February Movies (and a little Kurosawa)

[my_daroga]

Movies in bold are ones I hadn't seen before. Ones with asterisks, I saw in a theater. I know I've been bad about reviews, but if you want to hear my take on any of these let me know, please. I'm probably more likely to talk if prompted than sit down to write a formal review, these days.

Stray Dog*
Look Back in Anger
The Devil's Rain
The Tenth

Comments

[my_daroga]

Granted, Kurosawa watched a lot of western film, so it's not as though you can separate the influences. But when I read about him walking around Tokyo after a huge earthquake and witnesses racist massacres and piles of bodies, for instance, not to mention the madness of the war years, it still seems a little surreal.

I haven't, but I was just reading about it. I'll check it out.

I am lucky! Sorry! I live in Seattle, and we have numerous repertory theaters. And a huge video store. It's amazing.

[tinyholidays]

Oh! What did you think of High and Low? I saw that for the first time in the fall, when Filmspotting did its Kurosawa marathon.

Also... Time Traveler's Wife? How did that one come about?

(errr... I totally saw it too. Also, I watched The Ugly Truth this morning. But it's okay? Because I watched His Girl Friday yesterday?)

[my_daroga]

I thought it was great. I think I liked The Bad Sleep Well a little better, overall, but the breadth of work in the Kurosawa/Mifune catalog is pretty amazing. I thought some of the issues in High and Low were too pat, or glossed over, but really my issues were not so much problems as thoughts about how I wanted it to be just slightly better.

Um. The Time Traveler's Wife thing came about for the same reason J and I watch most things with either fairy tale or time travel themes. We know it's going to suck, but keep hoping. How can two people be so boring? Also there needs to be a new Bechdel test wherein two characters talk about something other than their damn relationship.

[my_daroga]

I have not yet. I will do so, I'm sure. It sounds beautiful. I can actually imagine a lot of his films being too much in that situation, frankly.

I hadn't heard that story. Interesting. I know he meant to be a painter, initially, which is interesting.

[my_daroga]

Oh, I wouldn't worry. Most of them are either really bad Shatner films, or Kurosawa.

Time Traveler's Wife was, in my opinion, awful. Basically, the only interesting thing about the couple is the fact the dude disappears and reappears at different points of his life. But it's the only thing either one can talk about, and there's really nothing else to it. The concept could be interesting, but it is treated totally as a bad romance film.

Ooh, that sounds promising. What is it?