The Latest Movie/TV show You Watched Topic 2.0

[eabaker]

Also, I watched Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and it's sequel, Sanjuro for the first time. Yojimbo is the best, obviously, and I could easily see where Sergio Leone got the inspiration for A Fistful of Dollars. Speaking of Kurosawa, I also watched Throne of Blood, Seven Samurai and, watching for the first time ever, the film that inspired George Lucas' Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress recently.

I've found that, over the years, my appreciation of Sanjuro has grown with each viewing, to the point that I now consider it pretty mch equal to Yojimbo. They're a beautifully complementary pair, of course.

I've actually been going back and re-watching some lower tier Kurosawa lately. I watched The Quiet Duel the other night (which I'd call fourth-tier), and No Regrets for Our Youth last night (third tier), and there's always just so much to admire - in the story/thematic goals and in the filmmaking technique - that I feel genuinely enriched from revisiting them.

[CrimsonBloodX]

Also, I watched Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and it's sequel, Sanjuro for the first time. Yojimbo is the best, obviously, and I could easily see where Sergio Leone got the inspiration for A Fistful of Dollars. Speaking of Kurosawa, I also watched Throne of Blood, Seven Samurai and, watching for the first time ever, the film that inspired George Lucas' Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress recently.

I've found that, over the years, my appreciation of Sanjuro has grown with each viewing, to the point that I now consider it pretty mch equal to Yojimbo. They're a beautifully complementary pair, of course.

I've actually been going back and re-watching some lower tier Kurosawa lately. I watched The Quiet Duel the other night (which I'd call fourth-tier), and No Regrets for Our Youth last night (third tier), and there's always just so much to admire - in the story/thematic goals and in the filmmaking technique - that I feel genuinely enriched from revisiting them.

Have you seen the Sanshiro Sugata duology? The first film is Kurosawa's director debut. I saw both films back in 2018 when I was still in film school. They are pretty good movies.

[eabaker]

Also, I watched Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and it's sequel, Sanjuro for the first time. Yojimbo is the best, obviously, and I could easily see where Sergio Leone got the inspiration for A Fistful of Dollars. Speaking of Kurosawa, I also watched Throne of Blood, Seven Samurai and, watching for the first time ever, the film that inspired George Lucas' Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress recently.

I've found that, over the years, my appreciation of Sanjuro has grown with each viewing, to the point that I now consider it pretty mch equal to Yojimbo. They're a beautifully complementary pair, of course.

I've actually been going back and re-watching some lower tier Kurosawa lately. I watched The Quiet Duel the other night (which I'd call fourth-tier), and No Regrets for Our Youth last night (third tier), and there's always just so much to admire - in the story/thematic goals and in the filmmaking technique - that I feel genuinely enriched from revisiting them.

Have you seen the Sanshiro Sugata duology? The first film is Kurosawa's director debut. I saw both films back in 2018 when I was still in film school. They are pretty good movies.

I've seen all of Kurosawa's solo directorial efforts.

I really dig the first Sanshiro Sugata, and I think it's a shame that it only exists in partial form these days.

The second one... definitely had stylistic elements I appreciated, but overall the story didn't work for me.

[Xx_The_Masquerade_xX]

To the Bone 2017

Lily Collins was good in the film

[JAGzilla]

The Wailing and Parasite, both of which were excellent. South Korea is really putting out some top-tier films these days. I'll probably look into Okja and Snowpiercer sometime soon.

EDIT: Just got done with Love and Monsters. Nothing to write home about, but a moderately fun monster adventure. There was definitely some Monsterverse influence in the end credits sequence. It's always nice to see new original properties like this, hopefully we'll get more.

[KManX89]

The Wailing and Parasite, both of which were excellent. South Korea is really putting out some top-tier films these days. I'll probably look into Okja and Snowpiercer sometime soon.

EDIT: Just got done with Love and Monsters. Nothing to write home about, but a moderately fun monster adventure. There was definitely some Monsterverse influence in the end credits sequence. It's always nice to see new original properties like this, hopefully we'll get more.

Don't tell Trump that.

Also just got started watching the first season of Falling Skies from the Blu-Ray Collection, definitely not GoT or True Blood caliber, but pretty good. I like alien/monster shows/movies.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Falling Skies has its ups and downs but it a pretty good show overall. Just keep in mind the best characters won't be introduced for awhile.

