Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Akira (1988) - Rewatch on Blu-ray
Martin Liebman of Blu-ray.com mentions in his review of Training Day that there are certain directors he is a fan of based on one movie. He mentions Antoine Fuqua based on Training Day (of course) and goes on to mention Wolfgang Petersen based on Das Boot and several others. When I got to thinking about it, it occurred to me that most probably have such a director. For me, it's Katsuhiro Otomo and the basis is Akira. I've seen the film about 40 times and it never ceases to amaze me or wears out its welcome. Like most of my viewings, this one also involved the 1988 Streamline dub, and my love for that old dub hasn't diminished, either. From the voice acting and the energy the actors put into it - you can tell Clarke and co. had fun dubbing it - all the way down to the script - I can probably quote it verbatim - it's one of my favorite dubs and always will be. Not to mention the story, the animation, and the Geinoh Yamashirogumi score. If you want a full-blown review, you can find that in my thread, but, suffice it to say, Akira is still a cracking sci-fi actioner.

Steamboy (2004) - First Time on DVD
As a fan of Otomo's, it probably goes without saying that I'd been interested in this one for a while. Boy, does it deliver. Let's just say that if and when I get enough money, there will be nothing to stop me importing the Blu-ray from Australia. With that said, let it be stated right up front that anyone expecting Akira 2 is going to be invariably disappointed simply because that's not the kind of film Otomo was trying to make here. With that said, if a fan of Akira goes in with the right expectations (or even none at all) and simply trusts Otomo to make something great, they'll most likely enjoy it. Or at least, that's what I did. The story is a great one; I'm sure Otomo would accept nothing less. The animation is stunning, especially during the destruction scenes because no one animates destruction like Katsuhiro Otomo. Also, even with the movie set in Manchester and London, you can still tell these are Otomo's character designs simply because he has a very distinct style that's impossible to duplicate. We also get a pitch-perfect musical score by Steve Jablonsky. It's not the Geinoh Yamashirogumi score and it's nothing like the Geinoh Yamashirogumi score. Anyone expecting that would, again, be invariably disappointed. But I guess that hardly matters since it's perfect for Steamboy and the kind of film it is. Akira is a cyberpunk story set in this very year we're almost halfway through and Steamboy is a steampunk story set in the 19th century, so it's important to keep that in mind before bringing in unreasonable expectations. With that said, the English dub from Sony is a really good one. It was so cool watching one of the special features on this disc, Re-voicing Steamboy, and seeing that Otomo was right there and sound designer Kei Momose came back to design the sound for the dub. Sheeta (and Amy Alden) herself Anna Paquin, in her second time dubbing anime after Castle in the Sky, is excellent as James Ray Steam, the 13-year-old protagonist who has to figure out what's really going on when his father and grandfather start fighting against each other and these shadowy company men want the item the father and son invented together. It's amazing how convincing Paquin is as a boy. She just nails it. It was also pretty cool hearing Paquin mention that watching Akira with her boyfriend at the time made her a fan of Otomo and anime. Lord Yupa (and Captain Jean-Luc Picard) himself Patrick Stewart, mere months after dubbing Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, is also excellent as Lloyd, Ray's grandfather who tells him his father is dead and insists his son has become purely evil. Two actors who have each dubbed one of my absolute favorite Miyazaki films dubbing an Otomo film. Am I dreaming? So is Alfred Molina as Eddie, Ray's father who is clearly wigged out from whatever happened to him in the film's opening - What the hell happened to his hair? - and has become at least somewhat delusional. Alongside all the live-action stars, anime dubbing and voice acting veteran Kari Wahlgren also nails Scarlett O'Hara St. Jones, a 14-year-old American girl who is often engaged in friendly bickering with Ray. So is everyone else and the dub script is completely natural. All things considered, I really enjoyed Steamboy and I can definitely see myself revisiting it many times in the future. Wow. Why doesn't Otomo make more movies? He's certainly got a knack for it.