akasaka3 Reviews

8000 Miles (2009)

So uncool, so moving

[9/10 · 16 February 2014]

If you want to see cool rappers, then you should watch "8 miles".

However, if you want to see someone who is chasing an impossible dream, and still never gives up, "8000 miles" is the right one.

This film is about amateur rappers in Japan. They are not good at rapping, but still, dreaming to become famous rappers.

Before you watch this film, if you do not know much about Japan, there are a few things you need to know about.

Firstly, rap music is not so popular in Japan.

Many Japanese people have a stereotypical image that "Hip-hop music is only cool when it is sung by black people". Therefore, Japanese rappers are sometimes treated unfairly.

Some people openly make fun of them.

In this film, 8000 miles, this discrimination against Japanese rappers is one of the main themes.

Another thing you need to know about is the location. The scene of this film is laid in "Saitama".

Saitama prefecture is next to Tokyo, so it is not a remote countryside. But everything is mediocre, and there is almost nothing to be proud of.

That is why people call it Da-Saitama. ("Da-sai" means uncool.)

To sum up, the characters of this film are in the worst city in the worst country to be rappers.

So, basically, you can watch this film as a comedy.

Watching ugly guys in a lame city rapping funny, you will laugh at them.

However, in the end, there is a point they are made to give up their dream. They need to make decision whether they give up their dream and start normal lives or keep moving toward their dream.

Please watch the film and check how it ends.

Anyone who gave up his dream, or anyone who is about to give up his dream,

anyone who has no talent but still cannot give up their dream,

must watch this film.

Obviously, this is a cheap, low-budget film, but it surely has a power to encourage you.

Tips: The original Japanese title of this film is "Rappers in Saitama". much better than the English title.

Amélie (2001)

splendid

[8/10 · 5 December 2012]

This movie tells a story about how a shy girl changes herself.

Amelie had no chance to get involved in community in her childhood, and it made her shy.

The problem is that she cannot have relationship with others, even after he became adult.

However, one simple idea she got starts changing everything.

She finds a metal box hidden in her apartment.

In that box there are some pieces of a little boy's treasure, such as toy car, photographs, etc.

In that night, Amelie makes up her mind to give the box back to its original owner, who would be an adult now, and if he seems to be glad, she will be a do-gooder...

through the movie, she gradually realizes that no matter how she do good things to others anonymously, she cannot have relationship with them.

The only chance for her is Nino, a man whom she fallen in love to.

This isn't just a girly movie but a well-made movie in terms of the script.

Skyfall (2012)

good

[7/10 · 12 November 2012]

it was well made as an action movie.

i felt that this movie was shot as independent of CG as possible.

the actors are moving in reality and they are the main movement object of the screen, not CG.

action movies often depend too much on CGi these days.

so this movie is valuable.

the story line was a little bit simple and stereo-typical like.

a geeky operator, revenge of ex-son, death of parents.

and it ends in booby traps those like in Home Alone.

but it is still really exciting.

to begin with, the genre, SPY action, itself is cartoon-like, so it would not be a problem that it is simple and stereo-typical.

and James Bond was just so cool, no matter how I make fun of him that the story is childish.

Cloud Atlas (2012)

moving

[8/10 · 10 November 2012]

It apparently look complex.

There are six stories parallel going, but they are not contemporary.

They all are things happens at different time and different place.

They are visibly different, so you do not get confused.

The only factor they have in common is that all are story about life.

And they have alight links with another.

That link makes you feel that each of them is a part of one huge story, and we are part of it, too The song, Cloud atlas sextet was so beautiful.

All the actors played really good.

The Story of Luke (2012)

not so bad

[6/10 · 5 November 2012]

I got surprised that the rate of this movie is below 6.

It was not so bad actually.

The actor of title role was playing good.

His way of speaking made me uncomfortable. because it made me feel the character's, Luke's anxiety.

I felt as if it was real.

The story is not so new. its old fashion theme. but it was as well-made as Perks of being a wallflower.

But after his geeky colleague appeared, it got boring a little bit.

in total, it was not so bad.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

not bad, but

[6/10 · 4 November 2012]

not so good.

the story is like a twice-told tale.

there is a shy boy who has trauma. he makes friend with nice people and changes.

the only originality of this movie is that the boy has a two trauma.

one is sexual accuse. the other is friend's suicide.

but this originality is not necessarily a good point.

by these traumas the story is made desultory. one trauma was enough. why there's two?

but the actors are really good. the whole picture is visually beautiful too.

this is made sensitively. so in total it is not bad. not so good, though.

Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)

disappointed

[5/10 · 30 October 2012]

I really love Silent Hill(2005), so this movie was kind of disappointed to me.

The storyline was a little bit rough.

there were no sensitivity.

it was like a ordinary, horror adventure movie.

and there was no impression left in my mind.

and it was not so much scary.

it was just surprise. something appears suddenly, and lousy noise.

just surprise, surprise, surprise, rotation of surprise.

Silent Hill(2005)was much more scare, but those fear was independent of "surprise".

In this movie, the director relied too much on surprise.

The visual was still so beautiful and disgusting, so it deserves to be seen on screen.

Looper (2012)

professional work

[7/10 · 30 October 2012]

Joseph really looks like Bruce.

It is not just the achievement of make up artist, but also his ability of imitation.

Joseph is really a fantastic actor.

Bruce is not had make-up and he did not seem to imitate Joseph in obvious way, but he also seemed to try to imitate Joseph a little bit.

In the scene Bruce holds a wife in the bed, smiling to her, I thought he incredibly looked like Josph. His way of smiling is a little bit more naive than he usually does in other movies and that was just the same smile as that of Joseph.

The story itself is so so to me. It was really exciting first, but after Joseph arrived at the firm, it gradually got boring.

Still, the idea was new and interesting. and as I said above, acting and make-up were amazing.

So, in total it was good.

Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru (2009)

Not bad

[7/10 · 29 October 2012]

This was not so bad. Not bad at all.

The characters are like those in girls' mangas. They all are unrealistically nice and pure. Boys at that age cannot be like that.

Moreover, each of them has unrealistically unique characteristics. For example, one of the main characters lives in the room full of the comic books. (When and how did he bring them to his room? and does he go to the university to begin with? It looked like he did not go outside at all before he started training.)

So, I felt disgusted first.

But still, in the end I got impressed at this movie because it successfully depicts the beauty of running.

There are some beautiful images, like Kakeru's running on the road in the morning. The goal tape seen from Haiji's point of view.

And the way Kakeru runs is so beautiful that everyone can be admired. I think that is the actor's achievement. He must have trained hard for it.

In total this is not bad movie. in fact, to be honest, it was moving.

Samsara (I) (2011)

Gorgeous

[7/10 · 29 October 2012]

For the first 10 minutes I thought it was a mistake to have bought the ticket.

It was first time for me to see a documentary film without any commentary.

The images were so beautiful and interesting, but I expected that I would get bored in a few minutes.

And in fact, I did.

but after a while, somehow I gradually got absorbed in the movie again.

Keeping watching gorgeous images leads me to a kind of meditation.

and in the end, I ended up getting impressed.

You can experience something different from ordinary documentary.

It is definitely a movie for theater, not for a small home television. If you get interested in this movie, you should go see it in a theatre.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

meaning of the first scene

[7/10 · 29 October 2012]

the first scene left strong impression to me.

the movie starts from the image of Ophelia laying on the ground and blood turning to her nose.

This image must have important meaning, I thought.

so I did a research about it.

in the audio commentary of DVD, the director says like this.

"through the process of writing, the first part was the most difficult.

I kept thinking and then i came up with the image blood turning to nose.

and I sort of understand that this is how a girl gives birth to herself in the way she wanted to be." so that's that.

This is a dark fantasy movie, but taking it into consideration that most of the movie was a girl's imagination, affected by serious situation she is surrounded, it can be said that it is a realistic and sad movie.

And off course it is still a great movie, i think.

Frankenweenie (2012)

interesting

[6/10 · 19 October 2012]

I thought it is not so bad.

Tim Burton's stop motion animation always contains love for creepy things.

Nightmare before Christmas and Corpse Bride did, too.

Such things affect most effectively in hand made things, not like 3D.

The science teacher, classmates, sparky and other creatures, all are somehow comical, awkward, but cute.

Tim Burton is really good at depicting such characters.

the movie is dark but in the end it results in happiness for everyone(except for the cat combined with bat)

so, the whole movie does not leave any impression in me.

but that doesn't directly mean bad.

you can leave cinema with joy that you saw something purely pure.

mono-tone screen reminds me of old days, my childhood.

I sort of like this movie.