Author Topic: MAF's Anime Double Feature Review - A Tree of Palme/Tekkon Kinkreet (Read 1565 times)

MrAngryFace · « **on:** October 10, 2007, 01:06:19 AM »

A Tree of Palme

Art: 8.5
Plot: 6.5
Rewatchability: 2.0

I picked this up because the art on the back of the case was intriguing, and im always up for a new anime feature. Unfortunately while the visuals are imaginative and well done, the story is incoherent and rambles a bit in the middle. Anime features tend to clock between 1.5-2 hours these days and A Tree of Palme had a lot of story elements that didnt do their job in establishing motives early on to give the quest meaning. Instead im just kinda wondering through 2/3rds of the movie what it all means.

Worth checking out if youre curious and want to see some weird anime stuff, but other than that...

Tekkon Kinkreet

Art: 9.5
Plot: 8.0
Rewatchability: 8.0

I picked this up cause SOMEONE on this forum hoisted it up next to Paprika, so I was interested. I came away really impressed. While I like Paprika, I think it fails to bring the big theme together like say, Millennium Actress. The plot to Tekkon Kinkreet is simple, but fast, and the theme is simple, but meaningful. The movie also does a great job not beating the viewer over the head or forcing the ideal conclusions. As a result, the viewer is allowed to take away different things from this movie with ease.

Additionally, the art, is umm, wow. Definately of a quality to match, or even beat, Paprika. One could argue that each film surpasses the other in some way but jeeze, if there was ever a reason to own an anime on blugay. The music isnt bad, but it has a habit of becoming hard to even notice at times as most of the music seems to be mood pieces to set a scene.

I would also like to say the dub is excellent, and going by the subtitles I left on, very accurate to the sub translation. Anything additional added was for the better and only made the dub more natural.

In short, check this one out. its got fight scenes and kids running around and colors and pretty much a little of something for everyone.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #1 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:09:42 AM »

Rewatchability

That's a big factor for DVD purchases to me. If I can't watch something many times I don't buy it. Like, I could watch Goodfellas more than twice a month. So buying it was a no brainer lol

What would you rate Princess Mononoke?

Mr. Gundam · « **Reply #2 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:09:52 AM »

If you have access to a Blu-ray player, check out Tekkonkinkreet in high definition. I'm sure the regular DVD is great, but the Blu-ray is flat out gorgeous.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #3 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:10:32 AM »

Quote from: distantmantra on October 10, 2007, 01:09:52 AM

If you have access to a Blu-ray player, check out Tekkonkinkreet in high definition. I'm sure the regular DVD is great, but the Blu-ray is flat out gorgeous.

Have you not read MAF's past thoughts on Blu-ray?

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #4 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:11:07 AM »

Ill nutflix blugay, but im not buying into this format war

Mr. Gundam · « **Reply #5 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:13:00 AM »

Quote from: Smooth Groove on October 10, 2007, 01:10:32 AM

Quote from: distantmantra on October 10, 2007, 01:09:52 AM
If you have access to a Blu-ray player, check out Tekkonkinkreet in high definition. I'm sure the regular DVD is great, but the Blu-ray is flat out gorgeous.

Have you not read MAF's past thoughts on Blu-ray?

I don't fucking care. He's got an HDTV, and he's got a Blu-ray player. It's beautiful.

Plus, it wasn't directed at him, but at anyone reading the thread.

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #6 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:15:49 AM »

Princess Mononoke

Art: 9.0
Plot: 7.0
Rewatchability: 7.5

Its a beautiful film, with one of the most coherent pro-environment messages in an anime film, and there's some pretty bad ones (see Pom Poko), but like most LONG anime features it enters its paces and continues to tire the theme by treading old ground in new scenes. By the time I get to the end of this film it always seems like im waiting for the end more than im waiting for a conclusion. The movie is about 20-30 minutes too long, but its worth watching at least twice a year.

Also I disliked a lot of the dub va choices, and some nights I just dont want to watch subs. The japanese language to the untrained ear can often mask a horribly written show, but it can also make every scene in a well written show seem boring.

Ichirou · « **Reply #7 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:16:30 AM »

Haven't watched either of these...Tree of Palme got bad reviews all around so I avoided it. Tekkon Kinkreet, I might pick up.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #8 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:16:59 AM »

I support both HD formats but the selection is still mostly crap and the prices are too high. I'm much more selective now about my HD purchases since I've been burned a couple of times on mediocre movies. $35 is too much for a movie that you'll only watch once, even if it's in HD. I'll check out Tekkon in HD if I can find it for around $25.

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #9 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:20:55 AM »

Ichirou: It seems any anime feature released these days gets a 'one of the best anime films' blurb from some hack job site on its cover. I learned my lesson :p

Mr. Gundam · « **Reply #10 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:23:14 AM »

Tekkonkinkreet falls prey to "rushed and confusing ending" syndrome that plagues most anime films, but it's still entertaining.

