Monkey King 3 (2018) by Pou Soi-cheang

Director: Pou Soi-cheang
Year: 2018
Country: China/Hong Kong
Alternate Titles: Xi you ji zhi nü er guo; The Monkey King 3: Kingdom of Women
Genre: Fantasy/Action

Plot:
Traveling with his friends, Sun Wukong the Monkey King along with the monk Tangseng, Zhu Bajie and Shaseng continue their journey to the West but find themselves thrust into a strange all-female kingdom. Captured by the benevolent leader fearing they are part of a mystical prophecy claiming they are to lead to the downfall of their society, the group is allowed to stay in order to help solve a burning riddle where the women are looking to escape from their entrapment in the kingdom which angers a guardian figure involved with the fate of the kingdom. Realizing they must bring their powers together to save everyone, the group rushes to help the women in order to continue their journey.

Review:

This here proves to be every bit as enjoyable as the previous entries in the series. Much of the fun here is based on the incredible action sequences in the film. From the opening escape from a massive river whale that continually stalks them on their journey to the first encounter with the women in the jungle, the action scenes create an impressive spectacle than runs throughout this one. There are later scenes of the group meeting up with various mystical creatures inside the guardian cave or the rescue mission to bring them back home that adds to the fun of this one as well. Almost as impressive about these scenes other than the scenes' concept is the mixture of CGI and practical effects which makes these stand out to create some breathtaking sequences full of fantasy action spectacle. Moreover, the special makeup effects is up to par with the work on the previous films as they end up making Kwok virtually indistinguishable in the Monkey King makeup while giving the pig-headed Shenyang a flawless look that is striking and memorable. With the female members of the kingdom granted a fine fantasy/battle warrior mix to them that is suitably appealing while fitting into the universe of the series, this helps to make the film enjoyable to look at.

As well as the fine action, there is a lot to like about the story to like here. With the screenplay by Ning Wen, adapted from the novel by Wu Chengern, offering a strong backbone for the spectacle-filled sequences to come forward, it's also surprisingly touching and emotional. This touches on numerous strong themes such as love, loyalty, honor and friendship. The main group is shown to have a strong bond due to their adventures together which means they exhibit strong loyalty and friendship together as each one has a specific scene showing their bond. From a quest to acquire healing water for several wounds to playing dead in order to provide assistance for a plan to save everybody else, this motley crew of friends come together to showcase these elements in full force. However, it's clearly the theme of love that has a strong impact on the film, running throughout here constantly. With the female kingdom cursed to remain isolated forever due to spurned love in the first place, the idea of exploring the concept almost from the beginning is a creative approach to take. Offering up the tribe as if they've never experienced the emotion before based on the spurned lover of legend, the emotional extent of this idea is allowed to reign over the final half which quite exciting.

There's a minor issue to be had with this one. The film takes away the rather enjoyable fantasy action scenarios it had been presenting in the first half where it replaces that with a romantic drama instead. Featuring the idea of the group trying to help evoke the feelings of love to the tribe of women who are battling the destructive spirit representing the lover offers potential for a lot of action but it abandons this in favor of the emotional resolution. While satisfying for the characters in the film, this is an emotional let-down for the viewer who has their investment brought down at the wrong part of the film. Even though this sets up the potential next film in the franchise, a more cohesive effort for both parties could've been utilized. As well, some of the tonal shifts in the film are a little off, from off-kilter childish humor in comic pratfalls and cheesy mugging to slapstick antics that aren't so funny, these scenes really clash considerably with a more serious romance and action setup that is provided throughout the final half. However, these aren't that problematic and don't hold this back too much.

Overview: ***1/2/5
Despite a few hiccups here and there which don't affect it too much, this one keeps itself enjoyable enough to stay interesting for a large portion of it's running time. This ends up being recommended mainly for those that have enjoyed the series so far or who appreciate these fantasy/action epics while those that don't find those fun should heed caution with it.

This was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is reprinted here under their cooperation.

Random Article - Father/Son (and Daughter) Horror Directors, Part 1

Welcome back to another entry here, and once again we're going topical for today's special post. Due to Sunday's rather special significance, I've decided on doing today's write-up on father-and-sons who were horror directors.

