Recently watched movies!

[Dr Kain]

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, no. Not to mention even without AI, Spielberg also did that "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" job called War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise.

[O.Supreme]

AI was bad, no doubt about that. But that's what happens why Spielberg tries to be Kubrick, (or homaging, or filling-in for) instead of being himself.

Also, coincidentally, speaking of WotW, I think you inadvertently answered a question for me. I didn't think there was actually any film with Tom Cruise that I liked. Thank you for reminding me of War of The Worlds. I actually enjoy that film to some extent. Dakota Fanning is extremely annoying, but I loved the design of the Tripods, and aliens, and the haunting the "call" those ships made, that sound effect was instantly one of the scariest and at the same time most impressive things I've ever heard.


Watched Infinity War this weekend (surprisingly only my 2nd viewing). Still an amazing film, and has a ton going on with it, very well balanced. However, since they decided to change Thanos from Death worshiper, to "Balance the Universe" guy . I still wonder why when contemplating the problem of "finite resources" in the universe, his decision was to kill half the living things, rather than, make more resources? Of course I know the answer is "Because he's Evil...", but still...I had to ask the question.

[Dr Kain]

It's not because he's evil, it's because he's insane. Thanos is not evil as he is doing what he feels is just. He is only perceived as evil because anyone that goes against the heroes is automatically deemed evil.

[canofhumdingers]

Murdering half the population of the universe seems pretty evil...


[And yes, I’m well aware of my discussion about how I thought Thanos was a weaker villain because his evil acts are, in his mind, logically justified and *he* thinks he’s doing the right thing; as opposed to a villain who KNOWS that what they do is wrong and chooses to do it anyway. But none of that makes his actual ACTIONS (and thus him) any less evil, per se.]

[eabaker]

[eabaker]

[canofhumdingers]

[eabaker]

[canofhumdingers]

No, I meant we can separate the intent from the action. The intent (the greater good/saving half population) may, on some level, be good. But the action, murder, is clearly NOT.

[eabaker]

[lhb412]

I was going to say something about how Ready Player One ends with the word 'one,' just like the most reviled Spielberg film; 1941... but I forgot what point I was trying to make. So I leave you with this half-formed idea. Thank you.

[canofhumdingers]

[eabaker]

[Dr Kain]

Let's be honest here, the only reason we perceive Hitler as evil is because he lost. Had he won, we all would be thinking differently.

However, there's a difference between pieces of "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" in the real world and fictional characters.

[canofhumdingers]

[lhb412]

^ And even though a valiant 'cowboys vs. Indians' narrative was pushed for the longest time there were always dissenters who saw genocide for what it was. That's become the majority view only relatively recently, but dissenters were always around.

It's a knotty subject. A lot depends on if they manage to spin the evil into a compelling enough B.S. story that softens it.

Oh, and Thanos is a malthusian lugnut and his comic book motivation is much more fun.

[Dr Kain]

[jellydonut25]

[klen7]

There's a pretty big difference between betrayal and genocide.

[jellydonut25]

It’s hard to properly summarize my thoughts on Twilight of the Cockroaches because it’s a layered movie that leaves you with a lot to think about.
My initial reaction was that it’s a call to arms for Japan and not mistake the armistice with the US with the United States having done them a favor. All we did was lose interest in eradicating them, but that day will one day come when we decide we’ve had enough of the way they eat or the way they look and decide to just eliminate them.


But then I kinda realized that it also warns against militarism because no amount of military action in this movie is ever successful and just hastens the destruction.
And then I realized that the super militaristic roaches are German and the Japanese are the peace loving roaches who didn’t even do anything to draw the ire of the humans. Is this a form of nationalism and xenophobia, stating that Japan just wants to be left alone to exist peacefully?
Maybe, except the line of the ruling class of the roaches is a complete lie and the politicians are corrupt, so something is rotten at the core of Japan as well.

Ultimately, it’s all of those things and a call for Japan to remember it’s history and its culture and its identity even when everything and everyone else is trying to stamp it out, because while actual warfare might never be successful, giving up and losing one’s identity is the only way to fully lose.

All told through a story of animated cockroaches living in a dude’s house.

It lags too much at times so the entertainment factor isn’t super high but it’s REALLY interesting.

[eabaker]

I haven't seen Twilight of the Cockroaches in about 20. I remember loving it at the time, but I don't recall many of the particulars, other than that it was a total bummer.

[EricDent]

Mini Ninja-o-Thon over a couple days.

First we had the recent Blu-Ray of Ninja 3: The Domination.
Looked great on Blu-Ray, and just as fun as the first time I saw it (TBS played this a LOT in the late '80s/early '90s).

Then we had the 2 Ninja movies with Scott Adkins.
The 2nd of them features Kane Kosugi (who was also in Revenge of the Ninja with his father Sho).
Both felt like throwbacks to the Ninja craze of the '80s.

[jellydonut25]

The Act of Killing - You'll scarcely find a more powerful piece. Covering the mass genocides that took place in Indonesia in 1965 during a change in power, as death squads rounded up, tortured, and mercilessly executed thousands of alleged communists for 'aligning themselves' with the opposition. It takes an unflinching look at the banality of evil, so much so that one COULD argue it borders on absolving these men. The reality is, that it's a film that attempts to answer the question, "What happens when the bad guys win?" Difficult to watch, but also incredible.