Reviewing with Others Pt. 46: 100 Yen

Well, it's an hour and 40 minutes later than I planned for, but my latest indie screener review is ready. The film is called 100 Yen, and it's a documentary about Japanese video arcades - why their popularity has been so enduring, how they're different than their US counterparts, the origins of Japanese arcades, as well as the big trends in game styles.

I have long ago greatly curtailed my video game activities, but the premise alone and the chance to learn about some cultural differences was a huge appeal. I also wanted to see what the Japanese did with their devices - they are to technology as the French are to wine. My review went up about 6 minutes ago and you can read it here at Man, I Love Films.

Schedule For July-Sept

I might not update the About page for this site, but I'll add this update here and now (and no, it doesn't count as one of this week's four posts). I will have indie movie reviews up every Wednesday at 6PM Eastern time, and Sunday at 3PM Eastern time. I've already been doing that for a couple of weeks, but the schedule is now set, and it's set to run through the end of September, at least.

This creates an obvious problem, as I like to publish - as regular readers already know - one review, one Fan-made Gem, one Question, and one "random" entry per week. Since these Reviewing with Others entries are going to be so prominent, something's gotta give. It wouldn't even be a problem, save that (a) I haven't received many Questions from people outside myself or DJ lately, and (b) I've had these rotating entries - every two weeks, there's a Great Moments in... post and once a month, I dedicate something to the wonderful Mr. Bill Murray.

Question for the Week of Jul 29 - Aug 4: Indy Film's Racist-ey Overtones

You heard about the accusations of racism and insensitivity for Temple of Doom. What do you think?

So let me first note that I wrote one of my first long-ass posts about the entire trilogy, as well as my first Question entry (a silly one) and a later Question (which is one of my favorites). If you search for "Indy" on this site, you'll see it's come up other times, too.

I learned about the complaints when I was reading up on the series a few years ago. For once, I'll just use the Wiki entry:

The film's depiction of Hindus caused controversy in India, and brought it to the attention of the country's censors, who placed a temporary ban on it.[4] The inaccurate depiction of Goddess Kali as a representative of the underworld and evil met with much criticism as she is instead the Goddess of Energy (Shakti). The depiction of Indian cuisine was also condemned as it has no relation whatsoever with "baby snakes, eyeball soup, beetles and chilled monkey brains." Shashi Tharoor has condemned the film and pointed to numerous offensive and factually inaccurate portrayals.[5] Yvette Rosser has criticized the film for contributing to racist stereotypes of Indians in Western society, writing "[it] seems to have been taken as a valid portrayal of India by many teachers, since a large number of students surveyed complained that teachers referred to the eating of monkey brains."[6]

While this has some basis in fact, I think it was just a dumb, careless mistake. I can't really imagine Steven Spielberg espousing bigotry, much less risking damage to his reputation in that way. I've bagged on Lucas, but even the racism complaints about the Prequels pretty much came off to me as "this old white guy just doesn't put enough thought or perspective into what he's doing."

I know that such an answer is very brief, and maybe comes off as dismissive or facile. I've been subjected to multiple forms of bigotry in my own life - both for ethnicities that I do/don't belong to as well as for having long hair and being called the gay slur - and I simply cannot abide it, whether or not that prejudice actually applies to me or mine.

Reviewing with Others, Pt. 45: The History of Future Folk

First things first - I have decided to publish reviews twice a week for the foreseeable future - that's the way it goes, even if some of my regular features have to take a hit to make that happen. It's rough, but life goes on...

This week, I had the pleasure to watch the low-key indie comedy/scifi film, The History of Future Folk. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you like my review over at Man, I Love Films.

Question for the Week of Jul 22-28: Movie Grades and Me

How seriously do you take movie grades, and what effect do specific scores have on you?

Well, for one thing, I've mentioned in various earlier reviews the ratings given to films by Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic or IMDb. Without providing specific examples, I have complained about some of these scores, while I have used others to support my feelings about a particular movie. I don't always do this, but if you put "RT," "Metacritic," or "IMDb" in the search box on the right, you'll see how often they've come up.

When it comes to those specific sites, you have to remember that they all aggregate the ratings given b critics and/or site users. This means that the numbers are weighted in a particular way, where some reviewers strongly dislike a picture that others do strongly like. IMDb's system, in particular, is infamous for working very differently from a simple weighted-average.

And, of course, you also must remember - as I've noted in a couple ways over the last three years - that different people react to movies differently. Some people want a challenging pic, while others just want mindless fun. Tastes change as you get older and do (or don't) get experience watching various kinds of films. Some folks hate certain genres, or have a very high (or low) bar to watch, e.g., a romantic comedy or a black-and-white or a silent motion picture.

