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Metroid Prime (2002)
The finest video game since Ocarina of Time
I'm absolutely in love. This game has knocked me off my feet. Having read all the early reviews and seeing it being touted as one of the greatest games of all time, I honestly did not know just how good it would be, were they overhyping it? Not at all -- this is perfection. Getting out of the water and seeing it stream down your helmet's faceguard is just such an amazing little touch that adds so much. Metroid Prime has things such as this in spades.
The controls were easy for me to pick up and after you've mastered them are a dream. The music, the graphics, the atmosphere -- it's all here, it screams Metroid goodness and the transition from 2D to 3D is absolutely flawless. Coming into the research facility, seeing the Metroids in the test tubes just sends shockwaves up and down your spine. Soon after that the lights of the whole place going out and you have no ice beam to freeze them... hearing the glass breaking all around you -- it's just pure and utter gaming bliss.
It is easily the finest effort on any system since The Ocarina of Time, which is without a doubt one of the 10 greatest ever. Panzer Dragoon Saga, Ocarina of Time and Skies of Arcadia are the only 16+ bit titles in my all-time top 10, but by the time I'm done with it, I'm guessing Prime will be assured a spot.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
The sequel to 2001's most overrated game has arrived
A huge improvement over the mediocre and vastly overrated GTA3, Vice City suffers from many of its problems while fixing some. The storyline is more interesting thanks to the fact you feel more involved personally, however the game suffers from the same repetition of the first and is not nearly as addictive as most great games are. I'm not compelled to play it as often as I can and that says a lot about a game's quality. The inclusion of buying property is interesting but once you've purchased them all the fact you don't even receive a bonus is fairly poor design which is found frequently throughout this game and GTA3. It is missing the little touches that make games great. It's far too easy as well, I've already beat it in about a week, thankfully it was just a rental.
That being said, it's certainly the best game on the PS2 this year but it is easily surpassed by Eternal Darkness, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Fusion (and likely by) Metroid Prime for Game of the Year Honors overall.
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
A look at the best film of 2001 (and 2002!)
I originally saw this film back in March 2002 and had planned on leaving comments on it but for some reason I passed. It's been many months since then and I've seen it 7 times total now and it's simply amazing every time. It truly is one of the finest coming of age stories of all-time and is a visual masterpiece. Although not my favorite Miyazaki film (this ranks slightly behind Tonari no Totoro), it's certainly leagues beyond any other animated film in recent years.
I decided to wait until I had seen the English language version (I've gone to it twice already since it opened on the 11th, 3 days ago) to comment on it here on the IMDb so I could take a look at the version most people would likely see. I am a big fan of anime but I am not one of those obsessive sub-only purists, if it's dubbed well then I can enjoy it just as much as the original. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the English language version even more than the Japanese and Cantonese versions I saw by a good bit. The voices all seemed very appropriate and I enjoyed the few added lines that were included. I was a little bummed about how when Haku says his full name they did not leave it in Japanese, I think it would have been better with saying how it sounded so royal, etc. but that was my only nitpick. Disney did a wonderful job in the English language production, now only if they would market it some (I've not even seen a tv spot here and the ad in the newspaper was very small) and put it in more theatres they may find they have a fairly successful film on their hands to go along with its status of critical darling.
Moonlight Mile (2002)
My thoughts on this mess of a film
Now Moonlight Mile on the other hand... an absolute mess. Since there is so much to complain about this, it will be much longer. The film is supposed to be set in the Vietnam-era 1973 yet the clothes of the main actors all look like something you'd see if you went down to the mall right now (and not because retro is in style, they're just modern clothes slapped on them). The only people who are dressed as if it were the 70s are the occasional woman we see on the street wearing those horrible looking plaid or brown-toned dresses. Hell, if they hadn't mentioned the draft, the older looking car here or there or the fact that "Cal" was missing in Nam, we'd never know it wasn't set in the year 2002. It really was unacceptable that they didn't put in any effort at all to make this movie feel like it was taking place in the early 70s.
The acting is really the only positive thing I can say about the film and all of the performances are excellent with Jake Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon in particular shining. Call me old fashioned, but I think that certain films shouldn't try to be funny other than the occasional remark here or there -- and this is one of them. The script in this was so up and down that it leaves a very bad taste in your mouth. The whole premise of the movie is supposed to be fairly somber yet peppered in are unfunny jokes throughout, most of them falling on their face. A dog throwing up all over a funeral attendees' shoes? Come on, there's a time and a place for that type of humor and it's not in a film in this genre.
There was some weeping from the women of the audience at many times but the only scene that truly got to me was when Gyllenhaal's Joe was on the stand and poured his heart out.. that almost had me teary-eyed. The acting in this may make it worth seeing for some, but the script and the direction here are bad. Many scenes just feel out of place and even if he had no intent to marry the girl, hooking up with another woman a week after his fiancé's funeral is so highly unlikely that it boggles my mind that they did not at least make it a few months after the fact. I hated Bertie (a positively cute Ellen Pompeo) for coming on so strong and shameless to a man whose fiancee just died a few days before. Giving this a 4-star is perhaps one of Ebert's lowest hours.
All in all, a very sloppily put together film that is outshined in every way possible by last year's far superior 'In the Bedroom.' **/**** on a very good day.
Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira (2001)
Bebop at it's finest
For those who are not aware, Knockin' on Heaven's Door takes place during the latter part of the series' timeline. This movie is exactly what every animated movie should be. It has all of the elements that made the tv series so popular including some of the best hand to hand fight scenes to ever grace any screen. The movie is supposed to feel like an extended episode of the television series but with a higher production value and it excels at doing so. Any fan of Bebop will absolutely fall in love with this film and even those who have a limited knowledge of the series will be able sit down and enjoy it.
It isnt licensed for American release yet, but a company will surely pick it up for DVD release in the coming months. If there ever was a better way to close the book on Cowboy Bebop than episode 26, then this is it.