Movies I Watched in March 2020

Date: 3/1/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime
Rewatch

Note: I'm watching various types of anime for March for a Letterboxd Challenge. You can view it here at letterboxd.com/hellspawn28/list/anime-marches-on-2020/

I decided to kick off March with this movie because it's been ages since I have seen this movie. I first remember seeing this movie on TV back in the late 90s on the Sci-Fi channel when I was a kid. After seeing this movie many years later, I still enjoy this movie a lot.

The animation is fantastic and still looks very good after 35 years later. The story is a lot of fun and I really enjoy the deeper philosophical issues that the movie deals with. My favorite thing about this movie is the oniric atmosphere that this movie has because the art direction does a great job on capturing the surrealism of this movie.

I think the biggest issue of this movie is that the movie does not stand on its own. It helps that you seen the show or read the manga because you do need to have some knowledge of the show and its characters.

Overall, Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer is a great movie. I do recommend checking out the series first before you see the movie (Viz Media has released the manga up to Volume 5 as of March 1, 2020).

Date: 3/2/2020
Viewed: Shudder
First viewing

Note: I decided to watch this movie on Shudder because it looks like a fun movie to watch. I thought it was not a bad movie for the most part. The movie was like a slasher version of The Hunger Games and I would rather watch this movie again than any of The Hunger Games movies.

While the movie has a paper-thin plot with bland characters, I still thought it was still entertaining. I enjoy the violent kills that this movie has because they are done with practical effects. I take practical blood and gore over CGI blood any day. The atmosphere and cinematography in this movie were pretty good as well.

I do wish the movie had a stronger narrative because the movie could have been very good if the writing was not so thin. I'm glad that this movie is a short movie to watch because the movie does not overstay its welcome.

Overall, The Furies is a fun slasher movie despite the flaws that this movie has.

Date: 3/3/2020
Viewed: Re-watch
Blu-Ray

Note: I haven't seen this anime in years and I had the Blu-ray of this movie sitting on my shelf for over 3 years now. So I decided to rewatch this movie and the movie still holds up very well. The animation is fantastic for a movie that is almost 25 years old. The freeze-frame artwork from Osamu Dezaki is also very cool even though it can be a bit repetitive at times.

The story is very good and fascinating to sit through. For a movie that is 90s minutes long, the story goes by pretty quickly in a good way. There's not a single boring moment in this movie at all in my opinion. Black Jack himself is a very cool character that helps out innocent sick people because he wants too and refuses to work for big corporations.

I also love how the movie deals with themes such as human potential and preserving. Without going into spoilers, the movie does make you think on who was really the antagonist or not of the story. The biggest issue with this movie that is not the best introduction to the Black Jack series. It does help that you have some knowledge on the series before you watching it.

Overall, The Black Jack movie is a solid film. I do recommend watching The Black Jack OVAs series from the 90s or read the manga before watching this movie.

Date: 3/4/2020
Viewed: First viewing
Blu-Ray

Note: I was quite eager to check out this movie because I always hear controversial things from Marian Dora (I only seen one of his movies). Not to mention, it was on sale on Diabolikdvd, and I was like "Why not? This could be cool". The movie was very interesting and I enjoy watching it. With most extreme cinema movies, you can't help to be glued to the screen because you are so intrigued by the graphic content. Sometimes our curiosity wants to see the weird and violent movies that go towards the darker side of humanity and see how far they push the bar.

The story is pretty interesting because you see a normal everyday person that suffers from cancer and see his life go out of control. I wish the narrative in this movie was a bit stronger because the story is pretty simple and most of the characters are forgettable. The movie is excruciatingly well-shot and the special effects are great. I do like how this movie does have substance to it and is not shocking just to be shocking.

The movie shows what can happen when someone is not getting any treatment for their illness (Even though it is portrayed in an exaggerated manner). Marian Dora and the special effects crew did a great job on making the blood, gore, and the other nasty stuff in this movie looking very realistic. The cinematography is also fantastic because the movie looks and feels very artsy at times. My biggest issue with this movie is that I started to lose interest with the story during halfway through the movie. Some scenes in this movie become so repetitive that is rather boring at times.

Overall, Carcinoma is a pretty good movie and I can see myself watching it again in the near future. I only recommend it for people who are brave enough to sit through extreme graphic content.

