 & 2 then Daughter of Darkness, as such that is the order they will be discussed here.

Now Tenchi Muyo in Love seems to take place after the ending of the Tenchi Universe series some point after all of the girls have made their way back to earth and Tenchi is living a peaceful life with these girls, or at least as peaceful as life can be living in a houseful of alien women. However when a viscous alien known as Kain breaks free from his space-prison he begins to wreak havoc and sets out to destroy the Jurai family. However he does so by somehow destroying the Masaki blood-line which causes Tenchi to begin to fade away in-front of the girls’ eyes.

Thanks to some quick thinking from the genius Washu, Tenchi is saved from fading away completely thanks to one of her inventions. When it is discovered that Tenchi’s mother has disappeared from the picture frames around the house, the group realizes that they must travel back in time to 1970 to try and put a stop to whatever caused Tenchi’s mother to disappear, inevitably pitting them against Kain’s nefarious plans.

Despite the fact that the movie seems to take many things away from the original Back to the Future movie, the story actually works quite well thanks to the fact that the group has to try to blend into the 1970 school system to learn more about the situation, often resulting in many hilarious situations. Another plus is the fact that despite the movie can be rather predictable at times, the main characters make the movie enjoyable throughout these predictable plot points as many viewers will be happy to see the cast in a new situation.

As for the second movie, Tenchi Muyo in Love 2, something strange happens to Tenchi and when he suddenly vanishes from the Masaki household, the girls are thrown into despair. This movie takes a drastic step away from the normal comedic antics that Tenchi Muyo! fans hold dear and instead trades it off for heartbreak, sadness and emotional drama.

As Tenchi is trapped within an alternative universe where he is living with the woman he loves, Haruna, Ryoko and Ayeka search desperately for the man they love and when they manage to encounter him, they are broken up to see that not only does Tenchi not even remember them, but even his appearance has changed slightly. As such the two must try to overcome their emotional trauma potentially losing Tenchi forever to try and save him from this alternate world.

This movie, despite being a severe departure from the rest of the Tenchi franchise, is probably the most memorable of the entire collection thanks to the fact that while there has always been emotion at play through the series, nothing has ever felt as real as the emotions felt by Ryoko and Ayeka throughout the movie. Meaning that whilst many may find this shocking move away from comedy something unenjoyable in your standard harem show, the emphasis on emotion and heartbreak makes this middle move unmissable for anyone who has become engrossed in the Tenchi franchise.

Finally there is Tenci Muyo! The Daughter of Darkness and in this collection it almost seems out of place despite being a movie. This is mostly thanks to the fact that the way that the movie is structured almost feels like an extended OVA episode more than anything else. Seemingly placed within the Tenchi Universe canon thanks to the inclusion of Kiyone, the show seems better fit within the OVA series than anything else.

But moving on, Tenchi manages to discover a blue haired girl named Mayuka while visiting his family’s shrine and for some reason, Mayuka calls Tenchi her “Daddy.” This obviously throws not only Tenchi, but of the girls around him for a loop considering the fact that he has never fathered a daughter, let alone one as old as Mayuka already is. As such we see the cast struggle with the fact that this girl may somehow be his daughter, however there are more worrisome issues at play behind the scenes as a strange creature seeks revenge on those who wronged her.

The Daughter of Darkness movie returns the Tenchi franchise to the standard slapstick comedy and humorous visual gags that it is known for and thanks to the fact that it is only an hour long, it provides a nice refresher after the drama of Tenchi in Love 2. That being said, while the story is rather interesting the short run time does not do it justice by allowing the whole revenge scenario nor the drama between the girls escalate to truly interesting levels, instead we are left with what seems like a rather rushed ending. Still, thanks to the OVA feel of the movie, many fans will simply enjoy it for what it is, a slice of the already jumbled Tenchi universe that takes their favorite characters and puts them in yet another unique situation.

Visuals:
With this being the first time that the Tenchi Muyo! movies have ever made it to Blu-ray, it is rather unfortunate that while the movies may look slightly better than they ever have before, these improvements are rather minimal at best with the first two movies only seeing minor improvements while Tenchi Muyo in Love 2 actually benefits the most from the upgrade, though that is likely thanks to the newer art style used in this movie which really brings the third show in the collection to a higher tier, however there is still a lot of blurry unfocused sections thanks to the movies’ age.

