Far from Heaven (2002) Thoughts
I liked this. It wasn’t grotesque romance melodrama. It balanced between subtle and confrontational. Very natural plot flow. I’m not really surprised it was on the top movies of the decade list for 2000-2010 on Metacritic.
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Was pretty bad. Anne Hathaway’s character was decent, though. The story was all mixed up and even though I’m not an Alice fanatic or something, I really don’t understand the purpose of the plotline they had. It didn’t really make it more interesting. It was quite boring actually. Which is strange for such a visually arresting movie. Maybe I should watch the original Alice in Wonderland film.
“The fruit of experience is beauty” / UGETSU
雨月物語 or Ugetsu or Tales of Moonlight and Rain is a 1953 film made by Kenji Mizoguchi. It’s not a subtle film. You might even say it’s the opposite of subtle as four characters are developed to tell the same story. It’s also not subtle because it’s emotionally arresting. I didn’t cry at this movie, I just teared up a bit, but 30 minutes later, an hour later, it hits you like a boulder over and over. It’s that intense. It makes you want to wake up from whatever dream you’re living. It makes you want to love someone, unconditionally, eternally, inhumanly, even, or rather, especially if it’s not possible.
This movie is not a love story. It’s a very colorful drama, with pain, horror, comedy, mystery, and finally love. The scenery is extremely delicate. Perfectly balanced with the artistic direction is the timing and camera movement, that move slowly from side to side as if you’re being cradled. You watch silently as people die, love, suffer and dream. The timing is perfect. It’s fast paced in general, except for a few key scenes where the slow pace increases the intensity tenfold.
It’s a dark movie, which I wasn’t totally in love with because it made things harder to see, but it fit the tone. I tried not to give away too much in my post because the mystery element of the film is very entertaining to see unfold. I will say however that it is a ghost story, and has a couple disturbing scenes. It’s all necessary to go full-circle with the movie’s karmic mood.
Have something to say about this post? Contact me.The finest silk
Of choicest hue
May change and fade away;
As would my life,
My beloved,
If thou shouldst prove untrue…
Some Like It Hot (1959)
I really liked this movie. It was genuinely funny. The only qualm I have is Marilyn’s character. I didn’t like the tragicomic element. The alcoholism and the sadness (on her end) of the deception, and how she just accepts it guilelessly at the end sort of put a damper on the comedy. I guess Sugar was right, she wasn’t very bright. The character was a bit annoying, but maybe at the time it sold because Marilyn’s life was similarly tragic? And that’s what people wanted to see? Her performance is the only part of the film that didn’t really click for me. Otherwise, it was really funny, and I love the gender bending humor.
Edit: Sort of related, I really like the typography on this poster: (Czech)
Rosemary’s Baby and The Story of Late Chrysanthemums
Rosemary’s Baby – I liked this movie. Don’t think I’ve seen another horror movie that has such good humor throughout it.
“Awful things happen in every apartment house.”
The Story of Late Chrysanthemums – Only saw this movie because it was on the BFI list. Even though it was long and in a foreign language, I really liked it. (Long movies are tiring for me as well as reading subtitles for 2 hours). The story is a strong one and I liked the long shots. I read that originally the director chose long wide shots to disguise the age of the actor. In the movie he’s about 20; in real life, closer to 40. This had a strange effect on the viewing. Because facial features weren’t always clear, alot of it, based on context, you imagined yourself. It’s similar to reading a book. If you can take the length & reading subtitles, I strongly recommend this movie. The title refers to how chrysanthemums that are late in the season bloom for a very short period of time. It’s a metaphor for happiness throughout the movie, and how it came too late for the main characters, and thus lasted a very short period of time. The quote below is a metaphor for how success doesn’t mean much without the one he loves, just as the parade in his honor is useless without him.
“The parade wouldn’t make sense without you.”
Have something to say about this post? Contact me.I didn’t like Au hasard Balthazar
I like the idea of it, but actually watching the movie is obnoxious. Maybe because of the translation? Who knows. It’s really, really long and the concept is so repetitive. I know alot of people think it’s some great art film but the story of the film could’ve been captured in a short film. A good short film. Right now it’s just an interesting yet drawn out long film. I don’t recommend this movie.
Stroke the furry walls..
Get him to the Greek was pretty funneh. I like that Judd Apataw movies are consistently funny and don’t seem to gradually get worse. I recommend this. It has an interesting message.
I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars. Not nearly Superbad quality, but rivals Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Have something to say about this post? Contact me.Solomon Kane (2010) Review
It had some cool parts but overall pretty cliche. A couple parts surprised me which I guess is a plus, and i think the 80%+ rating on RottenTomatoes is due to low expectations. It’s a low budget movie and it’s well done for it’s class but still not that great in my opinion, so it gets 2 stars out of 5. The end was anticlimactic and the characters were all reaaaaaaaaaaally one-sided. The best parts I think was the fighting choreography and scene set up.
Theatrical Release: Nov 6, 2010 Limited
The Secret of Kells (2009) Review
This movie really touched my heart. I think the story is classic, simple, and matches well with the animation style. I was genuinely smiling after I watched it. The scene structure is very artistic, as well as framing dream or magic sequences with gaelic art.
In many ways, it’s a movie about itself. The film centers on the completion of a great illumination that will ‘turn darkness into light’, while the film’s artistic direction very closely resembles the interweaving and intricacy of this illumination. The circular pattern of the scriptorium, the separation of scenes into tall bars, the bordering of scenes with natural objects that appear in straight lines or graceful curves, as well as the many symbols that frame the dream or prophecy sequences. (Aisling means ‘dream’ or ‘vision’ in Irish.) It is a work of art, inspired by The Book of Kells, about The Book of Kells. I think the result is impeccable.
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