MOVIE REVIEW: Park Chan-wook’s OLDBOY (2003)

It’s summer for me now, and it’s time for Netflixing! Or well, a little bit of it anyway, since I’m still going to summer school.

Oldboy title screen

Synopsis and spoiler-free analysis:

Oldboy (2003) is a South Korean movie directed by Park Chan-wook. A very highly acclaimed movie, Oldboy is a thriller-mystery about a man named Oh Dae-su (played by Choi Min-suk), who had been imprisoned by an unknown enemy, and was framed for a crime that he did not commit. After fifteen years, Dae-su is released, but is still continually plagued by his captor.  He spends his freedom trying to figure out who captured him and why. The film Oldboy is based on the manga of the same name by Marley Carib and Nobuaki Minegushi, and has also been remade by Spike Lee in 2013.

Intriguing and unpredictable:

The first word I would use to describe Oldboy is intriguing. It’s a crazy thriller-mystery, and it is rightfully labelled as that. There is not a dull moment in Oldboy, and if there is, the purpose of it is to let the audience catch up with what they just witnessed. Oldboy keeps you fixated on figuring out the mystery along with our protagonist – but even so, the plot is not the only thing that keeps you captivated. The visuals used in this film are very attractive – but we’ll talk about that some more later. The second word I would use to describe this unpredictable. This film is provocative both in terms of the plot, and in terms of events used to build the general mood of the film. There are quite a few moments where your eyes will go wide with horror or disbelief. But to maintain the unpredictable-ness of this film, the less I say the better it is. So I’ll just leave it at that for now.

“Uh, what did I just see..?”

Visually attractive (but not “pretty”):

Like I said before, the film is very attractive – but not necessarily “pretty”. I love the style of Oldboy. I would say the overall mood that the world of Oldboy takes on would be described as “gritty”, which was pretty necessary and expected from a plot like that. It wasn’t “gritty” the way American films are gritty though – there were actually a lot of bright colours and fun effects and camera tricks used. It looked cool and current despite coming out over ten years ago, and despite the graphics not being super great thirteen years ago. As mentioned, the film uses provocative imagery that is visually appealing in terms of “art” and whatnot, but maybe not so psychologically attractive. They’re beautiful, inventive shots – but the subject matter is quite taboo. It seems as if the beautiful images (and beautiful women) are used to juxtapose the events of the story which aren’t so pretty. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

One very pretty and moody shot from Oldoy

“The Last Waltz” (and the soundtrack in general):

I just have to mention “The Last Waltz” in particular, at least for a little section. “The Last Waltz” (composed by Jo Yeong-wook) is a song on the soundtrack for Oldboy that was played throughout the film, particularly in scenes with both the main female character, Mi-do (played by Kang Hye-jung), and the protagonist. The song, while romantic sounding, also somewhat unnerving and incredibly heart-wrenching. You can tell that there was emphasis placed on the soundtrack – it’s quite excellent throughout the whole thing. “The Last Waltz”, with its haunting beauty, is definitely my favourite from the movie. I’ve been listening to it almost everyday since my first viewing of the movie last week.

The lovely female lead, Mi-do, played by Kang Hye-jung

Recommended for:

Okay. Let me just say that this movie is not for everyone. I think I say that a lot (maybe that’s just a common theme with the movies that I watch), but I mean it this time. It’s very graphic – both in terms of sexual content and violence. Some might even call it excessive. It’s definitely not a family film – and I mean this both in terms of the writing and the visuals. If you’re squeamish, stay away (I also feel like I have said this in at least five reviews). And while this is an action film, I don’t think the action is where you’ll be getting your thrills from. This film is not a conventional action film at all.

So who is this for? Well, while this film is not the most conventional action film, it’s a damn good thriller. Oldboy keeps you interested and guessing about the big reveal right until it happens – and it’s an unexpected one. Aside from that, this film is must-watch for people who love artistic films.

Yeah I don’t know.

Spoilers section:

Scroll down to the TLDR and ratings section if you haven’t watched the movie yet.

Could you live with it? Would you?:

I guess this is the most interesting thing that I want to know after watching this movie. It’s not exactly “fun” to think about, though. Knowing what you know about the situation that our main characters are in, would you choose to live with the truth? Or would you choose to alter your memory, as Dae-su chose? I think when I first thought about that question, right after watching the movie, I was like, “Hell yeah, I’d alter my memory. Screw living with the truth.” But when I really thought about it, I realized that Dae-su would have had to come to this decision in the “real” world before altering his memory. So knowing that, do you think you would still make the decision to alter your memory? I mean, you’d be committing the taboo for the rest of your life as a result of your memory alteration – is it truly better that you don’t know that you are committing a taboo, but nonetheless committing one?

Side note: this was not a good movie to watch with your sibling. Which I did.

I mean, they were kinda cute.

TLDR; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People who love visually attractive films, people who like a good thriller, people looking for something truly unique
Not recommended for: People who are squeamish, people who do not like films with excessive mature (sexual and violent) subject matter

Visuals: 9/10 – Oldboy looks great – many of the scenes were artfully and skillfully shot, and I love the overall tone of the movie that was greatly enhanced by the visuals. The only thing was that not all the special effects were great – but hey, we’re talking about a movie that was made over 10 years ago.
Sound: 8.5-9/10 – Oldboy not only looks great, but sounds great. I will forever be haunted by the song “The Last Waltz”; you are sure to notice the care that was put into the score of this movie.
Overall enjoyment: 7.5-8/10 – Oldboy was a really, really interesting watch. Albeit strange and grotesque at times, it is guaranteed to keep you intrigued until the very end – if you can stomach it, that is. It might not be a movie you’ll wanna watch over and over again (because it can be a little mentally straining), but you may not have to right away – I haven’t stopped thinking about it since watching it.

MOVIE REVIEW: Quentin Tarantino’s RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)

After watching this movie, I feel like I understand so many more pop culture and Reddit references. Here’s my review:

The entire main cast of Reservoir Dogs

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Quentin Tarantino directed, wrote, and starred in his 1992 film, Reservoir Dogs – a movie about a group of six thieves (all of whom are under the aliases “Mr. (Colour)”), who are in partnership to rob a diamond store. The story follows a somewhat non-linear format, where we flash between the present time and the past, used to illustrate the characters’ backgrounds. The present story line follows the events after their failed diamond robbery, inside a warehouse; a member of the group has been shot and is on the verge of death, some members are no where to be found, and some suspect that there is a rat among their group.

Digression, Part I:

Digression, if you need to be reminded of the definition, is “a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing” (thanks, Google). And this is what I consider to be the best part of any Quentin Tarantino movie, and thus why it has to be the first thing I talk about. In Reservoir Dogs, like in his other movies, you will find some random conversion that doesn’t seem to progress the plot of the movie at all, and doesn’t have to do anything with the movie in general (besides maybe for some character building). It’s what separates storytelling through written forms from storytelling through visual forms – you can spend as much time as you want on something that doesn’t progress a story in a book, but generally not so much in a movie. That being said, the digression done in Tarantino movies are excellent and pretty much necessary – they give his movies the quality and character that everyone who watches his movies know and love. More about the digressions can be found below for those who have watched the movie.

Pretty much my favourite scene in the movie.

Visuals and sound:

So starting off with the visuals, I wouldn’t say there was anything awfully adventurous done with the camera itself, but the way they edited the film to incorporate their back stories is interesting. It seems to be a reoccurring theme that Tarantino would use for some of his movies following Reservoir Dogs. There are a few scenes here and there that looked visually cool, but there really isn’t anything interesting about the visuals aside from the flashback editing, in my opinion.

The sound is more interesting. Reservoir Dogs has as reoccurring theme throughout the movie that involves a not so enthusiastic radio DJ. And with this, that allows the movie to display music that was popular at the time, and thus, allows for some further insight into what the characters are like. It illuminates the fact that they are humans “just like us” and the fact that they are dangerous criminals.

