#365 film challenge

[365days365movies]

Japanuary: Introduction

Well, holy shit, what year is it? It's been 4 years since I tried this whole Tumblr thing, and...eh, it wasn't the most successful endeavor ever, but fuck it! It was a fun ride in 2021! I tried to do the whole one-film-per-day thing, stuck with it for a while, and eventually failed that challenge. And I'm not gonna pretend that watching a movie a day and writing a blog post about it is possible with my current schedule, BUT! Even then, I have enjoyed the whole endeavor. So, why not give this shindig another spin? And how do I plan to do that? Easy: with a monthly themed challenge once again.

This time, though, let's not do Action in January. In fact, why be bound to genre at all this time? Theme, sure, but let's stretch the genre limit a bit here. So, with that, let's start a brand new month and a brand new year with a brand new theme...and a very-little touched country on this blog: 日本国.

Japan, sometimes known as the Sun's Origin (a direct translation of the country's name; "the Land of the Rising Sun" is a Western epithet), is one of the biggest movie-producing countries on the planet, since almost the beginning of cinema. However, the Golden Age of Japanese cinema began in the 1940s and 1950s, when prominent directors rose in the fallout of World War II. Pun...technically not intended, but valid all the same. Storytelling and tradition are treasured practices in Japanese culture, which is strong to this day. However, years of self-imposed isolation, followed by rapid acceptance of Western influence, definitely made film an interesting development in those storytelling traditions. While originally Western-influenced, Japan definitely injected itself into 35mm camera tape starting in the 1910s. And that continued, often through propaganda film, until...uh...well...

If you know, you unfortunately know, if terms of the above GIF. But, yeah, World War II happened, and Japan was involved and affected in...various ways. In any case, its civilian population was heavily traumatized, and that showed itself through the film industry especially. While wartime film really was a lot of propaganda about the Empire of Japan, it also came with a lot of restrictions, especially when Western influence was suspected. So, after the war ended with Japan surrendering, and the heavy boot of America made itself known in Japanese everyday life, the film industry was affected positively and negatively. On one hand, much of Japan's film history was literally burned for fear of its potentially offensive nature. Plus, jidaigeki, or samurai films, became incredibly difficult to make. Not impossible, but that's a point for later.

It's during this time that a number of prominent Japanese directors start popping up, or coming back into significance. Of note are Akira Kurosawa (MUCH more on him soon) and Yasujirō Ozu, amongst several others. Film stars like Toshiro Mifune also begin to appear. Japanese films also began their international spread, and suddenly, they also began to become popular in the United States and the Western world. By the time the 1950s came, Japan's film industry had entered its new, golden age, and that decade saw some of the most famous films in the country's history.

I've previously talked about Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, which came out in 1950, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Seven Samurai, Tokyo Story, Ikuru, The Burmese Harp, The Human Condition, Ugetsu Monogatari (which I've also talked about), Sansho the Bailiff, Floating Weeds, amongst several others. All in the 1950s. Badass. I feel like there's a major one I'm missing, too, but I can't list every Japanese film ever made. You get the idea: Japanese film is sort of a big deal.

Despite this, though, when television spread throughout the succeeding decades, the film industry died back a tiny bit. CHina began their own blockbuster film industry with the boom of wuxia, and Japanese filmmakers became more experimental in their work, appealing less to the masses as a result. The two studio giants in Japan, then and now, were Toho Co., Ltd. and Toei Company, Ltd. Even then, neither company did great during the 60s and 70s. Toei would eventually find its footing in the world of anime, while Toho found its footing in...OH RIGHT

Sorry, Godzilla, almost forgot about you. This science-fiction horror (and yes, it is a horror film in an existential sense) would put an indelible stamp on the industry for DECADES, and would also color people's perception of Japanese films in the west for a while. That, combined with the resurgance in jidaigeki, would prove a bit of a downfall in terms of Western popularity. But even then, the film industry kept chugging along, and Japan did eventually find a new way to appeal to the Western world. Now, I'm skipping over a HELL of a lot of history (basically the entire '80s and the mini-theatre craze), but there's good reason for that.

See, once we get to the '80s and '90s, new directors suddenly step into the limelight. Takeshi Miike shocks people with Audition, which also becomes part of a new horror tradition in Japanese cinema that gets a LOT of attention. Hirokazu Kore-eda moves from documentaries in the '60s, and makes several films over the years up through the '90s, like Maborosi and After Life. And then, in the late 1980s, a new animated film based on the Lupin the Third franchise brings a new director into the public consciousness...and EVERYBODY starts paying attention again.

Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli come into prominence, and film is back, baby! And I mean that; Porco Rosso, that one Miyazaki movie with humanoid pigs, was more popular than E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, for one example. Satoshi Kon and Isao Takahata come into the fray, and large movie theatres also become more prevalent after their decline decades later. And now, Toei is making anime for Japan and the Western world, where it's EXPLODING. Suddenly, Japanese media is popular worldwide, and they never go back. The anime industry exponentially expands, and more films can be made and distributed. Hell, Toei also gets rich from the trend of sentai shows, which the Western world will most closely associate with Power Rangers! Seriously, shit starts to blow up.

Today, most people associate Japanese media with either anime or Godzilla, which is...simplistic. But, hey, there's a FUCKTON of Japanese media out there, and I've personally explored precious little of it. So when I was settling on watching more films this coming year, I was looking for ideas. And then I stumbled on one: Japanuary. Not an original idea on my part, and you can check out other lists for it (like this one, this one, and this one, for starters), but I'm into it! Of course...there is one caveat.

I, uh...I didn't watch all of these in January. I actually started in November.

NOVEMBER WAS A DIFFICULT MONTH!!! And not even for all the reasons you'd expect. But, honestly, I missed updating this blog. And I knew that, to do so in a timely fashion, I'd need a lot of extra time. So, to get that extra time, I started real early. And in truth, I'm writing this post from the past (specifically November 8. YES IT HAS ALREADY BEEN A DIFFICULT MONTH). Still, I'll be putting out the full list of films I'll talk about this month in this post! And, if this came out on December 30th as planned, that means I actually did it! Otherwise, this post would be left in the drafts, to die a slow and unfulfilled death. So, fingers crossed that you're reading this right now!

And so, with that said, here is my list for Japanuary 2025! Feel free to watch along if you can (so will I, believe me), and happy New Year!

Ikiru (1952; dir. Akira Kurosawa)

Throne of Blood (1957; dir. Akira Kurosawa)

Yojimbo (1961; dir. Akira Kurosawa)

High and Low (1963; dir. Akira Kurosawa)

Ran (1985; dir. Akira Kurosawa)

Late Spring (1949; dir. Yasuijirō Ozu)

Tokyo Story (1953; dir. Yasuijirō Ozu)

The 47 Ronin (1941; dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)

Sansho the Bailiff (1954; dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)

Harakiri (1962; dir. Masaki Kobayashi)

The Ballad of Narayama (1983; dir. Shōhei Imamura)

Fireworks (1997; dir. Takeshi Kitano)

Audition (1999; dir. Takeshi Miike)

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007; dir. Takashi Miike)

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984; dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

Castle in the Sky (1986; dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

Porco Rosso (1992; dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010; dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

The Boy and the Heron (2023; dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

Perfect Blue (1997; dir. Satoshi Kon)

Tokyo Godfathers (2003; dir. Satoshi Kon)

Wolf Children (2012; dir. Mamoru Hosoda)

Mirai (2018; dir. Mamoru Hosoda)

Nobody Knows (2004; dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Shoplifters (2018; dir. Hirokazy Kore-eda)

Godzilla (1954; dir. Ishirō Honda)

Godzilla Minus One (2023; dir. Takashi Yamazaki)

Tampopo (1985; dir. Jūzō Itami)

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985; dir. Paul Schrader)

Drive My Car (2021; dir. Ryūsuke Hamaguchi)

Tokyo Gore Police (2008; dir. Yoshihiro Nishimura)

[casdeans-pie]

13/365 ::::: Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon

He's so good and brave and loyal. He has conviction in what he thinks is right and he will follow through with it - he will not waver from that path. He's smart and funny and awkward - teenage me had the biggest crush on him! Plus, he makes friends with a dragon that's basically a giant cat!

[kellykadesperate]

as soon as i come back into my house after being out literally anywhere just know i'm laying in bed watching a film and scrolling on my phone

[shenergyx]

!ALERT! NEW BRAIN ROT JUST DROPPED!

Y'all. Challengers (2024).

What a fucking time.

I'm ready to ride this one out for atleast the next 365 days. All the fanfics, all the fan arts, all the deep dives. SHOVEL them my way.

[nyckthefox]

i'm doing this challenge where i watch the same film every day for a year and log it on letterboxd and i find it hilarious how every time people ask me why i'm doing it i just don't have an actual answer. usually i just end up saying one of these:

i really like this film.

i want to prove that i could never get tired of it.

i want to become this film's biggest fan in the world.

i'm insane.

