derpinsel.com - pixels, stories and texts by angela solis

Stardust, The Simpsons Movie

Stardust (2007)
I’ve read the book almost three years ago, so I can only remember fragments of what I read. Nevertheless, I did enjoy watching Stardust (more than the book, apparently). And reading that entry about the book, I saw that I made a comment about doing a Stardust movie. Well here’s my wish. Tama nga ako, maganda ngang gawing film yung story. I really liked the film; not the type of film that I would actually put on my favorites list, but was enough to keep me entertained. Mas na-enjoy ko ‘yung faery tale factor siguro kasi mas visual kapag movie. I just find it weird that they changed the protagonist’s name from Tristran to Tristan. Is it because the former is harder to pronounce?

Oh, and Ben Barnes is hot.

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

S-sir, I’m afraid you’ve gone mad with power…
Of course I have. You ever tried going mad without power? It’s boring. No one listens to you!

I was never a fan of The Simpsons, but I’ve seen a handful of episodes. This film was a riot. It was fun. It was stupid and witty at the same time. Natawa ako dahil namatay yung Green Day sa film, ha ha. Natawa rin ako when the person who was at the entrance of Alaska gave Homer a thousand dollars, he he. Natawa when ako when Ned Flanders was praying with his sons and then… something happened, ha ha! Sabaw ‘tong film na ‘to. But I guess that’s the reason why this movie is so fun to watch.

One more thing, the way the animation was made was really cool, although it felt kind of different (medyo old school kasi yung texture ng animation sa TV), but it was still good nonetheless. Oh yeah, Homer is really worthless.

One More Chance

One More Chance (2007)
Okay itong film na ito in terms of looking at a relationship in a very mature fashion. I mean, I think it’s rare (or virtually wala) for a Filipino romantic film to deal with people who are seemingly happy in love with each other and then suddenly the audience will realize that something is wrong. I admire this film for actually not being ‘pa-tweetums’ about love and stuff, like the way we see in other films.

While I am not going to dissect this film in regards of its cinematography, soundtrack, etc., I would rather give my comment with regards to the dynamics of Basha (Bea Alonzo) and Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz)’s relationship. The way I see it in the film kasi, Popoy is becoming “too safe” and “controlling” to the point that Basha feels that she does not exist if Popoy is not around. Sobrang overlap na ng buhay nila na she cannot actually distinguish who she is. Hence, the soul-searching. I think that people were to be asked whose fault was it (I mean, it’s not that we’re supposed to blame someone for the situation, but!), most people will probably say that it’s Popoy’s fault. More »

2008 Movie-watching, Part 1

Hwaryeohan Hyuga / A Magnificent Holiday (2007)
It’s been years since I last saw a Korean flick, and I only learned about Hwaryeohan Hyuga because the Korean Students’ Org at the U of M for the Asian Movie Festival 2008. The movie is a historical one, as it depicts events from the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980.

One thing about this movie though is that it’s very thought-provoking. For me it’s not about extracting sad emotions from the viewers (which what I usually find in Korean films, but maybe it’s because I only have access to the romantic flicks, which I am not really fond of), but it’s more of making them think. In my case, it made me appreciate more what I currently have. I am lucky that my parents don’t have to die for me to experience a quiet and safe life. For me it’s sad to see the people on the film suffer so much in the name of freedom and democracy. And it pains me the most that there are actual jerks in this world who has the power to inflict pain to other people. May they all burn in hell.

Atonement (2007)
Am I stupid for not liking this film? Or was it because it’s not meant to be watch with my barkada? I went to watch this last Friday with some of my friends, and it wasn’t the movie that I was planning to watch in the first place, but well, we ended up watching it anyway.

I didn’t realize that Romola Garai played the older Briony. I love her at Dirty Dancing Havana Nights. But I liked her there. I guess Briony’s character affected me the most because I find her irritating. If I was Cecilia, I won’t even forgive her, but maybe that’s just me.

