Just watched Save the Green Planet last night. It really is hard to describe, so I'll just say that it's a good film, multi-genre'd, though Spoiler
I felt the ending didn't work because the tone of the film had changed too much to go back to the feel of the opening sequences.
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Just finished 3-Iron. Beautiful film leaves you with a wonderful, light feeling...but, at least for me, was missing something. Very recommended for it's originality and the director's control (only an hour and a half which is perfect for the film). A very unique style.
Sunshine Music Deep Music
"I'm gonna eat your brains and gain your knowledge." - Tony Block, Planet Terror
So I finally got around to watching Kaidan last night (it had been sitting on my desk for a couple of months).
Kaidan is not to be confused with Kwaidan, which is a classic not only of the horror genre, but of cinema itself. Both films mean the same thing (ghost story), though the newer Kaidan takes the more antiquated spelling of the word.
A lot of people have been giving Kaidan attention of late, I think largely because it comes from the director of the Ring, and is the first horror film he did since Ring 2. If you didn't care for Ring it hardly matters, as both are quite different. Kaidan is an attempt to make a more traditional, folk tale inspired horor story, and it does not use the modern horror cliches of sudden shocks to create its horror. This will probably make it a bit baffling to people who watch horror films, as it doesn't often feel like one.
I admire the intent of the film, and there certainly are some genuinely creepy moments, however, on the whole I don't think the film is any where near as good as it could have been. Indeed, one scene near the ending had me thinking "does this even belong in this film?". Kaidan is good, and certainly worth watching, though I doubt it would inspire too many people to want to watch it again and again.
One thing is for sure - it's not anywhere near as good as Kwaidan, which is just cinematic genius. Along with Ugetsu Monogatari, those two films take the folk-horror genre and elevate it to brilliance.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.
Spirited Away was wonderful...but Princess Mononoke is amazing - besides our two heroes, no one is perfectly bad or good, the directing is astounding, animation wonderful, unique race/characters charming in an authenticity way, the Nightspirit is just jawdropping, just a phenomenal film (other than the climax, which makes no sense to me Spoiler
You can shoot a god through the head and it's fine, but if you shoot it in the neck, you can sever it's head, and it's pissed because for some reason it needs the physical head?
). Wow, what a film, though. Highly, highly recommended.
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And now just watched My Neighbor Totoro. Damn, how does he do it? Amazing. Each work unique, step back and look at them all together...he's a master. wow.
Sunshine Music Deep Music
"I'm gonna eat your brains and gain your knowledge." - Tony Block, Planet Terror
From Mononoke, I always liked the Clickheads (what my ex and I used to call those forest spirits that sit in the trees and ?are the wind?). The ex and I made some for the Christmas tree years ago with glow in the dark Sculpy and mossy bits. Too bad we didn't fix them up so that their heads clicked. But I think his best creation was No Face.
Life is a waste of time
Time is a waste of life
So get wasted all of the time
And you'll have the time of your life
Yeah, that's how I feel too. It's a testament to the film that, whenever I think about it, I think about the characters first - not the absolutely stunning monster.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.
As I find with a lot of asian films, the early portions didn't really grab me, but as it went a long and things built up, it jsut gained an intensity that became very gripping. There's an interesting mix of horror and black humour.
Tae-ju is a brilliant character. She changes through the course of the film and yet at her core remains the same person - the things she does as a vampire follow naturally from her established history, the subtle glimpses of her personality in the early film. She's not entirely sure what she wants, or when she is or isn't happy. Wonderfully complex characterisation, and once again the flaws are what drive the narrative, as they should be.
I have to say, the music and sound production on this film are also excellent.
And I learned from an interview with the director on the DVD that he co-wrote Thirst, Lady Vengeance, and I'm A Cyborg But That's OK with the same writer, so I'm really going to have to watch I'm A Cyborg now. Lady Vengeance is still one of my all time favourite films.
Anybody ever see The Woman in the Dunes? And by anybody, I mean Foul or Montresor. *nyuk* I saw it today. I just looked it up, and Wikipedia says:
The surreal and, at times, absurd nature of The Woman in the Dunes has been compared to existentialist works such as Sartre's No Exit and Beckett's Happy Days. Aside from its intriguing premise, this film is notable for the life that Teshigahara brings to the ever-shifting sand, which almost becomes a character in its own right.
I haven't seen No Exit or Happy Days, but surreal and absurd fits. It would have been nice knowing that such would be the case going into it, so I could have suspended my disbelief sooner. But not like it was a problem. I was fairly riveted. And yeah, the sand!! Remarkably well filmed, both on its own, and the closeups of them with grains all over.
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest -Paul Simon
Watched a S Korean manga type film last weekend called 'Sky Blue'. On a scale of 1 to 10 it scored 11.5.
A.D. 2142 - Overpopulation and excessive pollution have made majority of Earth uninhabitable. The only safe haven for mankind is a city called "ECOBAN," which actually uses pollution through the DELOS System as a means of energy. While searching the city for an infiltrator from the wastelands, ECOBAN officer Jay discovers that the intruder is her old friend Shua. A former ECOBAN citizen, Shua has sided with a militia from Marr to bring down ECOBAN's tyrannical reign and restore the Earth's environment.
Sounds rubbish but the story's good and the animation is just beautiful!
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11
Watched a Korean gangster film called 'Friend' on Friday. Stay well clear of it - it was awful. Wooden acting, very cliched plot, 2 dimensional characters.
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11
Watched "Curse of the Golden Flower" a couple of weeks ago. Directed by Zhang Yimao, same guy who did "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," both of which I loved.
This one didn't quite live up to its forbears, for me, but it was still a very good film. Cinematography was excellent, as can be expected, and the costumes and colour were eye-boggling. The story was just really, really depressing. And not enough fighting! Spoiler
Though the Emperor's ninjas were cool!
^"Amusing, worth talking to, completely insane...pick your favourite." - Avatar
Maybe I should have said 'It didn't entertain me' - I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be an entertaining film!
I'm not sure I caught the start of the vampire bit right, which led to a bit of confusion/annoyance near the start. And I was (trying to be careful not to spoiler here) peeved by his naivety in the relationship, though I suppose by the end, that didn't matter.
Edit - did you know the Korean title translates as 'bat'?
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11
But not like it was a problem. I was fairly riveted. And yeah, the sand!! Remarkably well filmed, both on its own, and the closeups of them with grains all over.
