the one about the “three red lights”…

On November 30th, after playing a fun session of “Guitar Hero III” and wanting to check out some of the games I purchased during the “Black Friday” sales at various game stores, I run into the three red light error.

For a half hour, I kept trying to see if it was something that can be restarted and maybe it need to cool down.  But the red light persisted.  I called Microsoft and customer service was very helpful (and no, I didn’t bring up the…”Hey are you from the Philippines, I’m Filipino as well” conversation piece I seem to have with most call centers that I am on the phone with).

Anyway, the lights came on and when I restarted it…my XBOX 360 started working again.  So, I told her “thank you” but it appears its working fine.

So, I start up game and next thing you know…a minute later, it crashes.  I restart the XBOX 360 and again, red light error.

Call up again, talk to another kind person at customer service and explain the problem and this time we went through the look at lights, unplugging and plugging the wires back in and red light error.  So, she started processing the info., I turn off the XBOX 360 and sure enough, it starts working again.

But to make sure things are OK, she kindly waits while I put on a video game and sure enough, it crashes…three red lights.

So, after dodging the “three red lights” for two years or so,  I now join the others who have had this problem and will be without an XBOX 360 for awhile.  It sucks for this to happen during the Holidays but it happens I guess.  XBOX 360 customer service was very kind and easy to work with, so I’m glad this experience was much better than others.  But we’ll see how long it takes to get it back.  Hopefully before 2009.

Note: This is not my image but someone else’s image of their XBOX360 three red lights.

 

NORA – THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM vol. 1 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

“A fun and enjoyable manga from the creative mind of Kazunari Kakei.”

(C) NORA – THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM image is courtesy of SHUEISHA Inc.

BUY THIS MANGA

MANGA TITLE: NORA – THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM VOL. 1

STORY AND ART BY: Kazunari Kakei (筧 一成)

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: By Shueisha in 2004.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC.

RATED: T for Older Teen

PAGES: 214 pages

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Nora, an unruly demon, has defied his Dark Liege one too many times. For the sake of his “education,” Nora is sent to live among mortals and enters a bond of servitude with cool-as-ice star student Kazuma Magari. Kazuma is about to learn the ways of the underworld…and Nora will learn more from the “real world” than he ever thought possible!

A Match Made in Hell – When the seal for Nora’s form is released he becomes Cerberus, the vicious dog of disaster. But Nora can only use magic when Kazuma grants him permission…and Kazuma doesn’t grant permission easily. The Dark Liege wants the two to team up and crack down on renegade demon factions in the human world, but how can they do that if they can’t even get along?

In 2004, manga-ka Kazunari Kakei had his breakout hit manga series “NORA – THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM”. The series has just been released as a graphic novel published by Viz Media under their cutting edge manga imprint known as Shonen Jump Advanced (targeted towards older teens and young adults).

In Japan, there have been many manga and anime series which pits demons going after other demons and “NORA – THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM” fits that type of storyline description but with a twist.

In the first volume, the unruly demon Nora has gotten in quite a bit of trouble with the Dark Liege Army leader and she’s not exactly to keen when Nora keeps calling her “ugly”. But also not too keen about Nora’s uncaring attitude about the Dark Liege’s priority which is to go after the demons that are feeding in the human world.

So, because of his repeat offenses, he is forced out of Hell and forced to live with the humans without his powers.  Where he must be educated on learning about humans.

Unfortunately for Nora, he must become the familiar (or slave) of The cold as ice Tenryo Academy Middle School President Magari Kazuma. The popular president, a genius, athletic but seems to be bored and unsatisfied with life.

Kazuma cares about his student council but he seems to look at everyone almost as inferior and thus treats them like his slaves.  One day, while looking for his student body members who went to fetch him a drink, he is summoned via cell phone by the Dark Liege master who gives him the opportunity to be in control of destructive power.  Kazuma agrees and thus the training begins for Nora who must learn about the human world before he can be let back in to Hell.

And for Nora, he can’t stand Kazuma because despite his feelings towards humans, he is treated like a dog by Kazuma.  To make matters worse, to use any of his powers, Kazuma must approve or deny his request.

So, monsters are unleashed in the human world and these monsters known as the resistance have put Nora and Kazuma as a high priority target.  But what the resistance doesn’t know is that Nora happens to be the legendary demon known as Cerberus: The Hound of Hades

And so both must work together to stay alive but also to protect the human world from these deadly demons.

I found “NORA” to be an entertaining series and because the two main characters do not get a long and it’s twist of a demon having to learn from humans and forced to work with Kazuma (who seems to be doing this because it has made his life so much more satisfying) is quite interesting.  And a fresh twist of the demon vs. demon type of storyline that we have seen in various manga and animated series in the past few decades.

