Lessons I have learned this very evening…
I am now, officially, a lightweight. It has been so ridonkulously long since I actually drank so much as a single beer, that three bottled Guinness Draught imbibed over the course of a 1 hour 54 minute period has caused me to become mildly buzzed.
I am a cause for shame amongst proper Guinness drinking Marines, and I shall hang my head low henceforth.
At least I can console myself with the knowledge that I’m a cheap date.
Too bad I’ve already got my date for the prom…
Second… the movie Battle Royale is one fucked up flick.
No, seriously. I don’t often drop the f-bomb, but I mean, WTF was up with THAT shit?!?
I had long heard about this insane Japanese movie about a normal class of kids trapped on an island by their government, and forced to fight to the death until only one was left alive, to punish them for skipping sch0ol wantonly… but I truly did not believe it was gonna be that over the top.
And this coming from a guy that lived in Okinawa for a year and had a video rental card in town for some straight, real deal non-import anime. That’s where I learned about the movie Silent Möbius, a film I’ve still never personally seen stateside, whose art in 1990-something simply blew me away. Even after all that, I was still not prepared for Battle Royale.
Oh, and why did I watch it?
I blame Netflix. After having a subscription to Netflix for going on four years, I’ve already seen everything I’m even remotely interested in… but I don’t drop it for the sake of yet unreleased stuff. So I’m paying for it… and I’m damn well going to use it. Hence the browsing at random, looking for anything even remotely interesting.
The worst part?
As horrible as that was… it was also so fascinating, so “I cannot believe I am so devoid of taste that I am watching this”, in a total train wreck kind of way, that I watched every minute of it’s 1:54 running length…
And I’m actually considering getting part two on Netflix.
I’d forgotten how much I liked watching a movie in a language foreign to me with subtitles, though. If it was in straight English, I doubt I’d have made it through the first 15 minutes. But subtitles… yummy! It’s just like reading a really great book, but with pictures that move! Neat!
Makes me want to rewatch my copy of Brotherhood of the Wolf.
My idea of a great film with subtitles, is when, halfway through the film, you suddenly think you understand Japanese or French, because you’ve become so caught up in the movie you forgot you were reading the dialogue.
Or maybe I’m the only one that does that.
I swear, halfway through Brotherhood of the Wolf, I totally thought I suddenly could understand the French language. I was even mentally quoting awesome lines of dialogue in my head… that I had read onscreen.
Hey, look! Midnight! Guess I get to be tired tomorrow for work.
It was, in a sad, chilling out, decompressing kind of way, worth it.
Catch you later, mi amigos.
Was it merely over the top or was it truly beyond the impossible?
Beyond the impossible is where entertainment in general and anime in particular do their best. And it’s not just a gratuitous Tenge Toppe Gurren Lagen reference, though that’s a great series, too.
Also: I love Kia Asamiya’s art. Of course, Silent Möbius has its bits of cultural weirdness, too, like a woman named (I am not making this up) Labia. I dunno if the movie ever got released stateside, but a 26-episode TV series made it. I can’t really compare the movie and the series, though. Too long between them.
The part of Battle Royale that really gets to me is the music. The music is so lively and happy. Mixing that with the gruesome visuals does something to my emotions that breaks my sanity.
Les Pacte de Loup is one of my favorite french action films. It makes me want to paint myself in mud.
Guiness also makes me want to paint myself in mud. I dunno why but after about 4 or 5 it seems like a good idea.
Brotherhood of the Wolf has, at least to my opinion, one of the best intro-scenes. You just have to love those leather-coats anaway.
Cheers,
Moo
You are not alone in your “I can understand language ____” when watching subtitles. Actually, we prefer movies with subtitles, for the very reason is that it seems certain connotations or subtle notes are lost when overdubbing films in English for us US watchers. (I share the love for Brotherhood of the Wolf, and plan on re-watching it this weekend, thanks to this reminder!)
