Drifting Home (2022):

Drifting Home (2022):

“Follows two childhood friends who drift into a mysterious sea with an entire housing complex.”

Childhood friends check out an old apartment building they grew up in before it's scheduled to be demolished. They soon end up in a magical sea along with the demolished house, drifting on it like a boat with the rest of their sixth grade friends. The two main characters are Kosuke and Natsume, who grew up together with Kosuke's grandpa in the old apartment.

We soon discover there's a stowaway in the floating apartment, Noppo who everyone thought was Natsume's imaginary friend. Yuzuru, a girl, is scared of Noppo and thinks he's a ghost at first. He says they've been friends for a long time. There's more truth to this than meets the eye.

It's not all just about the friends, but also returning home, and the drama between Natsume and Kosuke. Natsume blames himself for his grandpa's death, and so refuses to accept the parting gift from his grandpa, a camera. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Natsume had an abusive childhood, so she had to move into the apartment.

They raid other drifting apartments for snacks, food, and fresh clothes. Eventually, Natsume cuts her knee getting into a vending machine and they have to make get bandages from a floating drugstore. They also collide with an old floating carnival, where Yuzuru first developed her love of theme parks.

Kosuke accepts the camera and starts taking pictures of all the old buildings. Here's where it gets really magical. As it turns out, Kosuke spots “things” growing out of Noppo's arm. Plants! Noppo reveals that he's the ghost of the old apartment, and the magical sea is a graveyard for old buildings. If he doesn't join them, they can never return home.

I enjoyed this movie. It's a magical meditation on memories and the cycle of pain and joy, death and rebirth. (Samsara.) Once they let go of their grief, they experience joy, and return home magically. Kosuke takes pictures. Noppo can finally return home. If you have a chance watch it. It's a great anime drama on Netflix!

Delicious In Dungeon (2024):

Delicious In Dungeon (2024):

“Can sisters be reincarnated from dragon poop? Laios and his friends Marcille and Chilchuck delve into an endless dungeon in search of his fallen sister, fighting monsters, starvation, and corruption.”

Delicious in Dungeon is a kawaii (cute.) little fantasy/cooking anime about a party of adventurers trying to save their friend from the belly of a dragon while also learning about how to cook monsters. First, there's Laios, the fighter. Then, Marcille, the Elvish wizard girl, and then Chilchuck, the pick-lock. Along the way, they meet a master chef dwarf named Senshi who helps them cook and eat monsters.

Each episode is about what monster they cook and how. First, it's walking mushrooms and scorpions, then man-eating plants, then basilisk, among others. (A basilisk is like a chicken-dragon thing.) Then, they discover they can make BBQ from the oil in some of the fire traps in the dungeon. Yes, they are pretend monsters, but the food still looks good, and it's pretty funny.

A lot of the comedy comes from seeing the characters interact. Marcille is really funny, because she is a picky eater, and wants to use magic to solve everything. She's kind of a take-off on the haughty elf trope. She's always freaking out. She's usually the first to say whatever the dwarf has in mind to cook is disgusting.

The leader of the party is Laios. He's a little weird. He wants to eat everything. He's oddly fixated on monsters, and eating monsters. He's even figured out how to eat living armor by cracking it open like lobster and cooking the creatures inside. Senshi helped. This means he's Senshi's best friend.

Senshi is the dwarf/master chef. He's there to cook all the monsters, and teach real cooking techniques. For example, drying out giant slimes before you eat them to make jelly, or taking the tails and venom from giant scorpions to make a nice hotpot. His dream is to cook a Red Dragon.

Chilchuck is a rogue character. He specializes in picking locks and disarming traps. He's a consummate professional. He doesn't know a lot about cooking, but step aside and let him do his job when you need traps disarmed or locks picked. Not a picky eater, but argues with Senshi if he gets in the way of his job.

Overall, it's a nice and funny anime with good-looking food. It may be fantasy, but it'll still make you hungry. The obsessive characters like Laios are basically there to remind you it's a little weird, but it is comical. It's fun to see what they'll cook up next and how. Can't wait 'til they cook that Red Dragon and save their companion! Give it a watch on Netflix!

Bubble (2022):

Bubble (2022):

“Hibiki plummets into the sea but is saved by a girl with mysterious powers.”

Hibiki belongs to a parkour team in post-apocalyptic Tokyo after Tokyo becomes filled with bubbles and cut off from the rest of the world. His team is called the Blue Blazes, or BB. They battle other teams like the Under Takers, or The Mad Lobsters in this Capture The Flag parkour sport. One day, Hibiki falls into the ocean water while playing, and swears he sees a mermaid.