[o-the-mts]

365 Movies in 365 Days: Guaxuma (2018)

This year I’m trying to watch one movie every day of the year, with the provision that the movie be no longer than 36-1/2 minutes long. I’ll be selecting movies randomly from this list that’s already way too long, but I still welcome suggestions for short films. Title: Guaxuma Release Date: Director: Nara Normande Production Company: Les Valseurs | Vilarejo Filmes Main Cast: Nara Normande –…

[berrypass-de-murdler]

3 - 60 A Frozen Body in a Frozen City

No need for a hint, it's Union Man Mint!

You've seen him before, but here he is in all his full-color glory. The velociraptor who's always rhyming for some cryptic reason.

My personal favorite of the cowboy gang is Porter Wine, who I hope appears again.

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

With Irratino forced into a rough location, Logico should finally be heading somewhere pleasant, if the pattern is to continue. But it’s not. Instead, he’s sent to a small island off the coast of Netherlands called Colvoc.

Colvoc is, despite its sister island’s climate, completely frozen over - and it's apparently like this 365. The main attraction is a giant frozen lake - but it’s brownish-green and full of dead fish under the ice. A huge man comes running towards Logico.

CHARCOAL: LOGICO! LOGICO!

He gives the little man a bone-crushing hug.

CHARCOAL: I got out of jail! LOGICO: [suffocating] That’s very good- HONEY: My oh my, it’s Deductive Logico! 

He’s wearing giant boots and scarves on his legs to keep him from losing limbs to the weather.

HONEY: Have you heard about the… [snicker] LOGICO: What, the body? CHARCOAL: Noooo… [snicker] BONE: Are you talking about the - GASP!

The cold pile of bones jumps from the roof of a building like a spider.

BONE: What are YOU doing here, Deductive Logico! If not for…

Mr. Sea falls from the sky directly onto Logico!

SEA: AHA! I KNEW IT!

Considering that he’s hunting down Irratino, he seems to be everywhere that Logico needs to be.

SEA: You’re here for IT! LOGICO: I HATE THE PRONOUN GAME JUST EXPLAIN YOURSELVES YOU IDIOTS!!!

They all push him very fast into a strange restaurant. And placed in front of him is the most disgusting-looking hot dog imaginable.

SUSPECTS: THE COLVOC CHALLENGE! LOGICO: WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM?! SEA: Oh you absolutely HAVE to try the Colvoc Challenge. It’s the only reason ANYONE comes here!  HONEY: Oh yeah. I’m considering buying the rights to it.

They’re all looming over him, begging for him to eat it. He wishes Irratino were here to scold them about the cruelty of eating meat! The old Logico would have punched everyone, but he has too many moral values now (even though he violently hates ¾ of the people here). So he succumbs to peer pressure and takes a bite. He spits it out all over them!

LOGICO: MY FUCKING GOD, I HATE THAT! CHARCOAL: [crying fit]

That night, Logico goes for a walk in the cold, gurgling and miserable. How can one bite, which he didn’t even swallow, make him want to throw up so much? For what happens next, check the episode title. And soon, he has to get all the suspects back.

LOGICO: EVERYONE… I may not feel well, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let a murder go unsol-

Mr. Sea pushes him over, and he slides on the icy road and can’t stop!

LOGICO: OH FUCK YOU!

The road goes downhill, directly into a tiny theater.

MARENGO: Oh, a customer! Oh please, oh how I beg you to come watch a film! I promise it will be worth your time! LOGICO: NO NO NO NO!

He has to trudge back uphill in the thick snow that almost goes up to his chest. He slams open the door to a bar instead, with Mayor Honey inside.

LOGICO: YOU! 

Honey throws beer onto him - and it’s warm!! It melts the ice on him, but now he smells like gym socks. He’s getting an awful migraine and seeing double, which, in his case, means gaining depth perception. 

BONE: GET HIM!

A penguin comes running at Logico with a gun - certainly not Antoduardo! Logico tries to call Irratino for help, but the penguin instead steals the phone and takes a selfie of itself holding Logico at gunpoint.

Irratino gets the photo and is tickled at the thought. A penguin, as a weapon! And he responds with only a heart emoji.

Logico is about to faint, but Charcoal grabs him suddenly and runs away from the others.

CHARCOAL: Are you okay?? LOGICO: …No… [gurgling] [small sob] CHARCOAL: You helped me get out of jail… LOGICO: …I did? CHARCOAL: …so it’s only fair if I help get you out of this mess. That’s what friends are for!!

