Movie: You Can Count On Me
Screenplay writer: Kenneth Lonergan
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
This was an excellently written script. I was interested in reading it the whole way through. Didn't take that long to get into it either.
Grade: A
A little dark for my taste (I guess I like the family animated feature comedies) but it's real to life. The characters are relatable and interesting.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Twelve Monkeys
Director: Terry Gilliam
I appreciate all the efforts put into this film. It would take me a tremendous amount of effort if I were to try to create this film by myself, so I do respect the efforts placed. That said, I want to speak critically about my experience of the film and provide criticism which I hope is founded and can be regarded as constructive.
My notes:
I thought that the acting was over the top. The performance felt like it was made for theater but caught on film. Among the talent involved, I believed that Madeleine Stowe delivered the strongest performance. It was a delightful surprise to find Brad Pitt playing a role I had never seen him in before, that of a young, mad man, and he gave a genuine performance. There are pro's and con's to this movie. I like how the film wraps up, even though I don't totally get the concept of time-travel. How did Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe's character) sense that she had known him before she did? That can't be explained by time travel, so I guess it just must be... instinct. There were a couple of irregularities in the film that stuck out to me: (1) Kathryn Railly has a degree in Psychology. That does not make her the equivalent of an M.D. doctor, who would have been able to repair Bruce Willis' character (James Cole) wound. (2) Why was James Cole arrested and how was he even identified so quickly after he returned in 1996 and kidnapped Kathryn Railly? How was he even identified? He never had any proper form of ID, being a man from the future, born later? Wouldn't there be at least minor identification issues with his younger self (same name, same DOB, same birth town, etc.? (3) James Cole never even had ID in 1990. Why and how did they arrest him and put him in a mental institution if he didn't really exist on paper? Maybe this happens in real life more than I think?? Maybe not. Everybody has SSN unless they are illegal. And if they are illegal, they would be deported, not put in a mental institution which is paid by people's tax dollars. Or am I mistaken? Anyway, those were just small questions. I'm sure this movie was good and entertaining for its time. But I guess I am from a different time.
Hong
I appreciate all the efforts put into this film. It would take me a tremendous amount of effort if I were to try to create this film by myself, so I do respect the efforts placed. That said, I want to speak critically about my experience of the film and provide criticism which I hope is founded and can be regarded as constructive.
My notes:
I thought that the acting was over the top. The performance felt like it was made for theater but caught on film. Among the talent involved, I believed that Madeleine Stowe delivered the strongest performance. It was a delightful surprise to find Brad Pitt playing a role I had never seen him in before, that of a young, mad man, and he gave a genuine performance. There are pro's and con's to this movie. I like how the film wraps up, even though I don't totally get the concept of time-travel. How did Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe's character) sense that she had known him before she did? That can't be explained by time travel, so I guess it just must be... instinct. There were a couple of irregularities in the film that stuck out to me: (1) Kathryn Railly has a degree in Psychology. That does not make her the equivalent of an M.D. doctor, who would have been able to repair Bruce Willis' character (James Cole) wound. (2) Why was James Cole arrested and how was he even identified so quickly after he returned in 1996 and kidnapped Kathryn Railly? How was he even identified? He never had any proper form of ID, being a man from the future, born later? Wouldn't there be at least minor identification issues with his younger self (same name, same DOB, same birth town, etc.? (3) James Cole never even had ID in 1990. Why and how did they arrest him and put him in a mental institution if he didn't really exist on paper? Maybe this happens in real life more than I think?? Maybe not. Everybody has SSN unless they are illegal. And if they are illegal, they would be deported, not put in a mental institution which is paid by people's tax dollars. Or am I mistaken? Anyway, those were just small questions. I'm sure this movie was good and entertaining for its time. But I guess I am from a different time.
Hong
Monday, August 2, 2010
Departures
DEPARTURES
Directed by: Yojiro Takita
Year: 2008
*Warning: All reviews will contain spoilers.*
Grade: B
This was a well-made film, with a great mastery of cinematography, lighting, music cuing, music scoring, fine acting by the protagonist and several of the other characters, and a good story. I would have liked the film to have ended not on the scene that it did. It would have been nice to see the family 6 months from now, baby born and all. And to see how they have adjusted to life since then.. does Kobayashi really keep his job? Has his wife really accepted his occupation? (It is suggested that she begins to approve, but I want more.) We see that he buries his father... but have his feelings really changed? I would like to see his emotional closure complete. There is so much buildup to suggest a need for closure - the momentum has been build. I want to see it paid off without my emotional debt which I have been investing.
