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For this Special Thursday Cinema Night, first up is Drunken Angel (1948), a yakuza-themed film noir from the master himself, Akira Kurosawa, considered his first great film. A gangster (Toshiro Mifune) receives medical after being wounded in a gunfight, only to discover he has tuberculosis, too. The doctor tries to keep him in the hospital for treatment, and the two form an unlikely friendship. But uh-oh, what happens when the boss finds out his underling is having second thoughts about the whole gangster thing? Drama ensues. Considered one of the best Japanese films of the 1940s.

After that is Smile 2 (2024), the sequel to Smile (2022), which we watched yesterday. Its plot does not directly connect to the first, aside from its central conceit of trauma taking the form of ghosts with unsettling smiles. This time, the object of torment is not a psychiatrist, but a pop star (Naomi Scott), whose anxiety over the pressures of fame and fortune begin to drive her into insanity. Same director as the first film (Parker Finn), and considered by pretty much everyone to be superior to its predecessor. Let’s check it out.

We’ll start at 8PM EST on Blorptube, right here:

https://blorp.bot.nu/o/visual_cuisine

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

Doesthedogdie.com links:

CWs for Drunken Angel:

  • Drug addiction.
  • Alcoholism.
  • Hospital scenes.
  • Self-harm.
  • Gun violence.
  • Terminal illness.

CWs for Smile 2:

  • Child abandonment.
  • Abusive parents.
  • Stalking.
  • Gaslighting.
  • Drug use.
  • Drug addiction.
  • Alcoholism.
  • Death of animal.
  • Cruelty to animals.
  • Animal corpses.
  • Death of cat.
  • Death of pet.
  • Someone is physically restrained.
  • Someone’s mouth is covered.
  • Cutting of flesh.
  • Throat slitting.
  • Blood and gore.
  • Hand damage.
  • Dislocations.
  • Someone struggles to breathe.
  • Decapitations.
  • Choking.
  • Someone is burned alive.
  • Body horror.
  • Squashed head.
  • Unconsciousness.
  • Broken bones.
  • Tooth damage.
  • Torture.
  • Eye mutilation.
  • Stabbing.
  • Drug overdose.
  • Death of parent.
  • Jump scares.
  • Shower scenes.
  • Possession.
  • Audio gore.
  • Incarceration.
  • Mental hospital scene.
  • Mental illness.
  • Self-harm.
  • Violent mentally-ill person.
  • Dissociation.
  • Suicide attempt.
  • Suicidal ideation.
  • Unstable reality.
  • Meltdown.
  • Misophonia.
  • Anxiety attacks.
  • Suicide.
  • PTSD.
  • Jump scares.
  • Screaming.
  • Profanity.
  • Flashing lights.
  • Someone is watched without their knowledge.
  • Chronic illness.
  • Sad ending.
  • Honking horns.
  • Screeching tires.

Links to movies: