10/29/2018 1 Comment amelie (2001)Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
This movie is about a young girl Amelie who works at a small coffee shop. She is shy but she tries to help people around her--she helps her dad, her neighbor, and the boy at the fruit shop. But then she met a guy and had a secret crush on him. So she decided to meet him in an unique way. Amelie is probably one of the most unique movie I've ever seen so I don't know how to feel about it. The storyline is kind of vague compare to any other classical films, since the movie is consisted of different parts of stories. I usually prefer an in-order storyline with a rather clear goal rather than jumping around in different stories. For me, I need a clear main plot and a quest. During the movie, I just wanted it to be focused on one thing, which would be Amelie met a mysterious guy at the train station collecting other people's photos. Other stories I didn't care that much, they just felt like they are in the way. Maybe it's just because I am not a romantic person. However I have to say Amelie is an easy and heartwarming movie to watch. One of the review says this is the movie equivalent of a hug. I couldn't agree more. It makes you smile. Although the parts of stories bother me, every single one of them is worthy to fall for. And I ask a lot for visual experiences. Amelie does have a beautiful framework. (Although the poster looks horrible, I didn't watch it for so long was because of the poster.) Rating: 7/10
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10/21/2018 0 Comments the iron giant (1999)Director: Brad Bird
The Iron Giant is about a robot who has feelings landed in a small town where he met the boy Hogarth. Hogarth knows if the government knows about his existence, he will be destroyed. So he tries to hide and take care of the robot, however the secret is eventually discovered by one of the evil agent from the government. To be honest, I don't really know how to write a review about animations from the period of time like 1999. I don't want to be too harsh on them because of the lack of computer techniques, etc. The style of the Iron Giant is very traditional, different from the animated films now, which I don't know if I like it more than the computer animated developed now. For instance, Brad Bird's Incredibles are just way more visually impressive to me. Plus, the message of the film, "You are who you choose to be." is very basic, too. However, I don't want to be harsh considering the time period, also because at the end of the day, it is for kids, the message ought to be positive and simple. Another thing I have mixed feelings about is that the time arrangement in the film. I really enjoyed the relationship between the robot, Hogarth and Dean. (Dean is such a lovely character. I love him.) Their time together is cute and funny. However, I do think it's a little bit too slow and too much. The defensive reaction to the guns of the robot appears almost half past the film, when it is an very essential element to the theme. Overall, I think The Iron Giant is an okay animated film. But maybe it's just because I've watched too many impressed films after it. Inside Out, for example, is one of my all time favorites. Coco from last year is heartwarming and the message is refreshing and intriguing. The visual effect is way beyond my expectation as well. I know there is limitation of tradition animated films. But I also know how impressive Miyazaki's films could be, so it is really hard to give The Iron Giant credit for that. Rating: 6.8/10 10/14/2018 0 Comments mr. smith goes to washington (1939)Director: Frank Capra
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is about a young, ambitious man Jefferson Smith's political life. He is naive and idealistic at first and wants to start a boy camp for good. However, he is framed by a powerful political boss, Jim Taylor. Soon, he discovers more about the ugliness of the career world he's always been longed for. But, instead of being a puppet, he chose to fight back. This is my second James Stewart movie. My first one was The Rope, and I didn't care for him in that movie. But Mr. Smith Goes to Washington proved how great of an actor James Stewart was. Usually an overly naive and idealistic character would annoy me, but Jefferson Smith was an exception, because he is lovable and inspiring. He is not trying to play innocent and yet people feel sorry for him. My emotions were going up and down to see Mr. Smith's journey. I read a little bit about Frank Capra. An interesting fact of him is that he is actually Italian, but he made probably one of the most patriotic movies in America. But I think this is also the wonderful thing about this movie--it brought out people's love from the bottom of their heart while apparently more and more people are losing it nowadays. (I had goosebumps looking at the statue of Lincoln and I am not American.) This movie is surprisingly good, because I am definitely not a fan of politics or movies and shows about politics. And this movie is uplifting which is not my usual type of movie (haha). But I am so glad that I watched it because I truly enjoyed it. I liked the fact that there was not a lot of romance developed in it between Smith and Saunders or Susan. I liked the little contact between Smith and the president. It adds the just right amount of relaxing during the long and intense speech of Smith's. The only thing I would tease about it is that the ending seems really rushing with Jefferson Smith passing out and Paine acting all crazy. Rating: 8.2/10 10/3/2018 1 Comment *spoiler*a star is born (2018)Director: Bradley Cooper
A Star is Born is a remake of three movies before it. It talks about a musician Jackson Maine met a struggling artist Ally at a bar. He was really attracted to Ally's talent and herself, so he brought her into the spotlight. However, as Ally becomes more and more successful in her career, Jackson suffers from alcoholism and drug addiction. I have not seen any of the three movies before, so unfortunately I am unable to do any comparison. But this movie, as Bradley Cooper's debut as a director, is an outstanding piece of work in my opinion. There is a lot of repeating signals to different following plots, which makes the movie sort of predictable but surprising at the same time. For example, in the very beginning, when he gets into the car and tries to find a bar, there is a billboard outside of the window with patterns of nooses on it. This hint is so hard to unsee, which implies Jackson's ending. There is also a gesture motif at the beginning and the ending, where Jackson says "Just wanna take another look at you.", and Ally does this slide across her face by her fingers. Cooper also uses several Ally's super close up faces to state different stages of the storyline. First one at the drag bar, Ally turns her face towards Jackson. That is when Jackson falls in love with her; The second one is at their wedding, Ally cries; The third one is towards the end, when Jackson comes out from his battle with alcohol, he sings with the piano, and Ally is right next to him and watches him play the piano. Just like they first met, she is so in love with this man and his pure talent. Another excellent clue is Ally's hair color through out the movie. She has a fight with her manager because she doesn't want to change her hair color--she wants to be herself. But later in the movie, as Jackson's addiction deteriorates, she changes her hair color to orange. It implies how she is forced to be this pop star, that she can't be herself anymore. But in the end she changes her hair back to natural color. It is really heartbreaking to watch how Jackson gradually corrupts, especially when his beloved, Ally rises as a star. I really like how tight the plot goes on from Jackson discovering Ally's talent to Ally becoming a huge star, so that it can put more effort into their relationship and Jackson's state of mind. Audiences can definitely realize how alcohol has ruined his life, but one scene really strikes me. It was when Ally visits him at the recovery center, she says she is afraid that he won't come home, because he fell in love with her when he is drunk. Now that he is awake, she is afraid that he won't love her anymore. It just shows how terrible his situation has been and how fragile their relationship could be. Rating: 7.8/10 |
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