Letter to Momo

Letter to Momo was a fantastic film.  Like Spirited Away, it won't be one I'll easily forget.  The characters were very relatable and they provided a frequent comedic mood throughout.  There were even a couple sad scenes as well...I think the movie did a great job of getting the viewer to relate to and feel bad for Momo, who was going through some difficult things in her new surroundings.  Kawa, Iwa, and Mame worked so well together.  I loved all the scenes with Mame, particularly the scene where he appears to be struggling on what to say in his letter, only to finally remark that he doesn't know how to write.  Overall, the movie was expertly paced, was very unique, and really honed in on little details that I think most animated movies overlook today.  Essentially, Letter to Momo does all the right things that Spirited Away does.  Although I don't think I'll ever be a fan of the Japanese animation style, I can really appreciate their attention to story, characters, and detail.

The Book of Life

In my opinion, this was just an OK movie.  Parts of it worked, parts of it didn't.  The main area where the movie excelled was in the character personalities and design.  There were a lot of unique characters in this film and they were intricately and beautifully detailed, definitely something different than what I am used to seeing in animation.  The scenery was great too - that first shot where you get to see the Land of the Remembered is simply stunning.  However, the over-arching plot is quite predictable, despite that there are a few surprises along the way.  But the biggest issue with this movie is that the pacing is rather off.  It was one of those movies where the beginning is great, but then it slowly begins to fall apart as it reaches the end.  I loved the beginning because the viewer finds himself slowly being immersed into the characters and their world, as things are revealed bit by bit.  But the movie's defining moment (when Manolo is whisked away into the Land of the Remembered) comes into the scene a tad too late.  Because of this, we don't get to see a whole lot about this new, awesome world.  Yes, we get to see it in all of its glory briefly, but we really never become fully acquainted with it, and before we know it, Manolo is back up above in the Land of the Living.  (I mean, let's face it -- the Land of the Remembered is the coolest part of the movie.  Why can't we spend more time down there?)  From then on, it seems as though the filmmakers suddenly realize that they're running short on time and so they try to wrap it up as quickly as possible.  And when that happens, there's a lot of choppiness.  Character development happens too quickly, broken relationships are restored too easily, and overly-used and exhausted lines abound such as: "You...risked your life...(dramatic pause)...to save me?"   

               

Out of ten stars, I'd rank The Book of Life A-L-L-L-L-L-L the way down here: 5/10

Like Father, Like Son

This was a fantastic film.  I think what I like best about it was its unpredictability.  The contrast between the two families' lifestyles and their interactions with one another was very well realized, and I had no idea of how it would turn out in the end.  And due to its unexpected plot, it turned out to be fairly emotional at certain parts.  It was great to see Keita's "father", Ryota, change from being selfish to a loving father.  A wonderful surprise in the film for me occurred when Ryusei is living with his biological parents, Ryota and Midori, and is making a ruckus with his toy gun.  Ryota, who normally tells Ryusei to keep quiet, suddenly decides to join in with his son's game and from then on, he starts to pay more attention to Ryusei.  I honestly thought that that was how it was going to end--both Ryusei and Keita would end up with their biological parents.  And I was actually OK with that, seeing how Ryota's character had changed.  But I was even more pleasantly surprised during the scene at the end where Keita runs away and Ryota chases after him, trying to reconcile with his "son".  So, as it turns out, Keita goes back to living with Ryota and Midori, in what will undoubtedly be a better family life.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Well, you all missed a good one.

It was a documentary about the life of a Japanese sushi chef (one of the greatest of all time), who is the owner of a small restaurant with limited seating.  He is so famous for his delicious sushi, that customers reserve spots at the restaurant months in advance and willingly pay ridiculous prices.  Jiro, the chef, has worked at this restaurant since he was ten(?) years old, putting him at age 85.  He continues to work tirelessly, always searching for ways to perfect his sushi.  He admits in the documentary that even he, after 75 years experience, doesn't know everything about the craft of making sushi.  I was in awe of the immense love he had for being a sushi chef (he even mentioned that there was never a day when he didn't want to go to work).  He is an obvious work-a-holic, and yet you could tell he was a loving father.  His sons are all employed at his restaurant and you get to see them working under his close supervision.  It was fascinating to see them, like their father, work so hard in making the sushi, even though they knew it would never be as good as the way Jiro prepared it.  Even still, you could tell that Jiro was very pleased with his sons' work, and that he was confident that his sons would be able to carry on the restaurant's legacy.  Overall, the film was a joy to watch and the food looked absolutely amazing.  The only thing that bothered me was that none of the chefs used disposable, sanitary gloves when preparing the food... :/      

Excellent Characters

Probably the thing that struck me most about Like Water for Chocolate was that Rosaura's flatulence noises sounded very fake and seemed to be emanating from somewhere else   the characters were very well realized.  

This film portrays many different characters with many different personalities and behaviors that are very effective when they interact.  For starters, you have the evil Mama Elena who is a real jerk throughout the entire movie and it was so easy to hate her from the very beginning.  (Love that character.)  Then you've got the complicated forbidden love story going on between Tita and Pedro, made even more complicated when Dr. Brown is thrown into the mix.  You have Rosaura who at first serves as just a mere barrier between Pedro and Tita, but then begins starting a whole new problem by slowly turning into a character not unlike her mother's, Mama Elena.  And of course we can't forget Gertrudis, who provides some comic relief, but also some sage advice to the protagonist and heroine of the story, Tita.  The movie handles all these characters expertly and is able to draw you into them right from the beginning.  

I also found the magical food aspect of the film to be pretty clever and fun.  I enjoyed seeing how Tita's own emotions were translated differently to whomever was eating her food.  One of my favorite scenes is early on at the wedding of Pedro and Rosaura where everyone expresses feelings of depression and disgust caused by the food and then scrambles over to the bridge to vomit.  
                                   

Memorize this image:

Now see if you can sleep without a nightlight.

Departures

This was a very-well constructed film, both character and plot-wise.  It deals with a very uncommon subject: a story about a guy and his journey through a career preparing "bodies of the departed" for cremation.  

                                        "Wait.   Your company does WHAT??"

Despite this grim subject (and the movie does illustrate its "grimness" well), it actually manages to pull off some humor and an overall hopeful message, something very difficult to do for a film like this.  The movie definitely takes some risks in that it could have potentially disturbed the viewer as it attempts to make this cremation process seem light-hearted.  However, it successfully creates a sense of carefree-ness with its humor, and yet still captures the heavy feeling of losing a loved one.  I think the movie's purpose is summed up well in the words of the cremator, or as he calls himself the "gatekeeper", when he says that death is merely a passing from this life into the next.  

This film also provided an in-depth look at the process of preparing bodies for cremation.  It's actually quite a fascinating process and it's beautiful.  It really causes the viewer to have respect and awe for people in this often looked-down-upon position.  

One problem about the film for me was that it seemed to lose some of its momentum towards the end.  But maybe that's just because the beginning was so interesting.  I really loved the interaction between Daigo and his boss and it was kind of a downer to see the comical dialogue between the two decrease as the film progressed.  

Probably one of my favorite parts was when the rock slips out of Daigo's father's hands.  That was a pretty emotional scene.   

"She Was Only Fifteen Years Old"

She was only fifteen years old  ...    She was only...fifteen...years old  ...    She was only fifteen years old    ...    She...was only fifteen years old   ...    She was only fifteen years old   ...   She was...only fifteen years old.    ....   She was only fifteen years old.

That's pretty much all The Trip was for me.  It wasn't an entirely bad film...but it certainly wasn't great either.  The obvious highlights of the film was in the acting abilities of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.  I loved the interaction the two had together, and their skill to play off of each other was a joy to watch.  My favorite scenes were when they were engaging in "impression battles" over meals.  The Michael Cain impressions in particular were hilarious.  But, if a movie has little plot, even great characters can get dull and boring.  Don't get me wrong...probably the funniest thing about the impressions was that the two just . wouldn't .  quit .  it .  But I also think that was the movie's downfall.  There comes a point where enough is enough, but unfortunately, they step a little too far over the line for my liking, ... and they trip (as the movie's title suggests)

(ha ha ha haaaa...)     OK, sorry about that.

So all in all, this was an average movie that is very strong in its characters but disappointingly weak in its plot.  I don't think I would see it again, except to search for the Michael Cain impressions on Youtube.  About midway through the film, I was still hopeful that the story would kick in, but when it never did, I found myself waiting for the trip to be over.  ( "Are we there yet?" )

Yojimbo

      An old, black-and-white movie...with subtitles galore.  