The first volume features the first three chapters and dedicated solely to character development and the interaction between Kazuma and Nora.  These two are just like oil and water but the two must learn to work together.

Because of the bickering of the two, there is a lot of humor between the two. But there is also a lot of action as the two confront the resistance in a few battles.  In order for Nora to use his magic spells, Kazuma must approve for its use but each time Nora wants it to happen, Kazuma tends to deny the request.

Both have two ways of handling themselves during battle with Nora attacking before thinking and Kazuma is more of the genius in observing tactics and strategies of the opponent.  So, despite them not getting along, they need each other to become successful.

ARTWORK:

As for the character designs and artwork, Kazunari Kakei tends to use a lot of simple line art for his character designs but effectively showcases the character’s emotions quite well.

But where Kakei shines is when he features the various battles, the monsters, Cerberus and even the Dark Liege in her buxom blonde mode.  Kakei starts featuring these battles with a lot of lines and these characters with a lot of blacks and grays and really capturing the action effectively on paper.

For the first volume of “NORA”, I really enjoyed the storyline.  Granted, I’ve read a good number of Demon vs. Demon storylines, “NORA” is pretty cool manga series featuring two main characters with two different types of personalities.

I use the oil and water description because these two don’t get along but Nora needs Kazuma in order to get back to the underworld and Kazuma needs Nora to make his life a bit more satisfying.

Also, the storyline doesn’t take too long to get to the action.  One chapter after the other, you’re pretty much watching these two take on a variety of demons and rarely do you see Kakei straying away from that (for vol. 1), although you do manage to see Kazuma’s student council buddies show up a few times but mainly as humans kidnapped by the demons.

So, for action manga fans, “NORA” is not at all cerebral. The storyline is easy to follow, the artwork is not too busy but overall, “NORA – THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM” is an enjoyable storyline with plenty of action, humor and more.  You won’t be disappointed!

 

24: Redemption (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

“For 24 fans, the return of Jack Bauer not only has revived interest in the series after a long hiatus but the two-hour special ’24: Redemption’ kicks off Season 7 with more than just a bang. This special shows us why ’24′ continues to be one of the most innovative and explosive action-packed dramas on network television!”

BUY THIS DVD | Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. NO LATE FEES. Try for FREE!

DVD TITLE: 24: Redemption

DURATION: 102 minutes (extended version), 87 minutes (broadcast version)

DVD INFORMATION: NTSC, Region 1, Widescreen, 1:78:1, 5.1 Dolby Surround

COMPANY: 20th Century Home Entertainment

Directed by Jon Cassar

Written by Howard Gordon

Created by Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran

Produced by Michael Klick

Music by Sean Callery

Edited by Scot Powell, A.C.E.

Production Designs by Joseph Hodges, Henri Du Rand

Director of Photography – Rodney Charters, ASC CSC,

Starring:

Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer)

Robert Carlyle (Carl Benton)

Gil Bellows (Frank Tramell)

Jon Voight (Jonas Hodges)

Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian)

Janeane Garofalo (Janis Gold)

Cherry Jones (President Allison Taylor)

Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida)

James Morrison (Bill Buchanan)

Annie Wersching (Renee Walker)

Colm Feore (Henry Taylor)

Bob Gunton (Ethan Kanin)

Rhys Coiro (Sean Hillinger)

Jeffrey Nordling (Larry Moss)

24:Redemption is the unprecedented feature-length event from television’s most provocative and suspenseful series.  After sacrificing everything for his country, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) stands to lose the only thing he has left-his freedom.  Wanted by the U.S. government and working as a missionary in Africa, Bauer must stop a ruthless warlord from drafting innocent children into his murderous militia.  But first Bauer must confront hid own torturous past and face an impossible decision that will change his life forever.  Filmed in location in Afirca, 24:Redemption features performances by Oscar Winner Jon Voight and Robert Carlysle.

It has been two years since we have seen the likes of Jack Bauer and with the highly anticipated season 7 of the popular FOX drama “24″ coming back on FOX in Jan. 2009, what better than to kick the new season off with a two-hour special.

The question of what has happened to Jack Bauer after the events of Season 6 is answered in this special.

The former CTU agent doesn’t want to be found and has been traveling the world and keeping a low profile.  Now he’s in Africa helping a friend from a former special force unit, Carl Benton who now runs an orphanage.

Both Jack and Carl have a similar past with their training in the special forces and having a background of saving many lives but killing many people.  But Benton has moved on and not runaway from his demons and to help orphans in Africa and to protect them.

But as Jack was starting to feel comfortable in Africa, unfortunately, the US government has tracked him down in Africa with a subpoena to face charges of unethical use of torture on a terrorist prisoner.  Of course, Jack has no intention of going back to the US and decides to move on again.

