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What have you watched recently? 3D!

johnny_ultimate

You people just keep on watching films, don't you?

We have reached the contractually-mandated 10,000 post limited in thread 2, so here's another one. It's like the first two, but with gimmicky 3D added and a no-name director taking over from the well-known one who directed the first two.

Here's the first thread: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055488699
And the second: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056732038

So... what have you watched recently?

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santana75

Mary Queen of Scots

On paper this looks so good. Saoirse ronan, margot robbie and a very strong cast of supporting actors including Guy pearce. But its just not the sum of its parts. After 20 minutes I felt bored and things only went downhill from there. I couldnt even tell you what it was all about. Saoirse ronan gives it socks as does everyone, but its just a boring film with some unintentionally funny scenes and dialogue. Margot robbie looks like the love child of side show Bob and the clown from IT.
Theres a film on netflix with chris pine called the outlaw king which didnt get a cinema release over here but is vastly superior to this in every way. Dont pay money to go see this, stay at home, save yourself a few quid and watch the outlaw king instead.

Gwynplaine

Watched 3 movies today.
Death Wish. Was surprisingly good, though it'd be rubbish. Bruce is getting on a bit, but he still has it.
The night eats the world. Very enjoyable. I liked it. A different type of zombie film.
IO. Had to turn it off after 40 minutes. Very slow, nothing happening in it.

ButtersSuki

Fyre on Netflix. You likely already know the bones of the story of "the best party that never happened" and the disaster it subsequently became. This documentary gives an insight into the main organiser and his scams - before and after the Fyre event. It's got access to some footage that is really in the "WTF?" sphere - stuff that's so bizarre you have to wonder did they have any self-awareness at all? It provides an interesting insight at times into the vacuousness of the influencer and some social media worlds, but there's a few interviews with the punters/"victims' that make for somewhat uncomfortable viewing at times i.e.

the rich Asian kid who seems quite proud to say that he and his friends destroyed many tents and urinated on mattresses to prevent others from using them.....when there was a shortage of tents and bed. Real "I don't give a f_ck as long as I'm ok" stuff.

. It's kinda hard to feel sorry for some of these people at times with their

OMG can you believe it's not even a private jet? attitude

When I was watching the credits (I'm one of those :rolleyes:) however I see that one the producers were Fyre's digital marketing agency - without question a conflict of interest and one which has likely shaped and skewed the narrative to some degree, but it is an interesting watch. I know Hulu have a rival documentary so will likely watch that too for a different perspective. Definitely worth a look.

6.5/10

Captain Red Beard

Gwynplaine wrote: »

Watched 3 movies today.
Death Wish. Was surprisingly good, though it'd be rubbish. Bruce is getting on a bit, but he still has it.
The night eats the world. Very enjoyable. I liked it. A different type of zombie film.
IO. Had to turn it off after 40 minutes. Very slow, nothing happening in it.

Death Wish was rubbish, it was like an ad from the pro gun lobby.

Dades

Finally got around to watching First Man.

I know it is technically a brilliant film... but it bored me to tears in places. And so very, very po-faced. Everyone so serious and miserable all the time. Too many shots of people sitting and not talking... standing and not talking... staring... staring...

Worth watching for the depiction of the reality of space travel in the early days, in particular the actual moon landing. That was brilliant.

johnny_ultimate

If Beale Street Could Talk - goddamit, Barry Jenkins, you make this look so easy. A majestic piece of romantic melodrama: supremely intimate tale put against the vast backdrop of the trials & tribulations of modern African American history. As much as it pulsates with contemporary resonances, there's an old-fashioned, serious-minded rigour to it that's exceedingly rare in modern American cinema. Aided by a remarkably capable ensemble cast, this film is one where the little, meaningful moments are the ones that electrify. There's one shot of main character Tish experiencing a moment of great joy and bliss - and the casually camera pans up just a notch to capture flags carelessly blowing in the breeze in the background. It's the kind of little extra flourish that makes a powerful moment an extraordinary one. And this film, thankfully, has no shortage of such extraordinary moments.

As worthy a follow-up to Moonlight as one could have hoped.

