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Ano natsu de matteru (2012)
Warning: this series may induce NOSTALGIA.
Well, this is the first 2012 anime show that I've finished. While I'm still in the middle of Future Diary, I was able to finish Ano Natsu - or Waiting in the Summer, if you prefer to call it that - much faster because of its shortness. Simply, the anime is pretty much a spiritual successor to Ano Hana, and I'm not making comparisons just because the two shows were made by the same guy, have similar animation, and have "Ano" in the titles.
Ano Natsu is a show that captures the feeling of nostalgia, with much of the series consisting of slice of life stories, much like to Ano Hana. At the center of both shows lie convoluted love triangles and the difficult (or impossible) nature of ideal romantic relationships. However, there are many elements that are intentionally contrasted to create distinctions. While AnoHana dealt with deeper and more "relevant" themes, such as loss and salvation, Ano Natsu deals with much lesser themes that pertain to adolescent feelings. Interestingly, Ano Hana finishes off in a minimalistic climax of hide and seek, while the last act of Ano Natsu focuses on a epic showdown against the aliens.
Before finishing Ano Natsu, I watched Super 8 and can't help but compare the two. Superficially speaking, both deal with teenagers making a movie during the summer. The two also have aliens, love triangles, etc. The biggest similarity, however, obviously is the nostalgia aspect. While I've stated that Ano Hana and Ano Natsu were nostalgic anime, both capture different feelings of nostalgia. Ano Hana is about how we let go of things in the past, but also latch on to certain important things as we move on. Ano Natsu focuses on the idea of preserving memories; the vision engraved in Ichika's mind and making movies to leave "evidence" are obviously parallels in the story. Super 8 is a self-referential homage to filmmaking that's about memories of our past and how we have the tendency to long for and capture those memories. Basically, the two stories (Ano Natsu and Super 8) focus on the idea of certain "normal periods" that feel, or felt, like a movie. In that context, both are Spielbergian, considering how they're about normal people being caught in extraordinary situations.
The interesting thing about Ano Natsu is that it started airing during the winter, despite the fact that it's a story set in the summertime. I think creators were playing the audience there; the harshness of the winter makes you crave for the warm, soothing, relaxing environment that you can only experience during summer, thus making the series feel more nostalgic to an extent.
I don't think Ano Natsu is actually as moving as Ano Hana, but I quite liked how it wrapped up. The penultimate episode left hope for the characters, as Ichika learns she might not have to go home, but the finale finished in a bittersweet tone, in which the efforts of the main characters weren't paid off. I think many viewers, including myself, hoped or believed that the main characters would come out prosperous at the end. In that context, I actually think Ano Hana, despite having a more tragic premise, ends much happier.
While it's not nearly as plot less as K-ON!, the rather too straightforward and derivative narrative of Ano Natsu might turn off certain viewers; I sort of considered quiting near the beginning. Still, Ano Natsu was actually worth 12 episodes for me. It's not the best show I've seen this decade, but it's my number 1 anime of the year so far (considering this is the only anime I've seen from this year). Recommended, especially if you liked Ano Hana.
Skammen (1968)
Another great entry from Bergman.
I don't think I've ever struggled so much on how I should like or dislike a film. I'm going to briefly jump to conclusions and say that Ingmar Bergman's Shame is absolutely brilliant, yet far from being his best. Contrary to what Bergman himself said about this movie, I thought the first half was fantastic, I didn't find it uneven at all. Although the latter half was no less uneven, I found certain points to be dragging in nature. Still, Shame, for me, was a powerful experience, with lots of perfections on many levels.
Released in the same year as Hour of the Wolf, along with the same leads, Shame is a character study of people caught in a raging civil war. Despite the epic scale of the film, it is very, very bleak; so far the most bleakest Bergman movie I've seen. In fact, this can be seen in the first scene alone that shows the two main characters, Eva (Ullman) and Jan (Sydow), simply waking up to a loud alarm clock to start the day. The one oddity that occurs in the scene is when we briefly see Eva topless.
We can understand that Eva and Jan are heavily pressurized by the effects of the war; Jan's dream about returning to his profession of music and a later scene where Eva scolds Jan for crying like a child show us their hopes are deterred by the war. Interestingly, Eva's intolerance with Jan's behavior is quite the very opposite of what was shown in Hour of the Wolf: Ullman tolerates what Sydow's character is going through.
