Topic: The Movie Thread

Expand

Another mega movie weekend.

the Professional: Golgo 13 (Blu-Ray)

After assassinating the son of a powerful US oil tycoon, the world's best hitman (the titular Golgo 13) finds himself in the crosshairs of the CIA, FBI, & Pentagon.

Narratively it plays things entirely straight, without even the slightest quip to lighten the mood. The action is instead broken up by frequently occurring sex scenes (of which at least one is an on screen rape, so be aware of that). It manages to stay interesting throughout though, as he still chooses to take on other jobs while being tailed, and there are one or two interesting twists & developments.

Animation is a bit of a mixed bag. It generally looks good (and there are a few standout shots, like a psychedelic shot where his speeding car is reflecting the neon lit environment), though it also looks rough in spots, and there's this hilariously bad looking shot where these ancient CG helicopters are after him (there is absolutely no effort to blend it into the art direction, in fact they probably didn't even have the tech to try & do that). At first I thought a character was looking at a computer screen "battle plan" or something (the helicopters were first shown flying through an equally CG cityscape), until I realized it was all supposed to be "real life" (I assume it was a big deal at time of release though, as the Japanese theatrical trailer included in the Blu-Ray put a lot of emphasis on the handful of CG elements, calling it the first "computer anime"). Back to the good though, it absolutely nails the vileness of it's villains (especially an assassin called snake who'll make your skin crawl), and is a bloodthirsty 80's anime film in the best way.

Kunoichi Lady Ninja (Blu-Ray)

Evil feudal lord sends his evil magical henchmen to kill a bunch of nuns, the survivors are actually a bunch of ninja, and with the help of historical samurai Jyubei Yagyu they seek out their revenge. In all honesty I found it hard to follow (and hard to care about following) the more specific narrative threads though.

Very much a low budget b-movie through and through, with laughibly bad special effects & cheesy costuming, and while this isn't inherently a bad thing (sprinkler system blood sprays being a good time & who wouldn't love the "Nipple Shockwave", an actual attack), here things often times seem very hard to follow. This isn't at all helped by the fact that while it's billed as being presented in 1080p, it seems like they tried to directly upscale it from a freakin' VHS and it often just doesn't look good on a large modern HD TV (I normally wouldn't blame the movie itself for resolution woes, but there is a note at the start of the film, as well as on the back of the box, that says "due to limitations of the original source this is the best upscale available", which I assume means it was filmed on tape originally and thus can't be any better than this, making it an inherent part of watching it).

Robot Carnival (4K UHD Blu-Ray)

Anthology film of robotic themed animations.

Like any anthology project there are one or two weak link segments (I'd say "Deprive" fits that bill here), but even those I'd say are still enjoyable. Otherwise it's absolutely fantastic, with vibes that range from fun & wonderous ("Star Light Angel", "the Mechanized Culture of the Meiji Era: Western Invasion") to the artful & deep ("the Cloud" & "Presence", the latter of which is absolutely stunning in terms of animation quality which is high praise indeed given the high bar the whole project in general achieves).

Really something you have to see for yourself.

Zeiram (Blu-Ray)

After watching the anime and then hearing that this live action adaptation centers around two electricians from real world Tokyo who go into a "virtual world where they meet Iria fighting Zeiram" I was convinced it was going to suck (like the world of the anime only exists as a video game or some such nonsense).

However the setup actually makes a lot more sense in practice. The world(s) of the anime is real, it's just that the "humans" from the anime (like Iria) aren't actually from Earth, and are in fact aliens themselves. With reports that Zeiram is headed to Earth, Iria arrives in advance and sets up a trap (a pocket dimension containing an exact copy of the area of Tokyo it's going to land in, sans populace, that way she can battle it uninhibited). Of course, her abandoned warehouse hideout is using up more electricity than it normally would thanks to all her high tech gizmos, and in checking out the discrepancy, the two electricians (Kamiya & Teppei?) accidentally follow her into the pocket dimension battle zone.