Pandemic (2016) by John Suits

Director: John Suits
Year: 2016
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: Viral
Genre: Zombie

Plot:
Following a devastating virus being released, members of an Army rescue team descend into a zombie-riddled Los Angeles looking for a previously missing team only to find the overwhelming number of zombies impeding their mission and try to get out alive.

Review:

This is certainly an interesting and enjoyable zombie effort. Among the better qualities here is the fact that this one actually tries something interesting with the tiredness of a zombie genre film. Done through a found-footage format that introduces the concept of each team member containing a security camera placed on their helmets and then viewing the footage from there gives this a nice solid backbone to work with, and there’s also the question as to how exactly the footage was gathered to be found in the first place. This answers that questions as well as why they’re still taping during the outbreak which is a common flaw in so many films, and that means this one doesn’t have to set that up in order to focus on the thrilling action.

That’s where this one really scores highly, from the fantastic scenes in the tunnel as they make their way into the city to the frenzied traps set for them inside the city where they get ambushed by the zombies and are forced to battle their way out. The scenes in the school offer plenty of fun as the darkened, deserted hallways and abandoned nature of it all makes for quite a chilling setting for the rather fun, frenzied encounters that’s greatly enhanced by the immediacy of the found-footage format. The scenes in the hospital where they get overrun by the creatures and are forced out onto the streets is another big scene, and the enjoyable finale gives this a lot to like. The other big positive here is the standout finale in the house as the creatures overrun them trapped inside and the frantic barricades and brawls to hold them off with the concept really making it work in thrilling fashion. Alongside the nice gore and zombie make-up, these here hold it up over it’s few minor flaws.

The main issue holding this one back is the rather lame and needless storyline featured here regarding the duplicitous nature of the team. This one could’ve gone on rather finely without the need for the ruse to even come into play, leaving this one to really become confusing during this time for no reason. Likewise, the other big issue here is the fact that there’s way too many distractions and deviations to be found when they’re coming upon the closing stretch, from the needless battle with the street gangs to the different groups out harvesting bodies that holds them back by slowing the mission down with needless interludes. These here are what end up holding this one down.

Overview: ****/5
An enjoyable and oddly entertaining found-footage zombie effort, there's not a whole lot of issues to be had overall here. Give this a chance if you're a zombie fan of any kind or looking for another found-footage effort than the usual supernatural pieces, while those somewhat tired of the zombie genre overall might be bored with this more than other fans out there.

Evil Dead Trap (1988) by Toshiharu Ikeda

Director: Toshiharu Ikeda
Year: 1988
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Shiryô no wana
Genre: Slasher

Plot:
After getting a special scoop, a news reporter trying to make her big break finds a potential sensation tracking down a possible snuff film delivered to the studio and heads to the factory where it was filmed only to find the area home to a deranged lunatic killing them off one-by-one.

Review:

This was quite an enjoyable if somewhat flawed slasher. One of the more enjoyable aspects of this one is the rather stark and brutal kills that are frequently employed throughout here. It starts at the very beginning with the torture and mutilation of the one victim that's shown in graphic detail [mention kill], and then carries into the rest of the various kills here. These are mainly graphic and brutal in execution as well as concept, where the victims are subjected to some pretty gruesome concepts throughout here. Full of some stellar make-up that gives the scenes a punch when they occur, there's plenty to like about this section as well with the kills generating plenty of fine shocking moments when they strike, including having multiple spikes emerge from holes in the wall and floor to impale in various parts of the body, another getting their eye gouged out in extreme closeup, a machete to the side of the head and a decapitation, among other great brutal kills.

 As well, this also leads into the stellar series of traps and confrontations with the killer who has made the area into a veritible slew of sharp impalements ready to spring out and pierce people which has a fine amount of shock jumps here as well as setting up the great tension within here. This runs the gamut from the shocking shorter traps to the longer, more agonized setups here such as the first effort that traps everyone in the building or the surprise ambush at the car that count as shorter shock scenes. Longer setups from the approach of the friend tied to a chair with the arrow set to fire at her or being speared by multiple poles being shoved through the floor while in the shower offer some solid lengthier sequences which add a much more energetic tone and presence to the film. Even the never-ending final battles with the killer offers some fine points, giving this one a great rousing conclusion that adds to the relentless assault by the killer with the badly burned and deformed being launching everything from human assaults to the demonic creature plaguing him and forcing the rampage in the first place, all of which enhances the stellar make-up effects as well. These here are what manage to hold this one up over it's few minor flaws overall that hold it back.

