Category Archives: Movies

#245- Akira

Quick recap: In Neo Tokyo,A teenage motorcycle club fights the government, who have taken their friend and turned him into a dangerous psychopath.

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Teenage biker gangs are the worst

Fun (?) fact: The film takes place in 2019, as Neo Tokyo is set to host the Summer Olympics. As ultimate proof the IOC all secretly love anime, Tokyo is actually hosting the Summer Olympics in 2020. Either that, or they know the world will be ending very soon.

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My thoughts: 5 minutes into Akira and my only thoughts were, ‘what the hell am I watching?’ and ‘Can I just watch this forever?’. To say this was an amazing experience is an understatement. As I drove home after the movie (I watched it at the Drafthouse) all I could think was that this movie changed my life somehow, even though I can’t explain in what way.

I’m not by any stretch of the imagination an ‘anime’ fan, although I did once buy the Cowboy Bebop Blue album because I was going through an especially bad breakup. After watching Akira, I GET it. Something this complex can’t be told through traditional means and anime is perfect for weaving in ridiculous plot points with achingly human experiences. I’m intentionally vague about the plot because there are just so many layers there. I went in thinking this was going to be some fluffy guy film about racing motorcycles and found that it was so much more.

Everything in Akira is over the top- the music, the plot, and especially the visuals. I can not believe this was made in 1988 because there are many shots that seem impossible without the aid of computer graphics. There were several really creepy scenes, which, as mentioned above, I won’t get into, but it gave me nightmares later on. I’m also a wimp, so take that into account. I have no idea if this movie is for everyone, but if you are in the least bit interested in anime, this is a hell of a way to get acquainted with the genre.

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Final review: 5/5

Up next: Foolish Wives

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#244- The Last Wave

Quick recap: A lawyer, David Burton, defends 5 Aborigines accused of murdering a man. During the trial, Burton starts to have nightmares and premonitions that make him go insane.

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When the guy who can supposedly turn into an owl looks at you like you are crazy, it’s time to reevaluate things

Fun (?) fact: Much of the movie is about crazy weather in Sydney, and there were actual freak storms happening during production. The crew decided to film in Adelaide, though, and had to recreate all of the heavy rain when they could’ve just stayed in Sydney.

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Also, it’s apparently normal to walk around in Australia with a cowboy hat on and no shirt.

My thoughts: I don’t lean one way or the other when it comes to procedural dramas. I’ve watched my fair share, but I’ve never read a John Grisham novel or seen a full episode of Law and Order. I thought The Last Wave would be similar to what I’m familiar with- a feel good story about wronged individuals, where we all learn a bit about ourselves in the process. I also don’t know much about the Aboriginal people, so I figured at the very least I would be educated a bit. A big fat NOPE this movie was. It was way more creepy than I thought it would be and took many dark turns I would never have imagined.

The movie starts with a really creepy sequence where it starts hailing in the middle of nowhere. There are children at a school and one of them gets hit in the head by the falling ice and the whole thing really unnerved me. It rains throughout the movie, but also frogs and petroleum fall out of the sky too. There were several scenes that freaked me out but for some reason, it was the weather I couldn’t stop thinking about. The premonitions were pretty creepy as well, especially one where one of the men is just standing in the house holding a rock dripping with blood.

I’m not really sure where the trial of the men fit into the story and I’m even more unsure of what happened at the end of the movie. Burton tries to prove that these Aborigines are ‘tribal’, meaning they follow ancient rituals and customs. His whole theory is that the man who died, died from a curse rather than being beaten to death. Yeah, the jury didn’t buy that either. But then it turns out that these men ARE actually tribal and have a sacred place in the sewage system, which is a little weird, tbh. Burton finds the place and then meets up with Charlie, who can turn into an owl. Charlie scares him and he kills Charlie with the same rock as in his dream! After murdering the guy, Burton wanders around the sewer for awhile, dropping tribal relics he stole in poop water. Dude is cursed upon cursed upon cursed at this point. He manages to find his way out and it takes him to the ocean where he either imagines a huge wave wiping out Sydney or there is an actual wave about to wipe out Sydney. A LAST WAVE, if you will.

Final review: 4/5. Much weirder than I expected but a bit ambiguous.

Up next: Foolish Wives

 

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#243-E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Quick recap:

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I remember another gentle visitor from the heavens. Who came to earth… and then died… only to be brought back to life again. And his name was: E.T., the extra-terrestrial. I love that little guy.

Fun (?) fact: E.T. is actually a plant-like creature and neither female or male

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This might be my new favorite reaction gif

My thoughts: This movie has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. Back when VCRs were hella expensive, Three-year-old Me would carry around the VHS tape everywhere I went on the off chance someone would feel sorry for me and let me watch it. It wasn’t until I ended up in the hospital when I was 5, that I finally got my hands on a VCR proving that a) sometimes you have to go to extremes to get what you want  and b) Chicken Pox is no laughing matter.

I’ve sat through E.T a handful of times as an adult and each time I’m amazed by how much the movie still affects me. I choked up as always during the scene when E.T and Elliott are in the bathroom dying, but there was this added layer to the movie where I identified more with the mom than I have in other viewings. It was almost as if I was watching something for the first time, noticing what the mom is going through as she deals with a separation on top of taking care of three kids, one of whom brings in an alien that almost kills him. It’s a lot to take in and though she doesn’t always handle things perfectly, she sees the bond Elliott and E.T have and she respects it, even though the consequences are so serious.

On paper, this movie looks like it would be a major train wreck. This kind of cutesy-buddy story about an alien and boy just doesn’t work most of the time, as evidenced by the many copycats that came after *ahem* Mac and Me. But throw in Spielberg and John Williams and you are at least heading in the right direction. There are so many iconic scenes in this movie- the bikes flying in the air, E.T and his glowing finger, and the score is still my favorite from everything Williams has done. I don’t know how an adult might react to viewing this film for the first time, although I can predict that it would probably be negative. The film itself is shot through the perspective of a young boy because it is a movie meant for children. It meant so much to me as a kid and I carried those lessons with me through adulthood.

Final review: 5/5

Up next: The Last Wave

 

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#242- Once Upon a Time in China

Quick recap: It’s about Imperialism! FINALLY. That’s been my go to response for classic literature since high school and now finally, I’m right. Also, there’s a bunch of fighting. 

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If I tried this, I would just end up setting myself on fire or something

Fun (?) fact: Jet-Li’s voice had to be dubbed over because he speaks Mandarin, not Cantonese.

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If you like Piña Coladas and doing Tai-Chi on the beach….

My thoughts: My experience with Martial arts consists of a solitary Tae Kwon Do class I took back in college. I’ve never been athletically inclined and this class put that fact in the spotlight.One time, my partner wasn’t there so the teacher practiced with me. I had practiced outside of class and when I asked him if I was doing the move right, he shook his head sadly and walked away. Some might call that unprofessional but I’m afraid that if he encouraged me, I might’ve ended up accidentally killing someone while attempting a roundhouse kick. He was right to do it.

There’s definitely a plot in Once Upon a Time in China, but good luck trying to figure it all out. I watched with my husband, who knows these kinds of movies and I’m surprised he didn’t pack his things and move out because of all the times I kept asking who the bad guys were.  From what I gather, there is the hero Wong Fei Hung, who is in several of these movies and I think he is the leader of a group of guys who fight for good. There’s a bad-ish gang as well as another bad guy who I don’t think is associated with anyone else. And then there are the British and Americans, who are taking the Chinese and selling them into slavery. Basically, everyone fights everyone at some point in the film and I think that’s all you really need to know to get by.

The fighting scenes were impressive, even though there were a lot of wires used. I don’t get the hatred some people have for special effects like this. These are the same people who go to museums and complain that they could’ve created the same kind of art and sold it for millions of dollars. Yeah, you could’ve buddy, but you didn’t. Any kind of fighting requires physical stamina that most people don’t have. They don’t just strap you to wires and leave you to fly around, looking flawless. I was also impressed with the humor used during the fight scenes. There was plenty of graphic violence to go around, but a lot of the fighting looked like the 3 Stooges.

Final review: 2/5. Enjoyable, but not really my thing. My opinion might change with more opportunities to watch this genre, though.

Up next: Rio Bravo or E.T

 

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