Reviews

Ok, so I've watched about three iterations of "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", one which is from the amazing animator Mamoru Hosoda, the second one is a modern reboot from 2010 and this is "the OG" but there's still a tv show from the 70s with the same name, I don't know if the tv show even has a connection to those at all (although funnily enough, IMDB lists the 70s shows as the original to the animated film and the 80s film as the original to the 2010s film which is WRONG). The 80s original packs a lot of slow paced pensive charm that makes you wonder about time and just what a fantastic premise this is.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time follows Keiko, a cheery high school girl that acquires mystical time powers after something happens while she and her friends are cleaning their chemistry lab. The movie then spends a considerable amount of time of her trying to get to the bottom of why she got her powers.

First off I gotta say this is a gorgeous film, Nobuhiko Ôbayashi makes excellent use of practical effects even if they're a bit toned down in this movie compared to "School In The Crosshairs" but Nobuhiko Ôbayashi still makes this a thoroughly stylistic and beautiful movie. The actors are mostly good and the music fits amazingly, I even think that the animated version of this movie makes use of some of the original soundtrack (I gotta rewatch it to confirm tho!).

And now to the negatives, I know this movie was wildly popular for its time and it basically launched the career of Tomoyo Harada but I think she's perhaps the weakest part of the movie, and it's not really her fault. The movie spends most of the time with her trying to make sense of what's going on with her like she's not aware of her time powers until super late in the film, which is so annoying. The animated one in retrospect is better because it uses the power of leaping through time as something fun and gains momentum of the girl understanding her powers fairly early in the movie but in this movie she walks around being confused, sad, , melancholic, dizzy and then more confused and then surprised which for me personally doesn't do much. And I don't think this is the actress's fault but they should've spent more time making her into her own and fun character.

Still the movie has a wonderful allure that makes you stay for the rest of the story, I think in fact the ending is super worth it to watch and it's super unexpected and kinda sad to be honest, which is so different from what a teen movie would do to be honest!

Despite some gripes that I had with the movie I think this is a worthwhile watch not just because of the story and the practical effects but because I think it has a lot to say about time and space and love also this movie shows why this concept of a high school girl leaping through time being such a cool and interesting concept to explore. If you have seen the animated I recommend you skipping the "newer" 2010 remake in favour of this one because it has a lot to offer.

At this point almost everyone's heard about Nobuhiko Ôbayashis transcendent movie "House", I haven't seen it but only seen the trailer of it. One could almost believe that this director only did horror arthouse movies with fantastic special effects, but he also did commercial movies with a broad appeal, taking the fantastic to normal settings like high schools and such. School in The Crosshairs makes a strong case for that ambition, combining the normal and the strange in such a wonderful way that still keeps the audience guessing.

School in The Crosshairs is about a high schooo girl by the name Yuka that suddenly discovers she has psychic powers, a discovery that leads to a series of events that unfold around her discovering those psychic powers, meanwhile she has to tackle normal school life and the underlying happenings that are plaguing her school and the burgeoning romance with fellow classmate Seki.

First of all I'd like to say that I really loved this movie, you can see a lot of passion has been put into making this movie look as beautiful as possible, using every single technique and practical effect to make the setting even more appealing, especially the gorgeously drawn backgrounds adorning some of the scenes. The use of practical effects is so creative in this movie that it gives it its own cinematic identity and language, which is fun and imaginative.

Secondly I'd like to praise the story, while not very creative I think it has its own original spin on the tropes and the things that were popular during that time both western and eastern!

Also the actors do a great job, especially the teenage actors, they're great.

The music is also great, just by hearing the Yumi Matsutoya (also called Yumi Arai) theme song in the beginning it just gives the movie a classy feel, and a nostalgic one as well.

Nobuhiko Ôbayashis direction is also great, even if the movie is very by the numbers when it comes to story he gives it his own sense of quirkiness which is just a joy to see.

If there's anything negative that I'd have to say about this film then it is probably about the story, the movie has a quick pace, almost a bit too quick because some of the happenings or character motivations in the movie just seem a little bit too haphazardly put, also the character of Yuka is literally someone with no personality other than they are best at everything which is boring. But these are minor things.

Hope you enjoy!

I'm at the end of my Katsuhito Ishii journey and what a journey it has been! I'm so happy it ended on this short film, I've always thought that Katsuhito Ishii's ideas and methods don't translate well into the long film format but in the short film format he does wonders, even if the story in itself is not very special.

Norioka Workshop is a short film about an actor that hosts an acting workshop that for some reason is only visited by two very particular girls. As the short film goes on feelings get shown and more and more gets unraveled.

I think with this film Katsuhito Ishii wanted to explore the reality of acting what a wonderful art form it is and the ground ethos of its work- namely fooling the audience, Ishii doesn't dwell too long on this question and that's ok. It's a very surface-level exploration with a fun twist at the end, it almost becomes comedic!

The actors do a fantastic job pulling this forward and Katsuhito Ishii is making the best out of this short story! It's kind of strange how these characters in the short story feel more fleshed out than the characters that he's done for his full-length films, it's almost funny.

If you'd say something negative about this short film is that it lacks something that Ishii is an expert of, and that's style and aesthetic. As the setting of the short film's "model house" the short film feels very by the numbers and almost a bit cheap, its almost surprising how this movie doesn't really carry that flair that he puts on his movies.

Even if this short film didn't floor me completely I feel glad to have ended this Katsuhito Ishii movie on a high! Check it out!

