Day Two Hundred and Thirty-two - Moon Phase: Episode 1, "A little creepy, but maaaaan... those are some gorgeous backgrounds!"

If there's one thing about Japan, they're a little more... shall we say, liberal, about exploring their paraphillias than we are. One such fetish is the Gothic Lolita style where girls dress up like Victorian Dolls complete with frills, lace, and minimized secondary sexual characteristics (see: flat-chested).

It's safe to say that Moon Phase is very firmly rooted in its Goth Loli persuasions... along with several other archetypal otaku fantasies like the cute, chibi-vampire and imouto/onii-san (little sister/big brother) complex. It's wacky and a bit creepy, but sells... a lot.

Playing the role of the Goth Loli Vampire Queen is Hazuki, who has apparently been mystically imprisoned in a massive European castle for hundreds of years, yearning for an escape... which she seems to be going to find in the form of Kouhei, a Japanese ghost photographer who is visiting the castle on assignment from an occult magazine. He finds her irresistibly attractive and she...? Well, it's sort of hard to tell what Hazuki feels as she's supposed to be the mysterious outsider, an impossibly old soul trapped in a child's body.

The majority of the episode is just the initial setup to get the two of them in the same room together. Kouhei takes photos of the castle from a distance while Hazuki lounges about her gilded prison. There's a gratuitous bath scene (a standard for most anime) as well as plot hammers such as a sneaky exorcist and a magical golem guardian.

What is interesting about the title, despite its pervy, fan-service tendencies, is the massive amount of production value when it comes to the animation, particularly the setting and props. I mean, serious amounts of effort were put into these backgrounds, I am not kidding. They're just gorgeous.

It's such an odd combination of stereotyped ecchi and quality horror/fantasy art that I can't quite decide whether to despise or adore it... and, maybe, that's the point. That, in order to serve as contrast to the obvious perversions of the Goth Loli pairing, tremendous work was put into the sundries to raise the value of the series.

Granted, their character animations could be a bit better, but man... those backgrounds! Yum!

Either way, I feel both extremely uncomfortable and oddly transfixed by the opener... which is, I think, an apt feeling to have when it comes to vampire tales. So often, nowadays, we're given vamps that are nothing more than the Greek Gods reborn... sparkly, lustful Adonises who are nothing more than expressions of the desire for sexual domination, no longer the creatures of horror. While I cannot say that's the case here, as Hazuki is definitely a sex object of a different persuasion, the artifacts and creatures that they have surrounding her are much more suited to the horror of her monster mythology roots... at least, in the pilot episode. Much more Castlevania as opposed to Twilight.

I just wish that they weren't so pervy and blatant about Hazuki, herself.

One good thing about it, though, it's yet another anime title that features both the English and Japanese (with English subs) vocal tracks. Netflix has been getting pretty good about that lately and I'm always very happy to listen to a title in its original language than suffer what could possibly be a bad dub. It's just safer for me, in my opinion, to watch it subtitled.

I can't say that Moon Phase is appropriate for anyone younger than their teens and it definitely has some sketchy fetish action going on, but I also cannot say that I'm not intrigued. Just, remember, Caveat Emptor and don't say I didn't warn you.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-one - Dr.Who: Series 2, Episode 4, "Is... is that Giles?"

Well... after being banished by Queen Victoria, herself, it seems as though The Doctor is back on his game, infiltrating a modern day alien situation at a recently reformed school where kids are testing off the charts, posing as a science teacher (while Rose is in the kitchen and Mickey is running tech support/research).

It seems as though all the improvements to the school are thanks to the new headmaster (Anthony Stewart Head) and his retinue of new teachers and lunchladies. They're up to something sinister, eating orphans and forcing students to randomly type to cryptic green glyphs, and it's up to The Doctor, et al., to get to the bottom of it with the help of two familiar faces from Classic Dr. Who: K-9 and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen)... both former companions of the Doctor's (Three, Four, and Five).

