Based on the stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street stars Johnny Depp as Benjamin Baker, who returns to 19th century London after fifteen years in exile, seeking revenge against Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who imprisoned Barker and stole his wife (Laura Michelle Kelly) and infant daughter.

Renaming himself as Sweeney Todd, Benjamin sets himself up as a barber, above a grotesque pie shop run by Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who has always secretly loved him.

When Todd kills a blackmailing rival barber (Sacha Baron Cohen), he finds himself with a body on his bloody hands, until Mrs Lovett hits upon an innovative solution that soon sees her pie shop transformed into a roaring success. Meanwhile, as Todd plots his vengeance against Turpin, a young sailor (Jamie Campbell Bower) falls in love with Todd’s imprisoned daughter (Jayne Wisener) and vows to rescue her.

This sixth collaboration with director Tim Burton, Johnny Depp delivers an exceptional performance in the leading role that combines the gothic horror, black comedy and heartache similar to his previous hit in Edward Scissorhands.

As for his singing, Depp’s vocal performance was full of passion with a nod to David Bowie. He may not be a great singer, but his voice was both distinctive and perfectly suited to the part as the demon barber.

Helena Bonham Carter was terrific as Mrs Lovett providing some laughs thanks to her sharp wit. She can also sing well with the dreamy summer sequence the highlight.

As for the supporting cast, Alan Rickman brings a crafty charisma to Judge Turpin alongside the creepy Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford. As for Sacha Baron Cohen – better known as Ali G and Borat – his short appearance was memorable thanks to his humour as Signor Adolfo Pirelli.

Despite the gory factor, Sweeney Todd is a beautifully directed, superbly designed and suitably bloodthirsty musical. Entertaining with a sense of dark comical moments make this a movie to remember.

Based on the popular manga by Yoshiki Takaya, Guyver: The Biosboosted Armour is about two high school students, Sho Fukumachi and Tetsuro Segawa who accidentally find a Guyver Unit, a strange device which can fuse with a host to give them immense power and abilities. Three Guyver units have been taken and are being searched for by the Chronos Coropration. The Guyver unit reacts and fuses with Sho and becoming the Guyver. As the Chronos search team come across Sho to disengage the Guyver Unit they are eradicated easily unknowing to Sho who could not control his new found power. Following this, the Chronos Corporation will do anything they can to retrieve the Guyver Units. As the guyver unit is now a physical part of Sho he must come to accept his enw power and fight for the ones he loves to evade and thwart the Chronos Corporation.

At first the plot is simple bringing in the key characters and what is to be expected throughout the series. As the series progresses there is a continuous theme to Sho gaining new abilities each episode and fighting a tougher opponent much like levelling up. During the middle and end, the story delves deeper looking at the existence of mankind and how the Guyver units were created which brings in a whole side to the series making it more engaging.

Having not seen the previous OVA series or read the manga, I don’t know how this one compares but it did feel nostalgic and retro from its theme and dialogue, especially the characters from Sho being the one who cares for his friends and family and always find strength from them to Tetsuro being Sho’s best friend and always concerned.

The visuals to me were solid at best, but it lacked flair and intricacy especially in the character designs, however some of the Guyver units just looked plain awesome. I thought the action scenes whilst were decent enough and had a sense of being retrospective, it could have had more style and persona added to it. Guyver: the Bioboosted Armor certainly isn’t one of the best out there right now but it is certainly very good and definitely worth watching right to the end.

I was lucky enough to see a preview screening of Juno last night. As of the Academy Award Nominations announced this morning this quirky little movie is up for 3 of the big ones including best film, best director and best actress for Ellen Page. After seeing the film I have to say I am not at all surprised that it’s one of the contenders for best film of the year. So without further ado on with my review.

Juno is the story of Juno MacGuff a 16 year old girl (Ellen Page) with a major dilemma, She’s pregnant. After the initial shock of finding out her situation and a run in with the “all babies deserve to be borned” brigade, namely her classmate outside of the abortion clinic. The film launches into a very moving and at times laugh out loud hilarious take on Juno’s very interesting pregnancy, from finding adoptive parents for her “unborn seamonkey” in the wanted ads in the local Penny Saver, dealing with her feelings for the father a very dorky Paulie Bleeker, to the troubles of being pregnant in high school.

