3.3 ~ #4

"Aliens" (1986)


From Netflix: "In this acclaimed sequel, the only survivor from the first film, Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), finds her horrific account of her crew's fate is met with skepticism -- until the disappearance of colonists on LV-426 prompts a team of high-tech Marines to investigate. This release features an introduction by director James Cameron, commentary by cast and crew members and both the theatrical and special edition versions of the film."

This was the first movie on the list that I was COMPLETELY blown away by! What a badass movie! I hate Sci-Fi (as I've mentioned before) and I haven't been a fan of horror movies since I was in high school, though admittedly this was a pretty tame version of a horror film...it still managed to elicit SCREAMS from me and even more jumps...which reminds me, a special thanks to my husband for letting me crush his hand for over 2 hours! LOL

Yes, this movie was over 2 hours as well. I think they've all been so far except for "12 Angry Men"...this one didn't feel that long though, probably because I was so into it.

I was wondering why the creator of the list would make me watch a sequel instead of the original (this is the second movie in a quadrilogy), but at least according to my husband, this was the best of the series. I think that might have been the reason why I was so into it; as a sequel, the movie didn't bog down the first hour with backstory and character setup, it just dives right into the story assuming you've seen the first film and you already KNOW these people. That could be a bad thing, but this film does such a good job at getting you up to speed in a concise way that even not having seen the first film, I never felt lost or confused by what was going on.

Seriously, AMAZING movie. BADASS, even. highly recommended, and from someone that isn't even a fan of the genre.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

ok, well obviously I'm a little late with this one, and I only have 4 days left in this week to receive, watch, and write about week 4's movies to catch up. In case you'd like to watch along, these are this week's films:

#5: "American Beauty"

#6: "Amadeus"

DOTW: "Chain Camera"

Thanks for reading guys! and tell your friends! I'd love to get more people involved in the film discussions!

And feel free to follow me on Twitter!

-D

3.2 ~ #3

"Akira" (1988)

From Netflix: "Based on the popular anime series, Akira is the story of two childhood friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, who are pulled into the post-apocalyptic underworld of Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda is a bike gang leader, and Tetsuo is a member of a tough motorcycle gang who becomes involved in a covert government project called Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists and corrupt scientists, and a bloody battle ensues."

WOW.

I did NOT want to watch this. I HATE anime, I HATE sci-fi, I HATE apocalyptic type movies. This is ALL of the the above.

I had to watch this movie in two parts, as my electricity went out during my initial attempt. I saw the first forty minutes one night, then the last 90 minutes another afternoon (yep, another one that's over 2 hours long).

Here's some initial notes I took during those first forty minutes:

"dubbed" (I really dislike dubbed movies. I prefer subtitles over dubbing ANY DAY)

"fluid animation, almost like live action" (the animation really is superb, crazy to think this was released in the 80s)

"reminiscent of 'Cool World'" (great movie, if you haven't seen it. And story-wise, this movie is nothing like Cool World. The animation and movement reminded me of it, though)

"horrifyingly bloody"

"we're spoiled by CGI but the work of these animators really should be appreciated" (what can I say? I was REALLY impressed by the animation)

"Anarchy."

"130 minutes long" (<--- I found out while I was watching, and that kinda took my enthusiasm down another notch) "watching movie made me really anxious for seemingly no reason" (it did. I'm glad it got shut off when it did. The suspense of the first half hour was physically affecting me.)

"Hard to follow" (I learned later this was by design)

"female violence and nudity" (only one incidence of this, but it wasn't as graphic as it could have been. I guess I just noted that in case it was a recurring theme)

"kind of a mindfuck" (true.)


These are the notes I took in the last 90 minutes:

"don't find out what Akira is until an hour and 11 minutes in. Don't see it until an hour and a half in" (also true.)

"He's our friend, not yours! If someone if gonna kill him, it should be us!" (<---I just really liked that line)




That's it.