At this point I don't know what to expect from Katsuhito Ishii. Every single film he does feels like a huge left turn, for better or worse. While he's undoubtedly a master at creating movies with a sense of aesthetics and cool characters I've always felt he was a weak storyteller, always focusing on the wrong things, plot devices get introduced out of nowhere, characters seem to be paper thin etc etc. On this movie those weaknesses of his are apparent but this is perhaps the best movie he's done "story wise", and I'm not joking.

"Hello! Junichi" follows the titular Junichi and his group of friends (everyone gets introduced) through a series of events that unfold around Junichi who seeks out to become braver and less of a wuss. Him and his friends world gets turned upside down when a beautiful and slightly delinquent substitute teacher takes and teaches their class for a month, hijinks ensue.

While most of it has a bubbly childlike quality I feel that he could've done more with the overall presentation of the movie as it looks kinda cheap in many parts. Even if this is his most consistent movie to date I feel that a lot of the stuff that he's not good at surfaces still, characters are introduced but don't get any real emotional resolutions, his characters still feel paper thin. However I have to agree that the ending of the movie leaves you smiling even if you're kind of half-annoyed by the kids of this movie.

What I'm more curious about is how he decided to do a movie like this? Something so far from what he's done, something so "mundane"? A simple children's movie. This is what I thought of almost during the whole runtime. It is truly a curiosity. Should you watch this? Maybe? I only got to see this because I bought a box set containing movies outside "The Taste of Tea". If you're a fan of his then go nuts I guess, but outside from that I don't know what this movie could give the average moviegoer, it's a very simple kids movie. But even if I sound a bit too critical from it I would lie if I didn't say that this movie didn't have charm, which it does in its own way, and the ending is sweet.

So today after several years of having heard of this movie I decided to watch Lukas Moodyssons seminal movie that is still referenced today. It's even more actual now because the sequel has just been released so I thought I would give this Swedish classic a spin, and I was not disappointed.

"Tillsammans" follows the lives in a collective of the same name as they get a new addition to their collective by a mum that has been physically abused and their kids. This instantly sets in motion a series of events that unravels the whole collective, for better or worse.

First off, what I can appreciate about this movie is how funny it can be without being way too obvious. Lukas knows how to make the absurdity of this situation into a very fun one.

Secondly the ensemble of actors is just amazing, top tier acting from both adults and kids in this movie.

Thirdly, this movie is just gorgeous, the period of 70s Swedish socialism and pop culture is captured with 100% precision it's almost uncanny some times.

Also also I can appreciate the political underlying discussion that's also a part of the movie. Also a treatise into how collectives like that can be destructive but also ultimately amazing if you find people that can accept your differences. I think this movie touches a lot of themes of narcissism and just the state of loneliness, humanity is unfortunately a struggle between wanting to feel belonging and togetherness but also the desire of wanting to inhibit and wanting to be respected in your own space.

There are some portrayals that felt a bit weird to me and a bit unfair (like the gay man Klas who forces himself constantly onto his love interest which is then juxtaposed with Lena who starts being forceful and weird around the children of the collective) and also how an abuser of a father gets way too many second chances. But I guess it's within the time period and how the director perhaps interprets the dynamics of these during this time. It doesn't ruin the film but I think it's worth to notice!

If you want to see one of the most iconic Swedish films ever made then I totally recommend you give this a watch. It's heartwarming, uncomfortable but also feels real.

Satoshi Kon's "Tokyo Godfathers" feels like a miracle in itself, a portrait of three homeless people in Japan, one drunk older man, a trans woman and a runaway teen who get caught up in a high octane chase to find the real parents of an abandoned baby in the street. A story that's far removed from the clean and modern aesthetic vistas of Tokyo that shows there's light even in the messiest and darkest places. You can see that this is a story made with love and lust for life, it shows a director in his most generous and open in his portrait, inviting the unsung people- people that are not your typical movie heroes. And that's where a big part of the charm lies.

First things first, I gotta talk about the animation- it is GORGEOUS! Satoshi Kon always knows how to showcase some of the most breathtaking and detailed vistas- every frame tells a story and his vision of modern Tokyo seen through the eyes of homeless people is just amazing. You can watch this movie many times and find something new every watch, it is that good.

Then there's the actors which do a fantastic job in portraying this misfit family, even if they're animated they feel real. You can also see in some extras in how they studied movement and such to make these characters feel more believable. Even the actors that talk Spanish talk with an actual dialogue and not mishmash gibberish (which is what I thought first since they aren't subtitled in the movie). I do applaud him for having a trans woman as one of the main characters and heroes in the story, and this was way back in 2003! So amazing and groundbreaking.

Also I applaud this movie for keeping it very adult-oriented. Don't get me wrong; this is probably Satoshi Kon's most lighthearted work filled with humour and comedy but it's not for kids and that's something I appreciate a lot. Someone that's pushing the boundaries in storytelling and moviemaking, which Satoshi Kon does. That's why him not being around us anymore is a huge loss for art and animation as a whole... who else is championing these adult stories in the world of animation? No one really, at least in movies.

Even if I've seen this movie many times Tokyo Godfathers continues to impress me everytime I watch it. This movie should be way up in the movie discourses and should be regarded as a classic in itself. Check it out!

Watching Monster is almost like watching Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece "Rashomon", it's a film that grips you from start to finish, a film that unravels with every single minute. Not a moment wasted, every part of this movie is vital to the story.

