IMPORTANT NOTE: please use a VPN whenever visiting Hextube, or anywhere else on the internet, for that matter. Protect your privacy.

For this edition of Saturday Anime Night, the people demanded more Sailor Moon, and so, we’re continuing on, with episodes 49 through 54 of the 1992 series, the definitive magical-girl anime. This is the completely unabridged, unexpurgated, uncensored, Japanese version of the show, including everything that the English dub butchered, altered, and/or cut, which is quite a bit. Tonight’s episodes see the continuation of the anime-only Makai Tree arc of Season 2, and the beginning of Tuxedo Mask’s Arab sheik phase.

After that is Boy and the World (2013), a dialogue-free Brazilian surrealist peace about a boy who leaves his village to find his absent father, and his subsequent journey through the urban, industrial, consumerist hellscape of the modern world. It received rave reviews across the board, and garnered a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 2015 Oscars. It is the best-known and best-regarded work to date of director Ale Abreu.

We’ll start 9PM EST on Hextube, right here: https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• Sailor Moon: Sorry, not on Letterboxd. Here’s the MAL page: https://myanimelist.net/anime/530/Bishoujo_Senshi_Sailor_Moon
• Boy and the World: https://letterboxd.com/film/boy-the-world/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• Sailor Moon: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103369/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
• Boy and the World: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3183630/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

CWs for Sailor Moon:

• Nudity.
• Objectification of female characters.
• Bath scenes.
• Age-gap romance.
• Panty shots.
• Cutting of flesh.
• Blood and gore.
• Animal abuse.
• Children in peril.
• Smoking.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Sexual harassment of schoolgirls.
• Kissing.
• Deaths of parents.

CWs for Boy and the World:

• Strip club.
• Police brutality.
• Capitalism.
• Chld endangerment.

Links to movies:

• Sailor Moon Ep. 49: https://tankie.tube/w/9gdQ8QENdiy9qFEJD7Lprm
• Sailor Moon Ep. 50: https://tankie.tube/w/97npyBLz49FLnWASyjobpt
• Sailor Moon Ep. 51: https://tankie.tube/w/kdpW3j7oWTve8fhtoPXoqm
• Sailor Moon Ep. 52: https://tankie.tube/w/jyBzfRrCUtQ6hE4NfJuEZe
• Sailor Moon Ep. 53: https://tankie.tube/w/wb8RzbGMndgatd4A3VFnaz
• Sailor Moon Ep. 54: https://tankie.tube/w/ebNHDLGoiuU8DCXG17XbxZ
• Boy and the World: https://tankie.tube/w/5vxfFCU2M9Dc6wFrpHdbLu

IMPORTANT NOTE: please use a VPN whenever visiting Hextube, or anywhere else on the internet, for that matter. Protect your privacy.

For this Friday Movie Night, since the Oscars are coming up soon, we’re doing a double feature of Best Picture nominees. First up is The Zone of Interest (2023), a family drama about SS-Obersturmbannführer Rudolf Höss’s efforts to build his dream house for his family in a fabulous new property he acquired right next door to Auschwitz. The camp’s horrors are not directly shown, but they nevertheless keep impinging on his attempts to live an idyllic, peaceful life with his family. Banality of Evil: The Movie. We already watched director Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin (2013) on Hextube, and it was a hit, so let’s give another one of his films a shot.

After that is Poor Things (2023), a magical-realist/sci-fi/black comedy/romance/feminist drama/weird thing from Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster [2015], The Favourite [2018]). Emma Stone stars as a corpse brought back to life with the mind with a child by a Frankenstein-esque scientist (Willem Dafoe), and she steadily takes back control of her life and sexuality from the shitty men who manipulate her. Pretty much everyone lists this as one of the best films of the year, so let’s check it out.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• The Zone of Interest: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-zone-of-interest/
• Poor Things: https://letterboxd.com/film/poor-things-2023/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• The Zone of Interest: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/1067040
• Poor Things: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/749562

CWs for The Zone of Interest:

• Nazis.
• Holocaust. Although the horrors of the camp are not directly depicted, disturbing sounds are often audibe.
• Someone is burned alive.
• Torture (albeit offscreen.)
• Cheating.
• Natural bodies of water.
• Vomiting.
• Screaming.
• Antisemitism.
• Hate speech.
• “Sexual content”. Seems pretty tame from what I can see, though.
• Sad ending.