Logico’s not sure how to feel about ‘friends’. But he’s not going to refuse the help at this time, and together they figure out that today’s killer was Mr. Sea… which means nothing at all.

SEA: I killed for my CORPORATION! LOGICO: WHAT corporation?? SEA: You’ll have to come and see. You’ll have to come and MR. SEA! HA HA HAAAAAAA!

He uses a grappling hook that attaches to a zeppelin that flies overhead, and is carried all the way back to Drakonia. Logico wishes for a doctor, but there isn’t one on the entire island.

The end! 

Something tells me that Fuchsia has some ulterior motives behind the wild goose chase. I wonder why!

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[365days365movies]

Japanuary I: Ikiru (1952) - Review

This film is...incredible.

And I mean that, too. I may have gotten a bit amped because of the messages about the futility of bureaucracy, but the very fact that I was affected proves the efficacy of this movie. This is moving in several ways. It's heartbreaking, it's rabble-rousing, it's thought-provoking, and it's a treatise on the nature of a life lived and a life fulfilled. Some of the best filmmaking I've ever seen, and absolutely one of the best films I've ever watched. I genuinely can't recommend this film enough, whether or not you're a film buff. But be warned...you should be in the right mood to watch it.

That said, what do others think of this film? Well, unsurprisingly, it's one of the most loved films ever made. It's got a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes (for the critics score, audience is 97%), an 8.3/10 on iMDb, a 4.5/5 on Letterboxd, and an impossible 92 on Metacritic, holy shit. Yeah, this is an incredibly well-loved movie, although nobody seems to think it's perfect. And...yeah, I agree. I have some minor criticisms with this movie, which I'll go into, but I still can't deny how utterly excellent it is. So, without further ado, check out the Review below the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! KINDA!!!

Cast and Acting - 9/10

...I just...holy shit, Takashi Shimura. He's one of Akira Kurosawa's mainstay heavy-hitter actors, and WOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE! Shimura is absolutely amazing in this film, and in the modern world, easily could've won Best Actor at the Oscars, even though this is a foreign language film. His performance as a truly broken Kanji Watanabe searching for meaning and purpose is fantastic, and he showcases his character development through multiple moments in this film. It's honestly difficult for me to say things that haven't been said about his performance, but you can just...feel it. Like, it's incredibly, depressingly resonant. It's hopelessness tinted with the desperation to hope. It's just...so...fucking...GOOD.

That said, everybody else is great, but not as good. You can't be as good as Shimura is in this film, to be honest, it's just so hard to compete with. Still, credit to be given to Shinchi Himori, Nobuo Kaneko, Yunosuke Itō, and Miki Odagiri for some notable appearances and performances, especially Odagiri for her genuine performance as Toyo. It's a hell of a cast, but Shimura takes it over entirely. It's honestly incredibly impressive.

Plot and Writing - 10/10

Holy shit, the way this film is structured was incredibly effective for me. The themes of finding fulfillment and having unseen personal struggles are potent and relatable, but the sheer and utter arraignment of bureaucracy in Japan after World War II is...enragingly palpable. I honestly meant what I said in the review when I said it stoked anti-bureaucratic fires within me that I didn't know existed, but good God, I felt that hard-as-hell. I've seen scenes like the opening in films before, where someone's led on a runaround, only to get back where they started, and I actually wonder if this is where that film and TV trope started. It's incredibly effective, as is the ending section of the film where said bureaucracy attempts to erase Watanabe's work. Just feeling his efforts drowned in the machine, with no difference made within the levels of bureaucracy...just...GAH FUCK, I'm getting mad again. Moving on, moving on...

As I said before, the film was written by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni, inspired by the Leo Tolstory novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Not sure about that last part in terms of how much was adapted, but it doesn't matter. This film is masterfully written, and a real dissection of what it means to live, and what it means for that living to have meaning, in any portion of that life. After all, even if the bureaucrats seem to erase his legacy immediately, the mothers won't forget. Their children won't forget. His family...might forget, they're pieces of shit, all of 'em. Yeah, that's another theme of this film: family ignoring you and being real shitty, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRIED TO RAISE YOUR UNGRATEFUL SPINELESS BOOR OF A SON ALL BY YOURSELF GAAAAAAAH!!!!

...Moving on.

Direction and Cinematography - 10/10

Talk about the master at work! Unsurprisingly, Akira Kurosawa knocks this one out of the park in many ways, as does cinematographer Asakazu Nakai. Even in the GIFs I've shown, there's obvious care in each of the shots, and the direction of the actors is obviously top-notch throughout. No complaints, and no comments that haven't been made elsewhere. Excellent direction, excellent cinematography, this film looks fantastic!

