#100

I like movies.

[theyearinfilms]

Disclaimers

I’ve moved to letterboxd! (for the most part)

Unlocking this space because I’m proud of how I worked on the tags and on some of the text here -- but I am NOT proud of how previous (older) versions of myself looked at things, or directors, or writers. Then again, growth is important, so as I re-encounter tone-deaf or politically incorrect or downright ignorant posts, I’ll add “edit” segments as I go. Allons-y~

[theyearinfilms]

Going on indefinite hiatus

When I started this blog, it was a way to unwind. 

It was my safe space to talk about and think about the large amount of movies I saw (an average of a hundred a year, with 200 in 2015), and a way for me to keep track of my first impressions; a way to remember which films I love, and which ones I thought best to avoid. Putting in a review, no matter how short or inconsequential, gave me a small sense of accomplishment for the best of three years. 

Eventually, it became more of a chore. One that I liked doing, but which I now had to do. I realized I was keeping track of things I wanted to say mid-film, which drew my attention away from immersing myself in the movie completely. I also realized that the review quality lessened considerably -- it became more about finishing a ‘review’, so much so that good films aren’t given the words they deserve anymore.

Pressing pause for now, at least until I can get my mojo back.

[theyearinfilms]

Sing Street (2016)

An easy 8/10 -- feels warm, looks cool, and so unbelievably Irish. I loved the setting and the music, and the sincerity that its young cast brings. It reminds me a bit of Brooklyn (a film that I absolutely love), a bit of Once (a film that I moderately like), and a bit of Begin Again (a film that I completely adore). Sing Street is up there in terms of sound and tone, made even more irresistible by its charming lead. I saw it because it was a highly-recommended Netflix film, and for once, the critics are right on the money! I wish more people saw it. I wasn’t around for the 80s, but with films like Sing Street, I always wish I was.

[theyearinfilms]

Departures (2008)

A film I saw at UPFI with Olivia, screened as part of the Eiga Sai Japanese Film Festival for 2017 (we’ve been lining up for free movies since 2010, who would’ve thought!). A bit embarrassing that I’ve only seen this now, especially since I remember Reanne insisting multiple times that I sit and see it. And with good reason -- Departures is one of the best films I’ve ever seen, with a subject matter that you don’t come across very often. In ritualizing death it offers invaluable insight about life; in tacking loss and legacy it emphasizes the fleetingness of everything, the mortal inevitability that we all face. It’s about family and friendship, compassion and love, and most surprising to me, it’s actually funny despite its generally serious tone. 

I felt the film was strongest when it spent time on the relationship between Daigo and Sasaki; it was a bit less so when it went for Daigo’s relationship with Mika, and although the dad/son relationship is what made the film feel so cohesive in the end, I think it’s still secondary to the growth that Daigo underwent with Sasaki’s tutelage and the precious lessons he taught about dignity in death. Coming from an Asian culture, I understand why a film like this would be met with apprehension for its many social taboos -- but it is worth that initial hesitance. It pays off many times over.

[theyearinfilms]

Kimi no na wa. (2016)

This is one of the films I saw in the unbelievably long flight from Tokyo to Toronto; granted, this deserves a larger screen than the size of a seat’s back head, but it drew me in so effectively despite my less-than-optimal viewing experience. I like to think I earned a bit of success watching this film; I cried as quietly as I could while watching, and my seatmate (an old Chinese lady) pretended not to notice, but then after her Shin Godzilla movie finished, she went on to see Kimi no na wa. (small air punch for me!). You’re welcome lady, I’m glad to have brought this movie to your life.

There’s already enough praise for this movie to go around, but I want to highlight what I appreciated about it so much -- all the trans subtexts!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!! It isn’t a typical film in the sense that it reveals itself to have a scifi/fantasy aspect, an Armageddon/apocalyptic type of thing complete with time travel, and in any other story it might not have worked, but this one does because it made use of an emotional (romantic) anchor. I thought all of it incredible. I was emotionally compromised not just by the storytelling, but also by the sheer brilliance of the animation. It escapes me why they’d even try to make a live-action remake; what for? This is perfect as itself.

