7 posts tagged “movie”

I saw DISTRICT 9 last night, a new sci-fi film with a touch of horror presented by Peter Jackson and directed by newcomer Neill Blomkamp.  I thought it was excellent...very refreshing and intriguing compared to many of the recent sci-fi/action movies that have come out recently, most of which contain more mindless, grandiose special effects-filled battles than real plot and substance.  DISTRICT 9 is not only entertaining and suspenseful, it presents a novel circumstance involving alien refugees that provides some serious food for thought.
It uses the aliens to bring forth questions about ethics, morality, discrimination, exploitation, and racial tension.  Their situation is eerily reminiscent of that of some human groups in the world today, whose predicaments are frequently overlooked by the media and international community.  The concept of using aliens as stand-ins to discuss real life occurrences in society has been used before by other sci-fi productions (e.g. Star Trek), but DISTRICT 9 puts a new twist on the genre and invokes a very personal, emotional struggle within the conflict between humans and aliens.  So long as you don't mind a bit of splatter and gore, I'd definitely strongly recommend this movie!

This is kinda late on my part since the news came out in the spring, but I just found out Murakami Haruki's famous novel Norwegian Wood (a favourite of mine) is being made into a movie!  Aaand Toru, the lead role, will be played by Matsuyama Kenichi~! <3  UWAAAAAAHHHH, I'M SO EXCITED! XD  I can't wait to see it when it's released fall 2010!

Norwegian Wood is one of Murakami's best novels and I think Matsuyama Kenichi is absolutely perfect to play the shy, serious character of Toru.  He's brilliant at expressing that kind of emotional role with deep issues hanging over the character and lots of inner struggle.  I believe of any young actor, he is ideal for this piece and will certainly be able to do the story justice.

The three limited edition versions of Versailles' new major debut single 'Ascendead Master' each came with one part of a little movie the band made to go with the theme of the song.  Of course, it involves vampires, eternal life, roses, and the "descendants of the rose" story that they've created as their fictional historical background.  Happily, and somewhat against my expectations, the movie isn't too bad!  It's good quality and well shot, with actors who do a fairly decent job of their performances, and though all the members appear, they don't make any overly forced attempts to act much in the film themselves (since let's face it, acting is generally not a strong point for rockers >_<).  Only Kamijo has actual lines (in English) that he says himself, though Jasmine You has a creepy English voiceover to speak for him (by the way, I found the role he was cast in ironically funny XP).  Kamijo's English is...interesting, and rather heavily accented, but I suppose it works with his role as a vampire. ^_^;

So, overall I'm glad to see Versailles were smart with their choices in directing this little movie, though they had a hell of a team of people working on this, as you can see from the credits.  The short plot has some holes and isn't the most believable story ever, since the length is limited and was obviously created to fit around the concepts of the single, but is surprisingly well-thought out for what it is, and you have to give them credit for putting in this much effort and trying to make it somewhat deep.  Though the movie neared the borders of ridiculousness in the third section with all the drama at the press conference [the part from 3:00 is epic lulz], I didn't find it horribly silly or trite overall, so props to Versailles for keeping it relatively sensible.  I think of the many mini-movies made by visual-kei bands over the years (e.g. Malice Mizer, An Cafe, alice nine.), this is perhaps the best.  Here are parts one, two and three.

Last night I saw the new Star Trek movie!  It was quite good, and I enjoyed it more than I expected to.  My dad has always been a fan of Star Trek (and sci-fi in general), so I've seen every tv series and pretty much all the movies too because it'd just be on at home or we'd go to the theaters when a new one came out.  Personally I've never been too crazy about Star Trek, though it has its merits and interesting moments.  But I have to say I actively enjoyed watching this film, and found it entertaining, well-made, and funny.  Perhaps because I like the idea of going "back before it all began", or maybe because it was more unpredictable since the characters' relationships and roles hadn't been firmly established yet (not to mention there were a few twists that complicated the plot and timeline).

In a way I think this movie has done for the Star Trek universe what 'Casino Royale' did for the James Bond franchise.  Of course they're a bit different, but like 'Casino Royale', it (sort of) goes back to the start, brings in fresh, young actors, and shakes up our perceptions of the characters a bit, creating a more exciting, revitalized, and cool rendition of the Star Trek world.  I thought the casting was excellent.  The new actors really got the characters down, and managed to bring out their unique quirks and mannerisms just like the actors from the original series.  I can't claim to be an expert on Start Trek by any stretch of the imagination, but I've watched enough to know what the characters are like, what their backgrounds are, and the general timeline/features of the Star Trek universe.  It's clear that this movie was intended not only for the die-hard fans, but for people not so familiar with the franchise.  Though I'm sure there are aspects of the film that could complicate things or possibly conflict somehow with the various other tv shows/movies, I think overall they made it in a very clever way to get around that and please everybody.
 
