Toho Kingdom

Ive now officially finished The Walking Dead. Its weird. I was 8 years old when I started watching this show. It has been in the background for every major moment in my life, and now its over. I have very mixed emotions here.

The new Norwegian giant monster movie on Netflix, Troll. Surprisingly pretty good! Not amazing, kinda generic, but a solid new entry in the Kaiju Renaissance, and one from a country not known for movies like this. Go check it out!

Saw Evangelion 3.0+1.0 last night in IMAX. I think it hit even harder the second time, over a year since I saw it first. I'm still in awe of this incredible film, and love it even more. This time around I picked up a lot more homages to tokusatsu, as well as a lot of other little things. And, having just finished Neon Genesis and End of Evangelion over the weekend, it's safe to say I like Thrice Upon a Time better overall than End of Evangelion.

JAGzilla wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 5:01 am The new Norwegian giant monster movie on Netflix, Troll. Surprisingly pretty good! Not amazing, kinda generic, but a solid new entry in the Kaiju Renaissance, and one from a country not known for movies like this. Go check it out!

Any relations to the found footage film Troll Hunter? That was a really neat and subversive film.

Executive Hamster wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 3:56 pm

JAGzilla wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 5:01 am The new Norwegian giant monster movie on Netflix, Troll. Surprisingly pretty good! Not amazing, kinda generic, but a solid new entry in the Kaiju Renaissance, and one from a country not known for movies like this. Go check it out!

Any relations to the found footage film Troll Hunter? That was a really neat and subversive film.

I don't think so. I haven't seen Troll Hunter, but it seemed like a standalone to me.

Hey guys just me here once again.

I last watched Zontar The Thing From Venus.

What a Z-Grade borefest.

The alien birds are funny though.

Executive Hamster wrote: ↑Thu Nov 24, 2022 12:13 am Ive now officially finished The Walking Dead. Its weird. I was 8 years old when I started watching this show. It has been in the background for every major moment in my life, and now its over. I have very mixed emotions here.

I feel the exact same way. I grew up with this show, but I walked away from the finale just...not really feeling anything? And I dont mean in an "existential-dread" type way that I felt after the Clone Wars finale, or the "that was good but I'm sad its over, but it was a good ending" feeling i got from Better Call Saul.

TWD finale was just kind of....blah?

In a lot of ways however TWD isn't over. The show proper might be but there's still not done and most the upcoming spinoffs are likely to follow many of the lingering plot threads that remain.

Bullet Train. God, that was a hilarious and action-packed time. I absolutely adored it. This is how you do cameos, and I say that because I couldn't finish Amsterdam

"That guy is definitely a Diesel."

MechaGoji Bro7503 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 8:42 pm Bullet Train. God, that was a hilarious and action-packed time. I absolutely adored it. This is how you do cameos, and I say that because I couldn't finish Amsterdam

"That guy is definitely a Diesel."

Spot on with that Bullet Train review. Absolutely loved this movie! Saw this back in theatres with a friend when it came out and everyone in the theater was having a good time. Watched it again recently on Netflix with the family, and it was a crowd pleaser once again. Too bad critics gave it crap

Watched Barbarian, had a somewhat strong start (although I think the dialogue was clunky all the way through), but quickly loses traction with the second act, and its superficial social commentary. I recognize some moments were supposed to be humorous, but when I'm laughing at the film more than with the film there's a problem, particularly for a horror picture. Ending becomes so absurd that I am unable to take it seriously, perhaps I wouldn't mind if the film did some interesting things thematically, but it doesn't (although not for a lack of trying). It was entertaining all the way through, I'll give it that, but I wouldn't consider it "good".

Jetty_Jags wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:51 pm Watched Barbarian, had a somewhat strong start (although I think the dialogue was clunky all the way through), but quickly loses traction with the second act, and its superficial social commentary. I recognize some moments were supposed to be humorous, but when I'm laughing at the film more than with the film there's a problem, particularly for a horror picture. Ending becomes so absurd that I am unable to take it seriously, perhaps I wouldn't mind if the film did some interesting things thematically, but it doesn't (although not for a lack of trying). It was entertaining all the way through, I'll give it that, but I wouldn't consider it "good".

Yesterday, in honor of the great Tatsuya Nakadai's 90th Birthday, I rewatched the movie that started my appreciation for him in the first place, Toho's Blue Christmas from 1978.

Man, I didn't even expect it, but I keep falling more and more in love with the movie every time I see it. It truly is a great demonstration of how corrupted people can become over a simple prejudice. It's truly a shame that it hasn't received much attention outside of Japan. Here's to hoping that a possible Blu-ray release might fix that.

Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 2:23 am In a lot of ways however TWD isn't over. The show proper might be but there's still not done and most the upcoming spinoffs are likely to follow many of the lingering plot threads that remain.