Of course, it's your typical Whovian adventure, full of MacGuffins and Technobabble, but what else is new? What's really fun about the episode is the cattiness, both between Sarah Jane and Rose... and Mickey and K-9. Well, cattiness on Mickey's part as K-9 is nothing if not helpful, even if it is mildly passive-aggressive during the climax action sequence with the car. Sarah Jane and Rose, though? Fun, fun stuff! Too bad they managed to reconcile as I would've preferred them to remain icy towards each other as romantic rivals, instead of the stereotypical commiseration between gals in the same boat.

It is nice to see some character continuity bleed over from Classic Who in the form of Sarah Jane, though. She had to be my favorite companion back in the day (whenever I'd watch Tom Baker's version on Betamax at my Aunts' place in the 80's), and was the quintessential example of an assistant/companion until, I think, Amy Pond came around.

I do think it's a little sad, though, seeing her now that Elisabeth Sladen has passed. I never did get into her spinoff series, The Sarah Jane Adventures (not that I'm all that into the Who story universe to begin with), but I'm glad she carried the character on as long as she did and I hope, if there is an afterlife, that she goes wherever good companions (or actresses) go.

AnyWho....

While most of the alien action in School Reunion is blah CGI, I think the most annoying feature of the episode is Anthony Head's bat-grimace. I love the man to death (even if I can't stand some of his other projects, like Repo! The Genetic Opera), but the macular distortions he was forced to portray here were just hammy beyond belief. Still, I did enjoy his "Join Us" speech to The Doctor.

As for the rest? Well, I just wish the chips around here boosted IQ. Then I'd feel less guilty gobbling them up like the big fat pig that I am. It's a fun episode, at the least... with cheese-factor that is easily suffered.

Oh, gods... I hope that doesn't mean that my resistance is breaking down and I'm slowly being converted into a Whovian. Is there an antidote? Say, like, watching Community... where the Who references are meta and ironic?

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Thirty - Deadmau5: Meowingtons Hax 2k11 Toronto, "I followed up Queen with THIS?!"

After the rocking good time I had with Queen: Rock Montreal, I was kind of in the mood for more music. As such, I popped over to the next concert movie that was in my Queue and it just happened to be Deadmau5's final stop in Toronto for his Meowingtons Hax tour.

Wow... I was thoroughly disappointed going from one to the other.

* - and other substances

Now, don't get me wrong... I love electronic music to death and think Deadmau5's tunes are excellent examples of progressive-house. There is something entirely danceable to his tracks, for certain... but without that rave mentality, strictly as a concert movie, they all fall utterly flat.

It's all the same beats over and over. Occasionally something new and interesting will be thrown in, such as when Sofi starts adding her vocals to the tracks, but without all the booze* and tightly pressed, dancing flesh, Joel's sets are just exercises in sound. There's no fire, no stage presence, and barely any visuals.

A lot of props have been given to him for his "cubes" that he has on stage, but not once did I see anything interesting displayed on them... just occasional flashes of his trademark mouse-ears and geometric shapes that looks like they're straight from a windows screensaver.

Hang on, hang on... I've go something stuck to my shoe!

I think that my main complaint with the show is when he leaves his machines for a good five to ten minutes to run down a gangway with Sofi while she sings.

I mean, seriously? You just put your loops on repeat and start flailing about like a stoned moron? WTF?

It was one thing when Queen left the stage in Montreal during the operatic section of Bohemian Rhapsody for all of two minutes while the layered harmonies (that couldn't be performed live) played out... and it was quite another to see Joel flip a switch and saunter down the gangplank, hamming it up with ludicrous poses and ill-timed fist pumps.

Un-freaking-believable.

The very definition of YOLO. :(

Then there was the crowd... which seemed more interested in holding their iPhones up and recording the sets than actually jamming out to the music. Instead of a 20,000 strong rave full of pulsating bodies to go along with the beat, every crowd shot had wannabes with their hands held high purely to capture video. The worst of it was when I saw someone slide a DSLR up an extension arm to get a shot ten feet above the crowd.

