Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th January 2022

IV - Rebuild
I can't recall the last time I sat down and watched Evangelion - clearly End of Evangelion left a bad taste in the mouth. But what i do know is that I spent a fair chunk of my twenties and thirties sorting myself out and overcoming the demon that is self-loathing - and much like Shinji it was down through a lot of self-analysis. Of course, the only difference is when i overcame my self-loathing I didn't get a round of applause accompanied by "Congratulations!" (would've liked to though).

 So when i found out a new Evangelion reboot, Rebuild, came about it was a case of "You Again"
Which now brings us here: Facing down the fourth and final movie in this rebuild, therefore the endpoint of this journey taken over this pat month - and also the endpoint of a longer journey that started back in late 1998.

Firstly this movie is long, at two and half hours. Granted this nothing new for movies in general but to see an animated film at such a length is indeed an anomaly. With such a length it wouldn't be that much a of a stretch to draw comparisons to Avengers Endgame. So can this movie pull off the same trick?

Well...kinda.....

A number of things of note: I like the quiet moments - that may sound odd but thy work. And considering that Evangelion has a reputation for bombast when it decides to be quiet it does so superbly.
I like the revelation of Gendo's history. It has indeed been along time coming - and who would've guessed that one of fictions most reviled characters could command empathy?
And I I like that this is effectively the big farewell that Anno wanted: There are indeed surprises throughout and we finally FINALLY get to see Shinji grow up and take control of his life. And yes, I do feel happy for him.
Of course, there are a lot of things that don't work: The action is fast and aggressive to the point of being difficult to keep up, certain characters are sidelined and, once again, the mysteries of Evangelion are never resolved to the point of aggressive.
Still, this movie does what it set out to do: Conclude Evangelion as a franchise for good so I give it that much. Furthermore, I will forever maintain that End of Evangelion was Anno urging us the audience to move on. And here i do believe he is saying the same thing - just in a far less passive-aggressive manner.

Well this month-long odyssey has now come to an end and what a heavy one it has been. So next week, i think I'll watch something a bit more fun.
And that s a guarantee.

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st January 2022

III - Distance
The year was 2001. I finally did get to see the End of Evangelion, by which stage had entered a 'Holy Grail' type status. And at the time i was astonished by it. It wasn't so much a movie being freed from the restrictions of TV but what was being portrayed on screen. The Shock and Awe tactics did indeed work but, once I processed what I had witnessed, the shine wore off quickly.
The disappointment from the End of Evangelion took it's toll: It was ugly, nihilistic and made me appreciate the original ending more. Come on, Shinji Ikari had been through so much crap that he deserved a happy ending. Indeed it is a bold move to end a series with your lead character achieving self-respect. But is such a thing that a hard sell to angst-ridden teenagers?
No matter: Such was the disappointment from the End of Evangelion that I distanced myself from this franchise. Indeed it is telling that in the years since, Shinji became a punchline for being 'whiny' and 'sexually-repressed'. Clearly having a protagonist who is emotionally vulnerable struck a nerve.
Also it is well-documented that End of Evangelion came about because creator Hideaki Anno received death threats over it;s ending - some of them actually appear onscreen during the movie. With such bitterness involved, is it any wonder that I would move on?
Furthermore my tastes in anime were evolving. One telling incident: When i was enthusiastic about Evangelion, I did, at the same time, dismiss the movie Royal Space Force (Wings of Honenamise). The people who made fun of me for liking Evangelion in turn thought very highly of Royal Space Force. Of course they were obviously trying to wind me up but in the years since, I have come to see Royal Space Force in a more favorable light.
Finally, the distance from Evangelion made me see it in a new light: Because this is not a series about giant robots, invading aliens and layers of conspiracy. This is about the Anno laying out his fears and doubts. The real enemy is not the Angels; It's self hatred. Therefore, to be a fan of Evangelion one must accept this along with the fact that the mysteries in it many never be properly answered and this series must be approached on Anno's terms.

And that mindset is indeed present with the third movie in this rebuild. The movie starts with an interesting scenario but at the same time, questions are raised which, being Evangelion, are never answered. It may be exasperating but this start is nothing more than a red herring.
The real meat is seeing Shinji encounter Kaworu and the bond they build. Consider: If you're depressed and have trouble building connections and then you meet someone who provides inspiration and is genuinely interested in you, would you turn them away? I know a lot of people challenge 'soul-mate' narratives with the reasoning of "No one's coming to save you" but here we have such reasoning being put into practice. As such, to be tempted in such a a way leads to distrust to outside forces, learning the wrong lessons and making bad decisions.
But ultimately that is my interpretation: I am okay with Evangelion not being about giant robots - indeed the opening half hour come across as coming from a completely different movie - but not so with many other (and angrier) Evangelion fans.

