MicShazam

I don't really watch anime anymore, so I don't think so. Satoshi Kon died and anime died with him. Now it's just all a load of weaboo nonsense.

#grumpyoldman

Oriphiel

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Mondo Bungle

Ikiru - Just goes to show you that everyday of life should be cherished, but that truth is often swept up in the mundane cyclone of existence, only to be recovered in shambles like a wet newspaper after being told how much time you have left. This is a simple film, really, with a simple message. Everything about it is unquestionably ordinary and thereby relatable for anyone and everyone. Even our protagonist's final dream to accomplish something that may or may not matter is quite ordinary. He just wanted this park built, but after the unfolding of the film, that simple goal holds so much more weight. And I got to thinking it's pretty badass how he would stop at nothing after being a doormat for so long. The movie had a lot of real cool shots, and I gotta give this guy credit for holding that grimace with varying levels of intensity throughout basically the whole thing. Gotta have a sore face after that. 4/5

The Seventh Continent - I'm not quite sure how to properly articulate my thoughts and feelings on this movie, and frankly I'm skeptical about what they are in the first place. The movie does not want to be your friend, that's for sure. The movie is your enemy, and will swarm your being with contempt and summon waves upon waves of irritation towards things that you'd before never even think twice about. And that's not just relevant to the film's content either. The frustration is truly stupendous. It's gonna be tough to talk about, but I'll do my best. First off, I was in fact fairly disappointed after reading some reviews that beefed it up majorly, and that may have subconsciously affected my personal reception of the movie on the whole. Technically, it is quite proficient. A bleak drama that burns at a snail's pace and builds tension like insects in your bloodstream. It commands all of your patience and perception. Very little "happens", and while I'm all about movies like that, this one just didn't sit right with me, like I offered it an uncomfortable chair and it won't let me hear the end of it through passive aggressive complaining. All the good descriptors are here in full force. It's claustrophobic and suffocating, unnerving and uncomfortable, nihilistic and cold, tense and rigid, and plays out like a nightmare cast in nonexistent light, where no true, perceivable danger can be found lurking in the static beyond, which only strengthens the astronomical dread, and you get to wishing that there was some horrible creature out there, or for some murderous lunatic to barge in and sever the anxiety, to put an end to the seemingly source-less woe. But that doesn't happen. The film revels in inexpressible disquiet, cinematic dysphoria. The whole event itself is what I can't get behind, and it irks me even more that this is a true story. Obviously I've never met this family, but if this is how they went out, I don't think I'd enjoy their company or practically anything about them. At first I was thinking there'd been something along the way that I missed or didn't put together and so I wanted to revisit the movie in the future, but after researching the topic it would seem that this ultimate act of self destruction was more or less spontaneous. Sure it obviously wasn't going perfect for them but jeez. The conclusion of the film is thoroughly upsetting and anxiety inducing, and even though I'll go and talk about being not into it, it stuck with me for a while, popping up in my mind frequently during the following days. So, clearly, this film is a complete success considering it has me as inexplicably outraged as it does. This is why it's hard for me to rate. If we strip away all the pretentious nonsense of this review, at the end of the day I'd still say it's a bit overhyped and that I don't exactly care too much for it. However, it is truly a force to be reckoned with. ?/5

Cranes are Flying - Many films have shown us that love in the time of war is fragile and vulnerable, and that the respective feelings of each party come fully to surface when the other isn't around to receive them. We get to feel a lot of empathy for the leading lady (who is gorgeous), remarrying her fiancee's draft dodging brother and never hearing the end of it, though this ridicule is indirect. Another collection of fancy shots and sets here. 3.5

All About Lily Chou Chou - This film is enormously pretentious and I picked that up immediately, so that's always nice. Led into the movie with some posts from an internet message board dedicated to this musician Lily Chou Chou, talking about "the Ether" and whack culty stuff like that. Aside from pretense, the movie is also immensely vibrant from the get go in both sight and sound. Anyway, it's a humble coming of age story of youth as affected by the enigmatic artist. It gives us all the tropes, people change, people grow apart. But for the two main characters, solace is found within the music and this "Ether" business. The story, as presented to us, begins in the middle and cuts back to the summer of change come and gone before the ending comes around and the impact of it all is fully realized. Scenes are sporadically intertwined with more posts from the forum, though it's not revealed until the end who these usernames belong to. Thusly we have a sort of impartial view into these individuals' minds and hearts. A great coming of age film that I believe should be revered for its magnificently lush style. Dreamy music and camera shots synergize beautifully, a truly remarkable air. 4/5

Ichi the Killer - Felt pretty much like a must watch movie for me, already being a fan of the shameless absurdity of J-splatter. Like how can you even have this much blood in your body? I figured it would be pretty similar to Tokyo Gore Police and the Machine Girl and all those, but this one (admirably) tries a different, possibly more subdued air. That's not to say this film doesn't have firm roots in black comedy or is not hilariously ridiculous in every aspect, it just seemed like the focus was shifted somewhat on thematic content rather than nonstop organs. The gore was actually relatively tame (it's not tame at all) compared to the others I mentioned. A gripe strictly from the gore department is that there's not much of a splatter climax. You know, the culmination of everything where people are getting ripped into fourths and skulls splitting in half and whatever. There was already a ton of splattering throughout so it's kind of an irrational complaint, but all that had me thinking that the climax would be on another level of disgusting. The whole ending itself, in my opinion, was kinda weak. Notwithstanding, this movie is a damn great time. 4/5