Production and Set Design - 10/10

Honestly, second verse, same as the first here. I believe I'm in 1950s Japan because...well, we are there. This is a realistic looking and feeling film, and somehow...SOMEHOW...feels mostly timeless even though it's obviously dated. There are packed dance halls with outdated Western dancing, there're very stereotypical Japanese neighborhoods and wardrobes that are obviously old, and there's a lot of paperwork, and yet...it's effortless. It's a beautiful film enhanced by the set-dressing and production. Fantastic.

Music and Editing - 9/10

The second half dragged a bit. Yeah, that portion of the review after Kanji dies, where I drag on for a bit about the poison of Japanese bureaucracy? That's how long the movie drags that out. And hell, it's effective, but there's some cutting that could've been done there, I think. However, even if that was the case, it's overwhelmed by clever editing and use of music. Obviously, the song Gondola no Uta is a major part of the film, and is used twice with devastating effectiveness, both times! Other pieces of music, including the Happy Birthday song in a well-posed scene, are used incredibly well. Credit to Fumio Hayasaka for the composing of this film, and we've actually seen him a few times already, in Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Ugetsu. And this won't be the last time, either.

Man, this movie was a hell-of-a-way to start this Japanuary. Definitely going to keep on the Kurosawa thread for a minute here, since he's one of the most important Japanese filmmakers in the history of the country's cinema, and all that. Next up, though, I'm touching on one of my favorite things: adaptations of a classic property. I'm a sucker for comic book movies (which is something I haven't talked about on this blog, but is true nonetheless), and I've talked previously about my love of Greek mythology, amongst other mythologies (basic bitch as that may be). But there's a taste of mine that's even more basic bitch of me, from a literary standpoint, if that's even possible. And it's also something that I've surprisingly barely touched upon in this blog. So, next time, and without further ado...the Bard.

Next: Throne of Blood (1957) - dir. Akira Kurosawa

[kattangeln]

my top 9 first-watch films of 2024

I tag everyone who wants to share their favorite films watched in 2024

I’ve watched 135 feature films for the first time, and this selection was actually quite hard to make. Some I barely remember watching, some I really enjoyed. I wanted to include others, I really enjoyed Bullet Train (2022) for example, but in the end, these are all films that will stay with me.

(And this year the goal is to see a film every day, so 365, I look forward to the challenge).

I recommend all of these films if you ever get the chance to watch them. Under the cut is a short description of the films.

Bullets (2023) is a Swedish drama thriller about a kid who accidentally gets drawn into criminality, it explores the actual reality of criminal gangs and their exploitation of kids in Swedish suburbs.

C’è ancora domani (There’s Still Tomorrow, english title) (2023) is an Italian drama about a family in the 40s living with an abusive husband. It follows the wife in her daily life and leads up to the first election for women.

Eye in the Sky (2015) is an English/American drama thriller about the messy morality and the complicated laws surrounding military warfare surrounding wanted people and innocent civilians.

Flukten over grensen (The Crossing, english title) (2020) is a Norwegian drama about the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War Two and the struggles of Norwegian Jews from the perspective of children.

Jagten (The Hunt, english title) (2012) is a Danish drama thriller about a lonely pre-school teacher who gets accused of molesting a child, portraying the hunt of a pedophile.

Les misérables (2019) is a French crime drama about a trio of different policemen in a neighborhood filled with crime and distrust of the police. It follows bad decisions, police malpractice and brutality and riots.

Official secrets (2019) is an English/American political thriller about Katherine Gun who exposes a USA-UK illegal cooperation and their lies to the public leading up to the invasion of Iraq 2003 and her legal trial.

Papicha (2019) is an Algerian drama about a headstrong young student fighting for freedom in 1997 Algiers where new Islamic laws and rules change the lives of her, and specifically all other women.

Poor Things (2023) is an English/American philosophical epic about a child in a full grown woman’s body and her adventures and explorations of sexuality, inequality and men’s cruelty in a fantasy sci-fi Victorian like world setting.

[kellykadesperate]

considering i'm a full time teacher and do have a semi active social life i am smashing my 365 films in a year challenge. it must be said!

[eretzyisrael]

Good evening. Three months into the war. This evening I want to explain the fighting in the Gaza Strip, the challenges of the war, and its duration. One of the war's goals is to dismantle Hamas. This means dismantling the military capabilities Hamas built over the years and used to carry out the barbaric massacre on October 7th. To understand the military operation in Gaza Strip, one must understand the enemy Hamas and how it operates.

