backrooms

i watched backrooms. it was okay. i wasnt really engaged till like half the movie. 

what i got from the movie: 

sorta commentary on ai. most notable with that dinner table scene. those freaky humans representing those ai abominations. 

mental health deterioration / reality blending with unreality. esp in our era, with ai, we cant tell whats real anymore. 

i was fine with the ending. IDK what YOU my FRIEND was talking abt. i think it fits the themes + the whole idea of backrooms is that its inexplicable because its out of our boundaries of reality. also that last frame was the only scene that actually kinda made me scared out of the entire movie lol

and also idk if its right but the tv's were a metaphor for escapism right. and also the pirate monster at the end is supposed to reflect clark's escapist persona and liek escapism bad right. thats another thing abt the movie. abt nostalgia and stability being a hinderance to progress. clark was lowkey relatable. why he lowkey me tho. when he said i dont wanna change because he likes comfort and stability better than the fear of progress. so real

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also cool poolrooms and everywhere at the end of time references woahhh. and also was that a texas chainsaw massacre reference with the dinner table scene. i havent watched texas chainsaw massacre but im gonna watch it soon. which im really excited abt

but its 6/10 movie cuz i think it didnt need to be that long + it was kinda boring ngl 😭i know the appeal of backrooms is that its a never-ending maze that just extends forever which makes it horrifying. but the parts of the movie where they explore the backrooms felt like such a drag. 

more movies need to be like look back where they tell what story they want to tell in a perfect amount of time.

i watched good burger 1997

btw speaking of movies bro i genuinely have the worst attention span ever when it comes to everything except for movies. idk why but it is genuinely harder for me to sit through a 24 minute episode of an anime or something than like a 2hr movie. i lock in so hard when it comes to movies idk why. i can watch like a 2 hr movie to the end with one bathroom break in between and without ever checking my phone. but i cant sit through a show that only lasts 20 minutes each episode.

idk why but i feel like i cant analyze shows. like with movies or books i can analyze to an extent that my brain can comprehend. idk with books and movies, it feels like characters are actually created to be used as a tool in the story, while tv show characters feel like fictional characters that u are supposed to get attached to yknow. idk i just get a diff vibe from tv shows and movies.

watched throw away your books, rally in the streets

ok i genuinely dont know how to feel at all abt this film. extremely indifferent hmm. maybe more complicated than indifferent. 

throw away your books, rally in the streets. to me, (or what i got from it anyway) is really just an exploration of japan in the 1960s-early 1970s. yknow. we got the youth rebellion, we got the angry leftists anarchists, people having sex literally anywhere and everywhere every second of the film lol, prostitutes, punk music, critique on american/western sphere of influence, etc etc. a view into 1960s-70s japan like i said

its also abt art and breaking the normal conventions of film. reality and art weaving together. 

this film is not normal. it doesnt have a standard narrative structure like a normal movie does. the cinematography is very absurd and unconventional. its full of monochrome vignettes and character interviews which plays into the entire film's theme of rebellion.

cool aesthetics

but also. the film includes a 3-4 minute long gang rape scene which genuinely was disgusting. i know the entire film is abt rebellion (against conventional cinema and social norms) but sometimes u just gotta handle things with more respect man. idk. i know its meant to be provocative but it really did not need to be 3 minutes long. maybe this film is too rebellious for me idk. i felt genuinely distressed after this scene. i didnt know how to feel abt the movie anymore.

so that kinda turned me off the film. it was really not needed. i dont really like this film (as in enjoyment) but as a piece of art, i do appreciate it. its very complicated. but also the film has so much to take in. maybe i just feel overwhelmed rn. a rewatch would probably be needed to fully understand it.

5/10 but not because i hate it. one half of me loves it but the other half is disgusted

also this movie has an incredible soundtrack. maybe one of my favorite soundtracks of all time tbh. i love this one especially. ive been listening to it so much. especially around the 5:02 mark. and then towards the end at around 5:40 when everyone sings in unison. oh its so peak. i love aggressive songs like this so much. proto-punk realness. i miss when i used to listen to music like this. 

also next shuji terayama film im going to watch is the boxer. i know shuji terayama is the biggest anj fan. also remember how i mentioned shuji terayama was the one who read rikiishi's eulogy at his funeral this the same guy.

