What was the last movie you've seen?

[EvilRyu2099]

Never heard of that one. I guess Gerard Butler wasnt big at the time.

Well he's played in his bad share of movies early on.. Dracula 2000 anyone? Plus Tim Curry is the man.. A great actor.. Played in the Rocky Horror Picture Show and IT..

[Ack]

The Lower Depths - While the main plot of this Akira Kurosawa film, based on Maxim Gorky's play, focuses on thief Sutekichi's romantic involvement with the hateful married landlady and her younger sister, every character has a story that I found fascinating, from the alcoholic actor to the crying prostitute. In fact, I feel the story is more about the lives of the poor in general and how a stranger (and the way I saw it, possibly a divine entity) appears and influences them, instead of about Sutekichi's love triangle. Toshiro Mifune does an excellent job as Sutekichi, but I found every character's part entertaining and enlightening.

Still, Mifune proves he's a masterful actor: in one particular scene, he reveals his emotions through his silence and the clenching and unclenching of his jaw. It never ceases to amaze me how much emotion he could convey in a single movement, but Mifune never fails to impress.

Pink Flamingos - Wow. Incest, rape, cannibalism, bestiality, voyeurism, murder, kidnapping, emasculation, public indecency, cross dressing, theft, the consumption of animal feces...this film really does mark an exercise in bad taste. I watched the DVD re-release, so certain songs were changed from the original, but John Waters introduced scenes he'd had to cut. It's amazing to me that Waters managed to get this film picked up at all: it's hilariously disgusting and quite the experience.

[REPO Man]

Pink Flamingos - Wow. Incest, rape, cannibalism, bestiality, voyeurism, murder, kidnapping, emasculation, public indecency, cross dressing, theft, the consumption of animal feces...this film really does mark an exercise in bad taste. I watched the DVD re-release, so certain songs were changed from the original, but John Waters introduced scenes he'd had to cut. It's amazing to me that Waters managed to get this film picked up at all: it's hilariously disgusting and quite the experience.

Agreed. It's the definitive '70s midnight movie.

[EvilRyu2099]

Pink Flamingos - Wow. Incest, rape, cannibalism, bestiality, voyeurism, murder, kidnapping, emasculation, public indecency, cross dressing, theft, the consumption of animal feces...this film really does mark an exercise in bad taste. I watched the DVD re-release, so certain songs were changed from the original, but John Waters introduced scenes he'd had to cut. It's amazing to me that Waters managed to get this film picked up at all: it's hilariously disgusting and quite the experience.

Agreed. It's the definitive '70s midnight movie.

I don't know about you guys but I had a craving for milk and brownies after I saw it..

[Pulsar_t]

Resident Weevil Four.. or something. Crap, crap, crap. This technical demo is Paul W.S. Anderson's way of stating: "Guess what cretins? I can do this three-dee crap too!".

I guess Billy Bob Thornton was right: Games have helped make Hollywood blockbusters even more mindless. Armageddon was Einstein compared to Anderson's movies.

[CRTGAMER]

The Lower Depths - While the main plot of this Akira Kurosawa film, based on Maxim Gorky's play, focuses on thief Sutekichi's romantic involvement with the hateful married landlady and her younger sister, every character has a story that I found fascinating, from the alcoholic actor to the crying prostitute. In fact, I feel the story is more about the lives of the poor in general and how a stranger (and the way I saw it, possibly a divine entity) appears and influences them, instead of about Sutekichi's love triangle. Toshiro Mifune does an excellent job as Sutekichi, but I found every character's part entertaining and enlightening.

Still, Mifune proves he's a masterful actor: in one particular scene, he reveals his emotions through his silence and the clenching and unclenching of his jaw. It never ceases to amaze me how much emotion he could convey in a single movement, but Mifune never fails to impress.

A surprise! I was waiting for your review tease you posted earlier. I thought you might have been watching one of the more known selections. I have not watched this one in years. As an emphasis to the title I remember the opening conveyed the bottom rung of human society, the way the camera panned down.

My daughter is a Kubrick nut, determined to see every one of his films. She even liked Dr Strangelove. Trying to get her to explore Japanese films of Kurosawa. I have several films on tape with some of the better ones on Laser and DVD as well. I think my favorites are Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Sanjuro and Rashomon. The non-Samurai Kurosawas are good too, but there is something about the old customs and music that make the sword carrying anti-hero Mifune special. Its not the sword fight but the great acting and stories.

[Pulsar_t]

She even liked Dr Strangelove.

You mean there actually are people who don't like Dr Strangelove! I first watched it when I was six, and it stuck with me. Damn iconic movie, that.

[MaliceValentine]

I got Beetlejuice on blu ray yester day for 12 bucks, was very happy with that.
Classic film that everyone should at least see once.

