Didn't end up doing this last week, because I got kind of lazy; I didn't watch too many movies last week, anyway. I'm making up for it this week, however, by debuting a new feature!
At the end of the year, I usually unveil my top 25 movies I have seen for the first time in that year. I thought it would be fun, though, to keep up with that for the rest of the year, with the list (hopefully) evolving from week to week, movies shifting up and down as the year progresses. I'm hoping it will be interesting to see how the list changes from now until December. Look for it on the next page!
Nosferatu (1922): Count Orlock is probably the creepiest vampire to make it to the big screen. He is less an otherworldly charmer and more a feral beast whose human qualities have long since been twisted and warped by his curse. And, really, that's the way it should be. Vampires aren't human; they're twisted creatures driven solely by the desire to drink blood. Anyway, getting back to the movie, it is quite bizarre and much more sinister than the Bela Lugosi Dracula, filmed nine years later. Pretty sure the Hollywood of that era would have crapped its pants over a virgin sacrificing herself to the Nosferatu so that it stays out long enough to be caught in the sunlight. And just as with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, it is fun to supply your own dialogue when title cards do not make it explicitly clear what characters are saying.
Drag Me to Hell (2009): Really fun, intensely made horror movie that revels in the ridiculous parts of its storyline. (I wish modern horror were more like this and less like stupid torture porn shit like Saw.) The storyline is of course completely silly -- a woman (Alison Lohman) is cursed by a gypsy after refusing to extend the payment period on her mortgage for a third time -- and the ending is predictable, but who cares when it is created with so much energy? There are some darkly hilarious moments in this, too, including one with a cat that had me cracking up for a few minutes.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970): Kind of hilariously named, since the titular bird figures into the plot for maybe a few seconds at most. :p Anyway, this is a solid thriller directed by Dario Argento, an Italian who would go on to become a legendary director of horror movies. You can see the beginnings of his career in this movie -- very stylized violence, weird camera angles, a bizarre plot, laughable dubbing, etc. There are some story details that really stretch the limits of credibility (what police agency would let a complete amateur -- one who was a suspect in the crime, no less -- carry out his own investigation??), but the guy is always a step or two behind the crime until the very end, so I guess that is what keeps it from becoming truly ridiculous.
Kara no Kyoukai: Overlooking View (2007): The first of seven in the Kara no Kyoukai series. It looks absolutely fantastic and has some incredible fight scenes, but the plot feels like it was taken from a 24 minute first episode and stretched out to 50 minutes. There's soooooooo much talking and info dumping, and it gets really dull after a while. But there is promise in this movie that is paid off as the series progresses.
Kara no Kyoukai: Murder Speculation (Part 1) (2007): A step up from the first movie, in that it has a much more engaging, interesting plot, but the trade-off is that almost none of the story's loose threads are tied up until a later movie in the series. (It's worth mentioning right now that the Kara no Kyoukai movies are each adapted from single chapters spreading across two books written by Kinoko Nasu, who also wrote the Tsukihime and Fate/stay night visual novels.) Ultimately, though, it is a pretty good movie because it really delves into the relationship between the two main characters, Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokuto. Maaya Sakamoto is pretty damn god as Shiki.
Kara no Kyoukai: Remaining Sense of Pain (2008): Up to this point it is the best in the series because the plot is more straightforward while also advancing the other main stories in the series. Mamiko Noto is absolutely tragic as the antagonist, Fujino Asagami, a woman who cannot feel pain for most of her life and who suddenly feels constant pain and does not know how to deal with it ... so she relieves her pain by committing murder. It's interesting how Fujino is contrasted with Shiki; they're both similar in their bloodlust but completely different in their execution (pun intended). Fujino is a reluctant killer but does it anyway, while Shiki seemingly embraces her thirst for blood -- except she has yet to kill someone up to this point in the series. And once again the movie kicks ass visually and has great fight scenes.
Kara no Kyoukai: The Hollow Shrine (2008): A bit of a step back for the series in terms of having an interesting plot, but it's a necessary step back in the overall scheme of things. Don't want to reveal too much of the plot, since it spoils the earlier movies; however, I will say it is well executed for what it is.
Kara no Kyoukai: Paradox Sprial (2008): This is the best movie in the series, I think. It's boldly directed, and occasionally confusing because of the nonlinear storytelling that reflects disorientation felt by certain characters in the movie. Everything feels much more visceral, as well -- I think the director of this movie, Takayuki Hirao, makes a good move by allowing the fight scenes to have more weight to them. Also helps that this movie has a good villain, the devious magus, Souren Araya, who is played with wonderful venom by Jouji Nakata. We also get to see Shiki and Mikiya's employer, Touko Aozaki, in action, and she is wonderfully cocky as she fights and full of awesome in general. This is also the movie where most of the plot details left open in the first four movies are wrapped up, which makes this all the more fantastic. Legitimately great anime movie here.
Kara no Kyoukai: Oblivion Recorder (2008): ... And of course the best movie in the series is followed by what is unequivocally the worst in the series. What an enormous disappointment this is; it has almost nothing to do with the main plot, outside of a couple of details, and the actual story itself is not interesting enough to make up for that, so it just pisses me off. To make matters worse, it deliberately leaves a couple of key details hanging. As the Nostalgia Critic would say, "EXPLAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN"
Kara no Kyoukai: Murder Speculation (Part 2) (2009): A good end to the series, although the ending gets kind of sappy. But before that it is fairly brutal, haha. This movie probably has the best fight scenes in the entire series, and also possibly the most twisted villain. Araya is still the best villain the series for my money, though. Definitely glad I watched the Kara no Kyoukai movies. I don't think I love them as much as most people, but they're a good set of movies.
On the queue for this week: Re-Animator (1985) and Primer (2004)
Total Movies: 32 (The Taking of Pelham 123, The Station Agent, The Final Destination, Silent Movie, The African Queen, Departures, Moon, Bound, Solaris, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rifftrax), Wristcutters: A Love Story, In the Loop, Public Enemies, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Rifftrax), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Lagann-Hen, District 9, The Magnificent Seven, Night Moves, My Name is Bruce, Big Fan, Almost Famous, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Drag Me to Hell, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Kara no Kyoukai 1-7)