also there was a scene in throw away your books where i cant tell if its an anj reference or not. they were talking abt how when a movie ends, nothing remains except for a white screen. #noticing. is this an anj reference. this came out in 1971 and anj didnt end till 1973. when did joe give his famous white ashes speech.    theres also some shots of an empty boxing ring and i cant help but think its an anj reference. i cant believe anj inventing boxing guys

legend of the stardust brosss

ok i actually watched legend of the stardust brothers im not a larper anymore

hell yeah

going in. i knew this movie wasnt meant to be taken seriously and just a good and fun time. its so weird and quirky and yeah. there is so much weird goofy stuff in it i love it. it does critique the music/idol industry a bit which was fine and cool. but the ending of this movie was so weird. like it just becomes kinda dark out of nowhere and the tonal inconsistency was a bit jarring. but other than that it was a goofy ahh film. 7/10

finally watched look back

god ive been wanting to watch this movie for so long i remember back when it first came out and i was waiting for it to come out on streaming but no streaming service had it yet cuz it was so early. so i lowkey forgot abt it

but then i watched it today and it was beautiful bro. really a love letter to art and artists all around. i wanna talk abt the animation first. it was so loose and not over-polished like a lot of anime are today and i appreciate it for that. and i could feel the weight and the movement of the characters like they were actually real. it genuinely mesmerized me. i love it when animators put so much attention into the weight.

ok anyways onto the actual story. it really is just soo. it captures the life of an artist so well. the two main characters are really every artist ever. fujino is kinda egotistical and gets jealous easily when she encounters kyomoto who can draw better than her. (literally me!) and kyomoto is a socially anxious shut in who cant go to school because her anxiety is that bad so she just stays in and draws all day (literally me as well)

and i love how their relationship builds from fujino being jealous at kyomoto so she draws every single day to get better and be better than her. and then they meet and kyomoto says that she admires fujino's manga. and then they become friends and draw manga together, go on walks together, run into the ocean, watch sunsets. its beautiful bro 

but then some spoilery thing happens and i literally cant talk abt the rest of the movie atp cuz its a big spoiler and a big shift in the movie but like as adults fujino and kyomoto drift away and fujino becomes a big mangaka and kyomoto decides to go to art school. and like fujino is constantly in her office drawing and it really shows how she doesnt go outside or do anything and forgets about kyomoto. and bro i literally cant say anything cuz spoilers 💀

but the movie's central question is why do you draw? when it is so miserable and tiring to do sometimes. ppl have different answers to this question. from the beginning fujino did art because she got praised by everyone and it was fun to do, then she kept drawing because of her jealously of kyomoto, but then her reasons changed again when her and kyomoto became friends. fujino did art because of her friendship with kyomoto and they drew together, and in the end, fujino kept doing art because of kyomoto.

the film really shows the rigorous bothersome process of creating art but also shows the beautiful moments of how art brings ppl together like fujino and kyomoto's friendship. and just how inspiring it feels to get even one person to appreciate ur art. 

anyways 10/10 film ngl it does everything it needed to perfectly. i wish i couldve talked more abt the film but i genuinely cant without giving spoilers 💀

also

i feel more attracted to east-asian films ngl. i relate way more to how they portray childhood and teenagehood. and the scenery feels reminiscent of my own childhood so like i feel more drawn to easian films. 

i havent watched a lot of films in general and i cant really speak on this but i feel like easian and american films portray teenagehood so differently like idk how to explain it. ig its because yknow like korea and japan have walkable cities and has actual stuff to do unlike america. like i remember going out with my friends just walking on the street and eating street food and going into convenience stores. and taking the bus to go to the mall. and i also remember taking walks to namsan tower or just strolling down the cities and looking at the lights. those were some good times. in america all u see is nothing.

i watched monster (2023)

yes i did just watch it because ryuichi sakamoto did the music for it but wow what a great film

monster is abt this mystery this boy named minato and he has a single mother and hes kinda weird. hes throwing shit around. hes having outbursts. we dont know whats going on with him! and thats also whats essentially happening in the first act of the film. this big mystery around minato. and it was so intriguing bro i was so hooked. i wanted to know so badly what was going on. and they kept giving these little hints and clues and even more mysteries for the audience to piece together it was so interesting.

and then 2nd act we get a bunch of perspectives from other characters and the story keeps unfolding the mystery like that. where we get a view from another character and the story starts to make more sense. we get to learn more abt minato's classmate yori who they grow to have a friendship and then 3rd act is all abt them. 

idk if i can talk abt this movie without spoilers so im gonna keep this review short. also this lowkey the first time i ever watched a piece of media without spoiling myself

i liked this film but the 1st act was really my favorite part cuz the mystery was so intriguing. like i was really assuming the worst happened to the main characters but not really. i thought minato had some supernatural powers or something. but as the story unfolds the facts are really simple. and ok. like i know that plays into the themes of the movie. abt how u shouldnt assume the worst of people. but my goodddd the 1st act was so cool to me. tbh... i didnt really like how simple the truth was... ngl... and how hopeful(?)(that sounds terrible) the ending was. i usually love stories where it has a hopeful and sort of happy ending abt the good of humanity even with all the stuffs that happened. but this movie just didnt hit that way for me idk why. i think act 1 just has an iron grip on me. 

