Topic: Movie thread.

much, much more

@Colonel_Mustache The Fab 4 got lore

I’m disgusted by The Beatles for how they corrupted that poor sweet boy Charles Manson!

I’ve finally gave Mulholland Drive a watch. I do like a film when I can’t see out what is about to happen (I’ve been banned from talking mid-movie as I spoil the endings despite not seeing it before lol) so a film which no one knows what the fudge is going on sounds perfect. However I’ve been put off by David Lynch ever since Twin Peaks. I really enjoyed it and will probably watch it again someday to unravel it to see what is meticulous arty farty symbolism or plain Lynch silliness. The debates the movie has had over the years make sense now, kinda like the first time you see an iconic film like Titanic or Casablanca a flood of references seen elsewhere finally click. It served as a nice reminder about debates over artistic interpretation are so worthwhile rather than sad franchise fandom grumblings. I’m curious to what David Lynch’s directing style on set is. Some directors give line readings, talk character with the actors or just shout bigger or smaller as they preform etc so I imagine he just shouts more odd or more flat.

All my days, Deathgasm was so much fun! Part metal musical, part slapstick comedy, part grindhouse horror in the most and vulgar ways possible! The highlight of the film for me didn’t actually feature any of the splatterhouse fun, it was just seeing one of the kids in full black metal face paint going on a date to eat ice cream with a pretty girl next door type in the park. It is good to see when metal is talked about in a movie it’s not just 80s metal like Slayer or 90s alt/nu-metal like KoRn and it’s featuring modern bands like Trivium even if I’m not fan of them myself.

I also watched Paul Verhoeven’s Elle which as his body of work includes Robocop, Basic Instinct, Total Recall and Starship Trooper is probably his most straight forward film with no sarcy themes underneath which is a given for a story about the complicated emotions after a women being attacked. Although maybe the stuff with the video game company covers it? I like to imagine his European films are so straight (albeit saucey) because when he makes American movies it’s really a big meta prank on those Americans who don’t realise Robocop is a comedy. Isabelle Huppert gives an extraordinary performance in it, bravo! How come every party in the film they were listening to Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life? I like Iggy too but this isn't Trainspotting.

With the hoopla about the Star Trek Picard finale I think I might ruin it for myself before it’s out by watching Green Room again. Watching Patrick Stewart as a skinhead Nazi bad guy (obvious but brilliant casting!) will make me hold back the tears when they probably kill off his brilliantly portrayed but never should been casted as character (he’s clearly too British to be French!) Jean Luc.

Has anyone seen Renfield yet? I think I want to see that. I don't like gore, but the gore looks over the top enough that I think I can stand it.

@WoomyNNYes I had made plans to see Renfield in a few days however those plans were ditched once we realised by then the new Evil Dead film will be out. Between the good buzz Evil Dead is getting and that amazing trailer I could see Renfield flopping as there’s not enough room for two horror movies.

It's crazy how Studio Ghibli had to deal with TMS, now a subsidiary of SEGA, to acquire the home video rights to some early Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata films that they made with TMS.
One of said films, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, was also retroactively made part of the official Studio Ghibli canon. But Ghibli had to do some deals with SEGA for it to happen.
Now, this made me wonder what it would be like if SEGA got Studio Ghibli to adapt their games instead of working with Hollywood studios? Imagine if Studio Ghibli made some Sonic the Hedgehog movies.

I bought Spirited Away, which is a Miyazaki film. It's the only one I got, because I haven't seen any of them and wasn't sure if I'd like them. Figured I'd just get the one ppl recommend most and go from there.

@JaxonH It's very good but I wouldn't say Spirited Away is the one everyone recommends, it was more the one that broke through outside of Japan to earn the same sense of prestige as peak Disney or Pixar.

Alot of people would say watch My Neighbour Totoro first as it's the most quintessential Ghibli film which features it's iconic mascot and Princess Mononoke is often cited as the bestest most masterpiecey one. Grave Of The Fireflies, The Tale Of Princess Kaguya and Laputa Castle in the Sky are up there too.

I personally really liked Porco Rosso which is like if Ghibli made Casablanca and I have a soft spot for Kiki's Delivery Service.

Some of the later films are very meh like Earwig And The Witch, which can be skipped.

