The Year My Voice Broke (1987)

“The Year My Voice Broke” is one of those unknown, quintessential diamond-in-the-rough films that can’t seem to find its way into the DVD market, but breaths Criterion throughout the entire viewing. The daring, honest, and descriptive story of a young boy, his love for this older girl, and the tribulations of growing up in a small town are merely scratching the surface to what this film has to offer. It speaks, and pays homage, to those classic films from the late 40s, early 50s by creating a town with character, mythology, and individuality. One could argue that the town in which this film takes place is our fourth character, behind Danny, Freya, and Trevor – but perhaps this enthusiast is getting ahead of himself. Watching this import on a used VHS, the picture was grainy, the player made noise, and the sound was utterly destructive – yet the heart of this film oozed from the screen. The power of the characters, the detail of our story, and the truth in director/screenwriter John Duigan’s words went from having meaning in a 1987 film (that was supposed to take place in 1962) to creating a story that didn’t feel dated or old watching it today, at the end of 2009. That is the legacy of “The Year My Voice Broke”, the raw emotion harassed in this film continues to be relevant today – perhaps even more. As Hollywood uses every CGI possible to recreate the same effect, all one needs to do is look back at films that used the old-fashioned method…great actors, a daring script, and a background that could knock your socks off.

To applaud this film, one would need to pat the back of a very young, a very talented, Noah Taylor. Taking on not just an awkward role, he needed to show his anger, his teenage frustration, as well as his headiness for brains instead of brawn. Noah Taylor, known to me as Technical Support in “Vanilla Sky”, succeeded gracefully and with the power of most of our top paid American stars. His ability to show us his unconditional love for Freya, his quizzical hatred for Trevor, as well as his sleuthing skills proved that this kid was ready for anything. His co-workers inhabiting each scene worked with his dynamic and equally pushed their talents. Freya, played by Loene Coleman, a newbie to the screen, was enchanting as the love interest. While she wasn’t quite the level of Mr. Taylor, her ability to carry her scenes worked. She was the classical bad-girl-next-door with secrets. Her chemistry with Taylor kept me glued to the screen. The same can be said for Trevor, played by Ben Mendelsohn, who’s diabolical, nearly irritating, laugh created a character all his own. As the wildcard, we never knew what he was going to do next, and both our characters and our audience were scared of that. To demonstrate the intensity of these actors, watch closely the scene in which they spend the night in the “haunted” house near the railroad tracks. Each one has a motive, each actor/character delivers their emotion, and with each line the scene gets more and more powerful. I wasn’t expecting this with children so young.

With these three dominate characters; one may ask what else would be needed for an independent film to succeed? One more, the town. As mentioned before, the town that these three (and many others) reside is reminiscent of our American “Bedford Falls”. There are residents that have been their all their lives and secrets many of them keep to protect their town. Throughout the film, our characters are continually building their moments via smaller lives within the town. We learn about Danny’s passion for the black arts, that Trevor knows the police firsthand, and that Freya’s unknown secret keeps the town at bay. Without the closeness of this town, “The Year My Voice Broke” wouldn’t have worked. If filmed in a bigger city, the intimate feeling of a protective yet destructive town would have floundered. The town drunk would have been less poignant, Danny’s dad’s role would have felt less personal, and the idea of home being safe would have felt less comforting. The town had to be a character in this film. Duigan knew it, developed it, and built it strongly into his film.

This was a character driven film. Without Noah Taylor, Loene Coleman, or Ben Mendelsohn, this film would have failed. It is hard to imagine anyone else being able to carry these characters, or that an American reality would pack as much of a punch. It was impressive to see Australia in 1962, a place we don’t explore in cinema enough over past centuries. Director Duigan, if I haven’t already drooled over him enough, understood this film, wrote a genuine story, and built a cinematic triumph. Alas, this film has been forgotten, but look closely at the cinematography, the lavish landscapes, the devotion of our characters, the above mentioned town – these all could not have been accomplished without a passionate eye. I applaud Duigan for his talent and ability to transform this 1980s film into a universally emotional and exciting moment of cinema.

VIDEO: For a VHS film, there was everything you wanted. Grainy video, choppy sound, and possible missed frames. As a movie, “The Year My Voice Broke” was outstanding. As a near perfect film, our director as well as our cast, worked diligently to provide everything an award winning film should. From elaborate long shots to detailed characters, this is a film to discover and watch no matter which format is ends up. VHS is not the death of this movie.

