Bartimaeus

Porco Rosso (1992). What is just "alright" in an English dub can sometimes turn out to be...much better in Japanese. I'd now rate this as one of the better Miyazaki films, whereas before I had been a bit disappointed with it. Even with Susan Egan voicing one of the main characters in the English, the Japanese is just...that much better for various reasons. Laputa: Castle in the Sky will be next for me at some point, as I remember the English dub was rather poor even at the time of watching it years ago and suffering greatly for it. Additionally, having now seen Future Boy Conan, I think I may well better appreciate it from that angle as well, given Laputa essentially being a spiritual remake movie of the series.

Pretty sure Suspiria is the film that convinced me that I was never going to watch an Italian film ever again, and also that I would never watch a film that Jay (of RLM) calls "dream-like". I haven't held true to the former, but I'm pretty sure I have to the latter.

Toys in the Attic was the episode where I got a few minutes into it and then thought "if I'm ever going to enjoy this show, it should be right here and right now". A totally self-contained story that is tiny in scope but potentially very personal by putting our characters in a dangerous situation together with nowhere to go (bonus points: it seemed to to actually be taking itself kind of seriously instead of having that same old veneer of smarmy crap humor that somehow almost never manages to land for me!), and it's a riff on a classic sci-fi film that I love. And while for the first third of the episode I was still hopeful... ...I actually started writing my previous post immediately after I finished it. Between the awkward and weightless visuals that completely steal the thunder of the 'threat', a lot of weird and clunky dialogue that made our established characters feel like they must have been replaced by doppelgangers that didn't know how to talk or emote like the real characters that they replaced, and then having to bear the full brunt of the stupid humor returning with the effect of completely deflating anything the episode had going for it...well, suffice to say, I wasn't happy with being done so dirty. Then I decided that I might really put the nail in the coffin here by watching a few more, and to follow it up with Jupiter Jazz parts 1 and 2 only incensed me further. Your mention of Noir is timely, because I was literally thinking that I must be watching Noir all over again during Jupiter Jazz. I cannot understate how much I completely fail to connect in any way with these characters and their piecemeal personal stories that the show randomly decides to go 'serious mode' on every once in a while. It feels completely divorced from the rest of the show and thus rendered meaningless, and so these very few 'serious mode' episodes are the absolute worst because they have zero impact which feels worse than just not having them. For me, personally, this show really needed to be more like the mid-section of Neon Genesis (or the second season of Steven Universe), where the marriage of real story and character development was more deftly married and intertwined with the sillier character and episodic stuff, because as it is right now, this feels like two completely different shows that rather rudely replace the other at a moment's notice, and neither of them seem to work with or without each other...though I would say the sillier stuff at least gets closer, even if I still get a bit annoyed with it. At least with that side of the show, I'm not constantly asking myself "why should I care about this?". What's especially weird to me about all of this is that I don't dislike the characters. In fact, I rather like both Faye and Jet...Spike and Ed not so much, but I didn't particularly dislike either of them, and I'm not really being fair to Ed with how little the show did with her up to the point that I watched. This is one of the rare cases where the show is failing me for reasons other than the characters, and it's failing so bad that I just don't feel like I can keep watching. Structurally speaking, I think there are some similarities with this show to Samurai Champloo, but...I don't know, I feel like that show starts you off on a much better foot, and it gives you both a workable premise and tangible goal that the show kind of herds itself and its characters around/towards, and I think that really helps keep it together and not suffer from the feeling of constant deflation and pointlessness seeping into most aspects of Cowboy Bebop. Also, the main character is a mostly defenseless and yet contrarily rather tactless girl that can't just fight* or smarm her way out of situations all day long like Spike and Faye do in Cowboy Bebop, which for me personally makes for much more interesting ways of handling situations. *If in my entire life I never again have to see a scene where our character gets completely surrounded and outgunned and outmaneuvered and just plain old outmatched - you know, like an impossible situation that would require our character to actually surrender or run or practically consider what is the least worst option, or really just do anything besides repeatedly press their magical "ha ha, I win" button that makes the entire setup and scene completely pointless...it will have been too soon. Even in shows/movies that I like, I really hate that crap: it's the cinematic equivalent of playing Baldur's Gate 2 and having to fight a horde of goblins when you're an epic level character...except instead of taking exactly one spell to wipe the whole lot of them out, it feels like you have to do it in turn-based mode because of how much time is spent on it when it should obviously be over in just seconds.