Just dancin’ ~

Recommended for:

I think this movie is really funny, and it is just an enjoyable film for anyone who wants to watch something humourous that doesn’t rely on succumbing to toilet humour. It’s a thoughtful kind of funny – the kind of funny that hits you when you don’t really expect it to, or the kind of funny that lies with subtlty. The flow of the movie is very natural like that, and it keeps the characters interesting. I only wish that there was more of that.

So as a theme of Tarantino’s movies, this movie is more than a “little” bloody. Squeamish? Yeah, I don’t recommend it. I’m not terribly squeamish with blood and gore, but a couple of scenes had me fidgeting in my seat.

I will also say that this movie absolutely does not pass the Bechdel Test (if you don’t know what that is, check out this handy new page that I made), considering that there is not a single significant female character in the entire movie. In fact, I can only recall one significant character who is not a Caucasian male. Reservoir Dogs has a lot going for it – diversity is not one of them. I won’t open a Pandora’s Box on this discussion right now (because there is a lot to discuss on this subject – they are whole university courses); Tarantino probably wasn’t trying to promote the understanding of social issues with this film, but the lack of diversity is worth noting and worth thinking about while watching this movie (or any movie, for that matter).

Now go watch it if you haven’t, okay? OKAY??

Specific analyses (spoilers ahead):

Scroll down to the TLDR/ratings section to see the final verdict if you don’t want to see any spoilers (or if you simply do not care).

Digression, Part II:

The best digression in the movie is (and I’ll be surprised if you don’t agree with me) is the one they open the movie with – where Mr. Pink talks about his philosophy with tipping. Right off the bat, Mr. Pink is set up to be the “funny guy” of the movie. His name being “Mr. Pink”, in itself, is a set up for a joke (and which they do use for a comedic scene later on in the movie). But the tipping thing – when Mr. Pink lays out his arguments on why he doesn’t tip, you have to admit he makes some pretty good and even valid points, even if you disagree with him. And Steve Buscemi delivers and embodies Mr. Pink so, so naturally; his perfect delivery turned something that could have possibly been offensive into something that was funny and relatable for everyone watching. I guarantee everyone agreed with his a little, even if they thought he was being ridiculous.

Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink

Who did it?:

Was it obvious for you who did it? I was interested in the beginning, and I kept tabs throughout to see if my predictions were right. Did it matter? No, not really – or at least the mystery portion wasn’t what kept me interested in the movie. At first I wanted to know who it was that did it (and it became more and more obvious as the movie went on), but soon, I just found myself being more interested in the characters themselves. I really wanted to get to know them; in the end, we never got to see the backstories of some characters – but that’s okay too, because that wasn’t what they were there for. Reservoir Dogs is a movie that you can watch solely because of interesting characters – no one had to be dying for it to be interesting.

Stare down between Mr. White and Mr. Pink

TLDR; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People looking for thoughtful humour, people looking for a movie with interesting characters and funny conversations
Not recommended for: People who can’t handle any gore or violence, people wanting a movie with more diversity

Visuals: 7/10 – Although this movie doesn’t do much that is interesting in terms of camera work, the way the movie is edited and cut to go from flash back to the present time, etc, keeps the visuals of the movie interesting.
Sound: 7.5-8/10 – I like the way music was used in this movie to give more character to both the people who inhabit this movie and to the setting. It really paints a picture of what these criminals may have been listening to at a time like this, and it makes these characters almost approachable – which is an odd thing to think to about.
Overall enjoyment: 7.5/10 – Reservoir Dogs may not be the most exciting movie with the camera or with effects, but that doesn’t keep it from being intriguing. You’re guaranteed to find characters and lines in the movie that will really stick with you. If you’re a fan of Tarantino movies, you’ll really notice how the styles of his later movies reflect the style of this movie.

MOVIE REVIEW: Wong Kar-wai’s FALLEN ANGELS (1998)

After reviewing a few animes, I thought I’d go back to reviewing a movie or two. You know, for variety.

Michelle Reis as the Wong Chi-ming’s (Leon Lai’s character) partner/agent.

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Here I am with another film from Wong Kar-wai. Fallen Angels (Chinese: 墮落天使), released in 1995, is a “loose sequel” if you will, to Chungking Express. Although it does not link to the stories of Chunking Express, it started out as the “third story” to Chungking Express – but as you can tell, it ultimately became it’s own story instead of being attached to Chungking Express. It still however follows a similar style (of camera work, editing, and overall cinematography) and themes.

Anyway, enough about that – Fallen Angels follows two main stories; the first story is about Leon Lai’s character, Wong Chi-ming, a disillusioned and tired killer-for-hire, who is contemplating leaving the business, and therefore leaving his partner. His partner/agent (who remains unnamed for the entirety of the movie), played by Michelle Reis, wrestles with her feelings about his wants, and her own feelings about him. They had been partners in crime (literally) for a long time now, and possibility of change creates instability in both of their mental states. Meanwhile, in the second story, Takeshi Kaneshiro plays He Zhiwu, a mute, who has a very busy-body, to say the least. From falling in love, to making new friends, to opening up several businesses on his own at night, Zhiwu is a sight to behold.

Interesting, but alienating characters:

As with all of my favourite Wong Kar-wai films, this one has really interesting characters which really hold the story together, and is the main reason why I like this story. Needless to say, Reis’ character and Lai’s character, Wong Chi-ming, are bad-asses. They’re both emotionally-detached, cool-headed, and usually logical thinkers. They’re the definition of “cool”, clad in their nonchalantly fashionable outfits and smoking their cigarettes. Kaneshiro’s character, Zhiwu, is not as “cool”, but he is so dynamic and fun, and honestly makes for the most amusing scenes in the movie. His parts are definitely the funniest parts of the movie.

But the things that make them so intriguing as characters also make the characters very unrelatable. Chi-ming, is struggling with issues that we (hopefully) have never experienced. We can sympathize with him, but we don’t feel the weight of his decisions and his thoughts. Reis’ character is just ineffably cool and sexy. Her edginess, her ability to create such an impenetrable front for her feelings, her beauty – it’s a great look and a great personification of a fantasy female character, but really not relatable for most people (if she is relatable to you then you have to teach me your skills). This really leaves Zhiwu to be the most relatable, which is ridiculous, because he is ridiculous. But Zhiwu, like a lot of us, just wants to be socially accepted. I’m sure we’ve all felt that we were once a little overbearing, a little socially awkward, and that we were unable to take social cues. Zhiwu just… takes it more over the top than most people.

“Am I too close?”

Mood and style of the film:

I don’t want to talk about Chungking Express too much because I already have a review for that (here, by the way), but I don’t think you can get away from it when talking about the style of Fallen Angels.  Right off the bat, if you’ve seen Chungking Express, I think it’s pretty obvious that the style of this film is very similar. The way they filtered and colour matched this film is very similar, and creates a similar mood as Chungking Express because of it. For those of you who haven’t watch Chungking Express, I’m talking about the greenish-blue tone of this movie, that gives the film an overall look of “coolness” (in respect to colour). Mood wise, it gives the film this kind of grungy vibe without seeming dated.

However, I think Fallen Angels experimented with these elements more than Chungking Express. In Fallen Angels, you will notice a lot playing with the angle of the shots, and also a lot of playing with the fish-eye effect, probably to illustrate the confusion and mood of the characters. There was also some playing with flashbacks, which provided an interesting look into the pasts of our mysterious characters. I think they were also a lot more adventurous with the locations in this movie, and even had some scenic shots here and there. I would describe the overall mood of this film to be the feeling of yearning for romance. This feeling of yearning and loneliness is helped by the main song of the soundtrack,

Playing with the angle and the colours of the room. (I didn’t catch it initially but slightly NSFW pillow there…)

Music and sound:

(I’m only going to talk about this a bit because the review is already running a little long.) Fallen Angels makes good use of the everyday background noises (ie: the sound of the TV on in the background) and movement noises (ie: heels clicking on the ground), and it gives the world in the movie a very organic feeling to it. There are some very awesome songs they used in this movie that was great for creating the mood and for engagement – but for brevity’s sake, the most notable song used was “Forget Him” by Shirley Kwan. This illustrates the heart-wrenching aftermath of a broken relationship, and is used again and again in this movie. It goes amazingly well with the theme.

There are two kinds of people after a breakup.

Recommended for:

Obviously, this is recommended for people who really liked Chungking Express. They’re by no means the same movie, but they have similar elements that are very complementary to each other. What you SHOULDN’T do is compare this movie to Chungking Express, because I struggled with formulating a real opinion on this movie for a long time due to that. That being said, even if you haven’t watched Chungking Express, you should definitely check this movie out. I don’t know which one I could recommend to watch first (I watched Chungking Express first) but it ultimately doesn’t matter since they’re not linked. Fallen Angels has very intriguing characters and interesting premises, and is very good at evoking mood. It is an unconventional love story, that focuses more on the character in love than progressing the romance.

I wouldn’t recommend this for people who want something that is very plot driven. There is some advancement in plot in this story – but that’s not the main goal of this movie. I feel like the main goal is more to create mood and to tell interesting anecdotes about the character’s life. There’s a lot of attention focused on camera work and the little movements of out characters that ultimately don’t add to the progression of the story, and is only to develop the theme or the characters.

Happiest criminal ever.

In-depth analysis (spoilers ahead):

Scroll down to TLDR section for the ratings and summary!

Favourite story line:

As with my Chungking Express review (I know, I know, I keep referencing that movie… It’s hard not to!) I will discuss which of the two story lines is my favourite. It’s a little bit harder, because Fallen Angels connects the two stories a lot more than Chungking Express, which is a quality of Fallen Angels that I really like. Both of these stories are so unique, in different ways. Although it isn’t uncommon to have a story like the first story, the story of the two criminals who struggle with their relationship, I think Fallen Angels does a really good job with it. I liked how this movie focused on the individual character’s struggles with their feelings instead of trying to work towards progressing them as a couple – because that just isn’t a smart move, especially for people in their profession. The plot isn’t special, but the way they go about it is. This could have been another super cheesy movie where the characters just go like “But I need you…” and such, until they make love and ride off into the sunset together. Despite me saying that their characters aren’t relatable, they’re oddly realistic and true to their personalities.

The second story, as I stated above, is just a lot more funny. Zhiwu is the quirkiest of the quirky. I didn’t care much for his romance parts, but I loved watching his attempts to “bump shoulders” with the people that he met. He was so lovable to watch – but maybe not so lovable to meet (I sure wouldn’t want to be force-fed soft serve ice cream… or… huh.) He went through so many phases in the amount of screen time he had. My favourite phase of his, and the phase that resulted in my favourite scene of the movie, is his video taping scene. My favourite scene of the movie was when Zhiwu sits alone in his apartment, watching a taped video of his dad cooking. Damn near broke my heart :'(.

So, if I had to choose between the two story lines, I liked the second story line more. In a movie chiefly about creating good characters, I liked Zhiwu as the character the most.

Zhiwu watching some old recorded tapes…

 

TLDR; and ratings:

Recommended for: People who liked Chungking Express, people who pay attention to cinematography in a movie, people who like good character building
Not recommended for: People who like plot driven story lines, people who don’t care for A LOT of attention to detail in films

Visuals: 8/10 – Love the style of this film, obviously. The visuals add a lot to the entire mood of the film. This film does a lot of interesting things with the camera to compliment and convey the feelings of the characters.
Sound: 8/10 – Great, great soundtrack and great usage of everyday noises to great an organic vibe from this not so entirely “true to life” movie. The music really helped to tie this movie together.
Overall enjoyment: 8/10 – This movie is filled with intriguing and odd characters. While the premise seems entirely fictional, Fallen Angels still somehow feels realistic. It’s a lovely film to watch stylistically, and it has a very good soundtrack that helps breath realism into this movie. And although the characters aren’t very relatable, that doesn’t stop them from being very amusing to watch.

ANIME REVIEW: MONTHLY GIRLS’ NOZAKI-KUN (Season 1)

My last two reviews were quite bloody, but here’s a cuter, happier one : )

Title card for “Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun”

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, or better known by it’s Japanese name, Gekkan Shoujo Nazaki-kun (Japanese: 月刊少女野崎くん) was released in the summer of 2011, and it is an ongoing, episodic anime. The anime’s protagonist, a high school student named Sakura Chiyo, has a huge crush on Nozaki Umetarou, a boy in her class. Sakura decides to finally confess her feels for Nozaki – but unfortunately and confusingly, Nozaki confuses her confessing for a fan professing her love for him. Even more confusingly, when Sakura tries to clear the air about what she actually meant, Nozaki invites Sakura to his house – to assist him with doing the “beta” work (the black inking in mangas) ; it is there that she learns that Nozaki is actually a famous shoujo manga artist. This anime is based on the 4-koma manga of the same name.

Awesome characters and character chemistry:

The best part of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is the characters of this show – I love all of them, and I honestly “ship” all of the relationship pairings. (For those of you not familiar with the internet slang “ship”, that just means I support those characters together. Don’t judge me.) The supporting characters are some of the strongest side characters in any anime that I’ve seen. I also love all of their character designs as well, and they match their personalities perfectly (or in some cases, incongruously, which is why it’s so funny). And every character is GENUINELY hilarious. Everyone has really funny personalities, and everyone’s quirks are so perfect for the dynamics of this show. There’s not a single character that I dislike.

(Left to right) Hori, Sakura, and Mikorin bonding. SO CUTE.

Actually really funny:

Like I said above, this anime is ACTUALLY funny WITHOUT the over usage of awkward sexuality and, pardon my language, but the usage of “throwing boobs in your face” – or the male protagonist’s face. I think too much of the humour in romance animes (and this is not limited to anime – it is prevalent in all forms of the “rom-com”genre of media) revolve around sexual tension and such topics. That’s all fine – it’s just cliche and quite frankly, not that funny to me anymore because it’s predictable. But Gekkan Shoujo makes use of the other unique complexes and personality quirks of the characters so that most of the humour is not reliant on such lazy and over-played comedy tactics. It was refreshing to watch a varied style of humour for a romance.

And oh my gosh – the sound effects in this anime were SPOT ON. I loved the usage of sounds to add to the comedic atmosphere of this anime, and I believe it plays a big part in distinguishing watching a comedy and reading a comedy (ie: the manga; but we’re not here to compare them ;)).

Sakura’s face… HAHA.

An anime about drawing manga:

I think ultimately, this story works better as a manga – because it’s super meta for a manga (since it would be a manga about writing manga), but not as meta for an anime. But we’re not here to compare them. I like that it’s an anime about drawing manga, because you do get to learn the jobs of the other people who work on manga. It’s educational, but not boring.

Shots from one of the mangas in the show.

Recommended for:

Ahhhh I would recommend this to everyone! But seriously, if you’re looking for a really cute romance, that’s also really funny, and has really lovable characters, this one is awesome. The plot isn’t anything incredibly imaginative or unique, but the awesome comedy and the lovable characters of Gekkan Shoujo makes it worth the watch. The jokes actually had me laughing out loud.

But as usual, if you don’t like episodic animes, the you will probably find yourself somewhat frustrated with the plot development – but that’s kind of what you sign up for when you watch something that’s episodic. It’s really something where you have to buy into the characters and the comedy to enjoy.

So yeah – watch it to check out this stud ; )

 

In-depth analysis (spoilers ahead):

Yeah scroll down to the bottom for the final verdict! Yeah!!