Monster follows the story of two friends from fifth graders Minato and Yori, who strike a beautiful friendship that becomes the focal point of many happenings and misunderstandings in this story which makes you ask yourself, who is the real monster? And who is the real villain of this story. The answer is surprisingly complex and for you, the viewer to decide.

This movie is masterfully made, every shot is made with purpose. So is the music that accompanies it, made by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto who adorns every scene with his deeply affecting score.

The actors make a fantastic job as well, I'm not a fan of child actors but here everyone is doing an amazing job from adult to child.

If there's anything negative that I gotta say about this film is that perhaps one plot thread concerning the principal wasn't fully explored in the movie, however I feel that it still becomes very impactful.

Please watch Monster, I feel that there's so many ways that we as humans misunderstand each other and there are many factors lying beyond the rumours that people talk about, this is truly a treatise on the grayscale of humanity.

There's no way around it, Avatar is a HUGE movie. The first movie, for better or worse, really changed cinema. I can never replicate the same feeling I felt when watching the first movie in cinemas when I was at 9th grade at school. I was instantly drawn, and wanted to stay in this world as much as possible. I bought different versions on Blu-ray and watched them many times, even memorising some lines of the movie. It was truly something amazing. At least according to me, but as with all things popular it's gathered a lot of hate, memes and some infamy during the years. So it feels unreal to see the sequel appear while I myself have gone from being just a kid to becoming a full-fledged adult. And while some of the sights feel familiar and bittersweet I can say it feels great to be back in Pandora.

The movie is great, it's what James Cameron is known for, perfecting sequels and making them into an experience that's bigger than its original movie, we saw that with Alien and Terminator. Here in the second movie of Avatar he does what he's always been fascinated by, water and the life surrounding it. Going to the sea was a brilliant move from the director that also feels like a natural extension of what Avatar really is. And many of its components are stunning, the design, the effects, the music are all fantastic.

The actors do a great job as well, just as in the first movie.

While this movie is great I think it has a few flaws and I think it's just mainly how this sequel is being written. It's a bit like how most sequels are written, bringing back the same antagonists but in another shape, kids of the protagonists etc etc. Some of it can feel a bit cliche but most of it makes sense when you watch the movie. Also with how the movie is going to end (no spoiler) I think they're gonna keep on this premise. I also think some plot points are smoothed over and there's some things that aren't really explained. Maybe it's because they want to keep viewers to see the sequel or something.

As I watched the movie I was first a bit ambivalent because of my memories of how the first was and also the sound of the haters saying that I'm corny and stuff. But the movie has a charm that instantly takes over you as soon as they reach the sea, I damn near cried at some of the stuff that happens in the movie.

So I guess I am corny, I like this, even if some of the plot feels familiar and even if it feels very bombastic but I still feel this movie deserves its flowers and just the amount of time it took to get here feels unreal. Go watch it if you have the time.

Seeing The Boy and The Heron, Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie feels almost like a monumental event in and of itself. It was announced almost as a surprise with the words "Hayao Miyazaki's last movie". With this amount of hype, including the amazing reviews it's got from critics, my hype was built up to the max. The end result? Not what I expected, and that's ok!

Let's get to the positives, the animation is STUNNING. The way Hayao Miyazaki manages to build these worlds and characters is just an amazing feat, they all come alive with the colours and the movement. Another positive is the tone of the movie, I really hate Disney for trying to market this as a kid's movie, when it's not. It's got some unnerving and scary moments and themes that are not suited for kids, which is good. Hayao Miyazaki is at his best when he manages to blend the adult with the fantastical.

The actors are always amazing, I saw the Japanese dub so I don't know how the western VAs are doing but wow; they all do a fantastic job!

Now to the negatives... a huge thing about Studio Ghibli movies in general, especially the ones from Hayao Miyazaki, is that they're always by rule driven by the characters, it's their journey that's in the front. World building and narrative always takes a second place in his movies to be able to not distract from the characters journeys, big examples of this are Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle where the world building is built by very simple and effective means and rules. But here in the Boy and The Heron the world building is so convoluted and confusing it almost feels like he wanted it to take center stage in this movie and it's such a shame because it feels at like it's at odds with it's own main character who supposedly undergoes a deep deep emotional journey but it all finishes off in a very abrupt and unfitting send-off in the end which really confused me and just didn't feel like a good payoff.

Also the way this movie introduces characters left and right with no rhyme or reason is super confusing. Once again, Hayao Miyazaki did this very minimally in his past movies where the characters get room to be explored and to leave an impact in the story but here once again it's at odds with its own world building- it all feels very haphazard and messy. The Heron is a fun character but I don't feel like he or Mahito do or learn anything from these adventures.

Now, it may sound like I hated this movie, but I didn't. It's just that I care so much about Hayao Miyazaki movies and Studio Ghibli movies that I can't help to compare them to the movies we've seen before. And despite it not being Hayao Miyazaki's best it's still pretty good, it's very much worth a watch.

Party 7 is another one of Katsuhito Ishii's creations and it is just as baffling as it is fascinating. The plot is incomprehensible, the characters follow a very specific logic, and the movie is in a permanent standstill until the end. Am I glad I saw it? Yes! Would I see it again? Not really!

Let's get the positives first, Katsuhito Ishii knows how to create aesthetically appealing characters that ooze with confidence charisma and style. That style is translated to his own visual language as well that uses both animation and very purposeful shots throughout the movie and it has some fun flashes of quirky humour ... if only that translated to one of the most core important things of filmmaking. An engaging and cohesive plot.

Party 7 is about 7 characters in a hotel that converge in one single hotel room, two peepers watching from the outside and the rest in their own unfolding drama on the inside, this could make for a very interesting Tarantino-esque plot (Katsuhito is clearly inspired by Tarantino) but it sort falls under its own logic and pace. When the movie finally gets to somewhere, the movie ends. I would understand if this movie is more character-driven or more of a "vibe" piece but it's neither as the characters that we get introduced to in the movie are so paper thin they're almost like Katsuhito Ishii's 2D animations. There's no one that you really engage with for the plot. The result becomes quite messy and unfocused! Which is a shame cause all of the actors are really doing an amazing job!

In turn this movie would've worked far better if it was a short film, which is what I feel about most of Katsuhito Ishii's efforts. They're just not engaging enough to warrant a full length movie... I think in the context of Katsuhito Ishii's own filmmaking career it is a very interesting movie to watch, but don't expect something engaging, it's just a very fun experiment that didn't quite pay off.

(It's worth noting that this movie is now available in Blu-ray as a part of a Katsuhito Ishii compilation made by Third Window, really happy I have this)

Promise of August is one of Katsuhito Ishii's most well-known shorts, filmed just three years before his debut Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl. And honestly out of the two feature length movies (Sharkskin & Taste of Tea) that I've seen so far this one is my favourite of his.

Promise of August follows the group of three college girls travelling somewhere rural in the quest for a bag of weed. It's very nonsensical and Katsuhito Ishii doesn't shy away from the nonsensical nature of the story.

On the way to find their treasured weed the girls stumble upon a suicidal man who decides to help them.... I'm not gonna spoil more since it's a very short film but it's worth watching it!

In this movie you see all of Katsuhito Ishii's styles in a more condensed and effective manner. I know he is mostly known for his pensive and quirky style but I feel that in such a short story you get even more engaged, which... to be honest I've found it a little bit hard to do with the films I've seen before so I'm happy that I can see a version of his filming that is more effective and to the point! Even the comedy is funny in some points as well.

His style is super fun and always gorgeous to watch, a true sense of aesthetics!

If there's something that I'd say that I don't like about the movie is the portrayal of the suicidal man, he's portrayed as this pervy incel who uses sex to make others feel sorry for him. I think that (and I hope that) Katsuhito Ishii made this character as a way to make fun of these type of guys so in that way I understand.

All in all this short film was a lovely surprise! It's not the best I've seen but it certainly deserves a watch. This was included in the Katsuhito Ishii collection that is a fantastic collection that was issued by Third Window so I'm not sure about the availability of this short film otherwise!

I'm no stranger to Katsuhito Ishii's work. I think we've all seen his The Taste of Tea, which I didn't like at all. It's been a long time since I saw it but I remember it feeling too long and slow and incoherent. Some of that is on this film as well but this film has a very likeable element that despite its quirks it feels more relatable and fun.

There's no denying that Katsuhito Ishii has a fantastic sense of style and aesthetics. His characters are brimming with colour and wonderful. This clashes with how he really does movies which is a very surreal and slow style and you can see that he's really aiming for a Tarantino-esque type of approach which serves the movie good!

As I said, the characters are the focal point of this. I just wish they had more to say and more to do on screen. There's a few moments of this film where you feel there's a momentum and it lacks that for a lot of the movie's runtime. Sure, things happen but it feels very slow. Tadanobu Asano and Sie Kohinata make an excellent lead couple, I honestly wish the movie was more about them.

This movie also has a very weird comical vibe throughout it as to puncture this whole bizarre situation. It mostly serves to give it a lighthearted feel, I wouldn't say I laughed a lot at this.

All in all I'd say this movie is a worthy watch because it has a lot of style and it's just pretty neat! But if you want a fast paced silly action film then you might have to check somewhere else cause this is not it.

Let's just get it out of the way, I freaking love Barbie. So many memories and ideals are connected to her that even without the movie I still get nostalgic about. The iconography, the looks, Ken (~swoon~)... there was one problem though, I am a boy, I could never get a Barbie because my parents never would let me have one. Instead I stole my cousins mermaid Barbie and treated her like one of my most precious toys until she disappeared, perhaps she went into Barbieland? Greta Gerwig's movie seemingly let us tap into all of that and more thanks to a great PR team that I haven't seen work their magic since a long long time, in other words hype has been BUILT. How does it fare? I left the cinema with a smile but I wish that it could have something MORE. Let me explain down below.

Barbie is a movie that is about Barbie, the doll, the idea, living in a world separate from reality called Barbieland a world where Barbie is everything, from the president to a Nobel prize laureate to a doctor. She runs this world in all her iterations, until the stereotypical Barbie somehow gets thoughts about death, she gets a flat foot (CHAOS!) and she gets cellulites (THE HORROR!)- she has to fix this by travelling in the real world with Ken and in this she meets a hard working mother and her cynical daughter- fun hijinks galore!

This movie has got the aesthetics DOWN, like it's so pretty and so meticulously done with all the details, to how the actors act and how the worlds are built- this is more on how the Barbie world is, because when it mixes with the real world. That's where things get a bit complicated.

Example; There's no actual "real" separation between Barbieland or the real world, meaning that the real world feels like a mirror flipped version of Barbieland where people act just as outlandish as the titular dolls. I kinda wish that Greta would've made a script that actually puts Barbie in real world, how it is right now, and I know that Greta is great at making reality feel relatable and recognisable and human but I felt there was not much of a difference. Maybe it was so that they could fill the whole Mattel-company storyline in it? Either way I wish that Greta would play more with these contrasts and fish-out-of-water-feelings.

