MOVIES OF THE MONTH, NOVEMBER 2006

The Hustler Squad
This World-War-II-set sexploitation flick combines M*A*S*H and The Dirty Dozen in the story of an authority-bucking US officer and a tough Filipino partisan who train a diverse group of women to infiltrate a Japanese officer's secret pleasure island by posing as prostitutes.
Speed Grapher, Vol. 2
Basilisk, Vol. 2
Gunslinger Girl, Vol. 2
Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex (2nd Gig), Vol. 7
This is one series that maintained the same level of excellence from beginning to end. The way information from the early episode about the Major's childhood became important to the climax was very clever. Its complex view of the immigration issue has some intriguing similarities to Children of Men (see December reviews when I get to them). I'm looking forward to the GITS:Standalone Complex movie, Solid State Society.
Born Innocent
I can't believe they originally made this as a TV movie. It's actually more disturbing that most theatrical women-in-prison movies, probably because the actors actually seem to be the teenagers they are supposed to be.