I suppose with a fanbase as big as Star Trek's they had to make sure they were doing this right, or else risk the film flopping and being bashed mercilessly.  ^_^  It seems they intend to make a sequel, so I wonder if they'll manage to keep all of the new cast and the key people that worked on the movie this time around...I think they have enough talent to pull it off, but whether the plot would hold up or just rehash already extant works is another thing.  However, the director and writers were certainly smart to free themselves from canon, because it allows more creative flexibility, something this franchise may need if it wants to renew itself and gain new fans.

On Friday everybody went on a trip to Mt. Hiei, and visited Enryaku-ji.  It was really cool since this mountain temple is an important Japanese Buddhist site, and has a long history including the incident where Nobunaga burned the whole mountain to get rid of the temple.  We rode a cable car to get up the mountain and walked around the temple complexes and there was a great view of Kyoto and Lake Biwa from the top.  After returning, me and some friends went to a Thai restaurant, which was tasty and a nice change of pace. 

Then today I went to the movies with a friend and we saw a film adapted from a popular manga called イキガミ (=Ikigami) that starred Matsuda Shota [who some might recognize for his role in the drama Hana Yori Dango as one of the F4 boys].  Anyway, the movie was longer than I expected, but good.  It was very emotional and sad but had an intriguing story and good acting.
 
For lunch today I finally tried Mos Burger, the popular Japanese burger chain (and of course, to start off with I ordered a teriyaki burger).  I hardly ever eat fast food, but I have to admit it was really quite good, not super greasy like American fast food burger places, and the atmosphere of the place was much more pleasant.  Plus, they even bring your order to the table and everything.  I'm definitely planning on going back sometime to try the other items on the menu. : )

Today I went to see Miyazaki Hayao's new film 'Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea' with a Japanese friend from my Kansai art class.  Basically it's about a goldfish named Ponyo, but I won't give any details because I wouldn't want to spoil the plot.  The movie was very cute, but I think I prefer his previous films.  I feel like 'Ponyo' is more suited for kids, with a simpler story than say, 'Princess Mononoke' or 'Spirited Away'.  But it's Miyazaki, so of course it was excellent and well worth seeing. 

The two of us also had lunch together at a really cool soba restaurant with a nice, traditional atmosphere and delicious noodles.  It was my first time eating real soba in Japan...and it was so good I think I'll go back again if I can remember where the place was. ^_^'   But seriously, cold soba on a hot day is like the best thing ever.

I saw the trailer for the film 'Detroit Metal City' the other day, which comes out in theatres on Aug. 23rd in Japan.  It looks like it'll be really silly and funny, so maybe I'll check it out if I can.  The movie is an adaptation of the gag manga of the same name, and its premise is basically this:

"Negishi Soichi leaves his family's farm in Oita Prefecture for the bright lights of Tokyo. There he swaps his taste in Swedish pop for totally out-of-character death metal, taking on the role of vocalist in the trio Detroit Metal City and adopting the name Johannes Krauser II." [taken from wikipedia]

What actually made me notice this movie is the fact that Matsuyama Kenichi plays Negishi/Krauser! (Matsuyama is the actor who played L in the Death Note live action films, btw.)  You wouldn't think it from his performance in Death Note, but Matsuyama is very good at playing dorky, kind, happy sorts of characters (he once played an otaku like this in a drama, btw ^_^), so he seems perfect for the role of Negishi.  Just from his appearance in the trailer...the clothes, haircut, etc., it looks like he'll be really hilarious as this Swedish pop-loving, geeky character.  I almost couldn't believe it was really him playing Krauser too, what with all the makeup and the menacing, evil attitude/voice of the character (plus the fact that Matsuyama's typically a shy, quiet sort of guy) so I guess that just goes to show what a good actor he is.
The shibuya/oshare-kei vs. akuma-kei thing is very funny and sort of like a multiple personality dynamic for the main character...it forms a big part of the story from what I can tell.  Not to mention the various ways the series pokes fun at the two genres, like DMC's lyrics being comically obscene and ridiculous, and having Negishi always singing about flowers and love, etc.  The representation of DMC's fans is also quite amusing, especially when they clash with Negishi's oshare side.  'Detroit Metal City' looks like the sort of fun movie that's totally ridiculous but hilarious in its insanity...just my type of humour. : )

* random fact: Apparently, Gene Simmons is in the movie...he performs with DMC or something. o_0