Category: Movies

Kaena: The Prophesy was a disappointment. I didn’t look too hard at the poster, but I figured I’d give a French animated film a chance. Bah.

The subtitle (and sad to see the it also in the French original) adds nothing. There’s a prophecy, but it doesn’t have the dramatic tension of even the Old Testament. Its just–see girl, learn of prophesy, “hey, she’s the one!” And the fact that there was a prophesy really didn’t even play into the story–other than being the flimsy reason for an alien to trust a human.

Poor story telling.

The scenario writers should go back and read some of the Old Testament prophesies. At least they benefit from the King James English. (or French)

Nice special effects, but they don’t amount to much without a story. And what’s with the fade outs? It felt like you ran out of film, or tried to edit, which is a disaster when you are rendering your scenes.

I wondered if peeps from Pixar and Dreamworks Animation were in the theater. You know, out of professional curiosity. If they did, I bet they went home not too worried about the French animation industry.

Still, the CG was impressive. Just gotta find a story.

Ok, done rambling.

[ Kaena: The Prophecy, 9:15pm, Red Vic ]

There’s something delicious about this movie. It’s so tasty and satisfying I want to go see it again.

[ AMC 1000 Van Ness, Friday night, 11:45pm, w/ JB]

I was at the 4 Star on Monday night, and they have fliers out for their 8th Annual Asian film festival. So exciting.

Festival Website

Well, I know what I’m doing in August….

I’ll update this entry later with a list of films I’m interested in seeing…

Ok, so I’ve watched 2 Shinya Tsukamoto movies in the last couple days. They are both amazing.

Bullet Ballet. I loved this movie. Loved it. So tense, violent, brutal. And so emotionally real. The main character comes home to his apartment to find that his girlfriend of ten years has killed herself–with a gun. Guns are uncommon in Japan–and he starts to obsess about where she got the gun, and then decides to get one himself. Chaos ensues.

I’m a big fan of movies where ordinary people lose it, and this film delivers for me in a big way.

The actress Mano Kirina plays a punkish girl gangster; her looks and fierceness absolutely glow in the black and white world that Tsukamoto paints with his camera.

A Snake of June( Midnight Eye review) is, you could safely say, an erotic movie. But it’s not pornographic, and it’s not sexist.

A conservative woman lives with her cleaning-obsessed husband. They have a companionable, but not intimate relationship. One day she receives a package of photos in the mail. They are photos of herself, masturbating. The photographer blackmails her into doing in public what she’s heretofore only done privately.

-/-

Both films are shot in black and white (A Snake of June in a kind of blue tinted monochrome), and they have a distinct editing and visual style. Tsukamoto is the screenwriter, D.P., producer, dirtor and actor in these movies. So it’s fair to judge that these movies bear his indelible style.

I watched both of these on DVD. Both were Chinese DVDs, and Bullet Ballet had English subtitles.

One more thing. Tsukamoto’s musical collaborator, Chu Ishikawa, does a brilliant job with the score in both movies. The soundtrack is a real pleasure.

There’s nothing better than being surprised by a movie.

So I’m going to tell you to stop reading here, and if you ever run across a movie called “The American Astronaut” to go watch it.

imdb link.

I saw this this afternoon at the Red Vic Theater on Haight Street. I came out of Zona Rosa full of burrito, and the movie caught my eye.

I was early, so I kept walking and I wound up going into CityOptix. What a nice store. Really attractive painting and cases. And lots of cool frames. On impulse I bought a new pair of glasses. The woman who helped me was really good–when I shop for frames, I’m really looking for an opinion–no, a first impression–of each frame I put on.

This is funny because I also just spent a lot of money on a pair of frames in June when I was in New York. I like both of these frames–they have more personality then what I’ve worn in the past. A little edge, I think.

On the other hand, my eyeglass expenses are getting out of hand. I don’t think I get to buy new glasses in 2006. (I usually buy new ones every couple years.)

Anyway, I tried the frames–went to the movie, bought a cookie, laughed a lot, and came back to CityOptix afterwards to plunk down my credit card.

Fun afternoon.

So, I thought I was going to see a goofy Hong Kong comedy, but it turned out to be a pretty good melodrama. More of a melo-drama/thriller.

official website:Love BattleField

so, it’s a B-movie melodrama, but it’s got great characterization. A couple moments at the beginning that manage to capture the essence of a relationship–the quiet moments, the fights. And then the chaos begins.

Some decent acting–not too over the top, and a great set of gangsters.

update: One line that’s stayed with me–over a week later: “You have it too easy… you don’t value life.”

So, this is the way to do animation. Beautiful combination of watercolors, and subtle, effective use of computer graphics.

a great story, and atmosphere.

really leverages the power of animation–rather than pursuing realism.

SoCal college grad hosts Hong Kong parents, sibling and boyfriend on a graduation trip through Americana.
Hilarity ensues.

Story had moments, but needs to be tighter. Decent casting for comedy, but didn’t move into the dramatic very well. Ultimately too specific and too literal. The cinematic crime is to focus on the details rather than the theme.

I wonder if the director will ever read this mini review. This movie is a remarkable first effort. There is a lot of talent and potential here–some of the scenes speak very clearly. The ingredients are there, but it doesn’t quite gel together. So, a very good effort, but it’s a solid B grade. I’m sure the next one will be better.

March 6

TRAVELLERS AND MAGICIANS gorgeous movie, incredible location. High production values. Really liked the ‘dreamland’ storytelling.

One of the best films of the festival.

Movies – March 6th

DREAM CUISINE
NHK 21 PRODUCTION. Fascinating subject matter. A story of love between an old couple expressed thru fights. They run a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo that preserves a very particular regional cuisine (Shendong province?). After years inTokyo, she wants to move back to teach the cuisine that has been lost in the modernization of China. He wants to stay in Japan. Poignant, funny portrait of love in old age.

INVISIBLE LIGHT
isoteric.