On the contrary, the buildup to the ending took its time... I began to feel impatient. I have criticized other movies for tying up too quickly, such as Juno, where the climax happens, and then suddenly the film wraps up in a dissatisfyingly quick amount of time, but in this movie, the ending took too long to get there (between the climax and the last scene). I began to grow impatient with shots lingering too long on actors' facial expressions. I thought to myself, get to the point. Those shots could be shorter. Somehow, the pacing/tempo was too consistent and steady throughout. In this case, I would rather have more rhythm to show the growth, change, to simultaneously correspond to the arc of the entire storyline that seems to pull on our strings.
Great movie overall. I think the acting was great. Now, I would like to comment on my perception of Asian culture in respect to the female character, Kobayashi's wife, from my perspective as an Asian American [cultural] mutt. I think it's believable that she would hide her feelings so well. My feelings about her character do not and should not affect my judgement or rating of the movie in terms of quality. If anything, it might make it better, since I trust that the character plays true to how her society thinks a woman should be like. That said, what bothered me about the movie is perhaps the reinforcement of what I dread: She had to hide the fact that she was all broken up. I knew her smiles and constant happiness were too good to be true. She's a good Asian woman, embodying the values that society has deemed good for Asian women to have. Unfortunately, I have to use the word "Asian," instead of anything more specific to Japanese culture, because my experience with Asians have been limited to friendships, acquaintanceships, and encounters in the U.S., but I think I am generally correct. Anyway, I find it unfortunate, this aspect of Asian culture that makes women have to appear like everything is okay all the time. To smile, to not express their true emotions. I have heard that is true of Japanese culture... apparently, some people used to shave off their eyebrows to hide their emotions. I guess I don't like the double standard. I don't like how closeted the woman must feel. I know this feeling, because I have had to endure it, because I was, in some part, raised to embody values assigned as "proper." Despite any family turmoil, no one is to know about it: Keep conflict below the surface. Is this where "save face" comes in?
Anyway, I have had to be very PC and write this post sensitively in a way to avoid alienating the audience who may be a stranger and doesn't know me. I hope in future posts, I will not have to be so cautious with my words....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For kicks, I will write what I would write if this were a diary-like entry:
The one main thing about the movie that I found annoying was the female character, especially if she truly embodies the ideal values that Japan defines for women. I hate to think that she has to hide her emotions all the time to support her husband. On the other hand, the husband is not without hiding either -- he feels propelled to keep his occupation a secret. But I guess I am more bothered by the woman because she definitely must lie about her feelings. The man appears to equivocate and avoid the topic matter rather than outrightly lie to her. After he gets the job, I don't remember him confirming or negating his original guess of the employment, that it deals with the death of humans. Or, maybe it is because she smiles so much that I think she lies much more. I don't know. I don't trust it when someone smiles all the time. Like, all the time. The only time you see her not smiling is when she is totally upset. At least you know she draws the line.
I am probably more disturbed by her lying than his equivocating, because (1) he is the protagonist, (2) she is an Asian female and is the society's projection of the ideal woman, which I loathe, and (3) I can relate to her emotional imprisonment, from my childhood experiences, where I was raised to practice "saving face." Also, I don't really find it taboo to have a job like that although I can relate to his initial uneasiness... and while his is a secret about one thing, her type of lying is like a programmed performance that will probably be ongoing throughout her life from small to large things.
So, those are the feelings I have conjured up about the film that bothered me. It doesn't make the film less good, but simply provides a basis for my commentary on the values of the society in which the characters are born.
