Movie Time 2.0: TT mini reviews

[Octopus Prime]

I meant to do a Post-moretm on my own Every Canon Disney Movie Watch when I finish each decade, but I forgot to. AND SO; my short thoughts of the entire work of the 1940s:

Pinocchio is the only movie I genuinely enjoyed
Some of the shorts in the compilation movies were okay, most were dreadfully boring.
More movies had Racism Apologies than did not, but fortunately, it was usually only a milder "Grandpa doesn't know any better" rather than things actively caustic.
Except Dumbo, that movie constitutes a hate-crime.
I'm still mad at that stupid conductor for getting dinosaur facts wrong.

Final score for decade 5/10, I see little hope for this company continuing. Needs more murderous witches and fewer cowboys.

AND SO, on to the 1950s, with Cinderella. A MUCH better take on making a cartoon out of a stock fairy tale than Snow White was.
Far more Critter Antics than anticipated
Lady Tremaine was a very effective villain, considering her entire reason for being is to be Continuously Mad at An Orphan
She also expresses delight in shredding a dress literally made by rats
Fairy Godmother has far less of a presence than expected, especially by Deus Ex Machina Lady standards for a Disney movie
Magic can create, but not destroy, glass?
All the rats become horses, and all the horses become guys. I feel like a step could have been saved here.
I am wearing slippers right now; those are not slippers. And glass is antithetical to the slipper-wearing experience. This fairy is garbage.
Also, hey, Fairy, why didn't you help with HER DAD DYING. Shredding a rat-dress is enough of a tragedy for you to come in but not LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE?
Man, now I'm mad at the fairy godmother more than anything else.
The Princes dad is a dangerous man, Cinderella nearly dodged a bullet by losing her chance to be related to him.

8/10, lots of music in this, since it's technically a musical, and none of it is any good, but it's a huge step up from everything they made in the decade preceding.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Aint gonna lie, I was let down by Palm Springs. But that’s more on my expectations than any failing with the movie itself. I was expecting more of a laugh-a-minute yuks-em-up, and less of a dramedy with a focus on the drama bits.

Honestly, one of the lesser Time Loop stories, for me, not that it didnt have its charms

 

[Octopus Prime]

As is traditional in the Octohouse for Easter Weekend, I watched an Alien movie, specifically, 2004s widely derided Alien vs. Predator.

And... I did not hate it? In fact, I thought it was pretty good? Way better than most canon Alien and Predator movies, certainly.

Kind of had some La Mulana vibes, too, though I'm pretty sure the movie came first; buncha explorers find out about, and then start to explore, a weird ancient temple buried under the South Pole except that WHOOPS, there's Xenomorphs at the bottom, and Predators coming down from the top and they're caught in the middle.

Seemed rude to leave Surviving Girl alone in the middle of Antarctica without a jacket, Predators. Especially since she just took down a Xenomorph Queen. You have a space-ship! It's not hard to drop her off somewhere that's at least land-locked!. I didn't know that being the perfect hunter means you need perfect Rudeness.

 

[Neo Skimbleshanks]

She can freeze! She immorally conspired with the wicked predators against a chained up, tortured animal who was defending herself and in helping a predator escaped doomed a town in the sequel. From a certain perspective, the duology is a pro-animal rights... piece, if not masterpiece.

Anyway, this movie is fun to watch right after Resident Evil because it is, you know, a lot like Resident Evil. (those 3D holographic maps) I wouldn’t say it’s better than most Alien movies for me but I do like it more than any other Predators.

This is my primary association with Sanaa Lathan. I wish her the best....

 

[Octopus Prime]

Checking her IMDB she is also Clevelands wife in Family Guy and also Catwoman on Harley Quinn. She was also on a two-parter of Moesha

 

[Torzelbaum]

Anyway, this movie is fun to watch right after Resident Evil because it is, you know, a lot like Resident Evil. (those 3D holographic maps)

They even have the same actor getting diced into chunks!

 

[Neo Skimbleshanks]

They even have the same actor getting diced into chunks!

I forgot about that but yes, lmao

Checking her IMDB she is also Clevelands wife in Family Guy and also Catwoman on Harley Quinn. She was also on a two-parter of Moesha

I’ve heard a lot about her in Love and Basketball, which I’ve never seen. Also she had a kind of weird/funny Beyoncé-related news cycle a few years ago. (Something about biting?)

 

[YangusKhan]

I only remember disliking the AvP sequel, for some reason that escapes me now, but yeah the first one was a decently enjoyable time! The comparison to Resident Evil is great lmao, perfect double feature imo.

