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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) To resolve serious problems in a matter of minutes. To show murdered innocent citizens and to exploit the silliest comic relief character in the world within mere seconds. To enhance a kitschy feel with odd lighting and an overdose of CGI. I don't think there's anything positive to say. The main attraction of the previous movie, the dragon who got that cliffhanger, gets very little screen time and what's more, none of these dwarves that we have been travelling with for the duration of three movies seem to have any unique personality. All of the dialogue is centered on the plot, which too has little to offer. All the visuals are centered on either those conversations about the next developments in this plot or on silly CGI heavy action sequences. There's not one grain of atmosphere, there isn't even a hint of a sense of adventure. For so much special effects there is little imagination and I suspect even children will get tired of the hackneyed message "greed is bad, m'kay, money divides people" this movie keeps shoving in your face. It's a complete trainwreck, the worst in the series. ★☆☆☆☆

Somebody I don't know just played suki suki daisuke in the 80's and 90's room. I am so proud! ;3 Triggering that latent-infant violence, introducing all of plug to the Japanese gods and goddesses.

Don't you hate it when you notice the aspect ratio of a film, tv series or even music video is all wrong and the person next to you says "so what, no big deal, we have full screen now"... Yes... YES, IT IS A BIG DEAL ALRIGHT

10 likes a day is the maximum, I just checked.

The Black Swan (1942) This movie won the Academy Award for cinematography back in the day, and it's very clear it was deserved. The color palette is gorgeous and nearly every frame would make a great movie poster or promotional postcard (though one could argue Maureen O'Hara's red lips may have won some folks over). It's short but sweet with a running time of less than 90 minutes and offers a decent mixture of action, drama and intrigue. However, the main characters are quite wooden. Tyrone Power is too abusive and agressive at first and eventually O'Hara fell for his "charms" way too easily (not much of a spoiler, you could feel this was coming from the very beginning). The ending was quite sudden and a bit too cheesy. You might say this movie is escapism in its purest form: it's not complex, surprising or thought provoking, but it's self aware and simply wants to serve you a fun little adventure and it delivers. ★★★☆☆ Il sorpasso (or The Easy Life) (1962) One of the godfathers of road movies, this trip to early 60's Italy is one of the best movie experiences I've had in a long time. Playboy-ish "carpe diem" fellow meets shy and serious law student and takes him on a little ride. The two connect in a way, tell eachother stories, visit eachother's family, etc. We spend a long time in the car (a beautiful Lancia Aurelia convertible for car enthusiasts, worth a heck of a lot of money today) and the story slowly unfolds from an easygoing trip at the movies to a more sophisticated character study... and perhaps you could say it takes a shot at philosophy of life. It is rich in atmosphere with beautiful imagery, numerous memorable scenes and that's all heightened by effective use of early 60's pop music in the soundtrack. In a way it's a perfect time capsule, but it's also a timeless story. One that lingers in your mind for some time after watching. ★★★★★

Twin Peaks has its infamous second season low point, but the last couple of episodes are incredible. It's worth it to hang on till the end.

Le pont du Nord (1981) Little seen French film set in Paris. One middle aged woman who has lived through a lot and a young rebellious girl who lives in her own world sometimes, meet by chance and spend several days walking through Paris. They come into possession of a couple of maps and try to find out what connects the woman's love interest and his unknown troubles to these odd puzzles. Quite an unusual movie but it was certainly fascinating. It was beautifully shot too. It's hard to describe this movie or why I liked it so much... one has to experience it, I guess. ★★★★☆ The Wanderers (1979) Lovely story about youth that takes us back to the early and mid 1960's. We follow a couple of young characters who believe they need to join a gang to be safe and to really be somebody. It's a coming of age film in a way that the various characters come to grips with themselves and... well, learn about life in general. Various subjects like racism, gang life, brotherhood, love and violence pass the eyes of the viewer against the backdrop of the changing 60's. Especially during the second half of the movie it treats us with little scenes to show what was going on back in the day and to put it all into perspective. I especially liked how the writers do not directly speak to the audience in a "hm, racism is bad, m'kay?" manner with the usual silly monologues. The aim seems to be not to teach the audience anything, but to simply show a slice in the life of these characters and the events that shape them. The main stars are the young actors, but it was a nice surprise to see Karen Allen on the screen who would later become a very recognizable face in the Indiana Jones series. After seeing this movie I really want a Wanderers gang jacket. ★★★★☆

I don't believe this website is a good representation of today's society.

I can't vote on this poll. There are two kinds of Engrish. The "good kind" is when English lyrics are sung with a heavy accent and/or mediocre/bad pronunciation. I don't mind much. The bad kind is when it looks someone threw some Japanese words through an online translator to create nonsensical and ungrammatical English lyrics or song titles that could be the names of Dali's paintings except the words are lined up in a random order. This is just lazy.

I'll bet it was deemed too erotic and removed upon request.

I will be disappointed if the setlist of that live won't include 12 consecutive performances of "13 Stairs minus 1".

Usual time meaning in an hour or so? That's okay but I'll be there in 10 minutes.

A few days ago I saw the last two remaining Best Picture nominees for the Oscars (Selma, American Sniper) and, if anyone gives a damn, this is my order of preference: Birdman (great, but silly ending) The Grand Budapest Hotel (visually stunning, funny, bit gimmicky) Boyhood (good, but bit shallow with little imagination) Selma (nice, good decision to focus on one important event rather than King's whole life, but too sentimental and "middle of the road") The Theory of Everything (has certain charm but rather empty and takes many shortcuts) The Imitation Game (meh, plays on safe, 50/50 on drama/history, never dives deeper into the material) American Sniper (one-dimensional, patriotic, aimless) Whiplash (hated the whiny message it holds and the nonsensical characters and dramatic events) I'll predict Birdman as winner because it involves modern world stuff like the influence of social media and hype and has a key scene concerning critics and their reviews which I think will win the votes of many Academy members. The Grand Budapest Hotel doesn't stand a chance because it has no substance, it's good fun, but the Academy wants some substance. Boyhood has a fair chance, partly because its running time allows for some sort of connection to develop between the viewer and the boy, has a good chance of winning the viewer's heart towards the ending. The others are basically "fillers", because it's clearly Boy vs. Bird. Anyone else care to share their two cents?

