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So the next victim of Hollywood's compulsion to remake Hollywood movies is Satoshi Kon's amazing film, "Paprika". You can read about it here. It seems that the super hero and graphic novel phase is waning, and the new popular bucket to dip into for ideas is anime. With Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, Akira, and more all getting the live-action treatment, it will be interesting to see how Western audiences respond to the influx of Hollywood anime adaptations.
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In light of the recent announcements swirling about Blu-Ray's defeat of HD-DVD, I decided to go out and buy my first Blu-Ray discs. i swung by Amoeba Music and picked up "Paprika" and "Tekkonkinkreet", since I figured that animation would really pop in HD. I made the plunge into hi-def viewing by inaugurating my PS3 with "Tekkonkinkreet".
As I sat absorbing this gritty tale of orphans taking on gangsters, I was amazed at how the cripsness and brilliance helped immerse me in the film. The film centers on two codependent children, Black and White, who challenge rival street urchins as well as the Yakuza in a territorial battle over "Treasure Town". The film deals heavily with the question of finding balance: in the development of city, in the control of the town, in the power of friendship, and within one's own psyche. The ethereal tone of the film highlights animation's power to forge fantastic worlds.
There is no better way to celebrate the imminent demise of HD-DVD and the end of the "Format Wars" than by enjoying some hi-def goodness. Will I repurchase my entire movie collection? No. Is having a single format better for consumers? Certainly. Is direct-download going to replace physical media? Eventually. Is there a better way to handle this migration as well as a more convenient model for content ownership in the digital age? That is a whole other blog post...
