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Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045 (2020)
Might turn into something good eventually.
Let's do this by department.
1: Visual
I have nothing against 3D animation. Not in Anime, not in general. That doesn't change the fact that the first 3D-animated Applessed movie from 15 years ago looks about as good, mostly better than, this. Especially in daylight settings, the low detailed character models and awkward, limited facial animation range from barely passable to 'I've seen PS2 cutscenes that looked far better than this'. (This is not an exaggeration. Go watch some Final Fantasy cutscenes from the PS2 era...)
This improves considerably in action scenes, especially when placed in a darker or even night environments. Animation really shines there.
I don't know if this was an issue of limited budget or an artistic choice, but it's inexcusable in any case.
Knights of Sidonia, Blame, the recent 'Altered Carbon' tie in, Netflix Godzilla animes, hell, some of the original SAC series 3D animation looked better than this, not even to mention the 3D sequences in GitS: Innocence.
Then there's the issue of the world. It feels decidedly empty and without a style to call its own. Gone are the Honkong inspired visuals of the 95 movie or what came after. Gone are east asian inspired weird ass creepy cyborgs. Gone are the stylish clothes. Even the 2017 movie at least nailed an original look. There's nothing here. It looks like nowadays Tokyo with nowadays Tokyo people dressed in nowadays Tokyo people clothes. The sets, outside and inside, with few exceptions seem weirdly empty, barren even, lifeless as the characters inhabiting them. Textures, if there are any follow the same bland style throughout. Flat shaders, black comic outlines done better so often before. Not enough money for decent asset production?
Furthermore, aside from designs mostly taken from earlier iterations, there's barely anything visually stimulating or even original brought to the table by this version. Maybe the robo guarddogs? I liked them. Everything else is 'borrowed' wholesale. Tachikomas, the Section 9 headquarters, etc. Even the net/ hacking visuals look boring. Seen a thousand times before and better at that.
The character designs themselves seem mostly fine to me, just brought low by the mentioned limited animation, details and shading efforts.
Really, the only redeeming visual factor here are a few of the action sequences. They're good. Not all, but some. Standout being the almost episode length sequence in episode 5.
2: Sound
An annoying Opener, a decent Closer, inbetween nothing much except a really enjoyable, appropriately tense 'Bwaaaam' theme going on in the action sequences of the middle episodes. Soundeffects for the weapons are decent as is the voice work. Still, the soundtrack lacks good original pieces. Mostly there's elevator level none music just plunking along or nothing. Ambient sound? What's that? Far cry from earlier iterations.
3: Characters
Mostly fine and recognizable once the first episode is out of the way. Not much to complain here except for the one new addition to the team and I don't mean the american guy from the first half, though he's garbage as well. No. Purin. Purin has nothing to do with this world. She's the amalgamation of every annoying anime girl ever. Whoever thought that was a good idea to add to an otherwise mostly serious anime should be fired. Tachikomas were and are more than enough for comedic relief, as is the team dynamic. (While some might find the Tachikomas annoying as well, I at least always liked the excuse that they're basically curious, easily excitable children. They reamin as adorable (or annoying depending on your view), as ever.)
4: Story and Pacing
OK, the story DOES really pick up shortly before the mid-point, I'll give them that. There actually are a few episodes that feel like the real deal. But then it fizzles out again after 4 ok episodes, ending on a cliffhanger this season really doesn't deserve. It very much feels like half a season (probably because it is) and an unsatisfying one at that.
There's even a Batou filler episode that, while enjoyable and quite funny, this short season really didn't have the time for. This short season needed to hook an audience not putz around. It fails almost spectacularly at that.
Now as I said, there are a few episodes in here that feel really close to the original SACs. There are also a few interesting ideas brought to the table. Sustainable war is a fascinating concept, as are the Spoiler-humans, so there's hope at least, but the twelve available episodes simply don't do that much with it, rather liking to waste the viewers time. Seriously. The first three episodes would have been one in the old series, as would the last two (an as of now boring, clichee, emo arc that actually DARES to end on a cliffhanger).
5: Conclusion
I'm not annoyed enough to drop it, that's the one truly positive thing I can say. There are good ideas here, there's a spark of something with potential, its just very hidden. I do want to know where this leads. I AM absolutely prepared to be disappointed, because good, this is not. Passable fits it better.
