Running on Tubi: Film Review

So theisticGilthoniel reviewed some anime on his blog and I felt like stealing that idea. Here's the last 8 movies I've seen.

Network

Perhaps it's a classic? I'm not sure. It's a movie about television not as a medium or art form but as an industry. It's a satire, but though it's rarely all that comedic that never feels like a slight against it. Center to making this movie "work" was how it switched between raw, intense emotions and extremely dry moments where people simply discuss and decide how to move the plot along. I liked this movie

King Kong vs. Godzilla
As a fan of Ultra Q, I liked seeing the origins of the giant octopus (whose footage and prop was reused in an episode) and the ape suit (which was also reused, albeit with a tail). Also one actor in this spent a lot of time looking out of a helicopter, and I swear that's why he got hired to play the pilot in Ultra Q. I didn't like seeing the questionable-to-say-the-least depictions of the indigenous people on the island with King Kong - more or less what you would expect from a Japanese King Kong movie from the 60s - but honestly that was almost the only bad part. It was also very funny at times, much more of a comedy than the first two Godzilla movies. Overall, it was a fun movie where King Kong fights Godzilla. Who doesn't want that! I liked this movie.

The Paper
Similar to Network, this one is about newspapers. But while Network treated television as an industry devoid of humanity, The Paper is ultimately about the ideals of journalism. Maybe it would be a fun double feature with Network. Jason Alexander does a great job playing an hateful, impotent man - but you feel sorry for him. That's the actor I'm choosing to highlight from The Paper. I liked this movie.

The King of Comedy
Holy wow, an excellent piece of dramatic comedy. I had seen three Stephen Chow movies prior (Love On Delivery, Kung Fu Hustle, and Shaolin Soccer) and this one is by far my favorite. It's a movie about actors. Why did I watch a bunch of movies about media? Anyways the plot feels close to predictable, then throws you off completely. A lot of the comedy is dialogue-based, but the translation I found was pretty good I think. Still, if I actually understood what they were saying wihtout subtitles I can only imagine what depths of laughter I could achieve. I liked this movie.

Q
See, the great thing about monster movies is when the real monster is the monster eating people, but also that guy is also a monster. Basically a noir with a big dragon eating people in New York. Has some grody human sacrifice, and kinda questionable stuff in regards to Aztecs? But the abusive white man who gets in over his head was an incredibly compelling character and I'm not even joking. Like I know that's a meme with like Walter White or whatever but like this one was incredibly visibly pathetic the entire time, and treated as such by everyone around him. I liked this movie.

Wizards
I made a comic about this one:

I feel like people over-hyped the final scene. I think it was good, but the strong point of the movie felt more like... textural emotion. You watch it and you understand emotionally the dangers of propaganda, the dangers of hate, even if the narrative isn't the strongest. Not to say that the narrative is weak, I just think it falters towards the end. But like those battle scenes - you don't need to know exactly what's happening, you understand how terrible it is. I liked this movie.

Police Story 2
Almost as good as Police Story 1, which is saying a lot. Specifically, that's saying this is probably the second-best martial arts comedy I've seen. More western action comedies need to understand that the action should be funny and thrilling at the same time. Bullet Train did a pretty good job of that, I suppose. Police Story 2, in any case - less coherent and serious of a plot, but the action and the jokes stay strong. I liked this movie.

The Dragon Lives Again
This biopic depicts the three days between Bruce Lee's death and resurrection. We see him challenged by the evil gangsters of hell (James Bond, The Godfather, Clint Eastwood, and more). Very good to know about this pivotal moment in history. Honestly the kung fu wasn't that good. You're gonna go, "Of course it wasn't, why would you expect this movie to have competent martial arts!" But in my experience the odds are higher than you might think. I liked this movie.