Dec 4 - Dec 10
Scavengers Reign, Blue Eye Samurai, From Dusk Till Dawn, Assault on Precinct 13, The Boy and the Heron, From Up on Poppy Hill, The Wind Rises
- Scavengers Reign [2023] - 91
I don’t often look forward to more when it comes to shows, but I cannot wait for more of Scavengers Reign. The most inventive, creative, and visually interesting thing I’ve watched all year [or the last several]; Scavengers is not without its slight narrative bobbles, but more than makes up for those with its incredible environments, wonderful creatures, and genuinely interesting characters. I plan to do a full review of this… but I’ve said that before. As a short summary, Scavengers Reign feels like a world written and created by Brandon Sanderson, inspired by Cat Soup, and animated/ realized by Sudio Ghibli. This show is dense, extremely well paced, and a stunning example of how to be approachable, worth your time, and respecting of your intelligence.
- Blue Eye Samurai [2023] - 74
This is an interesting show to look back on a week after finishing it. With a little distance I feel nothing but fuzzy and excited… until I remember a few select moments and a specific recurring character. I think a rating of “slightly above ‘good’ overall” still stands, as most of the show is pretty great, but it has certain elements that are borderline insufferable. Very stylish visual work, engaging and intriguing characters, and a twisty path to tell an otherwise simple story, Blue Eye Samurai is going to sing for some while only murmuring for others. Despite that, however, I doubt anyone with a passing interest will come away from this one clamoring for a “dislike” button on Facebook.
- From Dusk Till Dawn [1996] - 80
Ah yes, From Dusk Till Dawn: the film that’s really two separate films/ genres mashed together so Quentin Tarantino can put Salma Hayek’s foot in his mouth. Incredible. Unironically, this movie really is pretty good. It’s totally weird, takes a totally wild turn… but also totally works? You have to be in for the ride a bit but, if you’re even vaguely familiar with Robert Rodriguez, that isn’t hard to do. The first half or even 2/3rds of this film are hilariously different from its closing acts, with the two pieces genuinely feel like they belong to entirely different scripts. If you haven’t seen this, or just haven’t seen it in a while, it’s a plenty fun journey with some great style and lots of laughs. Just keep your shoes on around Quentin.
- Assault on Precinct 13 [1976] - 73
Assault on Precinct 13 is one of those movies I wish I’d seen when it was new. It’s plenty serviceable and even interesting in 2023, but it certainly isn’t shocking or particularly novel. It’s a little flat, a little goofy, and could use a little less of some things while a little more of others… but it certainly isn’t bad. Not sure what motivated me to watch this or that I’d necessarily recommend it to anyone but John Carpenter fans, but I’m not mad I spent time on it, and it is remarkably well paced for something from this time period. There’s not a ton to say about this one… it’s just “7/10, good”.
- The Boy and the Heron [2023] - 34
Another movie I intend on writing a full review for this week, The Boy and the Heron is another Hayao Miyazaki bird-shit show. Effectively a time-travel story with no meaningful beginning because of its entirely non-meaningful end, Heron is pretty excellent for it’s first third or so… but then never really introduces or develops anything further once the bulk of the plot is introduced. Characters that don’t matter, situations that aren’t interesting, are never explained, given gravity, or context, and an overarching narrative that turns itself into a meaningless mass because none of it counts by the end, leave The Boy and the Heron as a fitting songbird for a career that should have ended over a decade ago. I would not have finished this one had I seen it alone or at home.
- From Up on Poppy Hill [2011] - 77
Now, because my experience with Miyazaki’s last two films has been so poor, I’ve decided to review his entire film-works to see what I think. With Princess Mononoke being one of my favorite anime-style things of all time, I wanted to give them all a whirl to see where things went wrong. So, starting at the bottom of the popularity list [according to Google] we have 2011’s From Up on Poppy Hill. This one is genuinely quite good, sweet, and engaging. Great soundtrack, cute romance [mostly], and great world building, Poppy Hill isn’t a mid-8 entirely because of a super weird subplot choice that did not have to be included and added nothing to the overall experience… except to provide lots of yelling and laughter. I’m genuinely shocked this is the lowest rated of the the collection… especially given what comes next.
- The Wind Rises [2013] - 51
The first time I saw this was in theaters during its initial release. Spoilers: I hated it then, and I hate it now. While I currently have The Wind Rises at 15/15 on the rankings with Heron at 14, despite the difference in their score values, that’s because I think Heron is a deeply flawed film with a great opening act… but The Wind Rises is an immensely boring, pointless, problematic, and comically stupid one. Like something I’d expect from an American production, Wind accurately portrays the horrors of massive natural disasters and attacks from an enemy, but glorifies and fanaticizes the return endeavors. Not only that, but this movie is almost entirely devoid of timeline context — leaving viewers with very little idea of what/ when things are happening —, features nonstop idiotic, pointless, and selfish character decisions that everyone just seems to go along with for no reason, and proudly savors all the worst parts of biopics from start to finish. I’m sure history buffs could find things to like about this, but I just wanted my time back. Another I wouldn’t have finished had I watched it alone.