True. Still feeling sentimental though. I went ahead and started watching Fear, as well as buying all the comics and hopefully getting around to finishing the Telltale game I havent played in months. Going all out on TWD stuff.

Just watched Amsterdam. I was good, a pretty fun time. Also heavily topical for our times. A comedy mystery about 3 friends who part ways after the first World War who are brought back together to stop a conspiracy to topple the US government. Based partially on a true story though many of the names were changed. Features an all star cast including Christian Bale, Margo Robbie, and Robert De Niro. Timothy Olyphant is nearly unrecognizable as the killer (don't worry that's not really a spoiler).

I've been on break (my last real one before graduation this spring), so I've been catching up on a lot of films I haven't seen yet, of all varieties.

1) Shutter Island
-Really entertaining, although somewhat derivative [shares quite a few plot points and thematic elements of an older film (saying what film will spoil it) but definitely has a lot of merit to stand on its own]. I think it is at its most interesting when its playing into the "Catch 22" element, as well as when it's comparing the horrors of the Nazi "Jewish Solution" to that of early 20th century insane asylums.
2) Emily the Criminal
- I found this quite boring. It's shot well and Aubrey Plaza has some fun moments but is too similar to many other works in the genre which greatly hampered my sense of suspense. It doesn't help that the film chooses a more realistic approach to the crimes it depicts. I can't fault the film for this, and in hindsight I do appreciate the attempt, but the lack of spectacle further hurts how engaging it is (I just don't find credit card fraud that thrilling). I wouldn't mind if it gave some more thematic or character elements to chew on, but everything else feels quite shallow. I can't help but feel slightly hypocritical as I love many examples of the stoic and quiet neo-noir protagonist, but I don't really get that with Emily. I do want to revisit and see if anything clicks on a second viewing, yet as it stands it just reminded me of a lot more engaging crime flicks I could be watching.
3) Vertigo
-What can I say that hasn't already been said, it is excellent. May have replaced Rear Window as my favorite Hitchcock (although I tend to appreciate more of his other films than be completely entertained by them). That being said, Vertigo is methodical, calculating, voyeuristic, and haunting. Very comfortable in disagreeing with Mr. Orson Welles on this one.
4) My Dinner With Andre
-Excellent thought-provoking script that manages to keep my attention despite what one might assume based on the premise. I would love to revisit this one when I develop a better eye for discerning how directors use cameras to tell stories. There must be some further meta narrative here, or else I can't understand why the chosen media is film and not theater (considering its one room setting, and the constant discussion over theater within the film itself).
5) Street Car Named Desire
-It should come as no surprise this has a brilliant screenplay, the characters are wonderfully tormenting and deeply engrossing. Of course, borrowing a great many stage actors to the screen also explains the strength of its performances (as well as the tonal melodrama throughout). What did catch me off guard was how beautifully shot it was. Its dark, and striking, and has a dense moody atmosphere that can easily compete with the best of film noirs, definitely takes advantage of the medium's strengths.
6) Dirty Harry
-I was not prepared for how gorgeous this film looks, the colors are crisp, the framing is exquisite, and the direction is energetic without being incoherent. Overall, an exceptionally enjoyable neo-noir that hits so many of the right notes. If I had one complaint, and this may seem like an odd one, I think Clint Eastwood is just a little too charismatic for this, that it is easy to be distracted from Callahan's more unethical qualities. Perhaps that is the point (or a means of justification), however I want to believe the film is more critical of Callahan than most give it credit for.

Watched the new A Christmas Story Christmas, and it was really well done. They didn't just redo scenes from the original but created their own scenes that was a nice mix of familiar but fresh. The film hits the feels too, wasn't expecting that. Go give this a watch, and the ending is a real treat.

MechaGoji Bro7503 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 24, 2022 10:01 am Watched the new A Christmas Story Christmas, and it was really well done. They didn't just redo scenes from the original but created their own scenes that was a nice mix of familiar but fresh. The film hits the feels too, wasn't expecting that. Go give this a watch, and the ending is a real treat.

Have you seen the previous film, A Christmas Story 2, where (I think) Ralph is a teenager and wants a car? I think it was released direct-to-home video.

Glass Onion was great! A worthy sequel to Knives Out. Like it’s predecessor, it wasn’t anything ground breaking, but it was a fun mystery movie, with whacky characters and commentary. It felt a little long at first, but once it got into its grove it was awesome.

I also cracked open that Godziban Blu-ray I have and watched it. Decent, but not anything you need to feel bad about missing out on if you don’t have a way to watch it. There’s some cool stuff that happens, and it’s nice seeing monsters like Varan appear briefly, even if puppet form, but it’s trying to be its own whacky puppet thing and not really a Godzilla movie. I enjoyed it for what it is.

I saw Barbarian today, and despite having most of it spoiled for me, I was still taken aback at how good the script was. The actors and production were phenomenal as well.
It would be nice to get some media shot in Detroit that isn't about how scary and shitty Detroit is though.