Last movie you watched

[erilaz]

Ninja Kids!!! (忍たま乱太郎) at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival — Miike Takashi's latest is the charming and hilarious tale of a bespectacled little boy named Rantarō, who is a first grader at the Ninja Academy. It's a family action-comedy with a lot of over-the-top slapstick and some snot, fart, and poop gags, but it was Miike's trademark quirkiness and especially the numerous anachronisms that really got me laughing.

[Celedam]

The Muppets (2011) – Yup, more Gen X nostalgia, more disappointment. The entire movie is one long apology, both literally and metaphorically, and the hopeful, take-charge Kermit that I remember from childhood has been replaced by an emotionally scarred old man… er, muppet. There are a few moments of brilliance, such as the barbershop quartet skit and some of the celebrity cameos, but not enough to bring back the magic.

[Zunu]

^ Re: nostalgic kiddy stuff, I saw the Smurfs movie, which was surprisingly not bad for what it was, and Arietty, which was outstanding, but had no interest whatsoever in The Muppets.

[erilaz]

Koinu Dan no Monogatari (子犬ダンの物語) (2002). The Kids were so little then! And Momoko was already the best!

[Bakajo Nono]

The Thin Blue Line
An Errol Morris documentary. So extraordinary. Amazing static shots and coloring. The cinematic elements, b-roll used, etc. were perfect. And Philip Glass's score is so so so stunning.

Anyway. It's about the murder of a Dallas police officer. He interviews many of the witnesses, the people involved in the trial, and the two primary suspects Randall Adams and David Harris. I really can't say more than that without it getting spoiler-y, although I'm sure many of you have already seen it. It's probably most well-known for being the documentary that actually helped exonerate the innocent man convicted. Quite incredible. I get such chills by the end, especially knowing that a year later this documentary played a huge role in freeing a man. I have issues with the death penalty already, and it's dead scary when stuff like this happens.

And just the way Morris gets them to open up. I wish I knew what questions he asked. It would be great just as a learning tool, but at the same time, it's quite powerful that there's no narration (just crazy beautiful music) for transition and Morris is pretty much absent in the doc.

Sidenote: Both Adams and Harris died recently.

And seriously, PHILIP GLASS'S SCORE. Chills. So many chills. Ugh. So beautiful.

There are re-enactments which a.) disqualified it from being in the running for an academy award for best documentary, which I have absolutely no doubt in my mind it would have won and b.) are kind of cheesy, but hey it's one of (if not THE) first docs to ever do them and it's the 80s so whatever xD

[erilaz]

I Wish (奇跡) (2011) at the San Francisco International Film Festival — Kore-eda Hirokazu's latest is the story of two brothers. Elder brother Koichi lives with their mother and her parents in Kagoshima, while younger brother Ryūnosuke lives with their slacker musician father in Fukuoka. Koichi comes up with a plan to see the first two trains pass each other on the new bullet train line, because if you make a wish at that moment, it will come true, and his wish is to get the family back together. The film is more upbeat than Kore-eda's Nobody Knows, but it has a similar charm and similarly excellent performances by the kids in the cast.

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[erilaz]

George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011) — Martin Scorsese's excellent documentary about an extraordinary human being. It features lots of great archival footage, previously unreleased demo recordings, and new interviews with pretty much every relevant person who's still alive. My only real complaint is that a lot of stuff was left out, despite a running time of 208 minutes.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) — A very funny horror-comedy, starring Reaper's Tyler Labine and Firefly's Alan Tudyk. Some college students visit the Appalachians, run into a couple of creepy-looking hillbillies, and suffer a series of gory deaths. The twist? The two hillbillies are really nice guys, who are merely staying in a cabin on vacation, intending to go fishing and drink Pabst Blue Ribbon. All the carnage is the result of accidents and misunderstandings.

Blood Bath (1966) — Not one of Jack Hill's best, but frequent appearances of bikini-clad Lori Saunders made up for it.

[Zunu]

I have no idea who Jack Hill and Lori Saunders are, but from those photos, Lori Saunders is really pretty in that 50's-60's ish way.

[erilaz]

^ Jack Hill is a film director best known for B-movies, especially exploitation films. My favorites in his œuvre are Spider Baby and The Big Bird Cage. Pam Grier starred in several of his films, including Coffy and Foxy Brown. Sid Haig is also something of a fixture in Hill's films.

Lori Saunders is best known as the second actress to play Bobbie Jo on Petticoat Junction, from 1965–70. (Incidentally, Pat Woodell, the first Bobbie Jo, was later in Jack Hill's The Big Doll House.)

[erilaz]

Repulsion (1965) — Stunning 21-year-old Catherine Deneuve goes bonkers in Roman Polanski's creepy monochrome masterpiece.