Halo Legends is a collection of 8 stories from the most creative minds of Japan, taking the story of Halo and turning into an animated feature. 8 Separate episodes with different animation, story lines and ideas each, but there is a subtle connection and flow between them. They have taken this to another level, the different types of animation are amazing, and some better then the others. Master Chief and Spartans are on another level, showing that there are different types of Spartans, they are different then the ODSTs, they are bred to fight armies and destroy the Convenant. Each one of these episodes depicts a different angle of the Halo story, and each time you are amazed. The only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 is because it leaves you wanting more, I wish they made a whole series for Halo with at least a full storyline and arch, there is so much depth available in the story that they could use. If you are even a remote fan of Halo then you should watch this and you will love it.

Link: IMDB
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Suzuran High School is an all boys school full of delinquents and gangsters. The students comprise of different turfs according to grade levels, classes and reputation. Unification of all levels in the school is a challenge, and newcomer Genji Takaya throws down the gauntlet on the first day to take down reigning school gangster Tamao Serizawa.

A lot of Japanese culture revolves around life in highschool and how people develop, Suzuran being the roughest and toughest highschool in Japan. The story revolves around the life of Genji Takaya and how he plans to rise to the top of Suzuran. There are a lot of interesting characters and clashes with the Japanese Mafia or Yakauza, and they aren’t even a match for some of these delequents in Suzuran. You quickly get pulled into the life in Suzuran amazed their is a highschool such as this in existence, I foung Genji to be an interesting character and I liked the plot twists in this movie. Its rare that a movie can get you so involved that you jump out of your seat and want to jump into the screen, the story is fantastic the action is nonstop with lots of laughs thrown into the mix. A rare movie that is really worth watching, now I just have to get my hands on Crows 2.

Link: IMDB
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In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city. Rhys Meyers plays the James Reece the secretary of the Ambassador also moonlighting as the helper of the special ops, doing odd jobs and their paper work. Until he is introduced to Wax (Travolta), a nut case with a gun who is given a mission to take care of and Reece is his partner on this machine. They go on to blow up places, shoot people, take drugs and Reece doesn’t have a clue whats going on. Travolta’s charisma with this character is fantastic, he is just as funny as he is insane, a bad guy who is doing the dirty work for the right reasons and dragging his partner along. An entertaining movie with a slightly more serious plot towards the end, but still fun.

Link: IMDB
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A whole new world of hurt! He was a monster, impossible to control, too dangerous to ignore. So Earth’s mightiest heroes exiled him into outer space. But now THE INCREDIBLE HULK crash-lands on the distant planet SAKAAR, ruled by the tyrannical RED KING. Sold into slavery, the Hulk becomes the planet’s mightiest gladiator—but his new masters get more than they bargained for when he forges a bond of brotherhood with his fellow fighters: crafty insectoid Miek, ruthless rock-man Korg, ex-shadow pirest Hiroim, and the noble-born rebel Elloe. Unlike Earth, the desperate people of Sakaar believe a monster is just what they need. But will the Hulk be the one to save their world…or destroy it?

Hulk ripping monster after monster apart, whats not to like, the story is interesting that the Hulk develops intelligence unlike what we are used to seeing. I always think of the Hulk as an unstoppable raging machine that gets stronger as he gets madder, but this time around he serves a different role on a different world. The animation is pretty good and the story is entertaining, but I keep hoping for more from the new Marvel DVDs.

Link: IMDB
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The Vampire’s Assistant tells the frightening tale of a boy who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares. 14-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend, got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That’s the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty.

A movie I have been waiting a while to see, putting Vampire’s in a different kind of roles and I wasn’t even sure what the freaks were going to do. There has been a lot of vampire movies and tv lately but very few have been taking the comical aspect of it, and I think the story had the right amount of comedy and action. You get introduced to the freaks, creatures who are bound together by their odd features, then there are the vampires, and yes Salma Hayek is a freak with a beard and she still looks good with it. Wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was, be prepared its a bit of a long story but there is a lot to tell, and the best part is that you are satisfied at the end but you know there is going to be a sequel.