[theyearinfilms]

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)

Memorable because it was the first movie we saw, all of us -- eight girls scrunched in the lounge, with bottles of wine and cider and microwave popcorn. I cried, as expected; I’m not particularly a dog person, but this was more than an animal story, it was about unwavering loyalty and unconditional love. I must admit, after this, I was convinced to want to learn how to like dogs. I think I’d like to see a Japanese version of this, one that’s more authentic. 

[theyearinfilms]

La La Land (2016)

I have a love affair with this movie. When I first saw it - intimately alone in a crowded cinema - I cried through the entire third act. I loved the music (its soundtrack was the backdrop of my three months in New York and my two weeks in California), the colors, the two leads (I feel this is their peak chemistry), the feel, everything. I had my reservations early on about Gosling and Stone doing all the dancing and singing; let’s be real, they are no Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, so I wasn’t expecting much. Within the first ten minutes, I was eating my words -- it wasn’t about their skill in dance or their talent in song, it was everything else outside of it. That they go so well together forgives the slightly-unsynchronized tap dancing, or the head voices that will not make it past a first casting call in Broadway. It was how their attraction and devotion to each other was so palpable, so believable, even with rather thin voices and passable pirouettes; and then Chazelle’s directing filled in all else, with the gorgeous colors and scenery, with the tone that is a tribute to Los Angeles. I was so in love with them, I was so in love with it. I still am.

La La Land says it’s a story of two lovers, but at its core, it’s a story of self-discovery, of self-knowing. It is, truly, “to the ones who dream”, and Hollywood was right to eat it all up (besides, Hollywood loves stories about Hollywood). Til now I don’t think Stone should’ve won that Oscar for Audition, but it is by and far my favorite song in the entire film, and she performed it so beautifully -- it had so much heart and soul poured into it, I couldn’t keep myself from weeping openly (I started crying at the dinner scene and didn’t stop til the credits). It was so nostalgic, all of it, for an era that I wasn’t even alive for. It was a great ode to jazz, to that particular era in Hollywood; and at this point, I choose to skate over the rather lengthy criticisms about Gosling’s character and how it’s a bit of a stereotypical self-important male character -- this level of nitpicking, and the general aversion to the movie as it gained too much critical acclaim and mainstream attention, is one I don’t care for. I was and am content to enjoy Gosling and Stone at their prime, the simple yet effective storytelling of chasing passions, the elaborate sets and visual masterpieces that Chazelle created, and the heart-wrenching score that soars over every scene. 

There’s nothing like walking around the Griffith Observatory while listening to this, reimagining that surreal planetarium scene. It infused so much life in the setting of Los Angeles, and made the city more real to me. 

[theyearinfilms]

Logan (2017)

Saw this film with Tita C and Uncle J, in the town of Lavergne in good ol’ Tennessee. It was my first time in the city and the state, and I was a bit giddy about the look of the theater (it was their usual cinema) and the fact that Logan at the time was receiving rave reviews. I thought it was a good movie -- wrapping up Wolverine’s story very nicely, even though it did break my heart a little to see Professor X that way. It was definitely a bit more gory and r-rated than I expected, but I appreciated that feature and felt that the X-Men franchise could stand to be a bit more brash, a bit less contained in its style and substance. It was strange seeing the younger Hugh Jackman battling his older self (the wonders of modern technology, indeed) and for most of it I was trying to identify a tell, but in the end I just decided to enjoy the sparring. I thought Dafne Keen did a fantastic job as a child actor, and it was a good way to humanize and conclude Wolverine even though I’m not a huge fan of the character to begin with. Hat off to Hugh Jackman.

[theyearinfilms]

Dunkirk (2017)

This film may be a cinematic masterpiece and lauded as Nolan’s best film to date (I respectfully disagree), but when I exited the theater after having seen it on its premiere night, I was more depressed than impressed. So successful was it in creating a visceral experience, in making use of sight and (deafening) sound and absence of dialogue to illustrate the reality, that I could only sit back afterwards and sigh and feel a bit tired from the endeavor. It was like aging for months, watching these men from the three perspectives of land, sea, and air (my favorite is the one by sea, and not just because Mark Rylance is in it) (and may I say I still find that division of narratives quite ingenious), dealing with unique challenges that can only be specific to their setting. I was excited about this being a Nolan film, and my enthusiasm was well-met; I guess I just wasn’t prepared for the emotional battering that I underwent in those hours. 