anyways i really liked that one scene in 3rd act where the principal was telling minato abt how happiness is not real if only certain people can have it and that anybody can have happiness 😭😭😭yeah it made me cry. the whole movie is abt being true. yknow. be true to yourself be your honest self even in this cruel world. its better than telling lies and living in regret. watching this movie was very mentally clearing for me. been struggling a lot these past few weeks but just sitting down and watching a movie and learning things abt the beauty of life through art... there truly is no other feeling like this in the world!

really good film.. very interesting throughout.. was hooked all the way... except for the last few minutes but thats ok. it was still really good. i really loved it. 4/5 watched this 2 hr long movie instead of doing my homework 

also at the end they said in memory of ryuichi sakamoto kill me. 

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

extra thoughts on mcml

also i forgot to mention the acting. david bowie's acting was pretty good ngl. ryuichi sakamoto on the other hand... i think hes too quiet. i heard once that ryuichi sakamoto was ranked the worst radio show host in like a japanese poll one time because he had such a soft-speaking voice that literally nobody could understand what he was saying 😭😭he needs to speak up!!! and also the way he speaks is kinda awkward sometimes but yeah

also i just remembered kenji sawada was originally gonna play captain yonoi but director oshima picked ryuichi sakamoto instead because he saw a photo of him um. shirtless.

also this is how i feel like when i say i love ryuichi sakamoto and kenji sawada but dislike david bowie 😭 theres nothing wrong with bowie i just think his music is boring. but idk that was when i was like 14 trying to listen to his music. i really did not like it. i thought it was incredibly boring. maybe its time for a re-listen to david bowie's discog

watched merry christmas mr lawrence (1983)

watched merry christmas mr lawrence it was alright tbh. i was expecting a lot more but it was just okay. yes i did watch it just because ryuichi sakamoto is in it. 

mcml is about war and this british soldier named jack celliers (played by david bowie) gets captured by japanese soldiers and becomes a prisoner of war. captain yonoi (played by ryuichi sakamoto) is the captain of the japanese army and he is lowkey in love with jack celliers. theres also mr lawrence a british soldier who helps translate between the british prisoners and the japanese guards. and theres also sergeant hara who is a fav character tbh 

anyways i didnt like how the film was basically just like a bunch of short stories put together? i mean like it didnt have an actual overarching story it was just like they do this and then they go do that. also sometimes it was boring lowkey...

there were some really great scenes tho like the flower scene, the kiss scene, and the last conservation with mr lawrence and sergeant hara (that scene was so sad). those were my favorite parts of the movie. but other than that the movie really does not stand out.. kinda disappointed

i liked the themes of like toxic masculinity and war and connection. also this movie is not gay but its gay yknow. captain yonoi is obsessed with jack celliers for some reason thats not explained but yknow it shows how war and toxic masculinity kinda go hand in hand together. in war you cannot show love or emotions. you must always torture ur enemy. and captain yonoi knows this but everytime he has to punish or fight jack celliers he never does it because he doesnt want to! something inside captain yonoi is attracted to jack celliers and wants to connect with him but cant. because of war and how he was taught that you must always kill the enemy. so theres that conflict within him. its the same conflict with mr lawrence and sergeant hara. sergeant hara thinks of mr lawrence as an enemy, a weak prisoner but many times he lets him off easily or waves off his punishment because theres a connection between them. especially since mr lawrence puts effort into learning japanese and japanese ideologies. its interesting because mr lawrence is literally a prisoner who gets tortured everyday but still tries to find connection between him and the japanese soldiers. which is why that last scene between mr lawrence and sergeant hara is so heartbreaking. 

i loved all of that but the movie was just not enough for me. it had a few good scenes and character moments and also a banger soundtrack composed by ryuichi sakamoto butttt not enough unfortunately... 3/5 stars

mcml good okay-ish movie atleast it gave us ryuichi sakamoto and david bowie yaoi. also before i watched this ive seen so much yaoi fanart between captain yonoi and jack celliers i genuinely thought it was an explicitly gay movie. i mean theres subtext and that kiss scene but its really non-romantic. also ryuichi sakamoto was soooo um. handsome. in this movie 😁

watched akira (1988)

oh my god bro. oh my goud. this film was sooo i dont even know how to explain. ok well first of all i definitely enjoyed it. but man im just i feel completely dumbfounded. 