I hardly wrote throughout the last 2/3 of the movie because it actually got interesting enough that I wanted to pay attention. Also if you blinked, you'd miss something important, so it was in my best interest to not distract myself. The first 40 minutes were so hard to follow that I didn't even care enough to try to pay attention, which I guess would have obviously helped me out later on in the film.

At the end of the movie (I'm keeping this entry spoiler free) I had a simultaneous feeling of "Oh Em Gee I GET it!" and "What the HELL did I just see?!"...My husband, who watched the movie with me and is a great fan of the film, says that my reaction is a pretty normal one. I told him that the movie is good enough to GIVE you a feeling when you're done seeing it, but that it seems like the kind of movie that one would enjoy more the second time around. He says that even as a fan, he thinks the movie is too long to rewatch very often. I think I have to agree. Maybe I'll watch it again at some point to see if I was right.

Overall, I'm glad I watched this, though I left overall a bit dazed by it. It's very violent, and pretty confusing, but if you have a couple of hours to spare, it's definitely worth a watch.

-D

3.1 ~ Documentary of the Week

"Live Nude Girls Unite" (2000)

From Netflix: "This critically acclaimed documentary follows a group of San Francisco exotic dancers who decide to unionize to gain better wages and sick pay and to protect themselves against secret customer videotapes. Julia Query, a dancer at the Lusty Lounge, leads the unionization effort as the workers sort out their demands and go through the difficulties of bargaining with the union-busting law firm their managers hire."

Important note: this movie is SO not safe for work!

So, apparently I'm more familiar with the Lusty Lounge than even I was aware...I once saw a piece about it in Real Sex or some such program with my husband, and it seemed so novel to us we decided then and there that we would open a similar establishment in Miami! Then again, most businesses spark this entrepreneurial spirit in us, but that's not to say it wouldn't be cool. I think I could TOTALLY run a peep show. That seems like it would be just my bag...a career that is fun, sexy, and in control...LOVE IT!

It's crazy though how these girls were being treated before they formed their union! They were scheduled based on their race, they were being videotaped by customers with no protection for their privacy, ridiculous! They risked losing their jobs if they called in sick, because they were only allowed to call in sick in the first place if they could find someone with lighter skin than them AND larger breasts than them to replace them on their shift. Otherwise, their options were work sick, or lose your job.

The part that bothers me most about this whole situation I suppose is that it seems that these girls were treated like this for so long because maybe the owners looked at them as less than first-class citizens BECAUSE they're exotic dancers. I doubt a bunch of secretaries would have stood for the "lighter skin/bigger boobed replacement or you're DONE" rule, an office manager wouldn't even DREAM of enforcing such a requirement. But because we're talking about "sex workers", maybe they felt it was an occupational hazard of sorts, and therefore it was OK to make them work sick under this rule. Maybe they felt they could get away with more because who is going to defend a bunch of strippers?

No one.

They're going to defend THEMSELVES.

The girls got together, hired lawyers, and went through a months long process of back and forth with their managers that were looking after their own interests and hiring lawyers of their own to make it not only legal but TO BE EXPECTED that if you worked in that establishment, you would be held to standards that were discriminatory, and that you might even have to deal with unsafe situations and dangerous clientele.

An eye-opening look at an industry that most of us never really think about, this film is worth watching if only for the opportunity to see the legal process at work and to learn about unions and what they mean to businesses and employees. And, uh, there's a lot of boobies and nether regions to pause on if you're not so interested in all that. ;)

1.3 ~ A Look Forward...

I'm bored at work, and what better reason is there, really, to make a list of the first few movies on my list?

Week 1 (August 31 - September 6) : Introduction (a.k.a. giving Netflix time to arrive)

Week 2 (September 7 - September 13) : 12 Angry Men, 2001: A Space Odyssey

Week 3 (September 14 - September 20) : Akira, Aliens

Week 4 (September 21 - September 27) : Amadeus, American Beauty

Week 5 (September 28 - October 4) : Amistad, Apocalypse Now


Thoughts? Opinions? No spoilers, please! I've only seen American Beauty from this whole month's worth of films...