v-51855 Reviews

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

The best Italian film

[27 July 2016]

Guido is Italian Jewish and gets married with Dora. Some years after, they have a child, Giosuè and they live happily. But the war starts and they/Re send to the Holocaust.

This film genre is comedy and romance. And this film describes the Holocaust but not heavy story because it includes elements of comedy. This film is told by Giosuè after the war and he pays great respect to his father.

Through the film, Guido seems selfish but very nice. He never gives up his hope to live with his family. So he always thinks his child, Giosuè and his wife, Dora. One of my favorite scenes is that Guido and Giosuè go to an announce room and scream "Principessa!" through a speaker. This scene is very cute and heartwarming. Also Giosuè is very cute. Giorgio Cantarini plays very natural and innocent.

This is a fiction movie but maybe similar story; Jewish were forced to labour or massacred was happen in the Holocaust. I can't stop crying when think about that after watching. I think it is Oscar-worthy film and this is the best Italian film.

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (2016) Season 4, Episode 0

Everything is perfect.

[27 July 2016]

Sherlock and Watson travel back to the Victorian era and start investigation about the case of the Abominable bride.

This film is a special version of the Sherlock series aired on BBC. In the Sherlock series, the setting is present age and Sherlock and Watson use high-tech equipment such as smartphones and PCs. However this film setting is the Victorian era. And this film is based on "Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife" which is one of the untold stories.

I like the Sherlock Holmes series because he is very clever and his reasoning is very smart. There are some films based on Sherlock Holmes written by Arthur Conan Doyle but I think this film is the best. Because Benedict Cumberbatch is the best actor for Sherlock and Martin Freeman is also the best actor for Watson. Originally, I like the TV series which they use high-tech equipment but I like this film too because his magnificent reasoning doesn't changed.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

I feel purged

[27 July 2016]

Angels are asked to rescue a very important person of American government. He is kept in a hiding place in the Mongol-Siberian border. The key is rings. The rings have important information and it includes name of Dylan.

This film is second one of Charlie's Angels series. I merely watch action films because they're always acted by males and they're very violent. So I don't like them. However this series are acted by mainly females and not too violent. Furthermore they're very cool and sexy.

Maybe many audiences think it's very unreal and not good. I think it's not realistic but this makes this film more exiting. By watching this film, I think I'm one of angels and I feel purged of stress. And the actors are nice. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu are very fascinating and very sexy. These are the reasons why I like this film.

Sister Act (1992)

Wonderful sisters

[27 July 2016]

Deloris is a singer and becomes a witness of a mob crime suddenly. To shelter her, police sends her to a nunnery as a sister.

This film is comedy and music. I like music part of this film. For the first time I watched this film, it was in the music class, I didn't remember that because I may not like this. However, I like this film now because its music. Deloris starts coach the choir in the nunnery but the choir was terrible. Gradually they become better and their singing is very nice. I like the songs and I often sing them alone.

Also casting is very nice. Whoopie Goldberg is wonderful actor and her voice is also nice. She plays sister Mary Clarence perfectly and fascinatingly. And other sisters are nice too. My favorite sister is sister Mary Robert because she is very cute and Wendy Makkenna plays very nice.

Enchanted (2007)

Typical Disney movie

[27 July 2016]

Giselle lives in Andalasia and believes "true love" and someday a perfect prince will come to her. Finally he comes to her but his step mother sends her to New York.

First of all, I don't like Disney movies because it always says "true Love". As usual, this film shows "true love" too and I don't like this part. Also this film is little bit childish and maybe children like this. Excepting them, I like musical movies. Amy Adams and James Marsden sing the songs well. They also play nice. Giselle and Prince Edward come from fairyland and they seem animated cartoon characters. Thus they overact a little but it is just right.

And I like the songs. In the film, I want to sing with them and I want to sing them alone after watching. Disney movies' music is always nice.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Extremely funny movie

[27 July 2016]

Larry Daley was a night guard of a museum but he is now a CEO. One day, a friend, an exhibit calls him to help. Exhibits will be moved to a warehouse. Larry starts help them.

This is second film of Night at the Museum series and this time's setting is the Smithsonian Museums in Washington D. C. The story looks like a real story because it was shot in a real place. And I went to Washington because I wanted see the Smithsonian Museums with my eyes. It was very nice and I hoped exhibits move in the night but they didn't. But I like this, the second one the best.

This film's genre is adventure and comedy. I like its comedy part. Ben Stiller ad-libs his lines and it is very funny. And my favorite scene is Kahmunrah and Larry quarrel about a birdcage.

The Notebook (2004)

Beautiful story

[27 July 2016]

An old woman is in a hospital and an old man goes there every day. The man always reads a story which is a love story long time ago.

This film consist two time bases. One is now in the hospital and the other is 1940s. Mainly, the film shows Noah and Allie in 1940s. They fall in love but war and difference in social standing make them break up.

