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Reviews
Hollywood Adventures (2015)
Unexpectedly enjoyable B-movie that never takes itself too seriously
I caught this on the plane from Dubai to LA. Not sure if I was just sleep-deprived and delirious or just needed to watch something light-hearted after having my spirit demolished after watching Sicario, but Hollywood Adventures unexpectedly ended up being one of the best movies I've seen in a while.
The visual gags made me laugh, the tongue-in-cheek humor kept a smile on my face, and the likability of the main actors kept me engaged. Zhao Wei is charismatic and plays her character with a dynamic personality, while Huang Xiaoming looks like he's having a lot of fun while playing the straight man. Dawei as the wise-cracking sidekick and his self-aware jokes about movies (including the one he's in) were icing on the cake. Props to producer Justin Lin for helping to get this movie, a collaboration between US and Chinese cinema, made- he's also probably responsible for improving the car scenes, given his experience on the Fast and the Furious movies.
Don't expect Hollywood Adventures to be The Godfather, but if you're in the mood for a ridiculous, entertaining movie, expect to be pleasantly surprised.
Kaze tachinu (2013)
Engrossing, one of Miyazaki's Best
*Warning- Spoilers* Where to start. The seemingly effortless animation, the trademark Studio Ghibli expressions and style, the side characters (i.e. Jiro's boss, Mr. Kurokawa) so full of life, the background characters who genuinely seem to have personalities of their own, the juxtaposition of classical music with the destruction of Japan, the character study of an altruistic, idealistic man who sees his efforts ultimately go up in flames- The Wind Rises doesn't fit neatly in the typical three act structure of most films, yet despite this lack of the usual narrative arc, it's completely engrossing from start to finish. Though I would still rank Spirited Away as Miyazaki's crowning achievement, this film is, in a way, in a different category from Spirited Away, and many of the other Ghibli movies, for that matter. It lacks any blatantly fantastical character and because of this deals with mature themes such as regret and moral ambiguity in a way that feels much more piercing.
That final scene is an unbelievable mix of tragedy and optimism. It's implied that Japan is in ruins thanks to Jiro's work, his wife has succumbed to tuberculosis, and the 10 best years of Jiro's life are behind him. Yet "live," Jiro's deceased wife urges him. And so he does, joining his Italian hero for drinks.
The Longest Week (2014)
Unexpected surprise- strengths outweigh the flaws
"The girls that I like as human beings I'm not sexually attracted to, and the ones that I am sexually attracted to I don't particularly like as human beings." Such is the type of quote that characterizes the dialogue of "The Longest Week," a movie I watched without ever having read anything about (which is pretty rare for me). Despite (or perhaps because of) that fact, I was pleasantly surprised by "The Longest Week," and found its running narration- complete with character descriptions such as "an anti-social socialist" and "closet conversationalist"- bantery dialogue between the two male leads, and overall visual style to be endearing rather than simply derivative as its critics classify it.
I also enjoyed the film's flirtations with being "meta"- the novel published by the film's protagonist is actually the same story as the film, and references are made to Fitzgerald and Wharton.
That being said, the film assuredly has its weaknesses- namely that we never feel fully connected to the romantic leads, and are thus unable to empathize with them, and that the narrative structure/arc doesn't quite feel fleshed out/complete enough.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Resonant
It's all about the verisimilitude. Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those rare movies where all aspects of the filmmaking fit perfectly into the overall direction of the movie with no element calling undue attention to itself. Bathed in a hazy glow, without any rapid-MTV style editing, the film feels like it was actually created in the '80s. The characters have their foibles while still remaining relatable- but more than that, they feel authentic. I didn't feel it was totally emblematic of my high school experience as others felt, but the themes and lessons of the film strongly resonate with that time in life.
Ultimately, I found myself deeply invested in the characters not because of any of the standard screen writing tricks to build connection with the characters, but simply because I felt like I knew them like I know my friends.
Les Misérables (2012)
Solid overall, with some hard-hitting sequences
Having never seen the stage version of Les Miserables and having read limited reviews of the film, I honestly didn't know what to expect from Tom Hooper's Les Miserables. After experiencing the film earlier today, I can say it was a tremendous experience.