I recommend for anyone with a sense of humour to see Juno, the script is expertly written by Diablo Cody. I haven’t laughed so much at such amazing use of sarcasm and quip ridden dialogue in a long time. Everything from the opening animated credits to the final sequence of the film is a joy to behold. I adore any film that displays some form of intelligence and whit and this little movie has them by the bucket load.

I can’t write a review of Juno without applauding Ellen Page on yet another amazing turn in a difficult role. Some people may remember her for her shining turn in Hard Candy two years ago and it seems she’s now definitely turning into an acting tour de force. I sincerely hope she wins the oscar for best actress but of course the Academy being as they are regarding age, will probably wait for her to have a few more amazing films under her belt before they bestow the accolade upon her.

In short if you want an intelligent, quirky offbeat comedy with a great turn by the lead actress go see Juno. It’s a film that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema.

Lewis Hamilton signs a new 5 year deal at McLaren which keeps him there until 2012. No details as to how much the contract is worth is known yet however not many people can doubt that from last season’s performance he has deserved a payrise.

Finishing only a point behind World Champion and Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis wants to improve on last season’s performance and claim the top honours. Speaking about the new deal, Lewis Hamilton had this to say.

“I have been connected to McLaren and Mercedes-Benz since 1998 and feel that I could easily drive for this team for the whole of my Formula One career,”

“I’m with the right team to compete for race wins and both the drivers’ and constructors’ world championships in the future. We will have a lot of challenges ahead, but I am 100% positive I am with the people to take them on.

“The first of those challenges is the 2008 season. We have 57 days to go until the Australian Grand Prix, and we are motivated to make the most of this time and arrive in Melbourne with a competitive car.”

McLaren boss Ron Dennis is obviously ecstatic to retain the services of the talented 23 year old, saying:

“This announcement will take the length of our relationship with Lewis to a total of 15 years, which we believe is among the longest running associations between a sportsman and a team in the history of sport, particularly motorsport.

“This is a great achievement for everyone involved, including Anthony.

“Lewis is an exceptional human being, on both a personal and professional level, and will continue to be a credit to this team.”

Having finished testing the new McLaren, now without traction control and engine breaking as the new rules are enforced, many are tipping Lewis to become the World Champion this season. However I’m pretty sure a certain Ice-Man will have something to say about that…

I thought I’d start my series wrap up reviews with Myself; Yourself. As you will see from my earlier reviews I am quite fond of this little series. After an interesting beginning with the mysterious Nanaka and annoying Aoi often taking centre stage, the series did delve into very different territory touching on incest, insanity, suppressed memories, lesbianism, murder, arson and of course suicide. Pretty hard hitting material for such a short series, but people will be happy to hear that “Myself” didn’t go down the School Days route like earlier predictions.

Overall I will have to say it was an interesting little gem possibly not as hard hitting as they could have made it. I did find the final few episodes slightly rushed, It seems the studio was attempting to cover far too much ground in too short an amount of time. Definitely give it a watch if you want something that covers slightly more serious topics and is short and sweet, but don‘t expect the extraordinary. The only problem is you may be left with a slight feeling of confusion at how everything progressed so fast in the closing stages.

My lesson learnt from this series, beware elderly people who believe you look like their long dead granddaughter and it involves a disappearing cat *shudder*. I don’t think I’ll be doing any voluntary work with the elderly for a while after seeing that.

It’s a new year so of course that means new anime and I’m sure we are all chomping at the bit. Besides the return of some old favourites Gunslinger Girl 2 and Minami-ke season 2, We’re treated to some new and exciting series.

Rosario + Vampire

A brand new series by GONZO based on the manga by Akihisa Ikeda and I have to say I personally am liking it a lot. The plot seems pretty much to follow the usual harem vein, puts on old worn record shy guy “Tsukune” moves to new school with lots of pretty girls, whom I am already guessing all take a shine to him in some way. Boy is insecure and in reality he would have no chance of hooking up with one of the said girls let alone all of them… But scratch that there’s a new twist it’s a school for Monsters (yes all things ghoulish that go bump in the night) and he is the only human. So if any of them find out it’s sayonara Tsukune.

