Review: Hansel and Gretel - Witch Hunters (2013)

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) is an action-adventure fantasy film based on the classic Germany fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, by the Brothers Grimm. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as the brother-and-sister duo of professional witch hunters and Famke Janssen as the deadly leader of a coven of evil witches who set out to gain immense power and immunity to fire.

One fateful night, young Hansel and Gretel are abandoned by their parents in a deep forest. As they walk around the forest, they discover and enter an enchanted gingerbread house. They are quickly nabbed by an old evil witch who resides in it. She forces Hansel to continuously eat candy and makes Gretel prepare the oven. Before she has a chance to eat them, the siblings outsmart her and throw her into a fiery oven. They become instant heroes in the nearby town for killing the evil witch.

After the incident, Hansel and Gretel become bounty hunters who exterminate evil witches. Their work is relatively easy because they are immune to harmful witch spells and curses. Many years later, Hansel and Gretel prevent Sheriff Berringer from executing Mina, a young woman falsely accused of witchcraft, in the German town of Augsburg. Mayor Englemann has hired the siblings to investigate the disappearance of 11 children abducted by evil witches. In this particular case, the past meets the present. In other words, the siblings must hunt the most powerful grand witch they have ever encountered and stumble upon lost secrets that may reveal the truth about their parents’ deaths.

(Warning: this section contains spoilers) I really enjoyed this action film. It was a darker twist to this classic children's fairy tale. The adult versions of Hansel and Gretel became badass witch hunters who exterminate evil witches. With their witch-blood ancestry, they have immunity to spells and curses. It is a short film at 128 minutes, but the producers did a great job visually narrating their background story so that audiences can follow their trajectory as hunters in medieval Germany. The sibling duo gain a few friends along their journey, and who knows what awaits them as they unlock the secrets to their ancestry. If you have never read the original story-line, I highly recommend that you do in order to understand the plot. Overall, I highly recommend the film and hope that there will be a sequel in a few years!

Review: Death Masks (The Dresden Files #5)

Harry Dresden -- Wizard: Lost items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Death Masks, by Jim Butcher, is the fifth novel in the Dresden Files series. Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professionally-trained wizard, finds himself in a deep bind. It is the middle of winter, and he desperately needs money. The producer of the Larry Fowler Show is paying double Dresden's usual fee to appear live on the show. Strangely, the other guests on the show also want to meet Dresden. Mortimer Lindquist, a local psychic spiritualist, tells Harry that his former lover Susan is alive and lives in Latin America. Father Vincent, a Vatican priest, wants to hire Dresden to recover the stolen Shroud of Turin. São Paulo University professor Ortega, a Red Vampire Duke, wants to kill him to end the war between the White Council and the Red Court. Sometimes, Dresden just can't seem to catch a break among the madness in the Windy City.

Susan Rodriguez, who is still struggling with her semi-vampire powers, contacts Dresden. However, Murphy reports a headless corpse with plague-like symptoms that Dresden must see at the morgue. Before he can investigate, he is attacked by a Denarian, a fallen angel-turned-monster attached to a mortal host. Michael Carpenter and two other Knights of the Cross, Shiro and Sanya, rescue Dresden and ask him to drop his case. Instead, Dresden consults an oracle spirit: according to the prophecy, if Dresden is involved, he will die. If Dresden is not involved, all the Knights will die, as will everyone in the city of Chicago. With little to lose, Dresden faces the biggest test in his life. The question remains can he survive to tell it.

Death Masks was a riveting action story that almost gave me goosebumps. I wasn't sure if Dresden would make it alive in one piece in this case. He was marked for death by both vampires and ancient fallen angels. It took faith and courage for him to survive another day. Jim Butcher has used more darker imagery in his plots to highlight the dangers that await for Dresden. At the same time, I definitely look forward to more adventures and the secrets behind Dresden's past. Can he find a cure for Susan and defeat the Red Court vampires? Can he develop more self-confidence in his abilities as a professional wizard? More of all, can he protect his friends and loved ones now that a new evil has arrived in town? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for the next novel in the Dresden Files series, Blood Rites

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Review: Ghost Hunt (2006-2007)

Ghost Hunt (2006-2007) is a Japanese supernatural anime based in contemporary Japan. It contains 25 episodes.

Mai Taniyama, a freshman high school student, and her friends like to tell ghost stories. Mai's life will change forever when she meets 17-year-old Kazuya Shibuya, a young man sent by Shibuya Psychic Research Center (SPR) to investigate paranormal activity at her supposedly haunted school. When Mai gets caught in a dangerous situation, she is rescued by Kazuya's assistant, Lin. When the assistant becomes incapacitated, Kazuya hires Mai to become his assistant as payment for the damaged cameras and injuring his assistant.

 Ghost Hunt follows the ghost hunting adventures of Mai Taniyama and her young manager, Kazuya Shibuya. Mai nicknames Kazuya Shibuya "Naru" because of his cynical and narcissistic attitude. Eventually, the nickname is adopted by all those who volunteer to work with SPR: a Buddhist monk, Houshou Takigawa; a shrine maiden, Ayako Matsuzaki; a famous psychic, Masako Hara; and a Catholic priest, John Brown.

 Over the course of the series, Ghost Hunt focuses on the paranormal abilities of the characters, particularly Mai's "latent psychic abilities." She can sense and dream about flashbacks and clues relevant to their cases. In her dreams, someone whom she assumes to be Naru acts as a spirit guide. Additionally, the other members of the SPR teach her some useful defensive and offensive spell techniques. Finally, she develops feelings for Naru as well as the other 'Naru' who appears in her dreams. In the end, the group members learn a powerful secret about Naru.  

Ghost Hunt was a fun paranormal anime show to watch. I am generally not particularly amazed by contemporary ghost stories, but the plot and character development was excellent. A case usually lasted 3-4 episodes. The characters, especially Mai and Kazuya, grew on you over time. The spirits found in each the case were different, so the suspense was unpredictable (a good plot device!). The members of SPR learned how to work together as a team using their strengths. Kazuya has a surprising action scene in the last episode, so I won't spoil the ending. Unfortunately, the anime feels incomplete because the story continues in the manga. If you want to know about Mai and Kazyua's relationship, check out the manga edition. Overall, I highly recommend this anime. 

It is available to rent and buy on DVD.

Opening Song: "Main Theme" by Toshio Masuda