The Wind Rises (2014): dreaming of the sky

Title: The Wind Rises

Language: Japanese

Year: 2014

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

My Rating: 5/5 (would give it a 6/5 if I could!)

This last film of Miyazaki is based on a real figure, Jirohorikoshi, the Japanese aeronautical engineer who designed the Mitsubishi Zero, Japan's predominant fighter plane during WWII. It was used in many air assaults in China, and also the Pearl Harbor attack.

Despite the film's sensitive subject politically and historically speaking, Miyazaki expresses through the film an overwhelming sense of beauty and pride. 

Instead of telling the story of Japan's attempts at plane construction through a historicizing narrative, Miyazaki made the magical choice of adopting a very personal point of view from Jiro the engineer. From Jiro's narrative, Miyazaki tells not only the stories of a plane, but of a young boy's desire to fly, to follow his dream, and to make his country a better and stronger one. The Japanese society at the time of the story was a turbulent one, one filled with social malcontent, natural disasters, and political and economic unrest. Mayazaki unreservedly shows this dark side of his society's past, which gained my sympathy. On the other hand, he also shows the breathtaking beauty and simplicity of life during that epoch: the picturesque countryside with its green grasslands, ripening fields, and traditional Japanese architecture, accompanied by the evocative music composed by Joe Hisaishi, every minute of the beauty is exuberant with a national pride and patriotism that is natural, modest, yet very much heartfelt. 

The film is also extremely touching in that it tells a tragically beautiful love story that is tangled with the nation's destiny. The love in the story is depicted with such simplicity yet is extremely convincing, in that it is also expressed with a kind of utmost sincerity that makes us wonder if we can still find love like this in today's society. Just like the love element is a personal aspect of the story, so is Jiro's own dreams of designing beautiful airplanes. In the film, he explains that he never meant for them to go to war, and he is at a loss when he realizes that none of his beautiful designs came back after taking off. 

This film is a must-see, it will move you in a way that you have long forgotten existed. Your heart will simply go out to the characters. For this reason, I was very sad to learn that the movie is censored in China because of its sensitive subject, however this film is not about politics. It is maybe somewhat about war in that it shows war's inhumanity and ugliness, and it is above all else about a brave quest for dreams and a yearning for beauty.

Le vent se lève... il faut tenter de vivre!

xx

Vanessa :]

Top Ten Tuesday: top 10 movies to see this Valentine's Day Part III

Today I am going to finish the whole list of 10 movies to see with your significant other or some friends! You can find the first two segments of the list here and here.

7. Amélie (2001)

This is hands down the best French movie I have ever seen, and let me just say I have seen dozens of French movies. Lighthearted yet full of life lessons, Amélie will not disappoint for a Valentine's Day movie date.

8. Love Actually (2003)

Pretty classic rom-com that tells the story of eight different couples. I don't know why, but I love seeing how many different stories evolve and intermingle. Oh, and did I mention Hugh Grant is in it?

9. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Need I say more? Classic, classic tale that will make you cry and warm your heart. Watch this and see how one radio call changes two people's lives forever.

10. Mamma Mia! (2008)

What is better than a musical in a movie? This is more for hanging out with your friends, but if you got a boyfriend/girlfriend who loves to sing and dance, this can work for couples too! I always dance to the Dancing Queen scene anyway (shamefully walks away).

I hope you all have a wonderful, sweet, and cozy Valentine's Day!

xx

Vanessa :]

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 movies to see this Valentine's Day Part II

Picking up where we left off last week (Part I), I am here today to introduce three more of my favorite movies that I think are wonderful for Valentine's Day. Today's movies share one thing in common - they are all animation movies! Some may say animation movies are specifically for children, but I guarantee you that is totally not the case if you have seen these three!

4. Frozen (2013)

I'm sure everyone has already more or less heard of the hype about this movie. At first I was like, Disney movie, princesses and all? Come on, people, go see something more original. BUT! After I finally went to see the movie with my boyfriend two weeks ago, it blew my mind! It is hugely hilarious, beautiful, and the songs are so catchy everyone in my dorm is playing them on repeat!

