The Next 50: Film Watching During the Pandemic

Well, folks, it's that time again. Another 50 films have been viewed. It was a much slower pace than usual, as the call of genealogy has been very strong. This particular group of films begins on 1 June and runs to 21 August. 

As has been the case lately, I have left the world of live action to live with the cartoon folk. This increase has never been more visible than in this 50. 

To start with, I picked up some of the early works of Mokoto Shinkai. For those unfamiliar, he is the director of "Your Name" and "Weathering With You." A number of his early short works are available on YouTube, DailyMotion and Vimeo. I managed to see:

Mokoto Shinkai

Other Worlds (1999)

She & Her Cat (1999)

Voices of a Distant Star (2003)

Someone's Gaze (2013)

A Garden of Words (2013)

One can see from these his ability to inspire emotions. He also features the rain in most of these, an occurrance that continues through his lastest films.

Other Animes include:

Modest Heroes (2018), currently on Netflix

Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985), on Amazon

A Whisker Away (2020), also on Netflix

Midori, or Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show (1992)

Mirai (2018), Netflix or Hulu

Belladonna of Sadness (1973)

Angel's Egg (1985)

Mamoru Hosoda

Of these, "Mirai" is wonderful and is another strong work from Mamoru Hosoda, the director of "Summer Wars", "The Boy and the Beast" and "Wolf Children". If you truly want to be freaked out, find "Midori". Believe me, you've never seen any Anime like it. "Angel's Egg" is very trippy and I needed to seek out a YouTube video explaining some of it. It is still worth the watch.

Other Animated Films include:

The Nut Job (2014)

Animal Crackers (2020), Netflix

Terra Willy: Planste Inconnue (2019, France) on YouTube

Batman: Year One (2011)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part I (2012)

Boy & the World (2013, Brazil), Netflix

When the Wind Blows (1986), Amazon

 

plus shorts:

Teeth (2015)

Wow! A Talking Fish (1981, Russia)

Noose (2016)

I really loved "Animal Crackers" & "Terra Willy". Both are adventures and just fun to watch. "Boy & the World" is an Oscar Nominee for Best Animated Feature and carries some stirring images. It has little dialog that isn't Portuguese played backwards. 

I have always known about "When the Wind Blows" and have avoided it. Not because it's a lousy film, but because I'd already seen "Grave of the Fireflies" and wasn't sure I could take another experience like that. The opening song of the film is sung by David Bowie, the voices of the old couple are supplied by Dame Peggy Ashcroft and Sir John Mills, and the soundtrack is by Roger Waters. The film is a classic, but a tough watch.

Late June saw the latest Sohome Horror Film Festival-Pride Edition, spotlighting LGBTQ+ Horror features and shorts. Due to time constraints this time around, I managed only to see the short films. As usual, they put forth excellent work. Hopefully, they can be found on line somewhere.

Unusual Attachment (2020)

The Pain Within Us (2019)

Conversion Therapist (2019)

Jeremiah (2019)

Thirst Trap (2019) 

Tea Parties are for Babies (2020)

Demons (2017)

A Halloween Trick (2019)

Documentaries also hit the forefront this time with:

David Bowie: Finding Fame (2019) Starz

Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary (2014) Starz

Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four (2018) Amazon

Birth of the Living Dead (2012) Amazon

Nightmares in Red, White & Blue (2009) Amazon

Not to lose sight of my personal favorite genre, Zombies showed up again. You'd think I'd seen them all by now, but NO...

Overlord (2018)

Little Monsters (2019, Australia)

I tried my hand at some Giallo from Italy, and found myself somewhat disappointed. 

Torso (1973, Italy)

Black Belly of the Tarantula (1972, Italy)

Both films may be found on Amazon. I remember the film "Torso" and the stir it caused when I was a kid. It came out right around the time of the horrific Delores Della Penta murder in Philadelphia. I didn't get to see it then. It wasn't what I thought it would be.

Other Films:

Features-

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

Crawl (2019)

Jurassic Thunder (2020), yes, as bad as it sounds

Inhumanwich (2017), a must see for anyone wanting a beautifully done homage to 50s B movies.

They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)

Hamilton (2020), yes, me too, Disney+

Tetsuo, the Bullet Man (2009, Japan), subpar remake of a classic surreal film. Stick to the original.

Shorts-

One Cut of the Dead Mission: Remote (2020, Japan), I'm not saying anything. It's online. See it.

Ten Dollars in Ten Days (1924), a Ben Turpin comedy

 

and finally, two from the UAE's wonderful Hashmic House, home of inventive horror and horror/comedy short films:

Faisal Hashmi of

Hashmic House Films

Skipped (2017)

Wicken (2019)

There you have it. By the count, I have managed to see 151 films since 17 March. And this doesn't count the number of times that I watched "Notting Hill" over this period (spoiler: at least 10 times). 

As it appears that I will be home for a while longer, who knows what will be seen in the coming weeks. 

Where I could, I have linked to some of my viewing.

A Head's Up--

Keep a look at BloodyWhisper.com in late September for the list of Turner Classics horror films showing in October. I am working on the article. I may add some surprises to it from other cable and streaming services. We'll see what we find. 

Be Well! Be Safe! Watch Cartoons!!