Link: IMDB
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Story centers on an ex-con (Michael Jai White) who takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend. A promise that will take from fight to fight to reach the goal of saving his friend’s family from the king pin of the streets. I knew this was an all fighting movie but I wasn’t expecting much from the script but turned out to be better then I expected. Some scenes were overplayed but overall a nice martial arts movie with some story to it, and when you get caught up with the fight hoping to see the other guy get beat up you know that your enjoying it. The choreographed action was pretty good sinceits realistic, a few parts could have been done a bit better but you can tell that Michael Jai White is a real martial artist after all, White is a bad ass who actually knows, and practices multiple martial arts — Shotokan, Tae Kwon Do, Kobuo, Goju Ryu, Tang Soo Do, Wushu and Kyokushin. I wouldn’t want to piss of this guy.

Link: IMDB
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Dante a soldier of the Crusade returns home to find his wife slain and her innocent soul taken to hell by Lucifer. He must traverse all 9 circles of hell to free his precious wife and destroy Lucifer, with it facing all his past and demons.

Right off the bat this is an R rated movie, I knew it was dark from the trailers but it was also perfectly shocking and disturbing. There is more blood shed in this movie then all Tarantino’s movies combined, the best part was all the different styles of animation. I loved how the character was presented differently in each level of hell the characters and world around him changes to a different style of animation.

The story and the script of Dante’s inferno is well thought out. You jump right into the mess of things and get pulled into the whole adventure not knowing what is going to happen next. Not knowing what to expect made this movie an even better experience. When it comes down to it an animated movie is only as good as the story and the script, and this one is a hit.

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A simple Chinese immigrant wages a perilous war against one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet in this sprawling action drama directed by Derek Yee (ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK) and starring Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, and Masaya Kato.

Jackie Chan is one of my all time favorite actors because he is good at what he does and sticks to it. This the first time I see a crime mob drama from Jackie Chan, and I have been waiting over a year to see this movie, and it is well worth the wait, probably the best movie that Jackie Chan has ever done and it involves very little of Jackie Chan’s usual Martial Arts. Many Chinese in the 90s immigrated to Japan for work, they were left to do menial work and ignored by main stream society. Jackie Chan or Steelhead started making the Chinese work together, and getting caught in the cross fires of a Yakuza war. Steelhead decides to work with certain heads of the Yakuza to help them in their war and it goes deeper then he thought possible. This movie was banned in the main land China because it was deemed too bloody but it seems to be a sensitive subject for the Chinese and Japanese. It is one of the best modern movie that I have seen come out of China or Japan, I pulled in by every moment of it.

Link: IMDB
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Plot Summary: In the bloody Warring States period of feudal Japan, many generals fought in an endless struggle for power, but one man proved to be too big a threat – The dark lord Oda Nobunaga. Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune, two young warriors from different regions who become heated rivals, begin to form an unlikely alliance with the rest of the generals to take down the Devil King.

Its rare for an anime to pull you in from the first episode, and that is what Sengoku Basara did to me, it pulled me right in and I knew which characters I liked and which I didn’t. I hated Oda Nobunaga from the onset, I didn’t expect it to be this good, so much struggle so much passion in all these fighters it gets me worked up. At certain points I’m about to jump and hit my screen, such amazing characters with the perfect amount of action an anime really that should be watched with a colorful history.

Link: AnimeNewsNetwork
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The true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

This movie delivered the story of Nelson Mandela as he became president of Africa, and Morgan Freeman was perfect for the role. Its uncanny how he has the same mannerisms and speech pattern of Nelson Mandela, you see a side that you have never seen before, his personal side and what he did to unite his country. His name is known the world over just as Mother Teresa or Dali Lama, and this movie pulls you in and you wrapped in the story. As the story develops you get to understand what Mandela sacrificed and get excited towards the end, but even at the end of the movie I don’t understand rugby’s tactics.

Link: IMDB
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