Still, I didn’t enjoy it, got bored in the earlier parts of the film. I should’ve watched Cloverfield or Sweeny Todd instead with my friends. But yeah, maybe I could’ve appreciate this more if I watched it alone or something.

tokyo.sora

tokyo.sora (Tokyo Sky, 2001)
Director: Ishikawa Hiroshi
If I am not mistaken, tokyo.sora is the first movie of Ishikawa Hiroshi, the same director who brought us Suki da,. So when I was researching about Suki da, I learned about this film and told myself that I am going to watch it when I get myself a copy. And since I’ve noticed his style throughout the latter film, I was expecting that the same directorial (?) style will be present in tokyo.sora.

True enough, it was almost as if I am watching the same film, only that tokyo.sora has a different story, has a more depressing feel on it and the movie looks “older” than what it was supposed to look because it’s “grainy” and has a documentary film-esque look. Personally I don’t think tokyo.sora is the type of movie that will keep everyone on their seat since it is very slow (slower than Suki da, if you ask me) and the interesting part of the film didn’t take place until the second half of the movie. It is very quiet as well; the characters don’t get to speak on the first five-ten minutes of the film. But unlike in Suki da, this made me feel really frustrated because I don’t know what on earth is going on in the film.

What I like in this film though is that the cinematography is very beautiful. There is no doubt that Ishikawa is one fine director when it comes to visuals. I guess what I really didn’t like in this film is that I was a bit confused with the characters at first. Everything unfolded by the end of the story. But the story that really caught my attention was Yoko’s, the writer slash GRO and her fascination with the girl named Yuki. The rest didn’t captivate me as much, so I find that a bit sad.

Technorati tags:
Ishikawa Hiroshi, tokyo.sora

Transformers

Transformers (2007)
Transformers is a good film because of the very clear narration and supperb special effects and combat scenes. The only problem that I have in this movie is that the characters are very predictable, although I really like Megan Fox’s character (Mikaela Banes) because she is not the typical damsel in distress lead female character.

Another weakness that I saw on the film was that how they handle the characters. Maggie (Rachael Taylor) and the rest of the people left at the base “disappeared” right after they successfully delivered the Morse Code to the Air Force, which is kind of lame if you ask me since I think her character’s really important in the film. She kind of lost the limelight as soon as the Autobots appear, even though her character knows a lot (if not all) about technology.

One thing I like in this film is the smooth transition of the scenes as well as the humor. Of course, Transformers is far from perfect but it is a film worth watching.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
As soon as me and my sister brought up the topic about the showing of the latest Harry Potter movie installment, my mother did not bat an eyelash and said, “let’s go and watch it!” and even though I wanted to check out Transformers instead, I do not want to watch alone (and pay), so after work, my family decided to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We experienced a minor setback though, since the 8:00 showing at the cinema near our place got sold out so we had to go to the other end of the city (at St. Vital) just to catch the show. Good thing they have a different showing time there, so we get to watch the movie at around 9:30 in the evening. More »

The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai (2003)
Wala lang mapanood kila Cheree last Sunday so nanood kami ng The Last Samurai. Siyempre huling-huli na ako di ba?

I like the cinematography in general, although the fight scenes are less intense by my standards. Tom Cruise looked really old in this film, but I was amazed how he didn’t have the accent when he spoke his Japanese lines. Of course, Watanabe Ken did not disappoint me in this one. Both Cruise and Watanabe were “deglamourized” in this movie but they were able to deliver well.

Ayun lang. I wasn’t really amazed by it, but I have my apprehensions about the film but apart from that I think it was okay.

Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu

Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu (今、会にゆきます | Be With You, 2004)
Director: Nobuhiro Doi
Another movie based from the story written by Ichikawa Takuji (the same person who wrote Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru). Maybe it’s just the whole familiarity issue (I know most of the actors in Tada…), but I didn’t enjoy this movie this much, although I have to admit that I did cry a lot (as expected?) while watching the touching scenes in this movie.