Elsewhere in Africa, a militia is kidnapping children and forcing them to become soldiers. With more soldiers needed, the militia sets their sights on the orphanage.  Next thing you know, the militia leader receives a phone call from America and thus you learn that a major figure in the US government is collaborating with the bad guys.

Meanwhile in the US, it is a special day as incoming President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) is to be inaugurated.  Unfortunately for her, outgoing President (Powers Boothe) makes one more presidential decision and knowing what is happening in Africa, he evacuates all Americans from Africa and closes down the US embassy because of the militia usurping their powers.  Taylor is against that decision but what’s done is done.

Without US support, the militia knows that the orphanage has no protection and ends up killing two children from the orphanage but determined to kidnap the rest.  Of course, Jack Bauer is there to make sure these children will be protected from harm and thus sets up a confrontation between Bauer (with some help from Benton) and some members of the militia.

“24: Redemption” is just an awesome two-hour special that features great storytelling, beautiful scenery but also tons of action.

This has to be unprecedented for a TV drama to film in another country but also including the Africans in the actual special as actors (and you can learn much more through the director’s commentary on the DVD).

As always, Kiefer Sutherland is always impressive as Jack Bauer and great performances throughout the board.  The African children did a great job in their roles and I give credit to the “24 staff for bringing in actor John Voight to play the role as the corrupted person in the government.

As mentioned, the cinematography capturing the scenery was just great.  The staff managed to capture the beauty and danger of Africa despite the many challenges faced during the shooting schedule.  I was truly impressed.

The storyline was just engaging, action-packed and thrilling from start to finish.  Needless to say, I can’t wait for Season 7.

As for the DVD, the DVD features two versions of “Redemption”.  The broadcast version and the extended version which has over 10 minutes of extra footage).  The extra footage are mainly dialogue between the incoming President and outgoing President and scenes that primary taking place in Washington.  You can learn more about the additional scenes from the actual commentary.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“24: Redemption” is featured in widescreen 1:78:1.  The picture quality is vibrant..  Especially when you see the differences of the Africa and the US scenes.  Africa is featured in amber/Earthy hues and looks beautiful.  While the US has a colorful but a different sense color which leans more towards dark bluish hues.  Video quality looked vibrant and colorful.

As for audio, the show is featured in Digital 5.1 Dolby Surround.  Really good audio quality during the fighting sequences in Africa.  Otherwise, the special features mostly dialogue and the dialogue can be heard quite clearly.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

I admit that I was happy to see quite a few specials included on the DVD.  Special features are:

• The Making of 24: Redemption Featurette – This featurette is about 20 minutes long and is actually very good.  Especially if you are a filmmaker.  Director Jon Cassar, writer Howard Gordon and staff are interviewed on how it was to film in Africa but the challenges that they faced.  I was surprised to see how the weather would change in an hour-time. They could be filming and then all of a sudden, they get high winds (up to 60mph), then rain and hail and then sunlight.   So, it was definitely a challenge for them to film but they managed to do it.  But also, an advantage to work with people in South Africa in developing certain mechanical systems for the terrain and also interviews with the African talent.

• “Blood Never Dry”: Child Soldiers in Africa Featurette - In this featurette, cast from the upcoming Season 7 would read a letter from a child soldier and also a featurette that tries to explain why children are being kidnapped and becoming soldiers.  And the trauma they go through and not wanting to go home because they have committed atrocity to so many innocent people that they are deeply burdened by it.  Also, how the militias get these children so addicted to drugs.  This was a very good featurette and truly an eye opener of what is currently going on in Africa.

• Commentary by Executive Producer/Director Jon Cassar and Executive Producers Howard Gordon and Kiefer Sutherland – The commentary was also enjoyable to listen to.  From filming of the scenes to the three talking about various actors and actresses and their experience filming the special.  Also, this is probably how one would learn about scenes that are in the expanded version and are not shown on the broadcast.

• 24 Season 6 in Four Minutes Featurette – For those who missed or forgot what Season 6 is about.  This featurette features what happened during that season in four minutes.

• An Exclusive First Look at 24 Season 7 – I was very impressed by the first 15 minutes of the upcoming “Day 7″ episode of “Season 7″ which will start the “24″ series in Jan. 2009.  A lot of action and what I can I say… Tony Almeida.  It’s starts off awesome and I craved for more!

I have been watching the “24″ series since the first episode and have always been hooked on the series. But this special was one of the finest “24″ storylines and I’m glad to see that the staff went all out in filming this special.  Especially bringing the staff and filming it in Africa was just impressive. “24″ has always been a drama series that has long been admired because it has set the marker so high for a television drama series.