I felt the first thirty minutes or so were the strongest of the entire film, plunging us into the despair and conflicts of various characters with adroit narrative thrust so that not a moment feels wasted or redundant. Two of the three (in my opinion) gut-wrenching musical numbers come in this section- Anne Hathaway's "I Dreamed a Dream" (which, if I recall correctly, was filmed largely in a single take) and Hugh Jackman's "Who Am I?". I can only speculate but, compared to the stage version, being able to take in every facial nuance in the film version seems to make the moments of crescendo and soaring strings pack so much more of an emotional punch. Both Hathaway and Jackman also deliver top-notch performances, and it's hard to imagine anyone else fitting the role of Valjean as well as Jackman.
Thematically, the film also shines in this section. Here we are introduced to the major theme of forgiveness for the first time, through Fantine we tap into maternal bonds as well as disillusionment, and Valjean's struggles explore the conflict between not only public and private selves but also reconciling our own personal interests with what is morally correct.
It seemed curious to me that the bleakest moments of the film (at least for me) came at the beginning, which made it impossible for the film to regain that same sense of gravitas as the story progressed. While the remainder of the film was certainly entertaining, it felt both less emotionally involving and less taut than the beginning.
Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen provided some much appreciated comic relief, but their antics seemed oddly out of place in this film at times, and often left me feeling as though I were watching Sweeney Todd again. Russell Crowe, while certainly no vocal powerhouse, did a fine job as Javert, although I found his final number to be oddly anti-climactic. The younger actors gave fine performances as well, with Samantha Barks demonstrating the most potential and Eddie Redmayne surprisingly delivering the final gut-wrenching number, "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." The thematic exploration of the rise and fall of idealism makes this sequence especially poignant.
Artistically, Les Miserables is a feast. The production design is top-notch, with meticulously crafted sets and props. Makeup and costumes are definitely noteworthy as well. Many of the shots of Paris have an artificially beautiful aesthetic to them, and every crane shot adds a sense of beauty and scope to the piece. Editorially, the film makes takes advantage of cuts to characters in different locations or concurrent events which would not have been possible in the stage version of Les Mis.
One minor complaint from a filmmaking perspective was cinematographer Danny Cohen's method of framing characters. Conventional cinematography typically frames actors so that their faces are demarcating either the left or right third of the screen, with the camera positioned so that their subjects are turned towards the remaining two thirds of the screen. In Les Miserables (though thankfully not to the same extent as in The King's Speech), a few times the characters are positioned so that they are facing the other direction- the edge of the screen. Though I imagine the filmmakers were attempting to add visual flourish to the film, I found this technique oddly jarring, drawing me out of the film and making me conscious I was watching a movie.
The film does regain some levity in its rousing finale, which ties the film together in plot, theme, and song. Despite the minor issues I had with the film, I found it to be a hard-hitting and rousing work of art. I could probably sum it up best by noting that this is the first movie I've been to where even old men were wiping their teary eyes by the time the credits rolled.
Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (2011)
A slow-building feast of moral ambiguity and dramatic turns
*Spoilers Contained Within*
The first hour or so of this film had me a bit skeptical of the high praise lavished on this film- the plot seemed to trudge along with no real twists or surprises. Yet director Asghar Farhadi is no slouch and knows exactly why every scene plays out for the exact duration that it does, and the pay-offs come in the second hour.
Still, this isn't just a typical suspense film where the trick lies in the "reveal" of the third act, as those reveals are only one piece of the puzzle. Indeed, my impression is that the moral ambiguity brimming under the surface as a result of the narrative twists and turns is the real substance of the film. No character is without his or her foibles- even the relatively innocent children make decisions that arguably make complicated matters even more labyrinthine. Because of this, the viewer can never truly be sure which character to side with and I suspect this is one reason why it was initially hard for me to become engrossed in the movie. That the filmmakers managed to create an engaging story in which each character makes complicated/morally tenuous decisions for completely understandable reasons is a major feat- I can think of only a handful of movies lacking a protagonist to "root for," while still utterly engaging their audience, and even fewer still which do so successfully.
There's a lot to digest after the film, though no big action scenes or Oscar-baity breakdowns. The issues raised may be indicative of the issues facing Iranian society, but can be generalized to reflect societal issues in any community globally. The acting is also top-notch and not overly showy and I feel it benefits from not featuring any recognizable actors (to an American audience, at any rate) in more fully immersing the viewer.
This isn't a knockout film that wows and dazzles, but it is an intricately built work that deftly pulls viewers' allegiances from one character to another in an incredibly understated way.