Birth - I was in my teens when this came out, and acutely remember the hubbub around it, particularly 'the bathtub' scene. When the final thing arrived to a critical shrug of the shoulders, I didn't pay it any more attention.

Finally getting around to it more than a decade later, after being betwitched by Under the Skin half a decade ago now. Birth is a fascinating oddity of a film that doesn't deserve to be easily dismissed. It's provocative, yes, with a central premise that is as creepy as it is nonsensical. Little matter: what emerges is this chilly, compelling exploration of grief, minus the usual kind of thing you'd expect from the subject matter. That characters mostly react with this sort of bizarre, unnatural calmness only serves to underscore the importance of the scenes where things fall apart.

Few directors have ever earned a Kubrick comparison, but Glazer does here. There's something about his sense of timing and cinematic space that puts one in mind of the master. It helps that it in some way feels like a spiritual sequel of sorts to Eyes Wide Shut - it helps that both are set in the rather frigid upper echelons of Manhattan society, and of course the central presence of Nicole Kidman only amplifies that. Not that Glazer isn't his own director, with his own sense of things.

And what of that one particularly special long, lingering shot of Kidman's moments of revelation? Superbly handled stuff.

Sad Professor

Birth is criminally overlooked. My favourite film of Glazer's, just a hauntingly beautiful fairytale-drama. The lack of Blu-ray release doesn't help, though I see it's on Prime Video in HD, which is good timing as my trial is about to run out!

Del.Monte

"Our Kind of Traitor" (2016) Netflix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5k4FBGtbMs

Based on a John le Carré thriller.

A Russian mobster seeks asylum for himself and his family in England in return for which he will provide details of corruption at the highest level of the British establishment.

Stars Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgård and Damian Lewis.

Well worth staying awake until the end. 7/10

Padraig Mor

Hunter Killer - American sub must perform a heroic mission to stop a rogue Russian general from starting WWIII. Complete nonsense of course, but just the right kind of nonsense - very entertaining, OTT, and not too worried about being serious. Reminded me somewhat (in spirit) of London has Fallen from a couple of years back.

johnny_ultimate

Sad Professor wrote: »

Birth is criminally overlooked. My favourite film of Glazer's, just a hauntingly beautiful fairytale-drama. The lack of Blu-ray release doesn't help, though I see it's on Prime Video in HD, which is good timing as my trial is about to run out!

Aye found it on Prime buried amid the trash Netflix wouldn’t accept. So much good stuff on Prime, basically hidden from view.

Sad Professor

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Aye found it on Prime buried amid the trash Netflix wouldn’t accept. So much good stuff on Prime, basically hidden from view.

Yeah and Prime’s search is borked. Search for the exact title of a popular movie and it appears as the 10th result. The first result will be some second rate tv show nobody has ever heard of. Amazon don’t seem to want subscribers.

Tony EH

Spoilers ahead.

'Unbreakable'

The first part of M. Knight Shyamalan's loose (very, very loose) "trilogy" dealing with people who are "others" and who can be seen as comic book heroes and villains operating in a more realistic world than a comic book could provide. A film that puts forward the idea that what if Superman was here n Earth, but he didn't know he was Superman. This "Superman" is Bruce Willis, who has an enormous strength and an extraordinary ability to endure pain and damage, but has suppressed his abilities in order to live a "normal" life. A life that is in some turmoil, as he estranged from his wife and withdrawn from his kid, due to internal conflicts that he fails to understand.

His co-star, Samuel L. Jackson, is a man who suffers from Osteogenesis imperfect, which affects his bones, making them extremely brittle and prone to braking. Called "Mr. Glass", by other kids during his childhood, he has developed the idea that if he was so susceptible to braking, that logic would dictate that their must be a person (or people)in the world that are not.

Shyamalan's career has had its fair share of ups and downs, with many observers claiming that his career zenith was his third feature and the one that shot him to fame, 'The Sixth Sense', and that he's never managed to reclaim that plateau with his subsequent movies. While 'Unbreakable' can't live up to 'The Sixth Sense', the latter film remains a very interesting watch on its own merits and its central premise is a satisfying twist on the usual superhero story.