The story is beautiful and sad. So I always cry even if I've watched many times and I know the whole story. I think it is because we can empathize with Noah and Allie with two time bases. Maybe many people dreamed of love story like this, once. I can understand why this film won 12 awards.

And Allie's costume is very nice. She wears 1940s's clothes and it is colourful and rich. I want to watch this film many times and this is one of my favorites.

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Good story and songs

[27 July 2016]

Sophie lives in a small island in the Aegean with her mother, Donna. She will marry Sky and invites three men who are maybe her father. One day, they come to the island and Donna is shocked because she doesn't know. Sophie starts search her father.

This film is originally a musical and the musical is based on ABBA's songs. I like ABBA's songs and I can enjoy the film. When all said and done, the casting is gorgeous. They're Meryl Streep form The Devil Wears Prada, Pierce Brosnan from 007 series and other actors are very famous. Furthermore, as a musical film, actors are very food at singing. So even if you don't know its songs, you can enjoy the film.

The Bucket List (2007)

We can think about death.

[27 July 2016]

This film is about bucket list as the title. What you want to do before you die on the bucket list. Two cancer patients make a list together and start a journey to achieve the list.

First of all, the casting is very wonderful. Two patients look completely different. One is white, rich and single and the other is black, poor and household. Something common is just they're both cancer patients. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman act fascinatingly.

This film is a chance to think about death deeply. To make a bucket list, we should accept death. In the film, they can't accept it first, but after do that, they see themselves as they and they know what they want and what they want to do. They fill the list gradually and this means they will die soon. It sounds sad, but they seem happy because their dreams come true. I thought it's very nice. And my favorite scene is that Edward says it's not late to dreams come true. In fact, it is right in the film.

500 Days of Summer (2009)

Coincidence

[27 July 2016]

Tom works for a greeting card maker. He believes "true love" and he will meet someone special and will fall in love with her. One day, he meets a girl. Her name is Summer and she doesn't believe "true love". They like same music and start dating.

This film is about relationship between Tom and Summer as the title. However, he story doesn't chronological. The first scene is not the first day which they meet for the first time. However, by taking this style, we can compare their relationship former days and latter days because their relation changes at about 300 days.

At the beginning of this film, a narrator says "this story is not love story" but I was little bit surprised because I thought it's a love story. However, I think it's a human relation story after I watched it, because the ending is not love story. Tom influences on Summer in good ways and Summer does too.

I like the last scene that Tom meets Summer at the memorable park. Summer talks about "coincidence". I can understand her and agree with her. So I like this scene.

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

This is not my favorite

[27 July 2016]

Darius is an intern of a magazine. One day, her boss finds an odd ad in a newspaper. It says ad writer is looking for a company to do time travel with. She starts investigation with her boss and a colleague and finds the ad writer and starts close coverage.

Actually, I couldn't enjoy this film and this is not my favorite, because I couldn't understand the whole story and the ending. Also I couldn't get why the film genre changes suddenly at the end.

However, the story is about human relationship until just before the end. For example, they're her boss and his ex-girlfriend, her colleague and girls and she and ad writer. But they're described only half and I wonder half more. So the ending must not be sci-fi.

The Lunch Date (1989)

Funny Comedy

[29 June 2016]

A woman misses her train because she takes a lot of baggage with her and someone hits her. She is troubled with it and feels uncomfortable being in a station. She decides to go into a cafe and gets a bowl of salad. Once she gets up her seat, a man seats the very seat where she used to seat.

This film is a kind of comedy and it makes me laugh, but I have two suggestions trough this film. One is that the end is predictable. Misunderstanding is often happened in a real world and, in fact, we may do the same thing. However what this film makes funnier is the woman's reaction. She argues that the salad is her hardly. As an audience, it's very funny. The other is racism. Through whole this film, the main characters are a white woman and a black man. Excepting them, others with dialog are a black man, who bumps into her at the station, a black man seems as a homeless and a white man who is a cafe staff. What I can see in common among black men, they are wrong and evil for her. She sometimes makes her face at their behaviors. For example, when the hitting man tries to pick stuffs up, she tells him not to do that. Furthermore, she says him hurtful words. Because we may be able to recognize it is racism, the producers should think more.

The Gift (2010 Video)

Clear Visual

[29 June 2016]

A man is on a train and carrying a wrapped present. He goes forward and finds masked robots. And he goes forward more, a robot animal comes to him. After he gets on a long escalator, he comes up on the ground. There are many robots and they look as if they rules everything. A man enters a house and gives an old man the present. However it is the factor of tragedy.

First of all, I was surprised by the visual beauty. The image is so clear and I feel I'm there. Also it was shot at a real place, the Sobor Vasiliya Blazhennogo and audiences may think it will happen in the future.

The first time I saw this film, I couldn't understand the very meaning. What's unicorn? What's the box? However I can understand it completely.

