Topic: Movie thread.

Watching the Generation Kill series.
1 episode to go.

Planning to watch:

• Rescue Dawn
• End of Evangelion
• True Grit
• Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
• We need to talk about Kevin

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Blu-Ray) -80's movie that follows the happenings of various high school students throughout a year.

The characters' exploits in love & sex, mall culture, the workforce & more are explored & it's pretty interesting seeing how youth culture was seen at the time. While it mostly strikes a more lighthearted situational comedy tone (the exchanges between stoner student Spicoli & rigid teacher Mr Hand never fail to raise a chuckle), it can delve into some heavier material (such as an abortion subplot, which was probably pretty heavy for the time), making it a pretty well rounded watch.

Midway (Theatre) - Film retelling the events of the Battle of Midway during WWII.

It isn't a heavy or sombre war story in any way. Largely focusing on a group of airmen (though it does feature an intelligence officer on the strategy side of things as a subplot), the battle is recreated as a big budget CGI thrill ride with a raucous, rah rah, attitude.

That said, if you can get over it's depiction of the war, the thrilling air combat, as embellished as it is, is exciting, and as a long time fan of things like Ace Combat, I enjoyed it.

@RR529 did you happen to catch They Will Not Grow Old? It's a WW1 film Peter Jackson worked on, where they restored a ton of old footage, and used old BBC audio.

Watched two movies recently. The newest Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You and Sam Mendes' Oscar buzzy 1917.

Weathering With You is... a film I'm conflicted about. On one hand, like all of Shinkai's films (even the short, low-budget ones he made at home), it's beautifully animated. Moreso than any of his previous works, Weathering is a work of pure visual art, making every second of this nearly two-hour film entrancing to look at. The attention to detail in the environments is nearly photorealistic this time around, and simple sequences of, say, rain hitting the neon-lit pavement of dark Tokyo streets (and, good god, will you see a lot of rain in this film) will leave one gawking in wonder at the sheer artistry on display. The soundtrack, prominently featuring songs from indie rock band Radwimps, whose music also featured heavily in Shinkai's previous film, is mostly excellent. The film is filled with realistic, likable personalities, and it's fun to watch them interacting on-screen.

The issues I have relate partially to the concept of the film, partially to the tone, and partially to the structure of it overall. In Weathering, we follow a young runaway named Hodaka who tries to survive on the unforgiving streets of Tokyo before being taken in Keisuke Suga, a man who had saved his life on the trip there and who, we come to find, runs a small publication dedicated to yellow journalism. The city of Tokyo (and, presumably, other parts of the world) is suffering from an endless rainfall (while the actual origin of this phenomenon isn't given much focus in the film, it seems to be some sort of new, abnormal climate phenomenon). After being taken in by Keisuke and helping him to write for the paper, Hodaka comes across a young girl named Hina, a so-called weather maiden or "sunshine girl," who is able to use mysterious powers to temporarily will away the rain. Hodaka convinces Hina, who is struggling to pay the bills for herself and her younger brother after the death of her only parent, to start a business and use her business to help enrich herself.

There's obviously more that happens, but this is the basic setup of the film. Unlike most of the auteur's films, it's a bit of an involved set-up, and it takes awhile to get going. There's too much going on thematically, between the implicit social satire, the weird mythology surrounding weather maidens, the elaborate climate change analogy (an element of the film that's just sort of hand-waved away at the end without much consideration), as well as at least one momentous moral decision made near the end that makes me wish the film had reflected to some degree on its wholesale rejection of utilitarianism.

What's here is certainly interesting, but it doesn't really help the plot. Previous Shinkai films work so well because they're always about people in love who find some sort of overwhelming social or natural force coming between them. That... exists here as well, to some extent, but it's much less totalizing and, as a result, much less impactful.