CWs for Poor Things:

• Sex.
• Nudity.
• Sexual assault. A woman who does not understand sex is touched by a man in a lascivious manner. However, she does not express any fear or refusal, and initiates sex later. Sexual liberation is one of the film’s main themes.
• Pedophilia, following on from the above, since the main character has just been born, albeit in an adult body.
• Sexualization of minor, in the sense that the main character has been reborn in an adult body.
• Necrophilia, since the main character is a revived corpse.
• Someone leaves without saying goodbye.
• Abusive parents.
• Abused person forgives their abuser.
• Stalking.
• Domestic violence.
• Abused becomes the abuser.
• Gaslighting.
• Child abuse.
• Drug use.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Deaths of animals.
• Animal abuse.
• Body horror.
• Someone is drugged.
• Someone is physically restrained.
• Chloroform rag.
• Prostitution.
• Cutting of flesh.
• Disfigurement.
• Throat mutilation.
• Someone struggles to breathe.
• Decapitation.
• Choking.
• Someone is lit on fire.
• Amputation.
• Unconsciousness.
• Someone falls to their death.
• Eye mutilation.
• Stabbing.
• Blood and gore.
• Death of child.
• R-slur.
• Disabled character played by able-bodied actor.
• Kidnapping.
• Death of parent.
• Cheating.
• Natural bodies of water.
• Razors.
• Someone wets themselves.
• Vomiting.
• Spitting.
• Audio gore.
• Farting.
• Mental hospital scene.
• Cancer.
• Mental illness.
• Self-harm.
• Violent mentally-ill person.
• Dissociation.
• Suicide attempt.
• Unstable reality.
• Meltdown.
• Misophonia.
• Jump scares.
• Crying baby.
• Shaky cam.
• Screaming.
• Obscene language.
• Someone is watched without their knowledge.
• Death of pregnant woman.
• Age-gap romance.
• Religion.
• Objectification of female characters.
• BDSM.
• Someone loses their virginity.
• Chronic illness.
• Homelessness.
• Debate over existentialism.
• Drowning.
• Gun violence.

Links to movies:

• The Zone of Interest: https://tankie.tube/w/sVkspww6SXPfMnHRd714L2
• Poor Things: https://tankie.tube/w/ePUvWzN2yYyiRTBTRP48Kj

For this Sunday Kino Night, we’re starting with one of the classics of the New Hollywood era: They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969). Set during the Great Depression, it centers on a sadistic competition for poor people to dance endlessly for a cash prize. Will they survive to the end? I guess we’ll find out. It’s pretty much God Damn America: The Movie, and arguably the magnum opus of director Sydney Pollack (otherwise best-known for Tootsie [1982]). Rave reviews everywhere for this one; it is often considered one of the best films of the 1960s.

After that is one of the highest-rated Brazilian films on Letterboxd, A Dog’s Will (2000), which was ranked #3 on the site’s Top 250 films of all time until a change in methodology last year. It is a fantasy-comedy in the vein of Terry Gilliam about a pair of petty swindlers who roam the Brazilian countryside, meeting strange people and finding themselves in many wacky and odd situations, all the while dealing with their dimming prospects of going to heaven. This is by far the best-known and best-regarded film of director Guel Arraes. Apparently, Brazilians love this movie and consider it a cultural icon. We have not touched much of anything from Brazil so far (Black God, White Devil [1964] is the only one we’ve watched, unless I’m forgetting something), so let’s give this one a whirl.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?: https://letterboxd.com/film/they-shoot-horses-dont-they/
• A Dog’s Will: https://letterboxd.com/film/a-dogs-will/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/12332
• A Dog’s Will: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/23391

CWs for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?:

• Gaslighting.
• Death of horse.
• Discussion of sexual assault. Not depicted.
• Gun violence.
• Someone falls to their death.
• Sad ending.

CWs for A Dog’s Will:

• Death of dog.
• Cheating.
• Spitting.
• Self-harm.
• Homophobic slurs.
• “Sexual content”. Looks pretty tame to me, though.

