Yet another friendly reminder that our movie meeting is tonight. All the details are in this post, which I will be bumping about an hour before we are to begin. Be there, or be square. Or be there and be square. I don't know.
Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness (1998): I liked it, although it left me a bit unsatisfied at the end, similar to the TV series. Was warned that the tone of the movie is much more serious and dramatic than the TV series, but the ratio of seriousness to comedy/parody is about the same in both movie and series. The only part of the movie that goes too over the top dark to the point of silliness is Akito, and even then, I'm not sure that the movie isn't having a bit of a go at unnecessarily grim, gritty characters. Hm. But while the movie feels rushed and underdeveloped, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
An Education (2009): Pretty interesting despite the skeevy nature of the main relationship -- a 16-year-old British schoolgirl, Jenny Millar (Carey Mulligan), who craves sophistication and worldliness falls under the spell of a charming but shady 35-year-old, David. What keeps the story interesting rather than gross is not so much the relationship itself, but rather how Jenny approaches the relationship. She's naive, and of course David takes advantage of her, but on some level Jenny is aware of what is going on (since she's, you know, not an idiot), and she takes advantage of David in her own, filling her needs until she reaches the point where she realizes, "... Yeah, I think I've had enough of sophistication." And there are some bizarrely cute moments in the movie; I can actually see where all the comparisons to Audrey Hepburn that Mulligan received came from.
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost (2010): A fitting end to Eden of the East, if not totally satisfying and exciting. It still has my biggest problem with Eden of the East in general -- it does not strike the right balance between its social message (which is admittedly interesting) and telling the story. It's not, like, Ergo Proxy horrible about it, but it's a problem. I will say that I'm not totally upset with how the story ultimately ends, however. The nature of the social problems Eden of the East tackles does not lend itself to a neat, happy ending, and the story reflects that. But getting there could have been better; that said, I'm glad it has finally come to a conclusion.
On the queue for this week: Dr. Strangelove (1964), Doomsday (2008) (hi, Alla!)
Total Movies: 117 (The Taking of Pelham 123, The Station Agent, The Final Destination, Silent Movie, The African Queen, Departures, Moon, Bound, Solaris, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rifftrax), Wristcutters: A Love Story, In the Loop, Public Enemies, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Rifftrax), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Lagann-Hen, District 9, The Magnificent Seven, Night Moves, My Name is Bruce, Big Fan, Almost Famous, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Drag Me to Hell, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Kara no Kyoukai 1-7, 9, Zombieland, Ninja Scroll, Primer, Re-Animator, Summer Wars, The Changeling, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Ponyo, Eden of the East: The King of Eden, Porco Rosso, Something Something Something Dark Side, Castle in the Sky, Robot Carnival, Halloweentown, Whisper of the Heart, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Fiddler on the Roof, Kiki's Delivery Service, Genius Party, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Sky Crawlers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, My Neighbors the Yamadas, THX 1138, The Stepfather, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, Tremors, Horror of Dracula, The Brood, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Rabid, Inglourious Basterds, Them!, The Yakuza, Alphaville, Ghost in the Shell, Priceless, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Whip It, A Boy and His Dog, Fletch, The Blind Side, Speed, June 17, 1994, Nobel Son, Invictus, Toy Story 3, The Two Escobars, Soylent Green, Up in the Air, Tyson, This Is Spinal Tap, The Proposition, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Informant!, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Coco Before Chanel, The Vanishing, Inception, Mind Game, Pale Rider, The Hurt Locker, Roujin Z, Broken Blade, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Black Christmas, Crazy Heart, The Man with Two Brains, Ninja Assassin, Panic Room, Mobile Suit Gundam I-III, Casablanca, Stray Dog, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, Memories, The Gold Rush, Paprika, Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness, An Education, Eden of the East: Paradise Lost)