Jigoku - We're all sinners and sinners burn in hell. Expectedly enticed by this 1960 film's status as the earliest "splatter" movie some three years before Herschell Gordon Lewis would forever sicken the cinema world with the remarkably gushy Blood Feast, I started Jigoku with giddy anticipation of its renowned Hell sequence. But first I was treated to desperate and gloomy drama of human morality. Some of the actual content confused me a little (is this Tamura guy a ****ing ghost or what), but it's not hard to pick up on the big picture. The first two thirds are dreary in pace and tone, then the message as stated before (we're all sinners) comes back around to **** you in the ass as it all completely and literally descends into Hell. This is where we are treated to some absolutely ludicrous visuals and sets and effects. It's no surprise that the ultimate splatter moment is one for the ages. I mean, obviously. But anyway, that's quite a buildup. The dramatic aspect, in my opinion at least, is captivating throughout the whole film, but explodes with such a drastic spike of insanity that I can only imagine the reaction when this was new. 4/5

The Wailing - I love going into movies not knowing at all what to expect. It was like that with the Seventh Continent, but we can see how that went. This movie was honestly intense from the start. I thought rabid humans might be a cliche, but the nightmare sequences early on are god damn horrific. The atmosphere is uncanny. I was even blindsided with emotions on a couple occasions. Dark and never not unsettling, this movie really had me in it, and some of the imagery is just next level. 4.5/5

Early Summer - Gonna be jumping around Yasujirō Ozu's massive film canon as he seemed to have the "slice of life" property of storytelling perfected. I wanna watch a bunch that don't all look like that completely, but I'm quite enamored with these humble melodramas, and after already watching Tokyo Story I figured I'd go first for the others in the Noriko trilogy, cuz Noriko is a stand up gal. It's all about family values. Noriko defies a marriage being forced upon her by her family, and, well that's it really. These movies are so slow but so real, and I feel attached the entire time. During the silent shots of the daily routine and activities, during the small talk, during the long shots of an empty room. Though I have very limited experience as of now, I can see that Ozu's style greatly potentiates the content of the film. This one had a few tracking shots but the vast majority of the scenes are still and firm, as with Tokyo Story, which was completely devoid of tracking shots. The viewer is subjected to less stimuli and in turn deeply immersed in the characters. Straight on, stationary shots often create a sense of sudden reality. Looking directly into the camera, and by extension us as viewers, like you are the one having this conversation, all parts played in equal part by yourself. Noriko has a way of impacting her peers, and you're included. 4/5

Oslo, 31. august - When you're working with a pretty general theme, in this case drug abuse/recovery, it's all about delivery. This movie is a bit slow, and overall a quite bleak character study of an former heroin addict. The events of the movie are carried out in just one day, and it's kinda surprising how much is packed into that. We see the frustration of the main character, unable to leave the past behind, unable to carry on, unable to reconnect with loved ones. The final scene is a heart breaker. 3.5/5

Tokyo Sonata - This movie is as real as it gets. I especially felt connected with it deeply as a lot of the themes are relatable for me. It also had that parental factor that hits me hard. Everyone in this family is suffering at each other's expense, and tension is at an all time high. The interactions between father and son, father and wife, wife and son etc are unflinchingly authentic in my eyes. As the film progresses and the downward spiral steepens, everyone here just wants to start over. Kids run away, get arrested, people are unemployed and helpless, the struggle is powerful as well as nebulous. Every individual is irreplaceable, and their respective feelings can never be felt by anyone else. We don't know how it is for others, it's simply impossible. But the final moments greet us with a bright and subtle optimism, a new beginning perhaps. We just want everything to be forgotten, all the disputes forever erased. The family's new lives continue on for a while, and the younger son performs a piano sonata as an audition for this music school after months ago being forbade to learn. As we watch the parents' eyes swell up slowly with moisture, as their faces give way to a fresh acceptance, I was losing it at the exact same rate as them while this elegant sonata carries us out of the film, perhaps feeling a bit rejuvenated myself. 4.5/5

Au Hasard Balthazar - What are humans but especially intelligent animals? That's something that I feel like this movie set out to express. It follows the disjointed lives of two animals, a donkey and a young girl. Both are constantly mistreated and abused, taken advantage of for nothing, and it's not unique for each, their misery is given and received in much the same way. That said, their lives would appear to be on equal ground, no better than the other. The plot was admittedly hard to make sense of a lot, but it's a discontinuous film in its own right. We're met with back and forth jaunts around the two parties, and I think the disorganized events serve to emphasize the emotional and empathic aspect of it all. And I'll guarantee you right now that it's impossible not to want a donkey of your own after watching this. 4/5

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Oriphiel

I remember seeing the cover for Ichi the Killer every time I walked into the import section of Blockbuster as a kid.

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Mondo Bungle

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Lucem Ferre

Depends on how it's shot. If it ends up being a quirky american pie movie I'm out.

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Art Is Dead. Buy My ****.

MicShazam

I would rate it higher myself, but that's a really good description.

Mondo Bungle

I kinda think it's the least thoughtful of that bunch of reviews

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MicShazam

I'm just saying it's a good summation that tells you basically what you're getting into. Very straight to the point. There's a lot more to say about the movie, of course. Haven't watched it in probably 3 years or so, but I thought it had some really atmospheric scenes and a generally strong command of mood and pacing. Plus some really good and very realistic acting.

I've got three literal shelves for all of my favorite movies and Oslo 31. August is on it.

Mondo Bungle

my favorite scene was him at the cafe

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