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The story of Eminem, originally known as Marshal Mathers is a unique one at that. Coming from a world where he had nothing and with no support system is a crazy origin. Of course, the sad thing is his beginnings are very much like several others in today's world. Considered to be one of the artists that is well respected in the rapping community, Eminem rose from a place where the streets was where the business was and a career that had a short life span. Although several people found him to be crass and vulgar with his words, it was his only outlet to express his frustrations. Additionally, the individuals judging him for his actions were the ones who didn't have the context at the start. This film though should be able to shed the light on that.

Now while the film reflects Eminem's early life, it has been clarified that the movie was not intended to be a biopic. Not sure how just changing the names of certain characters and specific things done in the story changes the fact that it still speaks to Eminem's personal struggles though. Essentially the plot covers how the main character Jimmy "Rabbit" (Eminem in character and persona) is a down on his luck individual struggling and juggling many issues. His drug abusing mom (Kim Basinger) and her on-off drunk of a boyfriend Greg (Michael Shannon) are of no support to him. Jimmy can't keep a stable job nor can he keep himself out of trouble with the law. The only thing he knows he can do is rap and rhyme lyrics really well; he just doesn't have a platform to get himself out there.

Written by Scott Silver who would later pen The Fighter (2010) and Joker (2019), the story covers what most believe is an accurate retelling of Eminem's struggle and discovery of his true self. The thing is, if viewers or fans alike are looking for a movie that shows Eminem's rise to universal fame, that will not happen here. This may also be a misconception of the scope of Eminem's life will the movie cover. Directing this feature was Curtis Hanson, who prior to this directed L. A. Confidential (1997). Seeing the struggles of what Jimmy had to endure is difficult to watch. Audiences love a good underdog story and Eminem's history fits that journey. Either way, seeing what was needed to overcome is hard to watch because of how unsupportive society was to him.

What makes this as effective as possible is the acting from all cast members. Eminem as Jimmy, essentially embodying himself represents himself well. Kim Basinger as Jimmy's mother plays her part well in showing that he was all on his own despite that she was always around. There were also supporting characters like Future (Mekhi Phifer), Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones) and Sol George (Omar Miller). These three were basically the small glue that kept Jimmy on some kind of track, giving him hope to make it big. Phifer was in Honey (2003) and Dawn of the Dead (2004). Also, one person that Jimmy has to prove he can be someone is his rap opponent Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie, his first movie credit too). Lastly, there's Alex (Brittany Murphy) who Jimmy has an interest in but isn't sure how to get her attention naturally.

For cinematography, the operator behind the camera was Rodrigo Prieto. Having worked on Frida (2002), another biopic the same year seems only coincidental that he was credited here too. Prieto naturally captures the environment surrounding Jimmy and the depressing nature of the matter. Whether that be out in the open or in the secluded warehouses, the scenes demonstrate just how low Jimmy was in his life. Prieto also worked on Original Sin (2001) and would later work on Alexander (2004). Finally, the music to this feature was provided by Eminem himself. No score was composed but original songs were produced which also got Eminem one of his biggest awards. The songs definitely help give the audience Eminem's perspective on life at the time and the album is not hard to get ahold of.

If a viewer is expecting the movie to be a biopic or for it to cover the progression of the artist's rise to popularity, this movie will not show that. However, the premise focuses on the main character's realization of talent with solid music, camerawork and acting.

Fires exist everywhere in the world. In is inescapable. And of course to counter these hazards, humans created fire departments to respond. The interesting thing is, although fire departments are universal, each department does things slightly differently even within the same country. Being that much of Hollywood has depicted American fire departments, it is always unique to get a different perspective around the world. For Japan, the most recent manga and anime related to this topic is the fiction fantasy based Fire Force. This has some aspects that resemble these entities but not in a realistic way. Prior to this, a different manga and anime that came out went by this name. This although still fiction and of course made to entertain can be seen as much more realistic in what it depicts.

Written originally by Masahito Soda which this is likely his best known work, writes the story about Daigo Asahina (Wataru Takagi), a boy who was rescued one day in a fire by an unknown fireman. As he got older, he made it his mission to become a great fireman too, but with his own way of doing things. With this mentality though, Asahina-san will learn from his mistakes. The anime was adapted by Susumu Nishizawa and Akihiko Inari who had also worked on Cowboy Bebop. From the premise side, the story has the right idea. Like what could be said for other firemen around the world, sometimes it just takes one person to inspire a whole new generation of people to do the same. That is always a good way to start a story.

However, the execution of that story is where it loses its grip. While the idea behind the main character is a noble concept, the meat of the story seems to be lacking. Other than Asahina trying to be the best fire fighter he can be, there's not much else going on. There are two subplots going on. One regarding some of the actions Asahina has took in his career that causes some friction with his higher ups. The other is Asahina's relationship with an old teacher of his. Shizuka Ochiai (Kikuko Inoue) who seems to like she doesn't want Asahina being reckless in his work or to continue his firefighting career. This makes sense since there are real life situations where things like this can happen. However, the characters themselves are little bland. They just aren't the most charismatic or interesting to listen to.