This mermaid is actually a feral girl who he names Uta, with a strange secret. She acts like a cat, and has a strange attraction to vortex patterns and The Little Mermaid fairytale. Stranger still, when she hums a tune, the bubbles react to her harmony. Later, she joins the parkour team and helps them defeat a technologically advanced team, The Under Takers, by using the bubbles as stepping stones.

The Under Takers want revenge, and so kidnap Makoto, one of the team members, and challenge BB to a death match. Just then, Uta starts to come apart literally. She's made of bubbles! The team and the morticians have to come find her as the world around them is ripped apart by a vortex of angry bubbles. And soon, Hibiki discovers Uta dissolving into seafoam, just like the mermaid in the story.

Bubble is a very peculiar anime. On one hand, it's a sports drama in post-apocalyptic Tokyo. On the other it's a romantic fairytale bursting at the seams with poetry about the transitory nature of existence, and how all things return back to their source: stars, water, plants, bodies, seashells. The vortex pattern is everywhere.

In particular, I liked that Bubble had good disability representation. Hibiki is shown as having some form of audio sensitivity. But, despite this, he can hear the song of the bubbles. In addition, his friend and mentor Shin has a prosthetic leg, which plays further into the theme of the body as transitory. But, does it add up to anything? Well, I suppose it depends if you like romance. If you do, I recommend this one. For me, personally, I say give it a watch on Netflix. If not for romance, then sci-fi sports action!

Green Snake a.k.a. White Snake 2: The Tribulations of Green Snake (2021):

Green Snake a.k.a. White Snake 2: The Tribulations of Green Snake (2021):

“Verta the green snake-demon must find a way to escape from the modern Asuraville of mortals, in order to rescue her elder sister Blanca the White Snake from the demon-slaying monk Fahai.”

“Green Snake” as it was released in America on Netflix, is in fact a sequel to the animated “White Snake” (2019) movie from China. Let's treat it as it's own movie though. After a fight with the monk Fahai, White Snake is sucked into a kind of Buddhist purgatory. Green Snake goes after her. There, she finds that she's no longer in Tang dynasty China, but an amalgam of the modern world and spirit world called Asuraville.

She meets up with Simon and his party, who are hunting down demons led by Mr. Ox. They want to conquer Asuraville, whereas the others just want to return. Old Fox, a spirit with a fox on one side of her head acts as a guide, and explains how to leave Asuraville, by dropping their “tokens of desire” into a pool. Meanwhile, Green Snake might actually have met White Snake (Blanca), reincarnated as a man who's name is never revealed anyway.

Then, when they all gather their tokens, they battle with Mr. Ox again. He finally agrees to leave with them after removing the no-name man's face, for some reason. Then, they battle Fahai again. Green Snake is defeated over and over actually, but ends up in the modern world when she beats Fahai. Green Snake is confused. So was I.

I don't know that I liked this movie. I didn't hate it, but it had way too many side-quests. First it's about Fahai, then find Green Snake, fight demons, then find Green Snake again...it goes on for about 30 mins too long. Plus, I don't like that the action stops just so they can explain the tokens of desire midway through. By the time they got to the 2nd Fahai encounter, I was lost as to what the main story was. Was it to find White Snake, defeat the demons, or get home? Hadn't she done all that before anyway?

I don't really recommend this movie. The animation and battle scenes are good. But, there are just way too many subplots that divert the main story. Maybe it would've made more sense if it weren't presented as a standalone movie. But, in its present form on US Netflix, I have to say skip this one.

Erased (2016):

Erased (2016):

“Satoru Fujinuma can travel back in time to save others' lives. When he wakes up 18 years in the past, he has a chance to save his murdered classmates.”

Erased is an anime on Netflix that time travels between 2006 and 1988. It's a murder mystery. Each time somebody is about to be killed, Satoru can use his ability called “Revival” to go back in time and stop it. This results in several timelines being created. A few where he and his friends and family die. A few where he goes back to 1988.

It all starts when his classmate Kayo goes missing. Then, she's being abused. He finds her as a 9-year-old in 1988, and vows to find “Date X” the day she is murdered. He can switch between 1988 and 2006, but never control when he revives. This anime is a roller coaster of emotions. Often a sweet scene like a birthday will be immediately followed by child abuse and murder.