5. Despicable Me 2 (2013)

If you ask me what is the funniest animation movie, I would definitely tell you Despicable Me without hesitating. But after seeing this sequel to the first movie, I realized I was wrong - Despicable Me 2 is even FUNNIER! As if that's even possible! I mean, who doesn't like to see a former-villain falling in love with a villain-busting crazy woman, not to mention the three cutest girls in the world, and a bunch of yellow minions dance around and speak gibberish English?

6. Up (2009)

Let me tell you something: you can never go wrong with Pixar and Disney. Up is a movie with a perfect combination of naiveté, humor, beautiful animation, and.... unexpected romance!

xx

Vanessa :]

Between hope and fear: Catching Fire (2013)

Title: Catching Fire
Language: English
Year: 2013
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson, Liam Hemsworth
My Rating: 5/5

"Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.” --imdb

Went to see this film last night after my last class of the fall quarter. And can I just say - I was blown away.

As a die-hard fan of the Hunger Games books,  I give kudos to the director for a successful book-to-film adaptation. Just like there are imperfections in even the best works of literature, the book Catching Fire is not flawless. And this is where the film succeeds - it leaves out the flaws and fill their places with something suspenseful, moving, and powerful. It really deals well with the themes of hope and fear, as it serves as the transitional piece between the first film (fear) and the third and last one (hope).

A few things I especially LOVED:
- the arena
the clock setup in the book was impressive enough, but the movie! the movie! In the movie the arena is set up so cleverly and visually beautiful, and let me just give you one small spoiler - there is a trick to do with the cornucopia. Yes, be expectant.
- Mags
The sacrifice. Need I say more?
- the victory tour (okay I'm sorry I'm not going in chronological order)
I cried so much during that part of the movie. Jennifer Lawrence did a superb job of portraying the fear and anger of Katniss and the districts people. It is extremely believable, personable, and touching.
- Effie
It is not only her bazillion beautiful costumes that are breathtaking in this film, but also the emotions that she lacked/was not supposed to have in the first film that struck me. Effie is so human in this film, which is all the more touching.

These are just a few things out of the many that I absolutely loved about this movie. If I get time I'll write a longer post about the parallels between this film and our society today, because there are plenty!

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To conclude - go see the movie, people! It is gripping, it is intense, it will make you laugh as much as it will make you cry.
May the odds be ever in your favor,
Vanessa :]

an unforgettable city: Paris, Je t'aime (2006)

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Title: Paris, je t'aime
Language: French
Year: 2006
Directors: Olivier Assayas, Frédéric Auburtin, and 20 more credits
My Rating: 4.7/5

"Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented and awakened." -imdb

After seeing this film last night, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time. The opening film at Cannes International Film Festival of 2006, this 20-segment film portrays the many facets of Paris that one least knows and/or expects. Although the plot summary above seems broad and over-generalizing, I assure you that it is not. It is accurately the impression that the film will leave you.

Each of the 20 segments in this film, directed by a different director, lasts 5 minutes and can be a standalone by itself. In one way or another, each segment tells a love story, no matter heartwarming, saddening, thoughtful, or bizarre: one talks about a young boy discovering the right way to treat a girl on the bank of the Seine; one deals with a grieving mother's recovery from having lost her son; one tells the story of a blind boy falling in and out of love with a foreign actress; one shows the audience the complicated breakup scene of an old couple... 

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Through these 20 mini films that together build the complex, interweaving structure that is not only the film Paris, Je t'aime but also the city Paris and its people, I constantly felt the enchantment as well as the cruelty of the society that we live in. The last segment of the end of the film sums it up for us really well: "Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love with me." (source)

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In the last few minutes of the movie, the camera shifts from one protagonist's perspective to another, and through their eyes we realize that their lives, however unrelated as they seem, are ultimately connected to each other. And this is the wonder of the our lives, of the world we live in.

(source)

xx
Vanessa :]

paradise lost: Oblivion

Title: Oblivion
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
Metascore Critic Rating: 54
IMDb User Rating: 7.1/10
My Rating: 3.5/5

"A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself."

