What movies did you see last week? (8/22-8/28)

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
Cold in July
47 Meters Down
Death Proof
Samaritan
Mission Impossible
Mission Impossible 2

Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) - Badass samurai film from Hideo Gosha.  Apparently a prequel of sorts to a Japanese tv series of the same name. The simplicity of its story reminds me of the Anthony Mann westerns of the 1950s.  8/10

Mephisto (1981) - Beautiful imagery here, with that final shot being a spectacular standout. 7/10

Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) - Damn it all, I cried, alright? That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it?  I hugged my dog and I cried. 7/10

Intentions of Murder (1964) - My 2nd Imamura film, this one just didn't do it for me, despite the great performance from Masumi Harukawa. Imamura also does a wonderful job directing this, as the shots here are to die for, but this film feels its length and the story was flimsy. 5/10

Wake in Fright (1971) - 7/10

A Dog's Life (1918) - I'm definitely more of a Keaton guy but Chaplin's work is so sweet and sincere.  I do wish the dog played a bit more of a central role but the parallels were nice.  7/10

The Immigrant (1917) - The Tramp up to his usual hijinks. It's always a nice viewing. 7/10

Repossessed (1990) - I remember seeing parts of this on tv growing up, but having watched it in full now I can say that it ain't pretty.  A lot of the humor did not age well at all and at the end of the day it feels like a cheap knockoff of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker films. 3/10

And some more Looney Tunes shorts before Discovery destroys HBO Max of all its animated content.

Robin Hood Daffy (1958) - Funny but nothing outstanding. 7/10
Knighty Knight Bugs (1958) - Some of its humor felt a little too mean-spirited, but Yosemite Sam is a good foil to Bugs. 7/10
Honey's Money (1962) - The Looney Tunes shorts were definitely on a downward trend by this time. It has its moments. 6/10
Hollywood Steps Out (1941) - Essentially a bunch of caricatures of golden age celebrities. Again, it has its moments 6/10
Deduce, You Say (1956) - It's fine, and I do prefer Daffy shorts in general, but a Daffy/Porky as Sherlock/Watson short should've been better. 7/10
Daffy Duck & Egghead (1938) - As I've said, I like my Daffy off the wall rather than prickly.  Some pure zaniness all around. 8/10
Swooner Crooner (1944) - Porky takes a back seat to his chickens in this one, but it's enjoyable, and that last button is good fun. 7/10

Love that one and his followup Sword of the Beast (Criterion channel, 85m!) which involves gold-seeking so it has an extra touch of the Old West.  I love how Gosha shoots action, you feel the strikes and he keeps it messy in a good way, how he incorporates the sets and spatiality.  

It's funny Criterion has 400 Japanese movies but there's still so many they're missing! Goyokin has some masterful scenes - I had the thought that I wish I saw it on the big screen. 

I don't love the Hanzos but they are kinda hilariously crude, like ridiculous exploitation meets samurai.  I haven't seen the Zatoichis! There's another six-film series on Criterion... Lone Wolf & Cub that I've been meaning to see, I've been told they're great.  

I watched the first four Zatoichi movies. They're surprisingly quiet and pained, observational movies. I didn't think that they worked as action films, but I did like them as character pieces.