It's a mystery, so I can't give that many spoilers as to who the killer(s) are. I'll say the sci-fi time travel aspect is neat. Soon, more abductions follow Kayo's. There are even a couple timelines where he is framed as the murderer. If you have the hankering for a good mystery, definitely check this one out. But, I'd say be warned, it goes from very light to very dark all the time.

TMNT (2007):

TMNT (2007):

“When the world is threatened by an ancient evil, the four adolescent turtles must reunite and overcome their faults in order to stand against it.”

I have no idea why someone thought it was a good idea to make a Ninja Turtles movie take place after they defeated Shredder. Part of it takes place in Central America. You have hundreds of villains, characters, and plots to choose from in the TMNT universe. What they decided was to use a standard villain named Winters, and slowly introduce Dimension X, while back in NY, the turtles struggle with menial jobs.

Leo disappears to Central America to learn how to be a better leader...or something. Raph is a superhero vigilante called Night Watchman. Mikey becomes a party clown. Donatello lands a job in IT. It's kind of fun...for a one-off joke, not bringing together the whole team for the entire run-time.

Anyway, monsters start appearing in NY thanks to Winters and a Central American tablet which makes a portal appear. Stone soldiers and mutants start attacking. This is just about the only good fight scene we get with all the turtles fighting as a team. The rest of the movie is them rescuing Leo from the monsters.

It does have a few redeeming qualities. There's a fight scene between Raph and Leo. That was pretty good. The voice actors are pretty good. Patrick Stewart is Winters. Chris Evans is Casey Jones. Mako plays Splinter. It's free on Netflix, but absolutely skip this one, since it's trying to set up franchise sequels we know never happened. I think there was a videogame, but otherwise what a waste of some good ideas.

RED NOTICE (2021):

RED NOTICE (2021):

"An Interpol agent tracks the world's most wanted art thief."

Red Notice is free on Netflix, so I figured why not? It's a pretty good action-heist flick. There's a police officer John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson), a conman Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) and a thief called The Bishop. (Gal Gadot). Each one is trying to get the golden eggs of Cleopatra. Pretty formulaic structure here though.

John Hartley is trying to catch The Bishop and sets up the action scenes. Gal Gadot comes in and sets up the sexy/heist scenes. She's always one step ahead. Ryan Reynolds is comic relief who makes fun of Dwayne Johnson's character as he's fooled through Russia, Spain, Egypt, and other exotic locales. He really enjoys seeing Agent Hartley in a bind, and makes it harder for him at every turn.

It's not a bad movie, it's just a little formulaic. Ryan Reynolds is in full wise-cracking mode. You want Gal Gadot? Well, you get Gal Gadot: Sweet talk, and krav maga. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is as game as ever to bonk some heads, and not afraid to laugh at himself. Plus, there's a few surprises in store. If you can stomach the setups, watch this one...there's a couple big twists. No spoilers!

THE KARATE KID (1984):

THE KARATE KID (1984):

“A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.”

So, I guess because of the success of Cobra Kai, Netflix re-released The Karate Kid movies. I haven't watched it since I was a youngster...and I'm pretty sure that was a rental. So, I thought...what the heck? Let's see if this holds up. I liked Cobra Kai, and like karate movies.

But, the first thing I noticed about the movie was, it's mostly a family movie. Which is ok, but it means the karate doesn't start until Miyagi defends Daniel. Miyagi's scenes are really good, and his “training” (a.k.a. doing chores.) Daniel for the tournament mostly demonstrates the philosophy of karate vs. punches and kicks. Something which is lost in the Cobra Kai series later, but the show makes fun of anyway.

Johnny Lawrence on the other hand, has good punches and kicks. We don't really see him train with Kreese; Johnny only leads a dojo session once. But we know Cobra Kai's philosophy (“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy!”) and that makes him a bully. He tries to control his girlfriend, and get his gang to beat up Daniel. It's Miyagi who decides the the karate tournament is the best way to win Cobra Kai's respect.

If Daniel wins at the tournament, then he won't have to fight, because he'll have earned respect. So, we enter the tournament. A couple things. Daniel enters the tournament as a black belt, because Miyagi says he is. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen today. Second, you have to love the 1980s ending to this movie. Daniel wins after the power ballad. Roll credits.

All in all, it is a great movie. But, I definitely see it differently as an adult than as a kid. Which I guess is the point. It's a family movie. It really made me think about how necessary the sequels were, and the Cobra Kai series. As a kid, I just thought “Wow, karate!” As an adult, I just thought “Wow, Kreese and Miyagi are pretty messed up.”