           

                                      "That's right.  Subtitles.  All subtitles."
                                                     
I will admit it was hard for me to get used to this kind of thing.  It still is.  And yet, none of those things stopped this movie from being a good one.  It still manages to deliver great characters and a believable setting.  What I enjoyed most about this film was the dialogue (even though I had to read it).  The writing and comic timing was very well done in my opinion, and I know several moments in the film that had everybody, myself included, laughing out loud.  I found Sanjuro's comments "very amusing".

Since some recent blogs have been discussing a little about whether Sanjuro is a good guy or a bad guy, I will offer up my two cents on this matter as well. I believe him to be a good guy, and the obvious hero of this story.  Not every hero needs to be always doing the right thing...not every hero needs to sacrifice everything for the greater good.  There are moments in the film (I think of when Sanjuro sits atop the bell tower to watch the battle play out), where Sanjuro is not acting the way you would expect a normal hero to act.  Most heroes would probably intervene in that situation, whereas Sanjuro finds amusement in just watching.  He also enjoys defeating his enemies, whereas most heroes may be grim in the matter and do it just because it must be done.  And that's perfectly fine.  The reality is that even heroes have their "non-heroic" sides.  It makes them more relatable in that way.  Why not enjoy destroying the bad guys?  Ultimately, Sanjuro's mission I believe is to free the town from evil, and that's exactly what he does.  So yes, to sum up, I do consider Sanjuro to be a hero-type, but perhaps not in the same way your typical hero might be.

"The Lunchbox"

It's been a while since I've seen a film like this.  A film where I found myself truly immersed into the story and characters so that, for a while, nothing else existed except for what was up on the screen.  This was a very enjoyable movie right from the beginning.  For those of you in the Intro to DMA class, I was reminded of the article we read by C. S. Lewis, where he writes that his Narnia books grew from just a single picture, or idea.  I feel that the director of this film could have experienced something similar--he had this vision in his mind about two people telling each other of their lives through letters sent by a lunchbox.  The "lunchbox" is the one single idea that began this fabulous story.  What I enjoyed most about this film was the edge-of-your-seat feeling it gave, as you watch and wait, like Ila and Saajan Fernandez wait, to see what the lunchbox contains the next day.  It was a joy to see the story unfold bit by bit through this one idea.  

One other thing I appreciated was the general light-hearted comedy.  There was some very funny dialogue between Ila and "Auntie", and also Saajan and Shaikh.  

Storytelling At Its Finest

                      Last Thursday night was the first time I had seen "Spirited Away". 

 Yes, tragic, I know.  I had wanted to see it for quite some time, but never got around to it.  And boy, was I missing out! 

As soon as the first scene with Kamaji the boiler man came on, I was hooked, and remained so the rest of the way.  The character of Kamaji is brilliant, creepy, mysterious, and intriguing.  I love how he resembles a spider in the design of his six arms and two legs, his dark glasses, and best of all, his bushy mustache.  I was fascinated with the set-up and animation of this scene.  The sootball workers were a delight to watch, and for a bunch of simple, tiny, wordless creatures, they carried a huge personality.  They, along with so many other characters (and particularly the lead character, Chihiro), are so relatable and that's what makes this film so much fun to watch.  

This film is unlike any other in that it pays very close attention to the timing and pacing of each scene.  When Chihiro is stumbling about in this bizarre world, the viewer immediately identifies with her because the timing is perfect.  Whereas most animated movies of today seem to move about quickly from one thing to the next, this one takes its time, and really answers the question of "What would one really do, or how would one really act, in this situation?"  One scene that comes to my mind is where Chihiro is cautiously making her way down a ridiculously long flight of narrow stairs.  The animators did a brilliant job of focusing in on Chihiro's every movement, so that it felt you were right there with her.  The animators know this world so well, and they keep you in wonder as you slowly become acquainted with the world.  

I think a problem with some of today's animated movies is that they don't spend enough time shaping their world because they themselves simply aren't acquainted with it very well.  They just "follow the rules" as it were and create movies that follow very familiar story lines  because, well, because that's the way they think it's supposed to be done.  Well, not so.  The unpredictable films that keep you guessing are always the best ones.  In this movie, the characters are so well realized, that they drive the story, instead of the story driving them.