The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

I ended up watching The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) in the theater before I had watched the first of the Hobbit films, so I only now went back to watch it.  While I enjoyed Lord of the Rings (the books and even the animation, but a bit less so with the films), I haven't been all the motivated to see the Hobbit films, even though I prefer that story to that of Lord of the Rings.

This film played out well, as it had enough action (not necessarily fighting) taking place to keep the film moving.

It does seem that wizards primary function is to fight with a staff.  Weren't they supposed to cast spells?

It seems that Gollum's part in the film was smaller than expected.  With so much time to work with (three films worth) I thought they would have spent more time on Gollum.  It seems like the spend about the same amount of time that was spent on it as in the animated version.

I cannot recall if the film match the book more closely, of if there has been a great deal of embellishment.  I did not recall the scene in Bilbo's house or the battles with the goblin's from the books at all.

The Amazing Spider-man 2 (2014)

This film played better than the previous film, though it did have Peter Parker crying as he seemed to constantly be doing in the first three films.  Did I miss something?  I don't recall Peter Parker crying in the comic books or animated series.

Once again, they chose one of the more obscure villains for this film, Electro.  Also, they changed his powers to the point where he was much more like Static Shock than Electro, making his abilities defy the laws of physics.  Still, the did give Electro a pretty good build up, and made him more of a real character, rather than a one dimensional villain bent on reasonless destruction.  Honestly, my only familiarity with Electro is from the Spider-man Ride at Universal Studios in Japan.

Also, the overkill with the forshadowing of Gwen Stacy's saftey was too much.  If Peter is constantly bombarded by it, and he didn't heed it, does it have any meaning?  Obviously it was a lesson for Peter Parker in the comics, but in the film it is a warning he didn't heed.

Finially, Gwen Stacy did get the same ending as in the comics, it's too bad that her story was canibalized and eviscerate for the first film.  Fortunately they didn't feel the need to go over the top with her ending.

It's also too bad, as both Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/ Spiderman) and Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) fit the characters better than and did Tobey Maguire (Spiderman/Peter Parker) and Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane) in the first three Spiderman movies.  Odd that they threw Harry Osborne in at the end of the film, pretty much a throw away villain like they did with Venom at the end of Spiderman 3.  Its a horrible waste of two of the greatest villains Spiderman ever had (well actually it should have been the Norman Osborne, instead of Harry)

Fetish (1996)

I was both amazed and impressed that this film exists, as well as Pandora's Box.  Any place that gives people an chance to do something that they enjoy, that doesn't is positive in my mind.  It's kind of like that news reporter quitting her job because of her support of marijuana.  It seems that marijuana should be legal as marijuana users are much less destructive than alcohol users and it's a huge waste of judicial resources to attempt to prosecute those people, but at the same time no one should be dumb enough to actually use the stuff.

While the concept is good, this film does little to dispell the ideas that these fetishes and the people who have them are weird.  When the clients are asked to explain the reasons for their fetishes, most of them come up empty.  It's not really necessary for them to justify having these fetishes, but it would help us to understand them.  Only the people toward the end of the film clearly explain their reasoning for going to this club.  One man explains how her gets immense statifaction out fufilling his fantasy and clans to have an inner peace.  The other man appears to attend the club.  One other odd point is the interview is a bit too gungho to get on to his next question, often beginning to ask before the interviewee has completed their answer for the previous question.

All in all, it would seem that this club lacks in a way as all of their fantasies appear to be sexual in nature, but of course law restricts them from getting any sexual satisfaction from living out their fantasies.  It's a win-win situation for the women who work their as they are able to command high fees for their action, but do not have to get their hands (or more specifically other parts of their bodies) dirty.

The other oddity about these fetishes is it's hard to see the appeal in them.  After watching what they do, you don't get the sense that it is something fun or something you would like to try.

The King and I (1956)

I have resisted watching this film for a long time, and I feel that it is at the end of my 50s-60s unwatched musicals list.  The reason I resisted it was, I dislike watching films that are supposed to set in an area I know something about, and ends up feeling stereotypical and wrong.   Also, I while I know how noteworthy Yul Brynner is, obviously it is an odd choice having a Russian play the role of the Thai king.  But as it turns out, there were not a lot of cultural mistakes that stood out enough to detract from the overall film.  Yul Brynner's performance was amazing, as he gave an exotic feel to the character, as well as regal air.  Every time Yul Brynner appeared, he was always entertaining and his songs enjoyable.