The story is about Aio Takumi and his son Yuuji, who recently lost the only important woman in their life, Mio. While the father and son were rummaging in an abandoned area near their place one rainy day, they saw a woman who looks like Mio, but she doesn’t remember anything about the two. So Takumi and Yuuji took her in, as they tell her the story of their family. The question (and I guess, fear) lingers on, especially for Takumi, since it was believed that as soon as the rainy season ends, Mio’s stay will end as well.

I think what I really love in this film is the cinematography and the performance of the actors, particularly Nakamura Shidou and Takeuchi Yuuko. I really feel for Nakamura’s character, Takumi because I find him really sensitive and caring. As for the cinematography, I think it’s almost the same as Tada… even though the films have two separate directors. But then again, I wasn’t really able to enjoy the film that much, although the ‘kilig’ factor during the narration of the development of Takumi and Mio’s relationship was captured really well.

Anyway, because I already saw the movie version, I’m now curious about the TV (drama) version of Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu. I want to see how Narimiya Hiroki carry out the role of Aio Takumi.

Hatsukoi

Hatsukoi (初恋 | First Love, 2006)
Director: Hanawa Yukinari
I am not sure what to make of this film… I definitely love the cinematography; I love Koide Keisuke’s performance as Kishi, but somehow… I am not sure if Miyazaki Aoi’s performance failed me this time around.

Hatsukoi is the movie version of the alleged autobiography of an author named Nakahara Misuzu, and her involvement in the 300-million yen affair. If you’re going to ask me, I think that including the “confession” of her involvement is just a backdrop to the whole film, since I was drawn more to the tension between Misuzu (Miyazaki) and Kishi (Koide). I was more interested with Misuzu’s inner conflict, that the supposedly main scene in the film felt like sprinkles on top of the cupcake.

And for my favorite part of the film:

May 6, 1966

Today, I met a young girl. With unclouded eyes, she looked at me and said,

“I don’t want to be an adult.”

I fell in love with her. The kind of love you feel only once. But I can never tell her about it. I couldn’t bear to cloud those eyes.

I guess the only problem here is that Miyazaki’s character doesn’t like to talk that much, which was a bit of a problem for me, since everyone else was… well, talking. I cannot seem to put “silence” on the film, since it was, after all, in the 60s. But looking at it on a different angle, I think Misuzu is a breath of fresh air among the rest of the older characters on the bar, so that’s probably one reason why Miyazaki’s character has limited lines on the movie.

I was surprised to learn that the actor who performed Misuzu’s brother is actually Miyazaki Masaru, Miyazaki Aoi’s brother.

Iwo Jima kara no Tegami

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
I will not discuss the historical inaccuracies in this film (if there’s one), but I actually have a couple of different (or rather, contradiction) opinions on this film. For one, I think the cinematography was great. I love the bleached colors and I think it was pleasing to the eye. I also think that this movie is a very personal one. I cannot see the beauty in wars, really, and this movie just strengthened my view. I think it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.

But I also think that Iwo Jima Kara no Tegami was not presented in a “Japanese Point of View” but rather, in an “American Point of View.” It’s just easy for some people to accept the movie and its face value, isn’t it? Throughout the film, I had this feeling that the movie is trying to show that the Japanese are kind of like the bad guys and the Americans are the good guys. I am not saying this in defense of the other side, nor totally denying what was on the film. What struck me the most was that the main officials on the movie (Kuribayashi and Nishi, portrayed by Watanabe Ken and Ihara Tsuyoshi respectively) are close to the Americans and somehow they were portrayed as the “better” officials. I guess this is the reason why there was a conflict between them and the rest of the officials on the film.

I guess the movie is effective when it comes to extracting one’s emotions, but I believe that there’s going to be a heated debate when it comes to its accuracy and message. Somehow, I really don’t like the feeling that everything’s just a propaganda or just to make one’s movie look “unique.” I don’t want to use the concept of Orientalism here but that’s how I feel while watching the film.