So Many Great Facial Moments

This man seriously had so many great facial expressions. I thought his eyes were just going to pop out of his head at some point. I really did like this movie and I was able to follow it for the most part. I liked it up until his death and then the movie just kind of dragged on and I couldn’t focus. To be completely honest, I don’t really remember how it ended. The beginning and middle were good though. I was a little confused though on whether he really did like the girl or if he was just using her to learn how to live before he died. I know this is probably a mix of age and cultural difference, but you would not catch me hanging out with a strange old man like that day after day. I do think they appreciated each other’s company, and in the time they spent together they were mostly happy and just enjoying life. I didn’t like the end- as I already mentioned- because I felt like it was just completely off track from the rest of the movie and I got confused. But I’m totally not hating on this movie. I did enjoy it for the most part.

Sansho the Bailiff

This movie intrigued me. I’m more of a fan of the horror and thriller genres and I thought this was a great movie about something terrible that happened to family and the long journey that they took for redemption. It was so sad when the children were torn apart from their mother and you never know if she’s still alive or dead. The character of Zushio goes through major personality changes in the course of the film. He starts as a happy young child who wants to be just like his father, but after the kidnapping he becomes cold and seemingly heartless. The audience thinks he has become almost evil when he scalds the old man and when he carries the sick women to the mountains to die, but when he rescues her we realize that he is not so heartless after all. It was very heartwarming for me when he came back and asked the old man for forgiveness. The moment when he broke down, begging the men to listen to him, trying to tell him that he was indeed the bailiff’s son was a great moment of humbleness. For me that was like a turning point in his soul. I think most of us were stumped as to why the sister killed herself instead of running away with Zushio, and I still question that too. However, the greatest part for me was when Zushio found his mother. It was intense and I was worried that in her old age she would never believe it was really him, but I was happy when she finally realized they were reunited. There was definitely a level of cheesiness and parts that were illogical in the movie, but overall I enjoyed it.

A Late Blog

I just realized I never blogged on The Book of Life so here it goes. Two words come to mind right off the bat: “predictable” and “cute”. Ok, you can’t deny that this movie was fairly predictable in the story line. Of course the girl is going to fall in love with the sweet sensitive guy over the macho one. There were some areas where the story felt a little unclear and I was left wondering “what happened to that person?” or something along those lines. There were so many parts of the movie when Maria could have easily saved herself with her karate or kung-foo but she didn’t, I guess she just wanted to let the men feel manly or something. Maria’s character was super cute but also the most unstable for me personally. Half the time she was a damsel in distress and the other half of the time was kicking butt better than everyone else. Still, she was my favorite character.

                Despite the faults in the story line, there were a lot of things I enjoyed about this movie. For instance the Hispanic culture was beautifully captured. I loved how they incorporated the day of the dead with this whole magical-looking underworld and how Manolo got to see his mother again. It was quite vibrant. I also like how the characters were all made out of wood; that was a very unique touch. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I probably wouldn’t have paid to see it in theatres but what can you do?

Go Go Gojira!

Gojira is certainly very different from the Godzilla we on TV today. Although the effects may seem cheesy now, during the time when nuclear wars were at their peak, this was probably extremely frightening. It clearly was good enough to leave a lasting impression on us because we are continuously making or remaking Godzilla movies. Even if people haven't seen the movies they usually know who/what Godzilla is. Gojira was the foundation for some great movies that are out there today (also some lame ones). I appreciate the film for what it is. I won’t lie; it made me laugh, but that’s a great quality even if that’s not what it was originally intended for.

One of the many things that was different between the now versions and the original was that there was way more talking and scenes with the people and not Godzilla. The movies we have now are extremely action-filled where every other scene is fighting the monster, but a lot of Gojira was just talking and plotting among the characters, not to mention the girl who kept crying. I personally like the newer versions but this one was good too with its own unique and very original style.

Aaawww... idn't he cute?

The Demonic Trio

This is probably the first anime movie I’ve seen in a long time that I thoroughly enjoyed. I felt like I understood everything that was happening. There were a lot of parts where I just burst out laughing because it was so funny, and that usually does not happen with anime movies. I LOVED Mame! Oh my goodness! He looked like some creepy little skeleton but had this giraffe-like tongue that made him so cute. I would keep him as a pet. He also was the friendliest demon and got all the other strange little creatures and demons to come around him and help Momo. All three of the demons had special and unique qualities that I loved. They reminded me of the ghostly trio from Casper the Friendly Ghost.

There was a lot of cultural stuff about it too. When they were sending the letters and doing the dance… it was hilarious. I also felt like a made connections with the characters; I actually cared what might happen to them. My biggest criticism would be that I felt the ending was a little played out. I like that they tied up all the loose ends, but I feel like it could have been done in a faster way. I know I’m an American who likes things fast and this is a movie from Japan, but I started getting sleepy waiting for the conclusion to arrive. Otherwise, it was a great movie. 