VISUAL: Duigan’s cinematography is great. He gives us these sweeping shots of Australia showing us the vastness of the time, but then brings it in close to allow our story to come home. His camera shots are perfect, giving us just enough – and isn’t afraid to bring contrasts to the screen. His dark shots are the right tone (despite VHS) of being able to see the action as well as providing that sense of uncertainty.

SOUND: Using 1960s Australia music as well as Western influx (i.e. movies shows and music heard), he makes this more than just an AU film, but garnishing universal appeal. I didn’t feel like I was in this little town, but instead building upon my own past memories and experiences. That is a difficult thing to do with a VHS made in the 80s.

EXTRAS: The only failing part of this film. With any VHS, there is nothing. There were a couple of previews before hand for action films, not quite understanding how these fit with the rest of the film, but didn’t matter. It was bare-boned, thus my hastiness to say that “Criterion” may benefit by having this film in their collection.

Overall, I have said enough. I loved this movie. It was detailed, emotional, and beautiful. Everyone, from director to actors performed superbly. It was a rough couple of prior films, but “The Year My Voice Broke” provided that classic niche. It felt fresh and new, despite the age. I recommend this to everyone. Buy a VHS player and get a copy of this movie, you will not be disappointed.

Found in my "Videohound's Video Premieres" book, this was a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. I look forward to watching it again, when I am not surrounded by horrid cinema. It was fresh and exciting, thus getting a green highlight with blue stars. I will watch this again, and boy, could I suggest it to friends. Amazing!

Young Lady Chatterley (1977)

The world of cinema does come in threes. For the past two weeks, films have come through my viewing palettes that have befouled my overall excitement for cinema. In a standard rut, one hopes that these final two films will prove otherwise, but keeping my fingers crossed will not be helpful. From nurses in love and an Americanized Harvey Keitel, nothing could have prepared me for the upcoming triumph known as “Young Lady Chatterley”. Tagged as the first “X-rated movie to touch you where it counts … your heart”, one pleads with the DVD box to please allow some semblance of a story to push through the “romps” on the grass, but alas, my voice went unheard. This entry into the world of D.H. Lawrence’s classic story proves that the naughty bits do make a film, and the late 70s were not afraid to experiment. With lush backgrounds, deepened British accents, and the downtrodden theme of finding an unbridled love free of boredom, “Young Lady Chatterley” attempts to mask the honesty that it is a softcore erotica film. It attempts to say that with these other elements thrown into the mix, we are not just your normal late-night darkened viewing, but instead something of some class and/or cult standing. As a reviewer of this film, one must look at both elements to examine if this film accomplished what it set out to do. How was production value? Was there a determined story? How were our characters? Because it is softcore erotica, should it not be placed within these same rules? While others will argue “no”, “Young Lady Chatterley” is a film, and how does it rank among other films of this nature? Not to disappoint, but poorly.


Classical England would ask, "Doth a scenery make strong erotica?" While it seems the general reviewer of this film would agree, I had trouble seeing the production value or lush scenery in "Young Lady Chatterley". There wasn't anything that stood out, minimal sweeping wide shots, over-lighting throughout, and that soft camera filter that made the 70s what they are today were staples within this film. If anything, they were overused to the point of obscuring the actor's work. Leaning further towards the notion of softcore cinema than actual plot-induced cinema, we can look at our actors, to see what their production value was within this 1977 classic. Harlee McBride, our lead and lady-in-waiting, begins bored, with both life and obviously this role, but as soon as she steps on our twice-removed-once-loved-Chatterley estate, the love and life begin to pour out of her - literally! With everyone imaginable, she shares herself and takes into form an unrecognizable character. Was she married to Phillip? Was she just engaged? How did it go from Phillip to every person at the estate? The transition, like her character, just didn't fit. She lacked that sexual manipulation that was needed to make this film into something more than just the overabundance of love. There was no change in her or her character, we were handed nothing to begin with - and just expected to believe everything that occurred. Poor direction by Alan Roberts lead to disinterested characters. Not only with Harlee McBride, but also with everyone else. The burly young gardener, the maids, the obviously oblique servants, everyone invited to the finale cake party - just seemed disjointed from the rest of the film.