ok let me talk abt the obvious thing first. oh my god this movie is so gorgeous. i posted the screenshots from the movie on my previous posts and do i even have to say anything. the city of neo-tokyo is everything i could ever want in a fictional world. god man every scene of this movie i was just so mesmerized by the art. 

as for the story itself i thought it was pretty good and got its message conveyed. i dont understand why so many people thought it was confusing or boring. i was really interested in it and understood its themes pretty well. how power can become corrupt by humans' selfish desires. how everyone is capable of bringing about destruction. throughout evolution, humans have remained the same with their unquenchable thirst for power. the dangers of nuclear warfare. i also thought this movie was about all the worst things japan has gone through. like world war ii and the riots that went on during the 1960s-70s.

also this movie was terrifying at times. like the body horror was insane. i actually felt disgusted watching it. it was great.

though i wish the characters and their relationships with each other was better. kaneda is an asshole protagonist but hes cool so its ok. tetsuo is an insane and insecure teenager and i wish he and kaneda had more moments together because they are the main opposing forces in the movie and idk their rivalling dynamic didnt feel that strong. also wish kaneda and kei had more bonding moments together because their relationship couldve been really fun but they didn't have enough time together. 

also the ending was confusing and kinda goofy ngl. it was the only part of the movie where i agree with everyone was confusing. like literally what happened. a new universe was created or something and kaneda and his gang ride off into the sunset like ok. also wtf happened to kaori. kaori deserved so much better man. she was just treated as tetsuo's side girl.

idgaf tho akira 9/10 might be even 10 changed my life forever. im so in awe. cool movie. it was so peak man. i felt so hyper after watching it

akira (1988) screencaps 2

akira (1988) screencaps 1

watched the original godzilla (1954)

loveee this poster

guys i watched godzilla on bootleg dailymotion with 144p video quality with mediocre subs and terrible sound quality but i did it. i genuinely couldnt find any other alternative to watch online

anyways godzilla a classic movie abt that big dinosaur that destroys tokyo! a very artistic movie. the way they made this movie was incredible. even tho i watched this in 144p i could still tell how much work they put into creating all those miniature buildings and trying their best to emphasize how enormous godzilla is. there were so many amazing shots. the sound effects were also great. the roaring sound that godzilla makes actually sounds like a big scary monster!!!

my fav scene in the move :)
when godzilla wrecks the entire city

however there were lots of things that i didnt like abt this movie too. i try to give it the benefit of the doubt since it came out in 1954 literally 70 years ago and storytelling has evolved very much since then but still. 

ok first of all the characters. theyre not that interesting. so i didnt really root for them. my fav scene in the movie was when godzilla was trying to kill everyone lol. i dont feel attached to the characters so i didnt really care if somebody died.

ok second of all theres nothing too deep abt this movie beyond "war bad" and "nuclear arms dangerous." not much of the dialogue stuck out to me either. ive seen too many antiwar japanese media maybe im getting a little bit tired of it.

those were my 2 biggest criticisms. godzilla was still a fun movie tho with some grogeous and terrifying shots 

erm 7/10 godzilla cool i keep rating everything i watch a 7 help

anyways heres some screenshots i took 

great quality

The Man Who Stole The Sun (1979)

the man who stole the sun!!!

Today I watched the movie The Man Who Stole The Sun (1979) directed by Kazuhiko Hasegawa! what an insane film.

the story's protag is this deranged science teacher named kido makoto who doesnt do much in his life really... so he gets bored and decides to build a literal atomic bomb and plays tricks with the police department, saying that he will literally explode the entire nation of japan if they dont do what he wants

the man who stole the sun himself!!!

i dont know what i was expecting going into this tbh i just watched it cuz my man kenji sawada was playing the lead role but it was a really great film. there were a lot of unique moments in this movie and also it was surprisingly funny like i actually did laugh a bit. also i heard that this film is a cult classic for japanese film nerds so im glad to have watched it

the 3rd act of this film was the absolute greatest. the insanity of this plot is at its peak here

alot about nihilism and japan's post-war radical parties but im too dumb to write an actual analysis but yeah the cast was great too kenji did a pretty good job acting despite the fact that hes an idol (idols are not known for their great acting skills 💀) and bunta sugawara the guy who plays the main detective thats trying to get makoto he was great too. 

very fun film i enjoyed it alot also i watched this almost the entire way through with stopping to take a break only 2 times during this 2 hr and 30 min film im proud of myself

9/10 its peak