StudentDriver
Joined Jul 1999
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Reviews57
StudentDriver's rating
It's really too bad that Clerks was up against the two highest rated events of the summer season- Survivor on CBS and the NBA Finals on NBC. I'm sure that the unfortunate scheduling contributed heavily to the lack of ratings; in some markets, including mine, the second episode wasn't even shown, because of the heavyweight competition. (Luckily, my local station sent me a videocassette of ep. 2.)
Both episodes of Clerks were hilarious, but not uniformly so. There are parts of both episodes that dragged, and parts of both that actually kind of shocked me. (Randall explaining to the jury how alike they and Dante are; the Indian convenience store). My friends and I, while enjoying the show immensely, realized there was no way the average viewer would even understand much of the cartoon, let alone appreciate the in-jokes and find the whole affair funny- in fact, there are parts of each that many would find downright offensive. While we wish the show would have continued (and perhaps with more equal competition, the show could have matured into something really good), perhaps it's best that the shows just come out on video for the benefit of the converted.
My main problem with the show was the stylistic similarity to "The Critic"- most of the jokes were not only pop-culture based, but they were essentially non-sequiters, contributing nothing to the story. Their use in the original movie fit in with the feel of the film- that of bored coworkers who are just killing time. They felt awkward, though, nestled in the sitcom-like plot of the cartoon.
All in all- recommended for the Clerks fans out there; everyone else may want to see the movies before seeing the cartoon.
Both episodes of Clerks were hilarious, but not uniformly so. There are parts of both episodes that dragged, and parts of both that actually kind of shocked me. (Randall explaining to the jury how alike they and Dante are; the Indian convenience store). My friends and I, while enjoying the show immensely, realized there was no way the average viewer would even understand much of the cartoon, let alone appreciate the in-jokes and find the whole affair funny- in fact, there are parts of each that many would find downright offensive. While we wish the show would have continued (and perhaps with more equal competition, the show could have matured into something really good), perhaps it's best that the shows just come out on video for the benefit of the converted.
My main problem with the show was the stylistic similarity to "The Critic"- most of the jokes were not only pop-culture based, but they were essentially non-sequiters, contributing nothing to the story. Their use in the original movie fit in with the feel of the film- that of bored coworkers who are just killing time. They felt awkward, though, nestled in the sitcom-like plot of the cartoon.
All in all- recommended for the Clerks fans out there; everyone else may want to see the movies before seeing the cartoon.
I saw this in the theatrical compilation Spike and Mike's Classic Festival of Animation; it was neither the zenith or nadir of the show.
A simplistically rendered girl (who looks much like the comic strip character "Cathy") screams and cries, and her environment changes to reflect her thoughts and mood. After she's finished, we discover she's been in a sort of time-out room, and her mother comes inside and gets her.
That's about it. There is no underlying meaning or symbolism (that I picked up anyway). It seemed to be an exercise in animation, and an experiment in visually showing inner emotions.
The one thing that is impressive is that this is the director's first work; while just average as a short, it's impressive for a first effort.
A simplistically rendered girl (who looks much like the comic strip character "Cathy") screams and cries, and her environment changes to reflect her thoughts and mood. After she's finished, we discover she's been in a sort of time-out room, and her mother comes inside and gets her.
That's about it. There is no underlying meaning or symbolism (that I picked up anyway). It seemed to be an exercise in animation, and an experiment in visually showing inner emotions.
The one thing that is impressive is that this is the director's first work; while just average as a short, it's impressive for a first effort.
I've been wanting to see Perfect Blue since I saw magazine ads for the theatrical release; it never made it to an Indianapolis theatre, however, and I made do with the recent VHS release.
The box promises a psychological thriller on a par with Hitchcock's work- as much as I love anime, I honestly can't give PB such high marks. It's a bit better than a Verhoeven potboiler, but nowhere near the level of a Hitchcock. The main plot points (and the suspense) are very cliched and overused- if it weren't for the psychological angle, the entire story would be a waste of time.
The sub-plots were interesting, but as many others have pointed out, it's best to be aware of or accepting of some very Japanese pop-culture standards, such as the pop-idol phenomena, the sex video industry, etc. The differences between Japanese and American cultures are very pronounced sometimes, and the fact that the storyline revolves around Japanese pop-culture may make the movie off-putting for casual fans.
The animation wasn't as spectacular as I was expecting- this is my own fault, rather than the movie's. I've come to expect a certain level of animation prowess in theatrical releases, and this felt more like an OVA. The animation is quite serviceable, though.
Character designs are a bit bland. The deformed appearance of the boy (Me-Mania) makes it obvious early on who the culprit is going to be. Character voices (English translation) are okay- I've heard worse. The song translation is well done, but I'm not a big fan of j-pop...
In the end- I don't mean to sound too down on Perfect Blue. I don't feel it's an appropriate movie for non-anime fans, but if you do like anime, it's a decent purchase.
The box promises a psychological thriller on a par with Hitchcock's work- as much as I love anime, I honestly can't give PB such high marks. It's a bit better than a Verhoeven potboiler, but nowhere near the level of a Hitchcock. The main plot points (and the suspense) are very cliched and overused- if it weren't for the psychological angle, the entire story would be a waste of time.
The sub-plots were interesting, but as many others have pointed out, it's best to be aware of or accepting of some very Japanese pop-culture standards, such as the pop-idol phenomena, the sex video industry, etc. The differences between Japanese and American cultures are very pronounced sometimes, and the fact that the storyline revolves around Japanese pop-culture may make the movie off-putting for casual fans.
The animation wasn't as spectacular as I was expecting- this is my own fault, rather than the movie's. I've come to expect a certain level of animation prowess in theatrical releases, and this felt more like an OVA. The animation is quite serviceable, though.
Character designs are a bit bland. The deformed appearance of the boy (Me-Mania) makes it obvious early on who the culprit is going to be. Character voices (English translation) are okay- I've heard worse. The song translation is well done, but I'm not a big fan of j-pop...
In the end- I don't mean to sound too down on Perfect Blue. I don't feel it's an appropriate movie for non-anime fans, but if you do like anime, it's a decent purchase.