Which leads me into my biggest issue with the film: it's almost completely lacking in the overwhelming sense of longing and loss that has typified his work since the very beginning. Part of this is, as has been mentioning, the lack of stakes in this film compared to a lot of his other previous work (particular Your Name and Voices of a Distant Star, but also, in a more grounded and perhaps devastating sense, 5 Centimeters Per Second). More generally, though, the sense of 'mono no aware' generally found in his work is almost nowhere to be seen here. The sense of deep loneliness, pain, and longing for connection that forms the emotional core of his work is somewhat muted here (beyond the very beginning of the film, when we find out how tough it is to survive in Tokyo as a runaway with nothing to his name), and the result is that the film's climax doesn't smack you with the same emotional impact as most of his other work (although I can, perhaps, do without something so emotionally potent that it ends up putting me in a melancholic funk for days on end, like after the first time I viewed 5 Centimeters Per Second).

I've tried to avoid mentioning Your Name to this point, but, honestly, the film practically invites invitations to Shinkai's breakout 2016 masterwork. Both films feature plots that mix elements of Eastern mysticism, teen romance, coming-of-age dramas, magical realism, and disaster flicks. Both films feel distinctly YA-oriented. The Radwimps music, which so helped to distinguish Your Name from Shinkai's previous work, also perpetuates the feeling that Weathering is more in line with that film than anything else Shinkai has made in the past. Most importantly, though, Weathering's plot structure is very similar to the basic structure of Your Name, despite the content not really justifying it. I think, despite his amazing success, Shinkai will only wither as a talent if he doesn't allow himself to escape from the influence of his previous film. It also really doesn't help that, as decent as it is (I know my post sounds negative, but I really did quite enjoy my time with this film), Weathering fares poorly when compared to Your Name, which was, in turns, funny, deeply romantic, brilliantly crafted (the mid-film twist was so devastating and well-done), and ultimately far more than the sum of its parts.

This impression sound distinctly negative, but I don't really mean it to. Weathering With You is a beautifully animated and deeply enjoyable little film that I'd recommend to almost anyone. It's better than the vast majority of films released in a given year (and certainly a good deal better than several of Shinkai's own underwhelming mid-career films, which often lacked the sense of identity that made 5 Centimeters and *Voices *so memorable), and I had a smile on my face almost the entire time I watched it. But, as a fan of Shinkai's work, and especially coming on the heels of one of the greatest animated films of all time, I feel like one was just not quite as good as I was hoping it'd be. Take that less as a condemnation of this particular film and more of a sign of my deep respect for Shinkai as an artist.

As for 1917... look, the film is going to win awards, and I'm cool with that. It's certainly interesting enough. But the film feels gimmicky. For those who don't know, it's a WW1 drama about two English soldiers who are tasked with crossing a large amount of terrain to call off an attack that'll otherwise lead to 1500 or so troops being ambushed and slaughtered by German forces. That's the setup for this film, but it's also the bulk of the plot, if it can even be said to have one. The gimmick behind this film is that the entire thing feels like it's composed of one unbroken shot throughout (like other films that do this, of course, it's actually not, and clever editing is used to hide the seams), sort of like the recent God of War game. I suppose the intention was to immerse the viewer in the immediacy of the setting, which I initially hoped it might, but the effect, instead, was sort of the opposite: the gimmick robbed the film of any sense of potency or reality for me. When characters are forced to travel long distances, you need broken shots to impart a sense of time passing without it happening in real time. As it stands, the main character makes a journey that's supposedly 8 or so hours over the course of less than two real-time hours. The effect of this, between the constantly shifting scenery and the need for stuff to happen in lieu of things like plot or character development (there's a lot of talking in this film, but I left it feeling like these people were still pure strangers to me), is that the film feels like... a live-action Naughty Dog game, maybe? Or a WW1-themed amusement park ride? The film hurriedly shuffles the main character (and the viewer along with him) from set-piece to set-piece. Stuff happens, things blow up, people die, but it all felt supremely staged and artificial to me.

Don't get me wrong: as a technical achievement, it's fairly impressive. The sets, makeup, and whatnot as impressive, and the film is filled with striking imagery. But it all seems a bit hollow by the end. It attempts to top the horrifying, immanent experience of war that was so successfully communciated by Christopher Nolan's excellent Dunkirk, but the impression I had, by the end, was that the director had no understanding of how to get inside the viewer's mind.

