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Rilakkuma to Kaorusan (2019)
For a moment, I remembered what it was like to be a child again
The creators took hold of this wonderful show and executed it with child-like wonder. Don't know what else to add that everyone else here has not. It's imaginative and warms your heart.
Please make another season! I have a special place in my heart for Rilakkuma now!
Downsizing (2017)
Bold, clever, and non-formulaic movies like these that explore humanity should be lauded
I liked Downsizing. It really breaks away from the traditional hollywood formula of movies.
Warning: below are my thoughts on the movie, and just know there will be spoilers.
I think the entire movie was about Matt Damon rediscovering himself after his wife left him. At the end, the world was ending, and Matt Damon had to choose between joining the others down the cave or staying with his friends. The former could potentially lead to preserving humanity after the global disaster, and one could argue that such a task is literally the embodiment of the meaning of life. On the other hand, staying with his new Vietnamese girlfriend and helping the people in their community is honorable, but ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things when the world ends and everyone on the surface dies. Yet, Matt chose the latter after long deliberations, an impractical decision through a purely logical standpoint, but the movie frames this in a way that makes it seem sensible to the viewer.
Think back to literally the title of the movie: "downsizing." Humans are literally portrayed as small compared to the rest of the world, and Matt Damon's bustling society in Happy Valley (or whatever it as called) is just a tiny bubble of life on the planet. When you really think about it, his contributions to helping others, whether it's the dying lady on the Vietnamese girl's bed or the guy in the wheelchair, are downsized compared to the ice caps melting, the climate changing, the forced shrinkage of people in third world countries or whatever. But despite this, Matt Damon still found reason and desire to go back nevertheless.
There isn't a clear-cut message in the film, and I think that's a bold move by the writers when the majority of the average film-goers just want to be fed bite-sized, cookie-cut messages (and hence, perhaps why the low reviews). But in my interpretation, the movie is a little combination of both pure entertainment (the film is so refreshingly non-formulaic that you can't guess what happens next) and a reminder that although some of the things we do might not have any real impact in the future, its impact in the present shouldn't be insignificant.
Hardcore Henry (2015)
Respect for the action sequences and shots
Think back to when you were a kid and saw your first blockbuster movie for the first time. For instance, for me, that was Harry Potter. Didn't you wonder how it was made, like how they made Harry fly on a broomstick or something?
Yes, I am aware that this is a movie about Hardcore Henry and not Hardcore Harry, but my point is that as I grew up, my curiosity for the behind-the-scenes has slowly evaporated. However, with a budget of $2 million, Hardcore Henry's impressive array of complicated action sequences has once again perked my interest in the "how they made it." Because the movie was shot in first-person perspective, my intuition tells me that they were not able to use a lot of the standard cameras other high production movies use, and hence a lot of the scenes probably required some creative choreography and special effects rather than just computer animated visual effects (haven't done actual research on this, but this is just what my gut tells me).
In addition, the movie also boasts solid acting, genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and a mostly coherent plot. For such a small budget, I am legitimately impressed that they managed to make such an entertaining movie, so this movie deserves my respect.
9/10 with a few flaws, but a huge two thumbs up for the effort and creativity needed to shoot some of the scenes.
The Shape of Water (2017)
Nothing exceptional in terms of acting, plot, cinematography, visual effects or whatever.
I'm no Roger Ebert. I tend to catch on to symbolism, cinematography, actor performances, and subtle details from time to time like the next average member in the audience, but I certainly never studied film. Hence, maybe there's some overarching allegory or profound meaning to the film that I've been too stupid to notice, but I honestly do NOT see what is the big deal about this movie. Yes, it was good in its execution, but I do not see the distinguishing factor that earned this film 13 Oscar nominations and 4 wins, including Best Picture and Best Director.
For me, this was just an above average film, somewhat engaging and entertaining, but nothing truly innovative or thought-provoking. I promptly forgot about the film about 10 minutes after viewing it. I saw it just yesterday, but I can't remember any of the characters' names. I felt no strong emotional attachment to any of them, and I wasn't gripping the edge of my seat to find out what will happen to them either. I truly can't figure out why this film achieved the acclaim that it did, not in terms of acting, plot, cinematography, visual effects, or whatever. It truly is just a slightly above average 6/10 for me.
Bangkok Dangerous (2000)
VERY solid execution
Essentially a movie about a John Wick level assassin portrayed very solidly by Nicholas Cage who arbitrarily kills his assigned targets until he slowly develops a sense of morality as the story progresses. There's nothing really innovative about the plot (and hence perhaps the critic bashing), but the acting, action, and character development are all very well done.
The movie also takes place in Bangkok, and the cinematography is good (grants a selective but intriguing glimpse of the culture, architecture, and customs in Thailand). If you enjoy gritty but engaging action movies with a solid amount of emotional connection, then you cannot go wrong with this movie.
9/10 in the execution of achieving what it attempted to achieve.
Poketto monsutâ: Nyarth's A-I-U-E-O (1998)
Meowth may be a Pokemon, but he's more human than any of the characters on the show
It's been about 15 years since this episode was released, but somehow, every time someone mentions Pokemon, this episode is what appears in my head.
It's not easy explaining why this episode hits home the most, partly because I can't really explain it myself. I guess the first thing you have to understand is that Pokemon was my childhood. It was the first animated TV series I've ever seen, and for a young boy trapped in a small town in his humble home, Pokemon was my escape to a land of unlimited dreams and imagination. I envied Ash, not only because he had the opportunity to explore the world and experience incredible adventures, but also because he had a dream, a fun and fulfilling purpose he designated to himself: to become a Pokemon Master.
But while Ash was the boy who I wanted to be, Meowth was more like the character I actually was, and the painful differences between the two became all the more evident in this episode. Ash grew up in the care of a loving, nurturing mother. Even when he makes dreadful mistakes, such as sleeping in on the day of choosing a Pokemon, things eventually end in his favor, such as luckily being able to get Pikachu from Professor Oak. Ash continues his adventure, getting friends, defeating gym leaders more than twice his age. He comes out victorious, loved, admired, respected. Ten years old, and he's already so accomplished, so mature, so compassionate for his fellow Pokemon that he understands the necessity of sometimes letting them go for their happiness, always ending up somehow making the right moral decisions. As a result, I always found Ash's character to be somewhat clichéd or unrealistic in retrospect.
On the other hand, Meowth is to this day this unclassifiable unique character, so interesting and multifaceted that I would go so far as to deem him as one of the most profound cartoon characters ever to have been created. And this episode, this brilliant, heart touching episode, was what singlehandedly granted him to this honorable status.
To begin, Meowth was likable because, unlike Ash, nothing was handed to him on a silver platter. There was no caring mom to raise him and guide him through life; he grew up alone, hungry, once strung up on a tree because his delusions from hunger made him see baseballs as food. But despite all this, we see Meowth persevere and concoct a dream: to go west and find a solvent life for himself, so he wouldn't starve again. Hence, it's not hard to see why someone would root for this underdog for his tenacity. He stood up to fight for his necessities and happiness.
At this point, most stories will fall into the common cliche of the protagonist climbing from "rags to riches" or finding some sort of happily ever after. A more cynical show would have shown Meowth continue to be trapped in his impoverished, pitiful lifestyle no matter how hard he struggled. However, another reason why I love this episode and the writers is that Meowth doesn't truly doesn't fall in either end of the spectrum.
Upon his arrival at Hollywood, Meowth quickly learned to steal food to survive. It was enough to get by, but the cat eventually shifted his focus towards another type of hunger: his desire for love. Believing the solution to his heartache was Meowzie --the classy, female Meowth dressed in jewelry and elegance-- Meowth strove to snatch her attention by attempting to become someone noteworthy and significant in his own way. Choosing a path of intense struggle and pain, Meowth agonizingly learned to walk and talk like a normal human in hopes of impressing Meowzie (and also finally answering the long held question of why Meowth could speak in the show). But in the end, despite achieving literally almost no other Pokemon managed to achieve, Meowth did not earn Meowzie's respect, but was instead called a "freak." After Meowzie chased after a Persian, Meowth tried to impress her one last time by defeating said Persian (the evolved form of his species) in battle, but was nevertheless still rebuffed.
There's a complicated lesson in this story. "Go West Young Meowth" teaches us the sad truth that sometimes no matter how hard you dig, the gold you sought remains unfound. Sometimes, there are things that you can never have, and other times there are people who will not love you no matter what you do. BUT the episode also shows us that that's okay, because there are still so many other paths in life. In Meowth's case, his fate does not by all means end in tragedy; Team Rocket may not be the epitome of perfect people, but they accepted Meowth, were there for him, made him part of their team, and Meowth eventually understands that they are an integral part of his life too. Using Jessie and James's words, Meowth all in all was a freak, but was still "their freak."
After seeing a rough outline of Meowth's rocky life, the episode concludes with Ash and the others upset and complaining about how their Pokemon wasn't part of the Hollywood show. While it may have been a jibe at how Ash's concerns are relatively inane in comparison to some of the bigger life problems we just saw Meowth face, the episode leaves the viewers to interpret its meaning as Team Rocket makes one final appearance and dances off the stage.
In the very last scene of the episode, we see Meowth staring at the moon, still thinking about Meowzie. While Ash simply moves on, rarely seen mentioning or reminiscing the old Pokemon and friends he departed, we get to see some of Meowth's more vulnerable moments, where even after all this time, he still couldn't let go of his first love. Anyway, this is a long review, but at this point, if Meowth's character doesn't strike you as deep, then that's okay, because Meowth simply didn't resonate with you as it did with me.