All the pairings:

As stated above, I support all the pairings in here – even Mikorin’s forever alone pairing (paired with himself). Aside from Sakura and Nozaki, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hori and Kashima’s pairing. I almost love it as much as I love Sakura and Nozaki’s pairing. Hori and Kashima’s love dynamics are so adorable!! It’s so cute how they’re so oblivious to each other’s feelings and their own feelings, which causes them to do super wacky, insane things. LOVE IT.

If this doesn’t look like love to you, I don’t know what does.

The ending:

Although I feel a little trolled but the ending, I actually really loved it. It was genius to end it like that – because it maintains the status quo in a way that is so true to the character. The ending opens the viewers up to read the manga, and it doesn’t limit the anime from having a second season (which I am really hoping they do). It may have been a little painful to not have the pairs “end up” together, but they did in a way – they were all together in their respective pairs for the fireworks. That’s something right? Poor Mikorin though 😛

I know Sakura, I know.

Tldr; and ratings section:

Recommended for: people who are looking for genuinely funny romantic comedy – or a comedy in general, people looking for a good anime to relax with, people looking for some new characters to love
Not recommended for: people who don’t like episodic animes, people who want something more heavy romance, people who like more plot driven animes

Visuals: 7.5-8/10 – Although I didn’t talk about this a lot, I really liked the visuals in the anime – but it wasn’t extremely adventurous or ground breaking. I really like the character designs and the dynamic, fast pacing of the events in this anime though.
Sound/music: 7.5/10 – I definitely think that the sound effects played a big part for the comedic aspects of this anime – and it wouldn’t have been as funny without it. However, the rest of the music didn’t really stand out to me. The theme song was a fun opening song though (but not something I would listen to on my own time).
Overall enjoyment: 9/10 – I think you already know, but I freaking LOVE Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun. It’s funny and cute, and it has a great cast of characters. Definitely recommend watching this as well as reading the manga for it after you’re done with it.

 

ANIME REVIEW: PSYCHO-PASS (Season 1)

After my last review of Baccano! (Season one), I thought I’d continue the theme of gory and grotesque anime reviews by reviewing Psycho-Pass. I’m excited, aren’t you?

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Yes, I finally get to talk about Psycho-Pass. Psycho-Pass (Japanese: サイコパス “Saiko pasu”) is an anime set in Japan, in the year 2113. Japan has entered an era where they have seemingly “perfected” the way public safety is handled, through the enforcement of the “Sibyl System”. The Sibyl System gives a way to objectively measure a person’s mental state and criminal intent – otherwise known as their “Psycho-Pass”. The story’s protagonist is Akane Tsunemori, a new “Inspector” for “Unit One” of the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, where she works alongside with the “Enforcers”, individuals who are labelled as criminals in terms of the Sibyl System. Through working as an Inspector alongside the Enforcers, Akane soon realizes that her views of “justice” and the Sibyl System may be horribly flawed.

The visuals:

Holy crap – if you claim that Psycho-Pass doesn’t have awesome visuals, I would be inclined to call you a dirty liar. Well, I wouldn’t – I mean, to each their own opinion. But I would be very confused as to why you would think that. It is animated by Production I.G, and the animation in Psycho-Pass is nothing but top-notch. I was hooked on the visuals alone the very moment that I saw the weapon that they used in this show – the “Dominator”. When Akane is first introduced to the Dominator, we immediately notice the fluidity of the animation with the way the Dominator assembles itself. Super cool. All the settings, from the city landscape to the interiors of their workplace and elsewhere (some really cool scenes which you will only see if you watch the anime ;)), are all consistently detailed and beautifully hi-tech looking.

Aside from animation, the way the “camera” is used during fight scenes is also quite brilliant – it truly feels like we’re a part of a chase or we’re in the action. The usage of an unsteady camera during these scenes imitate human vision quite well.

*-* was my face when I saw this.

Intriguing ideas:

Although I found that there were some cliche aspects of Psycho-Pass (in comparison to other shows/animes/books etc about dystopias), I really enjoyed the ideas that went into this show regarding the Sibyl System and the technology in this world. I love the concept of reading one’s “Psycho-Pass” – it’s a bizarre and ethically ambiguous concept about how you could put a label like that one someone, but an interesting one nonetheless. I think they handled the reasoning for this in the anime quite well. The technology, as I’ve also mentioned above where I talk about the visuals, is really cool. Aside form the Dominator, they have technologies in this anime like a compact that can dress you up automatically (pictured below), and other cool things that I won’t spoil for you. But the thing that bugs me about the investment they made into making up some really cool gadgets is that they didn’t go all the way with some other basic aspects of life that could be improved with advanced technology. Can’t think of them all though, right?

Akane’s super cool compact mirror that allows her to change clothes instantly!! So convenient D:

Recommended for:

So if you read the very top of this review, I mentioned that I’m continuing with the theme of gore – which kind of hints to you that there is a fair bit of blood in this anime. The title of this anime is Psycho-Pass – which may suggest that we could be dealing with some psychos. There are a few things in here that are a little bit more than “a little” grotesque. I’d advise you to STAY AWAY if you are sensitive to a medium amount of gore or lower, because some things in here are a little extreme (though I don’t know if I would say it’s more extreme than Baccano! – but it is more realistic).

Also, if you’re sick of the “fighting with your sense of justice” type of plot, you might be turned off by this. I don’t know if that’s a concern for anyone, but my brother said that factor seemed a little to0 obvious and “in your face”. It’s a common theme in stories about dystopias though, so you should be expecting that. However, I think Psycho-Pass does a pretty good job of steering it away from being too predictable in the end.

Finally, I will recommend this to anyone who is looking for an anime with a good mixture of the psychological, action, and drama genres. It executes dramatic scenes very well. Though there are some things that I didn’t love about Psycho-Pass, it is a well crafted anime. I will agree with my brother that it is a little bit preachy, but it is still thought provoking, and the details sets it apart from other stories about dystopias.

Watch it to see these lovely faces : )

In-depth analysis (spoilers ahead):

This is where I give my opinions about specific parts and aspects of the anime. Scroll all the way to the bottom for the final verdict if you haven’t already watched this anime : )

Continuing with the visuals:

The only complaint I have with the visuals is the character designs. They all look really good and they fit their characters really well – and that’s kind of my problem, especially for Kougami, Ginoza, and Makishima. I feel like if I got a non-visual character description of these three, the visual description I would give about these three wouldn’t be far off – ESPECIALLY in the case of Ginoza. I felt Makishima’s character design was a little cliche for the “super-smart” and “super cool” villain type. Kogami wasn’t as bad as the other two. I do like the character designs for the female characters though. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being picky. How many different anime character designs are there out there anyway?

Don’t tell me that you haven’t see this character design elsewhere before…

Revenge plots:

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sick of watching it. So I’m not going to lie – I’m sick of watching these. Even though the climax was set for Kougami and Makishima to have their big showdown, I wasn’t that into it, because I have seen so many similar set-ups in the name of revenge. I don’t know how to describe it, but theirs felt a little artificial and way too forced. It felt a little “cringey” for me to watch some of the scenes where Kou is all angsty, plotting his revenge for Makishima.

That being said, I absolutely LOVED the way that they ended their feud – the way they hunted each other down in a field, away from all the modern technology and such. It felt kind of serene, and for a lack of a better word, “homey”, for Kou to “dispose of” Makishima with a hand gun (ugh, that sounds so bad. Maybe I should get my Psych-Pass checked too). And damn, it was such a visually beautiful scene as much as it was a symbolically meaningful scene (which I will discuss below). So maybe the revenge plot theme of this wasn’t all in vain.

Filler picture for mood.

Some really beautiful scenes (in other words, more about the visuals):

Two scenes stand out in my head that totally blew me away with its beauty are, one: when we are first shown the Sibyl System, and two: as mentioned before, the final part of Kou and Makishima’s showdown. When we are first shown the Sibyl System, I was shocked and amazed. Shocked at the concept, but amazed with how the animation looked. I felt that it was a very smart concept – I was trying so hard to figure how the Sibyl System worked, and that was not my guess. Seeing it though, was super eerie but also super fascinating. The detail in those shots are another great example of how visually awesome this anime is.

