Samurai: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)

When war arrives, local outcast Takezo resolves to join the army and find fame or death.  Takezo is joined in this adventure by his only friend, Matahachi, who leaves his mother and fiancee in order to seize a chance for glory.

It doesn't go so well.  Takezo ultimately proves a deadly warrior, but the battle is a crushing defeat and Matahachi is injured.  The pair manage to flee, staying half a step ahead of the enemy, but the whole territory is soon overrun by the victors, and Takezo's tendency to solve his problems with a sword isn't likely to let him live a quiet life ...

These days it's probably pretty safe to say that the most famous Samurai film of 1954 is Seven Samurai, but it was actually this film that picked up the Oscar for foreign-language film back at the time of release.  And from a technical sense, I can see why: it is certainly beautifully shot.  For modern western audiences though, I suspect it might prove a rather inaccessible film.  It's very deliberately paced, and characters act on motivations and cultural assumptions that are very different to those of a 21st century English-speaking person.  It's also the first film in a trilogy - and was always planned as such - and it rather has the feel of being a prologue.  Certainly the film ends just as it seems like Takezo, who has adopted the name Musashi Miyamoto, is finally beginning the journey toward the status he's always dreamed of.

Fortunately, I have the whole trilogy, so I'll be able to find out what happens next ...

Eureka, Season 1 (2006)

US Marshal Jack Carter is dragging his rebellious daughter Zoe back from her latest escapade when a car accident leaves them stranded for a few days in the seemingly unremarkable town of Eureka.  But as the show's tag line says "Small Town.  Big Secret."  Eureka is actually a secret government think tank, where the best scientists in the world work to deliver the cutting edge technology of the future.

Of course, this is a TV show, so "cutting edge" doesn't so much mean "more pixels on your phone's camera" so much as it does "quantum field generators" and other things that might accidentally end the world if there isn't someone around to help save it.

And if you thinking "Jack Carter is about to find himself in a new job", then you're exactly right.

Eureka is a light and breezy science fiction show with a likable cast and generally satisfying "mystery/disaster of the week" episodes.  It also has some longer term plotlines that are threaded through from episode to episode, but in season one these are still very much in the hints and foreshadowing stage, without a lot of follow through.

Overall, if you like your entertainment a little on the quirky and nerdy side, then check out Eureka.  You'll be able to say "I've found it!".




(Yes, that was a really nerdy joke.)

White Slave (1985)

Catherine Miles is on an Amazonian river cruise with her parents when their boat is attacked.  Mama and Papa Miles are both killed, and Catherine is abducted by the native tribe who appear to be behind the attack: a fate she naturally abhors.

Given that we first meet Catherine when she is back in civilisation and being tried for a double murder, however, it's not exactly a spoiler to reveal that the natives aren't actually responsible for her parents' deaths.

"Cannibal films" were a popular genre in Italian cinema in the 1970s and 1980s.  The titillating content was no doubt a factor, and I am sure that budget conscious film-makers appreciated the fact that you could pad the running time with documentary footage.  In fact, the first films in the genre purported to be documentaries, in much the same way that Fox purports to be news.  Pretty much all you needed to make one, in fact, was an attractive blonde willing to take her top off, and a bunch of extras to wear loin cloths.

White Slave is very much emblematic of the genre - at least my limited experience with it - and also presents a crash course in that age-old cheapie movie technique of never showing the actor's lips move if you can help it.  That lets you slap all the dialogue in during post production, and also alleviates the disconnect of mouth movements that are for a language other than that on the audio track.

The above is hopefully interesting, you you will probably notice that none of it addresses whether the movie is any good.  It isn't.

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Season 2 (2006)

The Avatar continues his quest to master the powers of all four elements so that he can thwart the imperialistic ambitions of the Fire Nation and restore peace between the realms of the land.  He's accompanied in this quest not just by his long term companions, but also by new allies he encounters during the course of his travels.

Of course, he's also accumulating new enemies.  Not only is he still the target of Prince Zuko, but Zuko's sociopathic sister Azula, and a variety of other third parties with their own agendas.

This is a worthy continuation of the show's overall story, and I actually like the characters more in this season than in the first: the Avatar in particular feels less selfish and childish in his behaviour.  Some of the weaknesses of the earlier season do still remain, though: the writing sometimes layers farce too heavily into the main plot, undermining the gravity of the supposedly life-and-death struggle of the war with the Fire Nation, and there are several episodes which feel like they're padding the story more than advancing it.  You could probably pare this season down from 20 episodes to 13 and not really lose all that much.

Still, overall this is a good 'epic fantasy' tale, and if that's your kind of thing, and you don't mind checking out a "kids' show", The Last Airbender is worth a try.  Especially anything involving Toph.  Toph is great.

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

When Batman thwarts the Joker's latest scheme, all seems to be business as usual. But when the Caped Crusader brusquely dismisses the Joker's claim to be his nemesis, remarking that he's "fighting a few different people right now", the Clown Prince of Crime seizes on a new plan: he will trick Batman into sending him to the Phantom Zone, and team up with the villains currently trapped there to destroy Gotham.