Mandark · « **Reply #11 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:24:11 AM »

I saw Mononoke in a tiny theatre and haven't seen it since. I remember really liking Billy Bob Thornton's VO work, which most people complained about.

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #12 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:24:36 AM »

I dunno I mostly got the ending, but I think the events that occurred right before the end could be left up to some interpretation. I mean the world the movie takes place in isn't quite 'normal' in the first place.

Mandark: I just dont see him as a fat chinese man, its just so hard. I just see Bad Santa

Ichirou · « **Reply #13 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:25:18 AM »

Quote from: Cocky Funny on October 10, 2007, 01:20:55 AM

Ichirou: It seems any anime feature released these days gets a 'one of the best anime films' blurb from some hack job site on its cover. I learned my lesson :p

Yeah, for example, the Anime on DVD site almost always gives decent-to-great reviews on ANYthing that comes out...so they're quoted on a bunch of DVD cases.

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #14 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:26:07 AM »

I think anime features are still in that era videogames used to exist in where fansites gambled on blurbs to get on cases.

Ichirou · « **Reply #15 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:28:48 AM »

"Tekkon Kinkreet...is... a reason to own an anime on [Blu-Ray]!" - Evilbore.com

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #16 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:31:00 AM »

Ichirou · « **Reply #17 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:39:43 AM »

lol, I had to work at it to find a decent blurb in your review, too. Next time, take a lesson from PD and dumb down your review, put in a couple of comments about how the cinematography or direction was amazing or something.

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #18 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:41:58 AM »

Pon Poko is my favorite Ghibli movie. It's not just a "pro-environmental message", it's an allegory on the history of Japanese left-wing movements in the 60s and 70s, which were themselves pretty incoherent so a coherent message wouldn't fit anyway. Takahata > Miyazaki

Ichirou · « **Reply #19 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:45:01 AM »

And it also has giant testicles. What's not to love!?

Mandark · « **Reply #20 on:** October 10, 2007, 01:50:56 AM »

Most people prefer "generic" accents for English dubs of obviously Japanese characters, and find specific regional accents jarring. I like the use of accents when they roughly match up with the character backgrounds (aristocrats = British, urban thugs = New York, etc.), so having a rural monk be Southern was fine with me.

I know a guy who's into old movies and has a rant about the accents in old, epic Rome-based movies. "People complain about Edward G. Robinson in the Ten Commandmants for not sounding right. Nobody sounds right! Caesar didn't speak with an English accent!"

Coming back from the tangent, I remember thinking the dub on the main character was pretty stiff.

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #21 on:** October 10, 2007, 03:03:36 AM »

Im not a huge fan of the Mononoke dub in general, and its not so much that the accent is jarring so much as that I have seen him in so many other things I cant see anything else. His voice is very distinct

Mandark · « **Reply #22 on:** October 10, 2007, 05:05:22 AM »

Quote from: Cocky Funny on October 10, 2007, 03:03:36 AM

Im not a huge fan of the Mononoke dub in general, and its not so much that the accent is jarring so much as that I have seen him in so many other things I cant see anything else. His voice is very distinct

That's true. I think it helped that when I saw it, I only knew him as the guy from Sling Blade, and I hadn't even watched that.

Mr. Gundam · « **Reply #23 on:** October 10, 2007, 11:55:57 AM »

Quote from: Cocky Funny on October 10, 2007, 01:26:07 AM

I think anime features are still in that era videogames used to exist in where fansites gambled on blurbs to get on cases.

Aint it Cool News is still doing that with crappy movies.

BlueTsunami · « **Reply #24 on:** October 10, 2007, 11:59:05 AM »

I want to buy this baby on Blu Ray but I'm thinking my PS3 is down converting Blu Ray movies over my HDMI > DVI connection (even though its HDCP compliant)

(((((((((

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #25 on:** October 10, 2007, 12:05:17 PM »

The DVD transfer is really nice. Im sure the blugay version looks good but I couldnt find fault with the DVD transfer. Then again im not trying to support the inane format wars

Himu · « **Reply #26 on:** October 10, 2007, 06:01:48 PM »

i haven't heard of either of these

DJ_Tet · « **Reply #27 on:** October 10, 2007, 06:37:51 PM »

Cool thanks for the writeup. I saw an ad with Tekkon Kinkreet and it caught my interest, I think I'll check it out.

Ichirou · « **Reply #28 on:** October 10, 2007, 09:39:59 PM »

Quote from: Himuro on October 10, 2007, 06:01:48 PM

i haven't heard of either of these

News:

Author Topic: MAF's Anime Double Feature Review - A Tree of Palme/Tekkon Kinkreet (Read 1565 times)