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Renfield and the Bamboo Princess

 Tuesday: Raising Arizona (1987)

        H.I. is a criminal who favors robbing convenience stores. Over his multiple stays in prison he falls in love with a female cop named Ed. They end up getting married. Ed leaves the force. They decide to try for a baby. Soon they discover they are unable to have children. Ed is devastated. Later she hears on the news of a couple who had quintuplets. She comes up with the idea to take one of their babies. Surely they won't miss one. For a time they are able to live as a family of three. But soon complications arise that put it all in jeopardy. I thought this movie was alright. It's a screwball comedy which I don't always like.

Wednesday: Catch the Fair One (2021)

        Kaylee is a young Native American woman who used to be a boxing champion. She has fallen on hard times. Her younger sister was taken. Kaylee has been searching for her. She discovers her sister was taken by sex traffickers.  There is a client who likes native girls. Kaylee lets herself be taken so she can find her sister. She enters a dark world had is difficult to get out of. This movie was alright. Really sad. Especially to think this happens all the time.

Friday: Renfield (2023)

        Renfield is Dracula's henchman. He takes care of Dracula and gets him blood. In return he has some of Dracula's powers, which he can access by eating bugs. After a serious attack Dracula needs to recuperate. Renfield takes him to New Orleans. Renfield wants out. He's tired of Dracula controlling everything. They have a toxic relationship. After an accidental run in with a local mob Renfield helps a cop, Rebecca, to take down some of the gang. Dracula finds out and things become more complicated. I thought this movie was good. It was more gory than I thought it was going to be, but still fun.

Saturday: Double Feature- The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013) and Living (2022)

       The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is a Japanese fairy tale. A bamboo cutter discovers a tiny princess in a bamboo shoot. After bringing her to his wife the princess turns into a baby. The couple decided to raise her as their own. She grows faster than normal children. The princess loves to be outside and play with animals and other children. Her father has high hopes for her. He believes she is destined to be a real princess. This is confirmed when he finds another bamboo shoot that has gold and fine fabrics in it. He builds a palace for her in the city. Then moves his family to the palace. The princess gets training to be a real princess. She gets the name Kaguya.  Soon suitors hear of her beauty and wants to have her as their wife. She sets them on impossible quests before she will accept their proposals. All the while she longs to be back in country where she grew up. This movie was good. Darren Criss was a voice in it.

       Living is about a man, Williams, who works for the county in England. He lives an uneventful life, just going through the motions. Then he finds out he has a terminal illness and only has months to live. Williams decides to live while he can. He takes time off work to do the things he likes. I thought this movie was good.

Sunday: Ocean Waves (1993)

       In his last year of high school a new girl transfers to Taku's school. His friend, Yutaka, has a crush on her. Rikako is mysterious. No one really knows what her story is. Or why she transferred from Tokyo in her senior year. On a school trip to Hawaii she asks Taku for money. He gives it to her. She promises to repay him, but doesn't even after they were back home for a while. Then he gets a call from her friend saying she was flying to Tokyo when they were just supposed to go on a short local trip. Taku ends up going with her. He supports her when she finds out her father, who lives in Tokyo still, has moved on after the divorce. Taku and Rikako's relationship is complicated. Even more so with Yutaka still having feelings for her. This movie was alright. I have now seen all the Studio Ghibli films. Well all the ones I'm willing to see. There are two that are more for really little kids.

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