But the scene that I liked the most, not only visually, but the scene that I liked the most in the entire anime, was the scene where Makishima is running from Kou, with the sun setting behind him and  bloody streaming down his face. I was astonished by the elegance in this scene, how the frantic and dying Makishima offset so well with the calm and vivid setting sun. Great, and unforgettable scene.

It’s hard finding a picture sometimes that doesn’t contain spoilers but still fits what you’re talking about…

Tldr; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People who like psychological/action/drama animes, people who like stories about dystopias, people who enjoy animes with cool concepts and cool technology
Not recommended for: People who can’t handle blood and gore, people who might find messages about justice to be too preachy

Visuals: 9.5/10 – Okay, you already know I love this. I almost feel bad for taking off 0.5 points… because I felt that this anime was very safe with some of the character designs. Believable character designs are important!
Sound/music: 7/10 – On the music front, I really don’t remember much, and I didn’t care for the opening theme song or the ending theme. However, sound effects were good, and the tension building music in the dramatic parts were good.
Overall enjoyment: 8/10 – Despite it’s flaws, I really enjoyed Psycho-Pass. It was just an all-round interesting anime to watch – both because of it’s visual aspects and it’s storytelling aspects. Plus, not to mention, it has some of my favourite visual scenes of all time.

ANIME REVIEW: BACCANO! (Season 1)

Ugh my brain is dying. I need to do something other than school work. But I have this inexplicable (minor) fear of being unproductive, so… I guess I’ll do this and ignore my other responsibilities for a little while…

From Baccano!’s opening theme.

Synopsis and spoiler free section:

Wow, what can I even say about this anime? Well, Baccano! (Japanese: バッカーノ! “Baccano!“) is an anime that was released in 2007, and spans for a total of one 16 episode season. The animation was done by the studio Brain’s Base, and it is based on the “light-novel” series of the same name, written by Ryouga Narita (who also authored the popular light-novel series Durarara!!) and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. The plot follows the events aboard a train called “The Flying Pussyfoot” (super tasteful name for a train, I must say :P), where it appears that multiple possibly dangerous groups – like the mafia, bandits, and such – and even supernatural beings, have congregate. The story starts off in 1932, but follows a non-linear timeline, flashing back and forth (time wise and space wise) mainly between the years 1930-1932.

Watching this dubbed:

So this is one of the few animes I’ve watched dubbed, as suggested by people on online forums and such. For most of the characters, I think the dubbed voices worked. I think it was great for a handful of other characters – as they all have an accent of some sort, since this is supposed to take place in 1930s Manhattan (though there are others with a non-New York accent). To get the full experience, I think it’s best to watch it dubbed. However, I did feel at times that some of the accents sounded a little forced, which is never a good thing and can be a little cringe-worthy. That being said, I still think it is worth it to watch this dubbed, as a New York or French or English-speaking language accent can’t really be imitated in Japanese… for obvious reasons.

Firo’s “name card” from the opening theme.

Awesome opening theme:

I love Baccano!‘s theme song, and I’m sure if anyone has ever told you about Baccano!, they probably would have mentioned it too. You just can’t talk about Baccano! without mentioning it’s opening theme. Baccano!‘s opening theme song, named “Guns & Roses”, is performed and written by the band Paradise Lunch. What’s so good about it that you just have to mention it? Well, the song itself is such a great mood setter, with it’s high energy brass instruments and quick beat – it pairs perfectly with the animation of the opening theme, which is also awesome. The animation that pairs with the theme song is a quick rundown of most of the important characters of the show, flashing quickly from character to character – because there are a LOT of them. This combo of elements just grabs your attention right away – which an opening theme should do, because it’s the first thing you see. It does it well. Not to mention, the opening theme is a perfect display of how this anime plays out – fun, energetic, creative, and just a little chaotic.

Miria (left) and Isaac (right), the power couple 😉

Maybe more than just “a little chaotic”:

Yeah, maybe. I mean, for an anime that only lasts 16 episodes, a LOT of things happen to a lot of different characters. Between getting the names of the characters right so you could know who the characters are referring to, and then knowing their nicknames, and then knowing which time period they’re in, and then knowing the story line in general… yeah. I won’t pretend it isn’t a lot. HOWEVER, I say it’s manageable – and chaotic in a good way. There’s bad chaotic, where we have a lot of characters who show up for one or two episodes (maybe even a story arch), do something for an episode that seems REALLY important, and then they never show up again or they never get mentioned again and they didn’t really add to the overall story line. I hate it when they do that in shows. But Baccano! wastes no time with that bullshit – if someone is there, he/she is there for a reason. This anime will start off seeming like it’s just throwing a bunch of characters at you, but the characters and their story line always serves a purpose and always comes full circle. That’s what I would consider “good” chaotic. Stick with it and it should make sense later!

Isaac, Miria, Jacuzzi (the one with the face tattoo) and Nice are having a nice chat together. So happy and cute 🙂

Recommended for:

Well, despite me hyping this anime up to be all fun and games, you have to understand one thing before watching this: this is not for the light hearted. Although this anime is amusing and cheery and it has it’s fair share of cutesy moments, it is GORY and GRUESOME. Although I can’t stand scary movies at all, I am 90% okay with gore/slasher films and whatnot – and even a couple of parts in Baccano! made me a little squeamish. A few especially grotesque images stand out in my head. If any amount of gore makes your stomach churn… this might be an anime to avoid.

I WILL recommend it for people who are looking for an interesting and unconventional anime, in terms of storytelling and style. It’s a very refreshing anime. If you like animes like Durarara!!, this should be right up your alley – and rightfully so, since the author of the light-novels for Baccano! also authored Durarara!!. I would like to mention that I watched Durarara!! first, and it was during one of Durarara!!‘s breaks that I picked up Baccano!, and since then… well, it’s been a little bit difficult to get back to Durarara!!. Although they play around with similar elements, and I LOVE the characters in Durarara!!, I liked how concise Baccano! was; Durarara!! is getting to be a little bit overwhelming for me… But I still enjoy it. But if you like animes that get to the point faster, you’ll probably enjoy Baccano! more.

Don’t these two (Lua, on the left, and Ladd, on the right) just look delightful??

In-depth analysis (spoilers ahead):

So that was the end of the spoiler-less section. Please scroll all the way down for the ratings : )

Favourite characters & characters I wish they included more:

There were definitely some good ones in this anime. I think like a lot of people I’ve seen talking about this anime online, my favourite is Claire, AKA Vino, AKA the “Rail Tracer”. I think he had the most interesting backstory, and he is definitely the most charismatic of the bunch. Who doesn’t like a super confident guy like that? Who else can rock a full face of blood? Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love his interactions with Chane. Aside from Claire though, I LOVED Isaac and Miria. They’re freaking adorable together, and I really enjoyed watching them pull their schemes together. I don’t think I would have loved Baccano! as much as I do without them. They really hold the show together with their comedic relief.

I really wish Baccano! talked about Luck and Maiza more. I don’t really know what we could’ve gotten out of knowing Luck more, besides seeing that he was a super calm and collected guy from the mafia. I don’t know, I just wanted to get more background about him because he seemed like he was going to be in it a lot at the beginning of the anime. On the other hand, I think an episode on Maiza could have been extremely interesting – just how did he get involved with being in the mafia? What was he doing all those years leading up to the current events? I would have loved to learn more about Maiza, even if that means sacrificing that air of mystery hiding behind his smile.

Maiza, always smiling.

