Ricky's Movie Log: August 2015

August 16th
Watched on Netflix
First Time Watching

I don't what spawned my sudden interest of watching Jackass clips on Youtube but I did just that. I remember watching early Jackass episodes and some of their films when I was really young, but barely remember feeling anything but disgust. But after watching those clips, I had the strange interest in checking out some of their films on Netflix. While I didn't always laugh at all the stunts they were performing, I was entertained by all the painful and silly pranks these people performed throughout the film. I think what made this film work for me is the overall cast of characters. They all had great chemistry with each other and their willingness to do these harmful activities made this a fun watch. Some people call Jackass a guilty pleasure but I didn't feel guilty watching this. It was an alright flick.

August 17th
Watched on DVD
First Time Watching

This is a dumb movie. Nothing much else needs to be said. I don't hate the film like many people do but that was because I wasn't expecting much from it (I've seen reviews. It wasn't pretty). I wasn't even really watching it. I was just in the room while my mother was watching it. There were some fun scenes (I thought the scene with Advocate Bob was funny) in it, but that's about it.

August 19th
Watched on Netflix
First Time Watching

My family and I are big fans of Gabriel Iglesias's stand-up comedy. So when I discovered this film was on Netflix, I brought my parents out to see it with me. We were definitely laughing at a bunch of stuff in this film. I think Gabriel Iglesias's comedy works because of his enthusiastic personality, vocal range, and use of brick jokes spread throughout his routine. Plus, in this film, his routine is cleverly connected in his discussions of his relationship with his step-son, his experience in India, and his recent attempts to lose weight (all of which lead to some hilarious bits of stand-up). My only issue is that it was being advertised as a feature-length movie when it was really just another one of Gabriel's stand-up comedy specials. Aside from the cinematic opening (which I thought was kind of unnecessary as was the Ray William Johnson cameo), there wasn't anything "theatrical" about this film. Still that doesn't really matter, the goal of this film wasn't be a blockbuster but rather to make me laugh and it accomplished it's goal with flying colors.

August 21th
Watched on DVD
Rewatched

This is one of my personal favorite documentaries. While I'm not the biggest fan of Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock is certainly a charismatic and interesting documentary director as this film proves. I was in love with the concept of the film as well as it's thorough examination of the role advertising plays in today's culture. But I'm a big fan of the film's post-modernist approach to the subject as the film discusses the subliminal and exaggerated use of advertisement while simultaneously being a large advertisement for a bunch of different products. The film doesn't directly answer whether advertising is good or bad but does show how it's everywhere and it's getting harder and harder to escape it. I like how it's structured like a well-constructed narrative as you see Morgan's journey to get his film made through product sponsorship. This might not be everyone's cup of tea but all the elements of this film work in not only providing an educational but entertaining film as well. I don't rewatch documentaries often but this is the kind of doc that can entertain me as much as any blockbuster.

August 24th
Watched on DVD
Rewatched

“Batman” plus “Anime” equals “a match made in heaven”. I’m a huge Batman fan and thus, I’ve seen this film plenty of times. The first time I watched it I was initially disconnected by the film’s rapidly changing cartoon designs, hard-to-follow plot, lack of traditional Batman villains, and disturbing content. But I was young when I first watched this film, now I appreciate what was done much more. This film was made in correlation with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Film Series and is supposedly placed chronologically between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I like how subtly they employ those elements from Nolan’s Batman films in the way that doesn’t require you to see those films to enjoy this one. Same goes for each of the segments in this anime anthology. They all have subtle elements that connect each short to the next (main one being there focus on a turf war between two rival gangs) but still feel stand-alone. Kevin Conroy is the definitive Batman in my eyes. Every time he does a Batman performance for a different series/movie, he slightly differentiates it from his previous roles. This time, Conroy is definitely channeling elements of Christian Bale’s performance in this one. Mostly notably shown when portraying a younger Bruce Wayne, luckily he doesn’t try to emulate Bale’s “Batman voice” as keeps to the dark baritone that made his Batman classic. Most of the stories are well-constructed and provide some good Batman fare but the definite favorites are “Have I Got A Story For You” (fun romp that emulates “Tales of the Dark Knight”) and “Deadshot” (the most stand-alone Batman plot with a great incorporation of the titular gunman). There are some gripes I have with the film: not a big fan of Madhouse’s animation, designs, and lip-synching in “In Darkness Dwells”, some of the story elements are very convoluted just like with Nolan’s Dark Knight films, Ana Ramirez’s role in this film clashes with her eventual role in The Dark Knight, etc. But I still like what this film did and honestly wished someone would try to make a Batman anime show with the inclusion of more of Batman’s rogue galleries. With Batman TV shows progressively becoming less interesting and less original since Batman: The Animated Series (The Batman, Beware The Batman, Gotham. Brave and the Bold is the exception), this would certainly be something unique Warner-Bros. could try. It definitely worked the first time.