As for this DVD, not only was it fun to watch but if you are a film student or a person that enjoys watching “24: Redemption”, you’ll have a blast on watching how the special was created but most of all certain elements of nature that the staff had to contend with.  Especially during the rain and making it look like sunlight and also the high winds that the staff had to block out during the recording.

Also, a thumbs up for the staff including the featurette on child soldiers. This featurette was definitely an eye-opener and I was really surprised to hear the chilling words from those who soldiers who are in agony of the deaths they have caused and the permanent guilt they have to live with.

And of course, that sneak peak to excite the “24″ fan for a month until the Season 7 begins.

Overall, if you are a “24″ fan, this DVD has so much to offer.  You won’t be disappointed!

BUY THIS DVD | Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. NO LATE FEES. Try for FREE!

 

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

“A heartwarming and touching animated film that touches on friendship, relationships and most of all, if you had the opportunity to go back in time to change things, what would you do?  Featuring well-done voice acting, beautiful visuals and an awesome storyline, ‘THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME’ is definitely an animated film that is a definite must own!”

BUY THIS DVD | Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. NO LATE FEES. Try for FREE!

DVD TITLE:  THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (Toki o Kakeru Shōjo)

DURATION: 98 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: NTSC, Region 1, RATING: Suggested 13 and Up

COMPANY: Bandai Entertainment

Released on November 18, 2008

Original Story by Yasutaka Tsutsui

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda

Screenplay by Satoko Okudera

Producers: Takashi Watanabe, Yuichiro Saito

Character Designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Art Direction by Nizo Yamamto

Music by Kiyoshi Yoshida

Featuring the following voice talent:

Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida, Mitsutaka Itakura, Ayami Kakiuchi, Mitsuki Tanimura, Yuki Sekido and Sachie Hara

Makoto Konno is having one of those days.  After getting up late for school she’s hit with a pop quiz.  She just started a fire while cooking in her home economics class and then she gets knocked down by some of the guys while they wrestle.  How much worse can this day get?

While performing an errand for her mother, Makoto loses the brakes on her bike and barrels headlong down the street into an oncoming train.  This would have been the capper for a horrible day, but for some reason something strange has happened.  Time has suddenly stopped and moved her backward.

With her newly discovered ability to literally leap backwards in time, Makoto finds that tests become a piece of cake, embarrassing situations are corrected and she can have her favorite food anytime she wants. Unfortunately her carefree time traveling has adverse effects on the people she cares for.  With ever successful leap, Makoto somehow alters the fate of those around her.  This wasn’t supposed to happen and as she races back in time to fix everything, she notices that her abilities are not limitless but with every successful jump she’s one step closer to discovering the most wonderful secret in her young adult life.

The series “Toki o Kakeru Shojo” has been a popular novel series in Japan for over four decades.  Originally written back in 1965 by Yasutaka Tsutsui, the series has spawned several live action films and a Japanese drama series.  As well as a manga series and now an animated film.

The 2006 version of “Toki o Kakeru Shojo”, known in the US as “THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME” is not a direct adaption from the novel but a continuation of the original storyline.  This time taking place 20 years after the original storyline featured in the novel.

In this animated film, the main character is on Makoto Konno, a girl who somehow gains the ability to travel back in time.

Previous to her receiving this special ability, Makoto’s life was as a typical high school girl, somewhat of a tomboy.  Throughout the course of the film, you see her grow and how she eventually comes to terms with her emotions.

Her best friends are two guys: Chiaki Mamiya, a calm, cool guy who happens to like Makoto and Kosuke Tsuda, the level-headed jock who has many girls that like him but oblivious to it.  The three like to spend time together and one of their past times is to play baseball.

The story picks up one day while Makoto is out delivering books at school.  In one class, she hears a noise and the noise brings her to a lab and while snooping around, after being scared, she falls and lands on some sort of device that whisks her out somewhere.   Makoto can’t believe what just happened.  Was it a dream?

Well, while on her bike and surprised of what has taken place, Makoto rides quickly downhill.  Unfortunately, Makoto forgot that her brakes on her bike is malfunctioning and while going downhill on a busy street, she tries to pull on the brakes of her bike, meanwhile an oncoming train is coming.

Makoto hits the train guard rail but and both she and her bike start floating in the air onto the path of an oncoming train.  Sure enough, she should be killed but somehow, she is taken back several minutes before the accident.  What has just happened?

Next thing you know through running and tripping, Makoto discovers that she has a new ability.  By running and leaping, she can go back in time.  Thus, Makoto starts having fun and figuring out the type of things she can do by going back in time.   Flunk a quiz, no problem, she can go back in time and make sure she gets a perfect grade.  What about her favorite pudding being eaten by her sister?  No problem, she can go back in time and eat it before her sister gets her hand on it.  So, eventually Makoto loves going back into time.  But each time she does, she notices a number on her arm.  What does the number represent?