The variety of encounters the couple have on their way and in town tell us a lot about the characters' anxieties. Jan's irritation of himself for not being thoughtful and accomplished enough is evidenced in the scene where Eva talks to Filip, the kind guy who gives them the fish and tells of them some news regarding the war. His not being able to fix things, such as the radio (the only telecommunication device available) shows how Jan is limited beyond his apparent talent in music.
The part where Eva and Jan visits the wine salesman was quite thought-provoking. The salesman, despite his age, is called to duty, and he shares his fear of being forgotten when he dies. In this scene, we're shown shots of the room that depicts old statue pieces and whatnot. The sets decoration of the room they're in resembles the theatrical nature of Bergman's pre-(and post)-60s works, which the director seems to have moved on at that point in life. I don't if this has anything to do with the shots that showed the "souless" nature of the old room, but it's my theory. The scene itself could also mean the nothingness people will eventually become, as explored in The Silence.
There many ravishing scenes during the war scenes and its aftermath. The explosions are shot perfectly, despite very little of it is shown (and to think explosions were the last thing we would see in a Bergman film). The moment where Eva sees the lifeless body of a baby child was stunningly captured. Her sadness and Jan's lack of compassion over its death show the difference in their nature, and how those traits influence the way they change later in the film.
The political backdrop of the film is questionable, as Shame is more a study on the characters than being a story about surviving a war. Regardless, I think Bergman intended to have some commentary on the Vietnam War, or maybe war in general, in the movie. The interview scene is a prime example of how Bergman felt about dirty politics. Eva is forced to do an interview by enemy soldiers, to which she answers honestly. Later, the questioned by friend soldiers about the interview, which has been made into a propaganda. Bergman, as we all know, was a fan of Tarkovsky, and if he actually did intend to a political message in the film, then I think he was doing what Tarkovsky did with Andrei Rublev: how art can be destroyed by hypocrisy.
Gunnar Björnstrand gives one of his finest performances as the ruthless, yet lonely, Col. Jacobi. His scene-stealing role was an aspect of good and bad for me. The convoluted relationship that he develops between Eva and Jan influence their eventual development, but at times, I feel the plot becomes too delved into this. Not that there's anything wrong with introducing this sub-plot.
Eva and Jan's major transformations occur when the latter has Jacobi killed. Throughout the film, Jan has been berated for not being man enough while Eva had a lot of influence over Jan. Jan, because of his weak and cowardly nature, has Jacobi, the man who has been stealing his wife, killed in a dirty maneuver. Meanwhile, Eva retains her sympathetic nature while losing control of her husband. This becomes much evident in the next scenes where Jan kills a young soldier by stealing his gun while the latter is asleep, with Eva helplessly crying for Jan to stop. The sudden transition in characters may be a bit hard to swallow, but I think it's still executed in an appropriate way.
All in all, I hesitate to call Bergman's Shame a masterpiece, containing some flaws I find hard to ignore. Nevertheless, there's still so much greatness that I can't give enough praise. The writing is splendid, with Bergman having done a fine job in characterization. Ulman and Sydow are great again; Sydow gave the better performance in Hour of the Wolf while it was vice versa for Shame. Even if you're not too much a fan of Bergman, this overlooked piece of work can be enjoyed as a superb war film that can leave you thinking hours, maybe days, after watching.
Vampyr (1932)
A great movie with a major flaw.
This is my second Dreyer movie (the first being The Passion of Joan of Arc, which I saw a week ago), and from what I've seen so far, I would say that he's prone to make iconic and memorable scenes. As I've said with Joan, every shot in Vampyr is almost flawless. There's just so much beauty that can be seen in Dreyer's movies. One scene I particularly loved was when the protagonist sees a reflection of a moving shadow on the river. From his point of view, the shadow appears upside down, like a vampire walking on a ceiling. With so many great shots, it's sad I can't bring myself to love it more. The flaws I found with the story were not easy to accept.