Date: 3/6/2020
Viewed: DVD (Redbox Rental)
First viewing

Note: I decided to rent this movie from my local Red Box because Nicolas Cage has been in very good movies in the last couple of years. Not to mention, the premise of this movie sounds awesome (Nic Cage vs. Wild Animals and Terrorist. What can go wrong?). Sadly, the movie didn't live up to the cool premise.

The acting was bad and all the characters in this movie sucked. None of the characters are likable and the story is super predictable. A movie with a fun premise should not be boring. I looked at my phone multiple times when watching this movie because this movie has very little to offer. The special effects in this movie were bad because most of the animals in this movie looked super fake. I haven't seen CGI animals look this bad since 10,000 BC (2008) in my opinion.

I enjoy dumb bad movies as the next guy, but it's hard to enjoy a bad dumb movie if the movie is boring. The best thing about this movie is that you have some cool death scenes and Nicolas Cage is over the top as always. I also like that this movie is short to watch because it ended quickly.

Overall, Primal is not a good movie and I recommend not watching it. You are better off watching something else instead.

Date: 3/7/2020
Viewed: Re-watch
Blu-Ray

Note: I haven't seen this anime since I was a senior in High School (2008) and the movie still holds up very well. This movie is a great example of not judging a book by its cover because most people would be turned off by the art style. The movie has a unique art style and awesome camera angles. For a movie that is almost 15 years old, the animation still looks fantastic and still feels pretty new in my opinion.

I also love the story because it's a dark and serious story that deals with over crime rate, big governments and the flaws of capitalism. They did a fantastic job of developing the characters because you feel a great emotional connection with them. All the characters are memorable and have wonderful personalities. For a serious movie, you still get lighthearted moments of friendship and family. The only thing that I didn't like about this movie was the low repercussions in the story.

Overall, Tekkonkinkreet is a great movie and is worth checking out if you enjoy mature anime or experimental animated movies.

Date: 3/7/2020
Viewed: Youtube
First viewing

Note: I remember hearing about this movie when it came out back in 2006, but never saw it until now. I'm glad that I saw this movie because I really enjoy it. I thought this movie was well-directed, acted, and very well-paced. The movie went by quickly in a good way because the story kept me entertained. I like how all the characters in this movie feel very realistic because they feel like the characters that you would know in real life. Thomas Turgoose and the other actors in this movie do a fantastic job on acting and making everyone feeling believable.

I love the movie's message on what happens when you join the wrong group of people. The message is still relevant in today's world because you still have kids and teens (even adults) joining the alt-right/neo-nazis groups. I guess the only thing that I didn't like about the movie was the ending was a bit predictable. That's about it really.

Overall, This Is England is a fantastic movie and I highly recommend watching it if you never have seen it before.

Date: 3/8/2020
Viewed: Re-watch
Blu-Ray

Note: For International Women's Day, I decided to revisit this movie because it's in my top 100 favorite movies. This movie is still a masterpiece from start to finish in my opinion. The movie has fantastic lighting and visuals because the movie feels like a mix between an Italian Horror Movie and a movie from Suzuki Seijun. The music from Shunsuke Kikuchi (Dragon Ball/Z) is also fantastic too. His music in the movie is super iconic and timeless that I can't help to love it.

The story is great because the movie shows us the violent, cruel, and sadistic world that we live in. This movie shows us the atrocities that men inflicted on women in reality. The police and the criminal justice system abuse their power on people and have them suffer in jail when not all of them are bad people.

Nami Matsushima is a great female character in my opinion because she never gives up after being abused to death. Every time, she gets back down, she always comes back up and kicks major ass. It's awesome seeing her get revenge on the people who made her suffer during the movie. It's a shame that she gets overlooked when it comes to feminist movie characters.

The movie does have a lot of violent and disturbing moments that work very well with the movie. This movie is not just being shocking and edgy just be cool and shocking. The graphic content is suited for the themes of the story and the movie won't be as good without it.

Overall, Female Prisoner: #701: Scorpion is a fantastic movie and is more than just a violent exploitation movie. Not everyone will like this movie, but I do recommend it if you are into Japanese cinema or Grindhouse movies.

Date: 3/9/2020
Viewed: Re-watch
Blu-Ray

Note: I decided to rewatch this movie for the 95th anniversary and this movie is still awesome. The version that I watched is the complete version of the movie (110 minutes) and it adds scenes that I never saw before growing up. I always grew up with the one-hour version that existed for decades in the public domain and this version of the movie released in 2017 is the best reconstruction of the movie (This is the version that people saw in the cinema back in 1925).

This version has a better story because the original version cuts out a lot of the character interactions and development. The movie has a lot of fun characters that are memorable in my opinion. I also love the atmosphere that this movie has because you really feel like you are in the jungle with these characters. The best thing about this movie is the special effects because they are awesome for a movie that is almost 100 years old.

This movie is one of the first movies to use stop motion animation in a live-action movie and it's amazing how they were able to pull it off at the time. All the dinosaurs in this movie are awesome and are pretty scary for 1925 standers. This movie even has scenes of blood and I don't think any movie at the time has scenes of gore in it.

It must be amazing watching this movie on the big screen back in 1925 because it was nothing that the audience has seen before then. The only thing that I felt like that has not aged well in this movie was the blackface make up. Blackface will always be bad and cringy no matter how old the movie is.

Overall, The Lost World (1925) is a great cinematic achievement and it is worth checking out. We would never have King Kong, Godzilla, and Jurassic Park without this movie.

Date: 3/12/2020
Viewed: First viewing
Blu-Ray

Note: I remember when this anime came out in 2011-2012 and never saw it until recently. It took me a while to find a copy of this movie because the movie recently went out of print. People seem to be divisive about this movie, but I really enjoy it. I really wish that I saw this movie sooner than later.

The animation and the artistic direction with this movie are fantastic. I love how everything looks because this movie feels so breathtaking. This movie sucks you into the movie's atmosphere with amazing visuals. I could watch a single scene in the movie paused and just stare at it for days. I also love the world-building that they created for the movie. Makoto Shinkai did a fantastic job of creating a very cool world that is set in the bottom of the Earth because I love all the awesome scenery and character designs that he created for the movie.

The movie has some pretty bloody scenes for a family movie, and I don't consider that to be a bad thing (Almost reminds me of the violence that you would find in the 70s & 80s family films). I see people criticize this movie for being too much like a Ghibli movie, but I still feel like this movie is still different from most movies from Ghibli. After all, great minds think alike ;).

The story is also very good in my opinion because I like all the characters and the themes that this movie has. I enjoy the themes of life & death and the loneliness of human beings that this movie has because they are themes that most people can relate too when watching this movie. The only thing that I didn't like about this movie that the movie really started to drag during the last 10-15 minutes of the movie.

Overall, Children Who Chase Lost Voices is a very good movie and I highly recommend checking it out. I still consider Your Name to be Makoto Shinkai's best movie that I've seen from him so far.

Date: 3/13/2020
Viewed: In theaters
Blu-Ray

Note: I didn't plan on seeing this movie at first because modern remakes of HG Wells's works never turn out well. As seen with Island of Doctor Moreau (1996), The Time Machine (2002), and War of the Worlds (2005). After hearing good things about this movie, I decided to see it in theaters and I end up liking it a lot.

I love how suspenseful the movie because the movie really had me on the edge of my seat on what will happen next. The movie did a good job of creating a good cast of characters because they were pretty likable in my opinion. I also like how the movie deals with themes of abusive relationships and how some women can easily be manipulated. It felt refreshing to see a mainstream horror movie dealing with those subject matters.

The only thing that I didn't like about the movie is that some jumps scares felt a bit too predictable at times. Overall, The Invisible is a solid remake and it is worth checking out.

Date: 3/14/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
First viewing

Note: I have been looking forward to this movie for the past year now because I really enjoy Deathgasm (2015). Not to mention, I thought the trailer and the premise looked really cool. While this movie does have some really cool moments, the movie could have been much better though.

The story is nothing great, but I still thought the movie was pretty entertaining. The movie is violent, over the top, and does not take itself too seriously. I also like the performances from Daniel Radcliffe, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Samara Weaving. All the actors did a good job in their roles in my opinion. I also like that the movie is 95 minutes and knows not to overstay its welcome.

The worst thing about this movie is that it didn't live up to its premise. This movie has everything that I would love in an over the top, violent, and self-aware movie, but it fails to deliver on what makes the over the top, and violent movies such as Crank 1-2, Deadpool 1-2, and even Deathgasm has. Those movies know what they are trying to be, and have substance with their violence. This movie tries too hard to be funny, and be a splatter film at the same time. I found myself getting bored halfway through the movie because the action and gore were getting stale for me.

