RASHOMON (1950)

Opening in a fierce rainstorm we find two men (a woodcutter and a priest) taking shelter in the dilapidated ruins of a old city gate.  A third man (a commoner) runs in from the rain and sees that both men look very troubled and deep in thought.  They tell him of a rape and murder that happened a few days ago.  This is where RASHOMON makes movie history, because instead of just telling a straightforward story it tells the same story from multiple viewpoints.

The woodcutter and the priest tell the commoner about how earlier in court (yes, these stories themselves are told secondhand) the bandit, the wife, the police agent and the victim (who's story is told via a medium!) all told their versions of the story and we, the viewer, see them played out.  Added to this the priest and the woodcutter also saw some of what happened in person and they tell the commoner.  So in all we get six different people telling the story (or a portion of the story) and for all we know they could all be incorrect!

Added to this novel approach at storytelling we get some masterful cinematography by Kazuo (UGETSU, FLOATING WEEDS) Miyagawa, great acting by an impressive cast (I was especially blown away by Machiko Kyo who I thought was fantastic!), haunting music by Fumio (UGETSU, SEVEN SAMURAI) Hayasaka, great editing (by Kurosawa himself), a legendary script by Shinobu (SEVEN SAMURAI, HARAKIRI) Hashimoto and Akira Kurosawa and the best direction by Kurosawa up to this point in his career.

I doubt that younger audiences will care for it, but anybody interested in Cinema history, especially Japanese Cinema history should check it out.  Highly recommended.

THE X-FILES (1998)

I never watched "The X-Files" when it originally ran on network TV.  It was only recently that I started watching it on Netflix and I really like it.  The chemistry between Agents Scully and Mulder, the crazy stories, quick pace, quirky humor, solid acting.  It's a great show.  That said, I've noticed (I'm currently about to start Season 6) that all of the episodes can be divided between the "Monster of the Week" episodes and the continuing "mythology" episodes.  To me, the "Monster of the Week" episodes are far superior to the slow-moving "mythology" ones, especially the comedic ones!  Unfortunately, this first X Files movie simply comes off as an extended "mythology" episode with a larger budget.

To me, it seems that the benefit of making a movie over a normal network TV episode is you can push the limits and have more things in your bag of tricks in order to surprise and thrill the audience.  Unfortunately, instead of pushing the envelope this film doesn't have any cussing or nudity or excessive violence or expand on Mulder's porn addiction...instead it's honestly just a boring "mythology" episode with a longer runtime.

I still liked it and don't regret watching it, but I was really hoping for much more.  I would have been happier though if the film have been like one of the funnier "Monster of the Week" episodes like "Bad Blood", "Small Potatoes" or "War of the Coprophages".  I'm also getting sick and tired of Scully and Mulder not knocking boots.

Update 1/18/16: Just watched the second X-Files film THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE (2008) and it was terrible.  The entire film was dull, dreary and pointless. Even worse, the depictions of Mulder and Scully were so different than from the earlier seasons, when we fell in love with them, that it's almost insulting to the viewer.  I wish I had never watched it.