Given that said villains include Sauron, Jaws, Voldemort and the Daleks, it is safe to say that this is not a particularly serious - or even very sensible - film.  But is safe to say that The Lego Batman Movie is a fun time.  It's full of action and gags, and rolics along with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek for pretty much all of its 100 minute run time.  I say "pretty much all" because there are some sub-plots that never pay off, like Bats's at-first-sight infatuation with Barbara Gordon, and the ending is a bit on the weak side.  It is the most Lego thing about the film, so I can why they went in the direction they did, I just think there were better ways to get "Lego-riffic" while wrapping things up.

At the end of the day I don't think this film is quite as clever or as funny or as heartfelt as the original Lego Movie - though I do appreciate the absence of an overly long 'live action' sequence - but I'm certainly glad I saw it.  If you're in the mood for an hour and a half or so of nerdy jokes and pop culture references, you could certainly do worse than this.

Veronica Mars, Season 1 (2004)

Veronica Mars used to be part of the 'in' crowd at Neptune High.  She might only be the son of the sheriff, but she was dating the coolest boy, and best friends with the coolest girl.  And then that best friend, Lilly Kane, was murdered.  Veronica's father accused Lilly's father of the murder, and the Mars family found itself ostracized.  Daddy Mars lost his job, and the new sheriff immediately found a new suspect for the murder.

Now an outsider, Veronica helps her dad at his new PI job, makes some pocket money on the side by doing freelance investigations for kids from school, and secretly tries to find proof of who really killed Lilly.

When it came out in 2004, Veronica Mars was quite unlike anything else that was on TV.  It not only featured a tough and feisty female lead who used her wits and skills to out-maneuver her enemies, but it combined solid episode-by-episode plots with a satisfying season-long arc that never felt like it 'cheated' to maintain the mystery.

Fourteen years later, the landscape of TV is very different, and this show is no longer so unique in its strengths.  Indeed, its feminist credentials in particular look a little tarnished: there's an uncomfortable amount of focus on proving Veronica's sexual 'purity'.  It's also undermined just a smidgen by the fact that later seasons of the show, as well as the 2014 film, didn't measure up to the same standard.

Still, even though it doesn't stand out quite so much any more, and despite the uneven quality later in the franchise, the first season of this show is still excellent television; well-written and with a great cast.  It's recommended.

The Secret of Kells (2009)

It is the height of the Viking age, with the Norse raiders striking across Ireland, burning and pillaging wherever they go.  In the community of Kells, the Abbot drives the villagers and monks to build an immense wall, in the hope of keeping the threat at bay.  This is not popular with the monks, who resent being taken away from their work as illuminators.  The beauty and knowledge contained in their books, they believe, are what is important.  If the Vikings come, these treasures can be carried away and continue to provide comfort and information to the people.

Caught in the middle of this is the Abbot's nephew, Brendan.  This young man marvels at the sumptuous beauty of the books, but must obey the orders of his uncle.  Mustn't he?

And what will happen when raiders finally do come?

Ironically, given the intricacy of the medieval manuscripts it is about, The Secret of Kells has a comparatively sparse and simple artistic style.  It's by no means crudely animated, but the stylised look may take some adjustment if you are used to Disney and Pixar's more opulent design.  I think it's worth the time and effort to make that adjustment, though, as the film is thoughtful, interesting, and quite artful.  It does definitely work better if you to give it your full attention, though.  Don't muck about with your phone while you're watching it.

Glee, Season 2 (2010)

If you want to be a social pariah at William McKinley High, the quickest route is still to join the show choir, AKA the Glee Club.  You can be confident of a full dance card of being throw into dumpsters and/or getting a daily face-full of slushie.

But the kids on the club persevere, because show choir remains one of the few places where they can be themselves, even if sometimes their fellow club members would prefer they were a little bit different to who they actually are.  It's something that brings them a sense of belonging, even as it also makes them social outcasts.

Glee only started about 10 years ago, but structurally it feels like a show from an earlier era than that, before binge-watching DVDs (and now, Netflix) became common.  The writing ping pongs back and forth on character attributes and their motivations, manipulating them to serve the needs of the current episode and then discarding those elements in the next.  It makes the show a better 'week by week' watch than it is to watch in a concentrated block.

At the end of the day, though, the main reason to watch Glee is the song and dance numbers, on that front, the show continues (with occasional missteps like the awkward Rocky Horror episode) to deliver.

Silver Bullets (2011)

Ethan is a disaffected film maker resentful (even if he says he isn't) that his girlfriend Claire is more successful in her acting career than he is at writing and directing.  He's a joyless, angry man who frankly doesn't deserve the company of his own hand, let alone another human being.

She gets a good role, he casts her best friend as his lover, it make things awkward between them and she starts having feelings for the director of her new film.  Which is not surprising since he is about 200 times less of an ass than Ethan is.

The synopsis of the film on IMDB talks about Claire slipping into a fantasy world as the stress of the situation gets to her, but this is not well supported by what actually appears on screen.  Apparently the movie was largely improvised which would certainly go some way to explaining its sometimes rather vague sense of progression and development.

It's a shame in the end that the film wasn't produced from a more developed script: one in which the supposed synopsis was actually followed more strongly.  Or you know, one where some other actual plot was introduced and followed-through.  I say a shame because this is quite well shot and solidly acted.  The people involved are technically competent at the "putting things on the screen" part of the film-making equation, they just seem to have fatally neglected the "communicating the point of it all" aspect.