11/30/2018 1 Comment rushmore (1998)Director: Wes Anderson
Rushmore is about a high school student Max Fischer falls in love with a first grade teacher. He tries so many ways to win her. However, his friend Herman Blume, a father of two Max's classmates, falls for the same teacher as well. Let's talk about what classic Wes Anderson elements Rushmore incorporate! Wes Anderson always have the most interesting characters. First of all, Max Fischer came from a divorced family--a Wes Anderson trait. His dad is a barber which he was ashamed of at first. He tells everyone--particularly Miss Cross, the teacher's boyfriend--that his dad is neurosurgeon. As the story goes on, Max's character develops, he introduces his barber father to his friends. Second, Herman Blume is a typical man-child in Wes Anderson's story. He acts like a child when he couldn't deal with things. At his son's birthday party, he saw his wife flirting with another man, he jumps into the swimming pool when everyone's staring. When he is sending the message from Max to Miss Cross, he tries to hide from her at first, and runs away like a kid. The most childish one is when he and Max take revenge on each other--he ran over Max's bicycle with his car. Slow motion is also one of Wes Anderson's traits. Slow motion moments usually state an important turning point in the story. For example, in Rushmore, when everyone was applauding for Max's play, he turns his head and looks at the kid who punched him in the face. Max just proved himself in front of the people he wanted to impress--Miss Cross, the kid who punched him, Blume, the headmaster... When he starts the revenge on Blume by releasing bees into his hotel room... I'd say Rushmore included a lot of Wes Anderson himself. Max does a lot of things--he creates so many clubs. But one thing he consisted doing is writing and directing the play. Fun fact, Wes Anderson joined a playwriting club in college where he met Owen Wilson. They are the writers of Rushmore. When the kid in Max's play messed up one of his lines, Max went for him and yelled at him "Every line matters!" Wes Anderson is known for his detailed work in mise en scene. I bet that's the reason why Anderson dedicated years into his stop motion animations. I really liked this movie. I almost feel bad about how it will never become my favorite Wes Anderson's film since The Grand Budapest Hotel is my top 1 favorite of all time. All the characters are really likable and the development of the movie is really well organized. Rating: 8.7/10
1 Comment
Director: David Yates
This movie is about...I don't even know. I do not know how to summary this movie. I have no idea what has happened in this movie, so here's a summary on google: "In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world." Fun fact, I have never read any of the Harry Potter books or seen any of its movies (Don't attack). I watched Fantastic Beasts 1 without knowing that it was part of the Harry Potter world. And I was thoroughly impressed by the first one to be honest. Firstly I understand the movie perfectly. Secondly the magic world and the creatures in it fascinate me. So I had both of the two standards to watch the second one--understanding the plot even when I have no knowledge of Hogwarts or Voldemort, the creativity of all the creatures Newt encounters. I don't ask a lot from these types of movies. (I think this is also one of the reasons why I love Marvel Universe so much, every movie self-explains, you don't need to watch the whole series of Avengers to understand why Thanos killed half of the heroes.) Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald tragically fails both of my expectations. *Spoiler* The opening of the movie is a guy called Grindelwald escaped from the prison. I don't know who he is; why he was imprisoned; why the people who imprisoned him want to transfer him to another place; who that boy is, is he helping Grindelwald or not...... The flashing lightenings and the quick cuts were really confusing and uncomfortable. If I list all the questions I had during the film, this blog would be way too long. But here are some of my main problems with this movie. First, I think a short rewind to remind audiences who the minor characters are would help a lot since Fantastic Beasts 1 released 2 years ago, such as Nagini. If this movie is just a transition of what's gonna happen in the next movie, it should help audiences reinforce the characters and the plot. Second, there are several characters who seemed really important in this movie that I was unsure about their purposes: Newt's brother, Leta and her half brother. And some characters that I think are kind of important were not introduced and explained well, such as the old man who was the owner of the safe house in France. Third, the pace of the film didn't help at all. Even though this film supposed to be a transition to next movie that's coming out in 2020, the pace should still be considered within this single movie. It's a 2 hour long movie and I feel like it spends one and a half of hour to bring everything together. Eddie Redmayne is still cute. But other than that, disappointed... Rating: 