August 25th
Watched on DVD
First (Complete) Viewing

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m not a big Lord of the Rings fan. I’m not all that familiar with the lore. I haven’t read the books. And for a long while, I hadn’t watched all the films. I still technically haven’t yet. But my friend in high school (whom was a huge LOTR fan) decided to lend me his LOTR DVDs a while back. So I have the Lord of the Rings trilogy in my collection, I was just reluctant in checking these films out. The most alienating factor that kept me from watching these films was the length. I’m just not a big fan of long movies (i.e. 2+ hours). I watched The Fellowship of the Ring in one sitting and was tired by the end of it. I thought the film was good (I gave it a 9/10) but just couldn’t handle watching another one for a while. I knew they were going to get longer and longer as the trilogy went on. Right now, I’m taking my annually summer vacation to Puerto Rico and with all the free time I had, I decided it was good chance to see films I was previously hesitant to watch. This gave me the opportunity to watch the next LOTR film, getting closer and closer to crossing the trilogy off my “Movie-Watching Bucket List”.

So, how do I feel about The Two Towers? I thought this film was incredible. Definitely better than the first film and an overall enjoyable, enthralling experience through and through. It helped that I didn’t watch this film in one sitting but three separate ones throughout this day. But to be honest, that wasn’t intentional. I just had to go to places during those times. I think I could’ve watched this in one sitting if I had the right amount of time. The first film worked as the beginning that sets up the story. This film works as the second part that ups the stakes and builds up to a grand battle that the third film will most likely deliver upon. But what makes me like this film over the first one? Well, first off, Gollum. He’s such a great character and I was looking forward to his arrival after seeing a sneak peek of him in the first film. While there still some moments of occasion confusion at what was going on, I think this film did a better job of presenting so many different plot elements. Eventually, it became easier for me to understand what was going on and helped get me more enthralled into this film. There were some gripes I had with this film. I’m not a big fan of how they turned Gimli into blatant comic-relief. I understand it’s supposed to be levity but I think they overdid it to the point of making Gimli seem more incompetent compared to Aragorn and Legolas. Also, I’m a bit iffy on Gandalf coming back from the dead but I will admit they handled his resurrection better than done in most films/TV shows. But really those critiques are really minor because when there is a giant battle going on, I was engaged and excited. I’m not sure whether I’ll ever give this film a rewatch as I’m still not really a huge LOTR fan. But I will admit I’m glad I, at least, gave this film a watch.

Also, while I’m praising this film, I also recommend you LOTR fans reading this to check this out this video. It’s a cool little tribute to the films that I thought was worth watching. You guys might get a kick out of it as well.

August 25th
Watched on DVD
First Time Watching

While I wouldn't call myself a Daft Punk fan yet, I do admit they make some good music. I listened to some tracks of their Discovery album and with that, watched some of these unique music videos featuring these blue anime aliens. I realized these videos just parts of a full-length anime film that basically works as an hour-long music video for the entire Discovery album. I have to say I'd rather enjoyed the experience this film brought. Both the music by Daft Punk and the animation done by anime legend Kazuhisa Takenouchi are really well-done. There is no real dialogue in this film rather it's the music itself that guides the film's story. The animation goes with the music really well and makes for a very interesting narrative. Admittedly, the story is rather simple. Maybe, I was just expecting so much more from this film like some kind of grand musical epic. But as it is, this is still a great film. Unfortunately, I could only recommend this film to fans of Daft Punk's Discovery and music like this because it is such a strong part of the film. Even with the strong animation, if you don't like this kind of music, you won't enjoy this film and the animation's is not enough to win you ever if that's the case. Still if any of this fascinates or interests you, I would definitely recommend you give this film a watch.

August 28th
Watched on DVD
First Time Viewing

Holy shit! This was a good movie. During the summer, I took a job working on a short film. The short film I was working on dealt with the issues of police brutality and institutionalized racism. In preparation, our team watched the opening scene of Do The Right Thing and eventually got use the instrumental of “Fight The Power” in the film. After production was done, I wanted to see the whole film for myself. I got the DVD and checked out the film. Words can’t describe how incredible this film is but I’ll try. The story is incredibly deep. It’s the hottest day in New York and tensions run high within the Brooklyn neighborhood. The film explores the confusing, conflicting, and overall infuriating topic of racism and handles with grace and skill while strong social statements. This might be one of the most emotionally-conflicting films I’ve ever seen. Even the ending quotes have conflicting messages. The main message I got out of this film was that there is still racism in today’s society: a simple and seemingly obvious message that many people have difficulties grasping. It really shows that a lot of people have issues accepting people of a different race, basing them on pre-determined stereotypes whether it realize it or not. Rather than presenting a straightforward narrative, the film presents a series of different moments from the various people living in this neighborhood trying to beat the heat and go on to their daily routine. I like how complex these characters are by showing their flaws. There aren’t just wholly-righteous figures and the straw-man racists. They feel like real people rather than just archetypes. Plus, I love how they incorporate colors into this film incorporating solid colors and different kinds of shade to set the atmosphere of the scene. Most notably, warm colors like red or orange are commonly used to visually demonstrate the intense heat the characters are facing. Plus, the fight/riot that occurs at the end of the film is just intense. So intense that I expected the film to end that moment but was surprised that there was still couple of minutes left in the film, which I felt worked as a sort-of epilogue to the film’s events. I heard the acclaim this film has received and I agree with it. Spike Lee has managed to make such an incredible piece of cinema with a powerful message behind it. As a New Yorker seeing similar disputes of race and police brutality happening in this country, this film proved itself as being as relevant today as it was in ‘90s.