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Devil May Cry: The Animation – vol. 3, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, vol 1, Glass Fleet Vol. 6, Shuffle! vol 5. — anime dvd reviews

And, we’re back. I’ve finally had time to sit down and watch a few of the anime titles sent us, and you know what? There were actually some great shows this time around. Some shows I’ve reviewed previously only continued to derail, but the vast majority of the others surprised me with their quality. [...]

Featured Article

Paranoid Park — movie review — Screener!

Poor timing dealt from inopportune situations, that’s Paranoid Park’s premise. Highschooler/skateboarder (not necessarily in that order) Alex (sweet-faced, eternally Zoo York clad newcomer Gabe Nevins) went out to “see the freaks skate” at Paranoid Park (oh, you know it’s Burnside) one night in order to drown his own almost all-too-aloof adolescent angst (parents’ divorce, [...]

Must Sees

• Chef Mavro — restaurant review — Hawai’i

  In college, en route to work, I rode many times on The Bus past Chef Mavro, a cute little building with a continuous frosted wave of etched glass ebbing and flowing around its perimeter, hugging the “sandy” apricot-colored walls, a pleasant oasis amidst the low-rise tenements and eyesores of another era lining busy King Street [...]

• CSS — Donkey — music review

  Don’t you hate it when bands you like — and you like them partially because no one’s ever heard of them — are featured on TV commercials? CSS’ “Music is my Hot Hot Sex” serenaded some spinning iPod Touch, making me quite sad for a quite long twenty seconds, but then, who can stay [...]

• M.I.A. — Kala — music review

  M.I.A. You might have seen her in the Marc Jacobs ads. You might have heard her on the Vexille soundtrack or the Pineapple Express trailer. You might have heard her and thought she was Lady Sovereign getting funkified as I did when I first heard 20 Dollar last year, a mish-mash of [...]

• The Fall — movie review

  Director: Tarsem Singh Starring: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru Genre: Comedy, Curious, Fantasy I fell for The Fall. Hard. And it’s not just the voluptuous visuals, although Tarsem and Director of Photography Colin Watkinson supply one sumptuous scene after another, with upshots of a swimming elephant, an M.C. Escher staircase grid o’ closing enemies, swishing swirling clergymen [...]

• The Red Crane — restaurant review — California

  The Red Crane is a welcome surprise nestled amongst the usual Cupertino “brain booster” establishments and across from a Home Depot. Its humble facade opens up to tasteful asian-inspired modern minimalism with dim lighting and papercraft frame-sets on every wall, most likely from the local Japanese craft clubs. With its amiable and attentive [...]

• L’Osteria del Forno — restaurant review — California

  I have to preface this review by stating that the food at L’Osteria del Forno is incredible; the authenticity (as far as I know, I mean I’m no expert on Italy, but I know this ain’t Ragu), the fresher than fresh ingredients, the overall pristine presentation — basically what you look for in a restaurant [...]

• Bohachi Bushido Code of the Forgotten Eight — dvd review — Early!

  Director: Teruo Ishii Starring: Tetsuro Tanba, Yuriko Hishimi Genre: Japan, action, action Release Date: May 21, 2008 Now, I’m no stranger to Kazuo Koike or Teruo Ishii. I’ve seen the films (and in cases television series) based off of Koike’s Lone Wolf and Cub, Crying Freeman, Demon Spies, Lady Snowblood (even read the manga), and have seen a bit [...]

• Iron Man — movie review

  Iron Man was so good that I went into a Comic Book shop directly after our viewing just to find out more (and to appease my curiosity concerning the portended sequel). Already a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr (whom I have to say vintaged quite nicely and looks even better now than he did pre-prison), I didn't even need to see a trailer to predict this was a must-see. Robert Downey Jr and robotics? I'm there. [...]