Cowboy Bebop, episode 11: Toys in the Attic. It's the Alien-ish rip-off episode. Some little creature is sneaking around biting everyone, which isn't killing them, but making them very sick. Also, episodes 12 and 13, Jupiter Jazz, which were main story episodes that start with Faye running off for unexplained reasons, and then episode 14, the chess episode. Now, you're probably wondering why I watched so many episodes in a row given my previous glacially slow rate of watching this. Well, as it happens, I thought I was perhaps doing myself a disservice by watching it so slowly, and that I might enjoy it more if I watched more of it consecutively rather than months apart. It turns out that my thinking was very wrong, because now I don't really want to watch any more of this show at all because I'm pretty certain that I just straight up do not like it due to a number of factors that I could go into...but really, why bother? It henceforth goes into that Princess Mononoke tier where there are obviously many good things about it that should place it well above its peers, but...for some reason, no, it just doesn't come together as a whole for me. In other words, into the trash it goes.

Actually, I'd already seen the 1984 short. I think I watched it shortly after The Shining when I saw Shelley Duvall was in it. Didn't know it got him fired from Disney!

thoughts & prayers rip bozo so long, gay bowser et cetera note to anyone who doesn't know anything about deshaun watson and is wondering why i would be cheering on injuries when that is definitely not something i normally ever do: he's a serial sexual assaulter

GN testing of that unfinished APO/thread-scheduling program @Gfted1 linked to. tl;dr: The efficiency cores don't seem like they should be used as primary threads for gaming workloads, they're not powerful enough and lead to both lower performance and ironically worse power efficiency, and this application seems to rather successfully optimize thread scheduling in order to minimize those issues and get more out of the CPU. Unfortunately, if Intel's explanation for why there are so few models and games supported is true, it also seems like an application they might never get fully off the ground and will probably just end up dropping because of it being too much work to maintain...not unless they figure out some automated way of running games through tests to figure out the best thread-scheduling configurations. Which is certainly possible at some point in the future, but it doesn't seem like that's what they're doing right now. I've never been a huge fan of this idea of CPUs having different/asymmetrical core configurations, especially not with how many threads CPUs have these days, so it is kind of funny to see that Intel's approach here is causing them havoc and leaving unrealized gains on the table. And now AMD has similar issues with its X3D cores...

It's always a marvel to watch films where the filmmakers have actual ideas and put in the effort to flesh out and develop its characters, who are so much more than just your average copy-and-paste cardboard cutout impressions like so many others make, so that they can tell those ideas in a manner that is real and impactful. Even the father character, who by all rights I should hate...I don't, because there are reasons, both explicit and implied, that kind of help explain why he is the way he is, and you have Chie being constantly let down and frustrated and embarrassed by him, but still trying to care for him, trying to help him along in the little ways that she can because she is both clever and loving in her own ways, and so you have what would almost always be just a cheap and annoying character pretty much anywhere else take on depth and even a kind of sympathetic quality. I sometimes forget that it is possible for filmmakers to accomplish this kind of thing (even with animated films over 40 years old set in a time, place, and culture so different from my own!) - probably thanks to the endless deluge of films that don't really try because they expend their run-time on things that are apparently much more important than the foundation that is organically telling your story through your characters, right up until I experience a film like this again. Takahata was somehow consistently able to accomplish this feat, particularly in the films that he wrote or helped write himself...and I can't help but notice that the one film of his that I didn't much like, he has no writing credit for. Of course, I am hugely biased in that I prefer my plots, characters, and themes to be written in a very particular manner...but man, when I look at how Takahata told his stories compared to something like Utena, it feels like a child must have been at the helm of the latter for it to have been the way that it was.