I tell ya, kids these days.

At the end of the day, I would only recommend this set to have on in the background as something to tap your toes to when you're doing something else. It lacks pretty much everything that makes a concert movie great and is only redeeming as a soundtrack to something else entirely... like say a game night.

Lord, what I wouldn't give for Daft Punk's Alive concerts to be on the Stream... now those dudes know how to put on a live techno concert.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Twenty-nine - Queen: Rock Montreal, "Why can't we give love one more chance?"

For a lot of people, The Beatles were the end all, be all of Rock. They came pretty much at its advent and explored and deepened the genre as time passed and the scene shifted.

For me, though... it was Queen.

That's not to slight any other acts, The Beatles included, along with Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and so on... but while we all mourned for John when he was assassinated, most of my feels resonated and released the day I heard that we lost Freddie Mercury to AIDS.

Seeing he, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon in Rock Montreal and Live Aid has to be one of the greatest concert experiences one can ever have... even if it's limited to the confines of one's television and whatever stereo system you have in your home.

The set is tremendous, featuring pretty much every single, anthem, and ballad that Queen is famous for and more: from Somebody To Love to Under Pressure to Bohemian Rhapsody to We Are The Champions.

My particular favorite of the night was finally hearing Get Down Make Love live. I'm a huge fan of the Nine Inch Nails cover and to hear Freddie belt it out is amazing, but the same can be said for pretty much the entirety of the concert because everyone has such wonderful talent and stupendous stage presence.

While, yes, most of the focus is on Freddie and his wonderful voice, there are several songs that feature solos purely of one instrument. Roger Taylor has his Drum and Timpani solo, but also holds the majority of I'm In Love With My Car, and Brian May does a hypnotic call and response with himself via a loop delay that is a guitarist's wet dream.

There are a few things missing, unfortunately. While the billing on Netflix is for both Rock Montreal and Live Aid, it seems as though the entirety of the Live Aid footage is missing, along with Flash and The Hero. A bit of false advertising, I think to have it billed as both Montreal and Live Aid in the picture (though, the hover bar and Queue listing both have it simply as Rock Montreal), but such is life.

Minor problems aside, I think this is an amazing concert, missing songs or no. Seeing Freddie strutting about on stage again, almost twenty-five years after his death and well over thirty since it was recorded, both breaks my heart and brings me tears of joy.

Even the moments that could be betrayals, such as when the entire band retreats offstage for the entirety of the operatic section of Bohemian Rhapsody (due to the fact that there's no way the harmonies could be done live) via tape, they bring you back from the brink by reappearing with flashes of light and thunder to finish it strong... a dramatic musical rescue.

If you have even a passing familiarity with Queen and their works, I definitely recommend Rock Montreal. It has pretty much all the hits and features the band in their prime... and is really no worse for the missing songs and the absence of Bowie for Under Pressure.

Watch it, love it, mourn, and rejoice with the music of Freddie Mercury and Queen.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Twenty-eight - Annika Bengtzon: Crime Reporter: A Place in the Sun, "Aww, Annika's finally getting some~"

After spending the last few episodes of Crime Reporter feuding with her now ex-husband over his affair and their subsequent divorce/custody issues, Annika is on the hunt for the murderers of a Swedish family living in Spain... as well as finding some physical companionship on the side.

And I say that it's about time!

Revolving around a conspiracy that has left an ex-hockey player and his family dead, A Place in the Sun travels from Sweden to Spain to Gibraltar and Morocco, as Annika unearths clues and finds ties to drug lords, horse ranches, and hitwomen. Centering mostly in Costa Del Sol, Spain, Annika is on assignment with a glamorous interpreter/guide and a hapless photographer, the former too worried about her shoes and the latter more concerned with finding artistic shots instead of getting sensational portraits for their tabloid, Kvällspressen.

