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Reviews
Takeshis' (2005)
brilliant ideas, little cohesion
The film has a lot of potential, with tons of funny and impressive scenes and situations, characters who are made complete and alive with only a few brush strokes. It starts off as a wry satirical depiction of Japan's TV land and "Jollywood," and becomes increasingly surrealistic as it moves along (I'm using the word moves very loosely, as I couldn't see much plot development). It's Takeshi's 8 1/2, referencing a lot of the director/performer/producer's earlier work and showing his agony as artist and celebrity... There were also references to several classics (Scorcese's Taxi Driver comes to mind, for one) I'm only giving it a 4, as the last third of the film falls apart in a jumble of disjointed scenes, some of which remain too static too long.
I felt that Takeshi's contained enough stuff for several enjoyable movies, but a lot of it went to waste and was repeated ad nauseam. I think viewers could have a better experience with this movie if they were prepared to sit back and relax, enjoying eye candy and little bits thrown on the screen. To expect a follow-able plot would be a big mistake!
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
Refreshing, energetic, fun
Describing the plot won't do it justice - it's so much more than yet another "putting a band together" movie. Every character is believable, and comes with a story making her or him alive.
There're laughs a-plenty, and at other times I found myself sitting there with a big smile on my face, from pure joy. And yet I wouldn't call it a comedy, as the laughs are not really central to the movie.
And then there's music, full of raw energy and quite memorable - many in the audience left the theater humming and whistling the title song.
I guess the best thing about this film is that it is real, there's nothing contrived or false in it that I could see. Generally I have no problem suspending disbelief and accepting the (lack of) internal logic of the world created in a movie. With Linda Linda Linda there was no need for that. It was easy to embrace the world of a high school festival and enjoy every minute of the screen time.
Hmmm... I think director Nobuhiro Yamashita's other films could well be worth watching.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Pretty awful, really
The movie has its moments - mostly visual sequences some of which range from impressive to stunning. The jokes are there alright, and I, along with the audience, had a few good laughs. The story mostly falls apart - it's more of a series of vignettes than a narrative. Which is not really a problem - the Hitchhiker's Guide in any format has other things than plot to recommend itself.
The worst thing that put me off was the romantic story line involving Arthur Dent and Trillian, and to some extent, Zaphod Beeblebrox. There was a complete lack of chemistry between Arthur and Trillian, and development of this plot line was to me totally implausible. Most sequences with Trillian in them made me roll my eyes and want to leave (has only happened once in the past three years, while watching Elektra). It would have been a much better movie - if not more coherent, at least more true to itself, and generally holding together more soundly, if only the love story element was more subdued. But no, the filmmakers had to bring in the "human interest" and harp on it at every opportunity. I think the intention here was to broaden the appeal of the film beyond the Hitchhiker fan base, but - at least to me - it also made the whole thing vapid, rather tedious, and plain embarrassing to watch.
Another reviewer (possibly on this site) has mentioned that the Disney Plot Police had a hand in making the film more consistent with their idea of family entertainment. I think the hands and minds behind making and implementing this decision have the "reverse Midas touch" - turning everything they touch (including gold) into hogwash. I didn't believe that the "Disney approach" could ruin the Hitchhiker for me. I was wrong.
By the way, the audience still gave a round of applause at the end - so it could be just me.