Anita knew that her landlord was bored and frustrated. She knew that some foreign movies could be cool, and apparently, this director was quite reputable in his home country. However, when Nenene rented it and offered for them to watch it with her instead of "getting paper cuts on all your noses," Anita quickly decided that she did not trust that lady's judgment anymore.
"This is stupid. There's some deformed chick singing behind his radiator, stomping on what looks like cow fetuses, and he doesn't react at all? Is this idiot brain damaged?"
"Shaddap, it's meaningful."
"Is it meaningful to have a haircut like the backside of a pencil, too?"
"I said shaddap."
"Why should I shut up? Nothing's happening!"
"I can't hear the movie over your whining."
"There's no damn sound!"
"Yes there is, you're just not listening. And don't curse."
"A bunch of wind noises don't count! What do you think you're missing?"
WHACK.
"Ow! That freakin' hurts, you know!"
At times like those, she envied her sisters' love for books. They at least enjoyed their entertainment by themselves, not to mention that they didn't have to sit through the dumb stuff other people liked. Anita found Nenene's movies very confusing and obnoxious. At least it flustered her sisters, though, so the film wasn't a total waste of time.
For some reason, the "just cut 'em up like regular chickens" scene overjoyed Maggie. She still hasn't figured that one out.
--
Michelle was ditzy, dorky, and sappy beyond belief. Anita was painfully aware of this, but when it came to finding a decent movie with her, she realized that she'd only barely scratched the surface. It was like she decided a movie's merits by the cuteness and/or color of the picture on front.
In fact, that's exactly what she did.
"Oooh, Anita, how about this one?"
"Eh, looks kinda dumb. No cartoons."
"This one, then!"
"Since when did you like musicals?"
"Music is the spice of life, Anita! Why would I not like musicals?"
"Have you even seen a musical before?"
"What gives you that idea?"
"You're holding Springtime for Hitler."
It was strange, Anita thought, that someone who vowed never to judge a book by its cover did not hesitate to do so for film.
"Can't you just pick an appropriate movie?"
"Patience, Anita. Finding a good book takes time, and so should a movie."
"It only takes that long for you because you buy everything on the shelf." At least Michelle didn't notice her grumbled asides.
"Here, look at this. Isn't it interesting?"
"Knights of the Thong? You have to be kidding me."
--
It wasn't like she had much right to tell them what they could and could not see. They didn't appreciate her personal taste in movies, but she didn't care. Action interested her; it was fun to watch and to laugh at. She never took them seriously, because they weren't meant to be taken seriously.
The only issue was when her housemates butted in and asked to watch it, too.
"No!"
"Listen, brat, if someone your age can see it, so can we. Hand it over, before I—"
"Knock it off! Leggo!"
"O-ho! Got it!"
"Give that back!"
"Nope, we're watching it now, and that's final."
"Sensei, what does the cover say?"
"Don't read it to her!"
"It's 'Blood Whirlwind IV'."
Eventually, she got fed up with this, and never brought another movie back home. Instead, she watched them at Hisami's house. Not because she thought Hisami would like watching Bruce Lee crush a man's head with his index finger, but because it was easier to calm Hisami down than to get Nenene to back off.
Of course, she also agreed to watch anything Hisami wanted afterwards; sitting through Wintertime Love probably made up for I Married a Kung-Fu Martian.
--
Everybody unanimously agreed that Maggie was the only one who could pick movies, for their own good. Since she was inexperienced with movies, however, they wound up with The Green Butchers.
It was pretty darn good.