This in turn makes the other characters that should be relatable for the moviegoers- i.e. The daughter and the mother feel painfully flat and just unnecessary for the story overall, despite making them "deep" they felt honestly super flat, like dolls and stereotypes of characters in a movie. And I don't think that was Greta's intention, not if you see the movies that she's done before where there's always a singular perspective but here I think she's kind of confused on who to use the perspective the most on. Luckily it is Barbie and Ken for the most of the movie, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are doing a fantastic job at playing these characters and it's in their moments where the comedy shines the most.

Another missed opportunity generally I think is just addressing the gay history that is tied to the Barbie brand. And how gay men like me were influenced by it- not to say that this was absolutely important for a movie like this but I still feel like it would've made sense, at least the gay doll of 90s Ken (who was made popular in the 90s due to being bought by mostly gay men) made an appearance, if only briefly. I know, I shouldn't make demands about this but I feel like there would've been something even more interesting with addressing all the boys that play with Barbie dolls, the "real world" feels very black and white in this sense. But I regress, this is just a tangent and a thought!

I love the comedic and camp elements, I think they are what sustain the movie and the fashion of course. Also I love that it brings forth the themes of feminism as that is needed in a movie like this, I think that it does so in a great manner. Is it the movie that I wanted? Not really, but I'm glad that it exists, I'm glad that I saw it. Maybe I was too much swayed by the whole PR marketing strategy but I really wanted this to be a new camp and fun fun classic. Instead it feels just good and that's ok. I wanted it to be more of an adult-oriented movie and maybe that's where Greta kind of flubbed it, trying to make it both kid and adult friendly but she honestly doesn't succeed at neither and that's alright.

Say what you want about Cutie Honey, but it's a movie that's characterised by its fun- in very few movies have I felt the joy and vibrancy of its director behind it. Considering Hideaki's past endeavours, the much more serious in tone Love + Pop and Neon Genesis Evangelion one would think this movie impossible in his overall oeuvre but it's not- it fits right there earning its place as one of his greatest films. Or that's what I feel in my heart at least.

So Cutie Honey follows the story of Honey Kisaragi, an immortal human born again by the power of love achieved through her choker that her father made when she got into a car accident. A shady and otherworldly organisation called the Panther Claws are trying to get this collar's technology in order to continue being immortal so Honey meets two other people, serious policewoman Natsuki and journalist Seiji that will get her to the bottom of this organisation.

Now let's start with some positives, I think the people that make all of these new superhero movies nowadays should learn a thing or two about this one- Hideaki isn't concerned with making another "origin story" but instead plants the viewer directly into the drama and action of it all. Even if I didn't knew what Cutie Honey was before watching the movie I still felt that I knew these characters and what the gist of the plot was. We still get some minor exposition dumps here and there but it's nothing that interrupts the experience in my opinion- and it happens naturally too (according to me!).

Another thing that I love about this movie is its commitment to use more practical effects and actual miniature set pieces- there's an extras documentary included in the DVD where Hideaki Anno explained that he wanted to keep any digital VFX to a minimum which is just so amazing, wish moviemakers had that same mindset today! Heck, he even created a new style of animation in this movie, a type of animation that combines the poses and stunts a real life actor does with the movements of an anime and manga panel.

Keeping on with the positives, and that's in the hugely talented cast that supports this movie. It wouldn't work otherwise, everyone is camping it up to the max and I love to see it. It all appears as if they're having maximum fun giving their all to make this movie as fun as possible- even supposed newcomer Eriko Sato (the role of Honey) makes a fun and engaging main role (it's kinda weird tho how in the dvd she's marketed as the top swimsuit model of Japan and not an actress lol!).

Another thing that I love is just how it's filmed, it perhaps doesn't have a lot of the experimental shots that one is accustomed to see in Hideaki's past films (Love + Pop being an excellent example for this), but it still carries style and camp and flair.

Speaking of camp, this movie goes all out in visuals, acting and is why I think it could turn off a lot of people expecting something else, due to it being from Hideaki and such but I think if you just let yourself go and just enjoy it for what it is then it delivers in spades!

And now for a few negatives, namely that this movie can feel quite nonsensical in structure and some characters don't get very fleshed out. I know that's one of the main disadvantages of remaking an anime/manga into a live action movie, in a manga you get the development and fleshing out of characters in many many pages but in a movie it has to be cut down... In this aspect I still think Hideaki does a fine job.

All in all this is a wonderful movie, filled with fun and lots of heart and campness. Check it out!

I think it's one of the most common things that we humans experience in our lives, the wish to fly. Haven't we all imagined to have the power to just lift off the ground and leave all the problems that you have behind? I sure have, and this movie taps into that exact feeling- it's not perfect but it sure leaves you thinking.

The Bird People of China follows the trip of salaryman Wada that is tasked to go to a village in China to find a new vein full of precious stones like jade and exploit it for the good of the company which will lead to a modernisation of a village. It doesn't take long when Wada's trip is intercepted by older Yakuza Ujjie who is tasked to follow Wada's trip in order to ensure payment for his clan (that Wada's company is in debt with). Little do both know how this trip will impact them.

Let's start with the positives, I think this movie is very well done- it's beautiful, it has excellent style and somehow manages to balance the difference in tones when it needs to. The drama, the comedy, the absurdity and more. The vistas of China are breathtaking and almost hypnotic. It's almost as if Takashi Miike wanted to show the meaning of a place that is untouched by modernisation. I think this movie shares a bit of a thematic link with another movie by Takeshi Kitano that is called Sonatine, where Yakuza go to Okinawa and experience a sort of purgatory (just like with this movie where the literal road to this village is called "the road of death"). There's also themes of exploitation and the awfulness of our busy modern lives, these are all present throughout the movie and is conveyed in meaningful ways.

The music is also pretty good and thematic to the movie. The actors are pretty great overall. This is really something so different from what I've seen from Takashi Miike and it makes me appreciate his skill in making movies more, he's made so many movies yet he can do them so amazingly and here's another one that shows another facet of his art.

Now to some of the negatives, despite the general beauty and skill in making this movie I feel that it has a few pacing problems at 1hr 58 mins this movie feels a bit too long and some of the mysteries present just don't take the plot anywhere. You could basically make a much tighter film by cutting down 20 mins I think. It can be argued that the pacing is vital to the movie but I feel that it hinders it to feel that it has a drive, even if it's meant to be a bit meditative and serious at the second half.

All in all I think this is a good movie from Takashi Miike that I think more should experience, even if the pacing and story structure poses a few problems I still think that it has something meaningful to say about our lives in modern civilisation and how we're drawn to it despite the hurt that it gives us. A wonderful effort that should be considered as one of the best movies in the Takashi Miike oeuvre.

It's no news that the story of Pinocchio is one of the most adapted stories in the overall cinema oeuvre, it's a pretty compelling story with darker shades that have captivated many throughout the years, that's why it's with great pleasure to see that one of the greatest of cinema, Guillermo del Toro has chosen to adapt this tale into his darker fairytale style. He's already done this with the brilliant Pan's Labyrinth and that movie about Día de los Muertos that I haven't seen yet. However, with the story of Pinocchio I've only ever seen the Disney version (and my only reference on how this story has been done), and despite all the times that I've seen it as a kid it was one of the Disney movies that scared me the most with its elements of body horror and being swallowed alive by a whale monster- how does Guillermo fare in adapting this tale?

Pinocchio follows the life of Gepetto, a masterful carpenter in an Italian village with the backdrop of the Italian fascist dictatorship looming over him, after the loss of his son his grief is touched or overheard by a forest spirit that decides to give a puppet that Gepetto did, life to accompany him and be his son.

At first glance the story seems to follow the basic story threads and plot of the other Pinocchios however it doesn't, it adds a whole different side to how it is told with a new ending and a different side plot, characters and motive that sheds a whole new light into the story. The most basic element of any Pinocchio story is that of a boy that learns to not lie anymore, however in here Guillermo switches the narrative- rather than a boy learning not to lie it's more about being truthful to oneself and one's own ideals, this is perhaps the most truthful Pinocchio that we've ever got! Don't get me wrong, we do get the whole "nose grows because of lies"-thingy but it's used extremely sparingly and only as a plot device for something that happens near the end of the movie. This Pinocchio isn't chastised because of his lies, it's more because he represents the freedom that so many despise, especially in fascist Italy which changes the whole element of this narrative. This was a good choice that Guillermo made but perhaps it's gonna throw off some viewers. I also like that he used the backdrop of fascist era Italy for this story it's almost too perfect!

The animation is GORGEOUS, it's made with such care and fluidity- in a cinema landscape where 3D animation is the norm it is a great joy for me to see that directors want to do something in this style- it takes a lot more time but it's worth it! You can see the love that's been given to all of the frames, the character designs, it's truly an artful masterpiece in this manner.

The actors are great as well, although there's a bit of a disparity on who gets to have an Italian accent or not, Pinocchio has a very British accent which is alright but it takes away from some of the immersion of the movie (I know this is nitpicky but I think it is worth mentioning). Overall everyone is super good!

The music is good, it's fun to see some of the musical numbers, I don't think they take over the movie (sometimes even interrupted by the characters in the movie when it is perceived to be "annoying") and they serve the movie well.

Despite me loving the movie I think it has a few shortcomings, they don't affect the overall experience but I think they should've been looked into a bit more.

The majority of the movie is about Pinocchio rebelling against his surroundings and instilling friendships in those situations, which is a good thing, but the main problem of this is that the relationship between Pinocchio and Gepetto isn't really earned which makes the impact of that ending scene a bit less emotional (in the context of the movie it is super sad and emotional but it's just not earned to be that way due to how Gepetto and Pinocchio act in the majority of the movie). Gepetto starts his relationship with Pinocchio fearing and almost hating him which makes Pinocchio disappear for the rest of the movie into something else, it would've been way more impactful if perhaps Gepetto could've been a part of these escapades that Pinocchio has? That would've made it even more impactful!

Considering the ending, I won't spoil it here but it adds some really unnecessary continuity to the story which makes it less impactful (again) it also doesn't tie the plot in some of the aspects of one character that is left in the dust (namely the boy named Candlewick).

Another thing that I wish this story would have is perhaps more of Guillermo's signature horror sensibilities, stop motion animation is PERFECT for this type of mashup of genres (see Coraline) and here it does have some unnerving elements but nothing more which is strange considering how amazing Guillermo is at doing this. I honestly think the Disney movie is more scary than this one. I blame this aspect on the marketing and the critics of this film cause they said that this was a bit scary but it isn't really. At least not for me.

