Movies

On Satoshi Kon

Kaijuu — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:15:00 GMT

I just learned that Satoshi Kon died of cancer yesterday. This saddens me greatly; he was a gifted director and I'm a big fan of his films.
This also means that Paprika will probably his last feature film; the chance of The Dream Machine being finished is slim to none.

Domo arigatou sensei; I think I will have a mini-marathon of Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress and Paprika sometime soon to commemorate.

On Avatar and 3D

Kaijuu — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:43:00 GMT

Went to see Avatar yesterday in 3D here in Osaka. After seeing the film during the flight to Osaka, I decided I wanted to see it again, but properly this time. Since Avatar has stopped playing in my neck of the woods, I figured I'd have to wait until the Blu-ray comes along to see it in my theatre at home.

I must say, it was really something. The visuals are stunning, the story is good and the whole film is properly executed. It's long though, and while everything fits, I can't help but feel that 30 minutes less would have worked as well.
The point is, those 3D glasses are pressing down on your nose like there's no tomorrow, and this becomes very irritating, very fast.
Luckily, Toho Cinemas had glasses with a cord which you can tie around the back of your head, letting your eyebrows do most of the work of carrying the thing.

The 3D effect most definitely adds to the film. Especially the seeds from the sacred tree are very cool to see in 3D, and I'm glad I saw the film this way.
That said, I don't think there's much to gain from the effect.

You see, in order for the effect to work, the depth of field has to be quite short. This means that scenes with lots of action in them become blurry and hard to see. Some try and play the effect to the hilt, which makes the film restless and tiring to watch like in Alice in Wonderland. I liked Alice, but the 3D was somewhat overdone.

Another spanner in the works is the edge of the screen. If you have something "floating" in the theatre, it's all good and pretty, until it hits the edge of the screen, which kills the effect instantly.
Finally, the glasses. It's kind of a nuisance to keep having to wear an extra pair of glasses in order to see the effect. Until the day comes where the effect is visible without them, those things pinching your nose really kills the pleasure of seeing a film as the director wants you to see it.

I think the 3D effect is currently nothing more than a fad. Very cool if done properly, but until they get it right, it's not something I'd go out of my way for.

Cheers, K.

On faithful pets

Kaijuu — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:21:00 GMT

Against my better judgement, I decided to give Hachiko: A Dog's Story a try.
It's an American adaptation of the famous story about the Akita dog who waited in vain for its owner to return after he (the owner) died while at work.
I wrote about Hachiko a while ago

While there's some good drama in there, the whole story can be told in about five minutes.

Director Lasse Hallström takes 90, but the result is surprisingly good, respecting the original story (the end of the film tells the viewers who the real Hachiko was, when he lived and died and where his commemorating statue resides) and clear ties to Japan. You can't help feeling for the dog; I even got a small lump in my throat at the end, despite knowing what was going to happen.

The makers also warn about the nature of the Akita breed in the credit roll, probably to prevent the Dalmation-effect. :)
It's not something to watch over and over again, but as a film it's very well made, and worth it if you're a bit into drama.

On Borrowers

Kaijuu — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:56:00 GMT

Not to be confused with the disastrophy that Hollywood spawned in 1997; this is about Ghibli's adaptation of the 1952 novel of The Borrowers by Mary Norton.
Here's a preview on some of the backgrounds:

(through JapanProbe)

Ghibli intends to adapt it to modern-day Tokyo; I'm quite curious to what that will bring us.

Cheers, K.

On super ex-girlfriends

Kaijuu — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:26:00 GMT

I tried to watch My Super Ex-Girlfriend today, recommended to me by a friend. However, 18 minutes in and I turned it off again; films about fumbling single guys who are complaining about not getting it on since six months aren't really funny to fumbling single guys who have been like that since the last century or so.
Also, the fact that Uma Thurman tries to hide her super secret from what's-his-name isn't really funny either. It's been done and been done better, which is a pity, as Thurman knows how to be an actress.

So yeah, I'd like to have my 18 minutes back; My Super Ex-Girlfriend sucks.

Cheers, K.

On Harry Potter

Kaijuu — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:57:00 GMT

After what seemed to be a very long week (at least a very tiring one), I decided to do only some essential things this weekend, and to finally start with Harry Potter.

I ended up seeing the first five films within a 24 hour timespan.

I must say; the stories around Potter are quite remarkable and very well written. I really enjoyed watching the films and while they might not be faithful to the books at times, the films are very good on their own because of the casting.