Meanwhile, Makoto starts to notice a change with her friends.  Eventually, she and her friends are getting to an age where guys and girls start to view things differently with each other and Makoto is surprised when her best friend Chiaki asks her to be his girlfriend.

This freaks her out and Makoto not knowing how to respond to his question decides to go back in time (repeatedly) and make sure he is unable to ask the question.  Changes things in the past and avoids him, meanwhile making sure her classmate who likes Chiaki, making sure those two get together.  All, Makoto wants is for the three to stay as best friends.

Throughout the film, she consults her aunt Kazuko and tells her about her ability to go back in time but her aunt warns her that she could be affecting other situations in their reality.  (An interesting note:  As for the film’s connection to the original novel, Makoto’s aunt Kazuko was actually the main character of the first novel and original series.)

While Makoto keeps jumping back in time, trying to make her two best friends happy and be with other girls, she starts to wonder if she did the right thing.  Also, now that she has seen her best friends happy with another girls, she starts to have second thoughts.

Unfortunately, Makoto realizes that the number on her arm represents a counter and she has exhausted the number of times she can go back in the past.   To make matters worse, her aunt may be right, by continuing to change time, she may be causing more harm, maybe even death to the people she cares about.

So, overall you get an interesting take on time travel and how it affects time.  But also retaining the storyline of friendship and relationships and how young teens start to evolve as they get older and the emotions that they have.  Definitely an interesting twist on time travel but managing to balance it well with a well-told storyline and also beautiful visuals.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

The DVD is featured in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen.  The animation features designs that are helped by the talented character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gunbuster 2, .Hack, etc.) and the beautiful, lush backgrounds courtesy of the art direction by Nizo Yamamoto (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Perfect Blue, etc.).  These two names alone will give the animation fan some idea of the quality behind this film.  Beautiful film!

As for the audio, there is English and Japanese 5.1 audio.  I watched the film both in English and Japanese.  First, the Japanese audio was done very well and Riisa Naka as Makoto Konno is just spectacular.  The director kept talking about how lucky they were to have Naka do the voice and I agree.  She brought a pure, warm vocal style to Makoto and for her first job, she did great!  As did everyone on the Japanese staff.

As for the English audio, it was also well done.  A different dynamic of course, having watched the Japanese film first.  But overall, I think those who purchase the DVD will be pleased with the English voice acting on this film.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are two versions of “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”.  There is a limited version and a regular version.  The limited version comes in a box, a soundtrack and has a second disc that has storyboards and a director file.   While the version I am reviewing, the normal version features no soundtrack or box.  But it does feature the following:

• Audio commentary with director and cast
• Premiere Event in Tokyo
• Hanako Oku “Garnet” Music Video
• Theatrical Trailer
• Promo Clip

First of all, it was great to have a commentary with the director and cast and offering some insight on the creation of the film.  The commentary features Mamoru Hosoda (Director), Riisa Naka (Makoto), Takuya Ishida (Chiaki) and Mitsutaka Itakura (Kousuke).  The director would talk about how the three main voice actors were somewhat similar to their animated counterparts.  Naka talked about the re-recording of parts on their fifth and final day of voice over and how she developed as the days went on.

It’s interesting because during the commentary, you would get some pauses and the staff would talk about how they were so drawn into the film while doing the commentary.  Especially towards the end.  Really interesting insight on the final quarter of the film.

The premiere event was another great addition to the special features.  The staff and the director presented the film to an audience and talked about working on the film and questions such as “what would they do, if they can go back in time?”  So, it was a fun premiere event and also, it was the first time the staff watched the final film.  So, that was great to see this featurette.

The music video for “Garnet” by Hanako Oku is also included.  As well as a quick :30 second promo clip and the trailer are also included.

Overall, “THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME” was a fantastic film.  I watched the film both in Japanese and with the English voice acting and I found that both were done very well.

I was extremely pleased with the art direction of the film.  From the lush backgrounds of trees, to the detail put into the shopping areas in the city, the school and so forth.  You can’t complain when you have a top talent who worked on the Ghibli films working on this film.

As for the storyline, Satoko Okudera was able to come up with a well-done storyline capturing teenage love, discovery of emotions but most of all, the pure heart of Makoto and just how she is able to evolve from this tomboy and eventually a girl who starts to discover her emotions and show her conflicted but overall determined to take action on those emotions.

“THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME” is heartwarming and definitely a nice spin on friendship, relationships and time travel.  Everything comes together for this film from the touching storyline, beautiful artwork and great voice acting.  Definitely an animated film worth having in your DVD collection!