I'm sure when you saw this trailer  in theaters you were thinking, "Wow, I bet that movie is gonna rock!" And then you never got around to seeing it. It's okay. You didn't miss too much.

Oblivion is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure that follows the monotonous life of drone repairman, Jack (apparently Tom liked the name Jack this year), and his "effective teammate" Victoria. They live in a house in the sky and have a glass pool that they go skinny dipping in. By the way, Tom Cruise, not ageing.

Top left: Tom Cruise in 1986
Bottom right: Tom Cruise in 2013
Whatever he's on, I want some.

When the movie first began I got a strange case of deja vu. "Wow, I think I've seen this before..." And I sort of had. The director of this movie, Joseph Kosinski, was also the director of Tron: Legacy. So, needless to say, these visuals were stunning. Paired with a fantastic soundtrack, courtesy of M83, the movie managed to evoke some feeling.

Oblivion - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from NoddingToMusic on 8tracks Radio.

The movie opens like Tron, the opening sequence a montage of killer visuals, epic music, and a wonderful voice over from Cruise. He explains everything you need to know before the opening title flashes across the screen.

Kosinski nailed the futuristic look...again. The entire set looks straight out of Tron: Legacy. The man knows how to shoot movies. He can evoke feeling without the use of dialog. He could make you cry just by panning a camera. Now if only he could find a better script (I would love to see what he would do with the script for The Matrix).

The film has very subtle nuances that you might miss while watching it:

Like the fact that there are canyons made from the streets of New York City.

Hey, look! The Library of Congress (I think). This feels like National Treasure...
*suddenly, Nicolas Cage*

"Just another day in [post-apocalyptic, radioactive, uninhabitable] paradise."

While the script for Oblivion is weak in the emotional department the movie makes up for it with some wonderful acting from the entire cast. It's been a long time since I've really enjoyed watching Tom Cruise at work. And of course Morgan Freeman was fantastic as always. His introduction is wonderfully thought out in the ever classic Freeman style. But I won't ruin it for you.

One of the other things I enjoyed about this movie was Tom Cruise's character. His quirkiness was perfectly portrayed by Tom. The baseball cap was a nice touch I thought.

Like I said above, this movie could have done with some more depth. So many possibilities were missed with this script. But there were enough twists to keep me interested. I feel like they could have drug out the suspense a bit longer. They spill the big secret before you're even halfway through.

I'd love to write a deeper review for this movie, but there's not a lot to go on here. So take of it what you may.

Check it out and tell me what you think :D

fairytale land: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Title: Oz the Great and Powerful 

Year: 2013

Language: English

Director: Sam Raimi

My Rating: 3.9/5

I watched this film on my thirteen-hour-long plane ride from New York to Beijing. The overall impression is that it's a great means of in-flight entertainment, however it wouldn't be as indulgent if I had first seen it in the movie theater.

What I mean is that the special effects are spectacular, truly displaying a beautiful fairytale land for the audience, achieving what older version of the Oz story couldn't. The scene where Oscar first "landed" in the wonderland is breathtaking; a whole new realm is created in the film, one that is dreamy, delicate, mysterious, and magical all at once. Also, the computer-generated characters are really well made too, especially the little china girl. Her fragile presence adds the element of empathy to the story, evoking a tenderness from the audience. One more thing that I liked is the ending, when Oscar made genius use of his magic tricks to defeat the wicked witch. "Setting the stars on fire" is truly the ultimate innovative, poetic, and romantic way of describing fireworks. 

What I didn't like so much: the character-building of the wicked witch and the good witch. I'm not sure if it's the makeup application, or the costume, or something, these two characters just appear kind of tacky to me, like they belong to Barbie world or something, not in a movie where everything else looks pretty legit. That's about my only complaint, I guess, besides the fact that the plot is super duper predictable, but oh well, it's a well-known fairytale, so that's on the acceptable side. 

Again, I enjoyed the movie, but I wouldn't watch it a second time, nor would I have been awed if I saw paid to see it in a movie theater.

xx

Vanessa :]