And as a 34 yr old married guy with kids, I too must join you in lightweight solidarity. Went out to a wedding party for a younger cousin and had to switch to ginger ale after two beers myself, since I could feel a headache coming on. *le sigh*
I don’t recall when or why I watched Battle Royale, but I did. And now, I’m reliving the memories of various scenes…best friends against each other…kids dying together because they refused to hurt anyone else….so very messed up at times.
For an interesting anime, however, I recommend Tekkonkinkreet. I saw it once and decided to buy it. One of the more unique movies I have seen, but I’m not that well versed in the anime scene anymore. It was good regardless :) Hopefully I didn’t butcher the spelling of it. It’s about two young orphan boys, ruling a city (so they think).
battle royale rocks.
Avoid the sequal though….what a let down.
Lightweight = value for money
Drinking fitness is overrated.
I very rarely watch anything without subtitles, whether it’s a foreign film or The Daily Show. My father went deaf a few years back, so we started going out of our way to find ways to enjoy movies with him. Subtitles and Close Captioning was our answer. We even found some theaters that have limited showings of new releases with captions.
Thing is I use those subtitles. Even when I’m at home with just the wife, those subtitles / close captions are on. Some shows actually are better because of it (Battlestar Galactica has very quiet dialog at times), and I’ve even caught new stuff in movies I’ve seen a half-dozen times.
Oh, and watching the new (live) with close captioning can be damn funny.
“Oh, and watching the new (live) with close captioning can be damn funny.”
Should have been:
“Oh, and watching the NEWS (live) with close captioning can be damn funny.”
Thanks, now I have to watch Brotherhood of the Wolf again. I read the book to Battle Royale way before I saw the movie, and that movie is really as close as you can probably get to the book. Insane is a very good description of it.
Haha I used to watch this film quite regularly with my mates. It was up there with Shaolin Soccer (watch it if you have not seen it!) Slightly sick film but I don’t think anyone could possibly take it seriously. Just don’t wear a necklace…
I believe part of the deal behind Battle Royale was an extreme take on where present society is at/heading. Middle school kids right now act like little assholes so the movie projects that the situation will decline to kids stabbing teachers because they don’t like him.
The Government steps in to take care of this situation with really extreme prejudice. The happy bouncy music and girl giving explanations is an interesting juxtaposition to the deadliness of the situation. I find it interesting to see how the kids reacted to it. Some chose to die together, some chose to run try not to hurt anybody no matter what, and some thrived. I was really rooting for the hackers. I thought they had a good chance.
If you thought that was effed up try watching anything by Takeshi Miike. Visitor Q is about the most awesome, yet disgusting movie ever made. Also the french flick Irreversible I think was banned in the US for a while. However, if you got anything out of Battle Royal you should check out Old Boy. It’s a Korean flick that is on about the same level, but shot extremely well. It’s part of Park Chan Wook’s revenge trilogy (Old Boy, Lady Vengeance, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance). His films are awesome. Avoid Battle Royal 2, it sucks.
Hah! I’ve avoided Battle Royale for a very good reason. but if you want another wacky anime, try Akira. Teddy bears bleeding milk. Yum!
Nobody’s suggested Serial Experiments Lain in the ‘what the hell was that about’ sweepstakes?
Admittedly, it’s not as outright gory (usually) as Battle Royale, but damn is ever weird.
Sad that you enjoyed watching a bad film? Nah… don’t be… Bad movies are the new Good… Spike TV is having a bad movie contest of sorts in the same vein.
I’ve read the Battle Royale books for a long time now, and they are about as messed up as messed up can get, but now that I heard it from you want watched it in movie form…I dunno man. Thats frightening. Though I am a bit nit-picky about the way some people died, I hate it when movies twist moments from my anime/video games of choice. Oh well.
If you’re ever curious, try reading the Battle Royale book. Just a gory as the movie, but I admit the end made me shake my head at the Bruce Springsteen, sigh.