Neon Genesis Evangelion; Or, Your Head Asplode

Okay, so summer has been sort of boring thus far. Not that it's not insanely busy, but it's just that - tons of busy work. So when I get done with homework/solar car for the day, I study Japanese, and when my eyes can't take it anymore, I watch movies.

I've been making slow, steady progress through my "Films To See" list (send me suggestions, by the way, and go watch "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" if you haven't yet). But I've also been giving some new stuff a chance - stuff I never would have ever considered watching before.

I've never liked anime, for example. Mostly because all the anime I was exposed to early on was just American animation with huge, goofy eyes. (Evangelion has a bit of that, regrettably.)

But I'll admit to having a perverse love of Bleach, and a pure and beautiful love of the amazing (but sadly, short-lived) Cowboy Bebeop.

And based on those interests, I've come across a few recommendations for more. One of them was Neon Genesis Evangelion, and hearing it described as "warped" made me download the first two episodes to see for myself.

Wow.

The first episode starts with a young adolescent boy waiting by a pay phone with a picture of an attractive older gal. You sort of get the idea that it might be a hooker the kid's waiting for. Well, the lady picks him up, there's a car accident or bombing or something (I'm still not quite sure what all happened), and then she's taking him underground to some secret government lab. Where, incidentally, his estranged father is sort of in charge.

Whence, we find that this already awkward kid has a sort of boyish Electra complex, but before his psychological issues are addressed, he's guilted into getting into a giant robot suit because they threaten to make a battered and bloody girl do it if he won't. Once in the suit, he's drowned in some weird fluids and sent out to fight (read: get royaly pwned by) some freakishly strong being with creepy religious connotations.

Of course, the kid responds appropriately, by passing out, only to wake up alone in a hospital room with amnesia and some serious Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Cue episode two, where the lady from before decides that the kid probably shouldn't be staying alone and offers to take him home, promising some other "responsible" adult that she won't have an affair with the kid... even though, before the episode is over, she gets sodding drunk and somehow the kid ends up running naked into her kitchen in fear of a penguin in the bathroom.

So yeah. Bleach is an interesting concept. Cowboy Bebop has some interesting characters.

Neon Genesis Evangelion makes "interesting" seem like watching paint dry. A good approximation would be taking Andrew Wiggin from "Ender's Game," pouring a gallon of LSD-spiked absinthe down his throat, adopt him out to a brothel or frat house (or both), take him to a circus where he will take aim at cute girls with blue hair in the shooting gallery, give him the stuffed gorilla as a prize, let it eat him alive, and then send him off to have a little chat with Sigmund Freud, who happens to have had a good dose of the same and is inexplicably wearing a miniskirt.

Got it all pictured in your head? Good. Your mental state is about on the border of Neon Genesis Evangelion territory.

It's not for everyone. Honestly, I'm not even sure it's for me. I'm not recommending you watch it so much as ranting about how odd the world can be.

But if you're feeling open minded and a little bored this summer, give a little anime a try. I highly recommend Cowboy Bebop as a gateway anime (no pun intended for those who've already seen it). It has an amazing, original jazz soundtrack and not too many characters or plot lines to keep up with. And the character who shows up in episode 9 is one of the funniest ever.

If the 26 episodes of Bebop can't keep you satisfied all summer, check out Bleach. It's weird, yeah, but it's got one thing American film and TV is lacking these days: originality.

Anime not your cup of tea? Here are a few film suggestions:
-Equilibrium (I posted about it before... it really deserved more hype than it got)
-The Spirit (if you have a high tolerance for absurdity)
-Death at a Funeral (good, awkward, British fun)
-The Sandlot (the quintessential summer movie)

L4YER CAKE

Okay, this isn't exactly deep, but that's how the dice roll I guess.

It's a movie review. Unlike my "Equilibrium" post, which was more of a movie analysis.

L4YER CAKE. I checked it out from the library solely because I was bored and it starred Daniel Craig. As it happens, it was pretty darn decent. If you like a certain kind of movie.

That certain kind of movie is a moderate blend of amusing and disturbing crime misadventures. It was produced by the same folks who did "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," and even though the director is different, the flavor is much the same. A varied cast of criminal misfits with British accents.

L4YER CAKE (what an awkward title) is Guy Ritchie's hilarious crime sprees played (somewhat) straight. Which is necessary if you have Daniel Craig in the lead role, since he's more the dry wit (with a side of anger issues) than the usual posse. Be prepared to laugh some, especially when Craig's character says things like, "I f***ing hate guns. But, that one's rather pretty..." But also be prepared for Casino Royale-style shirtless escapades followed closely by pain and kidnapping, double-crossing, and violent outbursts. It gets a little dark and suspenseful toward the end, but it's kept random with a ninja stalking a fat guy in a speedo as he waters his garden in the middle of the night. And, be prepared for the gratuitous language present in "Snatch." If you've an aversion to the F-bomb, rent Wall-E instead.

To sum it up, if you just don't have the energy to follow the fast-paced antics of the Guy Ritchie classics, rent L4YER CAKE and prepare to watch an intriguing take on drugs, guns, and British accents unfurl with sharp, tongue-in-cheek style.

And then return it, and prepare to forget you ever saw it. It's not really one that'll stick with you afterwards, but it makes for an entertaining hour and change.