Go see Spider Man! It's pretty darned cool. Spidey was/is/always has been one of my favorite all-time comic book characters. He's a nerdy smart-mouth that gets the job done but still Has Problems. As I recall, he was the first "real life" superhero... he wasn't a godlike alien nobleman (Superman) or a super-rich wacko business man (Batman). He still had to worry about paying rent and holding down a job.

I thought the movie was a little long (120-something minutes), but was still great. Ellen thought it was great period. Richie, Ellen's brother, says that must mean the thing is god-awesome because, according to him, we're the pickiest movie people on the planet. Sam Raimi, who is not Harold Ramus (DOH!), used his characteristic cameraman-on-crack style to very good effect. In fact, I think he may have toned it down a bit just because he was under so much pressure.

We saw Metropolis on DVD. It was weird. Not quite as weird as Akira, which was pretty but didn't make any damned sense, but close. Metropolis was unusual to me because it didn't much look like standard anime. Reminded me very much of Ralph Bakshi's later stuff.

Is it just me, or does 75% of anime dialog consist of the characters screaming out each other's names? TETSUOOOOOOO!!!!

We also rented The Iron Monkey, a Hong Kong Kung-Fu movie. It was great, especially if you like Jackie Chan or Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon. It's a much more "authentic" Asian movie, with this almost schizophrenic combination of slapstick, drama, and action. Crouching Tiger wasn't like this, and didn't do very well in China because it was considered "too Asian". The fight scene with wooden posts on fire has to be seen to be believed.

It's kind of funny. I'm always horrified that people use American movies to judge our culture, yet I like Asian movies in no small part because I feel it gives me an insight into their culture.

Japanese films are really big on in media res, almost to a fault. The main characters often have a tendency to ignore big things that go on around them, and the story does too. A stadium explodes in the background at one point in Akira, and while the characters do react, the narrative continues almost as if it didn't occur. At best, this can be disorienting but challenging, at worst it can leave you stranded in a sea of pretty pictures.

Watching anime gives you the impression that the Japanese are an extremely frenetic people with a very quick, dry sense of humor and a deep fascination with explosions, "hardware" (in the "I like Star Wars because of all the hardware" kind of way), and robots. I've read at least some other stuff (3 different links in there people... pay attention) on Japanese culture, but almost certainly not enough, and probably not the right stuff (anyone with suggestions? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?). I'm not sure I'd enjoy visiting Japan, because I think I might try too hard to be a super polite guest and not actually learn anything. Still, it's a very interesting place, and people.

I haven't seen anywhere near as much Chinese cinema, but what I have seen has a distinctly different flavor than Japanese films have. Chinese films seem more slapstick (this is not a bad thing, I like slapstick), more laid back in plot but more frenetic in characterization, and in general have a much stronger narrative thread, perhaps because there isn't as much assumed cultural context. I also haven't studied China anywhere near as much, mostly only their ancient history. Again, book recommendations are always welcome!

Of course, there's more to Asia than China and Japan. Southeast Asia seems an exotic brew of hard-headed Vietnamese, abstractly spiritual Cambodians, Big-Brother-ly Singaporese, as well as the Quixotic Muslim m?lange of Malaysia. And that's just the start! Asia is big. Trying to stuff all Asians into one or two boxes is like trying to say New Yorkers are part of New England. It just ain't so.

But all of you in the world, I want you to think about this: Would you want other people to judge your culture by your movies? Would that give someone who didn't know anything else about you a really accurate impression? Keep this in mind the next time you see an American movie. We don't much like the way Hollywood portrays us. It's no wonder you don't.