Memories (1997)

Sorry, this movie sucks

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Enjoyable but somewhat dated animation from three of anime's leading early exponents. Magnetic Rose is an effective 'Bermuda Triangle' tale; and Stink Bomb neatly covers environmental disaster with a slightly comic tone, but Canon Fodder is the piece that, for me, looks and feels like something different. There are strong notes of Gilliam-esque styling and it left me feeling quite happy to watch another half hour exploring the grim, dystopian lives of the central characters - it feels like the first chapter, or perhaps prologue, of a feature length story of one cog battling against the authoritarian machine. Entertaining stuff for anime fans.

After seeing Akira it's natural to be curious of what Otomo's produced. This collection of short movies(all more than 20 minutes though) is a fun, action-packed and imaginative reminder why anime is among the best genres, and NOT restricted to kids(or in the case of these shorts, not really for kids at all).The last short of the three is called Cannon Fodder. It features a very cool style unlike normal anime, some neat "camera" tricks and illusions of 3D, and a heavy but playful mood. It's quirky and good but not great.The second short is called Stink Bomb, which is a crazy, fast-paced disaster/action story with a healthy dose of black humour. It's very well made, with insanely detailed tanks, helis, airplanes etc, and lots of explosions. The whole thing is funny and bizarre, and easily a classic.The first of the three shorts, which in my opinion should have been saved to last, is Magnetic Rose. Here the humour of the two others is gone, and we have a very gripping and serious story set in a sci-fi environment. This is more like Otomo's Akira stuff; epic but with great characters. Some scenes are gut-wrenchingly emotional and disturbing. All set to a classic opera score, it is chilling and eerie and grand-scale in a way Hollywood never seems to get right.If you like to watch the occasional anime, this is a very good choice. Don't know how easy it is to get a hold of, but it seems to be very popular at least in Japan.

I am a guy that rents Anime from my local video store and not much makes it through even though I live in a part of the Greater Torono Area that has a large Asian population. I find that the stuff that I find is either really good or really bad, and this film is some of the best I have seen. Each story has emotion, power, and overall, the power to be remembered years later. I think I saw this two or three years ago and I can still vividly remember the imagery and stories. My personal favourite story was Magnetic Rose because of its look into paranoia and the mind. I think it was also a wise choice to put Stink Bomb in the middle because it is the humorous one. And artistically, Cannon Fodder takes the cake. A great find for artistic types and anime-lovers alike. See this movie now!

This three piece omnibus benefits from superior art and idea, but may not appeal to those who like their anime psycho sexual and bloody. The three stories rely on character, plot and structure all buoyed up by brilliant visuals and a wicked and witty sense of humor... one has to wonder why this is not more readily available as it compares in strength and quality to Animatrix.