I mean, sure Johnny's a bully, but he's a kid. He's just acting cool. Kreese is crazy. Miyagi, as kind as he is, has no problem bending rules for Daniel and struggles with implied alcoholism and PTSD. Pat Morita was a great actor, and he really added a lot of heart to this movie, I won't argue that. But it does make me realize how flawed even he was, which is I guess why the Cobra Kai series works.

So, would I recommend watching it? It depends how much you like family movies. It was good to watch with fresh eyes again. But as it is, I think Cobra Kai gives you enough clips to catch up, and is more emotionally complex. Basically, Cobra Kai is for adults, but Karate Kid is great...if you're a kid.

FREE FIRE (2016):

FREE FIRE (2016):

“Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival.”

When an arms deal goes wrong, the movie turns into a shootout. It doesn't slow down. One of the gang members realizes another gang member beat him up the day before, and that the gangs supplied the wrong weapons. From there, all hell breaks loose, and they start shooting. Chris is one group leader. Ord is the other guy, played by Armie Hammer.

Brie Larson plays Justine, an intermediary between both groups, and Chris's girlfriend. But, she holds her own too in the shootout. The entire movie is a giant shoot out in the warehouse. Everyone has their own team to protect. Nearly each character has a secret backstory or agenda. Who will survive?

Pretty exciting action movie stuff. It has a nicely contained '70s crime plot, plenty of guns, and lots of stylish violence. If you're in the mood for a shoot-em-up with a good runtime, I'd say check it out. Great mystery too. It's free on Netflix.

WORDS BUBBLE UP LIKE SODA POP (2020):

WORDS BUBBLE UP LIKE SODA POP (2020):

"A meeting and romance starts between two people with communication issues - a boy who wears headphones and uses haiku poems, and a shy girl who wears a mask and only does online videos."

This movie is about Cherry, a haiku poet with social anxiety, and his social influencer love interest Smile. Smile has buck teeth (“yamazakura”) and is shy. Cherry is a good poet, but is shy because of his voice. He prefers to write. They're brought together by an old man, who wants to hear a long lost record one last time.

Overall, it's just a cute romance anime about teens with bright animation. The word cute (kawaii) is thrown around a lot. It's pretty good for a Netflix anime, if you want something light-hearted. They overcome their challenges to help an old friend. There's only one part I didn't like, but I won't nitpick. It's on Netflix, if you have time.

Death Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018):

Death Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018):

"Black ops specialist Connor Gibson infiltrates a maximum security prison to take down legendary driver Frankenstein in a violent and brutal car race."

Technically, this is Death Race 2000 4. In this version, a privatized security firm runs the Sprawl, a massive prison housing around 420,000 inmates. One of the inmates is hired to kill Frankenstein, the race's champion. It's pretty fast-paced with a death metal/punk aesthetic vs. the original game show parody setting. The action and racing scenes are over-the-top as always. I liked it. It's on Netflix. Check it out!

Real Steel (2011):

Real Steel (2011):

Real Steel (2011):

“In the near future, robot boxing is a top sport. A struggling ex-boxer feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot.”

It's a robot boxing movie! Hugh Jackman stars as a washed-up boxer who's foster kid Max helps him get back in the game after settling for clownish robot boxing gigs at zoos and rodeos. He destroys about 2 robots and then Max has the bright idea to combine all the skills of the previous bots into one sparring bot, named Atom.

Yeah, it plays like Rocky. It's a little unbelievable, but has a lot of heart. The rules are bent a little, maybe for robots. There isn't one referee! There were even a couple spots where Atom should've been defeated on a TKO after three KOs, but I assume the rules are different for robots. Heart is what matters in boxing movies anyway. Worth a watch, if you can bend the rules a bit, and have fun.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021):

GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE (2021):

"To protect an 8-year-old girl, a dangerous assassin reunites with her mother and her lethal associates to take down a ruthless crime syndicate and its army of henchmen."

If I had 3 words to describe Gunpowder Milkshake, they'd be "cute John Wick". It has good gun scenes, and the noir aesthetic is good, but the whole atmosphere clashes with a sort of strange cutesy vibe in the clothes, music, and style. I get that it's supposed to be funny; and it is! But, it's like...is she the best assassin, or isn't she? Maybe every assassin just says they're the best.

Anyway, fun watch if you can turn your brain off, accept that they just let their best assassin go completely rogue, and some kawaii stuff. It really is "cute John Wick". Watch it with some snacks, if you've got the time.