55/100 11/12/2018 1 Comment family plot (1976)Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Family Plot talks about a psychic and her boyfriend went on a trip to find an old lady’s only legal heir, her nephew. But they encounter the serial kidnapper and murderer in California. He found out that they are trying to locate him and think them as dangers. Family Plot is Alfred Hitchcock’s last film. As the father of suspense, when you’ve seen his Vertigo, The Birds or Psycho, Family Plot is just another Hitchcock’s thriller movie. It is a well-made film however it suffers from the comparison to his previous films. Several scenes throughout the film where they were in the house were really tense and catchy. Although it lacks suspense and twists overall. It does have the right amount of comedy elements that keeps the audiences entertained. This film is an overall seven out of ten, but it definitely is one of Hitchcock’s important films in his later years of career. 11/11/2018 1 Comment jumanji: welcome to the Jungle (2017)Director: Jake Kasdan
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is about four high school kids got detention and were locked into a room to clean up as their punishment. They found an old-fashioned video game machine, and the game was called Jumanji. After all four of them selected their avatars, they were sucked into the game Jumanji. And in there, they were given a mission to put the jewel back to where it should be. During the mission, they realized they could actually die, or stuck in the game forever. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is the newer version of Jumanji (1995) which unfortunately I haven't watched. I didn't know what to expect from the movie but I guess it reached the expectation of being an adventurous, action movie, but nothing more. In other words, it is a very basic movie. The message, the relationship between characters and the development of the relationship, the challenges, even the jokes are all...really...BASIC. Also, again, I usually don't pay much attention to background music. But the music in this movie was confusing and noticeable, in a bad way. I don't know if they are trying to make them sound like in a video game or not. The special effects were not the best either, especially at the most important scene where Spencer reached the statue and put the jewel in, the background looks like they spent 5 cents on it. I was forced to watch this movie but I had fun with my friends. (When you are having a movie night with a bunch of underaged boys, the options were pretty limited.) It's a good choice to let your brain go blank and laugh stupidly for 2 hours. Rating: 55/100 11/5/2018 1 Comment in the mood for love (2000)Director: 王家卫/ Kar-Wai Wong
Not surprised, definitely a top five, it has everything i want in a movie ;) In the Mood for Love is about two married couples move and become neighbors. Zhen and Mo-Wan's both found out that their spouses are cheating on them with each other. They start talking and writing novels together since they both love the martial arts novels. But they promise they won't go on to the same path as their spouses. This movie is set in 1900s Hong Kong, and within three minutes, the movie sets the audiences into this crowded city--it doesn't give people much personal space. Wong used tons of close-up shots to show the short physical distance between each other. In the Mood for Love is a romantic movie. Every bit of it is about love, but there is no single kiss, barely touching between the woman and the man. I usually pay no attention to the music in the movie because they are so easy to be neglected, but the repeated music (a motif!) works so well in this movie to show their change in relationship. Every time they meet in the narrow staircase to the noodle restaurant, they exchange a brief greeting. Then they start writing novels together which makes them closer. And the last time the music starts, Mo-Wan's smoking at his work place and Zhen is looking at the neighbor's playing cards. Without saying anything, the audiences know they are thinking of each other because of the music. It's brilliant. The visual effects are just beyond words. The use of color is incredible as well, especially red. It is so unclear and ambiguous. Wong also uses a lot of framing, which creates the tone of vagueness. There are two scenes that confused me a bit at first. After Zhen and Mo-Wan told each other that they think their spouses are cheating on each other, they walked home together. First, the man grabs Zhen's hand and asks her not to go home. Then everything rewinds, Zhen flirted with Mo-Wan. But then I realized, none of these actually happened probably. Everything in the movie is implied. I love the ending scene so much. Mo-Wan whispers into the hole on the wall. No one knows what he said but every one knows what he said. Brilliant. Brilliant! This movie is shouting my name. I love this movie so much! Definitely will be my favorites. I will probably watch it again because there are some scenes that are kind of confusing. Rating: 9.2/10 |
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