When Light Yagami (prominent son of a police inspector and a brilliant law student in his own right) discovers the other world book called, “Death Note”, he feels it’s his destiny to envelop the world with his own brand of justice. With a great feeling of purpose, he envisions a world which is devoid of malintent and a place where the weak will not fear.Too many criminals Light (played by Tatsuya Fujiwara) believes do not obtain their “just desserts”, or worse yet, do not even get punished at all. Light who gives himself the pseudonym- “Kira”, embarks upon his crusade…
Author: Tobe R. Roberts
With half the film backdrop set in a courtroom with intense drama, Director Miwa Nishikawa’s, “Sway”, takes the viewer into the life of lead character Takeru (played by Jo Odagiri). Takeru is a trendy Tokyo photographer with a penchant for red leather pants and a pervading coolness. Travelling which is the first theme at the beginning of the film, Takeru receives a disturbing message that his mother has passed away. Readying his items, he takes to the road in his equally stylish retro car for the funeral services.Upon settling again in his old town of his youth, Takeru and his…
An interesting look at the world of vampires, Netherbeast Incorporated deals with vampires who work at a telephone company. Yes, I said telephone company. In fact, they have worked for centuries at Berm-Tech Industries in Arizona. Maintained with good health by an ancient artifact called, the nether stone, these netherfolk (that’s the politically correct terminology by the way), have all the means to thrive. With no need to venture out of the building they call home, they work like normal human beings for the good of the corporation. Just like the rest of us. Or, so it seemed.The head honcho…
I had the pleasure of first viewing Rena’s powerful film, “Once Were Warriors”, at the famous Angelika theatre in the SoHo area of New York City. A theatre known for assisting independent films making its mark in the industry. Many an independent debuted at the Angelika, and viewing the film there gave it a special honor.Embarking upon her professional acting career in the early 1980’s, Rena Owen has risen to become one of the most successful and renowned New Zealand actresses. Born in NZ to a Maori/Welsh father and European mother, Rena’s ascent to fame reached new heights for her…
Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, “Surf’s Up” is the new Columbia Pictures Animated CGI Mockumentary about penguins and the ultimate surfing championship dedicated to legend “Big Z”, a surfing guru who is lionized by young Shiverpool resident, Cody Maverick.Cody, has big dreams which seek to catapult himself out of the mundaneness of Shiverpool. Fatherless (apparently is not uncommon for most penguins to be on the lunch menu for killer whales), Cody takes wisdom for his path in life from Big Z who graced the shores one day and bestowed upon him, a “one of a kind” Big Z…
“Fay Grim” is the sequel to Hal Hartley’s 1998 Cannes award winning film, “Henry Fool”, and this time around, we are back in the hot seat again with Parker Posey playing Fool’s wife (she now took back her maiden name) and is embroiled in international intrigue and espionage. Let me explain why. Well, Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan) is an enigamatic terrorist who once spun tales of his adventures to his young son. The young boy thought them to be mere fantasies to lull him to sleep, but Henry was actually revealing his true exploits and duplicities around the globe.…
Established in 2002, as a response to the Sept. 11th attacks, The Tribeca Film Festival was conceived by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff. For the purpose of creating a resurgence of economic prosperity, through the visual and performing arts, Tribeca has become one of the most attended celebrations of filmmaking in the world. With multitudes of filmmakers across the globe convened in Lower Manhattan to share their unique visions. This event will mark the 6th annual festival for the Big Apple. Spread across Tribeca and as far north as 34th street in order to view the various…
For a portion of his film career, Native American Director/Producer Chris Eyre made his mark in New York City, as a tour de force in the film industry. Originally hailing from Oregon and with his 1995 NYU Tisch School of the Arts Grad Film, entitled, “Tenacity”, it paved the way for his visions to take fruition on a larger scale. With the phenomenal success of “Tenacity” (filmed in New York State) at numerous festivals, including a screening at Sundance, Chris entered the Sundance Institute’s Directing Workshop. Sundance’s prestigious Directors workshop gave rise to Chris’ next project within the program, which…
Based loosely and influenced by the 1987 Norwegian film “Ofelas” (Pathfinder) by Director Nils Gaup, “Ofelas” (which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film) told the tale of a young boy who witnessed the slaughter of his family around 1000 AD, in Northern Scandinavia, and sought vengeance upon his family’s murderers. He is eventually held captive by this warlike tribe and forced him to lead them to the others. The boy plots to destroy them before they even reach the other camp. Similar to the 1987 film, music video director, Marcus Nispel (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) directs the 2007,…
First time director, Stephen J. Anderson brings wonderfully to life the adaptation of William Joyce’s 1993 children’s story, A Day With Wilbur Robinson. Backed by Disney magic, the story unfolds with young Lewis (voiced by Jordan Fry, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), a little boy visionary who was delivered to a doorstep of an orphanage as a baby. During a horrible rainstorm, Lewis’ mother made the decision to give up her child. Found by Mildred who runs the orphanage (voiced by Angela Bassett), Lewis is taken in and raised by her to hopefully one day have a family all of…