BUY THIS DVD | Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. NO LATE FEES. Try for FREE!

 

Ali Landry and Kristin Cavallari at the Hollywood Christmas Celebration

PicApp: Los Angeles, California – Ali Landry and Kristin Cavallari. Hollywood Christmas Celebration at The Grove Tree Lighting and Concert held at The Grove at Farmers Market. Photo Credit: Charles Harris/AdMedia Photo via Newscom Photo via Newscom. Content © 2008 Newscom . All rights reserved.

 

manga review: Black Jack

In a recent review for Daily Yomiuri, Tom Baker reviews “Black Jack”.  Here is an excerpt from his review:

A woman lies at death’s door, and only a mysterious surgeon named Black Jack can save her. But his services don’t come cheap. He refuses to begin the operation unless her grown son, with whom she has a strained relationship, agrees to pay 30 million yen.

This is a typical scene from one of the 26 stories collected in the first two volumes of Vertical, Inc.’s new English-language edition of Tezuka Osamu’s manga Black Jack, which initially ran in Shukan Shonen Champion magazine from 1973 to 1983. The doctor has stunning skills and shocking fees.

At first the patient’s son in this particular story goes wide-eyed and rigid at the price. But when the doctor quietly asks, “Can you pay?” the man begins to shout. “I will! Whatever it takes! If it takes my whole life!”

Black Jack smiles grimly. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” And with that, the story ends.

There’s plenty of medical melodrama in these tales, which feature frostbite, cancer, disfigurement, radiation burns, earthquakes, traffic accidents and severed limbs galore. But that’s just what’s happening on the surface. Many of the Black Jack stories have deeper layers.

Though he does the seemingly impossible–even transplanting a brain in one story–Black Jack also suffers from devastating failures, and in at least one tale he loses a patient whom he cared about deeply. The reader can never be sure how a particular operation is going to turn out.

Although he is widely condemned as greedy, he sometimes displays a softer side, helping in tragic cases for free.

Some of the stories are both sentimental and ghoulish, such as one in which a young sushi chef loses his arms–while on his way to his elderly mother’s house, where he was going to make her sushi for the first time.

The stories are often ambiguous or open-ended. In the story of the 30 million yen, it is not entirely clear what Black Jack is up to. Has he simply helped the man to recognize the preciousness his mother’s life? Or does he really intend to make him a debt slave for the rest of his days?

How you answer that question depends on your sense of his character, which is only gradually revealed. Also doled out in small doses is the story of his origin, including how he wound up with two different skin colors on his face. Two volumes in, there are still a few things I would like to know. Luckily, Volume 3 is due out in January.

more

 

Britney Spears performs during the Bambi Awards 2008 Show in Germany

PicApp: OFFENBURG, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 27: Singer Britney Spears performs during the Bambi Awards 2008 Show on November 27, 2008 in Offenburg, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images). Content © 2008 Getty Images . All rights reserved.

 

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes walking in NYC

PicApp: After supporting his wife Katie Holmes with guests the Beckhams, Tom Cruise escorts his wife back to their NYC apartment. Pictured: Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise Picture by: Ahmad Elatab/SaleemElatab/Splash News. Content © 2008 Splash News . All rights reserved.

 

Hit Man: David Foster & Friends (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

“A special live performance to honor super producer David Foster.  He is joined by his friends and talented artists such as Celine Dion, Kenny G.,  Michael Buble, Peter Cetera and many others for one special night and some of those performances featured on the album.  A fun, nostalgic and heartwarming album.”

BUY THIS ALBUM:

ARTIST: Various Artists

ALBUM: Hit Man: David Foster & Friends (Digital Version)

LABEL: 143/Reprise

DURATION: 41:12

RELEASE DATE: November 11, 2008

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire – David Foster and Kenny G
2. Home – Michael Buble and Blake Shelton
3. I Have Nothing/I Will Always Love You – David Foster and Charice Pempengco
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Josh Groban, Brian McKnight
5. Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion
6. Wildflower – Blake Shelton
7. Somewhere – Katherine Mcphee
8. Hard to Say I’m Sorry/You’re the Inspiration/Glory of Love – Peter Cetera
9. The Prayer – Katherine McPhee and Andrea Bocceli
10. Amapola – Andrea Bocceli

David Foster, one of the world’s most popular songwriter’s and 15-time Grammy winner had worked with many artists which include Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Chicago, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Michael Buble, N’Sync, Earth, Wind and Fire, Gloria Estefan, Toni Braxton and many others.

And earlier this year, to celebrate his career, a few of the artists came to join David Foster in Las Vegas for a special performance and that special performance was released as an album and also on DVD this month.

