Movies

[Madara]

Thea, I would rather you see the film first before endorsing it so wholeheartedly and reacting to criticism of it so indignantly.
 
Keep in mind that the critique I linked to was by a Korean-American journalist and comes from the vantage point of someone whose country was colonized and occupied by Japan for several decades and whose citizens suffered brutal treatment at the hands of the Japanese both before and during the war.
 
Anyway, I wrote a piece on the film on my film blog:
 
http://briandanacamp.wordpress.com/
 
I included in the comments section the complete text of a defense of the film sent to me by a young colleague who's well versed in Japanese film and history. His arguments don't sway me, but they might sway others.
 
And here's another critique of the film, from Detroit's MetroTimes (it's the second review on the page):
http://metrotimes.com/watch/film-reviews/film-review-the-wind-rises-1.1639871
 

[showraniy]

<div>
[quote="Thea"]
 
Do you see movies about America's crimes in wars? No. Nor, do I believe, are some of those horrible things taught to children in schools. It wasn't until college that I learned of what America did in various wars, so you can't fault Japan for not teaching their pre-college level children on that.
 
[/quote]
 
</div>
 
For your first question, of course there are films of America's war crimes. How can you honestly believe there aren't? Just because you haven't seen any doesn't mean, in the vast expanse of movies made across the globe, there aren't any. It's true that schools are quick to ignore their country's transgressions in curricula, but there are some that are faced head-on (e.g. I was taught of the US's history with slavery in elementary school).
 
As far as I know, people get pissy at Japan for being an asshat about their war crimes, not for just having done them. I believe the Prime Minister visited the Yasukuni Shrine a few years back during a time when it was in the spotlight for being so controversial. I also remember a whole office of people in the government visiting the shrine in a similar manner? But I dunno, it's been a while.
 
There are also the crowd who believe the war crimes didn't happen, but I don't know if anyone really listens to them or if they're just a really loud minority, kinda like the people who say the Holocaust didn't happen.
 
ANYWAY YAAAY GHIBLI AND RAINBOWS! I wanna see a Ghibli film again.

[cadmonkey]

I think you're putting too much emphasis on the fact that the author of the article is Korean American.  I'm Japanese American and find myself agreeing with her.  As I've said earlier in this thread, I spent nearly the entirety of the film conflicted with liking the protagonist as a designer (aided by my own fascination with aviation) and hating what his actions will lead to.  Ultimately, his disregard for what his machine does (and images like this one, where he laments the metal but not the man) make me dislike him as a character.
 
I don't think this film would be the right medium for Japan to start acknowledging what it did in World War II.  Adding a scene showing the Zero killing a bunch of people wouldn't do any good.
 
But then it all comes down to the fact that this is a fictionalized biography of a person, and I'm left with the simple thought: what was the fucking point of the movie?
 
---
 
On a much lighter note, I'm really looking forward to the next Ghibli film about Kaguyahime.  I always like the story as a kid, and Isao Takahata has directed some great, underrated Ghibli movies.

[Madara]

[quote="showraniy"]
 
<div>
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Thea" data-cid="172867" data-time="1393887039">
<div>
 
Do you see movies about America's crimes in wars? No. Nor, do I believe, are some of those horrible things taught to children in schools. It wasn't until college that I learned of what America did in various wars, so you can't fault Japan for not teaching their pre-college level children on that.
 
[/quote]
 
</div>
 
For your first question, of course there are films of America's war crimes. How can you honestly believe there aren't? Just because you haven't seen any doesn't mean, in the vast expanse of movies made across the globe, there aren't any. It's true that schools are quick to ignore their country's transgressions in curricula, but there are some that are faced head-on (e.g. I was taught of the US's history with slavery in elementary school).
 
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
And let me just add that a Hollywood film about a shameful chapter in America's history, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, just won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the year.

[Ap2000]

Aw shit, it's the first Expendables 3 trailer !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bPJrbzjLls

[Madara]

MAKE YOUR MOVE opens in NYC today. I'm on my way to see it. 
 
For the record, BoA plays a Korean who was born in Japan. That's what the reviews say. 
 
P.S. We had a discussion about this movie somewhere, but not in this thread. Where was it?
 

[Madara]

I enjoyed MAKE YOUR MOVE and I reviewed it on my film blog:
 
http://briandanacamp.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/make-your-move-american-south-korean-musical-with-k-pop-star-in-the-lead/#more-1744
 
For the record, BoA and Will Yun Lee play Koreans who were raised in Japan. They speak both Korean and Japanese in the course of the film.
 
