Reviews written by michio
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Haruhiko Mikimoto Illustration Collection PURE
Haruhiko Mikimoto Illustration Collection PURE
(1)Our Price: US$22.04List: US$24.49Save: US$2.45 (10%)Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:June 4, 2009 Mikimoto Prints at an Expensive PriceSince I can't read Chinese, I blindly purchased this "book" since Mikimoto is my favorite author. While it's packaged beautifully (comes with a clear plastic band with the title "PURE" on it), the contents are a bit disappointing. There are about 40 single-sided pages/prints of Mikimoto artwork that appear to be taken from his last Japanese artbook "Innocence." The majority of prints are his original works (not his anime works like Macross, Orguss, or Gunbuster), and about eight are from his recent work on "Lodoss War." The prints are beautiful, but they're printed on thin paper, so it's not suitable for framing which seems to defeat the purpose of this type of collection. Unless you absolutely love Mikimoto's work, I would recommend getting his artbooks instead of this collection. Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
NANA Soundtrack (CD+DVD)(Limited Pressing)(Japan Version)
NANA Soundtrack (CD+DVD)(Limited Pressing)(Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(3)Our Price: US$38.75Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:April 10, 2006 Average SoundtrackI was excited to see a NANA Soundtrack, but the overall presentation isn't very good. It's only 37 minutes long, and some of the early tracks are less than 45 seconds long, so they sound incomplete and sometimes fade out in weird areas. The short soundtrack versions of GLAMOROUS SKY and ENDLESS STORY aren't the best quality (sound is too low) and force you to purchase the single CDs.
As for the DVD, this is what made the soundtrack worth it, especially since the two PVs aren't available on either Japanese DVD. I loved the background productions scenes, with the final versions of the clips from the movie. GLAMOROUS SKY was shown fully during the credits of the movie, but it's nice to see a full sized version. My minor complaints about the DVD are that there are no chapters for the intros and the actual PVs, it's not presented in Anamorphic Widescreen, and the editing on ENDLESS STORY is not very good.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
NANA Special Edition (Japan Version)
NANA Special Edition (Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(6)Our Price: US$75.49Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:March 15, 2006 Great Movie, but lacking DVDI started reading the NANA manga after seeing the movie, and considering how to fit nearly four manga volumes into a two hour movie, it was great. Although I've heard complaints about the acting, I thought everyone was great, especially Mika Nakashima who was the perfect Nana. Biggest difference is that Shin is now 18 years old, instead of 15 (thus the different appearance).
Unfortunately the Special Edition DVD is lacking in extras. Although it boasts 61 minutes of extras, it really needed to be two hours. The Press Conference and First Day Stage segments all have been condensed to about three minutes each (would have liked to have seen the entire segments without bad editing) and the "Making" segment shows filming of a deleted scene that should have been included as an extra. Also, it would have been nice to have the whole "My Medicine" and "Journey" performances, instead of just one chorus.
Five stars for the movie, but three for the DVD extras.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Inochi (Hong Kong Version)
Inochi (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(2)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:May 25, 2004 Touching StoryA good movie, but it jumps around a little too much. The performances are very good, but after reading the real autobiographical novel, I noticed all the changes that just tried to make the story more dramatic (like the "mean" sister's attitude, when in real life she was very supportive). Also, I wish they mentioned that Yu Miri (and her family) are Korean and a little about who she is and her past. Unless you read her books, it's hard to understand what different characters refer to in her life.
The English subtitles are really bad on this disc (sometimes doesn't match what the character says or runs too fast), so I just eventually watched without.
The theme song "Wishing on the Same Star" by Namie Amuro really matches the theme of the song. Too bad they play a shortened version instead of the full version.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Ditto
Ditto DVD Region All
(19)Our Price: US$21.99List: US$27.99Save: US$6.00 (21%)Related promotions:May 25, 2004 Average Love StoryI've only seen Korean horror movies, which for the most part, have been well done, so this is my first romantic movie. The story is average and acting good, if only it had a stronger plot. Too many piano themes to convey heart break, so that became very annoying. I disliked the main female's "high school love crush" attitude (which made her a weak character) and the male's cold "get the hell away from me" attitude. The heroine is supposed to be tragic, but her storyline just turns her into pathetic.
The costumes and hairstyles in 1979 seemed too modern to me, but maybe Koreans dressed like that (or everything retro is back in fashion now).
DVD wise, there are a lot of bonus features, like making of shots, the trailer, the soundtrack, etc which is really great. None are subtitled (which is a pitty) and most of the footage is of very poor quality. The only bad part is the worthless 10 minute recap of the movie. Not too sure why that was included.
The English subtitles were pretty bad, so I watched with Japanese subtitles which seemed to be better. There were a few grammatical mistakes (I needed to pause a few times to read everything since kanji isn't always used when it should be). Also, none of the text screens nor any "non-character" dialogue (like the TV news report) were translated, which bugged me a lot.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
LOVE OVERFLOWS - ASIAN EDITION (CD+DVD)(Limited Edition)(Japan Version)
LOVE OVERFLOWS - ASIAN EDITION (CD+DVD)(Limited Edition)(Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(1)Our Price: US$38.25Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:April 17, 2004 Great English... OK SongsI've never been a huge fan of Dreams Come True, but I was impressed by the quality of this album. DCT's English has improved greatly since past efforts and sounds perfect! I wish they would have picked some other songs for English versions, but LOVE LOVE LOVE is worth the price of this album.
The DVD isn't what I expected. From what I saw, a long interview session I didn't have the patience to watch entirely.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
A Tale of Two Sisters
A Tale of Two Sisters DVD Region 3
(30)Our Price: US$17.99List: US$29.99Save: US$12.00 (40%)Related promotions:March 11, 2004 Very good, but hyped upI liked this movie a lot, but I think I expected too much from it due to all the hype I read on the internet. Definitely a solid story, great actors, and great cinematography, but it lacks a scary story like Juon or The Ring. Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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