First off, they decided to film pretty much back-to-back, which means that the same actors can play their respective character, without appearing too old for their characters' age.
Not very important for adults, but child actors can grow up rapidly. :)

Second; the cast. I'm a moderate fan of Alan Rickman, who plays the deliciously evil-ish professor Snape. There are other famous names as wel: Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, John Cleese, Gary Oldman and Michael Gambon; all performing admirably.

All in all< I thoroughly enjoyed the first five instalments of the HP Octology, and I'm quite eager to see the final three, although I will have to wait until 2012 or something to see it all.
Highly recommended

Cheers, K.

Movie: Monsters vs Aliens

Kaijuu — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:04:00 GMT

I usually won't touch Dreamworks' productions with a ten foot pole, but I guess Monsters vs Aliens will have to be the exception to my rule.
MvA is a fun movie, with some beautiful hat tips to classics like The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Blob, Attack of the 50 ft Woman and that classic of classics: Spaceballs.
Animation is solid and fluent, and they did a great job on Susan.

One of the things I hate about Dreamworks flicks is the music used. They most often merge old hit songs with their films, resulting in something looking and sounding totally off and inappropriate.
MvA only used two songs, which really fitted in and didn't take very long either. Who cares that Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F." can't be played on a Yamaha DX7; I just loved the reference to Close Encounters. :D

Monsters vs Aliens is a future classic, as far as I'm concerned; no blatant messages, no irritating animals, just a very enjoyable movie.

Cheers, K.

Movie: Up (in 3D)

Kaijuu — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:21:00 GMT

I went to an IPv6 seminar in a movie theatre today, where they explained the how and why of the latest version of the internet protocol (that is, IPv6 has been around for more than a decade already) and stressed that in a couple of years, things will have to be v6-ed or we'll be in a heap of trouble, since IPv4 (the version we're using now) is at its end.
Seeing that IPv4 was concocted almost forty years ago, this doesn't really surprise me.

After the lectures and a small pause, we went back into the theatre to watch Up; Pixar's latest animated flick. To heighten the experience, we got to see it in 3D, by using special goggles.

An old balloon salesman, Carl Fredericksen, uses a lot of balloons to fly his house to the Venezuelan jungle. By accident, he takes an eight-year old Wilderness Explorer scout named Russell with him, who was hoping to earn his "Helping the Elderly" merit badge.
They meet an old hero of Carl along the way, but not all is what it seems.

It was a good one. Not a movie particularly for kids (like Cars was) and therefore blissfully without an ominous message hanging over it, despite Pixar being part of Disney now, which says something about Pixar in general and this movie in particular. :)
It's pretty out of whack sometimes and even handles topics which aren't usually in Western animations, so points go there as well, but do not step into the few plot holes present in the film.

The Pixar short "Party Cloudy" which was shown before Up was quite a funny one, at least up there with "For The Birds" and "Lifted". Granted, the stork-approach for delivering newborns is a bit dated (and prude), but it fits.

As said, Up was shown to us in Digital 3D, which had its merits; some things really get towards you, and appear to be hanging over the heads of the people in front.
However, the effect is gone as soon as the object hits one of the sides of the screen, and you can clearly see that it's just an effect. The only time this does not happen is when the object is as dark as the walls surrounding the screen.
Despite that, it's a neat trick and adds to the movie.

I reckon that Up will make it into my collection some day.

Cheers, K.

First series I own on Blu-Ray

Kaijuu — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:26:00 GMT

Finally, the first couple of anime series are being released on Blu-Ray outside Japan, and because of Full Metal Panic being one of my favourite series, I decided to get Funimation's BRD-release of The Second Raid.

It's a $40 set of two discs, containing all 12 episodes, the bonus OVA and a pile of extra footage. The extra's are in 480i (the usual NTSC), the rest is in 1080p with surround audio in English and Japanese.
I'm quite happy with the set; both image quality and audio tracks are superb and the fact that they put the whole TSR-series in one set does not disappoint.
Good thing I bought a Japanese PS3 though; the set is region A coded, which means I can't play it on a locally bought BR-player.

As said the first series on BRD that I own; let's hope many will follow.

Cheers, K.

Movie: Doomsday

Kaijuu — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:49:00 GMT

A virus spreads like wildfire in Scotland, and the entire northern part of the United Kingdom is fenced off to fester. The outbreak seems to be contained, and other than governmental officials, nobody seems to care any more after a wile.

However, about 25 years later, the virus is back and this time in the heart of 2035 London.
A military team is sent into Scotland to look for a cure, from the notes from a researcher that lived there after the closedown.

A great base for a B-type horror story, with a dash of science fiction, and that's what this film basically is.
The film is full of plot holes, bad acting and needless gore (getting the message of people moving to cannibalism across is one thing, it's rather in your face in this film), but fun to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Cheers, K.