Kiryugoji04's Top 25 First-Viewed Films of 2011!

[lhb412]

OMG, it's Fat Neil from Community!

[kiryugoji04]

Le Samouraï tells us the tale of Jef Costello, who's basically the best hitman ever. Except this one time that he screws up awfully bad. So, more accurately, Le Samouraï tells us the tale of Jef Costello, the best hitman ever, who's now trying to cover his ass and keep out of prison while continuing to be totally awesome. Everything about this movie is slick. Everything.

Basically, my entire viewing experience amounted to 105 minutes of me wishing I could be as cool as Jef Costello.

[kiryugoji04]

Oh man, I've hit Meltdown Godzilla!

[kiryugoji04]

Here now is another movie that made me squirm in terror - only this time we're dealing with aliens and other science fiction tomfoolery so I feel much more at home. The Thing is among a long list of creature feature classics that I was deprived of for many years while the majority of my peers seem to have watched them at... oddly young ages. On the one hand, yes, I guess I was sheltered but on the other hand I'm kind of thankful I wasn't shown any of them as a child, no matter how well-adjusted my friends turned out. Anyway, I've been catching up these past couple of years (Alien down, Jaws to go...) and as part of that we recently held a movie night featuring the 70s/80s remakes of The Fly, The Thing, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Curiously, we unintentionally played them in both reverse chronological order and in order of increasing bleakness. While Invasion, the only of the three I'd seen before, continues to be my favorite, the real standout of the remaining two was far and away The Thing. The practical effects are as jaw-dropping as they are disgusting - it's truly astounding to watch films from this era and revel in the things filmmakers were able to create without CGI ever entering the equation. I mean, of course I also had a great appreciation for the ever-rising-tension and onset of cabin fever, the sense of isolation, the subtle building of absolute terror, and the rugged, unbridled manliness of Kurt Russell's beard but elaborate practical effects like this really get my motor running, let me tell you.

I also commend the copious use of fire to solve problems in this movie. It is the best solution. Always.

[king_ghidorah]

[MekaGojira3k]

[kiryugoji04]

Toei's Kamen Rider (Masked Rider) superhero franchise has been riddled with shamefully bad writing over the course of the past few years and some of the series' staple scribes have become something of a parody of themselves (looking at you, Inuoe). After I'd nearly given up on the modern riders entirely, 2009's Kamen Rider W ("Double") was a surprising breath of fresh air, coming across as far more solid effort on several levels, apparently thanks to the efforts of newcomer producer Hideaki Tsukada. I don't know how well W did in the ratings but it was apparently received well enough to merit the production of two direct-to-DVD movies after the series had ended, released under the joint title Kamen Rider W RETURNS. The first of these was this one, Kamen Rider Accel, which moved the focus away from the series' primary heroes to focus on Accel, its secondary Rider. It is awesome.

Kamen Rider W was ostensibly modeled as a crime drama/film noir sort of series but it generally took a pretty light-hearted approach to the material. This was something that rubbed me the wrong way for a little while and I constantly lamented how we'd probably never see a darker, more noir-like approach to the material. LE SIGH, etc. I got over it and eventually came to love the show - score! But Kamen Rider Accel is exactly that! The switch from national television to "V-Cinema" allowed director Koichi Sakamoto (the darling director of the fandom ever since his feature film debut with Ultra Galaxy Legends) to take a considerably darker route with the plot and go a lot more intense with the action. The result is one of my favorite entries into the Rider series. The plot is nothing terribly original, mind you, but Sakamoto's works tend to be balanced more towards balls-out action and style so it's nothing surprising. What makes it so fun is that while it may be cut from the standard crime drama fabric, the typical cop framed for murder can transform into an armored superhero and the criminals he chases are mad monsters. It's pretty great and the action and cinematography are top-notch.

On a more somber note, this was the final role of Minoru Tanaka, a fantastic character actor who committed suicide just days after the release of this film. R.I.P.

[kiryugoji04]

"Which is that one?" I asked, pointing to a Studio Ghibli film on my friend's shelf. "That one looks really cool!"

"Oh, The Cat Returns? You'd really like that one!"

OH MAN, DID I EVER. It's so breezy and harmless and summery and sunny and fluffy and delightful and it's about KITTIES. I LOVE kitties! And they're adorable talking kitties who live in a fairy tale Cat Country and have crazy, swash-buckling battles like the ones out of Errol Flynn's version of Robin Hood! And then the girl is, like, walking down a GIANT SPIRAL STAIRCASE MADE OF CROWS THAT DESCENDS FROM THE SKY and the animation is simple but elegant and it's all so wonderful!

Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[MekaGojira3k]

I really do like this film, it's not one of my absolute TOP favorite Ghibli films, but it's a lot of fun.

[MouthForWar]

[kiryugoji04]

[king_ghidorah]

[kiryugoji04]

If I'm recalling correctly, much of the advertising for Summer Wars focused a lot more on the wild, stunning visuals of OZ, the preeminent social networking platform within the film's universe, which may give would-be viewers something of a false impression of its nature. While there IS plenty of radical, techno-virtual action to be had, the primary thrust of the narrative is actually surprisingly down to Earth, being more about the importance of family and community along with a good, healthy dose of THE JAPANESE SPIRIT. There's nothing revolutionary at all - the finale is a truly cliché, Japanese-style ending through and through, for example - and, you know, that's perfectly alright because it tells its story exquisitely and the execution of the animation is splendid. The art style director Mamoru Hosoda brings to his films (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time being the other one of his I've seen) is striking, combing sumptuous backgrounds with character animations that are elegant in their humble simplicity. I think his is one of my favorite styles I've seen in animated work, actually.

Aside: Summer Wars was the first HD film that I tested on my big, 24"+ monitor back when I first bought it and it was JAW-DROPPING - especially the scenes set in OZ. Do not see this film in SD if you can help it. D8

[king_ghidorah]

Good film, but I prefer the smaller, less-complicated story of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

[kiryugoji04]

I prefer Summer Wars, personally, because while I really enjoyed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, there always felt like there was something missing for me. Could never quite put my finger on it but something just felt lacking by the time I reached the end while I found Summer Wars to be a wholly satisfying experience.

[kiryugoji04]

Hmmmm. I could type up the next review and put together a banner and post it and all that jazz.

Or I could watch a Bae Doona film.



WELL THAT WAS AN EASY DECISION. SO LONG, FOLKS. I BID THEE GOOD NIGHT.

(I'll get #14 up tomorrow though.)