-30-
Directed by: Yojiro Takita
Year: 2008
*Warning: All reviews will contain spoilers.*
Grade: B
This was a well-made film, with a great mastery of cinematography, lighting, music cuing, music scoring, fine acting by the protagonist and several of the other characters, and a good story. I would have liked the film to have ended not on the scene that it did. It would have been nice to see the family 6 months from now, baby born and all. And to see how they have adjusted to life since then.. does Kobayashi really keep his job? Has his wife really accepted his occupation? (It is suggested that she begins to approve, but I want more.) We see that he buries his father... but have his feelings really changed? I would like to see his emotional closure complete. There is so much buildup to suggest a need for closure - the momentum has been build. I want to see it paid off without my emotional debt which I have been investing.
On the contrary, the buildup to the ending took its time... I began to feel impatient. I have criticized other movies for tying up too quickly, such as Juno, where the climax happens, and then suddenly the film wraps up in a dissatisfyingly quick amount of time, but in this movie, the ending took too long to get there (between the climax and the last scene). I began to grow impatient with shots lingering too long on actors' facial expressions. I thought to myself, get to the point. Those shots could be shorter. Somehow, the pacing/tempo was too consistent and steady throughout. In this case, I would rather have more rhythm to show the growth, change, to simultaneously correspond to the arc of the entire storyline that seems to pull on our strings.
Great movie overall. I think the acting was great. Now, I would like to comment on my perception of Asian culture in respect to the female character, Kobayashi's wife, from my perspective as an Asian American [cultural] mutt. I think it's believable that she would hide her feelings so well. My feelings about her character do not and should not affect my judgement or rating of the movie in terms of quality. If anything, it might make it better, since I trust that the character plays true to how her society thinks a woman should be like. That said, what bothered me about the movie is perhaps the reinforcement of what I dread: She had to hide the fact that she was all broken up. I knew her smiles and constant happiness were too good to be true. She's a good Asian woman, embodying the values that society has deemed good for Asian women to have. Unfortunately, I have to use the word "Asian," instead of anything more specific to Japanese culture, because my experience with Asians have been limited to friendships, acquaintanceships, and encounters in the U.S., but I think I am generally correct. Anyway, I find it unfortunate, this aspect of Asian culture that makes women have to appear like everything is okay all the time. To smile, to not express their true emotions. I have heard that is true of Japanese culture... apparently, some people used to shave off their eyebrows to hide their emotions. I guess I don't like the double standard. I don't like how closeted the woman must feel. I know this feeling, because I have had to endure it, because I was, in some part, raised to embody values assigned as "proper." Despite any family turmoil, no one is to know about it: Keep conflict below the surface. Is this where "save face" comes in?
Anyway, I have had to be very PC and write this post sensitively in a way to avoid alienating the audience who may be a stranger and doesn't know me. I hope in future posts, I will not have to be so cautious with my words....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For kicks, I will write what I would write if this were a diary-like entry:
The one main thing about the movie that I found annoying was the female character, especially if she truly embodies the ideal values that Japan defines for women. I hate to think that she has to hide her emotions all the time to support her husband. On the other hand, the husband is not without hiding either -- he feels propelled to keep his occupation a secret. But I guess I am more bothered by the woman because she definitely must lie about her feelings. The man appears to equivocate and avoid the topic matter rather than outrightly lie to her. After he gets the job, I don't remember him confirming or negating his original guess of the employment, that it deals with the death of humans. Or, maybe it is because she smiles so much that I think she lies much more. I don't know. I don't trust it when someone smiles all the time. Like, all the time. The only time you see her not smiling is when she is totally upset. At least you know she draws the line.
I am probably more disturbed by her lying than his equivocating, because (1) he is the protagonist, (2) she is an Asian female and is the society's projection of the ideal woman, which I loathe, and (3) I can relate to her emotional imprisonment, from my childhood experiences, where I was raised to practice "saving face." Also, I don't really find it taboo to have a job like that although I can relate to his initial uneasiness... and while his is a secret about one thing, her type of lying is like a programmed performance that will probably be ongoing throughout her life from small to large things.
So, those are the feelings I have conjured up about the film that bothered me. It doesn't make the film less good, but simply provides a basis for my commentary on the values of the society in which the characters are born.
-30-
Welcome
I will be using this blog so that I can log about movies I've seen. I want to keep it rather informal, just to jot down notes or to share my opinions and reactions. I might keep it brief, it might be very long.
*These posts may or may not contain spoilers.*
*These posts may or may not contain spoilers.*
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