Speaking of Kvällspressen, it seems their pitpull of a news editor is retiring and, instead of leaving field work and taking the job herself, Annika's annoying rival Patrik gets the job and begins making thinks awkward and altogether difficult for our favorite crusader.

Still, Annika manages to cover quite a few stories during her working vacation in Costa Del Sol, reporting on the initial deaths, then a drug bust and subsequent connections to possible kidnappings, more murders, and the lampshaded villain who is introduced at the beginning of the episode but doesn't show up again till the climax (so you just KNOW he's involved somehow, probably as the ringleader).

A bit cliche, tis true, but still... one of the stronger episodes.

It's nice to see Annika getting a little action, especially since the last time was with her creep of an ex several episodes back. He's in Costa Del Sol, too, and manages to help her a bit, but not without trying to lay on the charm and cheat on his current partner with his old one. What a douche, no matter the clarifying exposition he presents Annika over a "working dinner."

On the sexy-times note, I should mention that, yes, as Annika is getting some nookie again we are once more treated to some tasteful toplessness from series star Malin Crépin. Thank god for Europeans and their lack of squeamishness when it comes to nudity. It's not objectification, just intimacy... and there should be nothing wrong with showing that in film, but try telling that to the FCC and network censors.

Anyways, back to the main plot... the climax action scene was a little forced and awkward, but I did really like how the men turned out to be utterly useless and it was up to the women to fend off the small squad of armed invaders to save the day. I'm not sure that I quite understand the legalities of the "missing" girl's decision in the denouement, but it's strangely satisfying that, even in this modern age of digital surveillance, someone with the will to disappear and live a happy life actually can.

You know, with a little help from her ex-criminal god-mother.

Being the last episode of the series, I'm a bit sad to see Annika go with little to no fanfare. It's certainly not the series finale that I've grown accustomed to, but does cap off a few characters and signals a life transition for the office of Kvällspressen that could possibly be taken for an ending. 

Not that I want the character to die or retire or anything... it's just that there's not all that much sense of finality or closure to the series. At least, not one similar to those that I'm familiar with thanks to American procedurals and their often concrete or cliffhangery finales.

Still, I'll miss you, Annika... and hope to see you (and Malin Crépin) again in the near future.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Twenty-seven - Fairy Tail: Pilot, "SHONEN FIGHTO!"

Much like GIJOE, Transformers, and the like, Japan has it's own staples of kid's anime aimed at the elementary set but finding fans of all ages. Naruto, One Piece, and Fairy Tail are all examples of such. They're light on depth, big on action and fan service, and seem to stretch on into infinity as the adventure never ends.

While I've seen (and grown bored with) both Naruto and One Piece, Fairy Tail was one of the few manga/anime titles that I never even tried. Not that I think I was missing all that much as the pilot doesn't impress, really, but it's a rarity to find a title make it over the Pacific that I haven't seen or read a little of... cause, trust me, I read A LOT of manga.

A LOT.

Anyways, Fairy Tail's opening episode follows a similar rubric as many anime (and that we've seen here on Couchbound before), a one-off intro episode that introduces several of the main characters without really plumbing their depths but definitely establishing their street-cred when it comes to powers and combat skills... as well as providing a small amount of background data on the fantasy world that they inhabit.

The more I think about it, the more Fairy Tail feels like a cross between One Piece and the Dragon Quest series of video games... and I don't just say that because the lead character Natsu seems to be on a quest to find an actual dragon. There's something about the art and character design that really reminds me of Dragon Quest 8. It definitely has a vibe similar to that universe, but with a few over the top characters that are vaguely similar to One Piece.

Being a Shonen Fight-o anime, though, it has quite a few annoying tropes that it studiously follows. There's the annoying talking animal sidekick, the über-powerful hero who initially presents himself as weak, and the easily influenced female lead (Lucy) who, despite seeming competency, quickly falls into a position where she needs to be rescued.

Take THAT, feminism!