The movie itself is very fun too. There are a handful of wonky special effects, but by and large Zeiram itself is a wonder of practical effects making, believably recreating many of it's anime abilities (such as the creepy snake like tiny face that extends from the top of it's head), and exhibiting a number of effective transformations that'll completely gross you out. All in all it's a great sci-fi themed horror flick as our protagonists struggle to survive against a nearly indestructible monster.

Earth Girls Are Easy (Blu-Ray)

I see Jim Carrey & Jeff Goldblum (+ Damon Wayans) starring in an alien comedy I've never heard of before, so I decided to give it a chance. The general premise is that the trio of horny aliens crash lands in recently heartbroken Valerie's (Geena Davis) pool while watching her sunbathe from space, and she tries to teach them about life on Earth (and love, once Goldblum's character gets a hot human makeover) while they wait to repair their ship.

It perhaps spends a bit too much time at the start setting up that Valerie's doctor fiance is a bit of a horse's rear, but the entire segment detailing the trio's crash landing & exploring Valerie's home learning the basics of life on Earth is absolutely hilarious (also the wet bikini top she's wearing the entire time that clearly doesn't cover anything is a plus). Once they take on their more human appearances and it becomes a quirky romcom between Davis & Goldblum it doesn't hit those highs again, but it has it's moments.

Also a musical in spots. These segments can be fun, but aren't always relevant to the core plot (like the random song about how great it is to be a blonde, when they go to the beach).

Expand

Watched a lot of stuff since my last post.

65 (Theatre)

Adam Driver stars has the captain of a deep space exploratory vessel, and after his ship is damaged by an asteroid crash lands on an uncharted planet. Now he & a young girl (the only other survivor) must make their way to the one surviving escape pod while avoiding the planet's many dangerous alien life forms. Of course the big twist (present in all the marketing) is that this planet is Earth, 65 million years ago, and said alien life forms are dinosaurs.

It sets up a tense atmosphere that's effective in keeping you engaged in their struggle to survive, an an oppressive almost horror like vibe with a few jump scares (and of course there's a plot twist towards the end in relation to a significant historical event, that places an extra sense of urgency on the timing of their attempted escape). Some of the dinosaur designs seem a bit wonky (they gave the T-Rex longer arms than typically depicted with so it could be quadrupedal at times, and similarly there was a pack of creatures that were very much more lizard like than dino like. Most of the others were more recognizable though), it was a bit visually hard to see things during night scenes (though this was probably at least partially intentional due to the tone), and there's a specific geyser that comes into play during the climax in a contrive way (just for the fact that it shouldn't have been anywhere near their destination).

That said it was a decent watch, and it's nice to support something in theatres that's not an uber big blockbuster.

Black Adam (Amazon Prime rental)

Not terrible, but not particularly great either.

One thing I do think DC (generally) does better than Marvel is portray how strong the super powerful characters are, and while the fights aren't quite up to the standard of those in Man of Steel, they still tend to be a fun time (especially the slow-mo spectacle when he first wakes up).

Otherwise there's not much noteworthy about it, other than I guess there's at least one decent twist in the narrative. A bit overstuffed with new (to screen) heroes, and although Doctor Fate was cool I'm sure he'll mostly come off as an off brand Doctor Strange (yes, I know he came first in the comics). Just an average superhero movie.

Lupin III: Bye Bye Lady Liberty (Blu-Ray)

Special (I think the series' first made for TV movie, in fact) that sees Lupin & co get caught up in the schemes of a cult who controls the world from behind the scenes, who are looking for a diamond that is the key to unlocking a new type of computer virus that'll let them control all computer systems in the world.

Nothing must watch, but a nice time for fans of the franchise. Animation looks pretty good for a "made for TV" caliber movie, the gang briefly steals the Statue of Liberty, magical cult nonsense, all that good stuff.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Amazon Prime)

Maybe I should rewatch the first to see if my opinion of it holds up, but off the top of my head... I didn't care for this one as much.

