I watched so much anime the other day that my head is still spinning slightly. The good thing is I am nearly caught up on every show I have even the slightest interest in, save for second seasons of shows I didn't see the first time around (I am looking at you, Gundam 00 and ef - a tale of melodies). All my thoughts are documented here, so check that out if you're unsure about a show. Or go there and disagree with me vehemently about a show you love/hate. XD
Anyway, movie ramblings ftw.
He Was a Quiet Man (2007): It's OK, but the way the story is set up gives the movie a severe identity crisis. For me, the movie works best when it's a really surreal dark comedy -- there's a lot of potential with Christian Slater's character (and he plays it very well; it's quite the departure from the usual characters he plays), and there is some funny, interesting stuff. However, there is also a love story worked in that is effective maybe a quarter of the time because 1) it is completely unbelievable and 2) on a scale of 1 to 10, it registers at a 100 on the Sap Meter, which is too much, even for me. There are a couple of really subtle moments that work well, but they don't make up for the whole. And then the ending is just annoying and makes the rest of the movie a waste, because it is not done that well. Blargh.
Gilda (1946): Rita Hayworth ftw. There's a reason Morgan Freeman and his buddies piled into the theater to watch Rita Hayworth "do that shit with her hair" in The Shawshank Redemption -- it's because Hayworth could have amazing chemistry with Michael Jackson if she wanted to. (But she wouldn't want to.) ANYWAY, besides Rita Hayworth being my dream girl, there is also much noir-ish fun in this movie. George Macready -- who looks really weird to me without his Paths of Glory goatee -- is damn good as a slimeball casino owner, and Glenn Ford is also quite fun and douchey as a small-time gambler who rises to power in the casino. Not really a fan of the ending, however. It's a bit too convenient and happy for the story the movie tells.
Borat (2006): Haha, my god, I still cannot get a certain scene out of my head. If you have seen this, then you know EXACTLY what I am talking about. I cannot imagine Sacha Baron Cohen had much fun filming that. Ick. It's funny as hell, but just ... ick. This movie works very well as an extended Borat skit -- he's a funny enough character to carry things well, although I probably spent half my time laughing my ass off and half my time being horrified at the people Borat met across America (that guy at the rodeo is probably the worst). Take note, Carlos Mencia -- this is how you be both completely offensive and hilarious. Also, after you take that note, retire plz.
Ikiru (1952): My trip down Kurosawa Boulevard continues with maybe his most touching movie. The first hour or so is really sad, with the utter dullness of the bureaucracy where Kanji (Takashi Shimura) works just pounded into your head, and then there is his search for some meaning to his life after he learns he has stomach cancer (not really a spoiler because it is the first thing the movie reveals). It works so well because, really, who can't identify with that? Who wants to have lived a wasted life? The last half hour or so is particularly wonderful -- it makes Kanji into basically the greatest guy ever without any melodramatic audience manipulation. What a wonderful movie. Seeeeeeeeeee it, everyone!
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005): This is a really interesting western with Tommy Lee Jones playing the type of character he plays best -- a simple, no nonsense type of guy who lives a certain way that does not fit in with modern times. I liked the subtext of this, with modern life and the old way of cowboys clashing so frequently. It leads to a lot of great moments of dark humor, which I won't spoil here because they are really funny (which was the last thing I expected from this movie, actually, haha). Then Pete (Jones) goes on this strange journey about halfway through the movie, and it is full of awesome and pretty views of random desert and rough country. Widescreen yay! Anyway, I went into this expecting something solid and got something great, which is the best kind of movie. <3
On tap for this week: McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), Some Like it Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), Throne of Blood (1957) and Ran (1985).
Movie Count: 93 (Live Free and Die Hard, Time Bandits, The Hustler, Black Dragon (Miracles), Hollywoodland, Blood Diamond, Animal Crackers, Marie Antoinette, Inside Man, The Fountain, Tombstone, Jurassic Park (Rifftrax), No Country for Old Men, Juno, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Rifftrax), There Will Be Blood, Rize, Born Into Brothels, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, Hard Candy, The Matrix Reloaded (Rifftrax), Hot Fuzz, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs, Phone Booth, The Dark Knight, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Predator, Ratatouille, Renaissance, Pretty in Pink, Scanners, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, Stop Making Sense, The Killing, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rifftrax), Voices of a Distant Star, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Amadeus, Touch of Evil, Paths of Glory, Gangs of New York, Five Easy Pieces, Perfect Blue, Novocaine, A Fish Called Wanda, A Hard Day's Night, Arsenic and Old Lace, Out of the Past, The Lady from Shanghai, The Wild Bunch, The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Bringing Up Baby, Pleasantville, Citizen Kane, They Live, The Terminator, The Adolescence of Utena, The Castle of Cagliostro, The Professional, High Plains Drifter, In the Heat of the Night, Michael Clayton, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Munich, Traffic, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Bug, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, The Maltese Falcon, Rashomon, Big Trouble in Little China, Sleeper, Badlands, Johnny Guitar, Mildred Pierce, Shadow of a Doubt, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, Hard Boiled, Targets, Away from Her, Hud, The Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, He Was a Quiet Man, Gilda, Borat, Ikiru, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada)