With no strong characters, a plot that left nothing to the imagination or hope, there really was nothing left of "Young Lady Chatterley". In fact, I am rather surprised that the Lawrence estate allowed the name to be used for this film. What did stand out, as the only creativity within a mile, was the surrounding story of the first Lady Chatterley and her first run in with the gardener. The character depth, the excitement of young love, and the passion that could not be surprisingly were all there for these brief sub-scenes. The connection between the original lovers vs. that of the new "Young" version, was surprisingly different. The first had purpose and meaning, while the other was just softcore dribble. The conversations between the first Lady Chatterley and the gardener seemed responsive and open for discussion, giving at least one purpose to this film - while the rest, well, was utterly disappointing.

VIDEO: The release of this DVD was not surprisingly sub-par compared to any newer restorations, other films (cult or otherwise) from the 70s get better treatment than this. From the use of softcore to destroy a classic tale, this Alan Roberts film failed on nearly every level.

VISUAL: Again, the 70s used quite a bit of techniques that continues to make this film feel like a 70s film. The ending was horribly filmed, and the use of a couple of special effects (of which I mean the rain shower), was laughable.

SOUND: Coincidentally, everything matched. The sound went par with the visuals, creating an ambiance of 70s that will never pull "Young Lady Chatterley" into anything but a late night film view.

EXTRAS: Surprisingly, they didn't skimp here. The a-typical cast biographies that work as a page view, the jump to a scene, the posters of this film, and the other films available via Monterey Video are just packed in enough to perhaps call this a "collectors" edition, but would rather not. Again, a plethora of extras with nowhere to go.

Overall, another milestone has been hit. The third bad film in a row provides me with an opportunity to watch my first adult classic, but let's me down entirely. The sub-stories was creative, but the rest of the film was meant for one sole purpose. "Young Lady Chatterley" may have been pioneering for the time, but over the decades, it has just been forgotten and replaced. There is a way to create a story like this and actually be artistic, but it was ignored in this film. This wasn't a cult classic, it was just cinematic garbage. The story didn't work, our characters were merely naked, and no development to anything was created. While others boast the lush scenery as being a positive mark on this film, it just wasted time. The soft-lens treatment of this film blurred away anything interesting from this film, and delivering another cinematic flop.

Found again in my "Videohound's Video Premiere's" book, this was strike number three for me. Next up, the sequel to this already horrid film, can I do it? Should I do it? Would anyone know if I cheated? Hrumpf, what to do... none the less, this is already getting a yellow highlight with black mark. I could not suggest it to friends nor would I watch it again. It was a big cinematic failure from the beginning. Oh well, sequel, here I come...

Young Nurses in Love (1986)

In the attempt to watch every movie ever made there will always be those speed bumps. During the attempt, they could arrive in any shape, genre, or format of film. One must always keep a strong eye out for those that may cause a snag, or a possible distrust in cinema, but you can’t catch them all. Occasionally, these films will fly well below the radar and deep within your homes. They may create a souring taste for cinema, but continue forward … remember, there is always a light at the end of the theater. Twice, in nearly a week, different films have been viewed, randomly, which caused a slight disgust. The first was the previously reviewed, utterly chaotic “The Young Americans” with Harvey Keitel – now, three days later, it is the low-budget direct to VHS cinematic exploit, “Young Nurses in Love”. A combination of “Grey’s Anatomy” (sans the medicine and overplayed music) and about a baker’s dozen shots of espresso, “YNiL” begins with the gumption of any 80s sex-romp, full of Cold War innuendo and half-dressed nurses, all the while never slowing down, never asking for forgiveness, and never requiring any part of the mind. It a film that is unknowingly intense due to the amount of jokes, characters, and frivolous story attempted to be packed into a mere 90-ish minutes. It is also a film that is excessively frugal with its budget, allowing our nurses’ humor to fall flat, be overwhelmingly repetitive, and never quite reaching the level of comic gold. With independent features like this, a viewer could be guaranteed one crass joke or impressive scene of genius, with “YNiL”, it never approached the thought. Sure, it was crass, it was vigorous, it was completely out there – but it was a parody, and it was in that idea that this entire film faltered.

