Topic: The Movie Thread

Akira (4K UHD BD)

Recently rewatched this as I got in the 4K BD.

All these years later & it still looks absolutely stunning. It's really strong until the end where it kinda loses me. I mean, I think I understand it a bit more everytime I watch it... maybe.

Anyhow, there's just something about the gritty sci-fi anime of the 80's that I can't get enough of.

Ant-Man & the Wasp Quantumania (Disney+)

This was fine.

It's visually a bit of a mess (I know they wanted the Quantum Realm to come off as strange, but a lot of it is just CGI noise), some scenes looked really cool (like when Scott was being split up into "possibilities") while others looked 10-15 years out of date (the scene in the "desert" where Janet negotiated with those raider types).

Otherwise it was okay. A bit too lighthearted of a character to really sale the higher stakes adventure it was trying to be (given that it was building up the next major villain post Thanos).

300 (4K UHD BD)

This is simply just a fun sword & sandal action movie. Lots of exciting & bloody battle scenes, a stylish aesthetic, and even a bit of T&A, it's pretty much everything you'd look for in the genre (if you can get over the fact that it's obviously not trying to be particularly historically accurate).

I wasn't very fond of some of the more fantastically grotesque character designs (the hunchback & those robed sages for example, oh, and there was some sort of executioner with blades for arms, lol), but I understand that the context in film is it's a story being recounted by a survivor to gin up a group of new soldiers, so things are going to be embellished for effect.

Expelled From Paradise (Blu-Ray)

Set in a distant future where most of humanity "lives" a digitized existence inside a computer/satellite called DEVA that orbits the Earth, a security agent (Angela Balzac) is sent to Earth (via a clone body grown with their genetic code) in order to hunt down a hacker from the surface who has been infiltrating into DEVA's systems.

Pretty cool sci-fi film overall. Definitely enjoyed Angela's design & the few mech battles it featured were intense though I'd have liked to see more. Story was pretty standard "what does it really mean to be alive" you see in a lot of sci-fi (especially the juxtaposition between Angela, a human who has lived most of her life as a digital avatar, and a sentient AI who is introduced at some point in the story), and while it's not really groundbreaking in it's approach, it offers some food for thought.

Biggest missed opportunity is the lore as to what happened to Earth/humanity (it has a post apocalyptic vibe), or rather the lack of it. We know some catastrophe struck the planet (and now there are mutated giant worm/centipede things), but what exactly that is was never explained as far as I remember.

@RR529 I thiought ant man was exactly how you explained it. I have liked the two previous movies but their charm was the humor and easy going lightheartedness. I think introducing the new badies should have been saved for something more serious. It was better than the last thor movie which mostly pissed me off.

@RR529 I actually took my wife of 16 years to 300 hundred on a date what a douche but it is a good movie. I am lucky she likes the same things I do. Although I do watch all her sappy movies also, some are pretty good.

Ninja Scroll (Blu-Ray)

Wandering swordsman Jubei winds up getting roped into fighting for the Tokugawa shogunate against the forces of the Hideyoshi clan, particularly a band of 8 evil super ninja with supernatural powers. Joining him are Kagero (a kunoichi, and the last surviving member of a ninja clan slaughtered by the 8), and and old Tokugawa aligned ninja who ensures Jubei's assistance by promising him an antidote to a poison he inflicted our hero with. Along the way he'll have to come to grips with the fact that the leader of the 8 might just be an old foe he thought dead years ago.

This is 90's anime sword & sandal action that goes hard with gore & nudity to oftentimes taboo levels (at one point a man rips off the arms of an opponent and drinks the blood pouring out, and then shortly after is involved in a very voyeuristic rape scene featuring Kagero). It's not much more than that, but it's very good at what it does, and is worth a look depending on your sensitivity/offense tolerances.

Story is pretty simple "boss rush" style progression, but it's enough to keep things going and the 8 reminded me of a ninja-fied version of the rogues gallery from MGS3 for some reason (it was probably the bee guy).

Tonight watching these movies

DVD
Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns. watching them with the commentary tracks on

Tubi
The Wizard

been binge watching Real World Season 4 on Paramount Plus. About finished with that season with 4 episodes left.

then watching these on Tubi sometime this week

Major League 2
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

then on Paramount Plus going to rewatch Star Trek Next Generation this summer and the new Dungeons and Dragons movie

Urusei Yatsura: Remember my Love (Blu-Ray)

After the gang gets caught up in bizarre shenanigans while visiting a newly opened amusement park, Ataru & Lum's relationship is tested when she vanishes shortly after he's transformed into a hippo. Has she really given up on him or is there something else at play?