@JaxonH Howl's Moving Castle is my Favourite Ghibli, true it doesn't follow the books at all, but just the storyline is great. Tales of Earthsea (to me) didnt make much sense, so I bought the books and that just made my understanding even worse.

Think I have most of them on DVD, will have to go through them all with the wife before we go to Japan in November

@Bunkerneath @jump

So...

My Neighbor Totoro
Princess Mononoke
Grave of the Fireflies
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Laputa Castle In the Sky
Howl's Moving Castle

Would be a good shortlist?

@JaxonH
Grave of Fireflies is very dark and not really suitable for kids.
But like this list, I like Naussica, and my wife LOVES Pom Poko, just to warn you these and Mononoke are very erm how should I put it "we have destroyed our planet" heavy.

@JaxonH Needs more Porco Rosso! Let me sell it.

In the English dub which is arguably better than the Japanese voice acting has Michael Keaton perfectly casted as an obnoxious sexist pig man who flies around the gorgeously stunning and very much alive feeling Adriatic Sea during WW1. It provokes a sense of classic war adventure films at first but then it moves on from wacky pig pliot to suddenly becoming a poetic story about the idea of heroism, trauma and innocence. There's some really cool sequences of dog fights as they fly through both the skies and seas, it will make you sentimental for a place you’ve never been to, the supporting characters are really fleshed out and I find it funnier than a lot of other Ghibli films.

As a Ghibli films it's a tough one as it's not the most Ghibli-ish film and was only made as Hayao Miyazaki was a fan of sea planes and made it as an indulgence to himself, you can feel the love he has for it even though it's the sore thumb out on his filmography.

With respect to @Bunkerneath Howl’s Moving Castle has a more mixed reception than most of his films. It’s a good flick though but it may not be the best film for newbies as other films. I’d wait to you have seen Spirited Away before you start buying the other films. If you’ve got a VPN then switch it to UK and you can find them all on Netflix as they have exclusive rights to them outside of Japan and America now.

@JaxonH I'd also recommend Ponyo and When Marnie Was There, which are both on the more whimsical and charming end of the Ghibli scale. Though if you buy all the ones you've already listed you'll probably have enough to be getting on with for now! I haven't seen every Ghibli film yet but the ones I have seen were enough to make me want to watch all of them eventually, so hopefully you'll feel the same.

I'm watching Spirited Away now and I'm loving it so far.

There's a box set I can get with these 11 blu-rays

The Castle of Cagliostro
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Howl's Moving Castle
Ponyo
The Wind rises

But why is it missing some of the ones mentioned earlier, like Grave of the Fireflies? Did those movies just release after the box set did?

edit
Just bought the set for $43 brand new on blu-ray. I couldn't pass that up, even if it doesn't have everything.

@JaxonH Nah, it looks like your boxset is just focusing on Hayao Miyazaki's films rather than Ghibli films.

There are other directors at Ghibli too but they don't get the spotlight the same way Hayao does. One is his son Goro whose films do feel very secondary compared to his Dads but the others (who I can't remember their names tbh) have put out some great flicks like The Cat Returns, My Neighbours The Yamadas, Grave Of The Fireflies, The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There etc which are as good as Hayaos films.

@JaxonH All of the movies in that box set were directed by Miyazaki. It seems to be missing the other Ghibli ones from different directors (primarily Isao Takahata, who directed classics like Grave of the Fireflies).

EDIT: Ninja'd. But yeah, grab Takahata's films as well. Especially Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of Princess Kaguya.

@Ralizah @jump
So I got the box set of 11 films, and separately Grave of the Fireflies and Tale of Princess Kaguya.

I'll just sell this separate copy of Spirited Away since I'll have it in the box set.

I'm surprised at how good it is. Idk what I was expecting, but what I got was something I'm enjoying just as much if not more than Disney and Dreamwork's classics.

Only a couple this weekend.

Greyhound (Apple TV+)

Tom Hanks in the role of the captain of the "Greyhound", an attack ship charged with protecting a convoy of troop & supply trips from German U-Boats during WWII.

Wasn't mind-blowing, but it was pretty solid overall. Certainly effective at making me feel the cold of the icy waters & the action kept up at a good pace.

Zeiram 2 (Blu-Ray)

Like the first one I actually liked this one quite a bit.