Tldr; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People looking for an anime with an interesting style of storytelling, people who like animes that doesn’t waste time telling a story, people who like Durarara!!.
Not recommended for: People who can’t handle gore or blood, people who get frustrated following semi-confusing story lines

Visuals: 8/10 – Although I didn’t talk about it above, I really liked the art style of Baccano! – especially the character designs. Obviously this anime is a little old (2007), so the colours and the backgrounds and whatnot are a little lackluster compared to the super sexy animation of today, but I don’t think it looks completely dated. Also, the way they cut from scene to scene is executed very well.
Music: 8/10 – As stated above, I think the theme song matches the vibes that Baccano! gives off perfectly. Not stated above, I think the background music and reaction music (is that a thing?) works very well with the visual elements of Baccano!. I especially love the sharp and quick, haphazard music that accompanies frantic moments in the anime.
Overall enjoyment: 8.5/10 – Baccano! is a super solid anime, in terms of… well, frankly, it’s solid in everything. It is interesting and attention grabbing right off the bat, it has a compelling form of storytelling, and it has an unforgettable cast. If you’re able to handle some gore, you HAVE to check it out.

LIST: Five Replayable Albums pt. 1 – post 2000s

If people actually read my posts, I imagine this one will be the one to spark the most controversy… Partly because people never seem to read the blurbs that go before the actual list (for example, the one you are currently reading) and just go straight for the good stuff. And that’s fine – but as always, keep in mind that this is the music taste of someone who has grown up in the 2000s, in a very specific setting, with very specific interests that are specifically different than your own.

That being said, this is my first “list” type post, and it will not be a “top ____” type of list. It will be a list that will simply list out things (five albums in this case) that are not in order. This specific list will be about five albums from the 2000s that I find very replayable. It is definitely not a definitive list, but I have given thought to how replayable these albums on this list are; there will probably be at least one more list about the same thing. Oh, and did I mention that this is a list?

Channel Orange – Frank Ocean

I honestly don’t think I can ever get tired of this album. Channel Orange, Frank Ocean’s debut studio album released on July 10, 2012, is amazingly replayable. His first single off of this album was “Thinkin Bout You”; at first, I kind of wrote him off as another kind of generic R&B artist. He was talented at singing, no doubt (check out those high notes in this song!) but “Thinkin Bout You” had pretty generic content in the lyrics. It was a good song, but I didn’t really give him a second thought. I didn’t fall in love with him until I listened to “Forrest Gump”, which is a sang from the point of view of the character Jenny (from Forrest Gump obviously). I thought it was brilliant. Although he was singing as a female character, Ocean’s amazing voice gave it the same quality of loneliness and yearning for a loved one as any woman’s voice (as the stereotype goes). I believe Ocean’s voice is one of the best things about his music – it has a boyish sort of quality to it that makes it sound so unique, and it makes his singing sound so heart-wrenching.

But to only comment on Ocean’s voice and not his music composition or his lyrics writing would be a disservice to this great singer-songwriter. The main theme of the album seems to be “heartbreak”; many of the songs tell stories about this topic, however. He covers topics like being young and falling in love with a girl who does porn to pay for college, he talks about being in love with a drug dealer, and he even talks about struggling with bisexuality. Although he does talk about sex, drugs, and paid sex (like so many of the modern songs that gets so much hate), he doesn’t do it in a way that comes off as shallow or degrading to the person he is singing about, and has extremely varied topics. All of this amazingness and I haven’t even mention the awesome radio theme he has going on in the album during the song interludes, and the refreshing music production. You have to listen to this album if you haven’t already started.

Favourite tracks: “Forrest Gump”, “Pyramids”, “Bad Religion”, and “Super Rich Kids”

The 1975 – The 1975

Here comes probably the most fun album on the list – The 1975’s self titled, debut studio album, The 1975, released on August 30, 2013. It’s the most fun album because almost all the songs are very fun to do impromptu karaoke on. They’re songs that you want to shout obnoxiously with your friends at a party or in the car. I’ll admit that it’s initially kind of difficult to understand what Matt Healy is even saying on the tracks (especially when the first song I ever heard was “Chocolate”), nothing stops you from jamming to the energizing music. I love the electronic quality to their music, and how they experiment with different sounds, away from just the regular rock band instruments. However, their music using the usual band instruments are not lacking in any way – especially with the drums.

Although I am hesitating to say this, I feel that the content is probably suited for someone who is in their early twenties or younger. This isn’t to say that you can’t listen to this when you’re older, but a lot of the songs on the main album (as well as the deluxe album) deal with what I would categorize as teenage sexual angst and general adolescent frustration. But you know, I’m around that age so that’s right in my ballpark. I don’t know if this album will past the test of time for me, but it is damn fun to listen to and shout aggressive lyrics about things that I have no experience with.

Favourite tracks: “Girls”, “Sex”, “Robbers”, and “Settle Down”

Big Echo – The Morning Benders

Now here comes an album that no one I know has heard about – Big Echo, The Morning Benders’ second studio album, and their last studio album under the name “The Morning Benders” (now Pop Etc.) because of their realization that a “bender” was a derogatory term referring to homosexuals. And sadly (well, sadly for me, maybe not sadly for you or for them), with their name change, their  sound has also changed to a more electronic pop sound. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT.

The reason I love Big Echo and The Morning Benders is that the sounds in this album sounds like it has been washed in nostalgia, if that makes sense. I think the best example of that, and what I consider to be the best song in the album, is about the pressures of “performing” during sex, and how to move on from not fulfilling those pressures. I see this as being filled with nostalgia because in the song, it is sung in hindsight; this event is something that the “narrator” of the song is laughing off. The ethereal humming and ahhing of the vocals, mixed with the soft music, gives this song the feeling of a glorified memory – and that “echoes” throughout the entire album.

Favourite tracks: “Excuses”, “Wet Cement”, and “Cold War”

Back to Black – Amy Winehouse

The first time I heard a track from this Grammy award winning album that was released in 2006, I think I was still in elementary school. I really didn’t like it (it was “Rehab”, for the record) because… well, I was a kid. Years later (two years ago), after replaying her cover of “Valerie” over and over again, I decided I’d give this album another go. I am so glad I did – Back to Black is one of my favourite albums of all time. The late Amy Winehouse has such a way with manipulating her voice and tone to give her lyrics attitude and personality. She’s a phenomenal singer with a distinctive voice, and a life that she doesn’t apologize for. I love that she doesn’t sing about sugar coated things – and the lyrics that she uses to express these topics are creative and fun.

The song that got me hooked to this album was actually “Back to Black”. There’s a lyric in there that goes “He had no time to regret / Kept his dick wet / With his same old safe bet.” I nearly laughed out loud when  I heard the lyric. Her voice sounded so moody and brooding and smooth, yet she sings a lyric like that. The cacophony of the word “dick” just stuck out like is… well, *ahem*. It’s awesome. My brother and I were discussing about how Adele and Winehouse have a similar singing style – but I argue that only Winehouse could pull off this image this well, and only Winehouse could sing her songs.

Favourite tracks: “Back to Black”, “You Know I’m No Good”, and “Tears Dry on Their Own”

Hozier – Hozier

To be honest, I was kind of surprised that Hozier got as popular as he did. Not that he isn’t amazingly talented, but because his types of songs aren’t really the type to get a lot of radio plays. I first found out about him after seeing a cover he did for BBC Radio 1’s “Live Lounge”, pre Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. After mentioning him to a friend, she said, “Oh yeah, he’s gonna be huge.” And well, after Hozier sang “Take Me to Church” off of Hozier at the VS Fashion Show, he blew up. It’s awesome that he got famous. But I feel like “Take Me to Church”, as good of a song as it is, doesn’t represent the range of his music. It is a good representation of his song writing skills though. But aside from sounding kind of ominous, Hozier’s music has a softer side, and a vulnerable sounding side that I personally love way more, and is actually what got me addicted to his songs.

The song that got me hooked on Hozier was “From Eden”. The song opens up with such a fun and kind of “carefree” guitar riff. Combined with the clever composition of words and imagery from the lyrics, I always feel like I’m being taken into the world of “From Eden” in my imagination. I can’t imagine anyone else’s voice singing “From Eden” as well as he does. It just feels really good listening to that song. But aside from Bible references, another song with amazing lyrics is “Cherry Wine”, which is a song about domestic violence. It’s a really interesting song – the guitar strumming is beautiful, his voice is beautiful, the lyrics are beautiful, but the topic is… less than beautiful. I think it’s an interesting take on how someone can view their relationship in such a way. If “Take Me to Church” is the only Hozier song you’ve ever heard, then you’re missing out – check out this album NOW! (And all the other ones in this list!)

Favourite tracks: “From Eden”, “Jackie and Wilson”, and “Cherry Wine”

That’s all, folks!

So that’s the end of my first “list” format piece. I will be writing more of these, so stay tuned!

 

MOVIE REVIEW: Giddens Ko’s YOU ARE THE APPLE OF MY EYE (2011)

I’ll admit: sometimes I write these reviews just to spread some movies that I like around… HAHA. No, I just need to digest my thoughts somewhere about things. I already talk way too much about crap that people don’t care about in real life. Anyway, here’s a movie review:

Michelle Chen as Shen Chia-yi and Ko Chen-tung as Ko Chin-teng.

Synopsis and spoiler free section:

You are the Apple of My Eye (2011) (Chinese: 那些年，我們一起追的女孩 Na xie nian, wo men yi qi zhui de nu hai) is a Taiwanese movie directed by Giddens Ko, which is based on a semi-autobiographical novel that he also wrote. The movie stars Ko Chen-ting as Ko Chin-teng (nicknamed as Ko-teng), a mischievous high school senior. The bulk of the movie is set in the past, and starts out with Chin-teng recollecting his high school (and later college) days, of his group of friends, and a girl, Shen Chia-yi (played by Michelle Chen), an honour student who he and his friends eventually form an unlikely friendship with.

A feel good movie:

Right from the beginning, the movie feels very relaxed. It does a really good job reeling the audience in, as Ko-teng brings you in by narrating his thoughts about the past. He comes off as carefree, charismatic, and funny as he tells you about the events that occurred in his graduating year of 1994, about his friends and their nicknames, etc. And although it is a romance movie, the other characters are not neglected in the shadows of the main characters -they all seem very real and believable, and they are all funny in their own ways. Not only is it a movie about love, it is a movie about the character’s friends, how he developed into an adult – all of which happened in those few years. There are so many clever things about this movie (which I will talk about in the next paragraph) without being pretentious or serious about it. While it’s lighthearted, it is by no means a disposable watch.

Hey, no sword fighting on school property.

The little things:

Man, there are so many little details in this movie that made it come alive for me. Let’s take the title for example (because there aren’t really any spoilers I can give from that). The English title is… a little cheesy sounding. Although apples are a bit of a reoccurring theme, the Chinese title is A LOT more meaningful in my opinion. “那些年，我們一起追的女孩” translated means, “Those years, the girl that we went after together”; I think this title sets a really good mood for a coming-of-age story – and I would describe it as that genre of movie as much as I would describe it as a romance movie. Another detail adding onto this is Ko-teng’s reminiscing about the year this movie started out in; he mentions the best selling cassette in 1994, Jacky Cheung’s album, “Kiss Goodbye”. I imagine that if I was a teenager or a young adult in 1994 and I were to watch this movie, I would just melt into a puddle of nostalgia just from that line.

Ko-teng on his way to school, listening to Jacky Cheung’s album

Recommended for:

It just feels so good watching this movie. Watching him hang with his buddies and watching them all fawn over the same girl… it really reminds me of high school too (except their high school days seem way cuter than mine somehow). But a lot of this movie is also about growth; If you’re looking for a good and funny coming-of-age romance story, this is such a good pick.

For this movie, I feel like I don’t have anything really bad to say about it without giving anything away. However, I think when people think of teenage romances, they think of a movie that’s really hormones-driven and drama-filled. If you’re looking for that… well… it’s set in Taiwan in 1994, so you can imagine that there isn’t a lot of making out in this movie. It’s not a typical teen drama that’s for sure. I don’t know *shrug*.

The guys – wait hold up. Is he holding a smart phone or are cassettes thinner than I thought they were?

In-depth scene analysis (spoilers section):

Jump to the bottom if you want to avoid the spoilers!!

Maybe I should consider writing this above next time so people would actually consider going through the whole thing…

The ending: where the opinion of this film is finalized:

Okay, so, the ending. I have been dying to talk about the ending.

For me, there was no better way to end a film like this. For some people, they hated the ending so much that the whole movie was ruined for them (source: one of my friends). Although it was kind of a bittersweet ending, it was really, really funny, and you actually realize that Ko-teng has learned something and has grown up from this experience. He has a life separate from this now, and is no longer hung up on a girl that got away. Of course, there are still lingering feelings (hence the kiss at the end WHICH WAS THE BEST) but Ko-teng is definitely not what you would call “bitter”. He acknowledges that his chance is gone, and he wishes his past could-have-been girlfriend to have happiness in her marriage. It’s nice. Ko-teng is an adult now. What a perfect way to end a coming of age movie. Although the last little bit with the balloon killed me a little. AHHHHH. ;-;

From my second favourite scene of this movie.

TLDR; and ratings section:

Recommended for: Anyone who is looking for an out of the ordinary romance, a coming of age story, or anyone who likes watching movies about Asian school life.
Not recommended for: People who are into steamy romances, people who like their movies to be a little bit more melodramatic

Ratings:
Music: 7/10 – If you haven’t heard the official theme song, it’s really good (Here it is. SPOILER ALERT THOUGH. But I watched it before I saw the movie and nothing was really “spoiled” for me…). The lyrics in it are really wonderful if you understand them (or if you care enough to look it up) and they describe this movie really well. The rest of the music played throughout the film was alright. Nothing really jumped out at me though.
Visuals: 7.5-8/10 – This movie looks really good, and it really fits the tone of the story very well. It looks very fresh and youthful, just like the days that the main character is reminiscing. They do some fun things with the editing at the beginning that I really liked, and there are some interesting shots throughout the movie.
Overall enjoyment: 8-8.5/10 – I seriously love this movie. I have watched it a few times now, and it never gets old to me. The characters and their world is just so alive, and you can really feel a sense of nostalgia just by watching this film, even if you didn’t go to school in the 90s and even if you’re not from Taiwan.

And that’s all, folks!

MOVIE REVIEW: Christopher Nolan’s MEMENTO (2000)

YES,  I finally got around to watching Memento. This one has been on my “to-watch” list for waaaay too long. Here’s my review (oh and hey, it’s the first Western movie that I’m reviewing!):

From the movie cover of Memento.

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Memento (2000), directed by Christopher Nolan, is a highly critically acclaimed movie about memories and the losing of memories. Leonard Shelby, played by Guy Pearce, has anterograde amnesia, a condition which causes him to be unable to store short term memory, but his long term memory still remains. Because of his condition, and his ability to remember things only prior to developing this condition, he takes pictures and writes down notes relevant to completing his goal (formed from the events before developing his condition). Like memories and many other movies about memory, the bulk of this story is told in a non-linear timeline, where we start at the end of what Leonard is able to remember and work our way backwards.

A true story for the screen:

What do I mean by that? Although it was originally based on a pitch by Jonathan Nolan (Christopher Nolan’s younger brother) who later finished it as a short story, I think Memento fits the film format very perfectly. There are a lot of little details in Memento that is shown but not explicitly mentioned – you (and I) probably won’t be able to pick it up through the first watch. I’m not saying prose can’t have this effect, but so much of our memories are visual and not concrete. Words are concrete. The fact that we can’t pick up on certain “clues” from the film makes it more like our memory – we just don’t have the luxury of rewinding, rewatching, and reanalyzing everything in HD. We rely almost entirely on visuals for our memory. Also, because we are mostly seeing these memories through Leonard’s eyes, we are seeing it with some kind of intended subjectivity, which again, is different from creating intended subjectivity in prose.