“Young Nurses in Love” felt like a knock-off Troma film, without the Lloyd Kaufman touch. It had a raunchy plot; steal the livelihood of famous dead people so that the Russians can overtake the US of A. Agents from both sides are placed in a hospital where the nurses care more about the wealth of the doctor than the actual practice of medicine and the doctors are riddled with clichés from being drunk to providing false diagnosis. The remainder of the plot falls quickly into place, a storyline that we have seen over a dozen times in multiple films, the two agents *gasp* fall for each other. Introduce to the plot very angry and unsatisfied side-characters, and you basically have the entire film “YNiL”. As mentioned before, the immediate script is quite simple and could have provided a laugh or two, but due to the hyper nature of our characters and the inability for anyone in our cast to deliver a joke, it just fell short. This wasn’t a film with high expectations, but there was a hope for at least one gold nugget or two of genuine comedy, alas – it was never found. The two main characters, Alan Fisler and Jeanne Marie are horrible as our love-interest slash spies. They are so focused on making sure they deliver the correct lines that no development is ever produced, no chemistry is even studied, these two actors flop around like fish out of water and we are to consider this a soap-opera medical parody? Add into this mix another cliché take on the mafia and the introduction of Twin Falls, played by the infamous adult-film star Annie Sprinkles. These are all elements that could have worked, making this a cult classic – it had all the robotics to do so – but director Chuck Vincent couldn’t pull it together. “Young Nurses in Love” is embarrassing, not only to watch, but for those involved in the creation of this film.

Let’s recap. Our story was simple, yet horribly developed. Our characters were amateurs, caring nothing for development only delivery of lines and the fast paced nature of the film corrupted both of these already failing elements. Our music, perhaps the only excitement of this film, was quintessentially 1980s. With bands like Zen for Primates, Buzzard Luck, and Tiger Lily every moment was successfully synthesized, perfectly harmonized, and ironically upbeat. It kept my toes tapping and my nostalgic feel for a decade lost to rock and or roll. Yet, outside of the sound, this film failed. If it were a Troma film, perhaps Lloyd would have pushed it to the next level, but Vincent kept adding, and adding, and adding without any hope of development. I had strong hopes for this film, but none of them came true.

VIDEO: This was a VHS film that has never seen the DVD light of day – and I am glad it will not. I had some hopes for this film, wanting a good laugh and genuine creativity, but nothing arrived. The acting was atrocious and the direction was handled by a film school drop out.

VISUALS: It was a VHS, the graininess and sudden sound relapse was needed for an accurate viewing.

SOUND: My favorite part of this film, this film was made in the 80s and it will remain in the 80s. The music was one of the only elements of this downtrodden feature that kept my attention and toes a-tappin’.

EXTRAS: For this VHS, there was nothing. No previews. No afterwards. Nothing.

Overall, as if you couldn’t already tell, “Young Nurses in Love” provided only the slightest form of entertainment – and that was merely in the sound. Everything surrounding this film was low-budget, which isn’t bad if handled better, but the intensity of the script, the lack of development with the characters, and the painful stretch to try to make this into a feature length film just fell short. Chuck Vincent, our director, should have created a strong cultish film with these elements, but he couldn’t put the puzzle pieces together. If another production company had handled this, I think we may have had a winner – but instead we had a movie stuck in VHS-land forever. “Young Nurses in Love” also boasts an R-rating, which by 2009 standards, would have been a soft PG-13. There was nothing positive surrounding this film, and it will ultimately disappoint.

Found in my "Videohound Video Premiere" book, one can see why this film never saw the light of day. VHS is the perfect venue for this film, creating an atmosphere of essentially 80s. Only if very drunk, would this film be shown to friends. It was difficult to watch, and would difficult to endure again. That is why it is getting a yellow highlight with black mark - never to be watched again. Sorry Nurses, you could have done better.

The Young Americans (1993)

Films, no matter low-budget, high-budget, no-budget need to have one essential element to ensure that the time dedicated to the characters, emotions, and themes is not futile. That, singular strong moment, has to be story. Whether it is a horror film, a sci-fi film, or even a Bergman avant-garde film, there needs to be at least a small strain of story carrying the viewer from point A to point B, if that is missing – the entire structure of the film will collapse. Characters you can ignore, emotion can be faked, and the themes can be murky, but without that central story – your film will ultimately be found in the dollar bin at the nearest retail chop shop. Despite Harvey Keitel, Viggo Mortensen, Thandie Newton, and a slew of British accents – that is why “The Young Americans” failed. Absolutely it was a dark crime noir, a family retribution, and a love story, but the story in “The Young Americans” was so weak, that getting to the different point, the different scenes, felt rushed, unfamiliar, and murky. This jumbled, muddled mess of a film boasts cheapness from every angle, but due to the missing story – “The Young Americans” fails to be anything more than a random Harvey Keitel stumble at the store, or a cheap recommendation because you rented “Reservoir Dogs”.

