What are you watching?

[Touring Mars]

Grave of the Fireflies - Isao Takahata (Studio Ghibli), 1988

I found this too difficult to watch again fairly recently, but it is such a brilliant movie that it deserves a special effort.

It starts off in a heart-wrenching way, and somehow manages to get even more hard to watch as the film progresses. However, it is also a film full of joyful moments, and is both sensitive and poignant throughout without being overly sentimental. The animation is truly exceptional, but there's little doubt that it is a hard watch - and I perhaps wouldn't recommend it as a first Studio Ghibli film if you haven't seen any others first.

 

[Populuxe]

On to round two at Snetterton.

Edit: might as well head to Anglesey as well.

 

[VBR]

Grave of the Fireflies - Isao Takahata (Studio Ghibli), 1988

View attachment 1553698

I found this too difficult to watch again fairly recently, but it is such a brilliant movie that it deserves a special effort.

It starts off in a heart-wrenching way, and somehow manages to get even more hard to watch as the film progresses. However, it is also a film full of joyful moments, and is both sensitive and poignant throughout without being overly sentimental. The animation is truly exceptional, but there's little doubt that it is a hard watch - and I perhaps wouldn't recommend it as a first Studio Ghibli film if you haven't seen any others first.

My fav SG film, 10/10. Utterly brutal, but also really beautiful. Based on a semi-autobiographical story (the true version of the story is even more harrowing, see spoiler).

Spoiler: Grave of The Fireflies - True Story - MAJOR SPOILERS!

If you liked Grave of The Fireflies, then you'll probably love this too:

Spoiler: Violet Evergarden

Post in thread 'The General Anime Thread...'

Sep 15, 2025

I thoroughly recommend Violet Evergarden, especially if you like Anime for grown-ups (the whole lot is on Netflix). I'd give the sub a perfect score of 5/5 (dub is not great).

A fan-made trailer...


A preview...

Spoiler: Correct watch order...

1) Series Ep 1-4.
2) Special.
3) Series Ep 5-13.
4) Eternity and The Auto Memory Doll.
5) Violet Evergarden: The Movie.

• VBR

 

[Nacho Libre]

I'm currently rewatching The Big Bang Theory (TBBT), mostly because I was curious about the spin-off Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, of which I watched the first episode.

If anyone cares, Barry Kripke is the first of the new show's characters to appear in TBBT, followed by the titular Stuart, in season 2.

Now, has TBBT has aged gracefully? IMO the first 2 seasons definitively not. Funny gags and side characters aside, the humor can and does get tasteless far too often. The show only really improved when all the other women (Bernadette and Amy) came on board, and Sarah Gilbert's Leslie Winkle character should have been a regular. Christine Baranski and Laurie Metcalf (Leonard and Sheldon's mothers) were outstanding too.

 

[TB]

An absolute cornucopia of issues with this train wreck plane crash of a movie.

I don't think I've ever wanted someone in a movie to die as much as I wanted one particular character to get offed, preferable dramatically.

2/10

 

[Nacho Libre]

YouTube's algorithm decided I would like to learn more about ship sinkings... So, I discovered a nice channel called Bright Sun Films and learned about the fates of the Andrea Doria, the Costa Concordia, the Oceanos, and so on...

Oh yeah, I'm never going cruising.

 

[CommanderBond]

YouTube's algorithm decided I would like to learn more about ship sinkings... So, I discovered a nice channel called Bright Sun Films and learned about the fates of the Andrea Doria, the Costa Concordia, the Oceanos, and so on...

Oh yeah, I'm never going cruising.

I like that channel, so maybe this is a bad time to tell you about a channel called Fascinating Horror....

 

[Populuxe]

I like that channel, so maybe this is a bad time to tell you about a channel called Fascinating Horror....

I’ve watched a few of their videos. Well done, but I can only take so many stories about the awful ways people have died before I have to move on to some brighter fare.

 

[TB]

July recap:

 

[Darla Starch]

(how is this 10 years old 🧓)

"IT'S A DILAPIDATED BOAT!"

 

[Populuxe]

I’m watching the third game in a Banana Ball triple header.

 

[05XR8]

 

[zaxs]

Last night I watched this:

 

[UKMikey]

Last night I watched this:

View attachment 1556349

I've never seen anything from this series.

But I did my homework and that fisherman is literally a walking sequel hook. When you leave a movie franchise for dead, make sure it's really dead.