Masters of the Universe (1987):

Masters of the Universe (1987):

"A life-action feature film based on the popular cartoon kids show about a prince turned warrior named He-Man."

Dolph Lundgren played a great He-Man. Great Skeletor, too. But, several other elements also make this film weird. Who insisted on the Orko knockoff? (Gwildor) Who OK'd a Back to The Future subplot? Great movie, but a little cheesy. I liked it, but you just have to accept its flaws as part of its charm. In honor of Masters of the Universe returning to Netflix today, I thought I'd reccommend it.

Gantz: O (2016):

Gantz:O (2016):

"After being brutally murdered in a subway station, a teen boy awakens to find himself resurrected by a strange computer named Gantz, and forced to fight a large force of invading aliens in Osaka."

Okay, so when you die, what happens? Odds are, you wouldn’t think you end up in an alien hunting ground where if you kill 100 aliens, you come back to life. Or are you really dead? Or just abducted by sadistic aliens that make you hunt for entertainment in high-tech battle suits? But, you keep flashing back to high school. And there they think you’re dead. This is Gantz:O, and it’s a weird movie with more plot twists than I just described and plenty of over-the-top action. It's on Netflix, so check it out.

Ghost in The Shell (1995):

Ghost in The Shell (1995):

Ghost in The Shell is about a cyborg spy woman (Major Makoto Kusanagi) working for the intelligence agency Section 9 to track down The Puppetmaster who hacks into people’s brains making them commit terrorist actions they can’t remember through their “ghosts” or computer brains. While it is uniquely 90s in its presentation of tech, with wires and virtual realities galore, its philosophy is both uniquely Japanese, and timeless. In the first scene we see The Major taking down some terrorist separatists negotiating with the gov’t. She guns them down and jumps out the window naked, before disappearing. This establishes her as a badass.

Every action scene is really well done. When she’s tracking down the Puppetmaster she has to jump from a truck to tracking down the puppet masters victims by foot and using martial arts, again while naked and invisible. It would be easy to dismiss Ghost in the Shell as eroge were not the rest of the story so good. Every intense action scene is followed by philosophy.

Typically, in the West we have the theme of Man vs. Machine, and we have the idea that punks are lowlifes, bad people. Ghost in the Shell purposes that man and machine are inseparable, that they improve each other. Kusanagi wonders aloud throughout the movie if she was ever human, and what that would mean, while drinking beer, and smoking. Which is typically not what we see in the West. Her vices humanize her, even if she is a machine.

After discovering that The Puppetmaster was designed by another intelligence team (Section 6) she meets with the Puppetmaster who blows up the place and announces that he is a living AI named Kaze. Think of a living internet. Kusanagi followed Kaze to the Kyoto docks, but is ambushed by a Section 6 spider tank with machine guns. She is able to hold her own for a while, but is torn apart by the tank. During this time, Kaze suggests that they merge into one new digital body. Kusanagi’s partner Batou destroys the tank, and Section 6 stands down, since the Puppetmaster has been subdued/vanished. He has merged into a new body with The Major.

Overall, I think the original Ghost in The Shell is a classic. Easily 8/10. Great fight scenes, great art, serious subjects…my only complaint about the original is that with all the heavy philosophy some scenes do drag. Particularly, after the great action scenes. But, it is nice to see the movie say something beyond Man vs. Machine. That mankind would exist with machines. The answer to The Major’s question seems to be in my opinion that it wouldn’t matter who she was before she was a cyborg. She drinks, and smokes, and kills just like humans. Most humans don’t really live anyway.

It’s never really answered, but the fact that she merges into a new body plays into this idea, as well as Buddhist ideas of reincarnation and impermanence, which I think are really Japanese. It’s just a shame that each series after the classic movie has diminishing returns, and only looks more dated each time. The Netflix 2020 series is very action heavy, but still good if you like seeing The Major and Section 9 in action. Then, there’s the series which has tiny talking spider tanks, as sort of comic relief. The Scarlett Johansson Hollywood movie, while good on action, both completely avoids philosophy and answers the question if she was ever human. It’s all very silly.

In conclusion, the original Ghost in the Shell is a classic which takes time to appreciate and savor its plot. Its message is as timely as ever. Technology is here. It’s not good or evil. It’s part of us. Who hasn’t zoned out in front of a computer? But, who’s to say that life would be any different without it? In the end, it’s up to us and what we do with it.