Films That I Saw: August 2019

Summer is coming to an end and it’s been a tough one as I’m now recovering from a cold I had received more than a week ago while helping my mother adjust to this new chapter in our lives that we’re living. This new adjustment meant not having to be active as much in watching or writing about films for a while and I’m actually OK with it. It’s not easy finding the time to watch a film that I haven’t seen before while trying to care of a four-and-a-half month old baby but I’m kind of content with it. It’s something I’m trying to do as I’ve been thinking a lot about scaling things back for the next year while I’m also trying to get back on resuming projects I planned this year though I’ve decided to push Michael Mann to next year as he and David Lean are going to be the only Auteurs subjects I will do next year as I just want the time to not do a lot of things. For now and for the rest of the year, I just want to concentrate on my Blind Spots, whatever films I can watch and review, get back to resuming on my Auteurs pieces for Kelly Reichardt and later work on J.C. Chandor, a retrospective on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a work-in-progress project about the films that my father loved.

While I’m still just trying to adjust to changes and coping, I have been aware of what’s been going on around me as there’s no question that things are getting fucked up as El Pendejo is just making things worse while new little buddy Boris Johnson is also fucking things up in Britain. Wildfires at the Amazon, protests in Hong Kong, and everything else that’s been happening makes it feel very bleak and things here in America aren’t any better as the recent news that military families are now being affected with those who either weren’t born in America or are married to someone from another country. It is proof that things are just fucked up and not getting better. There are ways to escape from it but also being aware of what is going on with popular culture, it doesn’t feel like it would get better as I’ve already accepted in being not in tune with today’s music culture as I can’t relate to it and I don’t want to. I’ll just stick to being the old guy that prefers to listen to the music of the past though I am excited for the new album from Tool that is to come out.

Film is often a place I can turn to as I’m excited for what Disney and Marvel are doing as well as the upcoming fall festival season though I’m not happy with the way Sony and Disney have doing in regards to Spider-Man as I do think Spider-Man needs to be in Marvel/Disney due to Sony’s spotty history with the character. I do hope a deal would be made so that Spider-Man can stay in the MCU. Then there’s the world of professional wrestling as things are getting really hot right now. WWE’s time of dominance is definitely coming to an end as it is clear that as much money as they’re making through branding and all sorts of shit. Fan interest has been declining because the product is shit, the booking is inconsistent and messy, and no one cares anymore. Even the NXT brand is now in danger as it’s going to be shown on the USA network with Smackdown Live! being moved to FOX later this year. It’s a good thing that there are alternatives to WWE such as MLW who have been picking up steam despite being in an obscure cable channel though other promotions such as Impact Wrestling (formerly known as TNA) and Ring of Honor are struggling. Then there’s AEW as they’re going to have their next pay-per-view event in All Out later tonight as they’re going to be on TV in October on TNT.

Yet, none of these promotions have created the waves that New Japan Pro Wrestling has done this summer in regards to the G1 Climax tournament that saw Kota Ibushi finally winning the tournament defeating Bullet Club’s Jay White in the finals. It was also in this same night at the Budokan in Tokyo where a historical event occurred earlier that night in what I believe is the greatest heel turn since Hulk Hogan turning on WCW to from the nWo at Bash at the Beach in July of 1996. I’ve been watching this clip numerous times and the impact of it is just incredible not just for the person who turned heel but it’s also for its aftermath just mere minutes after what happened.

For anyone that isn’t familiar with this story or the players involved, I’ll try to explain it the best as I can. Kenta Kobyashi aka KENTA from 2000-2014 was a wrestler working for another Japanese promotion in Pro Wrestling Noah where in the mid-2000s was part of a tag-team called the Takeover with Katsuyori Shibata as they were quite successful for a while. The two were close friends as Shibata would make a return to New Japan in 2012 where he would be a big star while KENTA would be Noah’s ace while appearances at Ring of Honor from 2005 to 2009 made him a cult star among fans and wrestlers such as CM Punk and Bryan Danielson who both took some of KENTA’s moves as part of their move sets. In 2014, KENTA signed with WWE as part of their NXT brand in an attempt to try something new as despite the endorsement of Hulk Hogan and Triple H. KENTA’s tenure as Hideo Itami in WWE from 2015 to 2019 has been a disappointing one due to injuries, setbacks, and any attempts for him to be in the main roster were dismissed in favor of being part of WWE’s cruiserweight division in 205 Live as he left in 2019.




Shibata who had unfortunately retired in 2017 due to a match with then IWGP-champion Kazuchika Okada on April 9 of that year where Shibata’s punishing style that included head butts got the best of him as he collapsed after the match and was rushed to the hospital where he suffered a subdural hematoma as he nearly died that day. After an appearance later that August at that year’s G1 Climax tournament, Shibata told the fans that he’s still alive though it is believed he might not wrestle ever again as he’s currently a coach for New Japan’s dojo in Los Angeles. Through his friendship with Shibata, KENTA arrived to New Japan in June this year with Shibata accompanying him as his arrival to New Japan is a big surprise but not everyone in New Japan was willing to embrace KENTA mainly because he’s a Noah guy as there is a rivalry between New Japan and Noah fans. KENTA’s time at this year’s G1 started off well with successful matches against Lance Archer, Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Evil but still didn’t get the acceptance of fans from New Japan despite some praise from his appearance in Dallas early in July during his match against Ibushi. After losing to Okada, a losing streak emerged and eventually lost the A Block altogether winning only 8 points.