I recently rewatched Starship Troopers, for the first time on Blu-Ray. A fun satire of militant nationalism with a sci-fi flair, I enjoy myself every time I watch it (despite the fact that the special effects are dated in spots, I love the first scene in space where Carmen flies the little shuttle around the space station).

Also ordered my next batch of Blu-Rays:

• Evangelion 1.11 (first film in a series that retells the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion).
• the Living Daylights (my next Bond film. I actually forgot to check to see if this or License to Kill was next after A View to a Kill, but I figured in the end it really doesn't matter which I watch first).
• Star Wars Episode 1: the Phantom Menace (figured I'd start collecting the series).
• Stripes (This Bill Murray comedy is definitely a guilty pleasure).

I finally got around to seeing the new Joker movie and it's so good! Like seriously good! I wasn't expecting to be this impressed but yikes that guy is scary! The acting job that Joaquin Phoenix did was really convincing! I love it when an actor gets so into their role that they aren't playing the character they become him or her! I know a little bit about being bullied and i could totally relate to the abuse and cruelty that would drive a person to go joker on someone. This is more like a psycho killer movie than a comic book movie and i can't praise it enough!

Oh if anyone cares Terminator dark fate is out on DVD at the end of this month so I'll probably pick up that too! Yeah i know it got alot of hate but it's a series about time traveling robots from the future. If you can get past that and not overthink the plot too much you can still enjoy it.

I recently watched The Thing(1982) still holds beautifully, except for the CGI monster at the end. It was goofy, but everything else? Wow, a classic through and through.

@MsJubilee That is a really great film. The premise is nothing new for film or TV, but the execution is good because the film has a very measured pace and doesn’t feel like it has to give the audience a shock every 10 minutes unlike the lesser 2000s remake.

The practical effects look good for the most part and have aged quite well.

I’d put that as the 2nd best Carpenter film after Halloween.

@NotTelevision The effects have aged quite well(the thing is still terrifying even after all these years), I will say this movie was ahead of its time, and it shows except the CGI monster at the end. I have not seen the 2011 prequel, but I have seen the trailer, and it's something. It looks like a generic CGI horror movie, and that's a shame.

Tokyo Melody (1984):

A french documentary about japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, back in his Yellow Magic Orchestra days, where he talks about his influences, thought process and shows a bit of the computers that were used back then to compose the classic YMO tracks.
It's a very visual documentary, quite a lot of segments show footage from 80s Japan without any commentary.
It's pretty interesting, but I found CODA to be more substantial overall.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA (2017)

A much more recent documentary. Ryuichi is now in his 60s
This one shows some of his composing process, the many movies he's worked on and his battle against cancer back in 2014 and how it influenced his 2017 album Async.
Really enjoyed this one.

Found kinda funny how there's actually a scene of Tokyo Melody on this one where his younger self appears. In a interview Ryuichi was asked if he had watched the documentary and what he felt seeing his younger self, and then he said he would like to punch him, haha.

I've been to the cinemas a lot recently.

1917: Loved this film, the most visually striking movie I've seen this year. It actually reminded me of the game Journey. Two scenes in particular stood out, the bit after the main character wakes up, and the bit in the river with the petals. Great visual story telling.

Jojo Rabbit: Funny, Sad and dramatic all in one. Probably the best film i've seen in a while. Really enjoyed it. You can tell a movie is good, when you get to the climax and you'd be sad to see any of the characters die.

Star Wars IX: I thought Ray and Kylo's story was wrapped up pretty well. The rest of the cast seemed like after thoughts. It was entertaining though.

Bad Boys 4 Life: It was really good, it was about half an hour too long though. Some of the special effects also needed some work. Martin Lawrence stole the show

Stripes (Blu-Ray) - 80's comedey that see's a 20 something slacker played by Bill Murray convince his best friend to join him in signing up for the US Army ('cause hey, it's not like his current life is taking him anywhere), bumbling through boot camp, and saving the day after nearly starting a war with the Soviets.

It's a fun enough time. Some scenes seem misplaced (like when they find themselves air dropped into Central America, which doesn't really fit where they put it, or anywhere, but they wanted to use it anyway), but it otherwise works. Seems to have less frentic energy than comedies that come out nowadays, and quite a bit more nudity (which seems rare these days, even in adult comedies oddly).