Vampyr tells the tale of a superstitious man named Allan Grey, who stays at inn by the river. There, he starts witnessing strange activities, such as shadows that seem to move on their own and villagers who behave strangely. At a nearby mansion, the headmaster is mysteriously murdered and one of his daughter, who is ill, is bitten by a mysterious force. Through a book that was given to him by the headmaster prior to his death, Grey starts suspecting a vampire is on the loose, despite the small amount of evidence.
There's nothing wrong with how the movie starts out. In fact, the first half generated enough aura of mystery to be almost perfect. Vampyr went downhill after Grey reads the book on vampires. I know that's where we, the audience, and the protagonist starts suspecting the presence of a vampire, but to me, there was just not enough ambiguity like the first half to be compelling enough. All this, I can forgive to some extent, but by the end, the film turns very clichéd with Grey saving the girl, and the vampire's curse being easily broken. I know this is quite a self-centered criticism, but still I can't accept the way things turn out.
Other than the film story, the film was superb. In fact, on a technical level, I wouldn't hesitate to call this film a "masterpiece". The fuzzy cinematography created a strange dream-like/nightmarish atmosphere that can parallel the ambiguous reality of the movie.
The movie's tone is quite melancholic, mostly due to the fact that the dialogue is minimal. In a way, Vampyr is like silent movie, as it frequently exemplifies title cards and there is music constantly playing in the background.
In terms of scariness, Vampyr is more atmospheric than legitimately frightening, similar to Bergman's Hour of the Wolf. Though, the scene where the bitten girl menacingly stares at her sister was quite creepy and spine-tingling.
The way Dreyer manipulated the shadows was another excellent aspect. Shadows play important roles in the film's plot and style. Throughout the movie, I kept questioning what Dreyer wanted to reach out to his audience with its frequent use. The shadows might represent the enigma of shapes, considering how vampires can take various form of disguises, and how shadows can easily change their shapes. Or they (the shadows) could be illustrating one's own self, protagonist Grey in particular, since Vampyr is told from his perspective; the dark nature of shadows represent the dark nature of truth in the character, making things debatable whether Grey is sane or delusional.
The conversations between Grey and the doctor actually added more debate to this topic, such as when the doctor denies the presence of animals and children when Grey hears a dog barking and a child crying. Another good example is when the doctor says the bitten girl needs blood, referring to transfusion, though it can also mean vampirism. At these scenes, the audience is left to contemplate whether Grey is over-thinking his superstitions or not.
I feel I'm under rating the movie, especially considering all the brilliance I found with it. The last 20 minutes is just not good enough to give it a pass. Regardless, Vampyr is vampire flick with its own distinctions and marvelous elements. Even if you don't find the movie's story and/or atmosphere fascinating, it's visuals are without doubt praise-worthy. Dreyer, despite having had a hard time back then, sure was one of a kind, bringing us to worlds beyond people's beliefs and imaginations.
Môsô dairinin (2004)
Paranoia Agent...
... was brilliant.
As much as I love Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments: Lain, I must say that Kon's series is almost as deep and thought-provoking as both shows. Certainly, it was more bizarre than either, but considering the fact that this was Kon's work, that's not too surprising.
Kon's first and only anime series bears quite the resemblance to his latest, but not final (this is his last feature: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1555101/), film, Paprika. I came to lose my liking for the film after repeat viewings, but after seeing Paranoia Agent for the first time, I might re-check it again.
The series is basically a satire on contemporary Japan. Anti-escapism message was one of the show's major messages. The way people can become disillusioned by reality and obsess over what is not real in their world. In the show, Maromi, the dog character was an obvious example of escapism in Japan. Maromi=escapism is alluded heavily in the show. A major example is when Det. Ikari retreats into a fantasy reality during the last episodes. When he destroys the false world, all the destroyed objects turn into toy Maromis.
Information, or the flow it, was another frequent theme of Paranoia Agent. Lil' Slugger himself, or itself, is an entity formed from false information and how his presence continues to grow because of the way his existence is presented to one another. Episode 9 even pushes this idea further. In addition to the rumor/gossip thing, there were comments on the media, which presents information the way it wants to. In the series, the way the media manipulates citizens for Maromi promotion is quite a nod to consumerism.
