Movies Talk

general
21

So! Guess it wouldn’t hurt to mention it here…

For the past several months, I’ve presented films at a hipster arcade/event space/bar in Brooklyn, which obviously has not happened since it closed down to you know what.

Well, it’s back! Starting tonight, at 9PM EST to be precise, and via Twitch, of course. First up is IMHO the best real deal indie film produced in the US in the past 10 years that NO ONE knows about…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLOQg4KRYZQ

You can watch it here…

https://www.twitch.tv/wondervillenyc

And here’s the deal, to be totally honest: cuz it takes a CONSIDERABLE amount of time to negotiate with directors and all that jazz, to legally present their works, I would sincerely everyone tuning in! The stronger the view count, the easier it’ll be for me to obtain additional, fringe content. Oh, and tonight’s movie has a soundtrack from Keiichi Suzuki… you know, of Mother/EarthBound fame… FYI/BTW.

22

Cool beans. I‘ll give this a view today on Twitch and keep an eye out for the next stream. You know when you’ll be hosting the next one?

23

well, I missed it, but I‘ll try for next time. Definitely had no idea what movie this was at all! And I still don’t after watching the trailer!

24

This is a depressing reminder that I should check here every day instead of every other day. Hopefully there will be another one I can catch next month.

25

Ah geez, I can't believe I neglected to properly follow up on this thread…

For starters, am glad some of you were able to tun into For The Plasma two months ago!

I'm also kicking myself for neglecting to tell everyone about one month ago's screening of Fonotune...

https://vimeo.com/383223511

To answer your question @arubbishprussian, these Twitch streams is once a month, the last Monday of each month. And it just so happens that tomorrow, as of this writing, is the last Monday of June 2020!

So the film for this month is The Lost Arcade...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e-btFdbEm4

There's a fair chance that some of you have seen it already. If so, I think a second viewing is more than justified; I honestly believe this to be one of the absolute best documentaries on the subject of video games, and video game culture, ever produced for the big screen.

I mean, it scores MAJOR points in my book for being the lone documentary on the subject of video games that covers arcades yet DOES NOT include Billy fucking Mitchell, who manages to worm himself into every one of these types of productions. I wrote [a review](https://blog.attractmo.de/post/148415331885/review-the-lost-arcade-after-years-of-waiting-and) upon the film's release that further explains my strong opinion for it.

At any rate, it'll be livestreamed via [Wonderville's Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/wondervillenyc) once again, tomorrow June 29, 9:00PM EST. With a repeat viewing immediately after, so I guess 10:20-ish? Oh, and last I heard, the director will be in attendance!

26

As far as not-super-well-known Japanese movies go, my latest discovery was Confessions (aka Kokuhaku) which I picked up on Blu-ray recently. You can get a region-free (legit) Blu-ray from Amazon US with EN subtitles (I think it was from Hong Kong.) This is by Tetsuya Nakashima, the direct of Kamikaze Girls/Shimotsuma Monogatari, which is one of my favorite movies (and also well worth checking out if you haven't seen it.) That had a US/R1 DVD release, and the UK Blu-ray is region-free (despite saying Region B on the packaging).

Confessions is over the top in the way that Japanese dramas can be, but all to the good, in my opinion. Twisty and turny and suspenseful and fun. Kamikaze Girls, on the other hand, is tough to sum up quickly, but it's about the unlikely friendship that develops between a Goth Loli and a Yankii and it's just a hoot.

27

Ah sorry, I missed this @fortninety . I‘ve followed on Twitch so I’ll get notified when the next stream happens!

28

I just watched The Serpent's Egg last night, a bergman noir-like set in berlin as the nazis rise to power. Let me tell you: it is not an uplifting movie to watch in the current climate.

29

The most “obscure” movie I’be watched lately is probably True History of the Kelly Gang, which might not be quite so obscure if Covid hadn’t scuttled its international release! (It has Russell Crowe singing a filthy anarchist limerick!)

It was very good, grimy and eerie Australian post-Western. I’ve been a big fan of Justin Kurzel ever since _Snowtown_ made me feel so emotionally drained after seeing it that I needed to take a very long walk to recuperate. This movie has the same screenwriter, and works in similar themes of (in Kurzel’s own words) [deconstructing Australian masculinity](https://thefilmstage.com/justin-kurzel-on-deconstructing-australian-masculinity-not-telling-the-true-history-of-ned-kelly/). It is brutal and completely punk. I am super jealous that I did not personally get to interview him or Shaun Grant.

30

RIP Ennio Morricone :frowning:

I remember when I was in high school I read an article by Brandon in Gamasutra comparing the way Yasunori Mitsuda collaborates with Masato Kato on JRPGs to Morricone’s collaboration process with Sergio Leone, and as a JRPG nerd and burgeoning film nerd I thought that was the coolest thing ever and it made me watch _A Fistful of Dollars_.

Also of video game-note, ofc, is Morricone’s [Here’s to You](https://youtu.be/TZXwJcc1u-I), yoinked by Hideo Kojima as a motif for the later, more overstuffed _Metal Gears_.

Anyway, here is my favorite Morricone theme

https://youtu.be/8LyXKoaI38A

31

Morricone is going to leave a lasting legacy, that is for sure.

My favorite theme from him is not obscure at all, but the first half of it resonates with me so much, I still get goosebumps with that forlorn harmonic, and orchestral buildup to the dirty as hell guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MZw_Iv0wdU

the 2nd half of the song I can take or leave, but the first 1:53 is just super wild to me. After that it winds up sounding like Grandia or something, which is also cool, but the first half, yeah...

32

My thought for today was to start a thread detailing Morricone‘s influence on game music but I don’t think I have time to do that, so I am leaving that idea RIGHT HERE ON THE TABLE for y'all

33

@gyozaleaf#2859

I’m sure there’s a more interesting narrative to share than Wild Arms and Red Dead Redemption, but I would feel unqualified attempting to piece it together

34

Wild Arms is a good place to start though!

35

Is Morricone the sole reason we associate dramatic whistling vocals with Westerns?

36

Yup!

37

So I finally watched the legendary, controversial Showgirls, and… um… well, I can see why some people love it and I can see why some people find it unwatchable. On one hand, the film’s blistering excoriation of “showbiz” as an elaborate structure of sexual exploitation feels more damning than ever in the wake of Harvey Weinstein, et al. On the other hand, I’m convinced Verhoeven’s sense of ultra-droll European irony expressed via grotesque turbo-camp deadpan does not quite survive translation to the English language (and the language of Anerican pop culture) fully intact, and that explains a lot about his films. Way more than Starship Troopers, everyone can agree Showgirls triggers irony-fueled laughter, but even with the presence of irony nobody can quite seem to fully agree whether we’re all laughing with or at it.

38

Hmm, that‘s on my list to watch in the next couple weeks, after having watched Cabaret, which is like… Showgirls 2, but milder, and optimistic, or something!? It’s just as bad, just as camp, and almost as unaware, but it's lighthearted in the meantime. If you watched that one, might as well watch this one.

39

Yeah uhhh Showgirls is maybe like if John Waters was straight and extremely misanthropic

For anyone who dares to find out for themselves: it’s on HBO!

40

Just seeing this now, but holy shit! Can't wait to hear how Fabio Frizzi does video game music.