Most of the jokes in this movie are not funny at all because they are pretty cringy at times. The movie also has awful color palettes ripped from Suicide Squad, terrible editing, and annoying camera angles. I swear the editing and the jumps cuts in this movie gives me a headache when watching this movie.

Overall, Guns Akimbo was a disappointment for me because I really wanted to love it. This movie had so much potential to be awesome, but sadly it wasn't. I don't think Guns Akimbo is a bad movie, but I do consider renting it at your Red Box before buying it.

Date: 3/16/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
First viewing

Note: I decided to check out this movie after hearing great things about this movie. After watching this movie, my stomach is still in my mouth. This movie was fantastic and a great underrated gem of the 2010s in my opinion.

This movie was disturbing done the right way because everything felt so grounded in our world. All the graphic violence in this movie is done right because they are not trying to be shocking just for shock factor. The movie is heart-pounding in the best way because the movie is filled with so many twists and turns. I found my jaw dropping on the floor during certain scenes in this movie because it was so intense.

It's hard to talk more about this movie without spoiling the film. This is a movie that you have to watch without knowing anything about the movie. I don't think I have seen a found footage movie this awesome since Cannibal Holocaust (1980) in my opinion.

Overall, A Record of Sweet Murder is a fantastic movie and I highly recommend watching it

Date: 3/17/2020
Viewed: Starz
Re-Watch

Note: I decided to rewatch this movie because it was on Starz and I haven't seen it since it came out in theaters. Not to mention, I was bored with nothing else to do. My opinion is still the same back in 2011. I thought the movie was meh back then and I still think it's meh now.

The movie has pretty good special effects, but Seth Rogen was not the best choice for the Green Hornet. Seth Rogen is playing the same character that he always plays in dozens of other movies and not the iconic pulp era superhero. At least the other actors did a good job with their roles for the most part.

The biggest issue with this movie is that the story is super predictable and the characters are paper-thin. Not to mention, some of the jokes are not even funny at all. You don't really care what is going on in the story at all.

Overall, The Green Hornet is still a mediocre movie at best. Don't watch this movie unless you're super curious.

Date: 3/18/2020
Viewed: Netflix
First viewing

Note: I have looked forward to watching this movie for a while now because I'm a huge Masaaki Yuasa fan. I finally got the chance to watch it because it's now on Netflix (As of March 18, 2020). I do feel like it's Yuasa's weakest work, but I still enjoy it.

The animation is fantastic and Yuasa's artistic direction is wonderful as always. I did like the story and characters in this movie because you care about the characters and I like the general theme of how we influenced the lives of other people. My biggest issue with this movie is that it didn't leave a huge impact on me like Kaiba, Tatami Galaxi, Ping-Pong the Animation, Devilman: Crybaby, etc. did.

After the movie was over, I was like "That was pretty good". His other anime always blow me away and keep me thinking after watching them. I'm not saying this movie is bad, it just didn't do much for me.

Overall, Lu Over the Wall is still a good movie with amazing visuals and it is worth checking out if you enjoy experimental animated movies.

Date: 3/20/2020
Viewed: Tubi
First viewing

Note: I remember hearing about this movie when it came out in 2014-2015, but I never saw it until now. I went into this movie without knowing anything and I end up really liking this movie. This is a great slow burn horror movie that does not overstay its welcome because this movie only runs at 95 minutes. The movie has a great creepy atmosphere and it really had me on the edge of my seat. This movie didn't bore me at all because I thought the story was very interesting and it definitely paid off in the end.

This movie was pretty disturbing at times because of the gross scenes in this movie felt pretty realistic. It's hard to talk about the rest of this movie without spoiling the movie. This is a movie that I recommend watching without knowing anything about it.

Overall, Goodnight Mommy is a solid movie and it is worth checking out.

Date: 3/20/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime
First viewing

Note: A super entertaining documentary on what happened with the 90s Island of Dr. Moreau remake. Richard Stanley is a great director with an artistic vision and it's a shame to see what happened to him when working on the movie. The studio didn't seem to trust him on doing a big-budget movie and the movie turn out to be a total train wreck. This movie also broke him, and he won't do a new movie until 2020 (Color Out of Space). I wish we would have got the hard R Island of Dr. Moreau movie because Richard Stanley would have directed more movies after 1996 without a 23-24 year break

This is a great documentary that is worth checking out.