Among the few flaws to be had here is the film's rather bland and overlong pacing. This one really bungles the atmospheric approach it's going for and instead stretches things out to the point of needless padding as this one is way too long for this kind of simplistic story. The scenes of the crew going around investigating the empty and abandoned location at the beginning are stretched out to bland portions as the lifeless manner in which they walk around through the dirty, decrepit rooms or looking for the various places for camera setups just makes for a rather dull time here. [add more on the pacing]. That as well leads to the film's other big issue in that it's just way too long for it's own good as there's no reason for a film like this with this kind of simplistic, straightforward story to have a length like this. Partly due to the extensive amount of time it takes to get going but also for the exceptionally long scenes of them sitting around waiting for the killer to strike as the various people come into play that may or may not be the killer, this one strikes quite a long and oddly uneven running time with these unneeded elements presented throughout here. These here are what really keep this one down.

Overview: *** 1/2/5
Despite a few minor areas that really do strike this one somewhat severely, this one is a rather enjoyable and worthwhile Japanese genre effort that has some positive attributes. This is really only recommended to those that can appreciate the positives here without really being too bothered by the flaws, though if the flaws are apparently detrimental to viewers they should heed caution mostly.

Interview: Addison Heath and Jasmine Jakupi (The Viper's Hex (2017))

On the occasion of their recent release "The Viper's Hex" screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg, I speak with them about their early influences, their unique approach to filmmaking and the shooting of the film.

Franchise Run-Through: A Nightmare on Elm Street

Well, it's time now to take a look at a new franchise, and the one we're looking at now is one of the biggest and most impractical in the genre. This time we're going into the A Nightmare on Elm Street series.

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014) by Kiah Roache-Turner

Director: Kiah Roache-Turner
Year: 2014
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Zombie

Plot:
During a massive zombie apocalypse, a man who lost his family joins up with various other locals who've been affected by the ordeal to try to find a way to save his remaining family from the ravenous creatures as they encounter those attempting to study how the zombies function.

Review:

This here turned out to be quite an impressive effort. One of the few bright spots for this one is the fact that there's a slew of stellar action scenes throughout here that play up the fun zombie encounters. From the beginning, where the opening shots of the crew retrieving the truck from a horde of creatures starts this out on a high note which includes the enjoyable and rather exciting battle in the suburbs where it attacks the friend in the garage during the photoshoot turning them into zombies as well as the family's battle to get out of their infested neighborhood. That offers this one with plenty to like and enjoy about it during the proper time which offers up plenty of great moments about them navigating out of the house battling the creatures and setting up the other fun encounters here.

The inclusion of the government conspiracy saddled among the early action scenes gives this a solidly chilling air about it as the series of tests committed against the local abducted woman allows this to feature some creepy moments about their experiments. The idea of the van full of infected roaming around the countryside carrying on these experiments is a notably creepy idea to start with, and the various scenes showcased here offer up a great twist which is paid off with the later half involving the woman who's half-human, half-zombie that is given the especially powerful new powers of being able to control the creatures telepathically which has a lot of quality moments to like here. The idea itself is incredibly clever and unique which allows for more fun action to come in the final half as well.

The cast is certainly fun and serviceable for this type of effort. Jay Gallagher as the lead Barry gives a fantastic turn here, ranging from heartbroken family man to decisive man-of-action trying to survive as this keepsake us on his side while making for a compelling lead. Bianca Bradey as his sister Brooke is quite fun, as her initial tough resourceful character is taken to a completely unexpected arc that really adds nicely to the action in the second half. She's an intriguing character and has a lot to like about as she serves as a great counterpoint to the other characters. Leon Burchill as his friend Benny is a great comedic sidekick, capable of taking on some fine action while still being sympathetic at the end as we find him becoming slowly affected by the events around him. Coupled with the stellar make-up and gore effects on the multitude of zombies shown throughout here, this has more than enough to hold out over the few minor flaws featured.