Hamas is structured in battalions. Hamas battalions use a complex underground system with infrastructure to manufacture weapons, war rooms, command and control centers, and the capability to launch rockets from above and below ground. The terrorists move between different areas in the Gaza Strip using this infrastructure, allowing them to do so covertly. The enemy's strongholds are located under and near sensitive civilian sites like the Indonesian Hospital, which you see here in the film and next to it a school, used by Hamas as a human shield. Hamas terrorists move unarmed, dressed in civilian clothes, planting explosives for IDF forces in the streets and at the entrance to tunnel shafts. What does this fight look like in the field? This is the Gaza Strip. It covers 365 square kilometers, and its population is over two million people. This is the northern Gaza Strip, where we began our ground operation and have been fighting for the past three months. In the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas had two military brigades with 12 battalions in total, consisting of about 14,000 terrorists total. From Jabaliya, for example, hundreds of terrorists committed the murderous massacre in the communities of Sderot, Nir Am, Erez, Kfar Aza, and Netiv HaAsara on October 7th. They slaughtered civilians and abducted others to Jabaliya. Jabaliya is a densely populated area, as you can see in the film, with about 25,000 buildings. One in every ten such buildings is multi-story. Before entering such a dense area for combat, we evacuate the population, aiming to prevent harm and protect the civilians while allowing military action, as it deprives Hamas of protection under the guise of the population and allows us to distinguish between the population and Hamas terrorists and target them. This protects IDF forces and the uninvolved civilian population. After evacuating most of the residents, before IDF ground forces enter, the Israeli Air Force strikes threats to IDF forces. We struck underground infrastructure, terrorists, lookout posts, and explosive rigged houses. Just in Jabaliya alone, we struck about 670 air targets before the entry of the ground forces. We struck precisely, intelligence-based, and according to international law. All this allowed optimal entry conditions for IDF forces.

Dismantling Hamas consists of five objectives – the first and most important, eliminating Hamas commanders, thus impacting its command and control. In these strikes, in the Jabaliya area we eliminated the battalion commander, the deputy brigade commanders, and 11 company commanders leading the terrorists in the field. The senior terrorist we eliminated in the area is Ahmad Randor; you can see him here in the picture, sitting with his command echelon in his underground bunker, 40 meters underground. We precisely struck and eliminated all the people with him. Eliminating the commanders made it difficult for the terrorists to fight organized and led to many of them surrendering. The second objective is ground combat against the terrorists. IDF forces encircled and cleared the Jabaliya area, meaning the combination of Armored forces, about 200 tanks, Combat Engineering forces, Infantry forces, and special forces encircled the Jabaliya area from several directions simultaneously. All this with intelligence and air support from dozens of aircraft that strike any threat quickly. IDF ground forces directed the fighter jets that struck about 300 targets. This collaboration between the Israeli Air Force and the ground forces has not been seen in any war to date. Even at this moment as I speak with you here, Israeli Air Force jets continue to accompany ground forces and strike any threat to IDF forces. IDF soldiers on the ground are fighting bravely. They eliminate terrorist cells firing from within houses, tunnel openings, and alleyways; IDF forces fight close-quarter battles with terrorists. This footage, from the Go-Pro of a soldier wounded by a terrorist, shows the soldier rising, charging, and eliminating a terrorist. There are dozens of such operations in the field. Fighting terror is complex and costly. Sadly, it also costs the lives of IDF forces. We announced this evening the death of the late LTC Roee Yohay Yosef Mordechay, may his memory be a blessing. He was killed in an encounter with terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip. Roee was an outstanding commander and soldier. Before his death, it was agreed that he would be appointed Commanding Officer of the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade. We embrace his family and all bereaved families and will continue to accompany them.

We learn from every event and improve in order to reduce the number of casualties. In every event where there are casualties in the field, IDF forces provide life-saving medical treatment and conduct rescue operations under fire and life-threatening conditions, with the help of medical teams and the 669 Airborne Rescue and Evacuation Unit of the Israeli Air Force. We have rescued hundreds of injured, saving their lives.