There are so many David Foster songs that I grew up listening to, songs that were a big part of my life as a child, a teenager and as an adult and his songs have inspired many people and also music that people can just listen to and just feel the passion within the music itself.

With “Hit Man: David Foster and Friends”, the album starts off with one of the most beautiful movie themes and that is the theme song for “St. Elmo’s Fire”.  You really don’t hear too many instrumental themes debuting on top of the charts these days but in the 80′s, very few did and David Foster was able to score a hit with this beautiful song.  Joining him in this performance was musician Kenny G.  Beautiful song!

The second track featured “Home” by Michael Buble and Blake Shelton.  The interesting thing is that crooner Buble sung the song first and country singer Blake Shelton made a cover of the song.  So, to have both singing the song was definitely great to here.

The third track features the singer that capture many hearts and that is Charice (Pempengco) from the Philippines who has captured hearts from her performance on YouTube and since then has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey shows and had the opportunity to perform on stage with her idol Celine Dion and the 15-year-old had the opportunity of the lifetime to join David Foster and perform two Whitney Houston hits  “I Have Nothing” and “I WIll Always Love You” in front of a live audience.  Charice’s powerful and beautiful vocals are just amazing!   And I can’t wait for her upcoming album and collaboration with David Foster.

The fourth track “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, the popular Simon & Garfunkel hit that has been covered by many artists but for this live performance, it brought together two awesome vocalists Josh Groban and Brian McKnight.  Another cool performance from these two artists.

The fifth track “Because You Loved Me” was sung by Celine Dion.  I am passionate for Celine Dion’s music and her performance of her hit song was great (I’ve heard her sing this song live much better) but she did a great job.

The sixth track “Wildflower” was sung by country singer Blake Shelton, followed by American Idol finalist Katharine McPhee singing Barbara Streisand’s “Somewhere”.  McPhee does an awesome job singing this song.  Beautiful vocals!

The seventh track is a medley with David Foster and Peter Cetera performing to Chicago hit “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and “You’re the Inspiration” and Cetera’s solo “Karate Kid 2″ hit song “Glory of Love”.

The next song is one of my favorites, “The Prayer” by Katharine McPhee and tenor Andrea Bocelli.  I’m so passionate towards the Charlotte Church and Josh Groban version but I was impressed by both McPhee’s and Bocelli’s performance.  They did a great job!

The album ends with “Amapola” by Andrea Bocceli.  I’m a fan of Andrea Bocelli, so it was great to hear him perform this song.  Well-done!!!

I am a fan of David Foster’s music and to hear these performer’s all together to celebrate the success of Foster is truly awesome.  You get a good number of spectacular performances and overall, the album is solid.

But I do have one gripe and that’s knowing so many performances were featured on the DVD version, how come those songs were not featured on the album.  At 41 minutes in length, I can’t help but think how happy I would have been to find an album filled with a lot of the music performed that night.  Ten songs is rather short.

But overall, a whimsical and nostalgic walk through musical memory lane and hearing these classic hits sung by these talented artists from that special night.  And it was great to have many of those special live performances offered together on one album.

BUY THIS ALBUM:

 

Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

“Kanye West’s ’808s & Heartbreak’ comes from the soul, using his creative genius to release a painful and personal album that yet manages to capture the listener’s attention and demonstrating this electronic side with dark overtones, but yet continue to be creative and successful at doing so.  West called his fourth full-length album ‘therapeutic’, I call it a ‘masterpiece’.”

BUY THIS ALBUM:

ARTIST: Kanye West

ALBUM: 808s & Heartbreak (Digital Version)

LABEL: Roc-a-Fella Records

DURATION: 52:06

RELEASE DATE: November 24, 2008

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Say You Will
2. Welcome to Heartbreak
3. Heartless
4. Amazing
5. Love Lockdown
6. Paranoid
7. RoboCop
8. Street Lights
9. Bad News
10. See You in My Nightmares
11. Coldest Winter
12. Pinocchio Story (Freestyle Live from Singapore)

When you think of Kanye West, you think about his hip hop music, his well-written lyrics and literally a genius at what he does best.

But West has gone through a lot of pain since the death of his mother last fall, the ending of his engagement and relationship and he’s often under media scrutiny.

In Nov. 2008, it was time for the highly anticipated release of Kanye West’s fourth full-length album “808s & Heartbreak”, a direction which West wanted to effectively put his emotions into his own music and also show off his creative side outside of hip hop through a musical genre he describes as “pop art”.

So, with “808′s & Heartbreak” which features the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the heartbreak described in an interview with MTV, West said, “It’s a little bit of autotune and a whole lot of f*cked up life. This album was therapeutic- it’s lonely at the top.”

