Tantai Jin Apologist

Back at the cinema again

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:33:08 GMT

Just got back from seeing They Will Kill You. Huge amount of fun, lashings of gore (how did that only get a 15 cert like damn), great fight choreography.

Also some amazingly good cinematography going on. Well-framed shots, & good lighting & use of colour. I feel like it overdid dolly zooms (this is where the subject stays in place but the background seems to woosh forward or backward) maybe a little but eh whatever. They did not have to make such a hammy, ridiculous, horror-comedy film look this good, but I appreciate their doing so.

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Books & Film

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 10:04:15 GMT

Went to see Project Hail Mary this week. Twice! It was so good, & very faithful to the book. A few things got cut or condensed for time, or tweaked to work in a visual medium, but overall it was a perfect adaptation. I got a free beanbag afterwards too, similar to the ones seen in the film.

Second time I essentially got my own private screening, as I went to a small independent cinema on a Wednesday afternoon & it's a few weeks into its run, so it was just me. Did nearly get lost in the place, even though it only has 3 screens, because in order to fit within the fairly small building its located in, the layout is odd & the hallways are a maze.

I'm rereading the book now, because it's been a while since I read it.

Speaking of books, I managed to pick up a copy of Ways of Seeing by John Berger from WH Smith (or whatever its calling itself these days) for £1 on clearance. I absolutely was not expecting that. Just went in because I needed stationary & that shop is so overpriced, the clearance section is the best option. I such a good book & I've wanted by own copy for a while, so randomly stumbling on one like this was very nice indeed. There was also a fun art book (Journal With Purpose by Helen Colebrook), that might actually encourage my creativity. Every art guide aimed at beginners is like 'Just draw things! Be creative!' & I'm like OK, but draw what? My mind is as blank as the paper I'm looking at. Or they're step guides on how to draw specific things that I don't necessarily want to draw ('Do you mean step-by-step guides?' No, because they don't have steps. It's like 'Step 1: Draw some circles & then some lines between them. Step 2: Fill in a shitload of detail & you're done!'). This book is full of little motifs & designs to try out doodling in order to add decorative touches to stuff & play around with. This is exactly what I want. I don't have any grand designs on being some skilled artist. I just wanna doodle stuff & have fun with shapes.

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Rian Johnson really doesn't miss

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 17:36:52 GMT

Wake Up Dead Man was so good! A little slow at the start, though that's mostly because I hate religion. And ngl I was still expecting standard film pacing, which is a mistake in a Knives Out film & I really should know better at this point lol. I'm currently chilling in a Tim Hortons afterwards, enjoying a pistachio & white choc latte, & picked up some timbits for later.

I definitely need to rewatch at home to catch everything I totally missed. Though I feel this won't be one I'll watch over & over like the previous two.

First time I've been to the cinema since before covid (last film I saw in the cinema was Rise of Skywalker, which would put anyone off wasting money on cinema tickets, especially considering how much they cost nowadays). To be fair, there's been stuff since that I might have been interested in seeing, but the cost of tickets means I have to be sure I really want to see something, & have money to burn that I'm willing to make a risky bet with. And have the time. This was the first time all those things have applied.

Also today I checked out a vintage kilo sale on my way to the cinema, but didn't see anything that interesting.

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WANTWANTWANT

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 17:50:57 GMT

OMG so the Watership Down film is getting a fancy rerelease including a 4K version & with a bunch of special features?? Fuck yeah!

Newly recorded audio commentary by film and animation experts Catherine Lester and Sam Summers

Vintage audio commentary by director Martin Rosen and writer and filmmaker Chris Gore (2003)

Defining a Style (2005): short featurette about the film’s aesthetic

A Conversation with the Filmmakers (2005, 17 mins): Archive featurette in which director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings discuss the production history of the film

Storyboard comparison (2005, 15 mins): a look at four sequences from the film Super 8 version of the film (20 mins)

Humberstone Super 8 footage (3 mins): Footage shot by Arthur Humberstone, one of the senior animators on Watership Down

Designing Watership Down (2024, 5 mins): a gallery containing some of the materials related to Watership Down courtesy of The Arthur Humberstone Animation Archive

Once We Were Four (1942, 9 mins): a bunny quartet face an onslaught of badgers, bombs and birds of prey in this black comedy masquerading as a nature film, directed by Mary Field

Rabbits or Profits? (1969, 15 mins): public information film providing a potted history of rabbits in the UK

Bolly in A Space Adventure (1968, 5 mins): a short Halas & Batchelor animation about the adventures of Bolly and his friends on imaginary planets, featuring animation by Tony Guy, animation director on Watership Down

Make Believe (1948, 17 mins): Anson Dyer tells 'The Tale of Ronnie Rabbit' in this documentary showing the various stages of making a cartoon bunny

And there's a poster, postcards & a booklet! Ooh & apparently an enamel pin badge if you order direct from the BFI? I was gonna get it from HMV because I stumbled on this rerelease while browsing their website & I like being able to go into physical shops to pick stuff up, but I just checked the BFI's site to see if they had additional info & ooooh badge!

I need it!

EDIT: I notice they've also bumped up the rating. Yeah that was never gonna get a U certificate nowadays lol

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