Not to mention, this film has phenomenal editing. The quick cuts from a chunk of memory to another chunk of memory allows for an interesting mimic of memory. Again, it isn’t impossible in prose, but the way they chose to show and to limit certain scenes allows for such a unique and trippy watching experience.

One feature of their awesome editing and visual storytelling skills.

Recommended for:

Gee, who wouldn’t I recommend this for? I feel like if you’re a person who even watches movies, you’d be able to enjoy this. It’s a really good psychological thriller that has very good layered storytelling. Not only is the main character playing detective in this, but you will find yourself trying to solve the mysteries along with him (even though the ending is at the beginning).

But really, I get that some people don’t like psychological thrillers, and there are some “triggers” in here (ie: blood, sexual violence). If you have any problems with either of those things, then of course, don’t watch it. Other than that, I don’t see why you shouldn’t give this movie a shot.

Does this look enticing enough?

In-depth scene analysis (spoilers section):

Scroll dooown to the bottom to get my ratings for this movie, and to skip possible spoilers.

And… go!

Things that didn’t work for me about this movie:

ALTHOUGH I think this was an amazingly entertaining movie, there are some things about it that I didn’t really like. Well, there was like one thing I didn’t like about it – Leonard’s sudden change of attitude at the “end” (or the beginning?) of the movie. I loved the twist that they put at the end – where it was revealed that Teddy wasn’t actually the one Leonard was looking for (or who knows – Leonard definitely doesn’t. I believe that Teddy was telling the truth at that point). What I didn’t like was Leonard’s cold twist in personality. Up until then, Leonard seemed like a cool, RATIONAL person, despite his condition. But all of a sudden, after hearing those things from Teddy, he gets really angry and decides that Teddy is going to be his “John G.” It’s understandable that he is angry; Teddy is relaying”world-shattering” things to Leonard. But that change was extremely, extremely sudden – I felt distance from any humanity that Leonard had. It changed him so quickly from a vengeful, grieving widow to a psychopathic killer. I guess if they wanted to show how deteriorated Leonard’s mind is, they did a good job. It was an awesome twist though nonetheless.

My only question now is, what will become of Leonard? I mean, he “got” him. What will be his reason to live now?

In who do we trust?

TLDR; and ratings:

Recommended for: People looking for a really good psychological-thriller, people looking for a stylistically pleasing film, people looking for a good, layered storyline

Not recommended for: People looking for something “easy” to watch, people who may be triggered by scenes of blood and sexual violence

Ratings:
Music: 7.5/10 – It was good, nothing that was too out of the ordinary from what you expect from a psychological-thriller or similar genres (at least from what I’ve observed through one watch). It was good at setting the eerie and semi-uncomfortable mood that resonated throughout the film.
Visuals: 9/10 – Although this isn’t a movie with super beautiful shots or artsy frames, this movie has amazing editing. The way information was presented in the film was very satisfying in terms of visual storytelling.
Overall enjoyment: 8.5/10 – I always love a good psychological thriller, and as mentioned before, the story is told in a very engaging way – both for your mind and for your eyes. I think this film is very, very rewatchable as well, and I will definitely be revisiting it.

MOVIE REVIEW: Kwak Jae-yong’s THE CLASSIC (2003)

I think this is actually the first Korean movie I’ve ever watched. I’ve watched a few dramas, but I’ve never watched a movie. Here’s the review:

Joon-ha (left, played by Jo Seung-woo) carrying Joo-hee (left, played by Son Ye-jin) in the rain.

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

The Classic (2003) (Hangul: 클래식 Keulraesik), directed by Kwak Jae-yong, is a romance movie involving two love triangles between two different time periods. In the present, Ji-hye (played by Son Ye-jin), stumbles upon her mother’s old love letters as she is cleaning the house. The love letters reveal a love triangle involving her mother, Joo-hee (also played by Son Ye-jin), her father, and her father’s best friend. Similarly, in the present, Ji-hye is also involved in a love triangle herself, involving her love interest Sang-min (played by Joo In-sung) and Ji-hye’s friend, Soo-kyeong (played by Lee Sang-in). As she is reading the letters, she finds some striking similarities between some of the events in the letters and her own life. 

The past story vs. the present story:

This movie spends the bulk of the time in the past, telling the story from Ji-hye’s mother’s love letters. It is honestly the better story of the two, as the story is more believable, albeit very dramatic. A big thing that the present story was lacking was details – details about why the characters like each other, details about the character as a person in general, and details about the setting. In the story about the past, they spent time to actually develop the characters, and create a real setting that aligned with the time period that it was set in. I liked that they put so much detail into creating the setting for the past, but it felt really off that they didn’t do this for the present. I felt that the movie spent so much more time on the story from the past, and I couldn’t really feel anything for the present story at all. I am aware that the point of this movie isn’t to focus on the present (it’s named The Classic for a reason), but I don’t think you should leave your audience feeling so unemotionally attached to the main character and her surroundings. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t really care for any of the characters in the “present” timeline. Their love in general wasn’t very believable to me.

Inside an art gallery. Ji-hye is walking a little distance away from her friend Soo-kyeong and the male protagonist, Sang-min.

Recommended for:

You know what this movie reminds me EXACTLY of? Nicholas Sparks movies (and the books they’re based off of I presume; I haven’t read any of them). I’m not a huge fan of them; I don’t dislike romance movies, but for some kind of reason, I can’t sit through one of those. Actually I’ve only completed one (I usually just lose interest if I have to watch them with my friends, to be honest), which was The Notebook; it wasn’t bad, and I don’t regret watching it – I guess I have similar feelings about this movie. I THINK it was a good “romance movie”. If you like romance movies in general, I think you would definitely enjoy this. They have some good romance scenes in this that are quite sweet and “aww-inducing” if you know what I mean. But these movies are kind of boring for me.

I don’t recommend it for anyone who doesn’t like romance movies that are purely romance. Granted, there are moments in this movie that talk a little about social conflicts (which I commend this movie for doing; I probably just haven’t watched enough Korean movies though), it’s almost completely straight up romance. Like, dramatic romance. It can wear you out a little watching something like that.

*blur the background for dramatic effect*

In-depth analysis (with spoilers):

Go down to the TLDR; section for the final verdict.

The ending:

I liked how they set up the movie to guide the audience to think that Ji-hye’s father was Joon-ha. Although I wasn’t very invested in the movie a little over the halfway point, I liked the twist ending where Joon-ha’s friend, Tae-soo, is actually Ji-hye’s father, and Sang-min is actually Joon-ha’s son. By the last 15-20 minutes, it becomes pretty obvious, but I still liked that they had that as the outcome. Not only does it explain why the present story line and the past story line have those similarities, but also why Ji-hye is SO IN LOVE with Sang-min despite not really knowing him (this bugged me a lot).

I’ll admit this scene was kind of sad. Not enough to make me cry, but sad nonetheless.

TLDR; and ratings:

Recommended for: People who are looking for a good romance, people who enjoy Nicholas Sparks type films.
Not recommended for: People who don’t want to watch a straight up romance, people who are probably overly critical of how believable a romance is.

Music: 6/10 – It was okay..? Honestly, I barely remember it. There were some parts where the audio was good for creating mood (which is what it should do…) but I mean, it’s pretty standard. Nothing was particularly interesting to me about it.
Visuals: 6.5-7/10 – Again, nothing particularly interesting stood out to me about the camera work for this film. As for the other visuals, some scenes looked quite nice, and I liked the mood of the story line of the past created by the visuals. I also kind of liked that they used the same actor to play the mom and the daughter. But again, there were no completely dazzling shots that stood out in my head.
Overall enjoyment: 6.5/10 – I think the movie started off strong, but it got boring for me in the middle since I didn’t believe in the romance between Ji-hye and Sang-min, but the end redeemed the movie for me a little.  It’s not bad, but I don’t think I’d ever watch it again.