The Resident Bitch's Movie Log

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Sanshiro Sugata (Akira Kurosawa, 1943)
Imdb

Date Watched: 02/25/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 12th HOF, Nope1172's nomination
Rewatch: No


This is my fourth Kurosawa film. I generally find him to be a skilled director and quite enjoyed the other films I've seen - Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Rashomon - but I wasn't too enamored with this one. Some of the scenes were quite beautiful and I do have to wonder what was lost to the censors of the time, but other scenes bothered me - particularly some of the fight scenes were wrestlers are thrown. Don't get me wrong, I realize this was from the 40s and effects and stuntwork weren't what they are now, but some of these scenes felt jarringly unrealistic. I also wasn't really that invested in the story or in Sanshiro himself.

Still, the performances and cinematography were mostly strong and its brevity meant that I never really got bored.

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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
just re-repping your movies from the HoF and, I thought you may enjoy Perfect Blue and glad to hear you did.
Hearing you mention Paprika reminds me to actually watch that one.
Not sure if I had commented in the HoF but I agreed about Sugata's "Still, the performances and cinematography were mostly strong and its brevity meant that I never really got bored."
__________________
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
~Mr Minio





Sausage Party (Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon, 2016)
Imdb

Date Watched: 03/06/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: I was bored and it was on Netflix
Rewatch: No


I went into this movie fully expecting to hate it. My history with the work of Rogen and company is spotty at best and this sort of in-your-face vulgarity isn't usually my cup of tea. I like sexual humor, but I generally prefer it to be a little more subtle than this. And while I'm a fan of animation, I'm typically drawn to films that are funny in a much more innocent way and to films with a great emotional impact.

There's nothing innocent here and the story isn't exactly touching, but it is actually surprisingly clever. Yes, the endless sex jokes and rapid-fire profanity grew rather tiresome (We get it, you earned that R rating. Congratu-f***ing-lations), but it actually served as interesting social commentary and satire. Aside from a little chuckle at the villain being a literal douche, most of the amusement that I got out of the film came from the parallels between the belief system of the food and that of certain religions and also the interactions and prejudices of the various food "ethnicities." And to that end, the various vocal performances were pretty solid and I was perhaps most surprised by Edward Norton, especially since I had no idea going in that he was amongst its cast and still didn't know until the end.

On a more technical level, the animation was also surprisingly good. Obviously this is nowhere near the level of Pixar or any of the other major animation studios, but I thought the main character designs were interesting and the crudeness of the film's artwork was actually pretty fitting considering its content.

Ultimately, this is not a great film and I do wonder if I will still find it amusing on rewatch. My suspicion is that I won't, but in this particular moment, in this particular mood, I found it to be a rather pleasant surprise.

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Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Surprised by your rather positive response to Sausage Party; certainly wouldn't have thought it was particularly up your street. As someone who largely hates the output of that whole group (Rogen, Hill, Franco etc) it's not one I've ever been interested in watching



Surprised by your rather positive response to Sausage Party; certainly wouldn't have thought it was particularly up your street. As someone who largely hates the output of that whole group (Rogen, Hill, Franco etc) it's not one I've ever been interested in watching
Well as I said, I certainly wasn't expecting to like it and wouldn't have watched it if I'd had to pay anything to see it, but I thought it was amusing. I don't dislike any of the people involved, but they're very hit or miss with me.





Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988)
Imdb

Date Watched: 02/18/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 12th Hall of Fame, SilentVamp's Nomination
Rewatch: No


this just really wasn't for me.

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I guess I lucked out by not taking a microscope to the movie and I'm too thick headed to have anything glare out at me as being a serious plot hole. I understand there may be some far fetched scenarios in Midnight Run, but I don't think its purpose is to be a high caliber story. It's a popcorn buddy comedy, and probably the best, right behind Brest's previous Beverly Hills Cop and Hill's 48 Hours. I mean, you could say the scene in 48 hrs. where Eddie Murphy walks into the redneck bar is far fetched and unrealistic and you'd be right. But sometimes people aren't in the mood for a super realistic, epic documentary. They wanna escape, have a little fun and loosen up.

It's just entertainment. Not to be watched back to back with a series of art films or obscure director filmographies unless you don't need a palate cleanse..



I guess I lucked out by not taking a microscope to the movie and I'm too thick headed to have anything glare out at me as being a serious plot hole. I understand there may be some far fetched scenarios in Midnight Run, but I don't think its purpose is to be a high caliber story. It's a popcorn buddy comedy... But sometimes people aren't in the mood for a super realistic, epic documentary. They wanna escape, have a little fun and loosen up...It's just entertainment. Not to be watched back to back with a series of art films or obscure director filmographies unless you don't need a palate cleanse..
Is this a joke? Did I read this right? Am I actually getting lectured about giving slack to entertainment films? What. The. ****.

I totally get that it's a popcorn comedy, and normally I am much, much more likely to enjoy a popcorn comedy than I am an "art" film. My main objective when I watch most films is simply to be entertained. My top 100 is full of entertainment movies. The last movie I watched was Sausage Party and I liked it. But Midnight Run was not funny or entertaining for me. At all. And I hated the characters, which is a huge turn off for any kind of movie.

As for why I watched it when I did in relation to certain other films, it was for a Hall of Fame that I was participating in. Almost every movie I watched in February was something someone else nominated for that HOF and, as a requirement of participation, I was obligated to watch those movies within a specified time frame and, as usually happens, there was a mix of entertainment films and art films nominated.