Links to movies:

• They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?: https://vimeo.com/916526328
• A Dog’s Will: https://vimeo.com/916374090

For this edition of Saturday Anime Night, we’re starting early, at 7:30PM EST, to watch Charlie Chapin’s The Circus (1928). We were supposed to watch it after Gangs of Wasseypur last night, but due to our late start, itself due to the terrible changes to Vimeo’s free account system, everyone decided to go to bed instead. Therefore, we will watch it this evening. We have, surprisingly, never watched any Charlie Chaplin films, despite having dipped into Buster Keaton’s filmography a few times. The Tramp joins the circus as a handyman, and falls in love with the owner’s daughter; hilarity ensues, including all sorts of animal antics. This is considered one of Chaplin’s best films, so let’s give it a whirl.

After that, the people demanded more Sailor Moon, and so, we’re continuing on, with episodes 43 through 48 of the 1992 series, the definitive magical-girl anime. This is the completely unabridged, unexpurgated, uncensored, Japanese version of the show, including everything that the English dub butchered, altered, and/or cut, which is quite a bit. Tonight’s episodes see the conclusion of Season 1, and with it, the Dark Kingdom arc; it also sees the beginning of the anime-only Makai Tree arc of Season 2.

Last for the night is Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998), a French cartoon about an African folk tale about a small boy who must journey into the mountains to free his village from the curse of an evil witch. Excellent reviews everywhere for this one, and there aren’t very many movies about African mythology, so let’s check it out.

We’ll start at 7:30PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• The Circus: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-circus/
• Sailor Moon: Sorry, not on Letterboxd. Here’s the MAL page: https://myanimelist.net/anime/530/Bishoujo_Senshi_Sailor_Moon
• Kirikou and the Sorceress: https://letterboxd.com/film/kirikou-and-the-sorceress/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• The Circus: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018773/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
• Sailor Moon: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103369/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
• Kirikou and the Sorceress: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/22666

CWs for The Circus:

• Slapstick violence.
• Smoking.

CWs for Sailor Moon:

• Nudity.
• Objectification of female characters.
• Bath scenes.
• Age-gap romance.
• Panty shots.
• Cutting of flesh.
• Blood and gore.
• Animal abuse.
• Children in peril.
• Smoking.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Sexual harassment of schoolgirls.
• Kissing.
• Deaths of parents.

CWs for Kirikou and the Sorceress:

• A whole bunch of nude children, including the protagonist throughout the movie. However, they are all drawn with more-or-less Barbie doll anatomy.
• A whole lot of bare-breasted women.
• Child endangerment.
• Age-gap romance between a child who transforms into an adult and an adult woman.
• Deaths of animals.
• Snakes.
• Implied sexual assault as part of villain’s backstory. Not depicted.
• Kidnapping.
• Claustrophobia.
• Childbirth.
• Babies.
• Black character dies first.
• Drowning.

Links to movies:

Forthcoming. I have the files, but the most convenient way to upload them is to replace one of the earlier videos while a later video is playing.

For this Friday Movie Night, we’re starting off with Gangs of Wasseypur: Part 1 (2012), one of the highest-rated Bollywood movies on Letterboxd. It is the first part (of two) of the story of a young man in 1970s India who pursues revenge against the man who killed his father. As with many Bollyword blockbusters, this movie is a whole bunch of things mashed into one, including gritty gangster violence, over-the-top melodrama, action scenes, broad comedy, and musical numbers. Our last foray into Indian cinema, Nayakan (1987), was a hit on Hextube, and this one is on every list of “movies to watch if you’re new to Bollywood” in existence, so we’re giving it a try. After that is The Circus (1928), as we have, surprisingly, never watched any Charlie Chaplin films, despite having dipped into Buster Keaton’s filmography a few times. The Tramp joins the circus as a handyman, and falls in love with the owner’s daughter; hilarity ensues, including all sorts of animal antics. This is considered one of Chaplin’s best films, so let’s give it a whirl.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• Gangs of Wasseypur: Part 1: https://letterboxd.com/film/gangs-of-wasseypur-part-1/
• The Circus: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-circus/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• Gangs of Wasseypur: Part 1: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1954470/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
• The Circus: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018773/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

CWs for Gangs of Wasseypur: Part 1:

• Nudity.
• Sex scene, but no nudity.
• Prostitution.
• Kissing.
• Blood and gore.
• Gun violence.
• Cutting of flesh.
• Stabbing.
• Beating with blunt instruments.
• Genital trauma (offscreen.)
• Someone is tied up.
• Profanity.
• Smoking.
• Alcohol.
• Drug use.
• Broken bones.
• Dismemberment.
• Dead animals.