[Jetty_Jags]

I have spent a lot of time catching up on movies and exploring new genres and niches of cinema over the past month and a half so far, and have really been enjoying the journey. Here is a list (https://letterboxd.com/zaddy_mcdaddy/list/break-movies/) of all the movies I have seen recently if anyone is interested.

Some of my favorites have been

Paris, Texas (84) - I really found the story to be bittersweet yet beautiful, I'll need to think about it some more but I think it may be one of my all time favorites
Insomnia (97)- really enjoyable neo-noir with a brilliant use of fog and light to invert the classical noir style
Lighthouse (19)- I have no idea what happened in this movie and I love it
Mother (2009) - a really interesting exploration of motherhood, reminds me of the maternal aggression described in mother grizzly bears (not yet on the list)

[Cryptid_Liker]

Just watched We Can Be Heroes. It's not as bad as I was expecting and there was a couple of good plot twists. But is it a good sequel to Sharkboy and Lavagirl? No. The reasons why are pretty spoilery and typing on an iPad is way too hard so I'll pick this post up later.

Symbiotic Titan, here I come!

[Leviarex]

Watched my copy of 'In Search Of Darkness Part II' last night. In addition to Brandon Tenold getting to throw his hat into the ring this time around, it's also great to see more of James Rolfe. In his video rental store basement no less.

[Agent Smith]

Just finished watching remake of Dawn of the Dead the first time. It isn't bad but definitely not as good as the original. I was impressed to find out Zack Snyder was behind it. Just seems like his older stuff is more competently made even if he never understands the source material he that he directs.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

I mean outside of a large part of both films taking place in malls they don't really have a whole lot in common. I think James Gunn's script helped liven the film up.

[_JNavs_]

I don't know if this really counts since it's not a Hollywood film, but I just watched Fantastic Planet last night... As a sketch artist, I can really appreciate the stop motion animation they went with, it really added to that surrealness of the whole thing.. I felt like an Om (Orm?) the entire time, I felt like I was on the run alongside Terr, and the Draags were terrifyingly alien, all the odd devices, cultures and just the world itself felt alive. The sound design was off the charts, with electronic sounds replacing animal ones to replicate the unnaturalness of the whole situation.

At first I wasn't a huge fan of the French(?) dub with no opportunity to change to English, but I realized or atleast I felt like, I wasn't supposed to understand them directly.. since they're all "aliens" in a way.

[mikelcho]

I don't know if this really counts since it's not a Hollywood film, but I just watched Fantastic Planet last night... As a sketch artist, I can really appreciate the stop motion animation they went with, it really added to that surrealness of the whole thing.. I felt like an Om (Orm?) the entire time, I felt like I was on the run alongside Terr, and the Draags were terrifyingly alien, all the odd devices, cultures and just the world itself felt alive. The sound design was off the charts, with electronic sounds replacing animal ones to replicate the unnaturalness of the whole situation.

At first I wasn't a huge fan of the French(?) dub with no opportunity to change to English, but I realized or atleast I felt like, I wasn't supposed to understand them directly.. since they're all "aliens" in a way.

I got Fantastic Planet's Criterion release and I loved it, too - in fact, I put it right up there with Yellow Submarine in terms of weird creatures.

In fact, I kinda-sorta remember hearing or reading somewhere (I don't know which) that when Fantastic Planet was released in America, it may have been released with Yellow Submarine as a surreal double feature at one point or another (btw, it is Om).

[KManX89]

I just watched Bourne Ultimatum in 4K on Prime Video last night, still damn good. This movie easily has by far the best action, story, and pacing of all the Bourne films and the first and only one I can say is truly epic out of all of them (even though I enjoyed the other two as well). This film perfectly plays the back-and-forth POVs between the CIA and Bourne and never misses a beat. Whereas the first two are enjoyable but flawed, this one had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Plus the twist at the end was quite the "reveal", if I do say so myself. I also really liked the song during the ending.

[eabaker]

Over the weekend, I watched:

Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) - An enchanting movie with resonant messages, engrossing atmosphere, impeccable photography by Kazuo Miyagawa, and brilliant performances. Rashomon's Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyo are reunited to marvelous effect, but everybody in it is outstanding. The one drawback would be that the parallel stories it tells aren't always intercut very gracefully, and at times this interferes with the pacing and disrupts the spell being cast by the film's A plot.