So to wrap up this very long post, it has been theorized that 1.0 is Eva, 2.0 is the Eva fan see as Eva and 3.0 is what Anno sees as Eva.
I believe it.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance!

Original image located here. Accessed 14th January 2022

II - End
And it came to pass that in 1999 i became a fan of Evangelion. But when one becomes a fan of something one begins to notice people who do not share a similar opinion and are therefore able to provide an outsider's opinion. And boy did I hear the complaints about Evangelion., Chief along them that Shinji is too whiny a protagonist and the rather baffling ending.
I find the complaints about Shinji interesting because he does have an everyman quality to him: Who doesn't feel despair, have parental issues and have trouble making friends (among other things)? Did having such recognizable qualities strike such a nerve with people? And by the end of the series, Shinji does indeed realise that not only does he wants to be liked but he wants to move beyond such a thought pattern. And to that end I felt happy for him.
When i reached the end of the original TV series, the ending took me completely by surprise. It was indeed a bold move to end such an action/-packed-thought-provoiking series on something of a personal note. I did appreciate it at the time but there were too many questions left unanswered. What on earth was going on? What were the secrets that the series had hinted at previously?
Of course I would later find out that a lot of other viewers were angered by the ending and so Hideaki Anno produced a new movie with a new ending: The End of Evangelion.

As for the second movie in the rebuild, if the first movie was to rely on familiarity to pull us in, here the rug is pulled from underneath. Sure some familiar story beats are here but by the movie's end, a different direction has been firmly established.
What is of particular note is the various character moments speckled throughout: Asuka enters, is still hostile but benefits from some interesting development. Rei is making an effort to bond with the people around her. And Shinji is whining less and showing a more proactive characterization.
If anything, the only major character that does not receive some development is the newcomer Maki, who certainly does an interesting first impression but is, let's be honest here, far too well-adjusted to be an Eva pilot.
And special mention must go to Gendo's line "Grow up Shinji'. It amuses me as it gives voice to many a thought many a viewer of Evangelion has had.
In the end, there are some great moments of animation and action but, much like it's predecessor, Evangelion's real strength is in it's heart. So with the movie ending on an astonishing note, it would be interesting to see what happens next.....

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th January 2022

It's a new year and i want to kick it off with a bang. So I'm going to aim for something ambitious: On each Friday of this month, i will be watching one of the new Evangelion movies (and confuse all the non-anime fans in my audience).
I have been holding out on these as i wanted to wait until all of them were readily available. Well the time has come to finally watch a saga that has been fourteen years in the making.
But that's not all: As I will be going through each of these movies, I will be sharing my own experiences with these franchise. I will be sharing my own perceptions on this and how they have evolved over the years. After all, creator Hideaki Anno went through his own odyssey in creating Evangelion, the franchise itself has been through a separate odyssey, but I have an odyssey of my own to bring to the table: That of the viewer. I want to talk about my thoughts on this franchise and how they have evolved over the years, contrasting Evangelion with my own journey through this thing called life.

So here we go:

I - Genesis
It was late 1998 - a time when SBS began flogging an anime TV series called Neon Genesis Evangelion. As this was an age well before online streaming, and one had to actively hunt down anything resembling anime, my interest was well and truly piqued (that and the trailer SBS used was monumental). I watched every episode, every weekend, expecting to see giant robots knocking the stuffing out of giant aliens. Well that was exactly what I got but at the same time there was something else: As I watched I noticed that a lot of the characters were going through a lot on a psychological level. I was puzzled by this at first - and at times annoyed as I wanted to get to the action - but what did it matter? I had found something new and was eager for it. I do recall someone people at the time made fun of me for liking it but did it matter? After all, i was getting a lot out of it - even if it's lead character, Shinji Ikari was a whinger to the point of exasperating.

As for this new movie, it wears it's intention as a reboot on it's sleeve: It's a reconstruction of the first six episodes of the TV series. The familiar beats and themes are there - with many shots looking exactly the same - and there are some new footage thrown in. Some mysteries are revealed early on, Shinji is less whiny (mercifully) and, although things are moving at quicker pace, it is all there, just as i recalled it.
Obviously a sense of familiarity is being applied here - a perfect scenario to have the rug from pulled out from under them.
And that really is the only goal of this movie: to welcome back it's viewers. But in the end, it is still a big ask: I mean, I can't expect this movie to deliver the same thrill as it did back in early 1999. I mean i am the same person i was back then? I hope not

The Man From Hong Kong

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Man From Hong Kong!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st December 2021

Watching a 1970s Australian attempt at making a Kung-Fu movie? Well I have spent worse New Years Eves.