Feels like they were trying to replicate the magic of Beautiful Dreamer, just to lesser results.

It's still a fine watch in and of itself though, and I'd say I still liked it more than Only You.

National Lampoon's Vacation (Blu-Ray)

Probably overrating this due to nostalgia, but it is such a comfort food summertime movie for me.

Rewatch it every summer if I get the chance, and just so much of it reminds me of the summer road trips my family would take when I was a kid (although they never went off the rails to this degree, lol), and it just feels oh so very much classic Americana (& I know I've been to at least two of the roadside attractions pictured in the postcard montage at the beginning of the film).

That said it can still deliver some laughs as well. I perhaps find the conclusion of the Aunt Edna subplot more & more distasteful everytime I watch it, but otherwise it's largely good stuff.

Airplane! (Blu-Ray)

I've caught this in bits and pieces before, but have never actually sit down to watch the whole thing until now.

It's at that point where it's at the cusp of being just a bit too "before my time", which is why I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much of this I found genuinely hilarious. Not every gag landed, but there were definitely a few that had me in stitches.

InuYasha Movie 4: Fire on Mystic Island (Blu-Ray)

Well animated with some cool action scenes and something for everyone in the cast to do, it's worth a watch for fans of the series, but amongst all of the movies this is the one that most feels "here are a few random baddies who want to take over the world or something" without much else of a hook.

The first two films have moments that seemingly move forward InuYasha & Kagome's romance (even if the events aren't recognized in the series proper), the second movie is the only one that involves the main series villain, movies 1 & 3 connect the big bad to InuYasha's father (with the third movie in particular going massively in depth with that background lore in a way not explored anywhere else in the series), and this movie is just completely lacking in that kinda hook. Sure, they half heartedly jerry rig some connection between InuYasha/Kikyo/Sesshomaru and the mysterious island, but it feels forced comparatively.

movies im watching this weekend

DVD
Fast and the Furious 8 and 9

the new Indiana Jones movie at the movie theater downtown tomorrow. Theater opens at 9 in the morning and the movie starts at 12.

Goldeneye (Blu-Ray)

Just dug around my Blu-Ray collection for something to watch and settled on this.

I think the last time I watched it, it didn't really stick with me because I was watching a whole bunch of these Bond movies in close proximity, but rewatching it on it's own it really is quite a fun action romp.

It really helped that it built it's narrative around the then topical collapse of the Soviet Union, adding a level of believable political intrigue to the mix (even if the Russian government weren't really the bad guys), it had some really fun action sequences (like the whole opening sequence, as well as the tank scene), and just the right amount of camp (love the sequence at Q's lab) without sacrificing the tension of the serious moments.

Golgo 13 (Blu-Ray)

A live action adaptation of a manga of the same name, it follows an assassin known as Golgo 13 who is hired to take out Max Boa (the crime lord of an international criminal organization), who has been kidnapping women around the world & is currently in Iran.

The narrative isn't deep, but it sets the tone for what is a pretty decent action flick. It's a bit slower than I'd have liked, but it definitely has it's cool moments (such as a sequence where he escapes being tied up, and another in how he figures out who his real target is amongst a group of doubles). Despite being a Japanese production, it's filmed entirely on location in Iran, which is an interesting backdrop you don't often see in movies (though being a 70's flick, keep in mind this is the Iran of 50 years ago, before the revolution). Given what else of the franchise I've experienced, I'm actually kinda surprised (and maybe a tad disappointed) that there wasn't any nudity. In fact I'd wager that it may even be a bit tamer than the Bond movies of the era in that regard (though, this could be a side effect of filming in Iran).

Project A-Ko 4: Final (Blu-Ray)

The final entry in the Project A-Ko series, it's pretty much more of the same. I'll admit they got me with the twist surrounding the space princess even though I should have seen it coming a mile away given the events of the first film. Like the last one, this one didn't have as good of action as the first two.

I enjoyed seeing the Gunbuster related Easter eggs given I just finished watching that a bit over a week ago.

been watching Elm Street 2 to Freddy's Dead since Sunday.

Now Im watching New Nightmare with the commentary track on

Watched Sisu UHD via my Xbox Series X on Saturday.

Fantastic Fun. Loved it. 90ish min was perfect for this film.

Urusei Yatsura: Lum the Forever (Blu-Ray)

Seems like they were trying to emulate the vibe of Beautiful Dreamer, but it just doesn't work.