Date: 3/22/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
First viewing

Note: I totally forgot that this movie exists until recently. I was looking forward to watching this movie because it's from Michael Mann and Michael Mann has directed a few movies that I really enjoy such as The Keep (1983), Manhunter (1986), Heat (1995), and Collateral (2004). Sadly, this movie didn't live up to his older films in my opinion.

This movie was a chore for me to finish because it felt like it went on forever. It was hard for me not to fall asleep during the movie because this movie is boring. I didn't care about anyone in this movie because none of the characters click on me. I also found the story to be uninteresting because I have seen this plot done before in other movies. This whole movie feels like a TV movie with a bigger budget because the structure of the movie feels like one long episode of CSI or Intelligence. That may be a good thing for some people, but not for me.

The best thing about this movie is that it has nice production values and good acting. Overall, Blackhat is an average movie at best and I don't recommend watching it unless you have nothing else to watch on a rainy day.

Date: 3/22/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
First viewing

Note: I have always been curious to check out this movie for the last few years because it looks like a good movie to watch. I went into this movie blind without knowing anything about this movie and I really enjoy it.

The story is nothing original and the villains in this movie are cliché, but the movie still has a good cast of characters. The main cast of characters has fun personalities to them and you care about them in the story. My favorite thing about the movie is how they switch between the dreams of the main character and the real world. I thought the magical steampunk world that exists in the dreams of the main character was way more interesting than the rest of the movie.

The animation in this movie is fantastic because everything is very pretty to look at. This movie has a style that reminds me of movies from Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai and Summer Wars). The worst part about the movie is that the last act went on for way too long. This movie did not need to be almost 2 hours long. I also find it ironic that this movie takes place in 2020 before the 2020 Japanese Olympics happens. Watching it for the first time now made say "Wow parts of this movie did not age well".

Overall, Napping Princess is a fun anime movie for kids & families to watch. It's not perfect or original, but I still had a lot of fun watching it. I can see myself revisiting this movie in the near future.

Date: 3/23/2020
Viewed: Starz
First viewing

Note: I decided to watch this movie because it was raining and I haven't seen it in ages. This movie is dumb, but I still enjoy it for what it is. The movie has bad laughable dialogue and poorly written characters, but the movie is still a lot of fun to watch. You still get Chuck Norris wearing a trench coat and shooting up bad guys long before it was cool with The Matrix and The Boondock Saints. The action scenes in this movie are pretty awesome and the movie has some cool gory moments as well.

There's not much else to say about this movie because it's a Chuck Norris movie. You get what you expect with this movie. Check it out if you enjoy fun bad movies.

Date: 3/24/2020
Viewed: DVD
Re-Watch

Note: Most anime fans these days seem to hate this anime probably because most of them are not into grindhouse movies. For me, this anime never gets old. This anime is a nonstop thrill ride from start to finish.

This anime has everything that you could want in a cheesy anime from the late '80s and early '90s. Violence, blood, guts, sex, cheesy voice acting and badass characters. There's so much so over the top violence, gore, sex that it comes off hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

Sleepy aka Mad Bull is probably the coolest cop in any anime that I've seen. He is like if John McClane and Machete fuse into one. The last episode was surprisingly good and it took me by surprise. The animation is not bad for an old anime, but it could have looked better in my opinion. The music was pretty good because it fits with the tone that this anime is going for.

If you like grindhouse movies, cheesy action movies from the '80s, old school violent anime or an anime that you want to watch for mindless fun, I would recommend you check Mad Bull 34. This is not a good anime, by all means, you have to watch this anime knowing that it's going to be trashy fun.

Date: 3/24/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
First viewing

Note: I wanted to see this movie when it came out but never did because I was busy with college at the time and I always hear mixed things about this movie over the years. After finally watching it nearly 5 years later, I really enjoy it. I don't think it's Guillermo del Toro's best movie, but probably his most underrated in my opinion.

The visual and production values in this movie are amazing. This movie is very beautiful to look at. The movie almost feels like a classic Mario Bava movie when watching this movie. I also love the atmosphere in this movie because it's so brooding. The movie also didn't have dumb jump scares because I can't stand overuse of jump scares in modern-day horror movies.