I cried a bit in the end, when the boys from land came back to England and this old blind man was handing out towels, saying “well done, lads, well done” and Harry Styles’s character crossly goes “all we did was survive”, and the man responds with “that’s enough” -- more than anything, that part really got to me. For all intents and purposes, the Dunkirk evacuation didn’t feel like a victory, it felt like a defeat because it was a retreat; but its description of a ‘moral victory’ because it was able to save lives, and because the citizens took it upon themselves to save their soldiers (Mark Rylance! light of my life!), that struck a chord with the true meaning of battles won. It offers a reality of war that most Hollywood titles don’t prefer to emphasize -- that it is unpleasant and disgusting and disheartening, that there is no glory or honor in it, just death and despair and hope that it will subside; it was such a bleak and unhappy picture, one that I wouldn’t usually volunteer to see; but more than that, that if we choose to, the worst of war can bring out the best in people too. That despite our own individual sufferings and personal fears, we can extend a hand, we can find ways to help (Kenneth Branagh staying for the French), and that’s how we fight back against the dampening of the spirit that war inevitably brings.

I am fortunate many times over for not having lived through a physical world war, for not intimately knowing the perils that these boys and men (and girls and women) went through. Thinking about Dunkirk now, I realize this film isn’t one that aims to make you think per se, but to make you feel -- and by doing so, to realize that there is no rhyme or reason to war, no poetry in it. It just is. And we can only hope so well that this is a reality we don’t experience.

[theyearinfilms]

Kita Kita (2017)

Understandably, this film mildly polarized its viewers, with most of #woke audiences choosing to fixate on the second act of the film, where Empoy is revealed to be a stalker hell-bent on getting Alessandra to like him, even going so far as taking advantage of her blindness to win her affection. I fall on the other side of that spectrum, though -- I thought Kita Kita was lovely and sweet, that it made use of good scenery and even better music, that it was funny and a little bit kilig, and that it did well in making us feel for a leading man that isn’t conventionally physically attractive. That’s how I saw it, and how I choose to see it. Mostly my preference has to do with choosing to see the best parts of Act 1, and conveniently ignoring the less savory segments of Act 2 (I think the movie could’ve been so much stronger if they chose to do away with that “reveal”). It sought to be a message, about the universality of emotion and how the people that we care about aren’t determined by how they look but by how they treat us, and how we end up feeling for them as a result of this treatment. It just wanted to go against the idea that happy endings, that beautiful girls, are only for hunks with chiseled jaws (Xian Lim, Piolo Pascual, et. al) or unbearably charming smiles (John Lloyd Cruz, JM de Guzman). Empoy doesn’t fit any of that, but we see their relationship blossom into something that can only be described as genuine (goes beyond physical traits), and I feel that message would’ve been less diluted if they didn’t try to squeeze in that entire flashback sequence, and that sense of ‘inevitability’ or ‘destiny’ that a lot of films fall victim to. I forgive them that -- I walked out of the cinema feeling buoyed and good about the world, and in the end that’s all we really ask of movies.

[theyearinfilms]

Sister Act (1992)

A film that I think I’ve seen before, but which I don’t quite remember; I watched this after a long day at work, with a bowl of instant mac and cheese and some spam cubes. People said the meal looked disgusting, but I really liked it and I liked (most of) the movie too. I thought the singing was lovely; the tone of the movie reminded me of Rat Race (which I quite like), although the ending is a bit unremarkable. I feel I should see the sequel to finally be able to relate to all the pop culture references whenever nuns are the topic of conversation. (Speaking of, I had just seen Ellen deGeneres guest-star as a nun in Will & Grace, and it was very funny.) I think I still like Whoopi better in Ghost though (as a character only; I dislike that movie very firmly). If anything, this movie is a throwback to my childhood, 90s films that have a very nostalgic feel to them.

