Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning!

 Original image located here. Accessed 30th June 2023

Back in 2020, i saw the first Live action Rurouni Kenshin movie and liked it enough to have a look at the rest. But, as is often the case with me, I never got around to it. However, as of now, I was able to find the final two - Final and Beginning - on Netflix. Of course, I will be missing out on the middle two but having seen that portion of the Kenshin story in animated form, I can feel confident that I can skip that part.

As for this? Well it's the LA adaptation of Kenshin's background as an assassin - which was done previously with the Trust/Betrayal OVAs. And much like said OVAs, much of the mood is carried over: This movie is grim, lacking in colour, bloody and the tragedy still hits like a truck. And in a way it does improve over the OVAs as it dispenses with some of the arty diversions for a more tighter narrative. Much of the strengths of the first movie, the cast and the visuals are carried over but they still work even when placed under such a grim light.

I have to say: Of all the Live action adaptations of well known manga/anime, this is hands down the best. But then again, when the source material is so strong you can't really do a bad job of it, right? 

Man With a Movie Camera

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Man With a Movie Camera!

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd June 2023

Anyone heard of this? It's a Soviet movie dating all the way back to the silent era - 1929 to be precise - that has gone down in history as being one of the most influential movies ever made. Such a reputation rests on the fact that this movie employs many film-making techniques: cross-cuts, slow motion, fast motion, reversing, quick cuts, stop animation and more.
Granted this could yet another instance of me, so far this year, of watching yet another lesser known/foreign/arty film but then again, I have always relied on the notion that I talk about the movies I've seen and hope that what I type connects with someone. So I see no reason to stop now.

As for the movie, well, clearly it's reputation lies on how it managed to expand the vocabulary of film. At first glance it is a documentary what with it showing a day in the life of an Eastern European city, with it's occupants at work and play. Yet I personally felt that I was watching the distant progenitor of countless music videos.
Ultimately however, the strength of this movie lies in it's visuals and what the director, Dziga Vertov had managed to accomplish. There are some stunning visuals and some interesting narratives at work.
That being said, has this movie aged? I ask this as we are watching the same techniques that have been replicated many, many, MANY times since. I would say no as this movie's followers would no doubt take the 'I can do that too' approach. Here however I don't get the impression that Vertov was showing off - largely because this is still a documentary first and foremost.
So yeah, nearly a century later, this movie still has power.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Puss in Boots: The Last Wish!

Original image located here. Accessed 16th June 2023

So we arrive here: As promised it is time to see if this is cracked up as it was made out to be.

And what do you know? It delivered and then some. Sure I had the slight advantage as I didn't have to wait a full decade between seeing this and it's predecessor, but this truly was a gem.
In a previous post, I may have slammed the Shrek movies for introducing a formula that many have tried to replicate since - and like any formula it can only go for so long before it gets tiresome. But I don't get that impression here: Much like it's predecessor, it breaks away from the formula to say something of it's own.
And that something is one that refuses to talk down to it's audiences and is unafraid to talk about major themes - particularly that of living life that wasn't wasted. Which is big deal given this is a movie staring a spanish-accented tabby with boots and a big hat.
The highlights for me are the Wolf and the quality of animation. Sure it reeks of the same techniques that the Spiderverse movies worked with but it is interesting to see Dreamworks take an approach of 'I can do that too'. One would think it would be derivative but that the animators made wonders out of what they were working with is truly astonishing.
So yes, once again the further Puss divorces itself from the Shrek formula, the better the final product is.

Leaving Neverland

And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Leaving Neverland!

Original image located here. Accessed 9th June 2023

I was originally going to watch Puss in Boots: Last Wish but I had a last minute change of plan and opted for this.
I think a lot of my audience would have heard of this: It's a documentary where two guys, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, talk about how they were befriended by Michael Jackson at a young age and what followed afterwards. Needless to say, this documentary has gone a long way in challenging Michael's reputation.

Personally I always had an indifferent stance with Michael Jackson. So upon watching this documentary, two things stand out. Firstly it is long at four hours (Heaven help me if I ever decide to watch Shoah). And secondly, this is really Wade and James being very open about their experiences. I've heard people complain that this documentary is one-sided but really, it is both Wade and James' story.
And what a story it is. A lot of detail is given about what happened to these two and how they processed it: Stories of abuse, separation, secrecy, silence, cover-ups, and the long road in processing the trauma endured. This documentary certainly isn't easy to sit through but it certainly has power as a description of child abuse.
Powerful and without a doubt nothing quite like it....

So what did prompt that last minute change? Buggered if I know.

Puss in Boots

And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Puss in Boots!

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd June 2023

I've been hearing good things about the latest Puss in Boots movie (Last Wish) so I may as well take a look at it's predecessor as a primer.
So what do I think of Shrek? I enjoyed the first two movies but I avoided what came after once it became clear this was a franchise that was going to be run into the ground. Furthermore, it seemed to me that the first one introduced a formula for success that many other movies in it's wake have sought to replicate. Also the jabs at Disney in the first movie are looking quite antiqued now.
So you can imagine my scepticism when returning to this particular franchise.

But I think the distance did me some good: I had a great time with this. It was a good move to make Puss the star of his own movie as there was a lot to the character and plenty to be added to him. It also helps that Antonio Banderas seems to having the time of his life in this role (and that is saying something given it's a voice role).
The humour certainly does seem to differ from the Shrek formula and is all the better for it. I don't know if that was the intention but this movie does suit the action/adventure format anyway.
So yeah great fun. Puss is as dynamic as ever and Kitty makes for a fun addition.
Now about the sequel....