The story was pretty good and the acting was solid. Even though some scenes in this movie were predictable, I still thought the story in this movie was fascinating and it keeps me curious about what will happen next.

Overall, Crimson Peak is a very good movie and it is worth checking out.

Date: 3/25/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: Nearly 35 years later and this movie is still awesome. I loved this movie ever since I first saw it on Sci-Fi or TNT (I don't remember which one) when I was a kid in the mid-late 90s.

I already talked about this movie a bit in the 2018 31 Days of Horror list and I don't want to repeat myself. It's a crazy thrill ride of ultra violence, dark comedy, and horror. Go watch it if you haven't seen it already.

RIP Stuart Gordon

Date: 3/26/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: This anime movie is still just as badass as I remember it. I still have fond memories of me watching this movie on VHS with my friends when I was a kid, and we were blown away by the ultra-violence in this movie. Watching this movie on Blu-Ray makes the movie feel even more awesome.

The animation still looks pretty good for a movie that was released almost 35 years ago. The action scenes are still awesome and over the top as always. This movie has the same level of ultra-violence from the manga which is something that was lacking in the anime TV series. However, I always hate how they blurred out several scenes of the blood & gore in this movie because it's rather annoying at times. It would be nice to see those scenes without them being so blurry.

The story is not meant to be a full adaption of the manga and it is meant to be an introduction to the series for people who haven't read the manga or watch the anime. The movie covers the first 70ish chapters of the manga when both the manga and anime was still being written and airing at the time. The movie does cut out some important characters and scenes from the series, but that is expected for a movie that is nearly 2 hours long. The movie is also not meant to have any conclusion, so don't expect a proper ending if you watch this movie.

Despite the story being an abridged adaption, you still get many good character moments in the story. The movie has great themes of anti-war and standing up for yourself against evil & big governments. I also love the virtuous and evil themes that Kenshiro deals with during his journey in the movie. I also recommend watching the movie subbed and not dubbed because the dub is not very well translated. The dub makes the story even more confusing.

Overall, Fist of the North Star is a great brutal action animated movie that is worth checking out. If you enjoy the movie and want more, read the manga and watch the anime.

Date: 3/27/2020
Viewed: Youtube
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen this movie in almost 15 years and this movie still holds up very well. This movie is a great horror thriller movie from start to finish.

I love the atmosphere that this movie has because it really feels creepy and chilling at times. The movie really has you on the edge of your seat on what is going to happen next because there's a lot of suspenseful moments in the movie. I also love Rutger Hauer's menacing performance because he is very creepy in the movie. Rutger Hauer's character almost feels like a slasher horror movie villain
in my opinion. The movie's run time is also perfect because a 97-minute runtime is perfect for this movie. I can't imagine this movie going on any longer.

Most people don't like the ending, but I do like the ending. I'm someone who enjoys an ambiguous ending which allows the viewer to interpreted things in the movie. Overall, The Hitcher is a great horror thriller movie that is worth checking out.

Date: 3/28/2020
Viewed: DVD
Re-Watch

Note: I remember seeing this movie in my film class in 2013 at my Community College and haven't seen it since then. I was in the mood to revisit this movie and pick up the DVD a while ago at my Good Will Store. After re-watching it again several years later, I really enjoy this movie even more on a second viewing.

The art-design and stop motion animation in this movie is fantastic because all the character movements look superb. I like how they pull off the facial expressions with the characters in the movie when you see them talking. It almost gives the characters a realistic vibe to their faces when they're interacting with each other. This movie having stop motion makes the movie feels unique because I haven't seen many adult stop motion films done in this style other than Mary and Max (2009) and Anomalisa (2015).

The story and characters in this movie are fantastic in my opinion. Most adult animation outside of Japan gets a bad rep for trying too hard by being inappropriate to the max with so much sex, gross-out humor, and violence. $9.99 is nothing like that at all because this movie has actual mature themes and characters that are mature. This movie deals with a lot of themes such as growing up as an adult, questioning our faith in God, and human communication. This movie does a fantastic job of exploring themes without coming off as immature or pandering to the audience.

I love every character in this movie because they feel relatable for all the personal stuff that they go through. The Angel in this movie is probably my favorite character in the movie because he has a fun personality and a good sense of humor. I can't think anything else wrong with this movie is that I wish it was a bit longer. I won't have minded if this movie ran for another 10-15 minutes because I love all the characters that this movie has.