It's not without its faults, though. Willis's powers are ill defined, perhaps purposely, leading to the audience wanting to know more about what he can do. The family subplot can kill the film stone dead at times and comes off as somewhat unnecessary and, on the whole, the film is ultimately a superhero "origin" story that goes nowhere, even if it all runs along in a relatively satisfactory manner.

7/10

'Split'

A clumsy follow up to 'Unbreakable', which never seems to be a sequel until a strangely tacked on ending reveals itself as such. However, while the effort to make 'Split' a sequel comes off as a complete afterthought, the film itself is very well done and is considered by many as Shyamalan's best movie since 1999's 'The Sixth Sense'.

Sporting a generally superb performance by a chameleon-like James McAvoy, 'Split' is genuinely creepy in its initial setup that sees a deeply troubled man kidnap three teenage girls for reasons that initially appear unspecified. McAvoy's character(s) suffer from a deep multiple personality disorder, hence the title, and over the course of the film, a number of them slowly unveil themselves and their various motives, all of which have the semi-united purpose of preparing for the coming of "the beast".

'Split' can be watched as a stand alone film, separate from 'Unbreakable' (if one ignores the ending, of course) and in a number of ways, it's more satisfying to do that, even if setting the film in same narrative universe as the 1999 movie is ok, when everything is weighed up. As a viewer, you just get the feeling that it never needed to be and that the story can survive in its own right.

The film's real strength, though, lies James McAvoy's excellent turn as the stricken D.I.D. sufferer and he elevates the film above what could have been a laughable exercise in the hands of another actor with lesser ability. It's a genuine joy to see him switch from one personality to another, sometimes in the same scene. His presence is aided very well, too, by a more measured (but no less satisfying) turn from Betty Buckley as his psychiatrist, who comes to understand and fear her patient. The main protagonist is provided by the strange looking, but attractive, Anna-Taylor Joy, who transcends what could have been a simple "final girl" trope and makes the role more interesting than its surface suggests.

While 'Split' also goes off into superhero - or villain - territory in its final third, its association to 'Unbreakable' is never truly comfortable, even if "the beast" exhibits the same super strength as David Dunn (Bruce Willis) in the previous film and I can understand why some audiences felt that it went off the rails, in a way, toward the end. But as a whole it's fine, if uneasy, and with the release of M. Knight's latest film, 'Glass', those associations may be strengthened in a more cement-like fashion.

7/10

'Sicario'

Put simply, one of the best thrillers made in the last ten years, 'Sicario' is another feather in director Denis Villeneuve's cap, a piece of headgear that already features quite an impressive plumage.

Choosing wisely to focus on FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), the film uses her as an appealing audience stand in, as she learns her role in the story along side the viewer. A story that's shrouded in dodgy actions and activities, even from the supposed "good guys", who in reality never even appear. Mercer and co-agent, Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluuya), volunteer to be attached to a special government sanctioned task force, who have orders to perform crackdown missions on Mexican drug cartels, who wreak havoc on the local population and who's export does the same in the U.S. Becoming increasingly appalled, however, by the questionable methods that the task force employ, she begins to question her decision and just exactly what her role is in these missions.

'Sicario', which means "hitman" in a bastardised Spanish slang, motors along at perfectly balanced pace and fills its 2 hours in a more pleasing way than most modern films. There's no flabby scenes at all and everything is used for a reason, even when it first appears not to be the case and it showcases at least a couple of superbly tense setpieces. Villeneuve's direction is as tight as a tripwire and with excellent support to Blunt's lead from Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro, there's little here to be harsh on. But, I suppose if a criticism does come to mind, it might be the film's depiction of Mexico, which has been overwrought, if somewhat understandably for dramatic purposes and there may be some confusion as to who the task force's ultimate target is.

9/10

'Sicario: Day of the Soldado'

A completely unnecessary sequel to a fantastic film, the awkwardly titled 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado' has much to recommend it, however. Not least of which is a fantastic performance from newcomer Isabella Moaner as the daughter of a Mexican drug lord, who is kidnapped by the same U.S. task force - featuring Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro - that we were introduced to in the first movie. This kidnapping is a black ops attempt to spark a feud between the major cartels in the hope that they will thin out their numbers and make them more manageable for the U.S. Eventually, mission creep causes everything to go to hell and inevitable division raises its ugly head.