Before watching this film, I had read that Rita Moreno was in the film, but had not only completely forgotten that while watching the film, but I completely didn't recognize her while watching the film.  I was keen to find out who the actress was who played the Burmese girl Tuptim and quite surprised to find she was Rita Moreno.

Oddly enough, I don't believe a single Thai person was cast in this film (or any other production or version of the King and I) nor was one word of Thai spoken.  Also, I thought some of the sets were slightly off, as well as I was uncertain if the costumes (especially those of Yul Brynner) were culturally accurate.  Also, there were a number of times when Thai people were touched on the head, which is a cultural faux pas.

The oddity which is the "Thai" production of  "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was also quite entertaining and certainly a unique twist on the story.  I have never read Uncle Tom's Cabin, so I don't know how faithful it was to the original, but the English narration gave some insight to the actions often performed in Thai dance.

A number of concepts were brought up, including the Thai's not knowing the world was round or the size of their country.  Also, they showed some antagonism towards Burma, which I never knew existed.  And it was proposed that England make Thai a protectorate.  I don't know how many of these ideas were historically accurate, but I would like to look into them further.

I was only aware of one song before watching this film, "Getting to Know You", though I was unaware that it was from this musical.

Dark Future (1994)

Not the most inspired of posters

I, for some strange reason love a dystopian story and have lately been watching a few of Greydon Clark's films, so I thought I would check this one out.  It is supposed to be a science fiction film, but also was listed as horror, and since I don't generally care for horror films I was a bit wary of watching this one.

It turns out is is not much of a horror film, though I read a review that some one wrote saying the film was really scary to them as a kid.  It's not much of a science fiction film either, though.  It does has a dystopian, oppressive society setting, but other than that and laser guns that look like toys, the film has little to suggest it was set in anything other than the 80s.

Also, the cast is rather unremarkable, being that I did not recognize a single actor in the film.

The film was modestly enjoyable but extremely simple in both plot and dialogue.  It is as if some one came up with two or three lines of a concept, and then decided to just start filming from there.  The dialogue seems completely uninspired.  While this seems like a harsh criticism, I understand that this film was made on an extremely low budget, and it's any film has the potential for entertainment and a spark a creativity.

I am curious where the beginning scene with the exceptionally long escalator was filmed (still don't know why Logan's Run or any other film thought it was a good idea to include escalators in a science fiction film, they are technology from the late 1800s).

After doing a bit of research, the closest matching escalator is the one in the St. Petersburg Metro, but I find it hard to believe the budget of this film covered a trip to Russia.  The second possibility is the Washington Metro Wheaton Escalator.

They All Laughed (1981)

My original motivation for watching this film was the appearance of John Ritter, but it turns out this film has a number of other noteworthy cast members as well.

John Ritter was not as we usually expect him.  While for most of the film he is pretty straight forward, you do see occasional silly moments, reminiscent of his days on "Three's Company"

Also, there was a number of noteworthy cast members, none of whom I recalled until after watching the film and rereading the Wikipedia entry.  Most note worthy was Audrey Hepburn.  I have never seen a film with her before (and am waiting for just the right moment to watch Breakfast at Tiffanys or Roman Holiday), and she wasn't particularly noteworthy in this film.  She appeared as an older woman (which she was) and didn't give off any special charm to allude to her great popularity.

A side note, many years ago I was in conatct with a group of Japanese students and they had written me a letter telling me how sad they were that Audrey Hepburn had just passed away.   I was suprirsed that they had interest in the actress and kind of shocked that no one around me had even known or taken note of her passing.

Dorthy Stratten appears in this film, and she really was hard to ignore.  What was really impressive about her was that her face was so stunning, I never once looked at her body.  It's a terrible shame what happened to her, and I feel she could have had a great career as an actress, as she gives off such appeal and likability.

This film is neither a comedy, nor does it appear as to be a romance.  It centers around 3 men who work for a private investigator, charged with following two different women but they to do a poor job of it, and are more focused on getting laid than their job, especially with the women they are charged with observing.

Of particular note here is Ben Gazzara's character, who seems to have women coming out his ears, but never gives us the impression that he is overwhelmingly handsome or charming.  While it's easy to show him getting so many girls in a film, it's impossible to believe he would have any kind of success in real life.