The characters are recognizable and mostly as likable as ever, as well, but that doesn't change the fact that from a technical side this series is 80% below mediocre garbage. Garbage that almost offensively distracts from the actually good parts. If this would have been visually on par with what came before this still would be a far cry from the old SACs but at least the difference wouldn't scream in my face as much.
Tabaluga (2018)
Below mediocre but inoffensive.
The kid (5 year old, hasn't seen more than five feature length movies in her life), liked it well enough, so that's good enough I guess? Everything is great if you experience it for the first time or something? Mission accomplished movie.
1 star for that, one for the world itself even if there could have been done more with it, and another because while rehashed, the messages are at least timeless and good.
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As for the movie being frightening. While my kid wasn't, so what? Kids need to be frightened sometimes. It's a good learning experience and if anything a plus. Nightmares or no nightmares. If your kid is frightened by this, talk about it. It'll be fine soon enough.
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Now. I like kids movies. if there's anything good in them. Be it jokes for the adults, charm, great animation, creativity, or even just plain goofy fun.
There's nothing, NOTHING, suprising, funny or original in this movie. Clichee characters, story, jokes, everything. To the last detail, everything this movie has, you have seen somewhere else, just better. It's almost funny to remember the movies this one plucked its stereotypical beats from.
I'm not expecting Pixar quality in the animation department from a mediocre budget German production, but I *do* expect a certain amount of script quality or some fresh ideas, wether it's a movie for small kids or not. Wether it's an adaptation or not. Give me SOMETHING movie! It didn't. Nothing. This movie is completely devoid of any and all creativity. Which is sad to see. The property itself is a great thing for kids, sad they didn't do much with it.
Maybe I'm jaded and seen to many movies.
As a final sidenote, this movie is based on a weird rockmusical thing for kids, so there are a few "rock"... ish songs in it. Fine. But did those absolutely need to be twice as loud as the rest of the movie, even the action scenes? Really obnoxious, bad mixing there.
Valhalla Rising (2009)
Well worth a watch!
Trite title, I know.
Didn't even want to write a review after reading the others, too many there already, but this movie seems to attract extreme views, like 1/10 and 10/10. It is and doesn't deserve neither. This movie needs a bit more measure I think, so here I am trying that. Sorry for the prologue.
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This is a movie about an unstoppable Viking murder machine (Mikkelsen) vs everyone and everthing that dares stand in his way.
Sort of, but not really.
I only recently got aquainted with this director via Neon Demon and Drive. Having seen and loved those, Valhalla Rising is right up my alley.
Trying to keep this semi-short and spoiler free.. If you like moody arthouse films, you'll probably like this. If you like the two Refn movies mentioned above you'll probably like this. If you like The Revenant, you'll probably like this.
If any of this rings true, just go watch it and form your own opinion.
This movie breathes atmosphere, gives the viewer room to ponder and think, and it never gives any clear answers to any of the questions it raises. It's meant to be thought about while and after, but (as with religion... hinthint) no matter how much you think, no answer will be the one true one, If that's not your thing, don't watch.
Here's the dreaded word: Pretentious. The more movies like this I see and the more reviews mentioning that word as a negative I read, the more it loses its meaning. Too often it is used as meaning "didn't get it", "boring", "too artsy", "slow paced".
This movie isn't pretentious, it is neither of the above except, arguably, slow paced. Arguably because it needs that pace. It takes the time it needs. It accomplishes it's goal to get you to think, to give you the time to do so, to interpret and reinterpret while watching.
In my honest opinion, there's not a dull moment in this movie. Every montage of silence and fog and nature and madness in here gives the viewer the time to ponder what came before, what might come after and how the Norse and Christian mythos plays into all of it, influencing its protagonists, while all the while creating its own Myth facing something entirely different, challenging inherent views of life and morality in the face of The Other. These breathing rooms are necessary for this movie... admittedly, as well as a certain amount of religious foreknowledge.
Yes the plot of this film could be summed up in one sentence, I did so above, but so could every other movie. It needs a greater movie to speak beyond that one sentence.
This one does.
If at all interested in the premise, give it a try.
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Technicalities:
Mikkelsen delivers a deliberate stoic performance and it's an excellently perfect fit here, so is the boys. Side Characters do their job just fine. Cinematography is pretty great bordering on amazing. Soundtrack is a sometimes dissonantly, always hauntingly fitting metal pleasure. "Plot" is mostly nonexistent/ derivative, but nothing more than what is needed. Movie turns pretty graphic every once in a while, so be warned.