Among the few flaws here is the film's rather obvious lack of explaining anything that's going on. The concept of the billowing gas cloud they emit as being as source of ignitable fuel is a clever touch, maintaining the idea that the space virus is affecting people of a specific blood-type is ingenious and the military group experimenting on the zombies makes sense yet none of these elements are ever brought together to make any kind of cohesive storyline. These are all issues which play a big role in how the story plays out which is what makes it important to understand the different ideas at play here and is instead not even touched on at all. There's also the stinging issue of the low-budget being quite apparent and noticeable in here, offering up plenty of issues from the rather irritating CGI bloodsplatter to the silly costumes and the utterly irritating and frustratingly annoying shaking camera featured in the big action scenes that make it hard to realize what's happening. These here are what really hold it down.

Overview: ***1/2/5
Despite a few minor issues that at times hold this one down, it remains enjoyable enough that it's inherently watchable in the end. Give this one a chance if you're at all interested in low-budget zombie fare or are curious about it, while those unwilling to look past the flaws should heed caution.

Night of the Living Dead (1990) by Tom Savini

Director: Tom Savini
Year: 1990
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Zombie

Plot:
After an attack in a cemetery, a woman fleeing from a swarm of ravenous zombies hides out in a remote farmhouse with several other survivors and tries to help them find a way of escaping from the deadly creatures as well as each other when they start to slowly kill them off.

Review:

This was quite the fun and effective remake. One of the more enjoyable elements of this one is the fact that there's a lot of good times to be had here from playing off the expectations from the original. Since this one readily follows the exact same plotline as the original, from the family members driving out to the cemetery and coming across the first zombies while they hold-up inside the house causes their deep-seated racial tensions to come come boiling to the surface, there's plenty to like from the way this one turns those situations around in that it uses the knowledge of the original to get you off center enough to not expect the shocks coming. The opening in the cemetery where it replays the first encounter straightforward only for the film to pull two nice surprises out of the scene in who's not a zombie and how they're attacked so it plays nicely here in getting this going while their house walk-through gives them some really new and interesting discoveries which is all due to the more enhanced sensibilities to showing the disturbed bodies of the corpses.

That leads into the other great aspect here in the film's high-end action scenes featured in here which are just as impressive and fun as the original, in some cases even topping it. The brawling in the cemetery works incredibly well, as does the eventual escape in the car to stumble upon the house gives this a series of solid opening scenes. The mission to board up the house before they can fully break through is quite enjoyable as it gives this some suspense with the zombies breaking in just when they seem to believe a section is fortified as well as getting the heart of the racial tensions exposed in great detail which runs rampant throughout the first half. The high-energy finale, with the tensions inside having boiled over into a series of gunfights between the last survivors in the house and the series of zombie swarms coming into the unprotected house, and while none of these are as impactful as the original still manage to work incredibly well generating some fun times.

The cast here is just as much fun and really enjoyable. Starting with the two big names, Tony Todd as Ben manages to be just as good as the original, tackling the physicality of the role with great aplomb and manages to get the proper tones here from caring to confrontational which is exactly what's required here. Patricia Tallman as Barbara is the highlight here with a drastic improvement over the original by taking away her sniveling hysteria in favor of a take-charge, resourceful heroine that's fun to watch as she becomes quite animated and involved the more this goes on. With cult favorites Tom Towles, Bill Moseley and William Butler also among the cast, this has some big names who give their usual quality performances here. The zombies here are certainly far better-looking than in the original. Decayed and rotting just a tad, with the slightest amount of facial scars and wounds that give them a little edge over the zombies in the original. The Cemetery Zombie at the beginning is the best of the redesigned zombies from the original, and a rather hideously realized Autopsy Zombie looks really spectacular and it comes across beautifully in a great gag.

That above being said, there are a few problems with the film. The biggest one is the zombies themselves are just too slow to be threatening at all. Usually, the shuffling kind of zombies are what you should expect to find, but these are taken to the extreme and are just ridiculous. At one point, one remarks that they are slow enough to walk around without getting bit, which is exactly what happens later, and yet at the time it was uttered no one takes it seriously. When it is revealed to be just the way to escape makes it all the more ludicrous why it wasn't tried earlier so that the whole situation could've been avoided. The lack of gore in this one is an issue as well and can be a curse as well as a blessing. This isn't something for the gorehounds out there as we do get a couple neat and inventive gags here and there but this is nowhere near what it could've been. The last big issue is that the gag at the end is pretty confusing. Not only are we never told what the probable cause was that lead to the creatures, nor are we told that it comes from bites which makes that fate a direct contradiction from zombie lore and is what holds this one down.

