Long-haul air travel is a great way to catchup on films missed throughout the years. This time I saw Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014), it is another entertaining edition of the series re-boot.
I also saw Snow On The Blades (Zakurozaka no adauchi 2014), a Meiji era historical drama based on a short story by Jiro Asada directed by Setsuro Wakamatsu. It can be seen as a revisionist samurai drama where the feudalistic values of bushido are called into question in the modern age of the Meiji era. For some reason, I felt this film came across as somewhat maudlin or overwrought-not exactly sure why, perhaps, it had to do with actors who I identify with contemporary dramas and TV: Ryoko Hirose and Hiroshi Abe (complete with modern mullet hair after getting rid of his chomage).
There was a TV documentary feature commemorating the 20th anniversary of the breakout New Zealand film, Once Were Warriors-Where Are They Now? (2014). And this led me to watch the emotional film again.
In the classics section, I decided to watch a highly regarded film that I haven't sat through in it's entirety-Singin' In The Rain (1952) directed by Stanley Donen (known for the Audrey Hepburn vehicles: Funny Face and Charade). It was very cinematic and entertaining I can see why it is so beloved.
I also saw a couple of other documentaries. The first one was the fascinating historical documentary, Nixon By Nixon: In His Own Words (2014) from HBO. Here Nixon places himself in ignominy with his expressions of anti-semitism, anti-homosexuality, racism, paranoia, sexism, and blatant disregard of law and order-believing himself to be above it. The other was Stones In Exile (2010) directed by Stephen Kijack about the recording of the Rolling Sotnes' seminal 1972 album, Exile On Main Street.
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