CWs for The Circus:

• Slapstick violence.
• Smoking.

Links to movies:

Forthcoming. I have the files, and will upload shortly.

For this Sunday Kino Night, we’re starting with Orson Welles’ The Trial (1962), adapted from Franz Kafka’s novel of the same name, starring Norman “Psycho” Bates himself, Anthony Perkins. It depicts a darkly-comic dystopian nightmare about a man arrested for an unspecified crime, at which point an opaque bureaucracy puts him through hell. The absurdity and surrealism ramp up from there. We have not watched any Welles yet on Hextube, surprisingly, and this has reeived rave reviews pretty much everywhere, so let’s check it out. After that is Argentinian heist film Nine Queens (2000), concerning a pair of stamp swindlers who seek to make a killing from selling counterfeits to a naïve philatelist. This is one of the highest-rated Argentinian films on Letterboxd, and is often compared to Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie’s stuff: fast-paced editing, guys acting tough, swearing, violence, wall-to-wall dialogue, and so on. Latin America is a bit underexplored by us, so let’s give this a whirl.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• The Trial: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-trial/
• Nine Queens: https://letterboxd.com/film/nine-queens/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• The Trial: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/71259
• Nine Queens: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247586/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

CWs for The Trial:

• Gaslighting.
• Drunkenness.
• Cheating.
• Natural bodies of water.
• Implied sex. Not depicted.
• Honking car horns.

CWs for Nine Queens:

• A woman is asked by a man to have sex with another man.
• Kissing.
• Misogynistic language.
• Groin injury.
• Gun violence.
• A woman slaps a man in the face.
• Profanity.
• Smoking.
• Alcohol.
• Prison scene.
• Vomiting.

Links to movies:

• The Trial: https://vimeo.com/913728201
• Nine Queens: https://vimeo.com/913757080

For this edition of Saturday Anime Night, the people demanded more Sailor Moon, and so, we’re continuing on, with episodes 37 through 42 of the 1992 series, the definitive magical-girl anime. This is the completely unabridged, unexpurgated, uncensored, Japanese version of the show, including everything that the English dub butchered, altered, and/or cut, which is quite a bit. Tonight’s episodes see Sailor Venus’s backstory revealed, as the season’s narrative builds toward its finale. After that is A Town Called Panic (2009), a Belgian slapstick stop-motion comedy about a universe of sentient toys. The two main characters, a cowboy and his Native American buddy, want to celebrate a horse’s birthday, but their plan goes awry, and slapstick antics ensue. Pretty much a feature-length Robot Chicken sketch, but less crude, and in French. Rave reviews for this one; it is currently ranked #95 on Letterboxd 100: Animation. It looks neat, so let’s watch.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here: https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• Sailor Moon: Sorry, not on Letterboxd. Here’s the MAL page: https://myanimelist.net/anime/530/Bishoujo_Senshi_Sailor_Moon
• A Town Called Panic: https://letterboxd.com/film/a-town-called-panic/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• Sailor Moon: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103369/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
• A Town Called Panic: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/8564

CWs for Sailor Moon:

• Nudity.
• Objectification of female characters.
• Bath scenes.
• Age-gap romance.
• Panty shots.
• Cutting of flesh.
• Blood and gore.
• Animal abuse.
• Children in peril.
• Smoking.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Sexual harassment of schoolgirls.
• Kissing.
• Deaths of parents.

CWs for A Town Called Panic:

• Slapstick violence.
• Cruelty to animals.
• Stereotypical depiction of Native American.
• Shower scene.

Links to movies:

Forthcoming. I have the files, but the most convenient way to upload them is to replace one of the earlier videos while a later video is playing.