All in all this is a great movie, it is awesome to see Guillermo expanding his range to other types of filmmaking and it is always amazing to see stop motion animation- despite some plot choices and some lack of edge I think it still stands as one of the greatest adaptations of Pinocchio. Check it out!

Just kidding haha! But it would be funny if this film incited more people to join the police force just as Top Gun did for the air force. However, I don't think that's the case for Kopps here in Sweden, nevertheless it still stands as one of the most iconic films from Josef Fares who's been a very influential film in Swedish comedy culture. This movie was also a big part of my own upbringing in Sweden as an immigrant child, so I feel a close connection to this one.

Kopps follows the life of Jacob who works at the police force in a very small village, you know the deal, everyone knows everyone, no crime, only one restaurant where they sell hot dogs and waffles. We get to know the other members of the police force as well! Either way it's a very comfortable life, until that is all shaken by the arrival of Jessica a worker from the Swedish police force HQ that says that they are gonna need to close the police force in the village down due to them having no crime for more than 10 years... so in order to keep their small police force to stay they're going to need to up the crime statistics in their town, with hilarious results!

Let's start with the obvious, this film is FUNNY, I love the humour, it's a blend of reference humour to awkward to quirky to slapstick which is blended in a very fun way. Josef Fares knows his way around a punch line which is also played to every actors strength, as you'll see they're all very good comedians who even do standup and comedy in real life as well (most notably Sissela Kyle in this group). It's also filmed in a very charming manner, like an ode to those American films but in a very small town way, so the film has its own aesthetic despite being a comedy movie (who mostly don't have a good aesthetic). It's very simple but don't let that fool you, it looks beautiful in its simplicity even! I also appreciate the length of this movie, it is short but sweet. It's crazy how all films are almost always 2 hours long nowadays, really don't like that.

Even the music is alright! Making its own tribute to those action film soundtracks but in a small town Swedish movie.

If there's any negatives to say about this movie I guess the ending feels a bit anticlimactic? I won't spoil it here but it ends in a punchline that is funny however they should've done a little bit more to make that punchline deserved.

(It's still a great ending but if I made it I would've changed some of it!).

Check it out if you want a piece of Swedish pop culture, it's a film that's been almost everywhere and everyone knows about it, both this one and Jalla Jalla are amazing!

Home Alone 2 shouldn't work, but it oddly does? It does so by keeping the spirit of the original alive by improving it and making the stakes and plot bigger and better! And here's why.

Home Alone 2 follows Kevin from the first movie, except instead of being left alone at his home he instead gets alone in the city of New York (he got separated from his family in the airport), he learns how to fend himself in the big city and to encounter a familiar villain from the first film.

First off the positives, the movie is much longer than the first one but doesn't feel like it- instead the length feels generous and you don't really want to leave the wintery streets of New York. Building on this critique I think it builds up an excellent atmosphere, just like in the second movie- it breathes christmas through and through. The direction is nostalgically filmed and grand for a movie like this, it looks good with effective shots. The music isn't as memorable as the first one but serves a good purpose throughout.

The actors are excellent as well, delivering their best comedic timing (I mean, who doesn't love Tim Curry!?).

If there are any negatives to be said well... I'd say it's the same as the first one, so many plot points are very hard to explain for this movie, for example how couldn't the family see Kevin go out of the plain when they arrive to Florida? Or didn't the mum check for her son in the plane? It all feels a bit strange but then you have to remember this is a Home Alone movie so just go with the flow. I guess it is kind of hard to write another disappearance and trying to make it make sense, because in a way the characters should have learned from the mistakes of the first movie but eh, it's better not to think too hard about it!

Either way this movie succeeds as a great sequel, building up the ante and just being pure unadulterated Christmas fun. Check it out, if you have seen the first one!

Just kidding haha... but it's what's been memed to death over and over again regarding this colossus of the Christmas season, Home Alone. A movie so universally loved that it even has some conspiracy theories behind it (Elvis is still alive and works as an extra in the movie!?), and it is not hard to wonder why it is such a success, it is written by perhaps one of the greatest people to understand how young people are, and that is John Hughes.

In Home Alone we follow the story of Kevin the youngest in a family of 7 (plus cousins and whatever) who is the one that gets the shaft every single time (his siblings and cousins constantly mock him for being so young). An evening when the whole whole WHOLE family is gathered before a trip to Paris in the morning Kevin gets into a big fight that makes him get mad at his family wishing that they never appear in his life again. Morning comes and the family forgets about Kevin and go to Paris. The rest you probably know.

Let's get this out of the way, Home Alone is amazing. Despite all of its plot holes it still works very well as a Christmas movie and as a great movie overall. It makes me wish that we were still in the 90s when people dared to write original movies and concepts, don't get me wrong there are new and original movies right now but not in the same vein as Home Alone and other franchises back then. It has the perfect sheer sheen of nostalgia all around it, it's filmed in a very effective and great way and it has great practical effects.

The music is also legendary with a score that is so iconic that you can't even imagine the movie without it.

Same thing with the acting in this movie it's pretty great for a movie like this, everyone knows what type of movie it is and give their most fun and heartfelt performance. It feels honestly like they had so much fun filming this movie!