[vash23n]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: I have no idea how I got into these stories. I hated them when they first came, I hated the whole idea of them. I grew up reading CS Lewis (pretty similar, I guess). Anyhoo, I watched the first couple of films and thought they were good - well I thought the 3rd was good. My wife decided to read the books to see what all the hubbub was about and she loved them. I read them and got hooked too. So strange. Anyway, this movie was great. Very tense throughout, and the flow was pretty decent. Especially because the 6th film was pretty terrible in my opinion. I can see anyone who hasn't followed the movies from at least the 4th on being pretty confused watching this one and that seems to be the negative in most of the bad reviews I have read. If you have not followed the books or movies thus far, then you are probably not planning to see this film anyway so no worries.

[CRTGAMER]

Thinking about Japanese movies, thanks to Ack.
With the pigout T-Day wrapped up, how about a Japanese Food movie?

No Kurosawa, here not even close.

The Ramen Girl
I only saw a preview of this one. Story concerning an American girl trying to break into becoming a traditional Japanese Ramen Master Chef. Movie does seem silly, anyone seen this? I know a lot of us are Top Ramen three minute experts, but in Japan an Art. Top Ramen must be the Chef Boyardee bad name to Japanese Master Noodle Chefs.

For some reason the movie doesn't seem believable or even entertaining. The preview reminded me of an older movie I have on Laser Disc. There is VHS, I don't know if it this ever came out on DVD.

Update, there is a DVD.
http://www.amazon.com/Tampopo-Ken-Watan ... 6305154880



Tampopo
Or how to eat ramen properly
I'll let Wiki handle the review followed with what I got out of the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampopo

Tampopo (タンポポ Tanpopo?, literally "dandelion") is a 1985 Japanese comedy film by director Juzo Itami, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first noodle western, a play on the term Spaghetti Western (films about the American West made by Italian production studios).

Tampopo begins when a pair of truck drivers, an experienced one named Goro and a young sidekick named Gun (played by Tsutomu Yamazaki and Ken Watanabe respectively), happen onto a decrepit roadside fast food stop selling ramen (noodles). The business is not doing too well, and after getting involved in a fight, the heroes decide to help the widowed owner, Tampopo ("Dandelion", played by Nobuko Miyamoto), turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle soup making".

The main narrative is interspersed with stories involving consumables on several levels. The primary subplot involves a white-suited yakuza gangster (Koji Yakusho) and his mistress (Fukumi Kuroda), who find eyebrow-raising new ways to use food. Other satirical vignettes involve a lowly office intern who upstages his senior management superiors by displaying a vast and cultured culinary knowledge while ordering at a gourmet French restaurant; a housewife who rises from her deathbed to cook one last meal for her family; and a women's etiquette class in learning how to eat spaghetti properly, i.e. without a sound as "people from foreign countries would absolutely never forgive loud slurping". Another subplot involves a corner store clerk who has to deal with an older woman obsessed with squeezing food. The clerk's scene segues into a restaurant involving gangsters and stock market scams.

I can relate to the purposeful slurping one makes in a Korean restaurant, a compliment to the chef of a delicious hot bowl of noodles.



An interesting twist. There are westerns which pay homage to Kurosawa movies, this movie has reminders of some western films.

This is a weird movie. The beginning opens up of a couple walking in to a theater to watch this same movie. WTF, confronts the viewer to maintain silence, avoid eating noises as to not interrupt the movie. Okay, start out setting a strange tone of this movie. But yeah, any movie connoisseur hates the jerk crinkling that bag of chips. A lot of separate stories emerge, with a lot of the comedy not working. Keep the little ones out, there is a bit of nudity and some suggestive tacky scenes.

Okay movie a little off, Top Ramen still has good taste though.


There are some subplot stories that do work though. The keen art of making that perfect dish, "Those noodles are just laying there too long." Indicator of a satisfying broth is when customers tip their bowls and drink the soup. The bum cooking an omelet, I should try preparing eggs that impressive way. The grocer catching the food fresh checking squeezing lady, now we know why all the pastries are mush. Then an unorthodox way of saving a food choking victim. I think funny that the proprietor knew immediately what to do, hinting that choking a common occurrence at the restaurant. Anyone who has eaten Mochi topped with slimy Natto on New Years knows the dangers swallowing of this sticky rice goo.

Overall I would say not that great, even a boring movie. But the few highlights do make it worth the run thru.

Tampopo Laser Disc.jpg (74.83 KiB) Viewed 979 times

Note the paper on top. Just like old LPs, Laser Discs have all kinds of room for liner notes, photos and clippings. The Laser Disc is also purty.

More info about Laser Discs at my link: LASER DISC TRIVIA

Good soup, just no soup for you.
A 3 out of 5 bowl rating.