Sucker Punch (2011)
Visual feast
Snyder, the director, continues to amaze me. His big-budget movies, including this one, are and stay highly entertaining. None of them are movies to satisfy deep thinking, but I'm rarely so glad to have spent the money. Dawn of the Dead delivered an updated Zombie experience. 300 did what it promised to do (putting the graphic novel into fitting visual form) and then came Watchmen. The only comic adaption that didn't leave me dissatisfied by "blockbuster changes" to the source material. The things that were changed were for the better (ending), the things left out (island of artists, pirate comic) I didn't miss at all in the context of a movie.
Hence I looked forward to his first original work. (Snyder directed and scripted Sucker Punch). The trailer itself pretty much forced me to go and catch this movie, and did it ever deliver.
The movie plays out in different realities. There's the "real" world, institutionalizing the main heroine into an insane asylum by her evil (possibly child-molesting) step-dad after the death of her mother. Once there the movie enters a fantasy world, reflecting the real one, but taking place in a burlesque, moulin-rouge with-further-pleasures- sort of establishment. Here Babydoll (the heroine) meets four other girls and wins their aid to escape their imprisonment. To do this they need to find five things. Each of those five missions is presented in a third reality. A reality were giant samurai and orks and dragons are just as real as WW1 Germans and Zeppelins and Mechas and robots. Its sort of Inception but with babes and about 50 different sailor-suits for Babydoll. Its not as confusing as it sounds, and for a movie thats basically a B-movie affair, the story is pretty good. Especially the ending, making a nice tie to the beginning, comes as a surprise, but makes sense in a very satisfying way.
The director obviously played a lot of video-games and saw a lot of anime. There are visual references all over the place.
And this is the biggest flaw I see in this movie. There's too much of it. Its like KillBill on steroids. There's so much going on, so many different sceneries to explore, that I found myself actually tired after two thirds of the running-time. (And I didn't even tire with the Matrix sequels) A second, more relaxed view might be needed to appreciate the sheer mass of visuals that went into this. It is, as many have written before a video game that you don't play, but watch and it is a pleasure to do so.
In the end, this world wouldn't be a worse place without Sucker Punch, but its something that wasn't there before, and demands to be seen by anyone interested in a ride thats nowhere near to anything seen before.
Death Note: Desu nôto (2006)
intelligent
I read the manga, and now I just finished watching the anime series (next up is live aciton), and I'm quite thrilled.
The plot as a whole is original. The premise of a DeathNote in itself is quite ludicrous of course, but once you get over that you just watch in awe as the most epic cat and mouse game in a long time unfolds before your eyes over 37 episodes. You never quite know where everything is headed. The plot and constant twists always kept me guessing and thus highly entertained. (Not exactly in the anime version because they followed the manga very closely, but still. Watch the anime. I actually would recommend this in this case.) The characters are quite fascinating. While I didn't care much about Misa, even she played her role. But its obviously L and Light that take the crown. Their relationship pretty much carries the series, and it shows when L is suddenly absent.
Light is one of the most scariest, twisted, nihilistic and most of all intelligent bastards in recent creative history and you still root for him. L is pretty much every detective ever and I couldn't really place why I like him but I did. You end up rooting for both sides, and that makes for the fascination in this series.
Truth to tell (and thats why I'm subtracting stars) I didn't that much care for the things happening after L's demise. It was a nice twist, but I never really warmed up to his replacements. Hence I also didn't like the ending. It just seemed like N and especially M didn't deserve to win. Things like they were, I would have much preferred for Light to succeed and the ending to be open.
Still, this was one of the most original series I've seen in a while and is definitely worth a watch. If you're not hooked after three episodes though, it's probably not for you.
Shinboru (2009)
Mindf***
I'm baffled. You meet this kind of movie only very rarely.
It defies attempts to categorize it. It destroys your preconceptions of what a "special" movie might be. There's slapstick and there's nonsense and there's meta babbling, except its wordless meta babbling. Also there's angel penises, like a lot of them. Seriously, this movie weirded me out.
In itself the story moves in a pretty straight line. Well, two straight lines. There's the wrestler plot, and there's the white room plot. The wrestler plot is utterly forgettable and, frankly, quite boring. It just functions as the opposite of the white room. One of many incarnations of what opposite could mean in this case.
The white room plot centers on a man trying to get out of the white room. Simple right? Pressing the angels penises (You heard me!) reveals certain, seemingly random, objects. In combination they might lead to an escape. Here the movie really shines. Through sometimes silly, sometimes clever trial and error means the protagonist starts coming up with an escape plan. I found myself thinking along with him (and normally being way ahead of him and getting frustrated with him... JUST USE THE POT!!!).
In the end the two story lines meet to give the audience a bigger picture. The ending still came as a surprise, although, in hindsight, it makes complete sense. It leaves only one question, but I came up with an answer immediately. I think thats how its supposed to be. Not everyones answer will be the same, but there will be one. Perfect example of closure without closure.
Watch this if you like to see special things, don't finish watching it if you're bored after the first white room scene. It probably won't be the movie for you.
9/10
I subtracted one star because the effects in the final scene were so crappy that they really distracted me from fully enjoying the ending but that's probably just me and other people working in that field themselves. Nothing to cry over really.
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)
Well, this was a waste of time...
So yeah, read the movietitle. Now read it again. Now watch another movie, cause thats all there is to this film. Thats the story.
The acting is terrible, although it gets better as soon the two female leads cant speak anymore... because they can't speak anymore and are reduced to whimpering. Maybe the Japanese guy is acting the hell out of this, I don't know, there are subtitles but he's still Japanese. They act differently and I rarely watch real Japanese cinema.
Camera and overall presentation is shoddy as f***. Mask is equally bad. I could have brought this thing to film in my sleep. Diapers to hide everything? Please.
The story, again, is about this German Frankenstein guy, ex-specialist surgeon for siamese twin separation, sewing three humans mouth to anus because... I don't know. He did it to his dogs before and they died, so it should work with humans? This obviously implies tasty things like only the front person getting to eat while the rest only gets the "passed on leftovers". And thats it. There's a lot of crying and screaming happening in the first half and then a lot of whimpering in the latter, and of course Frankenstein spouts a lot of bullshit, but I really didn't care.
You know I like watching Splatter once in a while, or controversial movies, or shocking movies, but this one is none of the above. There's no gore that deserves mentioning, never manages to gross anyone out that hasn't seen "two girls, one cup", never gets you thinking of anything other than your to-do-list and it just dripples from scene to scene. You don't even care about the degrading of the three victims.
Wow, this turned into a rant... I give this flick one star above "worst crap I've ever seen" because the idea in and of itself is original. Not good, but original. Still, avoid this piece of wasted diskspace like the zombiecancerplague.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
Don't let the nitpickers fool you...
This is a good movie. Why? Because its fun to watch. There's no deep story, character development or anything else worth an Oscar, but its fun. Indiana Jones kind of fun. Its like an Action movie out of the eighties. Sadly its a little toned down to get a PG 12, but still.
I for my part was pleasantly surprised how much of the games they put into this. Key elements are present (sands, parcouring, princess, evil advisers) and its all been packed into an unsurprising but fun to watch storyline.
The acting was up to to the task at hand. I was pleased by the main leads, although I do hope that Gyllenhall doesn't permanently stay in the Blockbuster field. He's too good for that.
The CG is OK but there's never that much of it. (Well, there is, but rarely in that screen filling in your face kind of way.) Watch this. Its fun, and sometimes thats all you need for a movie.
Now... why I'm even writing this: Who the hell is looking for historical accuracy in this kind of movie? (and by the way...history IS written by the winners...) Moreso... who thinks this movie carries a political message? How? Where? When? Nitpickers with too much time on their hands, thats who. I'd use worse language, but then this probably wouldn't get posted. Seriously... just grow up and get a life not bashing things lower than your own self-determined event horizon.
PS: Watch it!
Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Ha (2009)
Awesome
Thats just it. Awesome.
The first rebuild movie just sort of retold the first six or so episodes of the original series. It looked great, but you could never shake the feeling of been there seen it (except for the improved Angels obviously) This one goes far, far beyond that. It sums up the plot of episode seven up to something around twenty. Thus it seems a little bit rushed, but on the flip side you're never able to catch your breath. The visuals are breathtaking at moments. The Angels are pretty much unrecognizable from their predecessors (which is a good thing in my opinion) and simply gorgeous to behold. The score also knows how to please.
Where the movie really shines though is the story department. Instead of a retelling we get a re-imagining. Starting with a completely new character, piloting EVA05 and ending with a quite different... well ending. Its like they mixed the original episodes with End of Evangelion. While many scenes are still recognizable, they are often arranged differently or put into a completely different context. More than that, the movie strays from the source in quite a view key elements and reveals a lot of things far, far earlier than the original series. Also it explains far, far more. At the end of the ride you will have a pretty decent idea what the "Human Instrumentality Plan" is, for example. Something the original series didn't really bother to explain at all. There are completely new parts to the story as well.
It's true that Asukas character falls a little short on screen time, but all in all I like her much better here than in the series. Her story ark and thus her development feels rushed but is still solid, and the ending is one of the biggest twists in this movie. And in the end... there are two movies left I think, and the way Asukas story goes in this one, she's fated to take on a much bigger role in future installments. In general the three children show new sides to them that were only hinted at before. Especially Rei gets a whole subplot that will definitely please fans of the character.
All of this combined keeps you on the edge the whole time. You simply don't quite know where its headed. At the end of this second (of four) movies we have almost reached the end of the series which really makes me hope for an original very different outcome than before. Besides... the series was almost over at this point, but with the movies, we're only halfway there.
In conclusion. If you liked EVA (and you're not a nitpicker), you're gonna love this. It's a hell of a ride. Don't miss it.
Tekkon kinkurîto (2006)
4C like I like them
Well, well, a a refreshing piece of animation. Up until now I've enjoyed everything coming out of Studio 4C I've seen, and thats a lot. Starting with the well aged Memories, over Arete up to Mind Game (Now that was a genius movie.) Also of course their shorter works (Genius Party and Matrix' Beyond).
They always deliver Stories (granted, not necessarily written by them) that are simply original, animations that are top-notch and an overall styling of their movies that blows my mind every single time. (Do watch the Genius party episode called Dimension Bomb and you will know exactly what I mean.)
To not turn this into a glorification of a studio, let me say, that Tekkonkinkreet has all the above.
The animation and setting are simply gorgeous. Treasure city is so full of details in every single shot, over the top, over stylized, but still believable. See to believe. best example for me would be the home of Black and White. The sun setting on the car just at noon, the props strewn all around just speaking: "I'm a messed up boys tree-house, but a car, under a bridge and also beautiful."
3D elements are also nice to behold. I think GitS: Innocence did it this way first. This way meaning actually painting the texture on the models (and I mean painting). This just integrates everything so much better into the rest of the picture, that you stop to notice it. This works especially well in the action pieces. Under bridges, over rooftops, on the train.
The only smudge on this glorious movie is the overall story. While original, entertaining and interesting throughout, there are some parts in which its lacking. The minotaur, while always hinted at, DID sort of come out of nowhere at the end. You do see it coming somehow, but I didn't expect the movie to turn that metaphysical all of a sudden. Another hole is the character Snake. His motivation or the origins of his organization never become very clear. The whole Yakuza plot, linking all of the fragments also doesn't lead anywhere really. Well it does, but I expected a little more then a headshot. Its like the whole point of the movie is just to give a cross section of the town and its inhabitants. While this is nice to watch, the movie itself seemed to build up to a grand finale, which didn't really happen. More like two and a half separate main story lines (there are also a lot of sub-plots) that just happen to overlap a few times and end on their own. I can't quite put my finger on it why this rubs me the wrong way but it does. On the other hand, maybe thats just me.
Still, to finally come to an end, I can only recommend this movie to anyone interested in something you don't see every day. Be it animation, story or movie-watching in general. Well worth your time.
Vals Im Bashir (2008)
A rare thing.
This isn't exactly a good movie considering drama, it has lengths all over the place, (interviews... interesting but far too long) but that didn't really matter to me. I'm always entertained by animation in itself, no matter if its hand-drawn, 3D, CGI in general or whatnot. This was done in Flash (of all the choices out there -.- )if I remember correctly, but Cell shaded looks are still a favorite of mine so this was a gold mine.
There were other scenes that were very enjoyable to watch. Enjoyable from a movie-making POV. I liked the horses, the rocket kid, the waltz, returning home for a week, and the good morning Lebanon sequence. This movie is made up of many little episodes not really hanging together, so that it should keep you interested cause there's always something new happening.
Considering the message, its nothing all to fancy. This documentary doesn't spread the guilt, it just tells events leading up to a tragedy. Everyone and no one, thats all there is to it, thats all there ever is.
One may question the necessity of doing this animated. The way I see it, it might be about the dream sequences, but I don't really think so. Ultimately its about the last few scenes of real footage, and nothing else. Seeing 80 Minutes of Animation and then being thrown into the real thing is a brilliant move to nail this movie and anything in it straight into your head. So you don't forget? Maybe, possibly, I don't know. What I know is that it worked that way for me. Not too many movies do that.
What I also know is that the cinema (about 50 people) fell eerily quiet at the end. From this moment to the next, just like that. Masses of people are never that quiet. It only happened a few times in my life. When there was a minute's silence for someone, at the end of Dancer in the Dark and at the end of this movie. No rustling, no whispers, no breathing, no nothing except a few select suppressed chokes. This kept on through the equally quiet credits and when we were back on the street it took a third of a cigarette to start talking. We didn't stop for a while. And thats when you realize you just saw a great movie.
Gamer (2009)
yeah... you know
First off, I was entertained throughout the movie and it wasn't for all the wrong reasons either. Its a nice, if a bit mediocre action-flick.
The Slayer sequences were nice to watch, the info-trash design was nice to see, and the story is a stitched together something of things we've all seen before and didn't care about before either. Nothing surprising here, but nothing really bad either. There's a bit of social commentary along the way that I found to be a bit too obvious, but if everything else in a movie is loud, why would this be an exception.
The way they depicted the gaming community ticked me off a bit (obese-secluded-perverts here smartassed-bullshitting-teensters there, self-indulging world-changing hackers topped off with a World were one Avatar seems more ludicrous than the next... come on, not even second-life is that bad), but I think it will take a few more years for that perception to change. (Thank you Wii). (But I had to laugh really hard about Simon (was it?) getting called a Cheater from all sides.) The third-person perspective for a shooting game (especially when you have a 360 screen) seems an idiotic choice at best. The movie would have been "better" if they'd put in something along the lines of that one shot in the Doom movie. Only more of it. You know, less Butler more first-person. This is obviously a movie intended to appeal to fans of shooters, and for that they don't seem to know anything about it at all. Seems in the future everyones favourite is still CTF... only in third person... ah enough about that.
Well, there's really nothing terribly wrong with this movie, its just not good either, fun, but not good. Rent it on an evening where there's nothing else to do.
By the way, I loved that one scene that ticked off so many others. Who cares about logic? Was it stupid? Oh yes, still the most original escape scene in ages.
Ink (2009)
Could've lived up to the hype...
Alright. Truth to tell, I saw the trailer and wanted to see this movie... badly. I did, and I'm somewhat disappointed now.
In my eyes there is one serious problem with this movie. It's totally, completely, utterly overloaded. It's not that I don't get it, but there are simply too many ideas in this thing fighting for dominance with each other. Its one of these creative projects where the mind behind it seems to have tried to put everything in it that made his brain tick. Like he's afraid that he won't get another chance.
Well Mr. Winans. Let me tell you something. You're terribly talented. Take your time. You're good now, keep at it an you'll be good for years to come.
Well now, let's get to the point. This movie is just a convoluted mess of ideas. Enough for probably three to five movies. While nothing of it is terribly original, the mix actually makes it worthwhile (yeah, I seem to argue against myself but this movie is just this kind of movie). There's influences to be seen all over the place. Matrix-fighting, DonnieDarko weirdness, DarkCity look-and-feel, Aronowsky editing, hell, the story feels like out of a twisted Michael Ende's world of Momo.
But, alas, as mentioned above, the whole thing fails too deliver in terms of... consistency, focus. The main story is also far too predictable. I kept waiting for a twist, but it never happened. After five minutes you'll probably figure out how its gonna end, and a thing like that is doing terrible things in terms of drama and pacing.
On the other hand, the really interesting things are never followed through. What's a Pathfinder and why the hell is he taping his eyes, what are the dream guys doing and whats the organization acting as evil counterparts. What's a Storyteller? Why does he have that nose? (my guess would be because he's lying to himself... you know Pinnochio like...) Matrix 2+3 told us far too much. This movie tells us far too little. Don't get me wrong. I like to think about a movie. Watch it more than once and come to my own might-be-answers (see DonnieDarko), but there have to be hints. Ambiguous hints are alright, but here there are none, so when the movies over, you don't feel motivated to explore.
On the technical side I have to say, while low budget, they still could've done better. Well, the only thing that really ticked me off were the constantly overexposed images. It just seemed like exactly what it was, a cheap effect, and nothing else.
Awesome, on the other hand, was the thing with the reassembling furniture. More of an awesome idea than an effect, but still. Also the screens in front of the bad guys. Also the chain-event scene of the Pathfinder. Yes, I DO like this movie, it just has some major mistakes in it, that lessened the experience considerably.
Watch it if the Trailer hit the right nerve, all failures aside, its still something you don't see every day and at least watch out for this Director/Writer. I'm pretty sure there are great things to come.
Public Enemies (2009)
How Technique ruins everything...
Well. I was looking forward to this,but missed in in theaters. Rented it now and just felt to write something about this almost great movie. Almost great but only half the score...yeah... I know.
Let's start with the good things. Depp was awesome as most of the time, albeit a bit limited in the space he was given as an actor. But it was quite refreshing to see him as something else than a pirate in what felt like a decade. (I liked em but... you know...) So was Bale, whose role was all in all cut a bit short for my taste. We need more Christian Bale movies. Him in the lead... no costume... Machinist anyone?
The sets and costumes felt authentic. And I do get a certain thrill to see cars of the 30's... let alone guns and nightclubs and music (sadly not enough of the latter in this one). Sort of Road to Perdition like.
Well onto the bad which is basically one thing and that cost this movie three stars in my eyes (would've probably been an 8/10 otherwise).
Camera. Excuse the language but the camera sucked for 70 percent of the movie. Now I guess this was an artistic choice, like making it feel more documentary... like. Let me tell you something. That approach works for three kinds of film. Things that didn't happen or probably won't happen (Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Rec, District 9), Action Movies (wichevers just on at the moment) and DOCUMENTARIES!!!
It doesn't work for Hybrids. It especially doesn't work for movies with Stars in it we've all known for quite a while playing out a story we've sort of known for quite a while. I buy a documentary style camera, if: A: I don't quite know where we're headed and B: I shut off my brain at the start of the movie or C: I don't know almost every face on screen.
None of this is true for this movie. The whole shaky-hand camera-over the shoulder-limited to non-existing depth of field - forcibly none color-corrected (but still color-corrected) scenes in this movie just ticked me off. I was in the movie for about thirty minutes, where everything was still stylized Hollywood goodness, and it felt like something like Gone with the wind for a while. You know, like an old movie, like something we all know. Sink into it and enjoy, just go with it. Like something we all love once in a while. Even the first two robberies still were filmed that way, and all was good. Then the story took a turn for the worse for Dillinger an suddenly (and I MEAN SUDDENLY, we're treated to shaking hell described above, almost up to the end) the final two scenes are stylized again, and thats a good thing but only remind me of what might have been an instant classic for me.
Well its not. For about two thirds of the movie I was just thinking: "Keep that damn camera still for once you bloody bastard or at least put it on a rail!!!" thus ripping me out of the movie, thus ruining the whole experience, thus minus three stars... and I'm still generous here.
Heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko (1994)
THE Ghibli movie.
Seriously. It took me ages to get my hands on this one. (forgot that it existed for some years ^^) Now that I've finally seen it(and seen it again one day later) I have to say, that this is the best Ghibli movie yet. (Yes, this was the last one missing for me, and yes, I'm absolutely serious.)
The story touches on similar issues as Mononoke or (to a lesser degree) Nausicaa. Man versus Nature, although Nature versus Man would be more appropriate. The scope of the story could almost be called epic, spanning three years, never focusing on any given character for too long, but rather dealing out similar screen time to a whole bunch of them. Two things I really didn't expect from a movie definitely aimed at children. The movie, clocking in at two hours, never loses its momentum but it does lack a bit of coherence. I can't quite describe it, but it feels more like watching four episodes in a row, rather then one movie. But thats nothing to fuss about really. Those two hours are packed with hilarious raccoon moments (whatever that is). Watching the raccoons transform, partying and being generally undecided about everything is just fun. It could have gone on for another two hours for all I cared. Its hilarious to watch. But then all of a sudden there are those moments hitting you straight in the stomach and bringing you back to earth. It never feels like this movie tries to wiggle the moral finger, it doesn't have to and it still gets its message across but in such an unpretentious way that you have to sit back afterwards and really appreciate the artistry behind it.
Technically, the animation is OK, although it really shines in transformation scenes (which make up about 80% of the movie ^^) It's like they forced their animators to double the framerate for those, and it really shows. Simply seamless. Seriously, it puts almost everything else to shame I've seen in Mainstream Animation so far. At some point you don't even realize it anymore, you take it as a given that a raccoon can transform into whatever the hell he feels like because it just happens naturally.
To get to the point. This movie is for kids (although all the male raccoons show of their balls ^^), but its just so funny in an over the top kind of way, that you have to be a soulless automaton to resist its charm no matter your age.
I don't do this often, but in this case I have to...
10/10
Tôkyô goddofâzâzu (2003)
A little bit more than entertainment. But just a little.
This was quite an amazing movie. The story kept twisting around while never being confusing, and stayed surprising till the very end. While childish in many ways it touched on quite adult issues in others. Homelessness and the various reasons for it, Japanese healthcare, Yakuza, Immigrants, Drugs, Violence in its many facettes and, as always in Satoshi Kons movies till now, the human psyche. While many of those issues are only touched briefly (including psychology), it seems like the director wanted to show a crossover through society. Thus the movie is quite packed, and thus the movie is quite entertaining to say the least. Strangely enough though, no sex whatsoever.
The characters were unique in their own way and believable on the stage the movie provided. The character animation was OK. We've all seen better, but with this movie that's hardly the point. Satoshi Kon definitely overused the deus ex machina in this one, but then again he always does (altough I still have to see Paranoia Agent), so I was expecting it. Plus he always does it in such unpretentious ways that I can simply enjoy it. So what? Coincidences DO happen. Especially on Christmas. ^^ I wouldn't want to exchange the end of this movie for anything more believable, its just to... fitting.
In short I could find nothing wrong with this movie. While it didn't get me thinking, it certainly entertained me from start to finish. Well... I didn't care for the dancing skyscrapers.
8/10
One other thing though. I'm utterly sick of hearing comparisons to Miyazaki. It's like fanboys comparing every Fantasymovie or book with LotR. Seriously, HOW, can anyone compare this movie, or even more, something like Perfect Blue with Totoro, Chihiro or Laputa? What mindbending techniques are necessary to accomplish this task, I ask you? Comparing Miyazaki with Kon is like comparing Spielberg with del Toro. They just make different kinds of movies. Miyazaki and Kon are both terribly talented Directors and writers, they both make brilliant movies and they both happen to work in Japan. The End
Metoroporisu (2001)
it doesn't match
I watched the first third of this movie about two months ago and then stopped because it made me angry. I finished it now, because I was bored. I'm still angry, so I give it a 5/10.
First of, the animation is top of the line. I found the 3D elements sort of lacking (given the fact that its a cinema release), but still eye-pleasing.
Metropolis looks simply gorgeous in every single shot. (like Blade Runner in blaring colours or Midgar in FinalFantasyVII(the game, not the movie)).
The storyline is OK. Nothing too grand, and more of the "been there more'n once, seen it"-sort, but its still solid and carries the movie. Still, it was sort of predictable the whole way through. They could have done with a little less pathos, too. (come now, the most advanced robot that's ever been has a human shaped heart and it stops beating when the robot loses its humanity??? ...please...)
The soundtrack is eerily fitting and, as someone wrote before me, I will probably always remember the final scenes of the movie because they absolutely nailed the music there.
Now to the angry factor. I know it's a classic, and all the hardcore fanbase would have screamed in agony, but the character design is just grossly misplaced (to put it mildly), for this kind of movie. It's like Sin City would be drawn by Albert Uderzo. Storyline and Art just don't match. While Kenichi and Tima are not too bad (as they are kids), everyone else just falls out of the background. That duke for example. Or the detective. Every time they were on screen I got ripped out of an otherwise consistent world. You just shouldn't mix a serious story with visual oddballs. Look at the "Ghost in the Shell"-movies. They pretty much kicked Shirows Manga Designs into the can and went for a more realistic approach. What did we get? A more believable world.
Well, this single fact pretty much ruined a lot of the fun this movie could have been for me. If you don't care about that (watch the trailer first), you're in for an above average piece of anime.