 

[Octopus Prime]

The whole time I was watching it, I was thinking "this feels very familiar to... something" and then the directors name popped up and I said "OH!"

 

[Octopus Prime]

Also;

Not a fan of dripping Xenomorphs. They're already unpleasant enough to look at all on their own; having them all look like they just got out of the shower is kind of silly.

 

[Olli]

They're angry and feeling awkward, which makes them doubly dangerous.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Zatoichi on the Road

Another Zatoichi tale, this time with Ichi protecting a young woman on her way home while also being roped into a yakuza war against his will. This is the fifth movie and the character is still great, but I feel like it is falling into a formula. The first three I liked because it was digging into more personal adventures but here he's making a friend while fighting the baddies and trying to manipulate them. But the latter bit feels like a less thought out Red Harvest. Still fine but I'm hoping for the series to get a shake up now that there's a formula.

 

[YangusKhan]

There are other movies from the decade that are very strong contenders, but I feel Rocky IV is the most 80s movie that was ever made.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Rocky 4 is not a movie I’ve seen, but am aware of its reputation... and I don’t think I can refute your claims

 

[Violentvixen]

We finally watched The Last Blockbuster, the documentary that started filming when there were only 12 stores left then ended up focusing on the final store in Bend.

I'm biased since I live in Bend and go in that store (and have a bottle of the beer they mention in my pantry), and even with my bias it's a resoundingly okay documentary. But the decision to focus on the manager Sandi was really smart. She's interesting and driven and the scene where they show her hand-knitting the beanies people order really touched me. Worth streaming, and uh, if you want to see the Target where I couldn't get Amiibo cards a couple weeks ago it shows her buying DVDs there! If you're a big Blockbuster fan there's a physical edition too.

 

[karzac]

Arrival is exactly the sort of energy I've always wanted out of a first contact movie. I really love it when stories are about solving a problem and not actual direct conflict.

I love that movie so much. Haven't rewatched it since it was in theatres, I really should get around to it. Definitely my favourite Villeneuve - it's got the same haunting tension of his other movies, but without the overwhelming bleakness.

 

[clarice]

I like Arrival too, but i wasn't too keen on the *physical* consequences of a way of understanding language. I'm sort of a physicist, so eh.

Wolf Children is one of my favorite movies of all time. Thanks for the Wolfwalkers recommendation, Tegan!

Ah, right now i'm rewatching a couple of Hong Sang Soo movies. I like his movies so much. They're so singular in the way they talk about the little ways in which we mismatch one another. Just rewatched Right Now, Wrong Then. It's the third time i watch it. I like it!

 

[karzac]

I like Arrival too, but i wasn't too keen on the *physical* consequences of a way of understanding language. I'm sort of a physicist, so eh.

I agree with that. The Sapir-Whorf theory is debunked, if my understanding of current linguistics is correct, and in any case, Arrival takes the consequences of the theory to the absolute extreme. I think it works best as a thematically appropriate technique for the story their telling, rather than a literal proposal for what would happen when learning an alien language.

 

[clarice]

That's an interesting take, karzac! I'll keep it in my mind if i rewatch it.

 

[Exposition Owl]

I like Arrival too, but i wasn't too keen on the *physical* consequences of a way of understanding language. I'm sort of a physicist, so eh.

I thoroughly agree with you, but quite a bit of 20th century philosophy of time argued that the way time appears to flow sequentially is literally a delusion caused (or at least worsened) by language. So, it's a weird take, but at least it's a weird take with a lot of scholarship behind it. I've actually proposed a paper for an upcoming conference that would explore the Ted Chiang story the movie is based on through the lens of the physics and philosophy of time, so we'll see if I end up writing that.

 

[clarice]

That makes sense. The structure of language suggests that there is a unique, universal time, i.e., a clock in the background. And that does not seem to be the case. If we're aware of the structure of language, it might be easier to accept things like the results of relativity about time (when we focus about what is being measured, what are our measurement tools, what is being related to what), time translation invariance etc. Kinda like the argument Nietzsche made that we believe in God because of grammar. But the jump to an alternate structure of language making you travel through time is too much for me, haha. I'm just being boring, though! Sorry!

And anyway, i want to read this article!

 

[Violentvixen]

Wolfwalkers is fantastic. Beautifully-animated too. Right up there with Wolf Children in the pantheon of gorgeous animated werewolf movies.

Ooh, thank you for the reminder of Wolfwalkers. I haven't done my Apple TV trial yet so might use it for this.