I'm on Fire!

So this is what Ballinger does in his spare time… actually I shouldn’t be so surprised, and I shouldn’t be surprised that the rest of the class knew half the songs too. It was certainly…interesting…. I had fun. I loved the goofy songs. I’m going to have Hahahaha stuck in my head for the next week. It’s really very interesting to see how similar and yet how different music videos are from America to Japan. I mean, they’re all pretty weird, but just a little bit of a different kind of weird. For example, I’m not sure how well Fish Fight would fly as a serious music video in The United States. It was hilarious and is totally something I can see Americans doing, but it just made more sense coming from Japan. I wish I had more descriptive words than that. Same thing with Drinkin Boys. I can totally see Americans doing it, but I’m not sure how well it would necessarily go over with the audience.

The food ones were funny too. It’s really great to see what people can do with simple household items and turn them into a great music video. You’re On Fire was a great example of how to turn ordinary meal time into fun time. It was morbid and yet hilarious. 

Like Father Like Son

The movie Like Father Like Son was very interesting. Even though the switching of children is something that does not commonly happen anymore it was something that happened quite often in the older days, especially during wartime. I enjoyed how this movie was a modern twist on that type of situation. You never really knew what the father was thinking or what he was going to do next. It was heartbreaking when he decided to give up Keita and then told him that the other family loved him more. And the poor mother who was being told that she just should have known whose child was whose because she was the mom.

I liked the contrast between the two families; it made the movie much more exciting. I was always left wondering which family Keita was going to choose in the end. Who wouldn’t want the crazy dad who could fix anything? Even though he didn’t have a lot of money, he was still a good father, unlike the family who did have more money where the father was more distant and strict. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and change throughout the movie. At first, I thought the poorer family was in the switch just for the money, but as the movie went on I discovered they were actually nice people.

I couldn’t imagine giving up any child who had been with me for 6 years, even if he or she wasn’t my own flesh and blood.

Circle of Life and Death

In Koreeda’s film Afterlife, originally Wonderful Life, we examine an interesting perspective on the Japanese take on what lies beyond the grave. Before the souls can enter into the next life they must choose one memory to take with them, then the souls running the place where the dead pass through recreate that memory for them. Ichiro, one of the younger workers at the waystation, discovers he was once married to one of the elderly souls passing through. He does not remember her and goes on an estranged journey to rediscover his passed life. In another twist, he discovers that this woman he married had been engaged to another worker, Takashi, who had been killed during the war. This movie was filled with twists and turns and kept me wondering, and that’s something I enjoy in a good movie.

I usually have trouble connecting to Japanese films, especially anime ones, even though I am an animation major. I don’t know why, that’s just the way it’s always been with me. But I really love foreign films in general, especially scary ones or ones that keep your brain thinking. This film kept me on my toes, so I enjoyed it. I was happy that I was finally able to connect to a Japanese film that wasn’t in the horror genre. What I found most interesting was how in their world, one week represented one year in the time of the living. The week would begin with autumn and the newly dead would arrive. By the time it came for them to experience their memory and move on to Heaven it was spring again. It’s a never ending cycle of life and death; of old and new. 

Who is Sanjuro Kuwabatake?

No, seriously, who is Sanjuro Kuwabatake? I spent half the film trying to figure out if he was a good guy or a bad guy. In the end, I believe he was a good guy but he certainly had a shallow way of going about it. Overall, I found the film to be interesting; definitely out of my comfort zone. I'm fairly used to watching foreign films but I think the fact that this one was made in 1961 took a bit of a toll on me. I'm not used to watching much in black and white, but I think that Akira Kuwosawa played off the contrasting colors very nicely. The setting and casting were great and there were great transitions between moments of seriousness and comedy. Although the film was interesting and a good new experience, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to call it a favorite of mine any time soon. 

Spirited Away: Friends Across the Seas

This really is a beautiful movie. I know it took the animators a long time and many all-nighters to complete the work that went into it. The first time I saw this movie I had trouble connecting with it. The differences between Japanese and American story-telling made it hard for me to really appreciate it. I think it takes time to get used to and if you sit back and really look at it, it is a great movie.

I love this background!

One of the things I really did appreciate about this film, even though I didn’t understand it at the time, was the difference in the story-telling. I had never seen a story like this told on the screen, and even more complicatedly, animated. It wasn’t the typical “circle of life” story, and yet it was. We get to see Chihiro change from a whiny little girl into someone who can defend herself and others. I appreciate how Hayao Miyazaki tends to make most of his main characters heroines and they are often people who he has seen develop in his life. Being a girl this makes it easier for me to relate to. Even though there may be some cultural and artistic differences, I can totally relate to how this little girl feels.

Being thrown into this world of culture can be strange at first, but just give it some time; maybe it will grow on you too.