Jarinko Chie AKA Chie the Brat (1981). Well, how's that for a messy poster? I think this is the final Takahata* animated feature I had yet to watch, though it seems to be a bit of an ironic title, as it should really be called (spoilers for just the premise) "Chie Is Very Overwhelmed and Her Life Is a Wreck Because Mom Ran Away and Dad Is a Deadbeat Manchild". (Who the hell makes blurays that are letterboxed on all four sides? Memories was like this, too!) Maybe that was too long, though. Now, from what I understand, the original manga that this is based off of is supposed to be a slice of life-ish comedy, and heck, even the movie's poster would seem to suggest that, but...while there are definitely funny parts, the film is way too hard of a commentary on machismo, broken families, and how children are affected by the behavior/decisions of their parents for it to really qualify as an out-and-out comedy, which I am perfectly fine with because this is Takahata at his best: I loved it. After the film was evidently a success, Takahata would also direct a TV series of Jarinko Chie just a handful of months later as well, which I'll have to check out at some point too. Man, it's tough when you go and watch something to finally get it done with and out of the way, and then it's good so you have to go and check out the other related media. *This also means that the only Takahata film I did not really like was his very first, Prince of the Sun...which is a funny contrast to Satoshi Kon, whose only film I did not really like was his last, Paprika. Weird.

Harmagedon AKA Genma Wars (1983). It's a Madhouse-made film, and I saw a screenshot of this girl's hilarious chin and decided I would check it out. Two hours of good art and animation but completely failing to establish world, plot, characters, stakes, and any reason to care later, I reflected that funny chins are perhaps not the ideal manner in which to select films to watch, especially when a film has dismal ratings on even imdb. Whoops.

Could swear I've talked about the state of The Avengers on here before, but seasons 4, 5, and 6 of The Avengers have been released on blu-ray, while the first three seasons are DVD-only (though I think there may be HD streaming options for season 2-3, but not for season 1 which has apparently been lost). The show was sold to the U.S. ABC by the U.K. ABC after season 3, and it seems as though the U.S. ABC took better care of their masters than did the U.K. ABC.

It very much is. One only needs to visit a Southern state...

Oops, yeah. Well, the original show was released on DVDs at some point, but that's all I know. Wouldn't take much, but I'm already questioning whether the translation to live-action will prove in any way meaningful/beneficial over just...watching the original animated show. Well, besides the fact that the animated show was made in that awkward early 2000s transition to digital period where there will unfortunately never be a real HD version: the first season in particular looks very rough around the edges. I suppose it's largely for people who aren't already fans of the animated show.

I thought there must be an error because I saw Hynden Walch listed as one of the "starring actors", and she's like...right up there with my all-time favorite voice actress for children's cartoons. But no, apparently it was one of a very few live-action roles she has done, and she played Mae Capone. I tried to do a search on YouTube of her and Google images of her playing the part, because I naturally assumed that she would seem absolutely hilarious trying to pass off as Al Capone's wife with how much of a dorky goofball she is, but I didn't see anything. Unsolved Mysteries & In Search of...: The former is going to be easier than the latter because it's been on streaming services like Prime - no such luck for In Search of..., it has only been released on DVDs.

now just hold on, we haven't seen her in the cheerleader outfit yet

edit: I should really not tempt fate edit 2: lmao edit 3: insert bart simpson writing "I will not talk about games before they're over" on chalkboard image edit 4: ok i was right, suck it

Batman (1989). Like a minute into the film, a prostitute grabs the arm of a small boy with the apparent intent of doing business with him, and I burst out laughing, so that was a good way to start the film. More materially, this film is an absolute hot mess, but as far as hot messes go, at least it's a fun one. It's not often you see superhero films, especially first entries, where the psychotic villain gets all the character setup and the hero is relegated to receiving almost no explanation except for a total joke of a romance plot that's mercifully abridged and mostly skipped over because it sucks...but that's Batman for you, sitting around the entire film with that dumb look on his face as the Joker, meanwhile, has the time of his life. I was cheering on the Joker the whole time, and from the way Burton scripted and directed it, I can only assume that was what was intended. Hell, even his attempt to 'woo' the screaming lady was way more compelling than whatever Batman had going on. It's certainly not going to replace Begins as my favored Batman film, though it was fun. The Joker had a parade where he just danced around while tossing money into the crowd for several minutes of run time: the film could've just been an hour of that and it would've been great. Jack Nicholson's Joker...is not really what I would in any way call the definitive Joker, but it sure was a hilarious portrayal.

