Last Movie You Watched

[Guy Nacks]

The Imitation Game

More like The Morality Game.

It helps paint a picture of a man who had a great deal to do with at least two of the most significant events in the 20th century: The defeat of the Nazis in WWII and the early development of the computer. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished and he was later prosecuted and forced to either go to jail or be chemically castrated because he was gay in Britain, under which time it was a crime to do so.

I really liked Benedict Cabbagepatch's portrayal of a man whose eccentricities put him at odds with the mainstream, and thus enabled him to think in ways quite extraordinarily different that what was par for the course at the time. The supporting cast is all good and goddammit if Keira Knightly doesn't look a day older than when she was in the first PotC movie a decade ago.

The theater I was in was surprisingly jam-packed, which was good to see, especially for a movie of this caliber and importance.

[C.A.P.]

Saw INNERSPACE recently. Dante once said that "it's one of the better things [he's] done," and it's not hard to see why. The characterizations are absolutely solid (espically Martin Short's character), probably one of the best scores Goldsmith ever gave Dante, the Oscar-winning special effects being an utterly delight, and a romantic story that I cared about as it kept going. Not sure if it's Dante's best, but it's definitely a highlight (among many) of his career.

[caragnafog dog]

I rewatched Kagemusha last night. Despite the nearly 3 hour runtime the protagonist does not have much of a presence throughout, but he makes a few bold moves that, by the ending, made me appreciate his character arc quite a lot.

Oh, and the battle scenes look really expensive. Great stuff.

[Trajan]

Kagemusha was my second Kurosawa film if I recall. It's good, but I haven't been back to revisit it in a while after discovering all his other movies. I should rewatch it; I know more about the Sengoku era now than I ever have in the past so I'd probably get more out of now than I have in the past.

In the Heat of the Night

The mystery is great and all, but the real reason to watch this is how perfectly the movie captures the atmosphere of the American South circa 1966.

[caragnafog dog]

You should definitely rewatch it but I think the only historical knowledge that helps is a little background on Shingen, Nobunaga and Tokugawa. I particularly liked the portrayal of Nobunaga here.

[Giji Shinka]

Watched the 3rd Hobbit film.
It had the exact same problems as the 2nd one, but it did one thing better than the desolation of smaug: The run time was shorter.

[Trajan]

You should definitely rewatch it but I think the only historical knowledge that helps is a little background on Shingen, Nobunaga and Tokugawa. I particularly liked the portrayal of Nobunaga here.

The first couple of times I watched it, I had trouble keeping track of who's who and I lacked some of the context that would have made things stand out better if I had been educated in the history. It's a testament to Kurosawa's directing abilities that you can still enjoy the film without knowing who the hell Takeda Shingen is, but I think it gets you more involved in a historical drama to have some background information. Like how Shingen is also known as Minamoto no Harunobu in documents at the Imperial Court in Kyoto, and thus would have a direct claim to the shogunate since the Minamoto clan founded the first shogunate. Or how Shingen kicked Ieyasu's ass just prior to the beginning of the film. Being a history buff is a double edged sword though: I know I'll be disappointed that Uesugi Kenshin only makes a cameo appearance when his rivalry with Shingen was the stuff of legend.

[StarShaper7]

The Interview was bad. There were a few kind of funny moments but that's about it. This is the End was much better.

[Ray]

The Wind Rises:

I have so many conflicting feelings rising in my chest right now. . . this is a very well made film, that glorifies a man that created an airplane for the Japanese military, done by Anti-war Miyazaki.

I honestly don't know what to think of it. . .

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

It doesn't really do any glorifying, I think. Could you explain what gave you your opinion?

[Guy Nacks]

The Wind Rises:

I have so many conflicting feelings rising in my chest right now. . . this is a very well made film, that glorifies a man that created an airplane for the Japanese military, done by Anti-war Miyazaki.

I honestly don't know what to think of it. . .

The movie is about invention and innovation, not about war.

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

And if I recall correctly, there's that scene with Jiro at the end where he mentions something about his feelings of the Zero being used for war. TWR certainly isn't praising him for developing a plane used to kill people and sink ships, I feel. It's more about what he went through in building it-- his mind and his spirit.

[caragnafog dog]

Like how Shingen is also known as Minamoto no Harunobu in documents at the Imperial Court in Kyoto, and thus would have a direct claim to the shogunate since the Minamoto clan founded the first shogunate.

That's a detail I hadn't considered. An important one too, considering his shadow is over the entire film despite dying 30 minutes in. Anything that magnifies the weight of his (former) presence for the viewer would add to the experience, I think.

[Trajan]

It also gives his rivalry with Oda Nobunaga a bit of an added edge, since the Oda clan claimed descent from Taira no Chikazane and the Taira were the main rivals of the Minamoto since about the 10th century or so. Ieyasu claimed descent from the Minamoto as well, which is why he changed his surname from Matsudaira to Tokugawa, but that claim is probably fabricated.

Anyways, enough of Japanese history. Saw Prisoners tonight. Didn't really enjoy it all that much because of a classic case of darkness-induced audience apathy and the fact that I had it pretty much figured out forty five minutes in.

The previous night I saw The Lego Movie, which is adorable and fun and surprisingly clever as well given all the social and artistic commentary they manage to fit in without becoming overbearing.

[caragnafog dog]

Glad you brought that to attention, I'm really interested in the Genpei War and sometimes forget the connections it had with those warlords.

[Ray]

I think I need to re watch it. To fully reprocess all the details.

I did honestly enjoy Anno's performance though, eccentric and mechanical as promised.

[pwhodges]

I watched The Wind Rises on Monday with my son and his Japanese girlfriend, and my wife. All agreed it was excellent, and that it presented no glorification of war whatsoever. Think how many images there were of planes themselves being destroyed by war. Are we to say that The Imitation Game (about Alan Turing) glorifies war because he contributed to winning it? He contributed to ending it as well.

[Oz]

The film primarily focuses on how the man loved flying and planes, all the while implying that it worried him that they were used just for war. It also had several moments showing his haunting nightmares of exploding planes and death. To say that it glorifies war completely misses the point of the film - not to mention it is almost the opposite of what the film stands for. Some criticize it for not being critical enough of the war, but I think the film is better off without heavy-handed criticism of Japan's actions in the war (because even this result was enough to anger the right-wing extremists in Japan).

[Ray]

Some clarification.

I never said it glorifies War or Japanese Military. I said it glorifies the man who built the plane FOR the Japanese Military. In fact the film actually pokes some harsh jabs at the Japanese Government at the time. Jiro is nearly arrested by the secret police at one point for supposedly conspiring against the government and I burst out laughing at one moment where The group representing the Japanese Navy are all portrayed as Completely identical jarheads spouting nonsense while arguing with each other.

I don't blame Jiro for making the plane, that'd be like blaming Smith and Wesson for Everyone killed by a gun. If it hadn't been his design it would've been someone else's. It's up to us to find beauty in the dark.

As for the Zero itself. After watching the movie, I really would like to fly one of them someday. I did some research and it's a shame only a handful of them still exist that aren't American Reproductions.

[Gus Hanson]

The Protector 2 (2013)

I went into this movie having not seen the first one nor spoiled any details about them, I was actually extremely impressed at this latest offering from my favorite modern martial arts movie master Tony Jaa. This guy can duke it out with the best of them and the stunts while some of them seem too good to be true, blew me away. I do have to point out that having Star Wars lightsaber sound effects on one of the fights regarding electricity was probably not a good idea since it makes it look corny in what could have been a flawless scene but the rest is not too shabby.