Don't get me wrong, it still has some humorous moments & fun action (and the humor probably hits more often for it's younger intended audience), but it seems to get sillier the more Sonic universe characters it introduces (which is kinda unavoidable, but the more gamey it gets, the more it feels like it wasn't a good idea to make this live action/set in the real world in the first place). The whole subplot/humor surrounding the sister in law's wedding was a dud, too.

I'm probably overthinking what is ultimately a kid's film though, and it ultimately was fun (based on the end credits scene, I'm kinda looking forward to how much they're going to run this into the ground, lol).

Weird Science (Blu-Ray)

80's film that sees two high school dorks attempting to create a "digital girlfriend" via computer, so that they have something to practice talking to girls with, and somehow, impossibly actually bring her to life thanks to some light Frankenstein inspired elements. Despite the fact that she insist's she is theirs to do with what they want, they're clearly not man enough to handle her & thus she uses her (magical) abilities to help them open up & find their place amongst their peers (and get genuine, human, girlfriends).

It's 80's nonsense in the best way possible (cool but nonsensical computer abilities, an absolutely cracking theme song, blink & you'll miss it PG-13 nudity, etc). Nothing artful, but very fun if you're in the right mindset.

Ford V Ferrari (Hulu)

Wanting to get into racing in order to entice youth buyers (and to one up Ferrari after a little tit for tat between the two companies), Ford Motor Company teams up with the only American to win Le Mans, automotive designer Carroll Shelby, in order to design a race car capable of besting the Italian car maker in the prestigious event.

A lot of masculine bravado as everyone seems stubbornly intent on clashing with everyone else (Henry Ford II vs Ferrari, Carroll Shelby and his hand picked driver, Ken Miles, vs the suits at Ford, and sometimes each other) and with a lot of fantastic action on the track, it's a very fun movie. Of course probably a bit exaggerated for movie making sake, but an interesting look back at automotive & racing history.

Striptease (Blu-Ray)

This is much better than it has absolutely any right to be.

I mean, I rewatched it because boobs, and... yay boobs I guess (though I'll admit the blonde with the super massive fake ones had even me wincing, & this is coming from someone who enjoys low rent fan service anime), BUT it has some genuinely funny comedy bits, especially from the senator & owner of the strip club. Yeah, they're sleazy, but they're almost always the butt of the joke & Moore's character is almost always the smartest one in the room so I can't say it's mean spirited.

Tetris (Apple TV+)

The core story behind this is actually pretty interesting (the whole unprecedented bit about a businessman trying to strike a deal directly with the Soviet government in regards to licensing a product for sale in the west, especially since he was skipping certain legalities), and as someone who grew up on Nintendo it was cool in general to see the story behind one of the most famous games in history.

That said it got a little silly in the second half when they turned it into a bit of a political thriller (culminating in a high speed car chase across Moscow), but Hollywood is going to Hollywood I guess (over Tetris though, lol). Also no reason this needed to be R rated (I'm not a prude by any means, but this seemed to have over a dozen F-bombs for no other reason then to have them), I mean, it's a story about frickin' Tetris.

Still really liked it though, and it was interesting to watch a movie that largely took place in the backdrop of Soviet Moscow.

InuYasha the Movie 2: Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (Blu-Ray)

Rewatching the series (collecting it on Blu-Ray) and made it to the point where you can fit in the second movie.

Probably overrating it a bit because it's my favorite of the movies in a franchise that's nostalgic for me, but I can't deny I had a lot of fun with it. There's not a whole lot I could say about it that would convince someone who isn't already a fan to see it (though I want to give a shout-out to the fight with the big 3/4 headed sea serpent thing, which was exciting as all get out), but I will say it looks absolutely gorgeous on Blu-Ray. I had purchased the digital version a few years ago on Amazon, but it seems like the quality of it really dips at specific times (it wasn't a buffering issue, and is an issue across all the InuYasha movies digitally), yet the BD is absolutely crystal clear and almost looks like a contemporary release in terms of quality (the first movie looks better on BD as well, but it seems like this one's conversation is above & beyond). Hope the last two films are updated to this standard.