We’re introduce to the female main character in a blaze of pantsu showing glory, Pink haired very Moe ditzy girl who has an interesting secret she is in fact a vampire who goes decidedly Emo when her rosary is removed. I personally like the animation it’s easy to watch and the series from what I can tell is eye candy likable, Moka is incredibly kawaii and she is giving off a decidedly Lucy/Nyuu Elfen Lied vibe and I swear it isn’t just the pink hair giving me this nostalgia.

I have to say though the little bats do steal the show, I crack up laughing whenever I see one. So everyone sing it with me “One, two, three, count! Batty, batty bat; batty bat; batty bat; batty bat! dance with me doing the batty bat” *sigh* I am showing my age.

H20 ~Footsteps in the sand~

The new series from ZEXCS is yet another ecchi harem show based on a video game with the same title. Didn’t have enough harem last season? but you never know maybe this one will be surprisingly interesting.

The story revolves around Takuma who is actually blind, This disability seems to give the studio every chance to make as much use of his white stick ecchi style as possible. He moves to a new school and meets several new girls including a rather nice Tsunderekko Hayami Kohinata who it seems is often beaten up for some unknown reason. It appears the more he interacts with these girls the better his vision becomes.

The first episode was interesting nothing terribly amazing to write home about as of yet but entertaining none the less. I have sensed though 2008 is the year for pantsu!!!

True Tears

The new series from P.A. Works with a slightly more romantic less comical edge. I have to admit the first episode did stand out for me and possibly will be one I do follow through this season.

Shinichiro is lucky enough to share his house with one of the most popular girls at school Hiromi. She appears to have moved in with them a year prior but something is wrong, around the house she is so quiet and withdrawn. She doesn’t seem to cry even though her reasons for being there are quite traumatic. Shinichiro wants to comfort Hiromi but he can’t ever get up the nerve to even speak to her, so he is left with just watching her from afar. Due to a chance encounter with a particularly odd girl named Noe, he is cursed with bad luck. How will all of this affect him throughout the series, will he have to perform Muhiga dancing and will he even find the courage to confront Hiromi.

I found the animation throughout the first episode particularly beautiful, I definitely think this could be one to follow and no ecchi so far in sight, wow what a change.

They are my noble masters

Can anyone say ECCHI!! I swear this year has been stamped with it and we’re only 2 weeks in. The new series from A.C.G.T appears to be full of it. The animation is nice enough but not sure if it will hold my interest or not.

Ren and his sister move to the city due to lack of money. They eventually end up being employed as servants to the Kuonji family which comprises of three sisters Shinra, Miyu and Yume what takes place are the surreal and often comical incidences of day to day life within the mansion

Not sure what to think of this series to be honest, it is comical in parts but I think it could just be another unimpressive anime to add to the pile. Shinra does have a certain appeal though but that’s about it.

Spice and Wolf

The new series from IMAGIN is definitely different to everything else this season. I am hoping for an interesting series after watching the first episode.

Set In Europe during the middle ages Craft Lawrence is a peddler who travels from town to town selling various items. One evening he stops in the town of Pasroe and upon awakening finds in his cart a 250 year old wolf deity called Holo. She appears in the form of a 15 year old girl only with the addition of wolf ears and a tail. Holo makes a deal with Lawrence to travel with him as she wishes to return to her homeland called Yetis. Even though she is the god of the harvest she now believes the towns people are forsaking her and their pagan ways, so she wishes to return home, but it appears not is all that it seems.

I do like the animation in this and the Pagan/Christian edge is definitely appealing to me. I do love a good “fairy tale” type adventure story. I will be waiting with baited breath for the next instalment of this.

These new series should hopefully help fill the void that was left by what finished last month. Also there is the welcome return of CLANNAD and Shakugan No Shana Second.

Welcome to the year of PANTSU!!

