Post by Martin Stett on Jun 24, 2024 12:17:19 GMT
The Pigeon Tunnel (2023) - Not very informative as a documentary, telling us little about Cornfield that isn't easily accessible biographical information. Still, he's such an affable interviewee and his stories are so entertaining that it's hard not to get swept up in it sometimes. 6/10
Bujji & Bhairava (2024 TV series) - A very short little tie-in to the upcoming Kalki 2898 A.D. movie. Good Saturday morning cartoon fun for the kids, giving us a glimpse of the world and some nice banter and gags between our two leads. The English dub was mediocre, but that's all I could get my hands on. 6/10
The Twilight Samurai (2002) - A simple story, told well. It's too laid-back and slice-of-life to have the power of Harakiri or Samurai Rebellion - but perhaps the best comparison would be Harakiri: Death of a Samurai. They're both quiet little tragedies that aren't going for huge emotional payoffs, and they both work because of their slowly developed cascade of details that create a simple, good life. Neither set my world on fire, but I greatly appreciate their restraint and humanity. 7/10
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001 rewatch) - My first time with the extended edition. The added Shire stuff draaaags. (I would have liked more time in the Shire, but the issues I have are entirely down to the narrative function being so terribly paced in both versions - the book handled it far better.) That said, the added Lothlorien bits and dialogues with Boromir help with pacing and character development, and on the whole this improves upon the theatrical cut. My big problem is that Jackson is just waaaaay too over-the-top and EPIC for this part of the tale - so many moments were supposed to be hard-hitting and just made me roll my eyes or giggle: Galadriel turning into a horror movie ghost monster is especially laughable (ditto Bilbo's horrible overacting when he gets ring-possessed), but just as bad are the fight scenes looking so COOOOOOOL when in reality they're just stupid. Why do all the bad guys in Moria SURROUND OUR HEROES 100-1 AND THEN RUN AWAY FOR THE BALROG TOKILL THEM HELP THEM ESCAPE? I get it, the Balrog is scary (and a similar - though not silly and moronic - event happens in the book, IIRC), but the only reason our heroes get out of that is the bad guys giving up. There's a lot of similarly contrived nonsense in the fights, and it draws me out of the movie every time. 6/10
Mami Wata (2023) - Simple, but effective. The cinematography by Lilis Soares is extraordinary: the black and white is used to make the skin and backgrounds BLACK and the makeup and costumes WHITE, for some truly striking contrast. The narrative may be simple on the surface, but it never fully sides with either faction, asking us to consider the merits and dangers of both. Pretty good movie. 7/10
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 2) - Four times as many *good* episodes as season 1! Meaning that there were.... uh, four. However, there are even more *terrible* episodes, so it balances out to bad. For a little bit in the middle, it looked like the show would begin turning into something more mature and thoughtful, but then IRISH PEASANTS! 4/10
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002 rewatch) - First time with the extended edition, and WHAT A MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT. Theoden goes from a bit player to practically the protagonist, and it makes everything in Rohan so much more epic and hard-hitting when Rohan isn't just Helm's Deep. Faramir also gets some key development that was desperately needed to understand him, and I liked the extra bits with Eowyn as well. This goes from mediocrity to classic, from boring action movie to high fantasy EPIC of good and evil, by adding these scenes. We now have a world, not just an excuse to string fights together. 9/10
The Remains of the Day (1993 rewatch) - We all like to think that we'd be the rebel when faced with evil, the hero that fights against tyranny. But in The Remains of the Day, we get pictures of three people that would likely be our true selves. Lord Darlington is a good man who is controlled by evil forces in the full belief that he is on the right side; Miss Kenton doesn't have the courage to stand up for what she believes is right, and crumbles under the weight of knowing that she just wants a happy life for herself; and Mr. Stevens is the ignorant, who stays out of things that don't concern him because what can a small, uneducated man do against things that are far grander than he is? And then the movie takes this political backdrop and foregrounds three stories of loneliness, demonstrating how the inability to stand for themselves is rooted in these same faults that make them unable to stand for other people. It's a magnificent film. 10/10
Bujji & Bhairava (2024 TV series) - A very short little tie-in to the upcoming Kalki 2898 A.D. movie. Good Saturday morning cartoon fun for the kids, giving us a glimpse of the world and some nice banter and gags between our two leads. The English dub was mediocre, but that's all I could get my hands on. 6/10
The Twilight Samurai (2002) - A simple story, told well. It's too laid-back and slice-of-life to have the power of Harakiri or Samurai Rebellion - but perhaps the best comparison would be Harakiri: Death of a Samurai. They're both quiet little tragedies that aren't going for huge emotional payoffs, and they both work because of their slowly developed cascade of details that create a simple, good life. Neither set my world on fire, but I greatly appreciate their restraint and humanity. 7/10
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001 rewatch) - My first time with the extended edition. The added Shire stuff draaaags. (I would have liked more time in the Shire, but the issues I have are entirely down to the narrative function being so terribly paced in both versions - the book handled it far better.) That said, the added Lothlorien bits and dialogues with Boromir help with pacing and character development, and on the whole this improves upon the theatrical cut. My big problem is that Jackson is just waaaaay too over-the-top and EPIC for this part of the tale - so many moments were supposed to be hard-hitting and just made me roll my eyes or giggle: Galadriel turning into a horror movie ghost monster is especially laughable (ditto Bilbo's horrible overacting when he gets ring-possessed), but just as bad are the fight scenes looking so COOOOOOOL when in reality they're just stupid. Why do all the bad guys in Moria SURROUND OUR HEROES 100-1 AND THEN RUN AWAY FOR THE BALROG TO
Mami Wata (2023) - Simple, but effective. The cinematography by Lilis Soares is extraordinary: the black and white is used to make the skin and backgrounds BLACK and the makeup and costumes WHITE, for some truly striking contrast. The narrative may be simple on the surface, but it never fully sides with either faction, asking us to consider the merits and dangers of both. Pretty good movie. 7/10
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 2) - Four times as many *good* episodes as season 1! Meaning that there were.... uh, four. However, there are even more *terrible* episodes, so it balances out to bad. For a little bit in the middle, it looked like the show would begin turning into something more mature and thoughtful, but then IRISH PEASANTS! 4/10
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002 rewatch) - First time with the extended edition, and WHAT A MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT. Theoden goes from a bit player to practically the protagonist, and it makes everything in Rohan so much more epic and hard-hitting when Rohan isn't just Helm's Deep. Faramir also gets some key development that was desperately needed to understand him, and I liked the extra bits with Eowyn as well. This goes from mediocrity to classic, from boring action movie to high fantasy EPIC of good and evil, by adding these scenes. We now have a world, not just an excuse to string fights together. 9/10
The Remains of the Day (1993 rewatch) - We all like to think that we'd be the rebel when faced with evil, the hero that fights against tyranny. But in The Remains of the Day, we get pictures of three people that would likely be our true selves. Lord Darlington is a good man who is controlled by evil forces in the full belief that he is on the right side; Miss Kenton doesn't have the courage to stand up for what she believes is right, and crumbles under the weight of knowing that she just wants a happy life for herself; and Mr. Stevens is the ignorant, who stays out of things that don't concern him because what can a small, uneducated man do against things that are far grander than he is? And then the movie takes this political backdrop and foregrounds three stories of loneliness, demonstrating how the inability to stand for themselves is rooted in these same faults that make them unable to stand for other people. It's a magnificent film. 10/10