There are ideas of how society actually hasn't progressed much over the past decades. Japan seems to have changed significantly after the war, but has any society ever been perfect, or close to being perfect, in the first place? The series contains considerable amount of commentary on aspects of modern Japan. Many, if not all, of the elements satirized weren't part of Japan many years ago, but does that actually mean people themselves haven't been the same. To quote the Dream Confession at the very end of the series, "In the beginning, a story emerges at the end. After it goes 'round an 'round, it's back at the beginning. If one picks up the stepping stones and connects them together, they form an eternally recurring, infinite prison." All of the characters were very rich and interesting. The first episode didn't really grab me, but episode 2 really made me got into it, as it was the episode that started focusing more on the characters. Seeing each character getting cornered to the point of them desiring to be hit by Lil' Slugger was really something. It's fascinating how many these characters have little to no connection to Sagi, the individual responsible for creating Lil' Slugger, yet be heavily influenced by what she created.
Paranoia Agent is nothing less than a masterpiece. It's not THE best anime series I've seen, but it has plenty of ingenious moments and dark humor that are enough to entertain you while simultaneously keep your mind occupied with twisted ideas the series produces.
X: First Class (2011)
Nicely crafted, and full of originality.
There are many moviegoers, who are annoyed by the constant releases of superhero movies. Some may even say that superhero flicks are "the reason behind Hollywood's decline in quality." I really disagree with what these people say. Superhero movies can be fun to watch, but not all of them are great. I think the major flaw with recent comic book-based movies is that they lack originality, the thing that allows to distinguish one superhero film from another. Yes, I sometimes think that some superhero flicks are the same in terms of content, except with different powers.
However, X-Men: First Class was something new, something... original. Since the film is a prequel, originality was the last thing I expected. First Class felt like a brand new film, free from its predecessors. It had charm as a distinct superhero flick, something that Vaughn's previous film, Kick-Ass, came to lose as the film progressed. Although it had its own flaws, X-Men: First Class did not get tedious as the film progressed, and I think it's one of the best superhero films of the last few years.
As the title (mildly) implies, the movie focuses on the origins and early days of the X-Men. It is also set in the backdrop of Cold War. Charles Xavier is a telepath who takes interest in other mutants, and hopes for society to accept them. Erik Lensherr is a Jew, who is hunting down former Nazis as revenge for the death of his mother. As the tensions between America and the Soviet Union rises, Charles is recruited by the CIA to stop mutant Sebastian Shaw and his Hellfire Club, who are planning to start a third World War. At the same time, Erik attempts to complete his revenge job by killing Shaw, who was the man responsible for killing his mother. Eventually, Charles and Erik meet and form a friendship. Together, they recruit young mutants for the CIA, in hopes of stopping the Hellfire Club and their diabolical plans.
The well-assembled cast was basically the high point of the film. McAvoy nails his performance as young Charles Xavier. But the scene stealer of the film was Fassbender, who "magnifying" as young Magneto. In addition to the two main leads, the supporting characters were also nicely cast. Lawrence, as Mystique, was a great replacement for Romijn. I've yet see Winter's Bones, but seeing her performance in First Class brings up expectations for the film. Kevin Bacon's role as main antagonist Sebastian Shaw was fantastic. It was like seeing a combination of his role in Hollow Man (mediocre movie) and Frost/Nixon (great film). Byrne, again, was typecast as "a morally righteous character", playing CIA agent Moira MacTaggert. Byrne, as an actress, is really underrated, but most of the characters she portrays are too similar to one another. Platt played a minor, yet quite likable character, the Man in Black. Seeing him getting killed off during the first hour of the movie was disappointing. Did he really need to die so early? Wait, I reinstate. Did he even need to die in the first place? Ironically, I wanted his character in 2012 to die in a painful death, yet he survived in the film. Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine in a cameo, and it's absolutely hilarious.
The thing that First Class did that X-Men: Wolverine did not was it allowed the audience to view humanity again, like in Singer's films. Although I enjoyed it, Wolverine was too concentrated on the revenge concept to be called really good. In my opinion, making the film a fictional biography would've made it more inspiring. First Class also allowed the audience to see the philosophy of mutants in society from two perspectives: Xavier's belief that society will one day accept mutants, and the belief of Erik that mutants must make their own "brotherhood" within society. In the previous X-Men films, the latter idea was not emphasized enough. Indeed, it was brought up, but First Class made it much more relatable.
