Who Do You Live For? - Restless (2011)

"Annabel is a terminally ill cancer patient and is quietly awaiting her death spending her time studying nature. Enoch is struggling to recover from the death of his parents and spends his time attending funerals with his only friend - a ghost named Hiroshi who was a WWII Japanese kamikaze pilot. Just as Annabel's sister is trying to cope with Annabel's impending death, Annabel and Enoch fall in love. They both finally have a reason to live, but is it too late to have a life together?"

Wow. Well let me just say that this movie is so underrated. It's a wonderful plot that is so reminiscent of The Fault in our Stars. It's such a beautiful premise complimented so thoroughly with beautiful screen pictures and a haunting soundtrack. This isn't just any cancer story. It's a tale of facing your fears and loyalty even in the hardest of times. 

The main character, Annabel Cotton, is played by the wonderful Mia Wasikowska whose acting was flawless the entire time. Henry Hopper portrayed the moody and mysterious Enoch Brae whose tragic backstory and puppy-dog eyes just make you wanna give him a hug. There's also the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze Hiroshi (Ryo Kase), from WWII and it seems that he is a story inside the story of this film. Sometimes you may think that his part is unnecessary in the plot, although, in the end it turns out that he wasn't so irrelevant after all. 

While this film isn't on my list of "Masterpieces" it is a very good movie if you like unconventional (which i do!). The cinematography is brilliant throughout the entire movie and the set-pieces are to die for (as well as the costuming, which while strange, makes the film so much better). It's full of humor and love and sadness and joy. The ending will break your heart and warm your soul.

I definitely recommend it. It's worth the time (and is a perfect flick for sleepovers or late-night movies with buckets of ice-cream).

3.8/5.0 and Sara's official thumbs up for unconventional films

[Sources: IMDB]

ah the wonders of the internet.

So about a month ago I watched this movie. It's called Hugo (it won a bunch of Oscars last year). Well I finally got around to watching it. Let me tell you, it's amazing. I main storyline is more geared for smaller children, but if you are as into film as I am (which is a lot obviously) then the secondary plot will make you cry an ocean of feels.

So what brought on this random post, you ask? Well I was on Gizmodo (because i don't pay attention in class, i read tech blogs because i'm that cool) and this article came up which also makes for a killer physics read (again, i'm being cool). I instantly recognized the cover photo as being from Hugo so I clicked on it. Once you get through all the totally cool physics stuff there are a few links at the bottom with their image sources. I clicked the one that went with the image, and it took me to this page. Now, I was not aware when I watched Hugo that George Melies was a real person who actually did film a movie called A Trip to the Moon, so this was huge. The secondary plot of Hugo revolves around this old film. I don't wanna give too much away, but I will say that the entire time I kept wishing that this was real. That this man had existed and had given so much hope to the world. AND HE DID! I literally screamed when I found this. PLUS at the bottom of the page is a link to the actual film A Trip to the Moon.

I did find a better quality one, that had been hand colored and is really good. But I like the music on the first link better.

Anyway, if you haven't watched Hugo, seriously, you have no reason not to. It's on Netflix streaming so it's super-easy. It's beautiful, especially if you have a passion for old film.

Oh, and I'll be writing more about Mr. Melies in future posts!!!

<3 super excited sara :DDD



[Image, Gizmodo, A Life in Equinox, Commodium via: Youtube]

Movie Monday?

I know we do a music Monday...but I just watched a wonderful movie(ish) this weekend. Maybe I'll do this on the weekends since I never have anything to post over that time. But for right now humor me because this thing was fantastic beyond all compare.

I just watched the Swedish version of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Wow. It was fantastic. Coming from someone who's read the book, this movie was way better than the english version. Don't get me wrong, I liked that version. But the Swedish version is much more in depth.

The acting was perfect in my opinion. Mikael was less pouty (slightly less badass but hey) and most of the backstories were present. Lisbeth was amazing in my opinion (fun fact: she was the gypsy in Sherlock Holmes 2!!!) While graphically, the shots weren't quite as impressive as the english version I think it told a much better story. It also helps that it's no so much a movie as a mini-series so they have a lot more time to tell the entire story.

I'm super excited to watch the next two :D

Also, I got 3/4 done with Django: Unchained but I had to stop because of the emotional exhaustion (that movie is 3 hours of insanity). It's amazing. It's terrifying and funny and horrible and emotional and I had to stop because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh or cry so I was doing both.
And if DiCaprio doesn't get an Oscar for that performance I will freak out.

There's one scene that I think is the best in the movie. There are two black men wrestling on the floor (and this match is to the death btw) and DiCaprio is sitting on a couch watching them. It's really just like a dog fight, but with humans. And Leo is cheering and freaking out like a guy watching his favorite baseball team in a close game. You want to laugh because it's just so funny, but infront of Leo are these two men beating each other. And it's horrid to watch. DeCaprio's performance through the entire movie is this brilliant. He funny, and ironic. You want to laugh with him because he's just so ridiculous. Yet, all around him there are terrible things happening that are caused by him.
I think it's definitely Oscar worthy.

Life of Pi

(source: http://imgfave.com/view/2766825)

So...as promised, I finally got myself over here to write the review of the movie. (Where's the applause????)

The movie starts out with a very Zen, calming traditional Indian song. It seems to have a religious hymnal quality to it (and I wouldn't be surprised if it does, because in large the movie deals with a lot of religious themes). Accompanying the music are the scores, with the opening scene of a zoo. The lettering mirrors the zoo scenes, such as if a monkey is dangling from a tree branch, one of the letters will dangle too. I believe that it's such attention to minute details that makes this movie truly outstanding. It just shows the viewers how much the director cared and invested.

While the story in the movie (and I won't spoil it for you, don't worry) isn't the most thought-provoking, it's definitely unique. After all, how many movies are made about animals and humans together, ending with the human(s) finding God? Not many. So yes, this movie is one of a kind.

Now, onto the filming: boy, isn't it one of the most beautiful movies ever made. Everything in this movie is seen from an unconventional angle, so very common scenes end up looking absolutely refreshing. There is one scene about a swimming pool, where it's shot from beneath the water, and the water is so clear you can see the sky and buildings above it, all blue and crystal and rippled. It is just breathtaking. 

Seeing these amazing scenes totally made me wonder. I'd think, if I can view such and such like this, what else can I see differently? 

I think that's my most valuable lesson from the movie: try to see things differently.

UPDATE: I made a playlist with Pi's Lullaby in it. *cough cough* Sara check it out. http://8tracks.com/ness428/in-the-depth-of-the-labyrinth