The Movie (and TV show) Watching Thread

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I've seen Big Hero 6. It was a pretty amazing film from a cultural perspective, and the setting of San Fransokyo was well done.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I saw the entirety of the Chi's Sweet Home anime today (the 104 episodes that aired from 2008-2009).
It was very adorable.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I saw the entirety of the Chi's Sweet Home anime today (the 104 episodes that aired from 2008-2009).
It was very adorable.

Bruh you watched 104 episodes today? Share your time travel tech dude. Don't hoard it.

Each episode was only 2 minutes long. That computes to 208 minutes, easily manageable on a day when you can freely plan your time.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I watched Momotaro: Umi no Shinpei (桃太郎: 海の神兵) two days ago. It's the first full-length anime film ever.
Fascinating window into how the government sought to inculcate militarism in the minds of children.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Just watched I Am A Hero (2016).
Great work. Of course, I understood the cultural context and I could get a lot out of it...

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Just watched ブレイブ -群青戦記- (Brave Gunjo Senkyo).
Cried a few times. I understood a decent chunk of it. Considering the material they were working with, it was right up my alley too.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Recently I saw ドラえもんのび太と雲の王国 (Doraemon no Nobita to Kumo no Oukoku/Doraemon: Nobita and the Kingdom of the Clouds). This is my first Doraemon movie. I guess I would rate it 9 out of 10.

The movie certainly wears its 1992 release year quite evidently, with a mentioning of the Ozone layer.

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The opening was rather cryptic, I must say. What it represented did not become clear until later. The narrative between Sky people and Earth people played well enough to me. I could feel some kind of complex "there's something else to what's going on and I'll see what it is eventually" vibe. Nobita and the crew were clever in how they dealt with the difficult situation. Props to Doraemon for creatively solving the situation. I also enjoyed seeing Nobita and Doraemon build the Sky Kingdom.

In any case, the ending is my favorite part due to the creativity.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

ドラえもんのび太と鉄人兵団 (Doraemon: Nobita to Tetsujin Heidan/Doraemon: Nobita and the Steel Troops). The second Doraemon movie I've seen. A story that gave me a mix of mild sadness and nice action, and clever thinking. I guess a 8 of 10. There's a scene in the middle that one might want to cover parts of the screen during, just beware.

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The mysteries surrounding the robot army is unraveled slowly and steadily. I find it rather admirable the utter tenacity and ingenuity and determination that Doraemon and crew displayed. I liked the scenes of damaged urban Tokyo. Of course, in the end, it is Shizuka that takes the lead near the end. The path of the character of Riruru reminds me of the path Paruparu took in Kingdom of the Clouds. It was greatly enjoyable seeing things reach their conclusion and I cried once again.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

火垂るの墓 (Hotaru no Haka/Grave of the Fireflies). Very sad film, cried multiple times. It lives up to its sad reputation. Rating 10 of 10, I'm a sucker for family stuff and this really knocked it out of the ballpark.

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It really is something of a great tear-jerker, with things just getting worse and worse over time and sad moments spread about.

Take the moment where Seita sings Warship March. What's going on there, in his mind? The delirium of empire really speaks for itself through Seita's character. His father features strongly in his mind, to the point it's providing copium.

As for Setsuko...everything she relies on slowly falls away. Father died at sea, mother died in a bombing raid, brother has massive problems of his own...by the end she's reduced to eating marbles thinking they are food...

Comes to show the stress war can bring to a society and country, as it is taken to the limit.

As for the aunt...I saw this comment on Reddit that allegorizes her role in the plot.

Aunt is the old Japanese system/heirarchy, harsh and often unfair to the people but the rigid structure is necessary for maintaining the people/culture on Japan (which does have limited space/resources).
Seita is the Japanese Empire, desperately trying to maintain its face in a series of bad decisions.
Setsuko is the old way of life, which Seita thought he was saving through his actions, but ultimately led to its final death.

And this reply:

I think this is a beautiful interpretation.

I definitely thought the film had allegorical elements. I agree with your interpretation of the Aunt.

I thought that Seita might represent the Japanese people themselves, desperately trying to make things work and hoping for the best despite the inevitability of defeat... the way he kept believing his father might be alive when it was beyond obvious that he must be dead.

For me Setsuko represented the future.

Which is interesting to think about. But in regards to the aunt, more broadly...the first thing that comes to mind for me is, what do you do if you have limited food and resources? Who do you share it with? What steps do you take to preserve what you care about the most? What if we had 1940s Japan-level food shortages, how do we deal with it? How does one deal with the chaos more generally?

All in all, needless to say, it's a sad film. And there are so many things to think about. Food for thought...

And oh yeah. I still cry when I see the ending scenes. "Setsuko never woke up" gets me every time.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

火垂るの墓 (Hotaru no Haka/Grave of the Fireflies). Very sad film, cried multiple times. It lives up to its sad reputation. Rating 10 of 10, I'm a sucker for family stuff and this really knocked it out of the ballpark.

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

It really is something of a great tear-jerker, with things just getting worse and worse over time and sad moments spread about.

Take the moment where Seita sings Warship March. What's going on there, in his mind? The delirium of empire really speaks for itself through Seita's character. His father features strongly in his mind, to the point it's providing copium.