• Saravana Bhavan — restaurant review — California

  If you think Amber India is good Indian food, then stop reading right now. If you’re one for a little adventure, try Saravana Bhavan. Piquant, pungent, vegetarian South Indian (Tamilnadu, I believe) cuisine that won’t break the bank (prices have been steadily increasing probably due to popularity, ~$5.85/main dish) revolves around various categories [...]

• Karaoke Room 2

  I could have sworn there was already a Karaoke Room 2 but by the McCully Times supermarket(?). Maybe that was Karaoke Room 1? I even asked the clerk about it and I’ve already forgotten the info. Erg, I have got to pay attention. It was awesome ‘cos you could get drinks [...]

• Zoo (2007) — movie review

  Director: Robinson Devor Starring: John Paulsen, Coyote, Russell Hodgkinson Genre: Documentary, Indie Okay, you’re going to think I’m a sicko, but when Chris told me there was a documentary made circumscribing events involving a richie being humped to death by a horse, I asked him to track the sucker down. Morbid curiosity I guess, but I didn’t [...]

• GocHi Japanese Fusion Tapas — restaurant review — California

  There’s something wild happening in Cupertino, the education-centric mecca for droll family life and ethnic fairs held in the duck-ruled pond/park because they don’t even have a Downtown to party in. Well, they’re all partying over at GocHi now. I’ve heard about the horrendous wait for a table there. I’m not stupid; I do [...]

• Gamba Karaoke

  We love this place so much that we wanted to keep it a secret. But we also love this place so much that we had to try to drum up some business for them. Go Gamba! Before we found this place, South Bay karaoke hunts were all about masking feeling uncomfortable while a Korean [...]

• Tanto — restaurant review — California

  I was pretty much jazzed about any plate of raw fish set in front of me until I moved to the Bay Area, where sushi is prevalent, but good sushi is rare (so you know if I, the human garbage disposal, am saying that, then there must be something amiss). Even some yummy stand-bys [...]

• Girl Boss Revenge (aka: Sukeban) dvd review

  Rather than continuing to debate over a catchy introduction, I’ll just jump right in. If you’re reading this article you’re probably familiar with Panik House’s release of Girl Boss Guerilla. If not, no need to worry. Unlike other sukeban series (ie: Delinquent Girl Boss), the films in the Girl Boss series are pretty much stand-alone [...]

• Tofoo Com Chay — restaurant review — California

  Tofoo Com Chay feels like family when Ben, the friendly upbeat shopowner with the photographic memory greets regulars by name every time without fail. One tiny counter lady seems to only know the english word “dear”, repeating it often. But the service is only one of the reasons why you’ll make frequent visits. [...]

• Whole — movie review

  In the age of express liposuck and lunch hour genitalia remodeling, what’s the big deal if someone wanted their leg removed? Is repeatedly shaving down your nose or shooting botulism into your brow any less crazy? Aren’t both cosmetic alterations developing from a societal urge to conform, an out-of-control fear of rejection? [...]

• Teeth — he-said, she-said — movie review

  I have a feeling that what I saw in Teeth was infinitely funnier, grosser, and better thought out and executed than anything in Sexual Parasite: Killer Pussy. In the vein of Frankenhooker, Heathers, and Donnie Darko, Teeth is a late-night crowd pleaser concerning a God-fearing girl cursed with a vagina-dentata (that’s a toothed vagina, for you non-Latin speakers). [...]

• Did your child eat battered cows?

  “Downer Cows”, or cattle much too weak to stand on their own, left to lay in their own (and fellow cows’) feces for hours, obviously have a higher risk of disease, obviously are in excruciating pain. Less obvious is how workers for Westland/Hallmark Meat Company continued to illegally and inhumanely kick, shock, and drag [...]

• Bomb It! — movie review — screener!

  Chris rolls his eyes at me but obligingly spins the car around, heading back towards something I whined about missing during our serendipitous in-motion drive-by photo-op. It’s a shell of a building seemingly built out of graffiti, layer upon layer of splayed and swirly signature scribbles or tags, but in this remote sketchy part [...]