Then comes the night of the finals at the Budokan where he was part of a six-man tag team with Yoshi-Hashi and Tomorhiro Ishii of the Chaos faction against Bullet Club’s Bad Luck Fale and the Guerillas of Destiny in Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa where Tonga made a tweet the night before that the Bullet Club had recruited a high-caliber athlete to the Bullet Club as it created some buzz. Especially since the Bullet Club had lost some buzz and momentum due to the departure of Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, Cody Rhodes, and Hangman Page in late 2018 due to their formation of AEW minus Scurll who remains under contract with ROH. It is in this match where KENTA did the unthinkable as he hit the running knee on the often-intimidating Ishii and then the Go to Sleep finisher allowing Tonga to pin Ishii as he is revealed to be the newest member of the Bullet Club where he aided them in attacking Yoshi-Hashi and members of the L.A. dojo.




In Japan, boos aren’t heard very often as Japanese wrestling fans are more reserved yet will display some emotion whether it’s to cheer for their favorites or quietly display their disdain for the heel. KENTA who is a polarizing for fans of New Japan suddenly got some of the loudest boos ever heard inside the legendary Budokan yet he was relishing the hate yet it was nothing compared to what was to happen next as if a miracle occurred. Katsuyori Shibata arrived to the ring and attacked KENTA as everyone in the Budokan lost their shit as they saw Shibata give forearm strikes to the G.O.D. and a kick in the head to Fale while doing this beautiful flying corner dropkick to KENTA where it was as if he hadn’t left wrestling at all. Of course, the number games got to Shibata thanks in part to Jado and his Singapore cane as KENTA would then display the ultimate act of disrespect by sitting Indian style on Shibata as he is now officially part of the Bullet Club.

Honestly, I couldn’t be more excited to be a wrestling fan at this moment though I’m also concerned about Shibata as it has been revealed he is cleared to get physical but to wrestle is not likely to happen. It should be noted that no one in the Bullet Club including KENTA touched his head which is a relief as well as to maintain the art of storytelling. I’m convinced that this is the hottest story right now in wrestling as it has to come to some sort of confrontation for WrestleKingdom 14 this coming January. Part of me wants to see Shibata beat the shit out of KENTA but there’s a side of me that doesn’t want him in the ring and further risk his health as I hope he can get someone to fight for him and his honor.

In the month of August 2019, I saw a total of 21 films in 7 first-timers and 14 re-watches which is likely to become the norm unless I’m able to watch new films soon though none of them are by women this month. The highlight of the month has definitely been my Blind Spot assignment in Marketa Lazarova. Here are my top 5 first-timers that I saw in August 2019:

1. Branded to Kill

2. Spider-Man: Far from Home

3. Sweet Virginia

4. Coriolanus

5. Descendants 3

Monthly Mini-Reviews

Descendants 3

The third and final film of Disney Channel’s trilogy of films about the children of famous Disney villains is definitely the best one of the series so far from its director Kenny Ortega but it’s also the most bittersweet as it’s the last film that Cameron Boyce has completed as he sadly passed away last month at the age of 20 due to a seizure which is a shame as he’s always came across as a genuine kid with a lot of promise. The film itself is actually more daring than it needed to be as it really says a lot about the current political climate of the time as it play into the idea of outside threats where Maleficent’s daughter Mal agrees to close the barrier between the land of Auradon and the Isle of the Lost to protect the people of the former unaware that its threat is from within the land of Auradon in Princess Aurora’s daughter Audrey who turns evil out of a jealousy towards Mal for marrying Belle and Beast’s son Ben. The performances of Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, and China Anne McClain are the real standouts with Cheyenne Jackson stealing the show as the famed villain Hades who is revealed to be Mal’s father. It’s a film that manages to be better than it should’ve been as well as do more to appeal than just its target audience of families, teens, tweens, and kids. It’s actually a much smarter film that manages to present a message of tolerance and unity in the right way while also being entertaining.

The Water Slide





From the Atlantic comes a documentary short film about the creation and unmaking of the world’s tallest water slide in Kansas that started off as a crazy idea and eventually turned tragic when a 10-year old boy was decapitated by the netting above the slide. It’s a short that started off interesting about its creation and then falls apart following the tragedy as it left too many questions into why this boy went to the slide as well as the fact that he didn’t even want to go on the slide. The information that wasn’t presented in this documentary short just makes it proof that it never goes all the way and never brings a satisfying conclusion.

Top 10 Re-Watches:

1. The Shining

2. Back to the Future

3. Widows

4. Police Story

5. Dick

6. The Lost Boys

7. The Muppets

8. 13 Going on 30

9. My Best Friend’s Wedding

10. White Chicks

That is it for August. I’m not really sure what new films I’m going to watch or whatever theatrical releases I’m doing other than films on my never-ending DVR list and what’s been on TV lately. I’m also thinking about doing a retrospective on the band Tool to celebrate the release of their new album Fear Inoculum by covering their body of work in my music blog as they’re one of my all-time favorite bands. I’ll just be spending much of my time watching over my nephew and catch up on film festival coverage as well as what is happening in AEW and New Japan. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2019