There are a lot of good musical numbers. The dance/drum troupe that BoA leads is based on an actual all-female, all-Japanese taiko drumming dance team that is based in New York.
 
Here's a shot from the big finale:

[Madara]

I went to Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Saturday to see Cobu, the taiko dance/drumming group from MAKE YOUR MOVE, perform. I took pictures and video clips and posted them on my blog.
 

[al kusanagi]

The Asian Godzilla trailer gets it fucking right!!!
 
None of this "Godzilla VS the US Army OO-RAH!!!" bullshit the American trailers have been leading people to believe the movie is about, but what it's actually about: GODZILLA BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF OTHER MONSTERS!!!

[Ap2000]

[quote="Al Kusanagi"]
The Asian Godzilla trailer gets it fucking right!!!
 
None of this "Godzilla VS the US Army OO-RAH!!!" bullshit the American trailers have been leading people to believe the movie is about, but what it's actually about: GODZILLA BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF OTHER MONSTERS!!!
[/quote]
 

I have only watched half of this (because the insane amount of spoilered scenes) and the first western trailer and you are absolutely right.
Both have a way too high amount of fade to black and voiceover during black screen, though.

[Ap2000]

I always liked Bob Hoskins, but unfortunately he died yesterday at the age of 71.

[aine]

H. R. Giger died.

I'm sad.

[Madara]

[quote="Al Kusanagi"]
The Asian Godzilla trailer gets it fucking right!!!
 
None of this "Godzilla VS the US Army OO-RAH!!!" bullshit the American trailers have been leading people to believe the movie is about, but what it's actually about: GODZILLA BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF OTHER MONSTERS!!!
[/quote]
 
The U.S. military happens to be one of the major stars of the film. "Godzilla beating the shit out of other monsters" is practically an afterthought and really only occurs at the very end. And poor Ken Watanabe spends the entire film with the same baffled expression on his face. Two of the other major cast members are treated even more poorly, leaving us with that young guy from KICK-ASS and the lost Olsen triplet to take up way too much of the screen time. Very disappointing.
 
I had problems with PACIFIC RIM, but it was much better than this. Even the '98 Hollywood Godzilla was better than this.
 
Looks like it's time to dig out my VHS tape of GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER.

[al kusanagi]

Ah, you're in the "not enough Godzilla" camp. There are two very distinct types of Godzilla movies. There are the more serious ones where they focus on the human character and Godzilla only shows up mainly towards the end, and there are the more campy ones from the 70s and early 80s where it's nothing but guys in rubber suits and annoying kid characters. This one followed the formula of the first film very closely, with the added bonus of the extra monsters, and by limiting the time he was on screen, it makes every scene with the Big G truly awesome.

[Madara]

[quote="Al Kusanagi"]
Ah, you're in the "not enough Godzilla" camp. There are two very distinct types of Godzilla movies. There are the more serious ones where they focus on the human character and Godzilla only shows up mainly towards the end, and there are the more campy ones from the 70s and early 80s where it's nothing but guys in rubber suits and annoying kid characters. This one followed the formula of the first film very closely, with the added bonus of the extra monsters, and by limiting the time he was on screen, it makes every scene with the Big G truly awesome.
[/quote]
 
In the original GOJIRA there's a proper balance that gives us just the right amount of the monster and the various human stories. The new film comes after 60 years of G  fandom (55 of which had me as a participant) so there was more of an obligation to give the fans a little more than just a brief scrap in San Francisco at the end. especially when the human story is so weak, with the emphasis on the worst actors in the cast. 

[star]

I am a very enthusiastic X-Men fan (Comics, TV Series, Movies, Etc.) but after seeing Days Of Future Past tonight, all I have to say is Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique . . . FUCKING KILL IT WITH FIRE!

EDIT: Yes, I know she has played Mystique a couple of times, but I still hate her in that role. I prefer Rebecca Romijn as Mistique like in the first three movies. . . Jennifer Lawrence honestly isn't that good of an actor to play Mystique in my opinion.

[Ap2000]

I am a sucker for "Top XX lists", but this one is really interesting:
Top 10 Major Plot Holes in Movies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg3z3yI6cIU
 
EDIT:

Full Metal Jacket > Apocalypse Now.
There, I have said it.
I have NO regrets.

[Ap2000]

New Kids

New Kids Turbo

New Kids Nitro


These movies and the show are completely politically incorrect and they use utterly stupid and completely generic 90s techno music.


