Movies I Have Seen Lately

[The Baron]

Saw a Takashi Miike picture called The Great Yokai War. "Yokai" is a Japanese term for monsters from folklore, as opposed to the more familiar kaiju. It's a kids' picture, about a young boy from Tokyo sent out to live in the countryside with his older sister and his intermittently senile grandfather. When a vengeful spirit appears, the boy gets caught up in a war between warring groups of yokai and must find his courage to become the "Kirin Rider", the hero who will set everything to rights. It's not a bad picture - nothing deep, but an amusing story. Some of the yokai are really trippy, Japanese folklore can get pretty "out there", apparently.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

THE WORLD GONE MAD (1933): This movie definitely does not belong in a "horror" set. It's so boring I don't even know how to classify it, but certainly not as horror. It's about... I don't know, securities fraud? (I hesitate to classify it as "gangster" although criminals are certainly involved.) The soundtrack had a "popping" noise running throughout the background, and Tracy and I kept ourselves amused guessing what the noise could be. One nice surprise was seeing a young Neil Hamilton as the D.A. (he would have been 34 years old at the time, but looked older even then). 

[JD DeLuzio]

I just rewatched When We Were Kings (1996) for the first time since it came out. I had entirely forgotten the two seconds when Soul Brother #1, James Brown, flashes his reading material:

[Jeff of Earth-J]

BRAZIL: 

Watching Time Bandits last week (see above) and learning that Terry Gilliam intended it as the first part of a "Trilogy of Imagination" with Time Bandits being seen through the eyes of a child, Brazil through the eyes of a man in his thirties, and Baron Munchausen through the eyes of an elderly man, put me in the mood to watch the other two.

"One of my college roommates introduced me to Brazil and it took me a little by surprise. (I hadn't known quite what to expect, but not that.)"

I think we saw Brazil, not at a theater but as a Students' Association movie, probably in 1986 at the tender age of 22 years. But now, after an additional 35 years of adult experience, I totally get it. There's a definite '80s slant to it, but I can relate to more aspects than seem dated. Brazil could almost be the story of my life (but not quite). 

"I've wanted to rewatch it for many years now but never even broached the topic with Tracy because I know it wouldn't appeal to her."

Actually, she liked Brazil more than she liked Time Bandits. 

NEXT WEEKEND: Baron Munchhausen

UP NEXT: The Little Shop of Horrors

[Jeff of Earth-J]

THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960): I had never seen this cult-classic before until last night. (I've never seen the 1986 remake, either.) I'm sure most of you reading this post will have seen it, so no need to belabor the plot. It was funnier than I expected it to be, and I was expecting the Jack Nicholson role. It is staged very much like a play. I thought the play came first,  based on the staging, but Wikipedia tells me the play was based on the movie. I wouldn't mind seeing it performed on stage sometime. 

[The Baron]

I've never seen any version of that, myself.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960): I had never seen this cult-classic before until last night. (I've never seen the 1986 remake, either.) I'm sure most of you reading this post will have seen it, so no need to belabor the plot. It was funnier than I expected it to be, and I was expecting the Jack Nicholson role. It is staged very much like a play. I thought the play came first,  based on the staging, but Wikipedia tells me the play was based on the movie. I wouldn't mind seeing it performed on stage sometime. 

[The Baron]

"TV's Frank" Conniff has said that when he was on Mystery Science Theater 3000, he had the job of going through movies for potential use in the show. Sometimes he would watch movies that he had no intention of recommending for use on the show, just because he wanted to see them.

I could see myself doing that.

[JD DeLuzio]

Like many a nerd, I stumbled over the original on late-night TV when I was a teen and was both entertained and fascinated by its thrown-together cheapness. I've seen the musical on stage (amateur theatre, but very well done) and the big-budget movie, and they were fine, but nothing quite matches the bargain-basement charm of the 1960 film.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

The drama department of the school in which I work is performing "The Little Shop of Horrors" March 31 - April 3.

[The Baron]

I'll be honest, I'm probably not gonna make it.

PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod said:

The drama department of the school in which I work is performing "The Little Shop of Horrors" March 31 - April 3.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

I may be able to post a link to a video after the performances.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I probably would (we'd love to see you and Peggy again), but I'm not sure I'm ready to fly again. 

The Baron said:

I'll be honest, I'm probably not gonna make it.

PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod said:

The drama department of the school in which I work is performing "The Little Shop of Horrors" March 31 - April 3.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

I do wish we were within a day trip driving distance.