Category: Movies

popcorn movie, fun for the theater, but the badness may come through on the small screen. Skip the rental.

I thought it was competently made and the sets and customes were very fun, and very Hollywood.

2 of 4 stars.

Noah Baumbach was Wes Anderson’s collaborator on Life Aquatic and is also working with him pon the 2006 The Amazing Mr. Fox. This time, Anderson returns the favor by producing this movie, directed by Baumbach.

Squid is a funny depiction of a dysfunctional family–funny because it is a particular kind of dysfunctional family: a writing professor dad and movie critic mother in Brooklyn in the 80’s.

Like Wes Anderson’s movies that create a distinctive, whole, specific world for his stories, Squid too succeeds in nailing the specifics. This extends from sets and clothes to casting and dialogue. All of it is very believeable.

The acting was fantastic, but it wasn’t something I noticed until after I thought about it. The mom and dad and kids were too real for me to think of them as actors. No, this family was faling apart in the most disturbing way, and I was laughing at them: sometimes in disbelief, sometimes in horror. And sometimes in recognition.

3.5/4 stars.

saw at Lumiere with W. 11/27 730pm.

I did a triple feature a few Fridays ago. It was just after I went to the dentist, so I was downtown at the theatre at 5pm, and didn’t reemerge till 10pm.

40 year old virgin. Well, it is funny, in the same way that a chocolate shake is tasty. But not a comedy classic or anything. 3/4 stars.

I thought the casting was good, especially the love interest (who I have completely forgotten). Interesting how the script tried to answer the question ‘how did this happen?’ and how conservative it is, really, in the end.

2 stars

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Wallace and Grommit was *such* a fantastic joy to see. I definitely want to watch it again. I caught a 7pm show, so there were lots of adults and kids in the audience. Man, it was so much fun.

What’s the magic formula? Two great comic characters, incredibly expressive animation, and a lovely, carefully crafted world for the story.

I’ll go see this one again.

3.5/4 stars
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Corpse Bride.

Tim Burton, back to form. I liked it, especially the song and dance numbers. Story was a bit of a formula, but still, well done.

3/4

It is funny how a medium shapes my expectations.

From TV I expect TV cliches, but suffer them for character advancement. That is, give me an interesting cast and let the characters develop, and I’ll hang with you far longer than I should.

For a movie, I want character development as well, because that’s the real story. Not what happened, but who were you, and who are you now? What changed about you, and what did not change?

Serenity is a lot of fun, and the characters are well written and strong, but there’s a vague dissatisfaction with the mechanics of it. I can hear the nine act story structure creaking along, and it robs me of my enjoyment a bit.

Still, maybe I’m bemoaning this probable final outing for the series, and characters I loved.

This is a really fun, entertaining western set in space, and you should definitely see it.

3/4 stars.

This is a movie I need to see again. This is a fine, fine movie.

This is a sequel (in the best sense of that word) to the fantastic ‘In the mood for Love’. Tony Leung returns, but his character has been irrevocably changed by the events of the previous film, and while he is surrounded by women and love, he is unable to… reorder his interior feelings to connect successfully to the people around him.

I talk to people about this movie and they don’t like the coolness and coldness of Leung’s character. But to me, that is what makes this story true. Also, there are no clear explanations. Why does he stay distant from the gorgeous Zang Ziyi, who clearly cares for him? Is it because of his past, or simply because she is a prostitute?

Who knows? All we know is that he can’t, even when asked directly, allow himself to care for her, and when she faces this, she has to tear herself away.

His friendship with the hotel manager’s daughter, Miss Fang, played by Faye Wong, is easier to understand. He

Once again Wong Kar Wai drenches the screen with atmosphere.

Saw this at Shibuya’s Cinepalace on thursday. Thursday is men’s day, only 1000 yen.

A love story told as an martial arts fantasy. There’s a little bit of wirework but it is mostly special effects and CG. Very pretty, and fun to watch. CG is not quite up to ILM standards but it wasn’t so bad as to be distracting.

Odagiri Joe and Nakayama Yukie are in rival shinobi clans, the Koga and Iga. Since Nobunaga has united Japan, the age of war has ended and also the need for the Shinobi. Nobunaga orders Hattori Hanzo to have the shinobi clans fight each other, hoping that they will eliminate each other.

So, basically: “I love you, but I have to kill you.”

Ya, young love is tough.

Though it’s worth noting that I saw this without English subtitles, and so maybe that’s not the story at all. Though I’m pretty sure it is.

Anyway, it’s fun. Definitely in the hollywood mold of genre movie, with a Japanese story.

3 stars.

Pretty Entertaining. Loved the production design. And the Oompas where fantastic. I loved all the musical numbers with the oompas.

The glass elevator was cool.

Still, Gene Wilder will always be Wonka for me.

2.5 stars out of 4.

saw this with A. at AMC 1000 on Monday the 9th of August. Did a little translating for her.

I saw Rize on Sunday night. It’s a documentary with a fascinating subject: hip-hop dancing clowns as an alternative to gang violence in the inner city. It’s not really hip-hop, but a dance style called ‘krumping’ which is fast, intense, and aggressive.

Ebert’s review of the movie is more of a backgrounder on the topic.

There’s a montage of archival footage of African tribal dances and krumping that makes you raise your eyebrows at the obvious similarities. Particularly the makeup on the faces. Henna tattoos and clown paint, but they are not so different, really.

The links between the dances and the community is alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming. Most of these kids come from troubled homes, and they latch onto the dance family fiercely–even if the father figure is a literally a clown.

The director has a definite point of view. He’s got some issues to highlight, a story to tell, and even though he’s not using narration he makes sure that you understand what he thinks about it. Some people may resist this, because otherwise his story telling style is neutral, and it doesn’t seem to jive. However, if you go see a Michael Moore film, or go see Super Size Me, the bias is up front, and you expect it.

The one fault this film has is in its visual style. The director is a photographer, so he can’t resist using great lighting and commercial-quality setups, even when it contradicts the humble origins of the dance. It has the effect of making the dancers and the dancing into objects or products, and because I wanted it to be real, I didn’t like it presented as a manufactured experience.

Sure did look good, though. See this if you get a chance.

3/4 stars.

Saw this at Kabuki with e8. Saturday matinee. A grey, grey day.

we did lunch first at maki in Japan town. Somewhere in the course of conversation, e8 claimed to know what the word ‘monogamous’ meant. Since he had told me a funny story about sending a bottle of sake to two Japanese girls at a sushi place, I teased him about it. Just as he was shoving salad in his mouth, I said, “oh right… if by monogamy you mean sending two lesbians a bottle of sake.”

He froze. You could see this intense look of concentration as he tried to get his food down without spewing it all over the table.

The funniest part was later, when he related the story to mutual friends. He thought I said “if by monogamy you mean fucking two lesbians with a champagne bottle”. Which is far, far funnier.

Then we went to see Land of the Dead.

E8 paid, cause I left my wallet at home. So this serves as a reminder to pay him $35.

I saw this in February, but wound up going on a date to see this one at the Metreon, this time dubbed in English. Dubbing or not, this is not a great story, and I give it 2/4 stars.

Still, the animation is wonderful, with some really joyous bits of flowers and blades of grass and such attention to detail. Watching it a second time makes me realize that there is always something interesting going on visually, and how great the matte paintings in the backgrounds are.

I was pleased that I didn’t miss much in my Japanese-only screening. I think the only part I really didn’t understand was Howl’s tantrum where he turns into Gel and slugs off. And because of the translation being so… weird, I’m not sure if I missed anything at all.

Yay me.