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.

[Indeed]

Under the Silver Lake is steeped in the underbelly of Hollywood much like Mulholland Drive. Let us know what you think after you view and it's currently available now on Prime Video!

Captain Comics said:

I loved both It Follows and Mulholland Drive, Jonan, so I'll watch for Under the Silver Lake.

[Indeed]

Finally had a chance to see Border.  Not at all what I expected, though I was anticipating something unique and Border delivered.  The heroine is now one of my favorites.  Good film. Not outstanding, but definitely something to check out!

[Indeed]

Also this weekend:

Bonnie and Clyde - Never before saw this 1967 film. It was pretty good with an hysterical, extended scene with Gene Wilder.

The Highwaymen - my sis informed me this was the Bonnie and Clyde story told from another perspective.  A bit long, but decent enough.

The Eyes of Laura Mars - fun to revisit a film I hadn't seen since I was boy and watched it a couple of times on Showtime.  Irvin Kershner is the director and this was before he handled The Empire Strikes Back.  Solid storytelling chops, but nothing extraordinary about the story. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT: Kevin Smith movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. I was vaguely aware that Kevin Smith was a movie director when Daredevil became part of the “Marvel Knights” line and he took over the writing, but I had not yet seen any of his films at that time. I think the best ones are Clerks, Clerks II and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, so if you like those, you should like Reboot. Similarly, if you dislike those movies, you should avoid Reboot.

Kevin Smith movies are generally pretty low-brow, and Reboot is no exception. All of them, however, have one standout scene which telegraphs the theme, and Reboot is no exception to that, either. I don’t often laugh out loud, and I found myself tracking how often tracy and I did. Tracy was one laugh ahead (2:1) at the halfway point, but the second half (as well as the credits sequence) had the most laughs. In summation, it’s not great cinema but it is an enjoyable way to spend an evening.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Man, I am a huge Kevin Smith fan, but Clerks II is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I never laughed once.  I still one to see the Reboot though.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT: Kevin Smith movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. I was vaguely aware that Kevin Smith was a movie director when Daredevil became part of the “Marvel Knights” line and he took over the writing, but I had not yet seen any of his films at that time. I think the best ones are Clerks, Clerks II and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, so if you like those, you should like Reboot. Similarly, if you dislike those movies, you should avoid Reboot.

Kevin Smith movies are generally pretty low-brow, and Reboot is no exception. All of them, however, have one standout scene which telegraphs the theme, and Reboot is no exception to that, either. I don’t often laugh out loud, and I found myself tracking how often tracy and I did. Tracy was one laugh ahead (2:1) at the halfway point, but the second half (as well as the credits sequence) had the most laughs. In summation, it’s not great cinema but it is an enjoyable way to spend an evening.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Recent movies I have seen:

Hobo witih a Gun - This is a movie based on a fake trailer from Grindhouse, Totally over the top gore, and a ridiculous premise. Oddly, compelling. Definitely, not for everyone, but I semi-enjoyed it.

Akira - I( first watched this 20+ years ago and found it really boring. After a re-watch, it is still just mind numbingly boring. I just don't get the appeal of this flick. 

Brooklyn's Finest - This is a movie that tells three stories. A dirty cop, a cop deep undercover, and a cop right at retirement. It was awesome. I've seen 3 Antoine Fuqua films, and I have enjoyed them all. This one I really recommend. 

[Richard Willis]

Spaceballs is a fun movie. I have it somewhere and don't remember much about it either.

As for dubbing vs sub-titles, I prefer dubbing if done well. If a movie is engaging enough I can get into the sub-titles. My wife doesn't like it. The best dubbing I've seen to date was on the original Swedish trilogy that begins with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The mouth movements of the actors speaking Swedish is so close to the dubbed dialog that I never noticed any difference. The DVDs have the dubbing option while (unless it's changed) the streaming versions had only sub-titles. Anyone who hasn't seen the original trilogy should do so.

I never went to see the English language remake of the first movie. Now that I have seen Rooney Mara in the 2018 movie Mary Magdalene I was so impressed by her acting that I'll have to see the remake starring her.

[JD DeLuzio]

The remake is okay. Whether it needs to exist is an open question, but it compares favorably, especially in the presentation of the titular GwtDT.

Richard Willis said:

Spaceballs is a fun movie. I have it somewhere and don't remember much about it either.

As for dubbing vs sub-titles, I prefer dubbing if done well. If a movie is engaging enough I can get into the sub-titles. My wife doesn't like it. The best dubbing I've seen to date was on the original Swedish trilogy that begins with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The mouth movements of the actors speaking Swedish is so close to the dubbed dialog that I never noticed any difference. The DVDs have the dubbing option while (unless it's changed) the streaming versions had only sub-titles. Anyone who hasn't seen the original trilogy should do so.

I never went to see the English language remake of the first movie. Now that I have seen Rooney Mara in the 2018 movie Mary Magdalene I was so impressed by her acting that I'll have to see the remake starring her.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

THE PRINCESS BRIDE: A couple of weeks ago, Tracy and I were watching an episode of Deep Space Nine when I recognized the voice of the grand Nagus as that of Wallace Shawn, who plays Dr. Sturgis on Young Sheldon. I mentioned that here, and Bob said he always thinks of Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride. That night I asked Tracy if she had ever heard of it. Big mistake. Not only is it one of her favorite movies, but she’s been trying to convince me to watch it for the past 18 years. (Who knew?) Then, last week, it was mentioned on This Is Us and the writing was on the wall. I knew this movie was in my future. It wasn’t really my kind of movie, but it was not an unpleasant way to kill two hours. I have been told that in order to gain a lifelong appreciation of this movie, one must see it before one reaches a certain age. That assertion turned out to be true for me. I don’t know what that age is, but I am apparently long past it.

[Philip Portelli]

Jeff, you never saw The Princess Bride? Ever? Not once on TV, VHS or DVD? But that's...that's...

Seriously this is a great film where practically half the script (or more) can be quoted! A very strong cast with action, adventure, romance, drama, laughs, a giant and true love! 

It's even better if you've read the book, which I have! 

One of my favorites!

[JohnD]

Don't feel bad Jeff. I've never seen Princess Bride either.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"Jeff, you never saw The Princess Bride?"

I never even heard of it.

"Ever?"

Well, I must have heard of it sometime, because apparently my wife has been trying to talk me into see it ever since we were married. But I have an uncanny ability not to retain any information that doesn't interest me. Having heard only the title, I'm sure I assumed it was a romcom (which it kind of was).