The third objective is to gather intelligence in the field. We have located computers, maps, communication devices, and found hard drives from which we downloaded about 70 million intelligence files, which are now being studied and analyzed by the Intelligence Directorate (J2) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA). We interrogated many terrorists in the field, in collaboration with the ISA, working shoulder to shoulder, a practice that yields remarkable achievements in the war. In Jabaliya, many terrorists have surrendered, whom we are questioning. As a result of this, we have gathered intelligence about senior Hamas operatives, including documentation, as you can see in this picture, of Muhammad Deif, which we retrieved from a hard drive. This drive also contained information about senior Hamas operatives outside of Gaza. All of this provides us with vital intelligence for the continuation of the war.

The fourth objective is to locate and destroy rockets, weapons, and the sites where they are manufactured. We located and destroyed about 40,000 weapons across the Gaza Strip, some of which were found in schools, hospitals, mosques, and under the beds of children.

The fifth objective for dismantling Hamas is to destroy its underground infrastructure. In Jabaliya alone, we found 8 km of underground tunnels and more than 40 tunnel shafts. Inside the tunnels, we located Hamas’ northern headquarters near there, we retrieved the bodies of five hostages and brought them back to be buried in Israel. To combat the underground infrastructure, we deployed classified technological means, followed by special forces trained for the mission, and ultimately, as you can see, we also eliminated terrorists and destroyed the infrastructure inside the tunnels. We also operated in bases that Hamas had established in hospitals. These are bases Hamas thought we would avoid operating in, but they were mistaken. In two hospitals in the area, Kamal Adwan as you see in the picture, and the Indonesian Hospital, underground infrastructure, weapons, and military equipment were established. In both, we carried out special operations to dismantle the terror infrastructure, without harming doctors, medical teams, or patients. IDF forces were prepared with intelligence information in advance regarding locations where hostages were suspected to be and therefore did not strike them. We learned many lessons from the tragic event in which three hostages were killed, and we are training IDF forces for such encounters. The return of the hostages is a main goal of the war and a supreme national mission.

At the end of a stubborn and determined battle, we dismantled Hamas' military framework in Jabaliya. Hamas no longer operates in an organized manner in this area. We have deprived it of its main terror capabilities in the region. It is important for me to say to the public – there are still terrorists in Jabaliya. However, they now operate without a framework and without commanders. We have encountered and will continue to encounter sporadic rocket fire from this area. We have struck it and will continue to strike, deepening our achievements in these areas. This takes time. There are no shortcuts in fighting terror. Now think about what I showed you, about what we did in Jabaliya, and multiply it by eight areas that cover the entire northern part of the Gaza Strip, each with different terrain and challenges. This is why the task required three months. We have completed the dismantling of Hamas' military framework in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen the achievement, strengthening the barrier and the defense components along the security fence. Now, we are focusing on dismantling Hamas in the central and southern Gaza Strip. We will do this differently, thoroughly, based on the lessons we have learned from the fighting so far. The central camps area is dense and contains a lot of terrorists, and in Khan Yunis, there is an underground city of sprawling tunnels. We are applying the lessons we learned and continue to develop more creative ways to fight in the area, to eliminate terrorists, to destroy terror infrastructure and weapons above and below ground. This will take time. The fighting will continue throughout 2024, as we work according to a plan to achieve the war's objectives. To dismantle Hamas in the center and south and to continue with every intelligence, operational effort, and military pressure to return the hostages. Meanwhile, we are building defended areas to safely return our residents home.

I also want to refer to the last day in the north. Hezbollah, in its role, or the role it has taken upon itself as the protector of Hamas, fired today towards IDF bases in the north, with no casualties to IDF forces. We eliminated the terrorist cells that carried out the shooting and struck a series of targets including significant military compounds of the organization. We continue to be prepared with very high readiness in the north, in defense and offense.

[mywifeleftme]

335: Areski and Fontaine // L'Incendie

L'Incendie Areski and Fontaine 1973, BYG

The late ‘60s and early ‘70s were when the past half-century of avant-garde developments in theatre, literature, film, and art music began to break through into pop. The results of these early flirtations have a sense of discovery and possibility that has continued to captivate generations of new listeners to this day. Brigitte Fontaine and Areski Belkacem’s L’Incendie should absolutely be considered one of the towering classics of the era (and, among the Francophonie, it probably is), but I only came across it for the first time early last year. It reminds me of something from the Velvet Underground / John Cale / Nico universe, simultaneously emblematic of its time and so ahead of it as to sound anachronistic.

