/culture/ - arts & literature

I recently watched A Scanner Darkly and Lascars. The former is about a for-profit, corrupt drug rehab organization taking advantage of a new drug epidemic, while the latter is a French movie about about two guys trying to earn money for a vacation and ending up in shitty situations.
Really wish the west still cared about 2D-animated movies, the only ones who still seem to really appreciate it are the French.
For the record, I thought both were very good.

>>232
I just watched a scanner darkly and quite frankly I didn't like the animation. I don't see the point in animating live action.
>the french
Yeah now that I think of it, most western animations I've seen have been french, if not all.
Here's one that I liked a lot too.

Akira! One of my fav movies of all time, I've rewatched it over & over

>>233
I have to disagree with you. I wasn't overly keen on the animation style the first time around, but I enjoyed it a lot more when I watched it again recently. It really plays into the substance abuse aspect of the plot, because everything looks kind of surrealistic.

Similarly, I watched Ghost in the Shell 2 again the other night and was able to look beyond the animation and enjoy the film. I really disliked the 3D effects, it is outdated and a lot of it - particularly the first 20 mins or so - just looks completely out of place. It starts to look a lot cooler towards the end though.

>>236
I feel the shitty (by today's standards) 3d animation adds to the whole kind of uncanny valley feeling of that film.

>>237
I can sort of see it, particularly in those looping scenes in the second half of the film. I feel as though that period from 1995-2005 had a lot of shitty CGI/3D stuff going on because people realised they could and didn't stop to think if they should.

I think GITS 2 fits into that category, as do many other films, animated or not. I'm not saying it can't be done well - Summer Wars is one film that comes to mind - but to me the ones from that era are just confusing. Take Nausicaa for example. It is probably one of the worst Ghibli films in terms of animation quality, yet it is timeless because they kept it simple to the point where there was nothing that could go wrong, plus they gave it a great aesthetic. It doesn't have to be hyper realistic to avoid being dated, you just don't put stuff in there that isn't perfected.

I watched Your Name/Kimi no Na Wa this week (it just came out on video). It's a must-see. If you don't keep up with anime, it became the #4 movie of all time in Japan, got a Japanese Academy Award for script and music plus a nomination for direction, and has a 98% rating on RT out of 89 reviews.

The premise is that a boy in Tokyo and a girl in a small town start swapping bodies every now and then when they wake up in the morning, but can never remember anything that happens. There is a major twist to the story later and it gets much more serious and complicated. And I'll be damned if this isn't one of the most incredible looking animation movies ever made.

Mark Kermode's four minute review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpwXATNGUsQ

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU47nhruN-Q

I guess most people here would be familiar with this movie, but if you're not then now you are.

Saw Dick Figures: The Movie this week, it's actually pretty great. Sad to see Mondo's only gone downhill since then.

>>241
Just watched it at your suggestion, sushiroll. Thank you.

>>241
Thanks, I just saw it, and I gotta say, I liked it from the start.

>>241
I saw it too thanks to your recommendation. I like it a lot! It could have used a kiss/hug at the end tho :3

This here is a movie about a girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution and living life in Europe as a Muslim. It's very good. Watch it.

>>246
I second this, Persepolis is great. Also you can check the comics if you're into it, the art is very interesting.

>>247
Those two reminded me of Ms. Bitters

>>231
I watched Hana to Alice Satsujin Jiken.
It has some kind of weird mix of 3d and rotoscoping, not the prettiest of sights.
I really liked it though, not sure why but it was just so different from regular movies.

I watched the live action movie from like 2004 after and that was really super good. If anyone is into cinematography you should definitely watch the live action, it's quite strangely filmed.

Also saw Koe no Katachi movie that kyoani did and that was quite good. Their animation style seemed a lot more mature in it than usual. I'd say by kyonai standards the movie was maybe a bit weak but by regular industry standards it's still very good. Maybe I'm just jaded from reading the manga though.

>>259
I adore that / Iwai in general. The internal spaces feel so lived in and cozy, small houses and shops that are lovely messes in their own way.

I recently watched all of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and finished off with the Disappearance. I though it was really great. It took a noticeably more serious and solemn tone and had slightly slower pacing than the series which made it much more emotional. Definitely the greatest part of the entire Haruhi anime series.

>>247
Hey, I did watch Persepolis after your suggestion (I think) I didn't like it, though.
This was a long time ago wow.

>>232
>>233
Any recommendations for french movies?
>>231
Recently watched 5 centimetres per second, really enjoyed it. Character writing left some to be desired imo but it made up for it with atmosphere and hitting a little too close to home.

>>791

I remember watching a rip of the movie when it first came out. Someone shot it in a movie theater or something, but I still got to watch the movie on youtube. I remember that memory very fondly.

There's also an offshoot called "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan". I've never seen it, and it's been so long since I've seen Haruhi. It was one of my first animes.

>>800
>The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
I've actually seen that series, but sadly I didn't find it to be that good. The new Nagato in that series was too clumsy and moe I guess. I liked the version of her in the world of the Disappearance of Haruhi more. While she was shy and nervous, she wasn't nearly as dumb or as irrationally shy as in the spin-off. The best part of the spin-off was the actually the "Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan" arc in episodes 10-13 in which the personality of the old Nagato from the original series comes back for a bit.

>>800
>>801
Yeah the Yuki-chan anime kinda sucked. Sad case because I even watched Haruhi for the first time ever in preparation for it, since it somehow passed me by back when it was actually popular. At least watching all of endless of 8 in one sitting getting progressively more drunk while texting a friend was a fun experience.

Watched Padak. It follows the small society formed in a restaurants fish tank as they try to escape or cope with their eventual death. The film gets pretty depressing as multiple main characters die trying to escape or get served as food, with he implication they're still alive. The CGI animation is a passable telltale games level, but it really shines with the short 2D animated songs. Although the songs are were the film gets somewhat un subtle, the most blatant being the end song that out right states the movies thesis.

The most interesting part about the movie is that it's entire point was to be an anti-fishing, or even vegan, movie yet it isn't over the top in how it expresses those themes, outside the songs. It doesn't come off as patronizing and the movie is fully enjoyable even if you disagree its points.