 

[Exposition Owl]

That makes sense. The structure of language suggests that there is a unique, universal time, i.e., a clock in the background. And that does not seem to be the case. If we're aware of the structure of language, it might be easier to accept things like the results of relativity about time (when we focus about what is being measured, what are our measurement tools, what is being related to what), time translation invariance etc. Kinda like the argument Nietzsche made that we believe in God because of grammar. But the jump to an alternate structure of language making you travel through time is too much for me, haha. I'm just being boring, though! Sorry!

And anyway, i want to read this article!

If what you wrote is boring, then most of my academic writing is boring in the same way, in which case I’m in trouble.

Anyway, I’d argue that our language about time still works pretty well so long as we take each statement as applying only to the speaker’s own reference frame. What I say refers to the place and time in which I say it, rather than to the whole universe, as if I didn’t have a particular point of view.

If conference accepts my paper proposal, then I’ll be sure to send you a copy once it’s written. Thanks for your interest!

 

[clarice]

Anyway, I’d argue that our language about time still works pretty well so long as we take each statement as applying only to the speaker’s own reference frame. What I say refers to the place and time in which I say it, rather than to the whole universe, as if I didn’t have a particular point of view.

Ah, that makes sense! This made me think about how to talk about time and relativity in a classroom, which is the sort of thing i'm usually thinking since i'm a high school physics teacher.

Anyway, just saw One Cut Of The Dead for the first time. I never see horror movies because i'm a scaredy cat, but a friend of mine said i would have a blast watching it and he was right. I love movies like this, where previous scenes are recontextualized. Very fun. I want to watch it with a lot of people.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Continuing the Every Canon Disney Movie watch with Alice in Wonderland. And I thought I was done with the carton compilation movies, but NOPE! It's just that this one has a semi-coherent plot that it mostly sticks with. It's also based on a book by one of the few childrens entertainers who is a worse person than Walt himself!

Kid sees a well dressed rabbit, figures "Okay, it's history times, there's no Gameboys yet, guess I'll go look at that" and then falls into a VERY aggravating fantasy kingdom where she judges the culture very harshly. Given what we see of the regency, it's little wonder that the place has a hard time of things.

I've read enough Ant-Man comics to know that changing you size as often as Alice does can wreak havoc with the mind; I was half expecting her to build an Ultron before it was over, but instead she mangles a perfectly good flamingo and threatens to murder the entire royal court.

Then she wakes up and the movies over. No moral.

In conclusion, there's little reason to visit Wonderland for anything other than humanitarian reasons

 

[estragon]

I agree with that. The Sapir-Whorf theory is debunked, if my understanding of current linguistics is correct, and in any case, Arrival takes the consequences of the theory to the absolute extreme. I think it works best as a thematically appropriate technique for the story their telling, rather than a literal proposal for what would happen when learning an alien language.

I think it's less that Sapir-Whorf is debunked per se and more that the most extreme view of Sapir-Whorf way overstated things. Language does influence thought, but in the same sense that being enmeshed in any particular conceptual framework influences thought. (Also obviously it's basically impossible to fully separate linguistic and cultural influence, etc. etc. )

In any case, yeah, I think it's best to approach Arrival in the same way that you might approach science fiction where "humans only use 10% of their brain... what if you could unlock the other 90%???" They're not suggesting that notion is literally correct in reality, they're positing an alternative reality where it is in fact correct. If language did in fact do the things that happen in Arrival, then obviously that would have huge implications for Sapir-Whorf!

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Trial of the Chicago 7

As a piece of film, this is a pretty good actor's showcase with some very Sorken dialogue, for both better or worse. I don't enough about the actual history that making Richard Schultz a sympathetic figure is a good idea. I also think that while I expect fact to become fiction in some of these films, there are probably things that could have had more impact if it hewed closed to the truth. But as a piece of film, I'm mostly positive on this one, with the actors doing a great job and Sorken proving himself to be a competent director (I'm told his first big film, Molly's Game, is something of a mess).

 

[Rascally Badger]

Molly's Game has some strong sequences and some good Sorkin dialogue, but it is also just kind of baffling at times.

 

[karzac]

Yeah, I felt similarly about that movie. I really dislike the narrative technique of just having the main character describe everything that's happening. Also, that conversation she has with Kevin Costner near the end feels like peak "Sorkin believes that a woman's problems must always be solved by a man".

 

[Lokii]

Then she wakes up and the movies over. No moral.

Sounds like the perfect movie honestly