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.

Just passing on the news really! Great news for those with Sky and have missed a ton of episodes on Anime Central (Sky channel 199). I was pretty gutted that I had to leave Fullmetal Alchemist and Bleach behind due to Uni commitments but am glad that a new schedule was being aired just in time for Christmas ^_^ Anime Central (sky channel 199) has recently announced a marathon line up during the Christmas period for the following anime series:

Cowboy Bebop: 21/12/07 - 23/12/07

Fullmetal Alchemist: 24/12/07 - 29/12/07

Bleach: 30/12/07 - 4/1/08

As marathons go, these are going to be abit mental if consecutive episodes are shown straight after one another all night and I’m not sure how I’m going to get through all of those episodes but I’ll give it my best (and fail miserably.) ^_^

On a side note, everyone have a great Christmas and happy new year!

After what must be years of waiting having read ‘Northern Lights’ quite a while ago (well the first time anyway) and over a year of anticipation after hearing about this film’s ‘green lighting’ I finally saw ‘The Golden Compass’.

For a start I will say don’t believe all the negative press this film is receiving, it is definitely better than expected. The visuals are stunning, I especially love the daemon effects so I definitely praise the animators for the hard work on that front, it’s hard enough to render one realistic looking animal let a film full of them and have them seamlessly blend in with their human counterparts. There were a few shaky instances in the effects which to me didn’t quite work but in a world where fantasy successfully became reality they at least had my inner child fooled.

Now for the crunch part, the film is completely full of holes. I am aware this is a very complex book to adapt (god help them *no pun intended hehe* with the next two as they are by far more complicated) but I do wish they had just done a true adaptation of the novel and not attempted to pander to everyone in leaving out the fundamentals, this book is about one child’s quest against the magisterium so why couldn’t they keep it that way. It was blatantly obvious even though extremely watered down that the film was a comment on religion and control. I found the pacing very awkward, it seems they rushed to get as many major plot advancements into 2 hours as possible which did leave the watcher wondering where the hell the film was actually going. Luckily having read the books I entered the cinema knowing the story but I can only imagine how hard the film must be for someone who hasn’t encountered Pullman’s novels.

My huge major moan now, THEY LEFT OFF THE ENDING!! How could they do that the book ends on a huge cliffhanger which apparently has been left in the can as a preview for the next film. This already fills me with dread as this will take away from most of the drama of the amazing end to ‘Northern Lights’ plus isn’t there honestly enough information in ‘The Subtle Knife’ to fill two films so why take part of ‘Northern Lights’ to bulk it up it just isn’t necessary. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the second book does follow a slightly different story *sigh* will Hollywood ever learn to leave something alone.

The casting in my opinion was top notch Dakota Blue Richards really pulled off Lyra spectacularly. Lyra was another reason I was dreading this adaptation as I can’t see her as being the easiest character to play but she did an excellent turn as the ragamuffin, stubborn, tomboy we all know and love. Nicole Kidman was excellently cast as Mrs. Coulter she fit the image in my mind perfectly but she wasn’t cold and icy enough in my opinion and I swear her role was larger. Daniel Craig to me wasn’t the Lord Asriel I imagined for a start he wasn’t stern enough and his role also seemed minute in comparison to the book. Iorek Byrnison stole the show in my opinion, I so love that polar bear. Excellently voice acted by Ian McKellen, I want Iorek cuddles *pouts*. Pan was adorable; I was panicing they wouldn’t get him right but in my eyes they did Freddie Highmore’s voice acting was again superb. It seemed with the exception of Lyra the show was stolen by the CG daemons and ice bears.

So to sum up my review the film is a good watch, very choppy and full of holes but it does take you on something that slightly resembles the first journey in the ‘His Dark Materials’ but the book is so much BETTER! It is worthy of the cinema if just for the effects and just a trip to enjoy some fantasy magic.

Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes with this film and the adaptations of ‘The Subtle Knife’ and ‘The Amber Spyglass’ will be a vast improvement on this first outing to Pullman’s universe. That said I will always keep the books close to my heart, especially my signed copy of ‘The Amber Spyglass’ thank you Phillip *grins*

After months and months of speculation about a Live action Dragon Ball movie, it has been confirmed that there will be a movie in the works with a huge budget. The movie based on Akira Toriyama’s original Manga is set to be released in Summer 2008.

