Movie Review: Death Note (2017)

Something people have been forgetting recently is that there is a difference between White Washing in movies, and Cultural Adaptation. White Washing is casting a white actor to play a character of another race (Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Last Airbender are the best example of that), while Cultural Adaptation is rewriting a story to aim at an audience and look at the source in the eyes of a culture that does is not in the source material. Magnificent Seven from 1960 is a Westernized remake of 1957's Seven Samurai, a Japanese movie, and Throne of Blood from 1957 is a Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and it is my favorite version of the play.
Why do I explain this? Because when Netflix picked up the contract to make a Westernized Adaptation of Death Note, the anime community got their panties in a bunch and claimed White Washing and it isn't. Instead of taken place in Japan, like the manga/anime, this adaptation takes place in Seattle, Washington and they had to do some rewrites to both story and characters to fit the movie format. If they didn't, it would have been a rushed and poorly plotted mess, like the Japanese Death Note movie... YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!!!

As a fan of the anime, I would be willing to nitpick and tear it apart for being so different from the source material, but I took some time to think about it and watch it a second time to put the bias aside and look at it for what it is.

Minor Spoiler Warning.

Warning: I'm breaking my "No rated R" rule to review this movie, because it needs to be talked about. The movie contains foul language and gore. Treat it like the source material and it is only for Mature Audience.

The Pros- It is actually well acted. I'm serious. The actors fit all the written characters for the movie and do the best they can with the script given to them. The best actors are Nat Wolff as Light Turner (not Light Yagami) and William Dafoe as Ryuk. Both of which steal the scenes they are in and when they interact, it is fantastic. I know one thing people will complain is the change in characters, I will argue that the way they are written fits this format and it works with what the movie is trying to do. It gives us a 'What If' scenerio. Light isn't someone sick of the world as an outsider, he's a victim of the world he lives in and wants to change it. Simple as that. Also, they cut out most of the characters in the manga/anime for a smaller cast and that is the best thing they could do with a movie format. It gives more focus to the characters we got. Director Adam Wingard's touch also helps in adding tension to the film. His camera work and the scenes he uses work well and it helps you feel what you need to in scenes. Ryuk's introduction is terrifying, and the realization of it all being real is also well fitting for the right emotion. That is how it's supposed to work. The character chemistry between Light and his Father is a focus of the movie and it does work out well. You see how the relationship works in the early scenes and the interactions between them are always good.

The Cons- This film's plot is not well paced. Not as bad as Batman V. Superman, but still at a point where it can be confusing. I'm going to go ahead and say that right now. Relationships are rushed for the sake of the tense sense. It becomes more clear in the second half of the movie and if you watch it, you will understand. Some moments of facts are ignored for the sake of the plot (Kira does not translate to Light in Russian or Celtic, I checked, movie!). The film also has too much tension. A good Horror/Thriller movie gives us pockets to breathe and relax a moment before the tense scenes happen. This movie is tense from start to finish. Do not watch this before going to bed, you will not sleep well (I speak from experience). When I first watched this movie, I felt almost out of breath. While the actors are all good, not all the written dialogue is. It's not laughably bad, like Dragonball Evolution, it's mostly just a 'huh' moment. The one character that suffered from westernizing is L. He is the same character we love in the first half, but the second half he falls apart and no longer feels like the genius detective. It does fit the story and what he ends up going through, but it feels kind of cheaply put in to just have a chase scene between Light and L.

Final Thoughts- Looking at it based on the source material (like the anime community) it's awful, but from the perspective of it being it's own movie, I kind of liked it. I have struggled between those two sides all weekend to come up with a clear thoughts towards the movie. It isn't something special or will last forever, but it is entertaining. If you are curious, go ahead and see it. If you have never seen the anime, you may find yourself enjoying it. If you are a fan of the anime, remember this is a Westernized Adaptation and they had to change A LOT to fit the format. At least, I liked it more than the Japanese Live Action movie... And I look forward to pissing off more of the anime community in the future.

Special Announcement!

So, remember how I was promising to go through all the Dragon Ball Z movies... I've decided to go a different direction. I've been unable to get the rest of the movies on a good source and tracking down physical copies is going to be a pain. So, I've decided to end my run of Dragon Ball Z movies for one other reason. There are other movies that are coming out the rest of the year either on DVD/ Blu-Ray or Netflix. With that in mind, I want to expand and do those too. My biggest fear as of recent is being known for only Dragon Ball Z and I don't want to do that. However, I will make one solid promise to all who read this blog. If I am able to get my hands on a physical copy of Dragonball Evolution, I will rewatch it and do a full, uncensored review of it. If you want me to destroy it, I will, but I need help. Let me know if you find a copy for cheap or would like to donate a copy. I will look forward to destroy what is perhaps one of the worse movies I have ever seen.

Movie Review: Dragon Ball Z: Tree Of Might (Spoiler Warning)

I know... I know... I'm a week late. Give me a break. I had a rough week.

Dragon Ball Z is complicated. There are some great moments that leave an impact and are well remembered and then their are moments that can be downright stupid. It is a usual with all long running anime. You remember when Cell made his first appearance because of the terror and build up, but the Garlic Jr. filler season is forgotten because of how ridiculous it was and treated itself. Seriously, Krillin's ex-girlfriend is the only memorable thing in that season. Why do I mention this with Tree Of Might? Because it also has both good and memorable moments, and moments that are downright stupid. It's not as bad as the Garlic Jr. filler season in the series, but it's not as good as the Cell season either.