The CGI was quite detrimental to the quality of the film. It's better than the bloated effects of Prince of Persia, but it still didn't look convincing enough. Especially the part when the submarine washes ashore on the island. When it comes to superhero films, visual effects are pretty much essential, and the VFX of First Class was not pretty.
The writing served as quite a problem for the film. The story and the characters were written fine, but the dialogue had quite the problems. Mystique/Raven's (repeated) line to the Beast, for example, was beyond clichéd. Also, Magneto final line was not really stunning. Criticizing clichéd dialogues in blockbusters may not be an obligation. Still, the scripting in First Class felt like an exception.
Incorporating the Cuban missile crisis into the plot was the best thing that ever happened in a X-Men film. I'm quite fond of seeing actual historical elements in fictional stories. Hence why I loved the storyline of Metal Gear Sold 3, which also utilized Cold War aspects within the fictional mythology of the series. Kennedy appears in an archive footage, by the way.
Overall, Vaughn has done a fine job crafting a unique superhero flick. As I've said earlier, the CGI was far from being an Oscar contender, and the dialogue suffers from predictability to laziness. Nevertheless, the cast and its direction make the film highly enjoyable. X-Men: First Class is a great way to spend two hours with solid entertainment. If the new X-Men films continue to be more like First Class, then I don't mind the franchise continuing for another ten years.
Lost: The End: Part 1 (2010)
The End of Lost
Watching The End was unbelievably scary, at first, because I was worried how the final episode might not satisfy me. After watching the episode, however, all my fears were cleared as the finale gave the series an extremely rewarding conclusion to Lost. I have concluded that The End is the most emotional and unforgettable episode that aired on network television.
Following What They Died For, Jack's group confronts the Man in Black, who is trying to destroy the island by using Desmond. At the same time, Richard, Miles and Frank attempt to fix the Ajira plane. Meanwhile, the flash-sideways continue to show the other reality, where Desmond is gathering the survivors and trying make them remember of their previous life.
To say the least, I had a strong feeling that everything was being tied down after watching five minutes into the finale. Jack's mission to stop the Man in Black was so inspiring; his faith in John Locke and willingness to save the island got my heart moving. Throughout the episode, there were many symbolic scenes that showed Jack as the savior. Jack has developed so much this season and The End gave him the spotlight he deserved since becoming the Man of Faith. It was also really good to see some of my favorite supporting characters play significant roles. Seeing Richard and Frank alive was such a relief. I was really glad they played an important role in the finale. Kate choosing Jack was great. In fact, this was the first time I cared for Jack and Kate's relationship or Jate. The flash-sideways were important indeed; the producers kept their promise. With the effort of the wonderful Desmond, we (the audience) got to see the characters get their resolution and Happily Ever After in the flash-sideways/afterlife. The final scene was a major tearjerker, it's so spine-tingling how it mirrors Pilot and that Jack did NOT "die alone." All of this is more than anyone can ask for.
It's just so sad to see Lost go, but we have to "move on." The series has been a wonderful ride and it was worth my six years, without doubt. Not everyone loved how the finale ended, but I loved it. All the things I've seen on Lost were game-changing and inspiring. No show has ever been as crazy and compelling like Lost. I think the legacy of Lost will live on forever and this is what I dream for the series. Lost has been my #1 show and it always will be. LONG LIVE LOST!!!!!!
Performances: 10/10
Character Development: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Directing: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Episode Quality: 10/10
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Of Mice and Men
Terminator Salvation was the weakest Terminator film in the franchise. What's more weak was the John Connor's side of the story. While John was trying to act like a hero by "saving" all the prisoners caught by Skynet, you only can see him as just a selfish guy; he only wanted to save the prisoners just to save Kyle Reese and prevent his death. And towards the end of the film, John does NOT show neither character develop nor act of redemption. John's wife, Katherine Connor (fomerly Brewstar), played no importance to the film as well. The story of Marcus Wright is the savior to the film's story. Throughout the film, you can see Marcus as a very sympathetic character and his story is million times interesting than John's. Marcus and Blair's chemistry was really heart-filling. So having Marcus gone at the end can be really disappointing. Maybe supporting characters are more cooler than main characters nowadays....