As a whole however, these movies are still rather impressive for their age and given the fact that these were originally created as movies, the overall artwork and the character drawing has seen a significant upgrade in detail and quality over what was previously found in the series. Not only do the characters look better than they have before, the action sequences and backgrounds are similarly impressive as well.

Audio:
It should come as no surprise for fans of FUNimation’s releases that the Tenchi Muyo! Movie Collection comes with both the original Japanese voice work as well as the classic English dub recorded many years ago. Throughout these movies the same voice actresses and actors retain their characters, though it can be said that thanks to the different emotional trials the cast experiences in Tenchi Muyo in Love 1 & 2, the English cast does a great job matching this range of emotions.

As far as background music goes, many familiar themes play throughout these movies however there are a number of new trakcs as well, many of which are quite enjoyable, though it is worth noting that, surprisingly enough, the movie not related to the other two, Daughter of Darkness, actually contains the best use of background music and sound effects compared to the two Tenchi Muyo in Love movies.

Extras:
Unfortunately as far as bonus features go, the Tenchi Muyo!: Movie Collection is almost completely barren as far as bonus features go. There are trailers for other FUNimation shows as well as a promotional trailer for the Tenchi Muyo in Love 2 movie. Also the release comes with a limited edition art booklet, though our review screeners did not include this art book for analysis.

Overall:
Ultimately the Tenchi Muyo!: Movie Collection contains the best possible way to view these three Tenchi Muyo! movies despite the fact that their jump to Blu-ray could have seen a better visual upgrade. That being said, with three interesting movies, two of which taking Tenchi fans’ favorite cast of characters and putting them in new situations resulting in new comedic and dramatic outcomes and one finally bringing real emotion to the series, these movies shouldn’t be passed up by any fan of the Tenchi Muyo! series.

Nyaruko-san wishes everyone a Happy Space Christmas

Travis Bruno

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December 24, 2012

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Nyaruko-san wishes everyone a Happy Space Christmas

As you may already know, Nyaruko-san: Another Crawling Chaos, also known as Haiyore! Nyaruko-san is getting a second season called Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W sometime soon. Well until that release date is announced or some extra information is revealed, fans are currently in limbo.

However all is not lost, as Nyaruko-San has taken some time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas in her modified Santa outfit. Then again considering she is from space, would it be something of a Space Christmas? Either way, you can find the image to the right (click for full size) as well as a slightly modified version of the main website here.

Have a Merry Christmas from Fairy Tail’s Erza and Hiro Mashima

Travis Bruno

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December 24, 2012

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While many of us are scrambling around trying to finish up some last minute shopping and wrapping of presents, others are able to take some time and sketch out some special drawings and no one does it better than the creator of the Fairy Tail manga, Hiro Mashima.

Today Hiro, who often posts drawings of his characters on his Twitter feed, revealed the picture found to the right (click for a larger version) with Erza Scarlet wishing everyone a “Merry Christmas.” It is worth noting that Hiro Mashima’s Twitter can be found here and anyone who happens to enjoy Fairy Tail itself or anime alone should probably follow him for plenty of great artwork of his cast of characters.

Sushi Hero Review

Joe Morgan

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December 24, 2012

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Sushi Hero
Developer: Design Symphony
Publisher: Ayopa Games
Platforms: iPhone (reviewed), iPad
Release Date: December 20, 2012
Price: $0.99 – Available Here

Overview

What do you get when you cross Plan 9 from Outer Space with Jiro Dreams of Sushi and set it all in a runner game? You would end up with Sushi Hero, the newest game from Design Symphony and Ayopa Games. Sushi Hero serves up something with bright flavors, though it may ultimately leave a bitter taste in the mouths of some.

Gameplay

Players take on the roll of a nameless sushi chef. Before each level begins, you’re given a shopping list of three types of fish to kill and how many of each breed you need to slaughter.

When the clock starts, you run continually from left to right, touching the left side of the screen to jump or double jump and the right side of the screen to chop away with your cleaver. As you progress through each level, you can earn point multipliers by stringing together kill combos.

You start each level with a full heart, but each hit from an electric eel, urchin, or poisonous fish will knock off a quarter of your health. There are hearts you can pick up to restore some health. You can also snag a bite of wasabi which will allow you to ‘spit fiyaah,’ taking out everything in your path for a few seconds.

There are twenty levels to play through, each with three difficulty settings. Each level takes around a minute to clear, so if you only have a couple of minutes in line at the supermarket you can finish a stage or two. Players should have no problem beating the game under an hour, but that will only get you a third of the achievements.

