I saw The Imitation Game last night. Very, very good. Very, very sad. I found it really quite painful to watch; towards the end particularly. Such a waste. It was unforgiveable what they did to him. It may have been the law, but it was about as far from justice as you can get. I imagine we'd all know Turing's name today, if things had only been different.

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I agree, I watched it a few weeks ago. What made it even sadder is that he was so completely naive about it all, so trusting.

It mentioned at the end that his work probably shortened the war against Germany by two years and may have saved up to 14,000,000 lives.

And then he invented the digital computer. Where would be be today without his immaculate genius?

What a person.

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Isakaya High School Roleplaying Info

"An old man like me stands no chance fighting against a high school girl in her underwear" - Oshino Meme, Nekomonogatari (Kuro)

"The Imitation Game" was a great movie; I agree. Benedict Cumberbatch was perfectly cast as Turing.

The other day my 13-year-old daughter had a friend sleep over, and we introduced her to the wonder that is "Princess Mononoke." I love that movie so much -- for me it ranks up there in my top three* of Miyazaki's films -- and it was fun to see the reactions of someone who had never seen it before. As I predicted, she thought it was great; she loved the kodama, especially, and the environmental/anti-war message of the film. She and my daughter are now planning to cosplay as San and Ashitaka at the next local anime festival (I suggested that I dress up as Lady Eboshi, but they looked at me like I was butting in on their fun).

What really strikes me about "Mononoke" is how every time I see it, I come away with a new insight or impression. This time, I came away with a feeling of pessimism and the inevitability of civilizations falling apart -- how foolish, self-serving and short-sighted most humans are. There is so much food for thought in that film.





*My number one favorite, top Miyazaki film is and, I suspect, always will be "Spirited Away." I think it's just magical. His other two masterpieces, in my opinion, are "Totoro" and "Mononoke," and I love them pretty much equally, so they're tied for second place.

I could never quite get into Mononoke as much as some of the others, which really surprises me, considering just how much I adore Lord of the Rings. My stepbrother LOVES Mononoke, though.

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I have to be in the right mood for Mononoke but when I am , its an incredible story. The last time I watched it I had just been reading up on feudal Japanese culture so when Ashitaka cut his hair and left his village and the girl who loved him came to say goodbye I found it terribly emotional.

His heroic awesomeness later in the story seems all the more powerful because of that.

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Isakaya High School Roleplaying Info

"An old man like me stands no chance fighting against a high school girl in her underwear" - Oshino Meme, Nekomonogatari (Kuro)

The only Ghibli that I can watch with regularity in any mood is Kiki's Delivery Service. Totoro I can watch with frequency as well.

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3,2,1, Let's jam.

For Your Eyes Only. It's a James Bond film, and it's not one of the few that are superb pieces of cinema, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

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3,2,1, Let's jam.

I first watched Mononoke when I was 7. lol Scarred me for life. It came on the TV and I was quite mesmerized but the beheading and the pigs scared the crap out of me.

Then I watched it again around 13-14 but didn't quite get into it. I think I've watched it twice after and it wasn't until this past year that I really saw how beautiful and amazing it was.

I almost considered writing a paper on it for class. lol Because it would've been cool to write about Eboshi. My coworker and I were talking about the film a lot since one of her professors adores Princess Mononoke and told her she must watch it (and also my coworker loves Ghibli).

quote:

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Originally posted by FlareNetworkC
For Your Eyes Only. It's a James Bond film, and it's not one of the few that are superb pieces of cinema, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

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Gone Girl, with Ben Affleck what a film. I am a bit fan of thrillers, and this was a good one. Definitely check it out if you haven't

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"A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge

Oh, I loved Gone Girl when I saw it in the cinema. Rosamund Pike is brilliant.

@Kaz - Sean Connery is my personal favorite, with Roger Moore and Daniel Craig tied for second. I watched The Spy Who Loved Me last night, and it's not just my favorite Bond film, but one of my favorite films, period. I enjoyed Dalton in The Living Daylights, haven't seen his other one.

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The first movie I saw in a Japanese theater was a James Bond flick in 1966. Subtitled in Japanese...

It was fun watching the American TV western "Bonanza" on home TV IN Japanese. Funny watching 'Hoss' speaking Japanese... lol

By the way, "Bonanza" is still syndicated on TV today... Here in the States, anyway...

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Actually watched "Frozen" on a Netflix disc... Not a bad movie...

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Frozen gets worse every time you watch it, but it still remains in good graces, mostly.

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This was the first time that I had seen it, mainly because some of my grand-daughters had mentioned it...

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I watched Spirited Away with my stepbrother today, and while he enjoyed it, some of my family glimpsed a couple of minutes of it, and just for once I wish they could at least act like they liked it. Comments from some of my family members:

"Why is that baby so fat? It's weird." - My aunt and uncle.

"A cartoon drug trip." - My mom.

" " - My stepsister.

Can my family at least TRY to make me not feel self-conscious about my tastes?

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Huh, that's odd. No one I know who's watched Spirited Away ever reacted that way. lol I'd hate to have a family like that. My sister fortunately loves Ghibli, and I've found a lot of people here do. Professors included. I grew up on Ghibli and likely my kids will too.

I'm still jelly my friend met Miyazaki. We're going to try and track him down together but who knows if we can.

I haven't watched any films lately. Does anyone know any historically themed Japanese films that involve the supernatural or folklore? I'm not looking for anime so much as something live action. I love Korean sageuk, especially a fantasy sageuk. I'd love to know some Japanese ones.

Today, I decided to sit down and watch Madoka Magica: Rebellion.

WHAT IN THE HECK DID I JUST WATCH.

Not kidding! The first 45 minutes or so were perfect! That ending, though. Oh my lord, I don't even know what to think!

Cons: THAT ENDING AND ALSO IT MADE ME LIKE HOMURA SLIGHTLY LESS THAN I USED TO.

Pros: The animation, the soundtrack, and that Homura Vs. Mami fight scene though

Someone who's seen Rebellion. Thoughts? Feelings? Please.

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Last week I watched Mulan: Rise of a Warrior, the 2009 Chinese live-action film. I love the story, the character, the beauty of a woman who strives for doing what she wants instead of what is expected of her, which is much more impressive considering the date of the original poem (around 500-600 AD).
I REALLY like Disney's Mulan as well, but I recognize it's flaws. Its stereotypical depiction of Chinese culture, all the emotion artificially built on it for the sake of entertainment, and so on.
Rise of a Warrior, on the other hand, is more accurate (it's a Chinese story, after all), realistic and a bit tragic. It's kinda like a documentation of the legend, rather than just pure entertainment. I really appreciate it.

foreignfilmfreak ~
Have you watched Momo e no Tegami (A Letter to Momo) or Hotarubi no Mori e? They're both anime films that have Japanese folklore with supernatural elements. They're lighthearted and very touching. The former is a feature film directed by Hiroyuki Okiura and the latter is a short film directed by Takahiro Omori based on a manga written by Yuri Midorikawa. I think you might like 'em!

Watched 'Interstellar' just now. A wonderful film and a story well-told. Very thought provoking. I recommend it to anyone seeking something different and mind-bending... and entertaining.

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Isakaya High School Roleplaying Info

"An old man like me stands no chance fighting against a high school girl in her underwear" - Oshino Meme, Nekomonogatari (Kuro)