Overview: ****/5
This isn't exactly as pessimistic or as ground-breaking as the first one was,  but this is still pretty enjoyable in most places. It doesn't damage or tarnish the reputation like the 30th Anniversary release does, and is a pretty nice viewing anyway so give it a chance and don't judge it against the original, it isn't that bad.

Monster Suit Actor Retrospective: Part 2 - 1970-1980

Kenpachiro Satsuma (Hedorah) and Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla) taking a break from filming 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah.'

Welcome back to another round-up here on the site, and it's the second installment in our look at kaiju suit actors. Last time, we started at the very beginning and stopped at 1970 which was the death of Eiji Tsuburaya. Now, we'll continue on here by looking at the actors who stared in kaiju films from then on, only instead of discussing the individuals and their roles we'll look at the films one by one due to a decided lack of repeated performers in these films.

Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla), Koetsu Omiya (Anguirus), Kenpachiro Satsuma (Gigan) and Kanta Ona (King Ghidora) in a a posed publicity shot on set of Godzilla vs. Gigan.

In keeping with Toho's actors being first, the first actor in question from this time-period is Koetsu Omiya, the first of two new actors from Godzilla vs. Gigan. Drafted to play Anguirus in the film, he doesn't have much else to his credit beyond the role as the only other acting credit to be found is a jidegeki TV show in the later half of the 70's. Also appearing for the first time in Gigan was Kanta Ina, portraying King Ghidorah in that one. However, he has even less than Omiya as he's basically responsible for stuntwork on the classic Hausu and an obscure samurai film from the later part of the 70s before quitting the business.

Tsugutoshi Komada being fitted for the Jet Jaguar suit in Godzilla vs. Megalon.

Up next is Godzilla vs. Megalon which is noteworthy for two reason. Firstly, it's mostly notable for having the first new actor portray Godzilla throughout filming in the series. Following Nakajima's retirement after Gigan, the first man into the suit was Shinji Takagi, although this is his only credited appearance in anything. He has not performed in anything else in history, which starts up a disturbing trend with the film itself as no one else in the film went on to anything else but they need to be mentioned much the same. His partner Jet Jaguar was played by Tsugutoshi Komada, also with this being his one role as lastly, Megalon was portrayed by Hideto Odachi, the final one-role performance in film-history.

Tohru Kawai (with cigarette) and Mamoru Kusumi working on set of a monster TV show.

The next film is Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, which offered up several first-time suit actors into the mix. Stepping into the Godzilla costume was Isao Zushi, who at least had one other role to his name unlike his predecessor to the role. He was one of two men to portray the Big G in the Toho TV series Zone Fighter during his five appearances on the program so he does have some other genre work. After him, though, was several other actors with big roles. Playing both Anguirus and King Seesar was Mamoru Kusumi (also known as Kin'ichi Kusumi, Yasunori Kusumi and Gen Kusumi), who has a prominent and on-going role in films of all genres not just kaiju exclusively. Not only playing roles in Mirrorman, Redman and Godman, he also donned various one-off roles in Ultraman Ace, was one of the performers drafted into working on Hanuman and the 6 Ultra Brothers vs. The Monster Army and played Astra in it's appearance throughout Ultraman Leo. The other prominent actor was Ise Mori, also called either Kazushige or Kazunari depending on various prints out there, who portrayed the robotic doppleganger himself Mechagodzilla. So effective and mesmerizing was his performance that he was asked back to the next film to play the mechanical marvel in that one as well for his only two roles

Toru Kawai (Raidron) and Hiroshi Nagasawa (Ultraman Taro) on a break from filming Ultraman Taro.

The last of the Toho Godzilla films in this regard was Terror of Mechagodzilla, which sent the series out on a high-note with several fine actors. Once again we have a new Godzilla with Tohru Kawai, who is one of the finest kaiju actors of the time-period. Before becoming Godzilla, he was Ultraman Ace in that series as well as regularly donning costumes in the two follow-up series of shows, Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Leo (shown above). As well, he helped play the Big G on the small-screen sharing the role with Isao Zushi on Zone Fighter before taking it on full-time here. Afterward, he played the T-Rex in the low-budget cheesefest The Last Dinosaur and then finally made history as the only person in history to play both Godzilla and Gamera by taking the role in the new scenes filmed for Gamera: Super Monster, leaving him as one of the more important and undervalued performers from that time-period.