As for announced characters so far, the character Goku will be played by Justin Chatwin who is probably most known by as the teenager in War of the Worlds and a special guest appeareance in Lost. Piccolo is to be played by James Marsters who is mainly known for Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer tv series.

Initially I was skeptical but after realising James Wong was directing and Stephen Chow was producing I realised that this could have some, if not alot of potential. If anyone is unfamiliar with the two, Stephen Chow is best known for Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu hustle, two pretty damn good films if I say so myself, also two films with a style of frenetic action that is aesthetically brilliant which could be very adaptable to the Dragon Ball film depending on how much influence Stephen Chow has on the film. James Wong directed Final Destination 1 and 3, these films I thought were decent but not great, they also involve scenarios of fast paced danger which again could be ideal for the film.

So far I’m unaware as to what the plot will involve, whether it will closely follow the original plot or take ideas and create a totally new story.

Jack Bauer’s nightmare day will become even worst judging by this exciting new trailer promoting season seven of the hit ‘real-time’ drama that is 24.

The new season will be set several months after season 6 with season 7 beginning and ending at 7:00 AM. The new series will be broadcast in America early next year followed soon on Sky One here in the UK.

Kiefer Sutherland, the Emmy award-winning actor, will play the role as Jack Bauer but this new season promises to be a more personal story than the previous six seasons of the show.

The initial back-story will feature Jack on trial for his actions in the pursuit of justice. Meanwhile a major national security breach occurs when the firewall responsible for protecting America’s government computer infrastructure is breached.

For the first time in 24 history, a female president will be featured as opposed to the Palmer brothers. Cherry Jones will play President Allison Taylor. But the most surprising character to return to the show is Tony Almeida (yes, that’s right he is not dead)! Carlos Bernard will reprise his role as this season’s main antagonist.

In addition, this will be the first season that Jack Bauer is not working for CTU.

In the trailer Jack is appearing before Congress concerning his past extralegal activities, particularly the torture of Ibrahim Haddad. Haddad was a terrorist who targeted a bus carrying 45 people, 10 of which were children. Jack therefore stopped that attack from happening.

It is revealed that the season’s crisis involves a breach of the “CIP firewall” that protects every major infrastructure system, leaving telecommunications, transportation, and power grids vulnerable (though this reminds me to the plot of Bruce Willis’s all-action movie that is Die Hard 4.0).

Shockingly, Tony Almeida is part of this national crisis and we will see a new side to him, playing a villain!

Even the FBI is seeking assistance to the man who doesn’t go to sleep or take comfort breaks! Can Jack Bauer save the world again? Find out next year when 24 season seven returns to the small screen.

Click here to view the two minute preview.

Update: Due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, Fox has just decided to postpone the previously scheduled January 13 premiere of 24’s seventh season to ensure that when 24 does return, Day 7 can air uninterrupted, in it’s entirety. At present, only about one-third of the 24 episodes have been filmed.

Ratatouille
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Directors: Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Peter Sohn, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy and Peter O’Toole
Duration: 110 minutes
Year: 2007

After the misfire of Cars, Pixar returns with a delightful story on a rat that seeks to become the best chef in the heart of Paris. With Ratatouille, the animated geniuses behind such great hits like Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo has provided a stunning and entertaining journey into a life of a small rodent that loves to cook.

Being a fan of Disney/Pixar films, I love the simple beauty of the CGI visuals. The advancement of computer technology has made the images even more photo-realistic over the last few years but I always take the pleasure that the studio is there to tell a story with fascinating characters. And with Ratatouille, the idea that Remy can inspire the love of preparing a meal is a sight to behold, no matter if he is seen as a street vermin.

Ratatouille is written and directed by Brad Bird, whose previous Pixar hit with The Incredibles was by far my favourite in the digitally-animated series. His talent is on par with the legendary Hayao Miyazaki by providing enthralling stories and characters in an emotionally driven movie. In fact, the director has gone from strength to strength since The Iron Giant and I am sure his next hit will be even more special.

The voice acting from the likes of Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Peter Sohn, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy and Peter O’Toole are sensational and give these characters a sense of poetic warmth to the viewer.

Remy (Patton Oswalt) is a little rat who dreams of becoming a chef just like his idol, the human Gusteau (Brad Garrett). After a mishap, Remy loses his family in the sewers and comes upon a fading restaurant that had previously been owned by Gusteau before his untimely death. There he comes upon a lowly garbage boy, Linguini (Lou Romano), and together they set out to revive the once-legendary restaurant.


Ratatouille is filled with plenty of surprises that will amuse and excite. As for the animation, this is by far the best than any other Disney/Pixar productions. The breathtaking landscape of Paris adds a layer of realism to the movie, while the food looking so real it must be delicious!

In summary, you couldn’t ask for more than an entertaining movie with Ratatouille. It has become a new benchmark with amazing animation and visuals. Not forgetting Pixar’s sense of humour that will delight the young and old. An instant classic.

Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland will serve 48 days in jail after pleading no contest to two misdemeanour counts of driving under the influence. The 24 star was charged after police witnessed him making an illegal U-turn in Los Angeles last month.

A breath test allegedly resulted in Kiefer having twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system…

In a statement, the actor apologised for his “poor judgement” and the “distress this has caused my family, friends and co-workers”.

Sutherland was not in court as his lawyer, Blair Berk, entered the plea agreement. A second charge of driving under the influence of alcohol was dropped. His arrangement means that filming on the seventh series of hit ‘real-time’ drama 24 will not be interrupted, drawing praise from his bosses at television network Fox.

“Kiefer made clear to us at the time of his arrest that his first concern was the welfare of those he worked with and that he intended to do whatever was necessary to prevent shutting down the show,” it said in a statement.

“He told us that even if he had to sacrifice more time in custody in order to protect the show and the jobs of those who work with him, he would do so. From what occurred today, it is evident he is a man of his word.”

The jail sentence consists of 30 days for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit, and 18 days for violating his probation, according to court records. Under the terms of his agreement, Kiefer must serve the time in full.

In addition, Sutherland is banned from driving for six months and was ordered to attend alcohol education classes for the next 18 months.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmOUObkrlG8[/youtube]

Here’s your unique opportunity to see a stylish television commercial for Heroes Season 2 featuring Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Masi Oka, Greg Grunberg, Milo Ventimiglia, and Ali Larter.

Looks fantastic and I can’t wait to see the second series. Roll on September 24th!

The Bourne Ultimatum
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama and Thriller
Director: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Joey Ansah, Albert Finney and Joan Allen
Duration: 115 minutes
Year: 2007

The third chapter in the series of the CIA amnesiac super agent that is Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) ends an exciting trilogy inspired by Robert Ludlum’s books. With The Bourne Ultimatum, the trained assassin is trying to piece together his identity and with it, uncover the truth of project Treadstone.

The opening scene follows immediately from The Bourne Supremacy where a wounded Jason Bourne is evading the Moscow police. From there, the action shifts to a relentless pace as he travels around the world looking for the truth behind the CIA operation named Blackbriar, which was first uncovered by a newspaper journalist (Paddy Considine).

The action sequences in London’s Waterloo station – as Bourne directs Considine’s nervous Simon Ross through a crowd of hostile CIA agents - is simply breathtaking. You assume the film has peaked just twenty minutes in, but from here director Paul Greengrass continues to set a dynamic and edgy pace to thrill the viewers throughout the 115-minute running time.

We are also treated with not one, but two exciting car chases and yet, the frenetic foot pursuit across the rooftops of Tangier overshadows both metal-crunching incidents. To see Bourne leaping from building to building – tumbling though opening windows and crashing into living rooms before engaging in a furious fighting scene with Desh Bouksani (Joey Ansah) is truly spectacular.

As for the supporting cast in Ultimatum, Joan Allen makes a welcome return as the CIA investigator Pamela Landy. Working alongside her is David Strathairn, the main villain in the movie. Albert Finney has only a brief role but plays an important part to Bourne’s previous life. As for Julia Stiles, she gets more screen time then the previous two films but her role feels slightly redundant.

Star performances go to director Paul Greengrass and actor Matt Damon, who both exceeded themselves in Ultimatum. From the stylish and quick cut camera work to Damon’s portray as the 21-century killing machine. The Bourne Ultimatum is definitely the best summer film of 2007; not only for its compelling story but also with its impressive action scenes from start to finish.