 

[Nacho Libre]

For some reason I started watching 100 Cooks (Food Network, through HBO Max). I'm liking the format so far: no fancy ingredients, mystery boxes, or other usual gimmicks. And I like Terry Crews as the host.

But no, he doesn't judge the food.

 

[zaxs]

When you leave a movie franchise for dead, make sure it's really dead.

That's why I won't look sequels. Even first movie is basically crap.

But this one I just watched is great!

 

[05XR8]

 

[sirjim73]

Last night I watched this:

View attachment 1556349

I Know What You Did ... Better 20 years ago

 

[05XR8]

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Pulling out the old late 80s & early 90s classics I decided to re-watch 48hrs & another 48hrs.

Both good films, can't beat the Nick Nolte & Eddie Murphy combo.

There's something about the grit in early films that you just don't get today.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & James Belushi in Red Heat is another example, also had a couple of actors in both films, Brion James & Ed O'Ross.

 

[Touring Mars]

Bit of an unusual one for me, but watched this with my Mum last night as a 'premiere' of our new TV and soundbar, and it was excellent...

A great film to test out a sound system on, a lot of live music and the vocal performances by both leads was really excellent.

Spoiler

It's a surprisingly ad and emotionally charged film, but the performances by Jackman and Hudson are absolutely superb

 

[UKMikey]

Louis Mellis/David Scinto-created crime double bill from the turn of the century.

I was going to try the 2024 Sexy Beast TV show but the reviews said "NO! No no no no no no no no NO!" so I'll give it a miss.

 

[UKMikey]

The Tomorrow People S01E01: The Slaves Of Jedekiah. It's 1973 and homo superior, the next stage of human evolution, is 'breaking out' all over London in the form of youngsters spontaneously exhibiting powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary people.

It's up to John, Kenny and Carol to rescue future recruit Stephen Jameson from the evil grown-ups who want to exploit his nascent psi-powers before it's too late. Unfortunately they can't rescue him from the tank tops and corduroy flares that were de rigeur for the teen fashion of this bygone era of yesteryear.

Needless to say this show was a huge hit with schoolkids of the time who like the X-fans of the eighties and nineties doubtless imagined developing superpowers of their own but perhaps the most memorable aspect was the haunting electronic incidental music provided by moonlighting BBC Radiophonic Workshoppers such as Dudley Simpson and Delia Derbyshire working under pseudonyms so as not to incur the wrath of Auntie.

 

[Populuxe]

I’m watching a lot of RiffTrax tonight.

 

[zaxs]

Great movie

 

[UKMikey]

Great movie

I haven't seen it but my mate in Honduras greatly prefers the Argentinian original El secreto de sus ojos.

 

[zaxs]

 

[zaxs]

Great movie

 

[Touring Mars]

In This Corner Of The World (2017)



I bought the film on Apple TV and watched it in 3 parts. Based on the Manga series, it is a breathtakingly beautiful and deeply moving film.

I also bought the art book by Kosuke Hayashi, the film's Art Director and principal background artist - he would later work for Studio Ghibli on 'The Boy And The Heron' (aka 'How Do You Live?' In Japan), and it too is breathtakingly beautiful.

The film is artistically somewhere between Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and being a story about the build up towards the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, it is a sweet and poignant story that becomes more sad and tragic as it goes on - no spoilers, but I think it deals with such a terrible reality in a very sensitive and moving way.

It has opened my eyes to non-SG Japanese animation - and @VBR @Sprite, and I largely with your sentiments re anime in general, hence why SG is so special - but if you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it - the soundtrack is also excellent, and I expect I will watch it many times.

Some of the background art:

 

[VBR]

It has opened my eyes to non-SG Japanese animation - and @VBR @Sprite, and I largely with your sentiments re anime in general, hence why SG is so special - but if you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it - the soundtrack is also excellent, and I expect I will watch it many times.

That film is on my Crunchyroll watch list; I put it on there after searching for movies similar to Grave of The Fireflies, but I never got around to seeing it as I went off Anime in general. Thanks for the recommendation, I will check it out at some point.

If you want some great non-SG Anime films, I'd heartily recommend Makoto Shinkai's thematic trilogy, Your Name (2016), Weathering With You (2019), and Suzume (2022). People are calling him the new Hayao Miyazaki, and for good reason; these movies are absolute cinema.

EDIT: Your Name is currently in cinemas for its 10th anniversary; here's the no spoilers trailer...