Ise Mori (Mechagodzilla), Tomoko Ai, Katsumi Nimiamoto (Titanosaurus) and Tohru Kawai (Godzilla) in a purification ceremony at the start of filming Terror of Mechagodzilla.

The other big name in this entry was Titanosaurus who was played by Katsumi Nimiamoto, who much like Tohru had some similar credits at the same time. He is also an Ultraman, having been the title character for the just-finished Ultraman Leo where the two crossed paths on several episodes which is what happened when Nimiamoto also donned several monsters for Zone Fighter. He faced off with Kawai one last time by appearing in the front-half of the Triceratops costume in The Last Dinosaur against him, and then finally appeared one more time in the series Dinosaur War Izenborg as Aizenbo the giant cyborg creation built to combat the dinosaur monstrosities. Overall, we have two stellar actors taking centerstage in a fantastic series of performances.

Umenosuke Izumi enters the Gamera suit on the set of Gamera vs. Jiger.

So, now that we've taken a look at Toho, let's take a look at the few other kaiju films from that period. Over at Daiei, Teruo Aragaki had retired from Gamera which required a new performer in the role which happened to be Umenosuke Izumi. At first playing two different Ultraman monsters, Ragon and Magular, he then joined Daiei where he portrayed Gamera in Gamera vs. Guiron and Gamera vs. Jiger. Izumi worked on the staff of Tsuburaya Productions, contributing to their various monster shows in the late 1970's and maintaining the kaiju suits in the company's warehouse in the 1970's and 1980's. However, that's where we come to an end here as both the suit actors for Jiger and Zigra are unknown to me at the time of this writing. Should they be found, I'll mention them in a later post about these actors, but for now thanks for reading and we'll see you next time.

1408 (2007) by Mikael Håfström

Director: Mikael Håfström
Year: 2007
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural

Plot:
A writer of paranormal activities asks to spend the night in a famously-haunted hotel room hoping for another quick debunking of a tourist attraction only to find that it may be more dangerous to stay than previously imagined.

Review:

Overall, this one was pretty mediocre like most of King's efforts. As always, there's something here that works quite well, which here comes from the concept of transporting the scenario of a haunted house into a single hotel room, and those concepts are impressive and generate some fine suspense. A lot of this comes from the great and truly chilling scenes here including the ghostly hallucinations from the woman appearing to attack him in the window across the walkway or the old-time people crawling out the window of the room, although the majority of this one comes from the room interacting with him. These scenes here are where the film really gets good parts as the several different settings intent on trying to terrify him are just absolutely amazing with the utterly irrational behavior that would occur inside such a situation in real life taking place inside here form utilizing disappearing and reappearing objects throughout the room, unexplained reactions to loud radios, tuning into home videos on the TV or around the several different concepts that it plays around with keeping him there. That does lead into a few rather impressive action scenes along the way with his escape into the heating ducts encounter the body there, the later destruction of the postal office to reveal he's still in the room and the finale where he goes to destroy it once and for all where is a great scene here and makes this one quite enjoyable.

These's aren't really enough to hold this one off, though, as it just suffers from an over-abundance of clichés that offer up no real surprises here. These really tend to over-play the fact that there's no real amount of logic presented to any of the scenes here since they're so out-of-the-norm for what is supposed to happened in a hotel room to the constant series of mental tortures that keep occurring start to lose their impact due to the non-letup of the pace. It doesn't really build to anything or top the previous gag as it's more a series of scenes that are potentially creepy but just don't register anything that way as we wait for the next scene. As well, there's another problem as absolutely nothing is told of what's going on, as there's no explanation for why anything happens or even if there's anything in the room that haunts it or curses it, since there's nothing given here at all. The last flaw that really hurts this one is a huge heaping dose of melodrama that is unwanted, unneeded and just plain irritating to suffer through, and dragging these out far longer than they should which stand out far more than it's good points.

Overview: ***/5

While this genuinely has some enjoyable elements throughout here, there's still an equal amount of flaws to be had here which manages to stick out quite loudly here. Give it a chance if you're interested in this one or a fan of the work of the creative side while those that don't like the flaws should heed caution.

Trivia/Notes: