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.
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I haven't seen the latest Captain America movie, but found myself nodding along anyway.
Carl Lumbly's Isaiah Bradley is a treasure. As a metaphor, the character represents America's sins. But Lumbly's performance is what grounds it. and staves off pretension. Yes, more Isaiah, please. (Although the actor is no spring chicken, so he may have been in jail to avoid scenes making that obvious.)
Sam needs more quiet moments, as we need more time in Sam's head.
I would have been happy if Hulk had been left in the memory hole. But I guess those toys were too tempting to resist.
TIMELESS (2016–2018) aired on NBC. Two time-traveling factions. One preserving the past and one changing it. Like many good shows, it was cancelled twice. Two official seasons followed by a two episode finale. Unfortunately, the finale is not easily accessible (until now). The free streaming service Tubi is now showing the entire run including the finale.
Noferatu (2024) - Man, that was one boring f*ck!ng movie. Seriously, I was yawning at the end. I am so out of sync with movie audiences today who loved this film. I was constantly pausing it to see how much was left. Normally, I would just have bailed, but I figured I should stick it out. I liked the original better.
Inspired by Dark Shadows #22, "Seed of Evil" (see "Dark Shadows (alternate version" discussion), I recently watched...
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1957):
I have known about this movie since the 1978 remake was playing in the theaters, but I didn't actually see it until the mid-'90s. I liked it then, I like it even more now. One of these days perhaps I'll go to visit some of the filming locations. It's a really classy mid-'50s horror film.
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978):
I did not see this movie in 1978, and I'm not really sure why. Just didn't around to it, I guess. Like the original, I didn't see this one for the first time until the mid-'90s. It stars Donald Sutherland, one of Hollywood's most underrated actors IMO. It also features Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright and Leonard Nimoy, which I had completely forgotten. In some ways it is a "sequel" which follows on (more or less) directly from the end of the original. The original takes place in the fictional small town of Santa Mira, CA and ends up in San Francisco, whereas the remake takes place in San Francisco. Otherwise it's a beat-by-beat update. One thing I did not notice either time I saw it is that Kevin McCarthy, the lead in the original, makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of the remake ("reprising his role"?). It was Tracy who pointed it out to me. The two movies are "linked" in that respect, one leading directly into the other (excpet that they take place 21 years apart).
BODY SNATCHERS (1993):
I didn't even know about this one until it came up in conversation and my friends invited me over to their house to watch all three. It features Forest Whitaker and Meg Tilly (who has never been shy about "full frontal," as here). the main character is Gabrielle Anwar, who has been in a lot of stuff, but nothing else I've ever seen. Whereas the original ttok place in a small town and the remake in a big city, this one takes place (primarily) on an Army base. It struck me at the time that this is an odd sort of "trilogy" in which each part takes place years apart, yet at the same time. In a way it's like The Walking Dead franchise, except it's a bit scarier since the "pod people" are harder to identify than the "walkers."
THE INVASION (2007):
This one I knew about since its release and I've been meaning to watch all four, but it's taken me 18 years to get around to it. Like the three previous installments in the non-series, it advances the "overall plot" that much more. It's almost as if there were four trilogies (or quadrilogies), and I was watching part one of the first, part two of the second, and so on. Unlike the previous version, The Invasion provides a modicum of closure. I'm reluctant to say more in case there' is someone reading this who hasn't seen this film (or these films) and wants to, but may not get around to it until 2043. All of these are enjoyable, good representatives of their respective eras for the genre. I know that there are at least three other "pod people/body snatcher" themed movies, but I'm kind of "podded out" at this point.
Filming Locations for Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956), around Los Angeles.
Travel guide to Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956), around Los Angeles.
Erin Lee Carr's documentary, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara. It focuses on the alt-pop duo's fifteen year+ harassment by a disturbed person pretending to be Tegan online, in emails, and in text messages-- someone who gained access to a bewildering range of the twins' personal information. For various reasons, they rarely spoke about the situation, beyond reminding people in their offiical media that they would only contact people through identified channels, and any other email contact claiming to be them is not them. However, the existence of "Fake Tegan" or "Fegan" was known and discussed by many people. The documentary tries its best to untangle the truth behind the incident, and its effects on the women throughout their careers. We see the far-reaching effects of Fegan. The documentary ends with a phone call to a creepy individual whom evidence suggests is Fegan, or possibly, a Fegan, since objectively terrible people online often work in groups.
It's disturbing to see the degree to which technology has aided the criminally inclined.
Early in their career, they were very accessible to their audience. Once again, the moral of the story ends up being, "this is why we can't have nice things."
Oh, and also, the 1965 adaptation of She, a Hammer/Universal co-production, with Ursula Andress (dubbed again) as the titular character. It's fine, as far as it goes, but the last version was made in 1935 and, honestly, it belongs in the past. It retains the Victorian fun adventure story. It also retains the colonialist attitudes and outright racism of the original. Putting it out in 1965 strikes me as particularly tone-deaf, though it was apparently a big hit.