The sequel to Denis Villeneuve's 2015 film is not up to its predecessor's quality, but it's certainly not a bad film in its own right and once it gets over an extremely ill-judged opening sequence, it settles down into its own engaging story. It misses the Emily Blunt character initially, but once it gets going properly, you realise that she isn't really needed all that much, as she's already done her job in the first movie. Plus, her "audience usher" role has been replaced in a way by Moaner, whose pretty face becomes a wide eyed landscape of terror, as she goes through her horrible, if educating, experience, eventually winning the audience's sympathy.

The film's reasonably fine story does threaten to boil over into melodrama here and there, and it may come across as a terribly cynical venture to some, but its main issue is that it has to live in the shadow of Villeneuve's excellent film. There's also a bit of 'Murica going on in the aforementioned opening that can put a bad taste in the viewers mouth, but that's quickly forgotten about once the story proper gets going and its ending is just as ill-judged as its opening. But over all, 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado' is a decent film that's well able to stand on its own two feet.

6.5/10

Dades

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Hunter Killer - American sub must perform a heroic mission to stop a rogue Russian general from starting WWIII. Complete nonsense of course, but just the right kind of nonsense - very entertaining, OTT, and not too worried about being serious. Reminded me somewhat (in spirit) of London has Fallen from a couple of years back.

Watched this last night. If you like this type of nonsense - it's great. Gerry Butler does a great everyman hero. Gary Oldman has the most one-dimensional military dumbass character ever... but who cares. There's submarines and missiles and assault rifles and some kind of plot. Hoo ha!

Tony EH

'Bumblebee'

Goofy and silly, but not entirely without its charms, this Transformers prequel, set in 1987, is probably the best of these types of films. Although, I'll confess to only having seen 2007's 'Transformers', which I thought was pretty poor.

'Bumblebee', after a dodgy start on Cybertron, settles down into a standard fish out of water story, which sees Autobot forward scout - B-127 - sent to Earth because the war on his home planet has gone badly, with the Decepticons gaining the upper hand and the Autobots fleeing. On earth B-127 meets Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), a teenage grease monkey Smiths fan who longs for her own car, which B-127 fulfils in the form of a VW Beetle, that he uses as a form of camouflage to avoid detection by other humans. But two Decepticons follow B-127 to Earth and are determined to destroy him and discover the location of the other Autobots.

Like all Transformers movies, and the entire franchise itself, 'Bumblebee' is utterly ludicrous, and probably has the most entertainment value for grown up 80's kids, who fondly remember the cartoon, and other children of all ages. It does its best to channel any 80's movie you can think of and, in fairness, it does it pretty well at times. Plus, the decision to "mute" B-127 was a really smart one, as it allows the two main characters strive for communication and understanding an endearing one. There's one or two times where the story turns into a schmaltz ridden mess, but it rights the ship continually, with several well placed moments of humour that actually work, helped in no small part by Jorge Lendeborg as the nerdy boy next door and John Cena as an 80's Reganite military blockhead.

There's a pleasing script by Christina Hodson and it's fairly well directed by Travis Knight, who allows the film to zip along, but isn't afraid to slow things down a touch either. There's also a definite touch of Spielberg going on in the background that suggests his Executive Producer role may have had more impact than is usually the case. A fitting 80's soundtrack is also provided that helps set the period, although it does become a little over cooked at times. But, Bumblebee's use of the 80's radio classics as a form of communication is very well handled.

As you would expect from a Transformers film, it is laced with CGI, and it is well done for the most part. But the speed at which the robot fights unfold are rapacious on the eyes and can lead to some confusing fatigue. There's a couple of surprisingly clumsy moments where the fakery is incredibly obvious, however, but it doesn't subtract from the film in any real way.

By its end 'Bumblebee' comes off as an enjoyable time at the pictures and its comparatively smaller scale to the other Transformers movies helps it no end and while it is a prequel to 'Transformers', you don't really have to endure that movie or the rest of them to enjoy it.

