I don't cook too much for myself these days. Most of my meals are of the frozen, prepackaged variety, or leftovers graciously given to me by a friend. When I do end up cooking, its usually a day long event. Starting early in the afternoon with prep, figuring out a timeline, managing the multiple components, cleaning the kitchen as I go, eventually people will come over and I have a good time feeding friends whose company I very much appreciate.…
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Neighbours 1952
Saw this a while back in a highschool english class and I remember thinking it was really cool. I rewatched it while doing some research on the NFB during the 50's and 60's and I'm glad to report I still think its pretty neat.
I always appreciate it when I see a film pre hays code abolition be provocative, visually experimental, or blunt. Neighbours has all three.
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Go, Go Second Time Virgin 1969
"Is that your song?"
"Yes, but I won't sing it again."
"Why?"
"Why? Because you heard it."
Simultaneously bleak, brutal and unbelievably tender.
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The Half of It 2020
A lot of very cute and very charming details that definitely make the "date this person for me" trope go down considerably easier.
It still isn't a trope I like at all. I do not care for characters purposefully miscommunicating and pushing themselves further into a corner for large chunks of story, no matter how much nuance is added to that formula. It still results in the same lessons, the same story beats, time and time again.
Please don't take this as an entirely scathing review tho. The film is cute, light, thoughtful, and fun. Sometimes that's all a movie needs to be.
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Neon Genesis Evangelion 1995
I realize this will come across as hyperbolic, but considering the massive popularity, longevity and influence this series has despite how esoteric, disturbing, introspective, thematically complex, idiosyncratic and confrontational it is, I legitimately think that Neon Genesis Evangelion and the sequel film The End Of Evangelion are one of humanity's greatest artistic achievements.
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On-Gaku: Our Sound 2019
If your immediate reaction after watching this movie wasn't to track down the closest musical instrument in your vicinity and play it until your hands started bleeding you are living a lie.
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Fresh Kill 1994
Leave the lights on, no saliva exchange, no skin. Flick our tongues at the night sky. We're just lonely lizards left to eat our own garbage.
Contains so many qualities I love to see in film; surrealism that's distinctly American, blunt snarky socio-political satire, gay in the confrontational way, a setting that feels lived in, so very horny, dialogue that's more akin to esoteric poetry than something a normal human being would actually say, frantic editing so hypnotic its rhythm…
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Yamada's First Time: B Gata H Kei 2010
So abundantly trashy but in the same way that a mcchicken and a cold diet coke at 4am after a night of binge drinking is trashy. So it's pretty great.
It's kind of remarkable when a sex comedy (let alone an anime sex comedy) somehow doesn't present sex as an affirmation of some patriarchal status, or something to be taken from someone else, or something to be ashamed of. A low bar I know, but there's only a handful of…
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Crayon Shin-chan: Storm-invoking Passion! The Adult Empire Strikes Back 2001
You know the movie is amazing when it pulls out some of the most immaculate symbolic imagery rivaling the likes of Tarkovsky in how powerfully evocative it's compositions are while also having a kindergartener constantly talking about his balls retracting.
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Super Mario Bros. 1993
Admittedly a pretty bad adaptation but I wouldn't call it bad movie. Its weird enough for me to find it entertaining. The sets and the costumes certainly clash tonally but I find this jangled mishmash of aesthetics to be kinda charming. Also Bob Hoskins is a very convincing cartoony brooklyn plumber. I liked him a lot. Glad I got to see this before the Illuminations movie.