This, like many other films is puzzling in why it was made.  There doesn't seem to be anything the director is trying to tell us.  It's more a series of random and not particularly noteworthy events, with no clincher of an ending.

Joysticks (1983)

I thought I had seen every nerdy video game film from the 80s, and was pretty sure I had seen this one already, but as I watched it, I was amazed to find that I had never seen it before. I wonder if there is a similar film I am confusing it with.

The film is confusing as the plot doesn't make sense at times and some of the video game interactions are questionable (why does McDorfus open up the back of the Pac-Man game after losing?)  It's like the plot of other films, adults against the kids, was pasted on the film but didn't quite fit right, but no one bothered tinkering with it to work out the kinks.

I felt that Scott McGinnis had a much more prominent career than he may actually have had, from watching "Making the Grade" repeatedly on cable.  I thought he was one of the 3 young men who played bullies in 80s movies, the other two being Ted McGinley (Revenge of the Nerds) and William Zabka (The Karate Kid and Just One of the Guy).  It turns out, one of the roles McGinnis is most know for is "Mr Adventure" in Star Trek III.  I remember watching that film and wondering why McGinnis had taken such a small role.

I immediately recognized John Gries from his role in Real Genius but only found out after looking up his Wikipedia entry that he is the same actor who portrayed Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite.  I found that he has played a wide variety of roles in a huge number of films and TV shows.

I also immediately recognized John Voldstad, the other brother Darryl from Newhart.  I thought I had never seen him in anything else, but after googling him, it turns out he appeared in Stripes, a film I have seen a few times.

The director's comentary is somewhat interesting to listen to has he only has positive things to say about all the actors and the making of the film.  I think he may be a little deluded about how sucessful the film was, but according to him it was number one in the box office during it's first week of release.

It turns out this director's previous film also stared Scott McGinnis, Wacko.  While I watched that film, it's not really my kind of film, being a horror parody.  That film did feature Elizabeth Daily, who played a  number of character in a large number of 80s films, as well as having a singing career.

The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak (1984)

I think I read something about this film involving bondage and there is a poster that gives you the idea the film contains such scenes, but it actually does not.  There are a few scenes with women partially bounds (most often just a single wrist) and wearing black provocative costumes.  This is often the case with what is purported to be bondage, as in porno.  Often if such a film has some one wearing a black or leather costume, it is considered bondage.  It just irks me how this kind of thing is often exaggerated.

Misleading Poster

This film instead is a kind of Indiana Jones meets Barbarella (taken from the poster).  It's a silly romp that doesn't make a lot of sense at times.  Stranger still, a hidden society of entirely women shows the women often walking around in topless costumes.  Does that mean if all men disappeared from Earth, women would no longer cover their breasts?


It turns out that Tawny Kitaen is the same actress who played Tom Hank's fiance in Bachelor Party.  I have never gotten over how spectacularly beautiful she is in the film, nor how powerful she seems as a woman.  It's a pity she didn't make more films or have a more prominent career.

Sushi Girl (2012)

This seemed like it had all the elements for a film I would like, though I knew nothing of the plot before watching it.  I first got interested in the film after seeing pictures of Cortney Palm in her amazing outfit for the premier of this film.  Later I learned that Mark Hamill was in this film, making it a must see.

I saw a film a while back called "Ramen Girl" and though this might be a similar thing.  It was NOT.  The whole purpose of the "Sushi Girl" is to lay still and do nothing, serving as a naked sushi platter.

Now a female friend of mine mentioned years ago about eating sushi off a naked woman.  She seemed to think it would be sexy and some how possible to find such a situation in Japan.  Strangely, I was much to practical watching this film as in 1) No one in the film was much interested in the sushi, nor did they like sushi.  2) Very little sushi was eaten 3) The sushi would heat up after a while on the girls body, and in this film it says on her body most of the picture.  4) What would happen if she sneezed???

Mark Hamill's character is quite well played, but also very despicable.  I don't enjoy seeing Mark Hamill in such a role, but this is the first film I have heard of him making since "Comic Book the Movie" , back a decade ago in 2004.

After doing a little research, it turns out that Noah Hathaway is the same actor who played Boxy in the original Battlestar Galactica TV series.

I thought this film may have some connection or be set in Japan, but with the exception of Sonny Chiba, there is no connection with Japan at all.

The film feels like a derivative Quentin Tarantino film, with lots of blood and violence.  Not my cup of tea at all.  While it does have a twist, that is not enough to make this a film of my liking.