Taking down a whole string of fish and working up to an 80-kill combo feels great, and timing a couple of dodges in a row is quite satisfying. The problem is that the sushi list you’re given for each level feels virtually irrelevant. You end up running through each world trying to kill anything and everything that gets in your way, regardless of what breed it is. The only penalty you incur is that you must replay a level if you die or fail to kill everything on your list. It can also become blindingly frustrating to play levels with a dark background, especially later in the game, since every fish that can harm you is also black or dark gray.

Audio & Visual

Sushi Hero has an amusing visual aesthetic. Character designs feel like something from a Saturday morning cartoon, with bright colors and funny looking teeth and eyes. The animation also feels wonderful. Watching a pudgy sushi chef sprint across the world, legs flailing about as if independent from his body, helps reinforce the fun, lighthearted feel of the game. Each level has its own background art that helps it stand out. The only problem is that dangerous enemies blend into darker levels, making the game more frustrating than it should have been.

The music is fantastic. It does a great job setting up the idea that you’re getting ready to dig into something fast-paced and action-packed, with tight loops of trumpets, synth, and drums. Unfortunately there are only one or two tracks, so it will begin to feel old before you’ve beaten every level. The sound effects get the point across, but they do nothing in particular to add to the character of the game.

Overall

Sushi Hero is has a few shining moments but it’s not without a few flaws and frustrations. Levels will feel like they blend together and enemies blending into dark backgrounds becomes frustrating on more difficult stages. Unfortunately, Sushi Hero doesn’t do much to stand out from its competitors, but for those willing to try it out, they will find a fun, colorful, entertaining experience.

New GTA V Screens Shows Off Submarine!

Roger Ma

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December 24, 2012

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Just in time for Christmas, Rockstar Games have released five new screenshots for their highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto V, released over on their official facebook page.

The new screens show off the three new protagonists, a close up of a car, a fighter jet and…oh wait is that a submarine!? and a shark?!? and scuba gear?!?!

Well yes indeed it is! In the previews leading up to Grand Theft Auto V’s release, Rockstar Games have hinted at exploring the depths of Los Santos oceans, stating that:

“Grand Theft Auto 5 will display the game world’s largest and fastest growing we’ve ever made that set in wide the city start from Los Santos up to the top of the mountain for miles away and headed into the depths of the sea”

And now I guess that’s very much true, who know what other underwater vehicles they’ll included in the game.

Corpse Party: Tortured Souls OVAs to begin in summer 2013

Travis Bruno

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December 24, 2012

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Today, thanks to a new promo video released by 5pb, we now know when Corpse Party: Tortured Souls will begin to be released in Japan. Now as you may already know, this set of four OVAs is based off of the Corpse Party games published by 5pb in Japan and localized here in North America by XSEED Games.

Rather than being shown on television, the OVAs will be released in Japanese theaters and then will be available on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan. It is currently unknown if there will be any plans to release these OVAs in the West in any form. Though with XSEED bringing Corpse Party: Book of Shadows to North America sometime this Winter, anticipation for the series is quite high.

Make Your Own Star Wars Prequel

Mari Shishido

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December 24, 2012

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One of the Gameological Society’s Play the Year games is the Star Wars: Sequel Debacle Simulatron. Have you ever raged about how you could have put together a better Star Wars movie than the set of movies that shall not be named? Now is your chance to see just how ~~wrong~~ right you were. Made by Ben Johnson of Babycastles and Joe Kowalski of DoubleFine, this quirky flash game will give you a few laughs.

You can make a few selections of a screen writer, director, and actor from a drop down menu. Then, choose how much of each genre you want in your space opera and finally design your name from the preset combination options. Now watch as the fake cash comes rolling in, you Star Wars savant. In your fantasy, there will be no lore inconsistencies from your movie and the 37th Star Wars novel.

As for me, I have already made an international box office hit by the name of “Star Wars: The Queen of the Princesses”.

The 33D Invader Review

Brad Webster

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December 24, 2012

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The 33D Invader
Studio: My Way Film
Publisher: MADMAN / My Way Film
Format: Home DVD/Blu-Ray
Release Date: October 6th, 2011

Overview:
The 33D Invader aims to be a comedic, sex-filled romp with a dash of science fiction action because why not? The film has an international cast that contains leads from China, Japan and Taiwan and was released on October 6^th 2011 in Honk Kong. Only translated relatively recently to feature a range of languages including English, Cantonese and Mandarin sub-titles, The 33D Invader can now be watched and (hopefully) enjoyed internationally. Does the movie do enough to be worth your time or is it a mere time-waster for a lazy afternoon? Well, it turns out to be neither.