YES! In The Netherlands, first time since... 2011? Count me in!

The Conversation (1974) A suspenseful thriller/drama with a very detailed main character. It's slow with tons of long scenes with very few (if any) spoken words, yet there is this unnerving feeling of constant pressure and uncertainty all throughout this movie. In the beginning what's most important is the mystery: the conversation, what's it really about? As time passes the mental state of the main character (a superb role of Gene Hackman!) becomes at least equally as important. Great movie. ★★★★☆ Nightcrawler (2014) I'm having a hard time thinking of a more messed up sociopath than the one played by Jake Gyllenhaal in this one. A very dark story, a black comedy or satire of sorts, of a man who gets himself a freelance job of tracking and filming "news channel worthy" footage of crimes and accidents, and gets involved very, very deeply. Although the last part of the movie is not nearly as strong as the middle part, I still like how they wrapped it up. This is not a complex movie that deals with immorality and the question where one draws the line. The answer to that has already been established in your own head before sitting down to watch this. Instead it's a very dark ride through the life of someone whose actions seemingly have no boundaries. ★★★★☆ Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) The visuals are nothing short of a miracle. One may think of the "edit the footage so it looks like it has no cuts" trick as a gimmick, but when you hire cinematographer Lubezki, you can bet the result will be wonderful. This is a great movie all around except for the ridiculously lazy ending. What on earth were they thinking? There are several things wrong with the last scene(s) but once I got over the disappointment of that ending I realized it was a very involving and even a rather intimate experience if you cut out the last part. ★★★★☆ Spartacus (1960) Possibly the most by-the-numbers movie that Stanley Kubrick has directed? An adventure on an epic scale with Kirk Douglas as the title character. It's good but when you present a 3 hour+ movie I expect some surprises or at least some interesting turns along the way... but there were none. Rather straightforward in all departments and sometimes even uninteresting. During some scenes I was waiting for the promised developments that the characters were talking about rather than enjoying what was happening on the screen right then. That's never a good thing. ★★★☆☆

I'm all for a split. I suggest the forums to be named "Japanese Music News (Non-Visual)" and "Trombe's Private Quarters (Visual)".

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) A lighthearted and charming comedy by Woody Allen. Aside from the usual, sometimes a bit silly, romantic aspects (the man is really obsessed with this) there is plenty to see here and you could make a strong case that this movie is an ode to cinema as a whole and what this medium can do to its audience. The main character, a role of Mia Farrow, is in all sorts of personal and financial troubles and visits the movie theatre often to get some distraction (and because she simply really loves movies). And suddenly the movie characters come to life and quite literally jump off of the screen. The romantic main plot is not without flaws but all things considered this is one you should not miss. If ever there was anything you could describe with the (slighty cliche) saying "a movie for people who love movies"; this must be it. ★★★★☆ Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Never seen this before, so I guess I'm a bit late to this one as most have probably seen it as a child: this is a fine science fiction blockbuster. Noteworthy moments are the great special effects towards the end, the terrific horror-ish part in the middle, and the long and steady build-up in the beginning with some great scenes to set the atmosphere. It was also refreshing to see a main character with whom you don't necessarily have to sympathize and the absence of answers regarding the "close encounters". The plot is not an open-and-shut case, it leaves the viewer with questions that will never be answered. It's not a typical movie where a problem presents itself and at the end the problem is solved. In comparison to most other Spielberg movies, this particular movie might leave one mystified. What just happened and what will happen after this? Who knows... and who really cares? Do we need an answer to everything to be satisfied? ★★★★☆ Pale Rider (1985) Directed by Clint Eastwood, who also plays the 'title character'. At times this feels like a sequel to a movie that never existed. There are parts where Eastwood tries to be vague and mysterious, but fails to bring out the curiosity in me. The mysterious figure is simply not as interesting as some of Eastwood's other roles, most notably the "High Plains Drifter" in the movie of the same name (the two movies are similar in parts). The plot of this one is never entirely original, but rather a mixup of scenarios of several other westerns. It is dangerous to create a savior with godlike shooting skills and the ability to disappear whenever he wants to, all while possessing the kind of charisma that makes all women he encounters (and saves from the bad guys at just the right time!) fall for him. It is dangerous because when the character is not interesting enough, or if the movie's script is not good enough, it quickly becomes a joke, a stereotype from a comic book, rather than a role to take seriously. This movie just about balances on that edge. ★★★☆☆

I recall some talk about a 'connect-the-songs' theme during the last big plug.dj session. As in: you have to connect the previous spin with a song title that is somehow similar. For example, this chain: Dir en grey - The Final > Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand > X Japan - Standing Sex > etcetera. I'm not a big supporter of this thing because it requires everyone to search through their music libraries each time right before they get to play... and then look for an eligible Youtube video/Soundcloud file. It'll probably turn into an annoyance real soon. There are other themes that are much more convenient.

I would be up for that!

Whenever someone mentions this I feel bad for missing out because I only got to know the group a couple of months after the show. Another one I missed was Kagrra, in 2008 because I somehow wasn't aware of the concert being held. It's a shame none of them came back to perform again. Otherwise I am happy I got to see all that I wanted to see. I don't see a future for visual rock concerts in The Netherlands now. The last one that held any kind of allure was D in 2012.