- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 703
This, on the list, although in discussion with the boy I rather failed: "It's an animated Latvian film about a cat trapped in a Flood".
He's impressed by the diversity of my cinematic tastes. Now of course, no spoilers, you can watch the trailer here:
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgZccxuj2RY
If you were inspired to watch it you will probably enjoy it. The animation, great, the haunting presence and reminders of humanity, the implied spirituality and evolution of the creatures the Cat encounters, the personalities of said creatures (well depicted, without being too anthropomorphic, 'Disneyfied'), the questions it suggests - or raises - are curious.
So, despite being a little off my beaten track it was good and "off my beaten track" was rather the point.
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 808
A 70's masterpiece of Japanese Martial Arts. A scholar finds himself caught up in a courtly intrigue. The best are the fluttering martial-arts scenes, which are all very well and fine until you realize that all these wonderful arial movements are facilitated by out of sight trampolines...
Still, charming. And the characters - of the Abbot, the General, the Princess, the Scholar, well...it creates the template for a lot of the movies to follow.
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 637
And, because I am still sick and not capable of anything greater, watching this. Cheesy, silly, but at the same time remniscent of those old Saturday Matinee movies of old, like the original intent of "Indiana Jones" or "Star Wars", or the "7th Voyage of Sinbad: before they became "cult classics". Merely a good escape from reality done via cinema. To even attempt to review it is to miss the point.
Watching it online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4l2jLR7Y8Q&t=3453s
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 580
An "homage" (?) to the classic Samurai movies of old. 12 Samurai and a hunter come together to assassinate Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu, the murderous leader of the Akashi clan, and to thwart his appointment to the Shogunate Council.
Perfectly balanced, with half an hour giving Samurai Motives, another half to assembling the assassins, half to skirmishes and readying the place of battle, and the last half hour to the battle. Standard "7-Samurai" sort of stuff, where the character of the players is assembled to play against overwhelming odds and through heroic self-sacrifice save the day.
Very little that's new, but - an old format well revisited.
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 530
Not, oddly enough, my favorite. The Depictions of New York - 1910-20(??), again in the '30's, then in the 60's, all practical effects, all remarkable. The casting - Robert DeNiro, James Woods, Joe Pesci, etc - excellent, the costumes, period pieces, sets, all very worth while, the sentiment of characters with a torch carried for decades, meeting again and again to no good effect, well, sentimental to the extreme, but at almost 4 bloody hours long!!!!
One exception - the Modern Erotic Chinese art, passed over in the Chinese Theatre/Opium House scene near the beginning with Robert DeNiro -, well, I could have paused there, there was some inspiration. But that was background to a vanishing scene, like the opium dreams themselves...
Otherwise, no.