Good thing that attitudes have changed so much. *Cough*
Replies
I haven't seen the latest Captain America movie, but found myself nodding along anyway.
TIMELESS (2016–2018) aired on NBC. Two time-traveling factions. One preserving the past and one changing it. Like many good shows, it was cancelled twice. Two official seasons followed by a two episode finale. Unfortunately, the finale is not easily accessible (until now). The free streaming service Tubi is now showing the entire run including the finale.
Love that show! Need to go back and watch it from the beginning, because we first picked it up halfway through season 1.
Noferatu (2024) - Man, that was one boring f*ck!ng movie. Seriously, I was yawning at the end. I am so out of sync with movie audiences today who loved this film. I was constantly pausing it to see how much was left. Normally, I would just have bailed, but I figured I should stick it out. I liked the original better.
INVASIONS OF THE BODY SNATCHERS:
Inspired by Dark Shadows #22, "Seed of Evil" (see "Dark Shadows (alternate version" discussion), I recently watched...
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1957):
I have known about this movie since the 1978 remake was playing in the theaters, but I didn't actually see it until the mid-'90s. I liked it then, I like it even more now. One of these days perhaps I'll go to visit some of the filming locations. It's a really classy mid-'50s horror film.
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978):
I did not see this movie in 1978, and I'm not really sure why. Just didn't around to it, I guess. Like the original, I didn't see this one for the first time until the mid-'90s. It stars Donald Sutherland, one of Hollywood's most underrated actors IMO. It also features Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright and Leonard Nimoy, which I had completely forgotten. In some ways it is a "sequel" which follows on (more or less) directly from the end of the original. The original takes place in the fictional small town of Santa Mira, CA and ends up in San Francisco, whereas the remake takes place in San Francisco. Otherwise it's a beat-by-beat update. One thing I did not notice either time I saw it is that Kevin McCarthy, the lead in the original, makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of the remake ("reprising his role"?). It was Tracy who pointed it out to me. The two movies are "linked" in that respect, one leading directly into the other (excpet that they take place 21 years apart).
BODY SNATCHERS (1993):
I didn't even know about this one until it came up in conversation and my friends invited me over to their house to watch all three. It features Forest Whitaker and Meg Tilly (who has never been shy about "full frontal," as here). the main character is Gabrielle Anwar, who has been in a lot of stuff, but nothing else I've ever seen. Whereas the original ttok place in a small town and the remake in a big city, this one takes place (primarily) on an Army base. It struck me at the time that this is an odd sort of "trilogy" in which each part takes place years apart, yet at the same time. In a way it's like The Walking Dead franchise, except it's a bit scarier since the "pod people" are harder to identify than the "walkers."
THE INVASION (2007):
This one I knew about since its release and I've been meaning to watch all four, but it's taken me 18 years to get around to it. Like the three previous installments in the non-series, it advances the "overall plot" that much more. It's almost as if there were four trilogies (or quadrilogies), and I was watching part one of the first, part two of the second, and so on. Unlike the previous version, The Invasion provides a modicum of closure. I'm reluctant to say more in case there' is someone reading this who hasn't seen this film (or these films) and wants to, but may not get around to it until 2043. All of these are enjoyable, good representatives of their respective eras for the genre. I know that there are at least three other "pod people/body snatcher" themed movies, but I'm kind of "podded out" at this point.
I agree that they are all good in their own ways, which doesn't often happen with sequels and reboots.
Erin Lee Carr's documentary, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara. It focuses on the alt-pop duo's fifteen year+ harassment by a disturbed person pretending to be Tegan online, in emails, and in text messages-- someone who gained access to a bewildering range of the twins' personal information. For various reasons, they rarely spoke about the situation, beyond reminding people in their offiical media that they would only contact people through identified channels, and any other email contact claiming to be them is not them. However, the existence of "Fake Tegan" or "Fegan" was known and discussed by many people. The documentary tries its best to untangle the truth behind the incident, and its effects on the women throughout their careers. We see the far-reaching effects of Fegan. The documentary ends with a phone call to a creepy individual whom evidence suggests is Fegan, or possibly, a Fegan, since objectively terrible people online often work in groups.
It's disturbing to see the degree to which technology has aided the criminally inclined.
Early in their career, they were very accessible to their audience. Once again, the moral of the story ends up being, "this is why we can't have nice things."
Oh, and also, the 1965 adaptation of She, a Hammer/Universal co-production, with Ursula Andress (dubbed again) as the titular character. It's fine, as far as it goes, but the last version was made in 1935 and, honestly, it belongs in the past. It retains the Victorian fun adventure story. It also retains the colonialist attitudes and outright racism of the original. Putting it out in 1965 strikes me as particularly tone-deaf, though it was apparently a big hit.
Good thing that attitudes have changed so much. *Cough*
Currently re-watching Them! (1954) for the umpty-zillionth time. God, I love this movie!
We last saw it at a drive-in in a nearby town. In the summer, it pairs new release with old drive-in classics.
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