After reading a very interesting article by GSMArena about the leaked documents of Windows Mobile 7, I decided to write up my own thoughts about the new operating system. For those who are not aware of Windows Mobile, it is an operating system that resides on mobile devices like Symbian or Linux for example. Recently announced Google will be releasing their own open source system called Android too, to combat such systems used in mobile devices and the thwart ideas of the “GPhone” (however that can still happen).

Apple has created quite the stir with the iPhone and it has made everyone else shut up and listen. Its not the complete device still as it has missing features, is overpriced and is not the holy grail that people think it is. However no-one can deny that is does pretty much carry the Apple seal of pure quality when it comes to the user interface.

No mobile phone or device before it has had a user friendly interface as it, with beautifully crafted icons, clever use of gestures and touch control making the use of a complex device seem like childs play. It pretty much has made the same mark on the industry as Nintendo has with the Nintendo Wii and DS, using touch screen and gestures (via motion sensors) as the main control scheme. Now that the dust has settled, Microsoft will be replying back with their answer.

Windows mobile 7 will rely heavily on gestures be it via touch or motion it seems from the leaked documents, much like the iPhone. It also seems to borrow a lot from Sony Ericsson with their “Shake” technology for changing tracks. The interesting bit here is that Microsoft seems to have planned to use the camera to detect movement rather than accelerometers. This means that a camera would have to be constantly on which could easily drain the battery and possible use of such gestures when you want to take a photo - Not to mention how it will detect movement in the dark.

Lets break things down to see what Microsoft would like our mobiles to be powered with in the future though. (Read more…)

Here is some text explaining it from Hideki himself about the new store!

The staff at TokyoToys are so proud & excited to announce we will be opening our new Superstore in Trocadero, Piccadilly Circus, London! It is about 4 times as big as our current store! We aim to make it the centre for anime/manga/computer gaming in London!

Our shop is hosted by the iMaginations centre. Featuring an internet cafe and seating. It is a purpose built shop with a 180 degree all glass shop front. This will allow us to build the most amazing display! Opposite our shop is a Cinema and the biggest Arcade in the UK, Funland. The opportunities are enormous!

By Train: Get off at Charing Cross Station. The it’s less than 10mins walk via leicester square.

By Tube: Get off at Piccadilly Circus Underground. Then follow walkway leading directly inside the Trocadero Center. Once inside ride on escalator up to our shop.

We recommend families center via the back entrance on Shaftesbury Avenue. It is the position marked by the red pin on our googlemap link. An escalator will take you directly outside our shop!

For those who would like to pay a visit (say NeoBlade sent you!) then you can use this handy Google Maps link to get there. The opening was last night and seemed pretty busy! Here are some images of the event.

Sadly I could not attend so I would like to hear from those that did manage to make it to the event to share your thoughts!

YAY! At long last eMagi.co.uk has a new look and bloody hell it took its time. Its not what I originally had planned but I’m sticking with it so I can focus on content and not care about any more behind the scenes updates. There’s still some things that need tweaking however the general layout is done and I hope everything is functional!

If you find any errors in other web browsers (only tested with FireFox and IE thus far) please let me know! Hell, just leave some feedback on what you think of it anyway as I plan to have the main title graphic rotate and some other new things which will be added as the week goes on. There will also be a re-structuring on the menu as well and hopefully a lot more content to come!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years and here’s looking to a fun 2008 ^_^

What Google Maps looks like on a Nokia N95

Google has released their superb Google Maps for the mobile phone and the great thing is, any Java capable phone can run it! However for Symbian powered mobiles we get a few more extras too, especially with integrated GPS support now added. I will be giving the NokiaN95 version a spin for the purposes of this review.

To obtain the mobile version (for nearly any handset) simply point your mobile to http://www.google.com/gmm. Be aware though that you will incur Data Service charges and it is not advised to use this service without an unlimited data plan or WiFi enabled nearby. While the Map View is pretty basic and detailed enough to get by, Satellite View (which I will discuss later) will consume bandwidth as will searches. Once installed simply run it and agree to the terms laid out.

If you have GPS integrated or indeed paired via Bluetooth then you can press the “0” key right away to be taken to “My Location”. Once there is a Satellite Lock, Google Maps will instantly scroll to your current location, which is pretty handy.

(Read more…)