As for the “Auto-Tune”, many familiar with T-Pain’s music can identify with his use of the voice audio processor technology which he has enjoyed using and both the TR-808 and auto-tune are showcased throughout the album.  But the biggest surprise to many is that this album is not hip-hop, it’s about music that West enjoys and doing the music that he feels like doing.

The album starts off with “Say you Will”, it has a dark undertone but with a ray of sunlight peaking through the darkness.  With lyrics of “I wish this song would really come true, I admit I still fantasize about you” and “When I grab your neck, I touch your soul”, touching lyrics.

The second tack “Welcome to Heartbreak” is West showcasing lyrics that hit you hard and showcasing the side of him not feeling to content with his life.  The lyrics start out “My friend showed me pictures of his kids and all I can do is show him picture of my cribs.  He said his daughter got a brand-new report card,
And all I got was a brand-new sportscar.”  While singing, you get the deep beats but your mind is so tuned into the West’s personal lyrics.   Another well done track!

The third track “Heartless” is the second single from the album and is absolutely fantastic.  Dig the beat and dig the vocals.   Catchy melody and overall an awesome track!

The fourth track “Amazing” features a collaboration with Young Jeezy.  The style of the track was just awesome how it starts of with cool beats and then West breaks out with this vocal style that was deep.  Overall an awesome collaboration.  I felt this track was just brilliant!

The fifth track “Love Lockdown” features the first single from the album.  Awesome drum transitions from the TR-808 to the tribal drums.  Awesome!  West has since released (on Nov. 8th) another fuller version of “Love Lockdown” on his blog a few weeks before the release of the album.

The sixth track “Paranoid” was a pretty cool track because it has an 80′s vibe and compared to the other tracks, West is singing and rhyming and overall the song is just fun, happy, catchy and one of my favorites on the album!

The seventh track “RoboCop” was leaked online and features a string arrangement with the TR-808 drums going on the background.  I dig the musical arrangement and fun vocals towards the end of the track.

Whereas the eighth track “Street Lights” seems as a song of self-reflection, the ninth track “Bad News” happens to be West’s favorite track on the album.  Featuring deep beats, a cool string arrangement that comes towards the middle of the track and is from a perspective of a woman who broke up with a guy and the guy found a new woman and not having that second chance.  The Audio-Tune is utilized throughout the track.  I dig the drum arrangement on this track.

The tenth track “See You Nightmares” features a collaboration with Lil Wayne and no hip hop in this track, Wayne does Auto-Tune vocal work.  And another track that beautifully incorporates a string arrangement.

The eleventh track “Coldest Winter” is a personal track that West created for his mother.   West sings “Goodbye my friend, I won’t ever love again.  Never again.”  The drums plays another significant part for this sad song.  This strikes really deep into the heart since West was interviewed by British media not long ago and said he partially blames himself for his mother’s death.  The strong bond between West and his mother have been well-documented and as a listener, you can’t help but feel the pain when he sings this song.

The final track on this album is “Pinocchio Story”, a live freestyle track which I’ve read that Beyonce recommended for him to keep on this album.  A song that showcases West’s brilliance as a music artist.  A song that is personal in which West sings about his fame and how he feel’s that he’s not living a real life and that like Pinocchio’s story of wanting to be a real boy.

I’ve listened to this album on repeat over and over again and it may a bit dark for some.  In fact, for him to stepping away from hip hop on this album, personally it didn’t bother me because West is a musical genius.

He’s one of those artists that can probably do whatever he wants and still have people appreciate him for his well-written lyrics, his ability to take his music and almost like a painter, creatively paint these visions onto canvas and have it translated to music.

I tend to view “808s & Heartbreak” like an adventure. Starting off in darkness and walking the field alone and with a track like “Welcome to Heartbreak” being a song of just letting out how one feels about one’s life.  Where Michael Jackson can sing a song “Man in the Mirror” and singing “take a look at yourself and make that change”, I can’t help but listening to these songs and feel that West is just using music as a way to figure out these emotions and self-reflect.

But as the adventure continues, there is that light that West has walked towards and he’s able to laugh again with humorous tracks such as “Paranoid” and “RoboCop”.

But then knowing that you can find happiness towards the light, knowing that there is some more pain that he needs to deal with, such as tracks like “Coldest Winter”.

And obviously, there are some deep words that he sings about in his freestyle live track “Pinocchio Story”.

Kanye West has said that “808s & Heartbreak” was “therapeutic”.  As a listener, I probably looked at these songs as a continual paint stroke on canvas and pop art was successfully achieved.  Sure, the album I’m sure for West was called “therapeutic” but I am more inclined to also call the album a “masterpiece”.

BUY THIS ALBUM:

 

Next Page »