I'm not sure if they're available in anything but horribly dubbed (by the original actors !) German or Dutch, but it's insanely great.

It is pure retardation and there is a lot of female and male genitalia involved ! At least in the oral jokes.
Five guys being the ultra-prolls that don't know anything. They also call most people gay, eventhough they all seem gay if you look at them and how they act a little bit closer.
 
This is the essence of New kids, the intro and outro of the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=floyBfyRzdQ

[aine]

When Marnie Was There, new Ghibli movie trailer. Looks like something I'll enjoy.

[Madara]

Not sure where to post this since there's no longer a Movies thread in the Chillout Lounge, but this is about Japanese pop music--and one of its all-time biggest stars--so here it goes.
 
I did a piece on Hibari Misora and her 1956 musical, ROMANCE MUSUME, for my film blog, with lots of screen grabs:
 
http://briandanacamp.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/romance-musume-1956-color-musical-from-japan/
 

 

[Ap2000]

[quote="Madara"]
Not sure where to post this since there's no longer a Movies thread in the Chillout Lounge, but this is about Japanese pop music--and one of its all-time biggest stars--so here it goes.
[/quote]
 

What ar you talking about ? It's right here. haha
http://mm-bbs.org/index.php?showtopic=2155

[Madara]

I did a piece on Hibari Misora and her 1956 musical, ROMANCE MUSUME, co-starring Chiemi Eri and Izumi Yukimura, for my film blog, with lots of screen grabs. It's one of four sannin musume musicals with the trio.
 
http://briandanacamp.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/romance-musume-1956-color-musical-from-japan/
 


 
And I close the piece with Morning Musume.
 

[michisings]

 
I did a blog entry about the movie/musical, "Walking on Sunshine." It is not academy awards material perhaps, but it was still pretty fun. I wanted to share it in case someone else was interested. LINK HERE {Beware of Spoilers}

[Madara]

I critique the newest Pokémon movie, DIANCIE AND THE COCOON OF DESTRUCTION, on my Madara blog.
 

[showraniy]

I saw Interstellar this past Friday and have to say that I think it gave me all the gratuitous space shots I love while making up for narrative pitfalls in Gravity.


Interstellar is the space movie I've really wanted to see for a long time, so I hope it wins a lot of awards. I will say that I absolutely do not understand the love for the soundtrack though since it was SO loud during dialogue at times and was just dramatic noise most of the time. Maybe it was just our theater or something, but at some points, I could hear everyone in the theater asking one another what was said because the music drowned out a line or two. Get your shit together, mixing person!


But yeah, I enjoyed Gravity and all, and Interstellar's moment towards the end of the movie with the supermassive black hole was WAAAY too unbelievable to slide, but I'd say Interstellar comes out much, much better overall. It's Gravity space shots without the same unnecessarily heavy handed narrative IMO.

[al kusanagi]

Snowpiercer recently got added to Netflix. It's a pretty awesome movie with a bizarre premise. Also, I may be gay for Chris Evans...
 
Can't wait for Thursday so I can finally see Big Hero Six and Interstellar.

[Ap2000]

I forgot to talk about this, but I really wanted to write about it, hoping somebody else had similar, radically different or something inbetween experiences.
Since, well, at least it seemed interesting to me personally.

I've watched Battle Royale and Old Boy with my dad last summer. He watches pretty much every single, even just remotely, action-y movie that comes out.
He never fell asleep, he never was bored and I think that's a good thing.
When I asked him "did you understand this ?" questions during both films, which are more obvious when you've watched them more often, he gave "correct" answers.


I also watched Lost in translation with my mom and she liked it a lot.
Considering her comments after the movie ended, she was very inclined to agree that the Bob character didn't do much wrong, to put it simply.

[Ap2000]

The first Star Wars Episode VII - The force awakens trailer will be shown next weekend.
Hopefully it gets uploaded soon after.

[Ap2000]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Ap2000" data-cid="181992" data-time="1416927391">The first Star Wars Episode VII - The force awakens trailer will be shown next weekend.
Hopefully it gets uploaded soon after.</blockquote>
It's not much, but it's something:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOVFvcNfvE

And here's a trailer for a new Guardians of the Dinosaur-park-visitors, I mean, Jurassic Park movie called Jurassic World:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFinNxS5KN4

[al kusanagi]

I'm a huge Star Wars fan, but that trailer has left me cold. The Expanded Universe had to die for this? Fuck you, Disney!
 
But I am beyond hyped for Jurassic Word.