And to think it all ended with "The 355" at 4 today, over at the 10!
"Such fun with numbers! But I know you're talkin' 'bout movies, right?"
Absofrickinglutely!
"I take it, then, that you've finished off your A*List today?"
Not quite, but I'm not particularly interested in seeing a third for this week. Except for Studio Ghibli fare, there hasn't been anything new since Christmas.
"Not even the Oscar contenders having a second run?"
Nope, not quite time for that, but maybe in another three weeks. Time will tell.
"But at least there's been a little Japanese film in this mix? I know how you prefer the spoken language with those, so that must have been the source of some subtitles."
Yes! I am so pleased that AMC opted to go that route with "Entotsu-machi no Poupelle", known here as "Poupelle Of Chimney Town". The 2020 film is a charming, though solemn, tale of a town without stars anymore and a boy who grew up to his father's tales of the stellar lights above. His father has recently died and now it's Halloween and a Garbage Man has shown up and serves as the boy's only friend. Like I said, charming for a Daddy's girl like me.
"I'm sure it was, g'friend. I bet you could even sense your Daddy there with you."
Surprisingly, I did. I'm fairly certain that he never saw any films like this, nor even ever wanted to, but toward the end, I definitely felt him near me. Very nice, too.
"So, that makes one movie with subtitles. What was the other?"
That was "The 355", taking place with Russian, German, French, Columbian, and Chinese speakers, some of whom were agents and one who was just a regular person that got caught up in the mission to retrieve an Armageddon machine. Well, that's my name for it, as that's what it did: usurped control of anything with a digital brain and caused massive destruction of life and property. The thing that was most striking to me was the CIA guy, Nick, who reminded me greatly of an older, bulkier, Krycek of "The X-Files". Villainous cockroach.
"Ohhhh-kay. No love lost on that character!"
Nope, not a drop. Still, the movie was quite enjoyable, with lots of strong female characters that will hopefully become better developed in future installments. At least, I hope there will be more movies in this franchise. It's rather like "Charlie's Angels", but more modern and most definitely harder edged.
"Major coolness! Now what was that line about computers with neon-green text?"
Well, those were both from last week, when I was behind on my A*List game, as Daytona doesn't have any AMC cinemas. So, when I returned last Wednesday, I was amazingly on time to catch the latest with Keanu Reeves! That was good, as I had not yet had a chance to see "The Matrix: Resurrections", and what an excellent movie it was!
"Um... I thought Kyuu had been dissing it on fb..."
Yes, he was, but here's the thing about that: I don't think he's quite of an age to have truly appreciated the angle taken.
"But you are?"
You bet your bippy I am. Here's my takeaway, especially after two years, and counting, in pandemic mode: one can lose track of what is real and what is a dream. Thomas Anderson is suffering from such a disconnect. By day, he writes a video game called "The Matrix", which is inhabited by a character that looks like him in his younger days... but he knows that's all fake... right?... Or did he really do those things?... right?... So he sees a psychiatrist that keeps him supplied with blue pills to keep him stable in this world where he writes a video game called "The Matrix"... I totally get it.
"I know you do. Ever since you saw "Inception" when the cinema re-opened almost seventeen months ago, 'real' and 'dream' have been touchstones for you."
That's right. I even had myself a little film festival with STARZ about that dichotomy. But, let's get back to the movie at hand. What I thought was the best part was the deliberate aging allowed of the real people, and the lack of aging of the program's people. Neo, Trinity, and Niobe - the real people, played by Keanu, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith, reprising their roles from earlier movies - are now naturally aged by the thirty-year span of time that has elapsed since 1991 and the first movie. Very cool, right? But here's something else that's cool: the program-crafted 'people' - Mr. Smith and Morpheus - have not aged and are now different than they were in the first movie. What a monumental coup for the casting crew!
"You think that was deliberately handled that way?"
Most definitely. Just a bit of finesse for true science fiction fans.
"And I suppose the old-timey green text that Anderson was using for the computer game was a carryover from the first movie?"
You know it! Remember, the game is meant for the old-school players, so it would have to be true to what was available in the early 1990's... like the computer I used back them for writing my dissertation at FSU.
"Wow. There seems to be a lot of moving parts in that movie."
Yeah, there were. I hope I get a chance to see it again, even though it's approaching 3 hours in length. Ack. At least it moved right along! But so did "Ghostbusters: Afterlife", and it was a good thirty minutes shorter.
"Oh, good! You were able to see it again!"
Yes, I was! And guess what? There was no one in the cinema with me, so I essentially had a private screening. In fact, except for "The 355" today, I've been a solo viewer for the other three movies. And, for that female-heavy film, it was just one other there in the room.
"That's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, I know you tend to see movies in late afternoon, and you're eschewing those screened on Tuesdays and weekends to avoid crowds..."
Though I did see the Japanese film on Sunday, and at night... and was still solo.
"But it had subtitles and the younger crowd don't like those."
Their loss. Anyhow, Carolyn in calling, so I need to go and catch up with her.
"Do tell her I said hello!"
Yes, dear.
(smile!)
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