Dragonball: Evolution: Don’t Waste Your Time
Undoubtedly there are many people who are interested in watching this movie. In recent weeks, the marketing for the film has died down significantly and that might have been for a reason. The anime or manga series of Dragonball is probably the favorite for many anime and manga fans, but this movie, riddled with bad puns, cliche and bad acting, will be an assaul to your senses. The lack of a storyline also distracts from the movie viewing. In the Dragonball world, the movie is a conglomeration of details that are so prevalent in the cartoon series. Screenwriters producers couldn’t possibly get all the details correct in the Hollywood movie; there’s too much to touch upon. If you’re a Dragonball fan, you know what I’m talking about. That was one knock on the movie. Could you possibly have a roughly two-hour movie and put out a decent storyline given all the details laid out in the show? No! Many of the characters don’t even emulate what they were in the anime version. This movie is a waste of time, not worthy of your time or money. On a scale of 1-10, this movie is deserving of a 3.
Video Games shouldn’t be adapted into Movies
What possessed movie directors to create a movie out a video game, popular or not. Case in point, Super Mario Brothers. Sure, there is some leeway in what you can or can’t do in a movie verses a video game, however, has anyone ever decided to keep the premise, location, characters and action the same in a movie instead of diluting it with the hottest actor, plot twists, terrible dialog and a director’s twist? I haven’t seen one. Some movie adaptations that fell well short of the mark: Resident Evil, Dungeons and Dragons, Mario Brothers, Doom, Alone in the Dark. Halo, if it ever gets out of pre-production has the possibility to ruin itself with the movie as well with no official cast, production issues, monetary issues and the like. I’m not too hopeful about the prospects of the movie if/when it comes out. Splinter Cell and Siphon Filter also have possiblities to be good, but judging by the string of video game-turned-movies, I’m not too hopeful. If anyone can suggest a video game that turned out to be great movie, by all means let me know. The trend has reversed itself in recent years because ultimately, you can stretch video games further than an approximately two-hour long movie. It’s no secret that directors and writers try to make success by bringing a video game to the big screen, but come on, do it right.
Is the Vampire Genre Overdone?
The genre within the Science Fiction and Horror has evolved from its inception to what? Who know? It’s so convoluted now that you can use any backdrop and add in vampires to it and the public eats it up. The first literary account of vampires can be traced back to the 1700’s when vampires were referred to soldiers that fed on humans and drank their blood to stay alive. Then you had Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula, which helped propel the genre a step further, many of the characters from his book taking on forms today such as the Harkers. What has happened since? Well for starters, over 30 countries have their own accounts of vampires. Some are immune to garlic and crosses, while some get hurt eating a certain type of food. The genre’s boomed. However, how far is too far? Anne Rice once said, “The vampire classic should be put to rest.” I think she’s right. Today, not only do you have vampire love stories (Twilight) and vampire action flicks (Underworld), but you also have vampires who want to live normally amongst the populace and you have those that want to destroy humankind (Blade). What’s common about all the scenarios above? You can use the same plot without the vampires and can do just as well if you didn’t add the supernatural element to it. Everywhere you turn there’s one form of vampire culture in society be it in film, books, or clubs that are devoted to it. IS it overdone? From this observor’s point of view, it is. Today, there are over 121,000 books devoted to vampires. On the film side, since 1923 (Nosferatu), there have been 19,002 films about vampires. Can we give these guys a rest? Sure I like the vampire genre, but it’s like an annoying salesman in today’s society. They get thrown in your face and never let go.