Lifted (2006)

My favorite animated film

[20 June 2016]

One night, upon a house, a UFO appears and works a sleeping man. However, it fails to get him out of a house many times. Inside of the UFO, there are two creatures. One is like an instructor and the other is a trainee. Actually, the trainee operates a machine with tons of buttons.

This film's feature is non dialog and animation. In non dialog films, music has an important role because it reflects characters feelings. However, this film has little music, characters have clear looks with big eyes and big mouths. Because of them, we can catch their feelings exactly.

The most interesting point of this film is comparison of the symmetric scenes; a sleeping man scene and inside of the UFO scene. For example, at the very first scene, the man floats in midair and moves in front of the window, the former is described as supernatural, on the other hand, the latter shows its realty that two creatures control him. One is described as dramatic, however the other is described as very funny. The gaps of these two scenes make this film funnier.

That I was surprised the most is the very last credit scene. Its audience might think that the end comes finally before the credit, but this film betray that expectation with only sound without pictures. I thought ‶That's PIXAR"

It becomes my favorite animated film.

Otousan no tabako (2007)

Nice Actor

[8 June 2016]

An elementary school girl departs from her friends on the way to her home. However she turns around and starts walking on the street which not leads to her home. And she take out money and put it in a tabacco vending machine and she gets one. Arriving at her home, she finds her mother gets angry about tabacco and her tabacco is confiscated. She moves to another room and there is her father. Her father is dying but he asks her to buy tabacco. She decides to buy tabacco for her father again.

First of all, the little actor who plays Sara is very nice. When her tabacco is taken and she apologizes to her father, her expression is so sad and when a vending machine broke and her 1,000 yen doesn't come back, her expression is so angry. However, this short film is not my favorite, because the story is not clear and I can't sympathize with anyone because characters doesn't fascinate me at all.

Three Days in Kamakura (2012)

Touched

[8 June 2016]

In kanagawa, a married couple lives. They have no kids. One day, Jay's mother doesn't pick him up at an English school where David works. Daivid take him home and he and Keiko spend a short time with the boy. Keiko thinks David should call the police, but David doesn't want to part with him.

The scene which I was touched by is David and Keiko have a quarrel over Jay. David says "we could keep him" and it sound strange because it's like kidnapping. However maybe he says because of Keiko, who can't have a baby because of surgery of her uterus. In a bathroom, she touches her scar on her abdomen and it looks so sad. David may be concerned about her feeling. Also, Keiko argues to David not to have any expectation that they can keep Jay. And Keiko may be concerned about Jay.

Fish Out of Water (2005)

Extremely funny

[25 May 2016]

A traffic jam. A young man rows a boat to his office to avoid it. He leaves his home with a bag and oars and walks to the shore which has his boat. On the way there, neighbors stare at him curiously. And he gets on the boat, and starts rowing. One morning, a woman stands near his boat. As she is very sexy, he allows her to get on the boat but this is the start of tragedy.

What deserves special mention on this film is definitely non dialog. This feature makes this film wonderful because of if it had English dialog, audience who is not English native user couldn't understand how funny it is. From the point of view of getting rid of the language barrier, everyone can laugh at the same scene. I can understand that there is no difference in humor among countries or areas.

At the same time, in case of non dialog films, music is very important because they reflect characters' feelings. The reason this film is wonderful is because its music, too. The gaps of musics; one is light and the other is dull on the boat scenes funnier.

Whacked (II) (1998)

not good revenge

[12 May 2016]

This film starts with noisy siren sounds of an ambulance. People on a road fall flat one after another. The whole New York city has been plunged into chaos. The scene shifts to a man in a golf driving range. The sound of balls tapping a car with a man reverberate irregularly. It seem to make the man irritated. And they throw some balls by their own hands to a car, window glass has many repair tapes. When he finishes his job, he bring something in a bag out and starts on his way home. At a roof of a tall building, he spreads a mat and starts playing golf.

The begin of this film looks like a mystery, but as it goes, the truth of this film will be made clear. And I can understand his feeling. He always gets annoyed by his job stress and he may want to take his mind off it. I can understand his feelings and his wants, however I can't understand his action. Because he shouldn't involve innocent people in his revenge and his action is very selfish and troublesome. So this film revolted me.

Father and Daughter (2000)

Touching music

[7 May 2016]

This film amazed me because I didn't know an animated film moves me. I thought animated films are suited to children. However my thoughts were broken by this film.

One of the features of this film is it is nonverbal. Music becomes a very important means to express the girl's impression. Through this film, music reflects its scenes. For example, sad and slow tune is inserted in the scenes that she separates from her father. On the other hand, when she comes to the shore with her friend and boyfriend, her father's bicycle is disappeared and happy and swift tune is used.

Although, it is difficult to express feelings without any words, this film does it. From this point of view, I think I can recognize the value of this film.