Kill! (Kihachi Okamoto, 1968) - A lively, affectionately satirical take on the Samurai film, with a nearly impenetrable plot but delightful performances from a number of Toho's beloved stars (including repeat Godzilla series performers Yuriko Hoshi, Akira Kubo, Shin Kishida, Hideyo Amamoto, and Yoshio Tsuchiya). Tatsuya Nakadai's unique and charming performance in the lead - a cynical but good-humored ex-samurai turned half-hearted yakuza - is the best reason to watch the movie.

The World According to Garp (George Roy Hill, 1982) - An uneven film with moments of absolute brilliance, with lovely photography and a collection of great performances that brilliantly incorporates touches of surrealism while balancing moments of comedy, tragedy and utter joy to achieve a moving, humanist impact. Because Robin Williams was 31 at the time, but playing the character over many years of his life, the scenes in which Garp is a teenager come off a bit awward (and even creepy, when he's interacting with teenage girl characters).

[KManX89]

Watching the Unrated version of the original Saw on HBO Max, it still holds up pretty well all these years later. I loved the whole confinement angle and how it primarily focuses on two guys (Adam and Dr. Gordon) confined to one room with their legs chained to the wall while it lays out the exposition drops with Amanda, Tapp and all them.

And unlike the sequels, this one focuses primarily on atmosphere and suspense, which I think it also pulls off really well. There's definitely some tense moments to be had, especially the dark room bit with the laughing Jigsaw doll. If I were a few years younger, that might've legitimately freaked me out, lol. I don't even really consider the first one torture porn (as most of the violence is offscreen), I consider it more of a crime thriller as opposed to the sequels, which definitely qualify as such.

I loved the twist with the dead body at the end, who I'm sure, by now, you all know is Jigsaw. Seriously, who didn't love that shit? Hearing that "Game over", that was a powerful closing to an (at the time) unique horror concept that would sadly get abused.

[MaxRebo320]

Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) - An enchanting movie with resonant messages, engrossing atmosphere, impeccable photography by Kazuo Miyagawa, and brilliant performances. Rashomon's Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyo are reunited to marvelous effect, but everybody in it is outstanding. The one drawback would be that the parallel stories it tells aren't always intercut very gracefully, and at times this interferes with the pacing and disrupts the spell being cast by the film's A plot.

This is one of those movies I feel I'd love...if I could get the chance to see it in theaters. My home viewing of it about a year or so ago wasn't bad, I just wasn't sucked into it like I feel I should have been. I've heard a lot of other people say the same thing. It's similar with 2001: A Space Odyssey, a movie I could never get into until I had the opportunity to see it on the big screen in 2018.

Kill! (Kihachi Okamoto, 1968) - A lively, affectionately satirical take on the Samurai film, with a nearly impenetrable plot but delightful performances from a number of Toho's beloved stars (including repeat Godzilla series performers Yuriko Hoshi, Akira Kubo, Shin Kishida, Hideyo Amamoto, and Yoshio Tsuchiya). Tatsuya Nakadai's unique and charming performance in the lead - a cynical but good-humored ex-samurai turned half-hearted yakuza - is the best reason to watch the movie.

eabaker, you REALLY need to dive deeper into the works of Okamoto! I feel you'd really enjoy a lot of his stuff. My personal favorites are Blue Christmas, Japan's Longest Day, Samurai Assassin and Fort Graveyard. Kill! actually ranks among his lesser films IMO, but I agree with all you've said - the plot's frankly a mess, but there are more than enough fun performances and sequences to keep you entertained.

[eabaker]

Kill! (Kihachi Okamoto, 1968) - A lively, affectionately satirical take on the Samurai film, with a nearly impenetrable plot but delightful performances from a number of Toho's beloved stars (including repeat Godzilla series performers Yuriko Hoshi, Akira Kubo, Shin Kishida, Hideyo Amamoto, and Yoshio Tsuchiya). Tatsuya Nakadai's unique and charming performance in the lead - a cynical but good-humored ex-samurai turned half-hearted yakuza - is the best reason to watch the movie.

eabaker, you REALLY need to dive deeper into the works of Okamoto! I feel you'd really enjoy a lot of his stuff. My personal favorites are Blue Christmas, Japan's Longest Day, Samurai Assassin and Fort Graveyard. Kill! actually ranks among his lesser films IMO, but I agree with all you've said - the plot's frankly a mess, but there are more than enough fun performances and sequences to keep you entertained.

Noted! Thank you!

[MaxRebo320]

Noted! Thank you!

If you need help finding any of those titles (Since a lot aren't available officially in the US), feel free to shoot me a PM. Same applies to anyone else reading.