Do you mean Tokyo Ghoul? Or Tokyo Ghoul:re? Or Tokyo Ghoul: Jack? Or Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto? Or Tokyo Ghoul √A? Just want to make sure I have the right Tokyo Ghoul anime before I go off and have a meltdown. All kidding aside, does anyone know why anime characters sometimes have specifically this kind of eye patch? I am certain that I have seen at least a couple of other random anime characters that I wouldn't be able to name because I have no idea what they're from that have this particular eye patch, and I'm wondering if it's a medical eye patch specific to Japan, or if it really is just some kind of anime thing, because when I try to do cursory searches, I don't seem to see anything quite like it. It looks like a (presumably) poopy diaper with a local but very direct application to your eyeball, and I would have to think that I would much prefer to get just ye olde pirate eye patch instead.

The Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Adventures of Unico (1981). I had to check and make sure that Isao Takahata didn't have a writing credit for this, for multiple reasons. One reason is that it's a really quite good, very cute, and rather lovely children's movie, and the second reason is... I'm all for traumatizing children, but even I have my limits. Premise of the film is that Unico is a magical unicorn whose ability to inspire peace and friendship the gods (who it must be said appear rather Greek in both appearance and disposition) grow so envious of, they first exile and then hunt him wherever he goes. The film is animated by my guys at Madhouse, though I surprisingly did not know that before I watched it.

Both, actually. I watched the Director's Cut version first, but liked the theatrical better. Besides the obvious issue of the Director's Cut having VHS/workprint-quality footage that makes for a rough consistent cinematic experience, probably my single biggest issue with The Exorcist III is that I...just couldn't quite believe Brad Dourif, and the Director's Cut seemed to mainly restore scenes for and focus on him more. Brad Dourif is great, but there's something about him in this role that oozes comedic silliness for me, so his scenes were probably the toughest part of the film, and the Director's Cut adds even more and the quality is just not great. Watching the Director's Cut first may have actually helped the theatrical indirectly in a way, because whatever scenes might have been missing, I could kind of mentally fill in myself if I needed to, and instead it focused on more of what I liked, which was Kinderman and his turmoils. Halloween sucks monkey butt (and I didn't like Little Trouble in Big China, or They Live), but I was being perhaps a little unkind: I did like Assault on Precinct 13. I should watch Starman or Christine next, I'll probably like those.

The Exorcist III (1990). I thought it was a very enjoyable religious horror drama. The quick, razor sharp dialogue between our two old men, Kinderman and Father Dyer, for the first half of the film made for a pretty great character drama that properly sets up the second half and allows the viewer to truly invest in the film, which is a problem I very often seem to have with so-called 'fun' horror films who clearly just don't care and would prefer to film very clumsy/repetitive/cheap stabbing and strangulation scenes completely devoid of any impact. Ahem, Mr. Carpenter. Anyways, George C. Scott gave a seriously great performance in this.

Halloween (1978). Every time I watch another John Carpenter film, it seems more and more of a miracle that I like The Thing so much.

Is it that some adults forget they were ever kids, or is it that some adults never were kids?

I haven't seen that film yet and nor was I aware of its existence until just now, but I'd like to make note here that this is an extremely rare example of a trailer that I liked and actually convinced me to watch the film it was showing. I'm pretty sure I described Fargo as being a "cute, feel-good film" when I watched it for the first time like a year ago, and that really wasn't a joke. Let's see... Well...close enough, .

It's...it's an experience, that's for sure, certainly one I won't forget anytime soon. I hope your avatar was of Kung Fu, because she was great. I also had a strange pre-connection to this film: I've played the Steam indie game House...and which actually straight up stole the theme song from House the film. It was driving me crazy for a little bit as I was watching the film, I just knew that I'd heard that little melody that they start, stop, and restart like a hundred times throughout the film before, and when I finally figured it out, I was like "haha, what a weird coincidence...and that they're called the same thing...and that they look like they share similar-ish premises?". Yeah, uh, little too much to be a coincidence, methinks. I tried to look up what "Love House" was, but there weren't many films that had that name...and then I remembered that I wrote about House the previous post. Whoops.