On “Les murailles,” tape of Fontaine’s exhalations and what sounds like a kalimba are snipped up and looped to create a tinkling, twitching soundscape that presages the Books or Boards of Canada; the track that follows, “L’engourdie,” layers howling wah-drenched electric guitar behind a pretty acoustic folk pop number that would fit right in on a Brigitte Bardot record; next, the stark “Nous avons tant parlé” could be a theatrical elegy set in a dilapidated seaside church. Every song feels stylistically distinct, but Areski and Fontaine’s creative vision remains consistent; I hear post-punk and Björk and Sonic Youth, and I hear French early music and Berber folk and the ‘50s sound poetry of Henri Chopin in the same measure.

It’s always a challenge reviewing non-English language records because you’re stuck speaking to its purely sonic characteristics, which increases the likelihood you’ll hilariously misread it—call a song a soothing folk idyll when it’s actually about smashing international Jewry or something. With political, lyric-forward stuff like L’Incendie, it also means failing to engage with its message, flattening it as an artwork. (Unfortunately, there is nothing I as a person of French ancestry living in a majority-French city could do or could have done in the past to better interpret this record.) I asked French-language correspondent and girlfriend of the podcast Mea for one of her classic vibe checks, but she told me the reams of notes she took while listening were too dotty to share, so I can only assume hearing and understanding Fontaine’s words in their original tongue unchains some celestial horror.

Few of the lyrics can be easily found online, which forces me to rely on Le Gendre’s analysis, but critic Kevin Le Gendre’s helpful liner notes paint a portrait of a wide-ranging album that engages with recent post-colonialist bloodshed (Jordan’s Black September civil war with PLO forces on “Le 6 septembre”); the medicalization of psychic distress (“Ragilia”); intimacy and coupledom; and much more besides. What I was able to find of Fontaine’s lyrics online have a spiky surrealist poetry to them. From “Après la guerre” (“After the War”):

“Happiness blows The eyelids lie gently The sexes glow The eyes, by moving, make you cum The men returned from the war And on their heads, the grass grows back.”

335/365

[o-the-mts]

365 Movies in 365 Days: I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone (2010)

This year I’m trying to watch one movie every day of the year, with the provision that the movie be no longer than 36-1/2 minutes long. I’ll be selecting movies randomly from this list that’s already way too long, but I still welcome suggestions for short films. Title: I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone Release Date: July 18, 2010 Director: Daniel Ribeiro Production Company: Lacuna Films Main…

[notebookmusical]

got tired of my 365 albums in 365 days challenge because everything started to sound the same and now today's album is a film score </3 beautiful score tho

[thehitchikerdude]

Tagged by @nickandros! Between my flatmate @bjorkswarmthness challenging themself to watch 365 films in 2023, sci-fi night with them, Nick, @beholdingslut and @zezran, and my work getting me movie vouchers for my birthday, I ended up watching 235 films.

Would you believe that some of them were pretty good and my absolute faves are below (with only a single re-watch in this list!):

Tagging @bjorkswarmthness, @elesssar, @kredensik, and @emuwarum to do this too!

[dinethfernando-mga2023mi6021]

Dissertation Research:

History of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). What makes this special?

In 1971, filmmaker George Lucas began developing Star Wars, a project that pushed the boundaries of visual effects like never before. The film required 365 miniature and photographic effects shots—something Hollywood had never attempted and many believed was impossible. John Dykstra, the Special Photographic Effects Supervisor, described the challenge as “a task of mammoth proportions”.

Directors and screenwriters did not write scripts in fiction since they knew the technology was not still there. George Lucas on the other hand believed in something else. He wanted Star Wars to be action packed, fast paced and have multiple shots with special effects.

No other studio that existed back then was able to pull this off and Lucas knew it. He established Lucasfilm in 1971 and hired a bunch of professionals to work for him.

"George Lucas believed something beyond practical tests. He believed in computers and the potential these iron machines had"

Back then computers were used for basic compositing, Blue screen keying etc but no 3D imagery was created using computers. Star Wars had a total of 365 special effects shots that had to be done and George Lucas had no idea how to do it.

In Star Wars 1 it was a mix of practical sets and digital effects. Just to focus on the VFX of the movie George Lucas established ILM in 1975 along with John Dykstra.

Dykstra brought together a small team of college students, artists, and engineers and set them up in a warehouse in Van Nuys, California. other leading members of the original ILM team were Ken Ralston, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Robert Blalack, Joe Johnston, Phil Tippett, Steve Gawley, Lorne Peterson, and Paul Huston

For the second film George Lucas wanted 3D TO BE A PART OF HIS WORK. He contacted Triple-I, known for their early computer effects in movies like Westworld (1973),  Tron (1982), and The Last Starfighter.

He found it to be too expensive and returned to handmade models and he decided he would create his own computer graphics department instead at ILM.