Last movie you watched

[Moh]

I saw Brave. It was cute, and I loved the way they did her hair.

[erilaz]

Kung fu double feature at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, with super-rare, subtitled, 35 mm prints of...

Five Element Ninjas (1982) -- Over-the-top Shaw Brothers insanity, as a young martial artist avenges his brothers and master against Japanese ninjas, whose fighting styles reflect the five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.

The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979) -- A low-budget chop-socky classic, in which a Jackie Chan wannabe learns kung fu to avenge his father, who was murdered by the original Ghostface Killer.

[sb]

I FINALLY watched two classic American comedies, Caddyshack and Animal House.

But the last movie I saw was Chronicle. And I liked it.

[erilaz]

At the San Francisco Silent Film Festival:

Pandora's Box (Die Büchse der Pandora) (1929) -- A newly restored version of my favorite silent film, starring Louise Brooks, my favorite silent film actress, in her most famous role. What else do I need to say?

[Celedam]

Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005) — British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in a post-post-modern adaptation of the first post-modern novel, which was actually written before modernism. 18th century English gentleman Tristram Shandy is trying to write his autobiography, but he keeps going off on tangents about his parents, his uncle, their household, various townsfolk, and the general state of the Age of Enlightenment, so that he never gets around to telling his own story. Now, if that wasn't twisted enough, Coogan and Brydon play themselves as actors trying to film an adaptation of the novel, but the production is plagued with budget problems and infighting. Absolutely hilarious if you enjoy Coogan's style of humor (e.g., Alan Partridge, Saxondale) or Christopher Guest's mockumentaries (e.g., This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), but downright painful if you're not.

[youtube]4kE2MkEekJc[/youtube]

[Celedam]

Boogiepop and Others (2000) – A live-action, low-budget adaptation of the light novel and manga of the same name. High school student Touka Miyashita has a split personality, but her other personality is actually a shinigami (death god) named Boogiepop that only manifests to defend against extreme, sometimes supernatural threats. Not a great movie by itself, but crucial to understanding Boogiepop Phantom, the anime series that follows. I mistakenly watched the anime first — I didn't know about the movie then — and was utterly lost. Now, I think I can watch it again and understand it better.

[youtube]YSDx0POqn-0[/youtube]

[Bakajo Nono]

Thor Finally saw it! Loved it~ HIDDLESSSSS <3 Also I wish there was more Sif. She is tooooooo adorable. Natalie Portman was a bad casting though. All of her lines fell awkward for me. Like seriously all of them. Hemsworth was good of course.

Also my brother, sister-in-law, and I are fasting so when it comes time to open are fast we're all just going to be like "THIS MORTAL FORM HAS GROWN WEAK. I NEED SUSTENANCE!"

[esm]

In the past week or so...

Despicable Me - I watched at least a year ago, but I rewatched it because I like it a lot. Definitely one of my favorite animated films.

Chocolate - Awesome movie. I didn't care much for the story, but the main parts are the fighting scenes anyway. I like how they fight in very different settings; it's like different stages in a video game. It was really fun to watch.

Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon - I liked it a lot, but it was WAY TOO SHORT. I feel like it should have a 3-hour movie because it felt too condensed at every point possible. It definitely has the potential to be epic.

Summer Wars - A little disappointing because I really liked The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), but there were good scenes, and it was overall worth watching. I always appreciate seeing big family dynamics in films, for some reason.

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate - Got lost with the story a little at one point, but it didn't really matter because everything else was awesome. I love settings and the fight scenes.

Hero - Amazing movie, but the plot was a little confusing at first. There were little things that if you didn't pick up, then the entire movie doesn't seem to make sense. I loved the scene where the two women fought among the autumn leaves so much. It was probably the most memorable scene, although there were beautiful scenes throughout the film.

The Forbidden Kingdom - Overall really fun to watch.

Okuribito (Departures) - Beautiful movie. It's probably one of the best I've seen. The encoffining scenes show the ritual like a very honorable performance, and it was clear to both the audience and the characters in the story (such as the wife) without anything having to be said about it. I even liked how Daigo was dressing the corpse in the credits. Somehow it was very artistic. Of course, soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is a great bonus.

[erilaz]

Hero - Amazing movie, but the plot was a little confusing at first. There were little things that if you didn't pick up, then the entire movie doesn't seem to make sense. I loved the scene where the two women fought among the autumn leaves so much. It was probably the most memorable scene, although there were beautiful scenes throughout the film.

I was recommending this movie to a friend just the other day, and that scene was the one that was foremost in my mind.

Okuribito (Departures) - Beautiful movie. It's probably one of the best I've seen. The encoffining scenes show the ritual like a very honorable performance, and it was clear to both the audience and the characters in the story (such as the wife) without anything having to be said about it. I even liked how Daigo was dressing the corpse in the credits. Somehow it was very artistic. Of course, soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is a great bonus.

I loved it, too. I'm glad it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, even though I knew nothing about it when I was watching the Oscars that year. But when the director had the cast members join him on stage and I saw Hirosue Ryōko among them, I totally spazzed out.

Speaking of Hirosue Ryōko, I need to see Wasabi again....

[esm]

^ I want to watch that too!

True Legend - I liked it until the segment at the end, which felt disconnected. Also not a fan of Jay Chou's character's costume. The main antagonist was excellent though; he's probably the best part of the movie. Overall, the fighting scenes were also fun to watch. (except for the bit at the end because I don't understand how a skilled warrior would have so much difficulty fighting a bunch of wrestlers).