7/10

Harry Palmr

Royal Flash (1975) Dri Richard Lester

I was always likely to enjoy this "romp" as I'm a fan of George MacDonald Fraser's scripts, director Richard Lester and actor Malcolm McDowell, who in terms of physique is completely miscast as the title character Harry Flashman (either Oliver Reed or Alan Bates, both co-stars here would have been much more in keeping) but if you don't know that it doesn't matter!

As with all Lester films much of the fun is in the live action cartoon staging of the action (Flashmans attempted escape from Von Bismark's castle by wooden horse is a particular highlight) and deployment of dialogue in the margins - a comment from a background character here, an insult from someone unseen among the thong there. Anyone watching this in Britain can have the added pleasure of playing spot the future star under a carpets of facial hair and out-sized head wear. The locations are both beautifully regal and dismally damp and dark during a Bavarian winter caught by the ever so slightly diffused lenses of DP Geoffrey Unsworth.

If you enjoyed the Three and Four Musketeers films you'll probably find this slice of derring-do well worth your time. One day we might even get the chance to see a full length restoration edit, MacDonald Fraser was disappointed with the handling of the film by 20th Century Fox and swore he'd not become involved with any adaptations again. With his death now 10 years ago it's surely time for someone to consider bring Flashman back to the screen - anyone from the BBC reading this? A short series of 90 min Sherlock type dramas would surely sell far and wide.

joombo

Gangster Number 1: Malcolm McDowell relives his rise to London gangster power as Paul Bettany in a long sixties flashback. Stylised, violent, well acted by all concerned as his psychopathic rise to power and ultimate empty success is charted to the modern day. McDowell and Bettany are both great on screen. It is incredibly sweary, and I don't think I've ever seen anything that uses the C-word as much as this film does.

Dades

Watched The Predator last night. Really enjoyed it.

The crazy gang dynamic was fun for the most part, and plenty of action and guts and whatnot. Olivia Munn was great, even if her character was utterly ridiculous. She was basically a hot woman cast in a man's role, with a man's dialogue to match.

Unsurprisingly it didn't garner any Oscar nominations this week, but I'd rather watch this than half of the stuff that did.

Honourable mention for the "Get to the choppers!" line. :P

Fysh

joombo wrote: »

Gangster Number 1: Malcolm McDowell relives his rise to London gangster power as Paul Bettany in a long sixties flashback. Stylised, violent, well acted by all concerned as his psychopathic rise to power and ultimate empty success is charted to the modern day. McDowell and Bettany are both great on screen. It is incredibly sweary, and I don't think I've ever seen anything that uses the C-word as much as this film does.

I have a soft spot for this as one of the better British gangster movies from the late 90s - possibly because while it oozes style, there's an awareness throughout the film that Bettany/McDowell's character is fundamentally broken, and not someone to admire or look up to. All of which would count for nothing if the performances weren't up to par, but they're great across the board. Definitely worth a watch

Tom Mann Centuria

The Matador.

A great fun, hitman comedy thriller (emphasis, to me at least, on the comedy) with Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan (my favourite film of his).

Hadn't watched it in years, and was glad it was as enjoyable as I thought it was back then.

branie2

Vice at the cinema this evening. I thought it was very good

barrymanilow

Widows

Very good fresh take on the gangster heist movie genre. Well worth watching , entertaining , maybe a little messy though , same guy that did hunger and shame I think.

8/10

Harry Palmr

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

The Matador.

A great fun, hitman comedy thriller (emphasis, to me at least, on the comedy) with Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan (my favourite film of his).

Hadn't watched it in years, and was glad it was as enjoyable as I thought it was back then.

Definitely Brosnan's best film as a lead, very droll. Hope Davis as the wife was brilliant.

Disposable1

joombo wrote: »

Gangster Number 1: Malcolm McDowell relives his rise to London gangster power as Paul Bettany in a long sixties flashback. Stylised, violent, well acted by all concerned as his psychopathic rise to power and ultimate empty success is charted to the modern day. McDowell and Bettany are both great on screen. It is incredibly sweary, and I don't think I've ever seen anything that uses the C-word as much as this film does.

I just felt like this movie needed more (tilts sunglasses) Vision.

Decuc500

Birdbox

It’s a moderately entertaining movie but lacks almost everything that made the book so good. There’s very little tension and the sense of unease that the book generated is non-existent.