Sadly, there's a lot of endemic misogyny in anime, and Fairy Tail is no exception. One of the other side characters (who you don't meet in the episode) is shown off as a bikini centerfold, so kudos to progress there... Lucy tries to ply her feminine wiles on a shopkeeper for a discount (and is angry that her antics only shave off a small percentage)... and, hell, the eventual plot of the episode revolves around slavers kidnapping dozens of buxom women from the town to sell off and, no doubt, ravish... though, it's never really said, just heavily implied by the date rape spell the main villain tries on Lucy.

There's not much to like about Fairy Tail aside from its generic boy's action anime tropes and devices. If you're a fan of shows like The Slayers, you'll probably find something to enjoy here, but it's all so much overpowered fluff to me. The character motivations seem a bit more grounded than the utterly ridiculous plots of One Piece, but not by much.

That said, shows like this are often immensely popular... One Piece being a prime example of extremely wide reaching in terms of its audience and fanbase. I guess I'm just an anime snob, though, as neither One Piece nor Fairy Tail are doing much for me.

At the very least, it's a plus that the series is presented with its original Japanese Dub, even if some of the jokes are lost in the English subtitles' translation (like the fireworks Tamaya shout).

My final verdict is that it's probably fun (and fine) for the older elementary and younger teen set, but don't look for depths to plumb, complex action, or witty dialogue. Fairy Tail is upper tier LCD... but still just LCD.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Twenty-six - Call the Midwife: Season 1, Episode 4, "A familiar face and the tragedy of soulmates."

It's been a while since I last watched Call the Midwife, but that's the beauty of BBC and PBS shows... they often have very short episode counts to their seasons so it's not all that hard to catch up.

This particular episode had quite a few threads running through it that were interesting and pulled at the heart-strings.

For the good, we see more and more of Chummy's (Miranda Hart) courtship with PC Noakes, as well as a small bit of intimacy with Sister Bernadette (Laura Main).

For the ill, however, there are two tales... that of a young mother doomed to a tragic end by eclampsia and an infant who is kidnapped from her stroller with the shadow of suspicion falling on her postpartum suffering mother.

As ever, I absolutely adore Chummy's blossoming. It seems as though I have happily fallen into the same trap as the rest of the fans of the show, as she is absolutely my favorite character and to see her grow into her womanhood is a delight. Much kudos, as usual, to Miranda Hart for her portrayal. Of particular note this episode is the dance sequence where she and PC Noakes flail about ridiculously, enjoying themselves all the way. That's joy... and that's love.

I was also a huge fan of those brief moments with Sister Bernadette. You can obviously see her mild strain and envy towards the midwives as they giggle their way through the mildly bohemian experience of being young, independent, and frisky. It was a surprisingly heartfelt scene when she took off her wimple and let her hair down, however briefly. That longing look at herself in the mirror, reminding herself (or, perhaps, just coming to the realization) that she's still a woman was darn effective... and very reminiscent of a similar scene that I've viewed in Kaoru Mori's Victorian Romance: Emma.

When it comes to the episode's conflicts, the kidnapping was a bit of a stretch, with the acting from the husband and wife coming a bit awkward and somewhat hard to believe, but that might have been for effect, to keep the suspicion on them believable (at least from their fellow characters as the viewer knows that the kidnapping is real). It was good to see Mary (Amy McAllister) again, though, even if she has become a rather convenient villain. It would have been so much easier to make the kidnapper a faceless, anonymous waif, but tying her back to a tragedy from a previous episode reminds us that great pain can force us to insanity.

The second tragedy of the episode evoked quite a bit more emotion from me, probably because it was just pointless, random loss... a cruel twist of fate. Yes, it was nice to see Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) get a bigger part in an episode as she's often relegated to background and supporting roles, but hard to watch her suffer through the loss as she helps a dying patient's husband come to terms with the inevitable.

All in all, Call the Midwife remains a well-crafted period drama that is both entertaining and poignant. Still worth the watch, most assuredly.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~