I've watched a couple of films since my last post.

Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone (Blu-Ray) - Remake of the early parts of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV anime in film form. It's not the first time I've watched it (though the first time not on cable), and I'm glad to say it still had me gripped from beginning to end.

The Living Daylights (Blu-Ray) - The next Bond film on my list, and I've found it to be one of my favorites so far. After a Soviet general is seemingly kidnapped by the KGB after defecting to the west, Bond is tasked with getting him back & finds out that not all is as it seems. Some of the later Moore entries could get a little too campy for my liking, but this (the first Dalton outing) hit the balance of fun & action just right.

I watched Mulholland Drive recently, and I just wanted to gather my thoughts and try to piece the movie together before I talked about it. And I have to say this movie is fascinating! Throws you for so many loops that it will make you try to piece it all together. It's fantastic. I had this film in my mind for days now!

Like every movie out there, it has flaws. And that flaw was the sound effects in a couple of scenes(especially when someone gets punched) it's slapstick and cartooney, ruins the immersion. But other than that, this movie is fantastic. Would recommend.

Watching Batman: TAS.
One of the best aspects of this cartoon is the variety. Joker is amazing, but he isn't featured in every single episode (when he appears, though, it's just great), there are tons of villains represented, some episodes have Robin in it, some don't, etc.
It's a really well made animated series.

@Link-Hero The last episode I watched was S1/46 - The Laughing Fish. Great episode by the way!

The Invisible Man was dumb as hell.

Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace (Blu-Ray) - Just for clarification I want to preface this by saying I've never been a huge SW person. I know I've seen all the films through at least once, have caught bits & pieces over the years when I've stopped on a channel that happen to have one on (and have actually seen Episode I in theaters as a kid, though it's been so long I didn't remember much), and have played a few of the games, but it would be a fair guess to state that most of my experience with the series comes from watching the Family Guy parody trilogy 10-20 times over the years when the show is at that point in it's endless Adult Swim rotation.

With that said, I actually had quite a bit of fun watching this. Sure, the CGI was obviously out of date at first glance (and there's a lot of it), but oddly I think it works really well for the tone of the film. It really does invoke feeling of the kind of classic sword & sorcery fantasy (just trade dragons for spaceships) that a parent might read to a child at bedtime, and the CGI reminded me of a sort of theme park ride (it kind of felt like I was riding the Back to the Future ride), like it was in on the fact that this is supposed to be the kind of epic adventure you're not to take too seriously (even if that wasn't the original intent). It's also impressive that the creative world building shone through (Naboo, the underwater Gungan city, & the endless cityscape of Corsucant were awe inspiring), further tying together the feeling that the otherwise "cheesy" vibe is an intentional choice.

Sure, it had some of the political talk that people mention a lot as a negative, but it honestly wasn't as overbearing in terms of the runtime as I'd feared, and actually found it decently interesting. The action was good fun too. I especially liked the Pod Race, the Space battle Anakin got dragged into, and the flashy Light Saber combat.

Speaking of movies does anyone else feel like there's very few anymore that get you excited enough to go to the theater? It's like so much of it now is Reboot this and rehash that. The originality with cinema these days is just gone. Plus have you guys heard about this new assigned seat nonsense alot of theaters have been doing lately? Basically you can't even sit where you want anymore. You gotta choose a certain seat before even going in. It's probably so they know where you are in case you start shooting up the place. Like you're being monitored or something. They say it's for your convenience so you can pick your seat ahead of time but you're basically stuck in whatever seat you chose and if some fat loud mouth picked the seat right by yours you are screwed. I suppose you could go request a different seat but what a hassle!

I would always go to the theater for the movies that kinda made sense on the big screen. The ones that really had me pumped! Star wars for example but lately it's like i just don't care anymore. Whatever i wanna see i can usually wait for the home release. Theaters are just not cool these days what with all the millenial dip wads on their phones or psychos who wanna spray random peoples brains all over the wall because they got cyber bullied. Remember real bullies that used to tease you right to your face? That was 10 times worse. Yeah so anyway i might be done with theaters for good.