Panic Room (2002): Solid thriller. I like the sense of claustrophobia it builds from the beginning. The audience knows the exact layout of the house at the start of the picture, and by extension they know how closed in Jodie Foster’s character is. (Fun fact: Kristen Stewart -- Bella! -- plays her daughter. She’s not really annoying, but she does have the same look on her face the whole movie.) Basically the whole movie comes down to Jodie Foster and the three criminals who bust into her new home attempting to outsmart each other. Pretty entertaining.
Mobile Suit Gundam I-III (1981-1982): These compilation movies were made after the eventual success of the original series. They’re attempts by director Yoshiyuki Tomino to purge the story of everything he hated and was forced upon him during the TV show’s production process. I haven’t seen the original series, so I can’t compare, but the movies do move at a fair pace, although it isn’t difficult at all to tell that these are basically large chunks of TV episodes compressed together. These movies hold up surprisingly well, though (outside of the cheap animation, of course, though there are some shockingly good scenes), and are considered now to be the ideal way to experience the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
Casablanca (1942): Watched it with Laura, Kei and Molly and had a blast. If you don’t like Casablanca, then we can’t be friends. Sorry.
Stray Dog (1949): One of a few crime movies Akira Kurosawa made, about a rookie cop whose gun is stolen from him in post-war Tokyo. I like the way the heat symbolizes the oppressive, fierce conditions of the time. There aren't any easy answers when it comes to the crime, either; Murakami (played by the always great Toshiro Mifune) constantly struggles with the sympathy he feels for the criminal, who is really a criminal solely because of the harsh economic and social conditions of the time. But his older, wiser partner, Sato (Takashi Shimura), is there to remind him that innocent people are hurt regardless of motive. Very smart crime movie, but a bit slow-moving at times.
On the queue for this week: Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness (1998), The Gold Rush (1925), Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (2009)
Total Movies: 110 (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, 9, Zombieland, Ninja Scroll, Primer, Re-Animator, Summer Wars, The Changeling, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Ponyo, Eden of the East: The King of Eden, Porco Rosso, Something Something Something Dark Side, Castle in the Sky, Robot Carnival, Halloweentown, Whisper of the Heart, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Fiddler on the Roof, Kiki's Delivery Service, Genius Party, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Sky Crawlers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, My Neighbors the Yamadas, THX 1138, The Stepfather, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, Tremors, Horror of Dracula, The Brood, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Rabid, Inglourious Basterds, Them!, The Yakuza, Alphaville, Ghost in the Shell, Priceless, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Whip It, A Boy and His Dog, Fletch, The Blind Side, Speed, June 17, 1994, Nobel Son, Invictus, Toy Story 3, The Two Escobars, Soylent Green, Up in the Air, Tyson, This Is Spinal Tap, The Proposition, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Informant!, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Coco Before Chanel, The Vanishing, Inception, Mind Game, Pale Rider, The Hurt Locker, Roujin Z, Broken Blade, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Black Christmas, Crazy Heart, The Man with Two Brains, Ninja Assassin, Panic Room, Mobile Suit Gundam I-III, Casablanca, Stray Dog)