For this Friday Movie Night, we’re starting off with Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974), the magnum opus of surrealist auteur Shuji Terayama, who is pretty much Japan’s answer to Alejando Jodorowsky. A director tries to make a film about his youth, but finds himself increasingly making it into an absurd spectacle. We see the end result on the screen, with the teenaged protagonist coming of age in a dreamlike village while the circus is in town. The performers are a bunch of strange folk. Weird stuff happens from there. Rave reviews everywhere for this one; it is one of the highest-rated Japanese films on Letterboxd. This film is often compared to its contemporary The Holy Mountain (1973), which was a hit on Hextube, so let’s try out another piece of 70s surrealism. After that, we’re continuing our journey through this year’s award-season darlings with The Iron Claw (2023), the based-on-a-true-story drama about the three Von Erich brothers in the 1980s as they try to rise through the ranks of the cutthroat world of professional wrestling. Ex-teen-heartthrob Zac Efron stars, and Sean Durkin directs, in what is by far his most popular and most well-regarded film to date. Critics and viewers have fawned over this one, so let’s give it a whirl.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• Pastoral: To Die in the Country: https://letterboxd.com/film/pastoral-to-die-in-the-country/
• The Iron Claw: https://letterboxd.com/film/pastoral-to-die-in-the-country/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• Pastoral: To Die in the Country: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071406/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
• The Iron Claw: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/906376

CWs for Pastoral: To Die in the Country:

• Okay, the big one: although the movie is PG-13 for the first 90% of the runtime, the climax is about 3 minutes of the protagonist losing his virginity to a nude older woman who forcefully undresses him, in what I can only assume was the director's wet dream. This is the only real edgy content in the movie, but it’s a doozy, and right at the end. We can skip this scene if need be, since you’ll get the point pretty fast.
• A woman is inflated with air.
• Smoking.
• Death of dog.
• Death of baby.

CWs for The Iron Claw:

• Suicide.
• Someone leaves without saying goodbye.
• Abusive parents.
• Domestic abuse.
• Drug use.
• Alcoholism.
• Drug addiction.
• Someone is physically restrained.
• Shaving.
• Hand damage.
• Dislocations.
• Broken bones.
• Someone struggles to breathe.
• Choking.
• Amputation.
• Blood.
• Unconsciousness.
• Groin injury.
• Death of child.
• Disabled character played by abled person.
• Drug overdose.
• Death of family member.
• Ghosts.
• Natural bodies of water.
• Shower scene.
• Vomiting.
• Spitting.
• Needles.
• Hospital scene.
• PTSD.
• Mental illness.
• Violent mentally-ill person.
• Meltdowns.
• Suicidal ideation.
• Sudden loud noises.
• Crying baby.
• Shaky cam.
• Screaming.
• Profanity.
• Pregnancy.
• Ableism.
• Discusson of religion.
• Masturbation. No genitals depicted, though.
• Sounds of sex.
• Nudity.
• Someone loses their virginity.
• Male character ridiculed for crying.
• Motorcycle crash.
• Honking horns.
• Gun violence.

Links to movies:

• Pastoral: To Die in the Country: https://vimeo.com/913728201
• The Iron Claw https://vimeo.com/913757080

Been awhile since we've done this thread, and it's always fun. Here are some of my picks:

• The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) is really bad. Will Smith's inspirational moment is going to the New York Stock Exchange and seeing all the happy rich guys in suits walking around, and wanting to be like them. Having to do stuff like brown-nose executives, sleep in train station bathrooms and pull his son out of daycare due to lack of money are presented not as flaws of the system but evidence of Smith's smart bootstraps-oriented thinking. This movie is the Mein Kampf of liberalism.

• Air (2023) is really bad too. Literally a feature-length Nike commercial coupled with a fuckton of Michael Jordan worship, the message being that a bunch of rich guys deserved to get even richer because they signed a sneaker deal. The closing 5 minutes of the movie are a "where are they now" montage showing how much money all the Nike executives made, yay!

• Anastasia (1997), which portrays the Russian Revolution as the result of a wizard's curse and communism as bad because it got in the way of the Romanovs living in big palaces and wearing fancy dresses.

• The Post (2017), about a wealthy, heroic girlboss newspaper executive who makes the heroic decision to...uhh...not block the publication of a story that would expose the lies of a corrupt president threatening our democracy (take THAT drumpf)

post more.