[theyearinfilms]

Snowden (2016)

Nowhere near as thrilling or chilling as Citizenfour, so much so that I wonder what the point of this movie is; I guess it’s about bringing Snowden’s story to an audience that isn’t privy to documentaries? As redundant as this feels, there are moments that are interesting to follow, not because they’re historically accurate but because they reek of the typical Hollywood touch -- improbability, over-the-top drama (oh man, especially that Rubik’s cube thing going through the metal detectors... no way real-life Snowden’s that cool), and an injection of a suddenly popular teenage star who is in this case Shailene Woodley (a casting I did not appreciate nor find favorable). It says the same things, basically, as Citizenfour, but with less impact because it can’t quite convey the same sense of urgency or vulnerability that the documentary does. I think I appreciated it in a lukewarm manner mostly because of JGL, who I have loved long and hard. I would watch or patronize just about anything that JGL sets his hand to.

[theyearinfilms]

The Decoy Bride (2011)

Part 3 of 3: Thank you, US Netflix, for having a copy of this film that I’ve been trying to download unsuccessfully for months now! Look the other way, folks -- automatically I am biased towards this movie by virtue of the drop-dead gorgeous David Tennant, and the ever-reliable dumb blonde (in most of her movies anyway) Alice Eve. Already I get this warm feeling in my chest as I remember what it was like to see this movie; set against a gorgeous European backdrop, and with all these thick accents all throughout, it’s the kind of film wherein you just sit back and enjoy the ride and not really care where it takes you. That’s the kind of power that Tennant yields. This movie’s funny, quaint, ridiculously Scottish, feel-good, and although it has received very colorfully-articulated negative remarks, I’m likely to see it again. Of course it can’t hold a candle to my other favorite romcoms, but pitch it up against The Switch and Picture Perfect, and it’s easy to see why I gave this a 7/10.

[theyearinfilms]

The Switch (2010)

Part 2 of 3: Romcoms with kids in them is always a gamble; this movie is quite middling, in that respect. It feels like one of those movies I’ve seen before but can’t quite remember, so it can’t count as one I’ve seen before. I still liked Jason Bateman best in This Is How I Leave You, so I guess I gave him more of a chance in this movie. As improbable and drama-heavy some parts of this film were, it plods along sufficiently and tries not to waste our time too much in the process. I’m not likely to see it again or recommend it to people.

[theyearinfilms]

Picture Perfect (1997)

Part 1 of 3: In my second week in New York, I took an entire Sunday off and binge-watched Netflix films without leaving my bunk bed (except to get water, get a small bite to eat, or go to the bathroom). I can’t tell you how this film ends -- but I’m pretty sure it was a happy ending. It’s formulaic but not in a grating way; it has Jen, so that’s kinda OK. It’s not particularly original, but Jay Mohr is quite adorable at times, and Kevin Bacon’s oozing sex appeal is a plus. I’d probably see it again, if only because I’ve forgotten how it goes (isn’t that how chick flicks/romcoms go though...)

[theyearinfilms]

The DUFF (2015)

I was looking for a pretty mindless, light chick flick and this movie delivered. It had nice moments, some less believable ones, but all in all it passed the time and it had a pretty steady lead (Mae Whitman! good humor). I think I paid more attention than I should have because the leading man is hella cute (and most times, these are all we ask of chick flicks).

[theyearinfilms]

Already Tomorrow In Hong Kong (2015)

It wouldn’t be fair to automatically brand this movie as ‘formulaic’ -- after all, there are many films that have tried and failed to replicate the success of the Before series (guy and girl gets a meet-cute, they spend the night or day walking around together and falling in love, then they come apart or together by the end). It’s a good formula, and sometimes it still works; unfortunately for this film, it doesn’t.

That it is played by a real-life couple should’ve improved the chemistry, but I couldn’t find that necessary spark that is the backbone of any Before-type film. Moreover, the attempt to turn things on their head (Greenberg’s the white guy who appreciates Asian culture, Chung’s Asian-looking but is actually white inside) didn’t fly too well with me -- if anything, this chick came off as unappreciative of her culture, slightly snobby/arrogant, and infinitely less interesting than the guy that she meets. There’s something off about an Asian chick complaining about HK while the white expat convinces her of its charms. Perhaps I view it too much from my Asian bias, but instead of finding it endearing I found it more annoying.

I’m not likely to see this again, though Reanne I feel would have more appreciation for it. She did like that movie with Chris Evans and Alice Eve with the same formula, so this one shouldn’t be too off the mark.