Obviously this is a product of it's time: The music, the clothes, haircuts, and film-making techniques all scream mid-1970s. Why, even that opening scene has no chance of being replicated now.
And it may be easy to mock the movie for it's corniness.
But in the end I still find a lot to admire: It is a decent stab at tackling a particular genre, the nods to the James Bond franchise are admirable (most notably having George Lazenby as the villain) and the fight scenes are really good - special mention to the car chase, the fight in the restaurant and the martial arts school.
All in all, an entertaining way to see out 2021.

Anywho, this concludes the Friday Night Movie for 2021. Thank you for reading these and to anyone that provided any likes and comments made throughout the year. Next year brings some more movies to watch and I'm looking forward to it already....

It's a Wonderful Life

And this week's Friday night movie has been... It's a Wonderful Life!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th December 2021

Okay so I'm cheating as I have already seen this movie.
And it may be easy to bag this movie as being flogged to death at Christmas time, being replicated many times since (what if...?) and being required viewing for people struggling with self-worth.

But you know what? Both such observations and the passage of time has done little to diminish the power of this movie. Indeed, if this film has been revisited many times over the years, over many a Christmas, it is for a very good reason.
And yes, i will admit it did indeed leave a personal resonance
I mean how can you not with that final scene?!

Legally Blonde

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Legally Blonde!

Original image located here. Accessed 17th December 2021

Kiera chose this one XD
I do remember this movie from it's initial release in the early 2000s. But what is fascinating about this movie, to the outsider like myself, is the shelf life it has garnered since: A lot of people still think highly of it - indeed moreso than other rom-coms of it's era - and it has a successful musical to it's name. So there must a good a reason behind this endurance, right?

Well, I will admit there were some laugh-out-loud moments (thereby passing the first and foremost requirement of any comedy). And it certainly has a greater sense of identity that makes it stand out from the other rom-coms - which is another plus.
But in all honesty, what makes this movie for me is Reese Witherspoon herself, who has charismatic presence and is clearly having the time of her life. Is it enough to sell the movie however?
Well, if Legally Blonde's enduring appeal is set to continue then the answer would indeed be yes

Skyfall

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Skyfall!

Original image located here. Accessed 10th December 2021

Well I did it: I said I will watch a James Bond movie for every month in 2021 and now I have done it (Well there was the exception of October but that was fully booked). It has been quite the journey: I was in two minds whether the new one, No Time to Die, would be included and I was unable to see License to Kill (consider that the October entrant). But I did what I set out to do so yay me.

And I certainly picked a grand >one to go out on. Yes, having seen a lot of James Bond movies this year, I can safely say that this is Bond at his best: Daniel Craig is giving his all in the role, The villain is interesting, the action sequences are top notch, the tension is strung out, and there are some wonderfully shot moments (the climax at the mansion being one such stand out).
And, for a series that is notorious for formula, this movie certainly proves there is life in the old dog yet.
So in the end, did Craig grow on me? I do believe he has.

Pom Poko

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Pom Poko!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd December 2021

Yes we're taking another trip into the anime well. And we're casting a look at the distinguished body of work that came from the one and only Studio Ghibli - with one of their more overlooked movies. - but then again this is Ghibli we're talking about and anything that is directed by someone who isn't Hayao Miyazaki is automatically dubbed overlooked.
Still, I have been putting off this movie for quite some time: One of a handful of movies courtesy of Ghibli's other genius/co-founder Isao Takahata. No time like the present I guess...

I have to admit that Pom Poko is indeed a unique entrant in Takahata's body of work. I know he can do realistic stories with attention to detail (ie Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday) and I know he can do experimental works that take animation into new places and gobble up Ghibli's profits (ie My Neighbors the Yamadas and Tale of Princess Kaguya). So where does this leave Pom Poko?
If anything, it seems to take some of Miyazaki's familiar themes - pastoral landscapes, inventive designs and ecological theme - and place them in a different context. Nothing wrong with that - I mean why not have someone different talk about the same thing? - but there are times when it feels less like a Takahata film and more like one where he was peering over Miyazaki's shoulder and taking notes.
Still, this is a Ghibli movie and has all we come to expect: Humour, imagination, weirdness, high quality animation and some truly heartfelt moments. In fact, I do wonder why this is one of Ghibli's overlooked films as the themes of rebellion and ecological concerns would indeed find an audience in this current political climate...

Happy Happy Joy Joy: the Ren and Stimpy story

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Happy Happy Joy Joy: the Ren and Stimpy story!