This is seriously the most confusing of these I've seen & maybe it'll make more sense on a rewatch, but I honestly couldn't really follow what was actually happening (like it was the city itself dreaming & trying to rewrite Lum from reality since she's not a part of it's history or something, IDK?).

Movies I watched on vacation.

Airplane II: the Sequel (Blu-Ray)

I honestly liked this one about as much as the first.

It does retread some (well, a lot) of the same gags, but I enjoyed the light sci-fi focus introduced (it follows the maiden voyage of the first civilian shuttle flight, and even features William Shatner as the commander of a Moon base). Amongst other things, there are gags referencing Star Wars, E.T., 2001: a Space Odyssey, and of course Star Trek. Also, it's another one of those 80's "PG" rated flicks that manages to get away with a few boobs.

Bohachi Bushido: the Villain (Blu-Ray)

A vagabond Samurai in the Edo era finds himself in the employ of a gang called the "Bohachi" (an outfit involved with trafficking women to brothels), and must use his lethal talents to protect the gangs interests from rival outfits & the law.

Filled with extreme levels of gore & nudity very much intended to push boundaries, it very much won't be for many viewers, but it might be worth a look if you're into the 70's "exploitation" genre.

Lupin the 3rd VS Cat's Eye (Prime Video)

Crossover that sees the Lupin gang facing off against the cast of Cat's Eye (a franchise I'm not familiar with outside of a few City Hunter references/cameos) & a mysterious international crime syndicate who are all after a series of paintings made by the Cats' father, which hold a secret.

It's nothing groundbreaking, but a solid action flick overall (I think my favorite aspect was Zenigata teaming up with the young cop who is the Cats' foil, and who idolizes Zenigata). Didn't watch it in the most ideal of scenarios though (on a tablet in an uncomfortable hotel room chair).

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (Prime Video)

In this low budget 80's horror/comedy, a group of sorority sisters & nerdy frat boys find themselves locked in a mall overnight trying to survive after releasing an imp from it's imprisonment and it grants them a series of wishes for their deed... the effects of which start to backfire.

Really needs more of the imp. Most, if not all, of the killing is done by some of the sorority girls transformed into demons by the imp (really low budget costuming, like a bride of Frankenstein costume for one of the transformed girls), but this is assuredly a budget constraint. Otherwise it's just a schlocky budget horror from the era for better or worse, but theres definitely fun to be had in there.

Again I watched it in a not desired scenario (on a tablet, with ads, with a few brief streaming resolution drops, on an uncomfortable hotel room chair), which affected my experience.

Stuck on You! (Prime Video)

Gag/parody comedy that follows a couple going through divorce proceedings as their judge (really an angel trying to get them back together) takes them through the evolution of romance throughout history (plus flashbacks of their life together).

A much raunchier take on the type of comedy Airplane! is, it's pretty low brow, but I can't deny that there were moments that I thought were humorous or outright hilarious. I didn't watch it in the best of scenarios though (on a tablet, with ads, with a few brief streaming resolution dips, on an uncomfortable hotel room chair).

Oppenheimer (cinema)

This one is so hard for me to gauge because it's so unlike anything I usually watch, but what I will say is that it was immensely engaging.

There's a lot to follow (to the point that I'll definitely have to watch it again once it releases on home video), but the acting is so immersive it took me until I was 1/3rd into the movie to realize that the admiral seeking the cabinet position (in the B&W scenes) was Robert Downey Jr.

On the downside, a storm knocked out the theatre's power for a bit (knocked out the screen for about a minute or two in the first hour), but it could have been much more disastrous (our power at home was locked out for 8 hours!)

On the upside, I think this is the first time I've seen a movie with nudity in the theatre. I was even ID'd by the ticketer to make sure I was old enough to get in (I'm over 30 BTW, lol).

watched the classic 1990 Navy Seals movie on Tubi last night.

Tonight, im watching Return to Oz on Disneyplus and then going back to Tubi to watch Hoodwinked Too and Matrix Resurrections and little bit more of Babylon 5 Season 2

Watched Transformers Rise of the Beasts last night and wow what a movie. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I will say that the last Transformers movie I saw was Age of Extinction. But agai. I enjoyed Rise of the Beasts.

saw Sound of Freedom at the theater this past weekend. Pretty good movie.

currently busy with these movies for DVD, blu ray and streaming apps

DVD
-Popeye the Movie
-Take Me Home Tonight
-Star Wars Clone Wars Season 2
-original George Romero Day of the Dead. mostly watching the DVD for the bonus features and maybe watch the movie with the commentary track on

Tubi
Matrix Resurrections
Subspecies V

Hulu
movie Supercell