Released in Japan in 1990, same year as World's Strongest, Tree of Might does a lot of good things with it's premise, but it also falters in many other areas too. Again, I am reviewing the Funimation dubbed version we got in 2006.

The Pros- Unlike the first two Dragon Ball Z movies, this one has all of the Z fighters that crossed over from Dragon Ball; Tien, Krillin, Chaozu, Piccolo, and everyone's favorite punching bag, Yamcha (seriously, he is always the first one down for the count). The action scenes are well down and we get to see what the fighters can do. The Tree of Might itself and the main villain Turles are both great in this movie and they do serve the purpose of being a great threat. You see the Tree of Might destroying the Earth from the inside and it gives a feeling of real terror that is taking place. Turles also makes short work of Piccolo before he even eats the fruit of the Tree of Might. Turles Being in this movie present something that even the later series and movies explore; the potential of more Saiyans in the universe. Dragon Ball Super (I'm not over that title!) explores this as well and so does future movies that I will get to. Turles was the first we see, since he doesn't seem to have ties to Frieza and he does not mentioned Vegeta (he's not in the movies, yet). It is something I'm glad was explored and I will share my thoughts on it more in the future.

The Cons- Outside of the designs of Turles' minions, they aren't memorable at all. They have no personality, no characteristic, and they don't present a threat (even after beating all the other Z Fighters). All five of them fight Goku by himself and he wipes the floor with them. You can always ask one question during the opening scene of the movie; Why don't they investigate what started the forest fighter at the beginning of the movie. Instead of investigating that and preventing the Tree of Might from happening, they instead collect Dragon Balls to restore the forest... Except the crater that the small drone created. Okay... Goku is the only one that does any kind of damage to the villains of the movie. The other characters should not be this weak. Unless all the villains are as strong as Nappa. Otherwise, it feels all these characters are wasted, especially Yamcha! He goes down first!Did Akira Toryama not like Yamcha after Dragon Ball? The ending feels like a total Deus Ex Machina. Goku focuses on the energy from the fruit of the Tree of Might and uses it to blast Turles and the tree out of existence. Was it a special type of Spirit Bomb or what was it?

Final Thoughts- I don't want to sound like I don't like this movie, because I like a lot of elements contained in this movie, but it has a lot that isn't remembered. It is good for the fans, but it isn't what I would show someone who is curious about the serious.

Movie Review: Dragon Ball Z: The Worlds Strongest (Spoilers)

There was one thing I left out of my review of Dead Zone, Garlic Jr. loved talking. He went into monologues about how evil he was and how he would cover the world with evil. I say this now because it helps see the difference between Dead Zone, and this weeks movie, The World's Strongest. Released in Japan in 1990, we got the Funimation uncut English release the same year as Dead Zone and next week's movie, Tree of Might. Out of the original trilogy of Dragon Ball Z movies, This one is my favorite because it highlights all the good things about the early days of Dragon Ball Z without being an official part of the TV series. I'm not the only one in that opinion either, Team Four Star (the guys behind Dragon Ball Z abridged) rated this as the second best movie in the entire series. I'll get to their number 1 later down the line and everyone is already predicting what that is, or they are looking it up right now. Spoiler Alert.

The Pros- Since it doesn't fall into any specific timeline in the series, it is able to be it's own story and it does really well with that. It is a complete story with little to no plot holes. Tension and Atmosphere is fantastic throughout the film. You feel the risk that the characters are facing and it is beautifully designed for an anime film released over 25 years ago. The villains are much better this time around. When Goku encounters them, the henchmen (called Bio-Warriors) have very little dialogue and their presence alone with Goku's reaction paint the picture of how strong they are. It is a welcome compared the last film where they just talked about how strong they were. Doctor Wheelo and Doctor Kochin also work well as villains too. Kochin serves as the main talker in the movie and none of the dialogue is wasted. He does explain how he and Wheelo were heads of Bio-Engineering and altering DNA to create Bio-Warriors and society shunned them for it 50 years ago for it and they returned for revenge. Even hearing their story about what they did to one of the universities that ridiculed them helps paint the picture of how much of a threat they are. This is also one of the only times we see Master Roshi fight seriously in Dragon Ball Z. While he had a bigger role in Dragon Ball, he is pushed back to being more of a minor character the longer Dragon Ball Z ran, so it is nice to see him fighting this time around. The fight animations are much better than they were in Dead Zone and it is more reminiscent of the action Dragon Ball fans know and love.

The Cons- I really only have one problem with the movie. None of the other characters who show up to help Goku do very little to help in the fights that take place in the series. Gohan provides the Power Poll and we get another hint at his hidden power, but it doesn't do much after it happens. This story focused more on Goku and while it isn't a bad thing, it makes Krillin and Piccolo feel less important and not needed in the movie, but they are fun to watch regardless.

Final Thoughts- This would be one of the movies I would recommend to anyone that is new to anime and not sure where to start. This was also the movie that got me into Dragon Ball Z. I seriously recommend this move more than any other film from the early days of the series. It is fun, exciting, tense, and overall a joy to see.