As for Setsuko...everything she relies on slowly falls away. Father died at sea, mother died in a bombing raid, brother has massive problems of his own...by the end she's reduced to eating marbles thinking they are food...

Comes to show the stress war can bring to a society and country, as it is taken to the limit.

As for the aunt...I saw this comment on Reddit that allegorizes her role in the plot.

Aunt is the old Japanese system/heirarchy, harsh and often unfair to the people but the rigid structure is necessary for maintaining the people/culture on Japan (which does have limited space/resources).
Seita is the Japanese Empire, desperately trying to maintain its face in a series of bad decisions.
Setsuko is the old way of life, which Seita thought he was saving through his actions, but ultimately led to its final death.

And this reply:

I think this is a beautiful interpretation.

I definitely thought the film had allegorical elements. I agree with your interpretation of the Aunt.

I thought that Seita might represent the Japanese people themselves, desperately trying to make things work and hoping for the best despite the inevitability of defeat... the way he kept believing his father might be alive when it was beyond obvious that he must be dead.

For me Setsuko represented the future.

Which is interesting to think about. But in regards to the aunt, more broadly...the first thing that comes to mind for me is, what do you do if you have limited food and resources? Who do you share it with? What steps do you take to preserve what you care about the most? What if we had 1940s Japan-level food shortages, how do we deal with it? How does one deal with the chaos more generally?

All in all, needless to say, it's a sad film. And there are so many things to think about. Food for thought...

I watched the animated film about ten years ago. Yes, it makes a depressing impression. It was especially shocking how their mother died.

Seeing that box being carried around, combined with everything else, it hits you like a rock.
There was only one prior occasion on which I had seen a box of that type...Shinzo Abe's funeral.
Doubtless that scene alone made an impression on quite a few people in the theaters.
It's such a well-made film.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Saw Patlabor 2.

Interesting work, all things considered. I understood what it was drawing from rather well (very much keyed in to the Japanese environment), but was flying blind in regards to the characters. I don't know the franchise very well.

I would rate it 7.5 out of 10 I suppose.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Saw the first Lupin film earlier.
Was a great experience. 9 out of 10.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Two days ago I watched Kiki's Delivery Service. Was great, I guess I'd rate it 8.0/10.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Ran (乱), a samurai drama by Akira Kurosawa and one of his famous films, from 1985. Reduced me to crying more than once. Though 150+ minutes long it did not feel like that. Lived up to expectations, though I don't know if I would call it the best Japanese film ever, I certainly don't have huge complaints. I guess I rate it 8.5 out of 10.

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Good lord, what a giant hot mess with Hidetora and his sons. The follies of his adoption of the German nobility style of land inheritance notwithstanding, the designated heir lacks political acumen and is helpless before his politically poisonous wife Lady Kaede, who shows her acumen in turning his sons against the mighty Hidetora. How unfortunate it is for the clan that its sons destroy each other...with the entire clan being reduced to ashes by the end. In the end, it got what it got deserved, tbh. By acting in a disunified way it left itself open to Lady Kaede's machinations, and that's on them. While it was a real tear-jerker how Hidetora died, in the end the clan still sinks into the ashes, along with the forts from which it once commanded mightily over the entire valley. Comes to mind the haiku: 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡/卯花に兼房みゆる白毛哉曾良. (A thicket of summer grass is all that remains of the dreams amd ambitions of ancient warriors. I caught a glimpse of the frosty hair of Kanefusa wavering among the white blossoms of unohana) For all of Hidetora's conquering prowess, he was defeated by Kaede who used her position closer to the heart of power to ruthlessly destroy him and his kin.

All in all the grievous mistrust between various individuals within a clan, in a situation manipulated by a woman unhappy about how her relatives were treated. What could possibly go wrong? Everything.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Just saw Captains of the Clouds (1942). I loved the musical score, story was fairly predictable but tolerable, and I was engrossed enough to be satisfied. I guess 7/10.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

The Heroes of Telemark.
Fun watch. Battle scenes were kinda interesting. Characters felt natural enough given time and place. No obvious perfections but decent overall.
6/10 I guess.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Saw Bridge over the Kwai and Der Untergang today.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Watched "In the Name of the Father" yesterday. T'was captivating.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Watched all or part of the Columbo episodes A Trace of Murder, Ashes to Ashes, and Murder With Too Many Notes.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Watched all or part of the Columbo episodes A Trace of Murder, Ashes to Ashes, and Murder With Too Many Notes.

Murder With Too Many Notes makes no sense. Apparently director Patrick McGoohan's dementia had increased to a fairly severe level and he preferred the comedic and musical scenes while leaving out crucial plot points and apparently nobody involved in the show had the heart to tell him this.

Of course, whenever Patrick McGoohan is mentioned, it should be required to mention The Prisoner, which is brilliant.

This is the first time I've ever actually watched Columbo and I am pretty musically inclined so that episode didn't really bother me too much. But now that you mention it...I did find it rather silly, after giving it some thought, that the guy would be behind bars, unless police somehow uncovered the evidence.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Saw Avalon (the 1990 film by Barry Levinson). Connected deeply with it but it did hit a bit too close to home for me to laugh too much at it. Very engrossing. 10/10.