Movie: "Black Sunday" (1977)

I don`t know how it is in other TSUTAYA stores, but in one near to my house they set "TOP 3 movies" in each genre - and I find it is great! If I watch only what I like to - it finally ends to some pop films with Brangelina or other stuff which is highly promoted..

But this time I chose "Movies about terrorists` plots" (smth. like that) and watched "Black Sunday"(1977) - about terrorists organization who decided to organize big BOOM by setting bomb inside the blimp (I learned new word!) of TV crew which should fly over the stadium during Super Bowl in January.

Interesting plot, people of different nationalities in movie who speaks with different English accents .

This time America is saved by Mr.Kabakov (wow!) - he is Russian roots Jew, I supposed, played by Robert Shaw... Story as whole and ending resemble vintage "James Bond" but of good quality - without james bond-like fancy stuff - it is more about politics, motivations of terrorism. Actually actors playing terrorists - Bruce Dern (he is brilliant!) and Marthe Keller - and their story line (reasons why they do it, their passion) is much more interesting than final scene of blimp over the stadium - which is I guess supposed to be one of most impressive in the film of this category.

Movie: "Golden Slumber" (2010)

Finally I have day-off (after so busy week) and today I don`t have to meet anybody, so I decided to devote Sunday to watching movie at home. This time it is Japanese film - story was written by famous detective mystery novelist Kotaro Isaka.
I read his other novel "Foreign Duck, Native Duck Coin-locker" before and found it quite interesting (there was also movie).
This time it was a bit unrealistic story of assassination of Japanese Prime Minister and how intelligent agency uses innocent guy to show him as assassin to the nation, and how this poor guy first run from them and finally escaped with the help of friends and some tricky stuff (uff....shitty explanation - so you`d better to watch it than trying to understand my English)...
Anyhow, plot is intriguing and plus- the story is depicted in Sendai (as I know, in his all novels
Isaka depicts his native town Sendai) - town where I studied for about 1 year and it was so nostalgic to see all the places, city landmarks, Sendai station surroundings in the movie (I even found model girl from my Sendai agency in the movie playing waitress!)...
Another point is that Isaka always chose one song for his each novel and this song becomes leading motif that fills each page of the novel. In "Foreign Duck, Native Duck Coin-locker" it was "Blowin` in the Wind" by Bob Dylan, this time "Beatles" song...

Movie: "Grave of the Fireflies" ("Hotaru-no-Haka")(1988)

The most dark anime of Studio Ghibli... Crying for the whole 2 hours of watching is guaranteed.

Very tearful story about war and children whose mother died during bombing and who have to live by themselves among world of adults...

More than cruelty of war you are shocked by cruelty of all those people surrounding two children. As for me, it is always really hard to watch the movies where suffering children is described...

Movie: "Andrei Rublev" (1966)

"Andrei Rublev" is film directed by brilliant Russian director Andrey Tarkovsky - old and classic Russian film I wanted to watch long ago, but did not have time to and finally went to Tsutaya and borrowed this two VHS.
Andrei Rublev is the name of legendary icon painter who lived in XV century and became saint after his death. XV century in Russia is time when Tartar nomadic tribes occupied country and endless wars between feudal lords occurred throughout its territory...Film describes this historical time but also it shows figure of icon painter - man devoted to God and Art, and themes of meaning of faith and art became main motifs of the movie...
What is religion for? What the purpose of art? Andrei is monk and he paints icons - St.Maria, Christ, angels - as believes in kindness and love between people. But he sees the horrors of war - brother kills brother, people seems forgot what they believed from IX century when Christianity came to Russia from Byzantium...
In second part of the film - the whole process of making church bell is depicted. The moment when people for the first time toll just made bell is breathtaking.....Maybe foreign viewer sees beauty scene in this, but for Russian it is something more - in this bell, it`s sound and how people react..I watched and although in my life I have never gone to church service I felt like - here it is -something that a lot of us forgot but that remained something deep inside like memory of times.

After revolution religion in any form was forbidden in new Russia. Some churches were destructed, in others restaurants and other entertainment facilities were set up. It was permitted to write about Christianity only in negative tone. Artist who like Tarkovsky touched upon the question of religion and self-idenfication of Russian nation were either ignored or even forbidden... In 20 years I did not see any of his films (so popular and high accepted abroad) being shown on Russian TV. Only abroad first I knew about him and his works.
When in 90s Soviet economic and political system crashed down, we suddenly realised that we lost our cultural values and heritage also after so many years of living under ideology and inner terror...Only now we are beginning to return to roots, reconstructing and building from zero churches destroyed 70 years ago.. Without "pravoslavie" (Russian orthodox Christianity), without knowing our history in its full volume and not-deformed form, I believe, Russians could not exist as nation...
This film appeared in far 1966 year make me think about such things today and feel that we still have so much in common with time described.

Here is one of the most famous icon by Andrei Rublev "Trinity"

Movie: "AVATAR" (2009)

Good fairy-tale of 21st century (in my childhood I was so impressed by all that clay monsters - just remember "Clash of the Titans" of 1981) and look at this - great! We thought "The Lord of the Rings"is apotheosis of CG movie...No, Avatar did all that frodos and company.

Liked: Sigourney Weaver, who was at the beginning of this sort of movies starring in "Alien", was offered to play blue monster in this movie in 2009 - liked the fact itself. Liked main heroine - her facial expressions and gestures are truly alive (beautiful and wild - Pocahontas of SF movie as my friend said). Also monsters appearing in this film are something - each of them is mixture of animal, bird and exotic insect in one...
Didn't like: but if you imagine it all played by old clay monsters of 80s, you`ll find that the plot itself is very typical, very-very typical for Hollywood movies (I think TITANIC by the same director James Cameron made viewers feel more strong feelings and made think more, than his new work).
Nevertheless, remember - don`t kill fluorescent insects - they may be sacred spirits!

Movie: "Seven Samurai" (1954)

It is 8:30 now and I finished watching film directed by Akira Kurosawa "Seven Samurai" ("Shichinin-no-samurai"). Actually in my tiny native town in Russia - Arsenyev - every junior school student knows the name of this Japanese director, as here in 1973 he shot his then Oscar-nominated film "Dersu Uzala" ...

" Seven samurai" is truely good movie - good movie about real men, bravery and fate of heroes....

Although it is black-and-white, the video scenes are very beautiful (especially final battle scene under rain is so emotional), and it feels full of color and strong emotions. Main hero - Kikuchi (actor Toshiro Mifune) is one of the best heroes in Japanese cinematography - wild at one side, but sensitive at another... Great movie! Nothing else to say :)