Change Your Image
jkchang
Reviews
Millions (2004)
Heartwarming but not saccharine
Millions reinforces the fact that Danny Boyle cannot be pigeonholed as a director. One does not expect to see the director of acclaimed drug abuse and zombie movies come out with such wholesome entertainment. Though this is accessible for the family, do not let that mislead you into thinking the movie does not have weight. The sincerity of this film saves it from becoming too lovey, and Boyle's personal connection with Manchester certainly adds to the depth of the environment. The story is told from the children's' point of view, bright with color, and those children give extraordinary performances. The use of stop-motion and accelerated exposures is characteristic of a style Boyle enjoys, and it accents the scenes where it is employed well. I highly recommend this film, and only wish it had been released for the past holiday season.
Yang guang can lan de ri zi (1994)
in comparison with other films about the Chinese Cultural Revolution
The "5th Generation" of Chinese cinema produced films about the Cultural Revolution and its tragic impact on the lives of all Chinese. The most famous of these films, "To Live" (Huozhe), "Blue Kite" (Lan feng zheng), and "Farewell My Concubine" (Ba wang bie ji) all relentlessly emphasized the terror, hopelessness, and death of the Chinese people living during Cultural Revolution. However, "In the Heat of the Sun" does something entirely different.
"In the Heat of the Sun" (alternatively translated as "The Day the Sun Shone Brightly") is among the first "6th generation" mainland Chinese films. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of Mao Ze Dong's drastic cultural changes, Jiang Wen looks at these years through the eyes of the children growing up through the turmoil. Instead of watching adults face their worlds collapsing, we watch a gang of boys struggle to survive mature, and goof-off without any supervision whatsoever.
The narrator/main character reflects on these years as the high time of his life, when he and his friends lived for each other and would die for each other. As a boy, the main character is simply searching for fun, for love, for anything to entertain himself. Such frivolous pursuits amidst the eerie emptiness of Beijing can come across as unseemly to those who will never forget the grief and sorrow caused by the Cultural Revolution.
Cinematically, the film is shot very well, and the story is more complex than it might at first seem. Though, in my opinion, it is not on par with the aforementioned 5th Gen films, it is certainly unique and brings a fresh approach to coping with a sensitive subject material.
Semi-SPOILER The director takes the plot and turns it in a manner that I have never seen in Western films. Perhaps the final irony of the film requires a Chinese mindset to fully appreciate, but I at least found the ending of the film to be frustratingly brilliant.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
quite decent
Of course, the book is better, but the movie stands on its own rather well. They did an excellent job of translating as much of the book as possible, editing smartly. Still, the pacing felt rushed to me, and there was never any real sense of the kids learning, no montage sequence of them in classes. Additionally, Quirrel was non-existent. there was no reason to fear him, nor Voldemort. The sense of danger must be developed in the following films. Still, I throughly enjoyed the movie.
Shinpi no sekai Eru Hazâdo (1995)
anime like this is soooo nice
i throughly enjoyed El-Hazard, its probably the best series i've seen all year. the characters were all fleshed out well, even though there are only seven episodes to get to know them. my personal favorite is Alielle, such sincere love has never been more amusing. and of course, Mr. Fujisawa is the man.