Story:
The 33D Invader starts off with some amount of promise. Three guys fighting over a telescope to get the best view of the local female inhabitants. And when they actually interact with them, they fall pretty flat on their face. Okay then, this is going to be one of those comedies where the guys chase the girls and attempt various schemes to go out with them. Fair enough. But then after the first five minutes you realize it is something entirely different.

Right on five minutes you cue the appearance of Future, a weird futuristic (inventive name right?) girl from the year 2046. Apparently at that time an alien race has rendered the majority of the male population infertile and so of course it’s her job to venture back in time and make sure the human race can continue. How does she do this you ask? Well obviously it involves sleeping with a lot of guys; because for some reason doing that in the past will help the people in the future? Don’t worry too much about following the storyline as it pretty much falls to pieces with any last vestiges of quality right when Future originally appears. After she’s successfully been around a few of the guys in the dorm she appeared in, elite naked assassins from the future (you just can’t make this stuff up) come to put a stop to her party.

These assassins although alien, appear in the shape of humans (probably not to put too much of a strain on the budget) and are basically tasked with hunting down Future and raping her, because that will make her infertile herself. Yep, that’s the whole set-up.

Seriously just try not to think too hard about what you’re watching and just wince you’re way through the whole affair. It doesn’t get any better.

Visual:
The entire film seems to be captured through a lens coated in sleaze and oil. Things get blurry on the edges of the screen, colors distort annoyingly any attempt at immersion is broken when camera angles just stare at walls instead of the character, showing how world the movie has been edited together. And with a focus on the female body rather than on any “performance” by the actors involved, the visual side of things just doesn’t properly add up.

There is a pretty cool freeze frame effect on the first three male characters we meet where time will slow and their face will be framed on a yellow background with their name residing just beside (think Borderlands 2 character introductions). But this cool effect is ditched straight after we meet the three and every character from then on is introduced in regular movie style, which unfortunately just doesn’t work with the poor writing and bad acting given by every single cast member.

Audio:
The audio quality of The 33D Invader is also honestly pretty lackluster. The entire movie is spoken in Chinese with English subtitles for those not particularly versed in the language, but the subtitles themselves are pretty spotty. At times they work completely as intended, obviously showing what’s being said word-for-word and line-for-line but other times it just seems like they were forgotten about. One example is when a character would speak for twenty seconds straight and then after he finished the subtitle “Okay let’s do it,” would appear somewhat guiltily at the bottom of the screen. Obviously he said more than four words, but it seems that whoever wrote them just couldn’t be bothered typing every word out. This wouldn’t be such a terrible thing if it only happened once or twice, but consistently throughout the movie this same thing would occur over and over again in the same scene. Which just puts the already wafer thin plot in complete disorganization for any who don’t speak fluent Chinese.

Sound effects are the dollar a dozen variety that you’ll find in any B Grade movie which decides to presumably spend its budget on less desirable pursuits. While voices themselves sound fine for the most part, things like the alien noises and just the entire soundtrack in general are just abysmal to listen to.

Overall:
The 33D Invader is a movie you just plain want to steer clear from. It has no sense of taste or pacing, or even restraint in the more sexual encounters. The story is a patchy affair of sleazy camera angles and what seems to be little more than a fantasy driven script with less thought than a teenage dream. The numerous plot holes and lackluster visual style add up to a total mess of a movie.

The 33D Invader is the kind of movie that even the most lewd and tasteless will want to stay well clear from. With absolutely no redeeming qualities that I can honestly name, there are far more great movies that I can simply recommend off-hand. Steer away from this film even if it’s in the bargain bin, because there is a real reason it’s in there.

Bioshock Infinite’s reversible cover art revealed

Travis Bruno

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December 24, 2012

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As you may have already known, Irrational Games offered fans a poll to select a reversible cover art for Bioshock Infinite after the initial response from the game’s official box art was practically 100% negative. Well today Irrational Games revealed which cover art won that poll and as you can see to the right, it is this artistic one.

This box art won with 38% of the vote and as such will be printed on the reverse side of the Bioshock Infinite cover so that fans can simply reverse the cover to choose their own. Levine also mentioned that the other covers which did not win will still be available to print from their website, which is exactly what I’ll be doing as this artsy looking one does nothing for me.