Maui Dimagiba                                                                                           October 12, 2014

Migo Fernandez

Emman Salcedo

9D

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

The Legend Ends is the third film in the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy, based on the Japanese manga series of the same name. The entire series revolves around Kenshin Himura, a wanderer whose mission is to protect the people of Japan to redeem himself from his sins as a former assassin known as Battousai the Killer. The trilogy is one of the many adaptations of the original manga, including an anime and a video game.

The third film follows Kenshin after his defeat at the hands of the Shishio, a heavily disfigured warrior who was originally a replacement for Battousai the assassin, hired by Kenshin’s employers but soon becomes a madman whose goal is to take over Japan. Kenshin is separated from his love interest Kaoru during his climactic battle against Shishio at the end of the second movie, and ends up diving into the ocean from Shishio’s battleship in order to escape his wrath. At the start of The Legend Ends, Hiko Seijuro, Kenshin’s mentor and trainer as a child, finds Kenshin washed ashore, and takes his unconscious body to Seijuro’s home. When Kenshin wakes up, he decides that he needs to train more in order to defeat Shishio, and asks Seijuro to teach him one final technique, the ultimate technique that can be used against Shishio to end his plans to conquer the country.

Visually and aesthetically, the film is absolutely breathtaking. The set for Shishio’s ship, which was the main battleground for the climax, presented a sometimes claustrophobic, sometimes cramped, but always gleefully destructible environment that was the perfect place for the film’s final battles. The visual effects were also great, making up most of the film’s heavy but stylish violence, from the blood oozing from a character’s wounds to the explosions from a firing cannon. The film was also beautifully designed; no matter where the characters were, the set they were in would always complement the scene, whether it’s an elegant background for a solemn conversation between characters or a small and destructible space for a violent clash. Even the costumes added to the film’s authenticity, from Saito’s neat dark grey uniform as a Meiji Government official to Kenshin’s graceful red and white shining “armor”.

The story itself doesn’t fall flat in any way and actually makes for a decent set-up for the film, but it does take the film down a familiar path of retribution and justice without taking any groundbreaking or at least different steps along the way. Even the characters cannot make up for it; not much is given about the characters, and though the film gives a substantial amount of flashbacks to the first and second movie to be able to let viewers who have not seen the first two installments of the trilogy comprehend the story, the members of the audience who have not heard of Rurouni Kenshin might have trouble caring for the characters.

That being said, even with a story that’s all too familiar and a lack of character development, the best thing about the film, the thing that perfectly makes up for its flaws, is the fight choreography. Though the film is filled with stylized visual effects, it still leaves enough space for the audience to appreciate a battle between characters. Each battle is thrilling and violently raw, from Aoshi and Kenshin’s battle in the forest to the climactic clash of Kenshin and Shishio. The choreography is the main centerpiece of the film for casual viewers, and it definitely adds to the movie experience for Rurouni Kenshin fans. Though this type of fast-paced and intricate fight sequences are common in other foreign films such as The Raid, albeit in a modern setting, it cannot beat the authenticity of having a samurai action sequence in a realistic 1870’s Japanese setting.

Maui’s score: 9/10

Migo’s score: 8/10

Emman’s score: 9.5/10

Consensus: The final installment of this fast-paced, manga-inspired trilogy is spectacular, not only for its violent, raw, and sometimes unsettling sequences of clashing swords, but also for its ability to be breathtakingly beautiful at the same time.

Good morning, everyone.


On Wednesday (October 15, 2014), we will be meeting at the library discussion room for our org session (3 to 4 p.m.). See you there and please spread the word to the other org members,


Mr. Hidalgo

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno by Migo Fernandez

First things first, it’s a Japanese movie based on an anime, so don’t expect to understand what is going on if you haven’t seen the series. With that out of the way, let us continue with the review.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. The main character, who was previously a killer, decides to be a hero this time around because he has seen what he has done wrong. However, he still fights those who pose a threat to his friends, using a back-bladed katana to paralyze enemies instead of killing them.

I also enjoyed the movie despite its being in Japanese; the action scenes were pretty well done because of the great effects. The humor in some scenes was actually funny (like when Kenshin’s friend decided to help him fight, but with a huge blunt sword, while swearing in Japanese).  Another thing is that I think the make-up was really well done because from what I’d seen, the actors really transform into their characters. 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

A MOVIE REVIEW

BY Lorenzo Vallente and Anton Sobreviñas

Directed by: James Gunn

Starring: Chris Pratt    Zoe Saldana       Dave Bautista

       Vin Diesel    Bradley Cooper

PLOT SUMMARY:

The story centers on a ragtag bunch of “heroes” from very different backgrounds: Peter Quill, a smuggler who steals things from others for cash, Gamora, an assassin for Thanos who seeks redemption for her past sins, Drax the Destroyer, a warrior who is seeking revenge against Ronan the Accuser for killing his family, Rocket, a genetically engineered raccoon who is a weapons expert, and Groot, a tree-like humanoid who is the accomplice of Rocket. The story is quite simple, not uncommon for a Marvel film. Peter Quill steals an orb containing an Infinity Stone, which Ronan wants as well as it will grant him infinite power over the galaxy. Through different circumstances, these five people meet and form the Guardians of the Galaxy, intent to stop Ronan from going through with his master plan. It’s all pretty standard stuff.

REVIEW PROPER:

VALLENTE’S OPINION

As usual, much has been said about this movie. Most, if not all of the human population seem to love this movie, and the amazing reviews and box-office results seem to prove this statement correct. In my humble opinion, the movie was not all that amazing. Let’s start with the positives. The direction was very confident and the special effects were spectacular. James Gunn was the right choice for director as he captures the world he is bringing to life well. He handles the action scenes very adeptly. The one that sticks to my mind the most is the action scene between spaceships at the midway mark of the movie. It was genuinely exciting and fantastically shot. The special effects are also amazing, as we have come to expect from Marvel movies with gigantic budgets. Most of the acting was great as well, save for a few underwhelming performances.

Now to the negatives: as stated before, not all of the acting was superb. I found some actors to be too dry, and the glaring example is Zoe Saldana. While she has genuine acting chops, for the most part, it seemed like she was either acting too emotionlessly or was just genuinely bored. The dialogue also felt too expository. I did not think that people could actually tell these lines to other people without sounding a bit loony or dull. While the characters were developed enough, I thought the villain was very lackluster. There was nothing wrong with the actor’s performance. It’s just that the script does nothing but make him sound scary without him actually doing anything that scary. He was too one note to me.

SOBREVINAS’ OPINION:

I disagree with my partner and think that this is an exceptionally made film. The story, while basic, was effective. The acting by most of the actors was great, the special effects were amazing and the humor was genuinely funny. James Gunn really took this world and made it his own.

VALLENTE’S RATING: 6.9/10

SOBREVINAS’ RATING: 8/10