Moon Over Tao

Rating:
Summary: This movie is entertaining throughout.
Review: I really liked this movie. I thought the battles dealing with the sorcerer guy were particularly entertaining. The movie was very well edited. However, some of the special effects were just plain weird. The monster is the typical Japanese rubber monster enhanced with CGI efects. Which I don't mind, but someone reading this review might.I gave this movie 5 stars as there was no part of this movie where I lost interest. I thought that the pacing was excellent. All of the actors did a superb job of acting. So, if you're looking for something quite different and fun to watch, I recommend checking out this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Beware Metorites Bearing Gifts
Review: Moon Over Tao is samurai science fiction. On a quest for the source of a magical sword Suikyo, a warrior monk, and Hayate, a samurai, meet Renge, a young girl. At night she sees lights in the sky and witnesses the landing of three alien women, all played by Yuko Moriyama. An evil stone (the Makaraga) has crashed on the Earth and fallen into the hands of Kakugyo, a dark priest. The Aleans seek to recover the stone but they are not in agreement about what to do with it and have a falling out.

In the meantime Suikyo, Hayate, and Renge seek a bandit hideout whre the swords came from. By a twist of fate, the swords were made from the meteoric metal that protected the Makaraga on its trip through space. Thus, everyone converges on Kakugyo as he works his plans for conquering Japan. Renge bears a secret weapon - the Tao - a gift from one of the alien women who died of her wounds in Renges arms.

There is quite a bit more to the story that is surprisingly rich for an action film. Amemiya spends a great deal of attention to making the setting a believable 16th century Japan, and then overlays a science fiction flavor, and does this without sounding a false note. Character development gets a surprising amount of attention. Of course there's plenty of sword fighting and flying parts. All of these compontents are carefully balanced.

Of the three major Kieta Amemiya films, Moon over Tao has become my favorite. Admittedly, It lacks the space opera silliness of Zeiram II, and the non-stop special effects of Kakaider. But on the plus side is the well crafted plot plot and believable acting. For those of us who like special effects, there's magical spellwork, alien costumes, and a superb monster. Amemiya demonstrates that, given the necessary resources, he can produce a superior product.

Rating:
Summary: Beware Metorites Bearing Gifts
Review: Moon Over Tao is samurai science fiction. On a quest for the source of a magical sword Suikyo, a warrior monk, and Hayate, a samurai, meet Renge, a young girl. At night she sees lights in the sky and witnesses the landing of three alien women, all played by Yuko Moriyama. An evil stone (the Makaraga) has crashed on the Earth and fallen into the hands of Kakugyo, a dark priest. The Aleans seek to recover the stone but they are not in agreement about what to do with it and have a falling out.

In the meantime Suikyo, Hayate, and Renge seek a bandit hideout whre the swords came from. By a twist of fate, the swords were made from the meteoric metal that protected the Makaraga on its trip through space. Thus, everyone converges on Kakugyo as he works his plans for conquering Japan. Renge bears a secret weapon - the Tao - a gift from one of the alien women who died of her wounds in Renges arms.

There is quite a bit more to the story that is surprisingly rich for an action film. Amemiya spends a great deal of attention to making the setting a believable 16th century Japan, and then overlays a science fiction flavor, and does this without sounding a false note. Character development gets a surprising amount of attention. Of course there's plenty of sword fighting and flying parts. All of these compontents are carefully balanced.

Of the three major Kieta Amemiya films, Moon over Tao has become my favorite. Admittedly, It lacks the space opera silliness of Zeiram II, and the non-stop special effects of Kakaider. But on the plus side is the well crafted plot plot and believable acting. For those of us who like special effects, there's magical spellwork, alien costumes, and a superb monster. Amemiya demonstrates that, given the necessary resources, he can produce a superior product.

Rating:
Summary: Sci Fi and Samurai!
Review: Moon Over Tao is yet another Sci Fi film by Ketia Amemiya staring Yuko Moriyama and it's a good one at that.

The film starts when a Shogun assigns the task of aquiring some extremely powerful swords to a samurai, Sir Hayate, and a wondering monk, Suikyo. The swords happen to be in the hands of a group of bandits run by Lord Kakugyo, who can also use magic. On their journey, they rescue a young girl named Renge, who happens to be an orphan living on her own in a forest. Prior to meeting the two men, Renge is given a device by an alien female, which is used to stop a creature called the Makaraga.

The three eventually make it to the bandits hideout where they battle the bandits, as well as the Makaraga. They also have a showdown with Lord Kakugyo. The three are aided by two different aliens played by Yuko Moriyama. In fact, there are three aliens in the film, all of whom are played by Yuko Moriyama. However, the aliens are in a dispute over the use of the Makraga as a weapon on their own world and are also in battle with one another. I'll let you find out the rest of the story when you see the film.

Moon Over Tao is excellent balance between a Samurai film, and a Sci Fi film. There are tradtional Samurai battles, as well as some B movie special effects which come across well. Ketia Amemiya creates an intersing world and adds some nice action scenes between both the humans, and the creature. Yuko Moriyama does a nice job of playing all three aliens. They are easily distinguished by threir hair styles. And the film is shot in a way that dos'nt make it confusing. The film also has a catchy soundtrack which is a cross between modern and traditonal Japanese music. (Unlike any soundtrack I've heard) To be fair I will say that the creature looks a little strange at times, due to some lower grade CGI effects, but not every film can be a Hollywood budgeted film. Once you get used to it, it's not a big deal.

Tokyo Shock is the release company on this film, and they have both Japanese and English dubbed language tracks on the disc. The English version is actually pretty good. But that is about the extent of the special features, except for some trailers of other films.

Overall I would say this is one of my favorite Japanese films, due to the freshness of the story and the creativity of the film. (A nice break from Hollywood releases) The film got a 4 only becuase the begining of the film was a tad bit slow.(a minor inconvienence though)

If you're into films outside the scope of Hollywood, Samurai films, or Sci Fi Films, give Moon Over Tao a try. It's worth a watch, and in my case, it was worth buying.

Rating:
Summary: Sci Fi and Samurai!
Review: Moon Over Tao is yet another Sci Fi film by Ketia Amemiya staring Yuko Moriyama and it's a good one at that.

The film starts when a Shogun assigns the task of aquiring some extremely powerful swords to a samurai, Sir Hayate, and a wondering monk, Suikyo. The swords happen to be in the hands of a group of bandits run by Lord Kakugyo, who can also use magic. On their journey, they rescue a young girl named Renge, who happens to be an orphan living on her own in a forest. Prior to meeting the two men, Renge is given a device by an alien female, which is used to stop a creature called the Makaraga.

The three eventually make it to the bandits hideout where they battle the bandits, as well as the Makaraga. They also have a showdown with Lord Kakugyo. The three are aided by two different aliens played by Yuko Moriyama. In fact, there are three aliens in the film, all of whom are played by Yuko Moriyama. However, the aliens are in a dispute over the use of the Makraga as a weapon on their own world and are also in battle with one another. I'll let you find out the rest of the story when you see the film.

Moon Over Tao is excellent balance between a Samurai film, and a Sci Fi film. There are tradtional Samurai battles, as well as some B movie special effects which come across well. Ketia Amemiya creates an intersing world and adds some nice action scenes between both the humans, and the creature. Yuko Moriyama does a nice job of playing all three aliens. They are easily distinguished by threir hair styles. And the film is shot in a way that dos'nt make it confusing. The film also has a catchy soundtrack which is a cross between modern and traditonal Japanese music. (Unlike any soundtrack I've heard) To be fair I will say that the creature looks a little strange at times, due to some lower grade CGI effects, but not every film can be a Hollywood budgeted film. Once you get used to it, it's not a big deal.

Tokyo Shock is the release company on this film, and they have both Japanese and English dubbed language tracks on the disc. The English version is actually pretty good. But that is about the extent of the special features, except for some trailers of other films.

Overall I would say this is one of my favorite Japanese films, due to the freshness of the story and the creativity of the film. (A nice break from Hollywood releases) The film got a 4 only becuase the begining of the film was a tad bit slow.(a minor inconvienence though)

If you're into films outside the scope of Hollywood, Samurai films, or Sci Fi Films, give Moon Over Tao a try. It's worth a watch, and in my case, it was worth buying.

Rating:
Summary: Asian has usual
Review: The movie is average at best, i guess i am gonna sell that one to, i rather check out Versus