Original image located here. Accessed 26th November 2021

Oh this takes me back: Ren and Stimpy was a show I watched a lot of in the mid-nineties. Indeed, it was a show that was perfect for an impressionable mind entering their early teens. Say what you like about it now, but what drew me in was that really challenged to notion of what could be accomplished in a cartoon, it aggravated a lot of conservative types, it was random and bizarre, and had plenty of gross humor.
That and it was the funniest thing I had ever seen.
So upon learning that a documentary had been made about this cartoon, how could I resist?

First up you can't say this documentary wasn't informative: We follow the story of Ren and Stimpy, starting from John Kricfalusi's passion for animation before following onto his determination to make a show that pushed the envelope as to what animation could accomplish, the success, the obsessive attention to detail to the animation, the subsequent missed deadlines, the firing of Kricfalusi, and the influence Ren and Stimpy has on successive cartoon series.
I have to admit that whilst i was enjoying the show, there was a lot of behind-the-scenes chaos that was happening. So to be made aware of this has been eye-opening to say the least. I did not know about the insane process of getting the show made and I certainly did not know about Kricfalusi's... dodgy acts (and that's putting it lightly) in the years since. Still, for a documentary the information is comprehensive and it certainly makes a case that the odd adventures of a jerk and an idiot did change the face of animation and brought focus onto creator-driven shows.
Who would've guessed that such a strange cartoon would have such a compelling story behind it?
Personally, my teen years have long since passed so it is kind hard to watch Ren and Stimpy now. Still it is interesting to see the impact it had and to see fans talk about it with enthusiasm. So I will give it that much.
Plus, nearly three decades on and I still love that opening theme

Casino Royale

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Casino Royale!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th November 2021

After a slight deviation, my yearlong mission to watch more James Bond movies continues.
And now we enter the Daniel Craig era. This does mean we are bypassing the Brosnan era simply because I have seen them all. But in away, going from Dalton directly to Craig does indeed seem like a more natural progression as both actors are drawing heavily from the source material. Furthermore, i will admit I didn't give the Craig era much of a chance (I saw Quantum of Solace when it was originally released in the cinema and I do recall it boring me) so it would be interesting to see it Craig strut his stuff with fresh eyes.

And does he ever.
Clearly doing a reboot was the right call to make given that this series has a terrible reputation for formula. And drawing heavily, like never before, from the source material was also the right move. As a result this a Bond updated, repeating the same trick Goldeneye pulled off years earlier (no surprise that both have the same director).
As always, the action scenes are well choreographed and the drama is well handled. And, as this is an origin story, it is interesting to see Bond's progression into the agent we know. I am well aware some people don't like Craig for his dour/humorless take on the character but give him credit: At least he is taking a tried-and-tested role and taking into unfamiliar territory.
I guess being older and wiser gives me more patience for Craig so it would be interesting to see where we go from here...

The Social Dilemma

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Social Dilemma!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th November 2021

Anyone heard of this? It's a Netflix documentary addressing the dangers of social media.
This documentary is presented as a combination of information against the use of social media and a dramatization presenting a narrative of a protagonist who gets involved with social and is sent on a downward spiral.

Whilst the 'dramatization' parts are both intrusive and cringy, the real meat in this documentary is, of course, the information presented. It is revealed just how much the likes of Facebook (pun unintended) and Google are building themselves around the interests on the individual. We are shown the lengths these social media platforms will go just to grab one's interest and be keep them permanently hooked. We are informed the psychological methods these developers are utilizing to grab the attention of the mentally vulnerable and making them worse.
Of course, none of this will be new to those who are well versed in IT but it is presented in a way that is understandable and easily digested. But it begs the question: Why on earth did the makers go with the 'dramatization' parts? As mentioned above they are indeed intrusive and do lessen the punch this movie delivers. But boy, when this movie hits, it hits like a truck.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th November 2021

The MCU tries it's hand at making a Kung-Fu movie. Well, why not? It's tried a whole lot of other genres so in a way this was inevitable.
Okay seriously though, there's nothing wrong with that its just that I've seen many a kung-fu movie in my time and when Marvel do it, i want only for them not to do shoddy job.

Thankfully Marvel don't do a shoddy job: The action sequences are very well done and are, at times, jaw dropping. Indeed there is a sense that this a kung-fu movie being made with a larger budget - when compared to some Hong Kong flicks I have seen in my time - and they are going to milk it for all that it's worth.
Simu Liu is great, Michelle Yeoh is always fantastic, Benedict Wong is having fun, but personally, the real MVP is Awkwafina who is a delight to watch and steals every scene she's in. So if this film was made for more Asian representation on the silver screen, then all I can say is: More please!
Funny thing however: One gets the sense that with this film, as well as the upcoming Eternals movie (if the trailer is anything to go by), is bringing the MCU to a more grandiose direction than ever before. It may seem a strange movie - considering that Phase one was a very grounded one - but when Endgame makes so much money one can do whatever they want.