With the sound of raves in the background, the viewer is pulled right into the youth of Britain circa mid-90s. Dance parties, gangs, and late nights plague the screen as groups of genuine unknowns get killed in the night. This should have been an indication of what the remainder of the film would be like, but I trudged onward – and definitely not upward. After the brutal killings, we are swooped into the world of Harvey Keitel, or anti-antagonist (seemingly blending together every cop cliché/genre) John Harris. Brought in to help with a murder, we soon learn that there is a secondary motive in play – something that has to do with a very young, an extremely overacted, Viggo Mortensen. As we jump from one frame to another, one initial drawback are the dark, character building scenes … literally, there is the concept of symbolic lighting to set the tone … but director Danny Cannon used so much darkness some scenes are blank on the screen. Missing more than a fourth of the film, we are forced to follow an unknown path between Keitel, Mortensen, love-interest Thandie Newton, and relative newbie Craig Kelly. It is his story that transfers the power from Keitel, but is equally as unappetizing. After the death of a family member, Kelly’s Christian decides to turn against the crew that did it, becoming a powerful tool for Keitel, but the whos, whats, wheres, whens, and whys are never answered – still giving us nothing but quick scenes, literally teleporting us from point A to point B, without reason or consequence.

As mentioned, the story is the ultimate failure of the film. There were actions made by our characters that did not seem to fit within the realm that Danny Cannon had created, but he continued to push through. Nothing was answered, situations were randomly created, and why was Viggo Mortensen’s character so underdeveloped, yet so vital to the story? Who knows. That question became the downtrodden central theme to this film, and a reason why “The Young Americans” will never see success. With our story a clustered mess, how did the rest fair beneath the control of Cannon? Not surprisingly, the British were believable and grounded. The minor characters, perhaps outside of Craig Kelly, felt like real police and the setting (due to extensive British TV watching) felt like Britain 1993, but the influx of the American presence just ruined the rest. Keitel could have been Steven Seagul or JCVD, he was not cunning, nothing brilliant, just an American cop-dislocated and fighting against the shadow of a drug dealer. The entire subplot with his ex-wife was nothing short of embarrassing. Used to build his character, it just felt more like a cheap trick instead of honest emotion. The same can be said with Viggo Mortensen, who with choppy editing by Danny Cannon, never quite developed past the notion of “creepy guy”. With a voice that sounded like a Lynch character, an unknown occupation, and a purpose to be in Britain (let’s not forget his peculiarity towards young men), Mortensen felt more like a placemat than a villain. On the other side of this film, Newton read her lines well, and Craig Kelly attempted to work around Cannon and David Hilton’s catastrophe of a script. It was obvious the actors were found, the script was heavily edited, and the final product was a rushed pile of poorly constructed LEGOs. One flick of your finger, it will all go crumbling down.

VIDEO: This is not a masterful piece of cinema. Don't expect it going in, I didn't - but it still turned out to be a jumbled mess. Nothing worked in this film, providing you with nearly two hours of inconsistent babble not worthy of the DVD it is printed on.

VISUALS: Hello darkness, my good friend. Be prepared for very dark scenes in which nothing is seen. It is an already darkened film with the themes and story, but to have ill-lighting just adds to the overall cheap nature of this film.

SOUND: Not bad, some decent music and a good score. The characters do not mumble, the English accents were understandable. This was a department where Danny Cannon didn't seem to miscalculate the finances.

EXTRAS: Nothing. This DVD is bare bones. With the option of jumping to a scene, it is as if this DVD was made to be a cheap option for those looking for more gritty Harvey Keitel.

Overall, in case it hasn’t been noticed, this was an abomination of a film. From the darkly lit scenes (you have to watch to believe how dark this film was), to the atrocious acting, to the story that went nowhere but somehow ended up at the final credits, “The Young Americans” was a direct to video release for a reason. Shot in 38 days, this film felt rushed and incomplete. Mortensen’s character is the one I struggle with the most, as the ending leads us to believe that this was supposed to be a different film than the one we began or watched. There were too many wild-cards (see Jack Doyle) that muddled the main story. It is a murky mess that is easily forgotten and should be avoided. Danny Cannon may have given us “CSI” and “Judge Dredd”, but this is an incompetent film that will appeal to nobody and fails miserably.

Found in my "Videohound's Video Premieres" book - this was my first "Y" in a stream of not-so-family-friendly films. I am still excited to see where this is going to take me despite this minor speed bump. Not a pleasant film night, and thus I will be awarding this film a yellow highlight with black line. Not to be recommended nor ever watched again. Such a disappointment.

Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (1982)

36 Episodes

It has been a long time since an updated review. Here is why. The name of the series, "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross", the year 1982, the unwilling participant - me. Randomly drawn one evening, and eventually finding a copy of this difficult to find complete original series, I first ventured into the first episode nearly a month ago. With nothing under my belt, no knowledge, limited anime experience, I began. It was traumatic, it was intense, it was hated - but eventually, I can successfully say to strangers on the street, I have completed the entire 36-episode original run of "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross". As they run, fear in their eyes, at least I know that this sense of completion is over. Onto more cinema, perhaps more anime, but will my life ever be the same again?

For those unfamiliar with this series, you are not going to get a recap here. The length of this review, and my dedication to the cause will not allow it - but I will leave you with these not-so-random words. Songs. Love Triangle. Roy Focker. Protoculture. Cousin love. Robotech. Death. Rebuilding. Destruction. That get's most of the groundwork out of the way, now a more formal review. "Macross" (to keep it short) is a series well before its time. Despite the ups and downs of the series, the overall sentiment is defining and will continue to propel this series into further cult status. As a non-anime watcher, I was enthralled with the power of the story. The darkened themes, the obvious symbolism to modern culture, and our characters pushed me through each episode. It was emotional and intense as the battle for survival and culture of humanity came into each finely drawn frame. It was visually beautiful, the music was grandiose, and again, the characters did keep your attention - but - "Macross" is not for everyone. I would love to recommend this series to everyone, but the dry, tedious nature of some of the episodes just forbids me to be excited about repeat viewings. Again, "Macross" was, now that it is finally over, a powerful series that will always remain a staple in future anime viewings, but to view this again - one just couldn't enjoy Minmay's annoying attitude, Ichijo's inability to make a decision, and the lemming-ish way this series was filmed. "Macross" transformed 36-episodes into a defined "love-hate" relationship.

After defining what was enjoyed by this series, one needs to prepare themselves for what just doesn't work. We have all driven home after a tough day at work, blaring our favorite song, and allowing the rough edges to fade away - and in "Macross" that idea is developed through Minmay's voice. Alas, it is beaten over our heads, submerged in water endlessly, and flashed into our eyes again and again and again. Confused. Don't worry, just watch "Macross" and you will understand. I will be the first to say, that I hated Lynn Minmay. She was annoying, childish, and forced our favorite characters into situations that were just in place for drama. Don't hate me if I kept hoping for her to be finished off early in the series. The passion between Ichijo and another character was far superior, and more interesting to watch. Minmay's possible love interest with another family member only heightened this hatred. This was followed by the daily destruction of the cities within the Macross and further within the story. It seemed as if every day attacks would ravish the built city, and with an endless supply of resources suddenly they could easily rebuild? It was like watching "Fraggle Rock". Death of citizens and other soldiers that were outside of the story, again, seemed to be in no-short supply. These seemed like larger elements that should have been developed, or at least understood, despite the series released in 1982. For some scenes, it just felt like cheap animation. Finally, in the version that I watched, the ending credits which were done in Ichijo's photo album in live action - it just felt again, further cheapened and not well fit within the series. These are just three obvious issues with this series, while there were smaller problems (the length of 36-episodes felt extremely too long - and lack of character development), these stood out.

Overall, "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross" isn't perfect. I can see the value in the overall story, the power of the symbolism and idea of culture, but there were small issues within the episodes that I couldn't handle. Minmay was the downfall of this series to me. She was annoying and misleading - not the power character everyone has quoted her to be. Yet, despite the negative elements that rage through my mind, there were scenes, episodes, and moments that I just loved. The ending was as big as any summer-blockbuster and remains in my mind as I write my review. The progression of the story was fabulous as well. To see one small ship's discovery on Earth to the eventual decline of everything was impressive. I loved this series for that - and perhaps the slight religious undertones - but (now that I am thinking about it - maybe it is a good thing) there were just parts I hated. I would, against my will, suggest this to die-hard fans of anime. This shows the birth of something big, but just poorly executed. I think I am going to go as Global this year for Halloween - but "Macross" is a chapter in my life I do not want to repeat. Good, just not great.

Found in my "The Anime Movie Guide" by Helen McCarthy, I was impressed to watch this series, and I WILL watch the OAV's that followed, but I would be rather picky on whom I suggested this to. I would like to see the "Robotech" series to see how closely it followed, but outside of that - I am done. I don't think I could watch this series again - so in this book, it is getting a pink mark. Average, but nothing near another viewing.