Two for Tuesday
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Category Archives: Video
Saturday Matinee: Summer Wars
“Summer Wars” (2009) is a sci-fi anime directed by Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) and animated by Madhouse studio. The film’s plot follows Kenji Koiso, an eleventh-grade math prodigy who, while visiting his friend Natsuki’s great-grandmother, is falsely implicated in the hacking of a virtual world by a rogue AI called Love Machine. With the help of his community, Kenji must undo the damage and prevent the AI’s spread into the real world.
Watch the full film here.
Two for Tuesday
Saturday Matinee: The Parallax View
“The Parallax View” (1974) is a conspiracy thriller directed by Alan Pakula and written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. (Three Days of the Condor). The plot centers on reporter Joe Frady (Warren Beatty) who, while investigating claims from an ex-girlfriend who witnessed a political assassination, uncovers a plot involving the mysterious Parallax Corporation run by a network of shadowy power elites. One of a number of films of the era (including Executive Action and Winter Kills) which conveyed political assassination theories through a fictional narrative.
Watch the full film here.
Two for Tuesday
Saturday Matinee: Nothing
“Nothing” (2003) is an existential comedy and third feature film from director Vincenzo Natali (Cube). The plot follows two friends and roommates: Andrew, an antisocial travel agent who works from home, and Dave, a prototypical office drone. After experiencing the worst day of their lives, they somehow will the world outside of their house out of existence. While this creates a temporary respite it also leads to new problems mainly in the form of boredom and cabin fever. Will the two protagonists manage to keep their sanity and find their way out of nothingness?
Watch the full film here.
Two for Tuesday
Saturday Matinee: Cube
“Cube” (1997) is an existential Canadian sci-fi feature film debut from director and co-writer Vincenzo Natali. The minimalist plot focuses on a group of strangers forced to navigate and survive a series of cube-shaped rooms which are more often than not rigged with deadly surprises. Besides the variety of bizarre and unexpected traps, the film’s main source of tension lies in the question of whether the group’s diversity of backgrounds and personalities will lead to their salvation or mutual extinction.
Watch the full film here.