Overall, $9.99 is a fantastic adult animated movie and it is worth checking out if you never saw it.

Date: 3/29/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
First viewing

Note: I always wanted to check out this movie for a while now since 2017 because I always hear great things about this movie. I almost saw it last year for my Italian film class, but I missed out on it. So I decided to finally watch this movie by renting it on Amazon Prime. I really enjoy this movie for the most part.

The movie is very well-directed and the acting is great. I do like all the characters in this film because they are likable and you can feel a strong connection with them. I love the romance between Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer) because they have fantastic chemistry with each other. I also like that the movie was not super predictable and had some nice surprises that I didn't see coming.

The only thing that I didn't like about this movie is the pacing. The movie is over 2 hours long and the movie did have a slow start for me. It took me a while to get invested in the story when watching the movie. Once I got invested in the story (Which was 30 minutes into the movie), the movie really started to kick off.

Overall, Call Me by Your Name is a very good movie and it is worth checking out. I would like to revisit this movie again soon in the near future.

Date: 3/29/2020
Viewed: TubiTV
Re-Watch

Note: I remember seeing this movie on late-night TV when I was really little because I would love to stay up late and find strange movies during the graveyard shift hours. After watching this movie again in nearly 25 years later, I still enjoy this movie.

I like how atmospheric this movie feels because this movie is pretty surreal. The movie is pretty surreal at times because they are able to use both animated and live-action footage mixed into each other. The live-action footage has that shot on video feel to it that I love in most older movies from the 80s. The story and characters in this movie are pretty basic, but I do like that this movie has a pretty good social commentary on racial and cultural differences.

The worst thing about the movie is that the movie is way too long. The movie should not be 105 minutes when the movie's story could work just fine under 90s minutes. The English voice acting is alright for late 80s standers. This movie along with Akira was one of the earliest anime that was dubbed by Streamline Pictures back in the day.

Overall, Twilight of the Cockroaches is a fun little gem. It's not perfect, but it is worth a watch if you're curious.

Date: 3/30/2020
Viewed: DVD
First viewing

Note: I always wanted to see this movie for a while now because it looks like a cool movie. I also had many people recommend this movie to me for the last few years because they told me that this movie is up in my alley. Not to mention, I do enjoy movies from Todd Sheets for the most part. After watching this movie, I end up loving it.

This movie is a nonstop thrill ride of blood and gore from start to finish. There's not a single boring moment in this movie in my opinion. The practical effects and the atmosphere in this movie is fantastic. All the blood, gore and the makeup in this movie are so authentic looking. I haven't seen blood and gore in a movie that looks so good in a long time. It's amazing how a low-budget indie movie can have amazing special effects meanwhile big-budget mainstream Hollywood movies always use boring CG blood and gore.

The movie also has awesome synth music and kick-ass cinematography too. This whole movie feels like a classic low-budget 1980s horror movie made in the 2010s. I also enjoy the story and characters in this movie even though the story is pretty basic and some characters are forgettable. The only thing that I didn't like about this movie is that it did have a slow start. It took almost a half-hour for anything to happen. After 25 minutes into the movie, this movie started to become a crazy roller coaster ride.

Overall, Dreaming Purple Neon is a great trashy movie and a great throwback to 80s horror movies as well. This movie is Todd Sheet's best movie yet. I do recommend it if you are into extreme gory movies.

Date: 3/31/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
First viewing

Note: I decided to check out this movie because I thought it looked interesting. I'm glad that I went into this movie blind because I end up really liking it.

I didn't know that this movie was going to have rotoscoped animation which is awesome. I love rotoscoped animation such as A Scanner Darkly (2006) and Flowers of Evil (2013). The animation in this movie was fantastic because they did a wonderful job of rotoscoping the environment and actors in the movie. I also love how the characters look like anime characters while still having a realistic feeling to them.

The story and characters in this film are fantastic because there's a really strong friendship between Hana and Alice in the movie. They did a wonderful job of creating believable character interactions by having the characters interact naturally with each other. I was also unaware that this movie is a prequel to a 2004 live-action movie after I watched this movie. I understand the story just fine and I think everyone else would as well.

I don't have anything bad to say about this movie, to be honest. I know the animation will turn some people off because it's so different looking. Overall, The Case of Hana & Alice is a fantastic movie that is worth checking out.