Muncher-2 Reviews

A Prince Among Men (1997–1998)

pretty bad, but..

[17 June 2005]

A prince among men is not a good television show. The Brittas Empire is.

I think it's highly unfair to say that they are on the same level - the basic problem I found with A Prince Among Men was that it was exceedingly boring. I can sit through a lot of things, and I love British television - but I watched it for a solid 5 minutes, determined that because it had Chris Barrie in it, that it might get better - but it didn't. To be honest, I'm a little ashamed of our young Chris, but I guess you have to put bread on the table in between seasons of Red Dwarf. But The Brittas Empire on the other hand, as annoying as he is, keeps you on your toes and there it at least something going on. So, in short - I highly recommend against this show, but at least give The Brittas Empire a try, it's not as bad as the other fellow would have you to believe.

Ooru naito rongu 2 (1995)

A thinking man's 'Guinea Pig'.

[26 February 2002]

I picked this one up on a friend at a general sort through of titles out of his DVD collection, in an attempt to broaden my not insignificant appreciation for Japanese horror.

*spoilers ahead*

The film opens with a very artistically shot piece with a young man putting together a doll that is in pieces - possibly a representation of his psyche. He is a young student who is very harshly (and often) beaten by a group of gang members - and yet is loved by their rather evil seeming homosexual leader. This isn't your ordinary sort of love, rather a more intense, physical kind of love. The young student obviously doesn't feel the same way about the gang leader, which leads the gang leader to submit all sorts of nasties on the student (Shinji).

Now, the torture scenes are somewhat reminiscent of Guinea Pig 2 - Flowers of Flesh and Blood. Don't let this put you off - unlike the trashy, and rather boring nature of Guinea Pig, this one has a bit of meat behind it, so to speak. By the end, I guarantee you'll be thinking long and hard about it, possibly not sure what to think. But if this isn't intellectually challenging enough for you, try Uzumaki to be thoroughly and totally confused.

Allan.

Forever Knight (1992–1996)

Wonderful, well thought out series.

[21 February 2002]

Forever Knight is one of those great shows that you miss out on their initial run, either because of lack of hype, or even that they did not have an 'original run', like here in Australia, where it was doomed to the rigours of late night television. Not many low budget shows - nay, not many SHOWS have this sort of intensity.

*possible spoilers, if you like that sort of thing ahead*

There isn't much else that I can add to the current commentaries, but I'd like to make one point. This show would not have the bite that it has if it had not ended when and how it ended. I remember being chilled to the bone as I saw the last scene. No other show would dare to attempt an end like that.

Will this show ever be released on DVD or video? It's not fair.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Oh, COME ON. It was GOOD.

[7 January 2002]

I simply cannot believe the sheer amount of people insolently yelling and screaming about this being 'the worst film ever'. Sure, it may not have followed the book to a T (and no, I haven't read the books) and it was somewhat flashy. But what on earth did you expect?

FoTR was a wonderful fairytale adventure, and probably the only other fantasy film to give me the same butterflies I got watching Excalibur for the first time again. It is indeed contrived, the story rather stereotypical etc.. but people must understand, this IS the original. The story from which most of modern fantasy writers draw a certain degree of inspiration from.

I know almost no-one will read this, as there are nigh on 1000 comments already. But I am actually offended that people thought this didn't deserve even a fraction of the praise it got. It was just magical.

Allan.

Genesis (I) (1998)

Strange but compelling.

[19 February 2000]

This movie starts off with home movies of a guy and his family. It is hard to work out what happens afterward, but after about 2/3rds of the movie you begin to realise what is going on. Unlike Aftermath, this one contains no necrophilia which may or may not be a disappointment to some viewers. This one is very hard to follow, but strangely compelling where the guy sacrifices himself for the one he loves, in a less than voluntary way.