The acting is good from the small cast that lends their voices. Wataru Takagi as Asahina is okay. One of his earliest roles was in The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor and one of his main roles he has played throughout the years is Genta Kojima from Detective Conan. Kikuko Inoue as Asahina's teacher does good too. She has held many roles in her time throughout all kinds of franchises. Even Unshô Ishizuka the narrator from Pokémon has a role here. It's interesting when you get to hear actors from more recurring roles in less prevalent ones. The cast itself is actually quite small considering this is a feature film. Being that this is a more realistic firefighting film, the scenes depicted look to be on the believable side. The animation is okay for this feature but not great.

Normally anime's from the 1990s or 2000s have a certain look to them that's very nostalgic. This film though doesn't quite seem to hit that area despite coming from this era. Unfortunately, the imdb page for this does not list the lead animator so finding who deserves credit is a little difficult. The music sounds decent for the production though. Composed by Shiro Hamaguchi, there's a march theme heard through the film which alludes to the whole paramilitary aspect of the fire industry. The music also helps give the main character a more heroic sound behind him too. Shiro Hamaguchi has composed other music as well, most notable for the One Piece anime. Lastly there was a Japanese exclusive album with 40 minutes of sound to hear. As far as what's available, it seems hard to find and hear.

While the music, acting and premise are solid, the story fizzles out pretty early, especially with the plot being light on characters and conflict. The animation is also rather underwhelming.

For low budget shlock movies, director Lloyd Kaufman was able to produce film that not only successfully hit that mark but also gained a following. While The Toxic Avenger (1984) was not his first venture, it was the one movie that put him on the map for viewers. The Toxic Avenger (1984) was astonishingly goofy and unrealistic but the story was a basic good over evil story with some charm in its effects. But like all franchises, it comes with what most would expect from its sequels. The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989) was disjointed in its direction and seriously lagged in its pacing. The only thing it still had going for it was its over the top violence. However similar to other first sequels, the second sequel was shot simultaneously to wrap up the whole trilogy.

With that said, the story picks up very much where the last film left off. Since the evil corporation Apocalypse Inc. Was not able to keep Toxie (John Altamura) in Japan like they had hoped, the chairman (Rick Collins) takes it upon his team to have the city of Tromaville turn on their once beloved hero. Other than his girlfriend Claire (Phoebe Legere), Toxie has to find a way to win back the hearts of the now upset locals. Directed again by Kaufman and Michael Herz and written by Kaufman and Gay Partington Terry, this second entry in continuing the super powered radioactive creature is still less than desirable. Much of this sequel feels like the creatives behind the feature wasn't sure what to do with Toxie anymore other than pad things out at excessive lengths.

The title is obviously a play on The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) but that's more or less the entire story. Toxie doesn't feel great after removing all the evil from his town as he no longer feels he has purpose. The acting was not great in the original but again it all added up to something in the end. Part II was a lot of the original with aspects that felt like were exaggerated further. This film only feels very much the same of Part II. All the characters except Toxie himself make some of the most ridiculous facial expressions and say really weird lines. All the actors that were in Part II are mostly here for this finishing entry as well. Rick Collins is probably the hammiest of them all.

Unfortunately, a lot of the over acting is slow in its delivery. This only makes each scene more and more boring to watch. The pacing is already bad but this makes it worse. When the finale of the film starts at basically the last third of the run time, it might not be the greatest of signs. There are action sequences throughout the film but again they feel very sluggish. The effects on the other hand are a decent aspect to the film. This was always an area of the franchise viewers tended to like. While by today's standards they're still probably seen as low quality or uninspired, compared to the entire movie, it is a highlight. There's a scene that involves a bus and even a character melting. These particular parts look the best.

The camerawork itself is hit and miss. James A. Lebovitz who worked on the previous two films in the franchise had okay shots in certain places and others not so much. There are times where his camera uses the wide angle lens or gets right under an actor's nose. Pretty sure most viewers don't need to see what's up their nose. Lastly what was probably the most surprising is that this feature received a score album. Why this one, who knows. Unlike the first which had no composer, the second which had Barry Guard, this entry had Christopher De Marco. Although the album barely passes thirty minutes, De Marco is able to create a theme for Toxie and uses it throughout his tracks which is respectable. Would've been nice if the other entries received this kind of treatment too.

This entry is about as entertaining as the Part II but for different reasons. The acting here is ratcheted up even further, the pacing is still slower than ever and the camerawork is annoying at times. The effects are still credible and music for once has something going for it. That doesn't make it a good sequel though.