Obviously after reading the book I knew what to expect but I would still hope the film would be able to portray some feeling of dread or terror.

The casting is laughable. It’s movie making by committee, 2019 Hollywood style. Bland and safe.

Drumpot

The Butterfly Effect 2004

Hadn’t seen it in a long time and always remembered it fondly. I watched it tonight and wasn’t disappointed.

Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As we watch Evan grow up we too are in the dark on what actually happened but the blanks slowly get filled in and we see how Evan can use this affliction with different levels of success. We get to enjoy the different things Evan try’s and the ramifications of each choice. I love these “what if “ movies but there are few movies that I’m rooting for the hero so much then poor old Evan.

It’s one of the most underrated time travel movies made in my opinion. There are of course elements of all time travel movies that you can question but I think this is a fun ride. I saw an alternative ending version (not sure if it was an extra on dvd or movie ending) of this movie but I prefer the theatrical release.

This is not a high brow movie , more popcorn for the brain. The critics got this one horribly wrong.

8/10

Del.Monte

"Polar" 2019 on Netflix.

The world's top assassin, Duncan Vizla, aka The Black Kaiser, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger, faster, ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to have him silenced.

Off after less than three minutes - utter tripe. 0/10.

[Deleted User]

Del.Monte wrote: »

"Polar" 2019 on Netflix.

The world's top assassin, Duncan Vizla, aka The Black Kaiser, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger, faster, ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to have him silenced.

Off after less than three minutes - utter tripe. 0/10.

Lol 3 minutes, you might have beaten my record there. Although Im pretty sure I turned off Wahlbergs latest movie at 2.

Speaking of turning off early, I tried The Postman a few nights ago. After the pasting it took when it came out destroying Costner's Hollywood credibility I avoided it for 20+ years despite loving most films Costner is in. I got through about 20 minutes of it. Pretty horrible to say the least, managing to fail on everything I could think of. Fully understand why he was never given a big budget to spend again. Theres directors who have made films that squandered huge amounts of money but the films were still watchable, Heavens Gate for example. But this I couldn't even force myself to go any further.

Fysh

I caught an advance screening of If Beale Street Could Talk last night, Barry Jenkins' follow-up to Moonlight. In terms of technique, it's similar to Moonlight - lots of long, slow shots focusing on faces and expressions, very much a character piece, and an unhurried pace. As with Moonlight, I thought it was fantastic. As with the previous film, the subject matter is haedly cheery, but the core relationship at the centre of the film is so beautifully drawn that the tone remains hopeful.

frozenfrozen

The Sisters Brothers

Gave it about 35 minutes and had to turn it off. Didnt care about any characters, didnt know what the plot was or care where it was going

Slow unengaging and boring

Won't be bothering to try it again to the end

johnny_ultimate

Hanagatami

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZyU9PkQ96Y

In 1977, Nobuhiko Obayashi made the experimental cult classic Hausu which - and I use no hyperbole here - remains the greatest horror-comedy ever made. He's been making films ever since, but has rarely popped up on western screens outside of his oddball magnum opus.

Thank god for Mubi - who at this stage deserve a medal for their stellar work in bringing the niches of world cinema to somewhat wider attention - who have his latest film up for the next couple of weeks. It's been a long time since Hausu, but this feels like being reacquainted with an old friend. They're extremely different films in many respects, but the outrageous, garish, artificial visuals make this unmistakably the work of one of cinema's most idiosyncratic pop artists.

It's a hell of a thing to behold. It's very long, and the exhausting melodrama will likely prove too much for many (I don't think the score lets up for a minute). But adjust to its odd register and there are many pleasures. Aesthetically obviously it's quite unlike anything else: a green screen film that embraces the fake, hyper-real quality of special effects. It's like a vivid collage of different elements that leap off the screen with this otherworldly quality. The pre-war narrative is a very distinctly Japanese, and emotions are dialled up well past 11. But there's a darkness and sense of impeding tragedy to all the lurid romance: a snapshot of a doomed generation in the weeks before everything goes to hell. Couldn't hand it the unconditional recommendation I'd give Hausu, but this is evidence that 40 years later Obayashi still remains a treasure, making films that are truly not like anything else out there.