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Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (Crunchyroll) 1994

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Many fans will argue that Group TAC's"Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie" is THE Street Fighter movie to watch; the prefect adaptation of the popular fighting game franchise. I tend to agree. This movie replicates the thrill of flashy fights, the intense adrenaline rush of playing the game, and just enough of a story to coherently (mostly) string us from one fight to the next.   From the get go we are treated to some of the most gorgeous animation of the 1990s. Detailed, fluid, and just bursting with energy. Character movements are so smooth and lifelike too with excellent fight choreography. Every punch from wind up to the hit to the follow through is thoroughly animated. Close ups and long shots are used appropriately to give a very dynamic viewing experience. Shadows and blacks are heavy lending to very nice gritty look and feel for the movie. And the painted backgrounds are works of art on their own. A true visual treat!  On the flip-side the Street Fighter games...
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Street Fighter: The Animated Series (Prime Video) 1995 - 1996

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Street Fighter was big in the 90s. The games, toys, and then the movie, love it or hate it, all helped propel the franchise to the forefront of pop culture discourse. So it was no surprise that a Saturday morning cartoon was made to capitalize on that property.   Street Fighter The Animated Series was…..interesting to say the least. It draws elements from both the Americanized lore of the early games, and the Jean Claud Van Damme/ Raul Julia movie, while leaning into the “good guy team vs bad guy team” premise that was popularised in the 80s by the likes of Transformers and G I Joe.  The series’ opening features a rock guitar rendition of the iconic game theme set to a narration that lays out its simple premise: Colonel William Guile (Michael Donovan) leads a team of elite fighters, each with their own special abilities, to combat the evil forces of Shadaloo led by M Bison (Richard Newman). If you know Saturday morning cartoons, you might already know how this goes.  It...
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Spider-Noir (Prime Video) 2026

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Nicholas Cage stars in this detective noir inspired take on the Spiderman mythos. Set in 1930s New York, the series follows middle aged private eye Ben Reilly as he gets caught up in a series of events involving the Mayor, the Crime Boss Silvermane, and superpowered victims of a war experiment. The same experiment that granted Ben the reflexes, senses and web spinning abilities of a spider.  The story mixes comicbooky elements with a captivating mystery plot while grounding it in the sensibilities of similar stories of the 1930s era. The tone of the show, the slang used, the atmosphere, all of it, great.   Spider-Noir actually debuted in a comic series but I am not able to comment on how accurate the show is to the comic. Instead, I can only comment on the the quality of the show itself and overall it pleases me. This is a solid series with memorable villains, a lovable supporting cast, and of course its eccentric lead.   Nic Cage owns the role of Ben Riley. Af...
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Melania (Prime Video) 2026

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I’ve watched my fair share of biopics and documentaries. Well made ones are engaging, focused, and coherently convey’s its story and message. Which brings me to MELANIA (2026), a documentary about the wife of tycoon Donald Trump and this term’s First Lady of the USA.  It follows Melania Knauss Trump as she leads the preparations for Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of USA. In between the preparation work, we are given anecdotal snippets of Melania’s upbringing in Slovenia, her early interest in fashion, and how it brought her to the USA and eventually to marrying Donald. Other narrations go into her personal motivations, the goals of her “Be Best” campaign, and what drives her.    The movie starts right out the gate as we follow a motorcade right out the gate or Mar A Lago resort. Immediately, the footage impressed me. These are impressive production values! Visually, with the camerawork and colour grading, it looks like a high end Hollywood movie. ...
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