Is this a joke? Did I read this right? Am I actually getting lectured about giving slack to entertainment films? What. The. ****.

I totally get that it's a popcorn comedy, and normally I am much, much more likely to enjoy a popcorn comedy than I am an "art" film. My main objective when I watch most films is simply to be entertained. My top 100 is full of entertainment movies. The last movie I watched was Sausage Party and I liked it. But Midnight Run was not funny or entertaining for me. At all. And I hated the characters, which is a huge turn off for any kind of movie.

As for why I watched it when I did in relation to certain other films, it was for a Hall of Fame that I was participating in. Almost every movie I watched in February was something someone else nominated for that HOF and, as a requirement of participation, I was obligated to watch those movies within a specified time frame and, as usually happens, there was a mix of entertainment films and art films nominated.
I'm just defending one of my favorite movies, no biggie. Sorry if I offended you, too.

"Hey, no offense jack but F off, it's my movie!" j/k





Pinocchio (Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, et al., 1940)
Imdb

Date Watched: 03/16/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: I felt like it
Rewatch: Yes


I've been trying for a little while now to come up with a write-up for this, but the reality is that I just don't have much to say about it. I always favored animated movies with animal protagonists, so Pinocchio was never a favorite of my childhood. I did enjoy it as a child, but it doesn't really have nostalgia on its side the way something like Bambi does.

What it does have going for it, though, is some really gorgeous animation. Like all of the classic Disney animated films of this era, its beauty is undeniable. The voice acting is also solid and the film definitely has quite a bit of charm. On the other hand, being a nearly 80 year old children's movie, it does view as kind of hokey to my rather cynical eyes.






Cameraman's Revenge (Mest kinematograficheskogo operatora) (Wladyslaw Starewicz, 1912)
Imdb

Date Watched: 03/20/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: I read about it in a Cracked.com article.
Rewatch: No


A sordid tale of betrayal and infidelity - with bugs!

One of the earliest stop-motion animated films, Cameraman's Revenge was not filmed using articulated models or clay sculpted figures the way modern stop-motion animation is, but rather by manipulating the remains of dead insects and having them interact with each other and some pretty cool looking miniature buildings, furniture, vehicles, etc.

The story is pretty entertaining as well - a husband goes out for the evening. While he is out, his wife invites her lover over to the house. Both husband and wife get up to no good, but the wife is caught in the act when the husband arrives home earlier than expected. Her husband forgives her and takes her to the movies, but they're in for a surprise that neither expected.

The concept of this film's creation is kind of disturbing, but it's executed very well and is quite an impressive bit of cinema. It's also pretty funny and at only 12 minutes in length, it's a breeze to watch.




Damn that's pretty random, never heard of it. Might try it since it's so short. Love your reason for watching it haha.

That pic isn't working for me btw, could just be me tho.

Edit: Nevermind it is now.



Yeah, I'd never heard of it either. The article showed up in my Facebook feed (I think George Takei shared it?) and I was bored so I clicked on it.

The video is embedded in that article but it's also very easy to find on Youtube.



Cool! I haven't thought about him in a while, but Wladyslaw Starewicz is the earliest stop motion guy I know of. I think The Mascot (1933) is even better and more creative; really one of the best shorts ever IMO. I guess his techniques had been really refined at that point. You should definitely check it out if you can find it.





Untamed Heart (Tony Bill, 1993)
Imdb

Date Watched: 03/31/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: I felt like it
Rewatch: Yes


Possible Spoilers Ahead

I've probably seen Untamed Heart more times than I've seen any other single film. I was obsessed with this movie when I was younger and I watched it every day after school for several months (which took some dedication considering the copy I had at the time had been recorded onto VHS from TV and there were a couple other movies on the same tape). And I must say it is definitely to the film's benefit - and mine - that I first saw it in my adolescence, before I became the cynic and the pessimist I am today.

This is a tragic romance between two very screwed up people. Caroline, played by Marissa Tomei, is a young woman trying to find herself while constantly chasing love and never really finding it. Adam, played by Christian Slater, is a painfully shy young man with a heartbreaking past who is lost and alone in the world. But when he saves her from a horrifying attack, she falls for him. In each other, they find what they're looking for. Both actors bring an abundance of innocence and sensitivity to their roles. It's the kind of sweetness and pure love that made twelve year old me swoon.

Nearly thirty-six year old me, however, has a harder time buying it. Setting aside Adam's isolated upbringing and subsequent inability to interact with people, his behavior is troubling. Both work at a local diner - she as a waitress, he as a busboy. But he never speaks to anybody there so he is essentially a stranger to her and she is at first oblivious to his infatuation with her. He keeps a photo of her in his apartment. He follows her when she walks home from work - staying far enough behind so as not to be noticed - and he sneaks into her bedroom at night and watches her sleep. Her behavior - her unquestioning acceptance of his explanations - is troubling as well. All of this was super romantic to me then, but kinda creepy now.

Still, Slater does well to make me overcome my cynicism and accept the story as it is presented. He infuses Adam with childlike wonder and sweetness. He makes me believe Adam when he says he follows Caroline to make sure she's safe. He makes me believe it when he says he watches her sleep because she has peace and he doesn't. And because of this performance in particular, I still very much enjoyed the film. I still laughed. I still cried - tears of joy and tears of sadness. And it remains a favorite, however flawed it may be.

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