Reviewing with Others Pt. 44: Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution

My latest indie screener experience is Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution. It's about a competitive fashion show that took place in Paris, in 1973, to raise money to restore the then-crumbling Palace of Versailles. Through new interviews, as well as old footage and photos, V '73: ARR shows what happened when American fashion designers stepped up their game and made a major splash on the international scene.

If you'd like to read my thoughts on this movie, my review goes up at 6PM EDT here at Man, I Love Films. Watch the trailer below to get an idea for whether it'll be your kind of thing. My next entries come out tomorrow (a Question) and Sunday (a 2nd RwO).

Recommended: LotR Bloopers

Browsing the web, I managed to find a great clip of bloopers from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I haven't reviewed them here, but I did enjoy them quite a lot (the last one less than the rest, oddly), and I think you'll like it, too.

Reviewing with Others Pt. 43: The Pirate Bay: Away from Keyboard

Friends and strangers, I have had the pleasure to watch and review The Pirate Bay: Away from Keyboard. It's a Swedish documentary about the law suit against The Pirate Bay, the infamous online torrenting site.

I'll state this much now - the story behind the making of this film is damn interesting. Aside from the experience of seeing the movie itself, it also gave me fuel for yesterday's Question entry.

In any case, my review just went live and you can read it here at Man, I Love Films.

Question for the Week of Jul 15-21: Vimeo, huh?

This week, excited readers will be treated to Reviewing with Others #42 (it's like a Lost flash-forward), which will direct them to an off-site review of The Pirate Bay: Away from Keyboard. The movie, of course, stands out for many reasons. However, this was also my first time watching a movie using Vimeo and an HDMI adapter for my TV. I used to devote time to discussing the use of Hulu and Netflix and Amazon, and it's worth giving Vimeo the same attention.

Please note that if you read RwO #41, you know I reviewed a film in which the founder of Vimeo describes how he started the site. Jungian synchronicity, right? Or did I just need a quick entry?

Fan's Mom Recounts The Matrix

I guess it's past time for me to ask you a Question: Have you ever watched a movie with someone who really didn't get what was going on? It might've been a friend who was drunk or high, it might've been someone who was cooking while hearing the movie from another room, or missed 20 crucial minutes. Hell, it might've been someone who's... not so bright.

I have to believe that we've all been there at some point. Lots of movies can be dense or badly-written. Plenty of viewers have limited attention spans, or aren't very perceptive.

What I have for you today comes courtesy of Clipnation. It's shows what happened when a film fan watched The Matrix with his mom, then recorded (and animated!) her response when asked the (apparently) not-so-simple question: what happened in this movie?

All I will add is that the results are hilarious:

Great Moments in... Sad Scenes (Kid Edition)

It's not a perfect film by any stretch, but lots of kids really enjoyed 1984's The Neverending Story. It's an inventive and original kids' story, told in an inventive way that intuitively appeals to children. The storytelling convention in which we watch a boy read a book during a storm works nicely with the cuts to the action of the story as it progresses. I suppose all the puppet-work really helps.

And, hey, what kid doesn't like animals? It seems like so much of childhood education involves learning the names and characteristics of penguins, dinosaurs, bears, insects... Children feel a sense of curiosity at their fellow-creatures, like dogs, cats, and horses. I hope every child on this planet knows that horsies are, indeed, pretty.

Reviewing with Others, Pt. 42: The Startup Kids

I've just watched and reviewed The Start Up Kids, a straight-forward documentary about the programmers and entrepreneurs who, more and more, are becoming big players in the new media industry. It's a brisk 57-minute pic, and I liked it. You can read more here at Man, I Love Films.

I'll see you all tomorrow!

Question for the Week of July 8-14: Hulu Plus Ads?

First, a brief scheduling note: the last two weeks been incredibly busy, full of events I've been happy and honored to attend, as well as a wealth of problems on the home front.

I can hardly finish my indie movie reviews when my fridge shuts down during these sweltering Summer days, much less during an ant infestation. With everything cleared up now, expect the next review (The Startup Kids) to go up over the weekend. As with all my Reviewing with Others entries, I will post a link to the appropriate page on the Man, I Love Films site.

Also, I have a few typos that I have to fix from the last 2-3 enties, but I have to juggle a friend's request to take pictures for her, a few more screeners, and preparing some of those reviews. These minor typos will be gone shortly.

And we're moving on...

Why did Hulu do something as dangerously annoying as putting ads in its pay service?

Before I moved in to my new digs, I hadn't used Hulu Plus since I wrote about testing out the trial 2 & 1/2 years ago. I've had occasion to check it out now - as an Xbox app, of all the things - and I must state that I'm impressed with how the service has grown in that time.

However, like the person who asked this week's Question, I was taken aback that Hulu Plus comes with ads, just like the free service! Now, it's worth noting that the ads seem generally shorter than for the free service, but they are still ads. Who wants their paid-for movies and TV shows getting interrupted so we can learn about all the things that we don't want to buy?