I don't think the creature special effects were quite up to par with the first (certainly not as creepy as often), but it still has it's moments, and as a trade off it had much more of an action angle (almost like an Alien to Aliens transition). Had a fun time with it when all is said & done.

@JaxonH, I'm not sure if it'll have the same features as mine, but the Blu-Ray of Cagliostro I own (the standalone Discotek release) has like 3 or 4 different English dubs to choose from, and the one that's listed as "family friendly" is actually the dub that's most faithful to the original Japanese.

Some of the earlier dubs changed a few character names for legal reasons (a common occurrence in a lot of earlier Lupin III media brought west), or added a lot of profanity not present in the original script. Of course, you could just watch it in Japanese with subtitles as well.

@JaxonH The best Studio Ghibli films match or exceed Disney's best work, easily.

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the world's greatest filmmakers. Isao Takahata is more of a mixed bag, but his best films are masterful as well.

Was Spirited Away your introduction to Ghibli's films?

EDIT: It was!

OK, then. Indulge me a bit.

So, in terms of their films...

The Castle of Cagliostro is an amazing, classic adventure film of the sort you don't see anymore. Think the best work of Spielberg and George Lucas. It's based off an existing property (Lupin the 3rd, which is itself a classic, influential property), but the film stands on its own.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was unlike anything else in 1984. Think Dune x post-apocalyptic sci-fi, but with heavy doses of mysticism (of all Miyazaki's work, this is the one most deeply steeped in mythical and quasi-religious themes) and environmentalist messaging.

Castle in the Sky is another classic adventure-style film, and was an early milestone in the steampunk subgenre. Miyazaki's film also had a gigantic impact on Japanese RPGs and science-fantasy in general. If you've ever played games like Grandia, Final Fantasy IV - VI, Skies of Arcadia, etc. (or, hell, the recent Zelda games) then you've already felt the impact of this lovely picture.

My Neighbor Totoro is his most childish film. Not in a bad way, though. It perfectly captures the wonder and merriment of childhood. It's an almost magical experience, and has the ability to evoke emotions and memories you probably haven't felt since you were a tot, and the world was still new to you. It's also a loving portrait of traditional Japanese life in the countryside. It was actually part of a double-billing with Grave of the Fireflies, which is good, because that film is possibly the most devastating and emotionally affecting work of art I've ever seen and the audience likely needed healing. Roger Ebert said it best when he noted that the film "inspired grief" and was "an emotional experience so powerful" that it forced a rethinking of the potential of the medium of animation. It'll ruin your week, basically. Amazing film, though.

Kiki's Delivery Service gets ignored a lot compared to Miyazaki's other work, since it's missing the grander scope and more philosophical themes found in his other films, but this simple story of a young witch setting out on her own, starting a business, and coming of age is delightful from beginning to end.

Princess Mononoke actually feels like a bit of a companion piece to Nausicaa. Both films feature an epic scope, center on a conflict between man and nature, and explore grand environmentalist themes, but Mononoke is a far less... idealistic work of fiction. An older, more wizened Miyazaki returns to the themes of the film that really kickstarted his career, but explores them in a deeper, more grounded manner. It's probably my favorite film from this studio overall.

You've stumbled into a veritable goldmine, my friend.

@Ralizah
Sure feels that way. For years I heard people talk about these movies but I never saw one, and nothing really piqued my interest to. Then again, I haven't been into movies until my recent binge, so this is the first time I did any research into the matter.

This whole new interest in movies started with Super Mario Bros and pre-ordering the 4k blu-ray. I didn't think it was the best movie- though it had its funny moments, but being a fan I think I got a lot more out of it. That led to, "oh I should finally convert my Harry Potter blu-ray collection to 4k blu-ray, and while I'm at it, the Pirates of the Carribean, oh and the Game of Thrones series, and the Jurassic Park movies, and Back to the Future movies, and Indiana Jones movies, and The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and Batman Trilogy, and the Matrix movies, and 007 movies, and all the Marvel movies up through phase 3, and all the Star Wars movies, and...

Before you know it I blew a massive sum filling up a double wide shelf in less than a week, rounding things out with the Ghibli films. Feel like my post-man might go on strike after this past week. They actually put a small USPS bucket on the front porch to dump everything in each day 😆