Negatives, it feels kinda obvious but there are so many times Kevin could've just gone to the police and stay at the police station or something. The whole plot device of the phone lines not working just doesn't hold a lot of water (especially when later in the movie there are phones working as if by magic). Also there's so many times could've seen where their kid is (I have a hard time believing that they didn't see Kevin going out of the car to the airport, being in a hurry or not). I could go on for ages on how they could've just done stuff much simpler but that kind of ruins the magic of the movie so I choose not to think about these too much. I wouldn't have forgiven these if there were errors like these in any other movie but due to the fact that this movie is fun and great makes it still work and hold together despite its errors and that's a testament to how good it is.

Do I have to say more? If you haven't seen Home Alone then please do it, and if you have kids even better- they deserve to see something fun! I'll always remember the magic of seeing this for the first time in my life. Something that I revisit every single year.

Be warned, this review is completely subjective due to excessive watching during childhood and adulthood in Christmastime. The Santa Clause might have a lot of faults, mostly referring to plot and general effects of the movie, but in my heart this is one of the best Christmas movies out there.

In The Santa Clause we meet Scott Calvin, a successful toy maker (just like Santa!) who's become a bit estranged to his son after he divorced his wife. Christmas Eve comes and both Scott and his son find that Santa fell off the roof, unwillingly Scott takes Santas clothes and flies in the sleigh with Charlie (his son)- a Christmas adventure unfolds, one that transforms Scott both physically and mentally.

This movie is so fun, it has its hilarious moments that honestly work for adults as well. It has that 90s style of writing that is fun and catchy (doesn't work as well for the kids/elves dialogues though). I also like how this premise is such an inventive one on the big lore oeuvre of Santa, when I watched this as a kid I actually believed this was the truth. Or partly the truth at least! Adding to this, despite this movie's simple premise it does add a lot of details that you can find after watching it more times, and that honestly just shows that they actually cared while making this movie.

The actors are great too, not so much the child actors but that's ok really, some of them are good but that's all there is to this. Tim Allen shines in the titular role of Santa, the actors know what type of movie it is so they just have fun with it!

Music is alright, it's your typical Disney fare, nothing too remarkable but effective of course.

Now to some of the negatives, I guess a lot of the visual aspects have aged considerably- visual effects, costumes, etc etc. But honestly I think this kinda adds to the charm of the movie, it doesn't deter from the experience for me, it's just a movie of its time really, and I don't think kids even think about it when they watch it, it's the heart behind it that counts really.

It also has some weird plot holes here and there, I understand why though because it's such a short movie so I guess they had to write around many of the parts that needed perhaps some explanation. One of the most glaring examples of this is of course one of the first things you encounter in the movie, and that is the old Santa disappearing (dying?) after falling off the roof. It's so funny how none of the elves are sad when they return to the North Pole. This is something that I've really been thinking about all these times that I watched the movie.

Also the kids acting, it's the typical problem of adults just not knowing how to write kids dialogues in the movie but honestly, for a film like this it's alright. I know it gave me a spur of attitude cause I wanted to be like the Charlie or one of the elves.

With the high rating I gave this movie you might think I'm biased, which I am obviously but it feels wrong to give it a lower rating- it's just against what I've felt and enjoyed by watching this movie, it deserves the high rating for making all of my Christmasses special, it's an old friend that I can't wait to visit every year. Cheers, the Santa Clause!

I don't know why more people talk about Trading Places in the context of Christmas movies? Maybe because it also includes New Years as well? Or maybe because it is so well-written it transcends the Christmas movie label? I think it has something to do with that but either way I watch it every single year during Christmas and every time it is a joy to watch.

Trading Places follows Winthorpe, a well-off stock broker (I think that's his job?) that suddenly sees his life completely turned upside down due to his bosses placing a bet (social experiment) to test if one's social background is determining of what you're going to be in life by replacing him with a homeless person Billy Ray Valentine- a comedy of switch-ups and errors ensue.

First of I gotta say this movie is FUNNY- from start to finish it just has that electric and effervescent feel of movies in the 80s that is heightened more by it's iconic cast. It certainly does feel like you're watching a whole ensemble at the theatre, everyone is so charismatic and likeable, there's not a single bad actor in this.

It's also very striking in its themes I'd say, something that resonates even today- especially how people in those market exchange places are and just rich people in general. Something that hasn't changed from how people are today. I appreciate a comedy with some underlying critique and this one has it in spades!

Also it's just gorgeous, even if it's aged if you watched the restored blu Ray version then it looks so crisp and beautiful, it portrays the wintery city of Philadelphia in such a grand and cool way as well. It's effective in its use of style.

The soundtrack is also great, very great use of both (at the time) modern music and classic to achieve really comedic and fun effects.

If there's anything negative that I'd say about this film then some of the uses of a slur and "depiction" is something that you wouldn't see in a film today but I think that it's mostly a product of it's time and if you see the movie then you'll understand why as well!

Also it has some plot holes here and there but nothing that takes away from the greatness of this film!

If you have time, check it out!

Watching Tetsuo: The Iron Man is akin to watching a music video, very fast paced and lots and lots and lots of symbolism. It's both a fascinating and disorienting watch that's perhaps not for everyone.

In Tetsuo: The Iron Man we follow a "metal fetishist" a man who has a penchant for inserting metal objects into his body who gets run over by an everyday salaryman- this happening makes them both undergo a transformation beyond their dreams.

Let's address the positives, this movie manages to make such an interesting and amazing world with so little- you'll see everything trick in the filmmaking book applied with love. The images and scenes speak for themselves which honestly leaves a taste for something bigger and grander that is only alluded to in this movie. The music, wow wow wow, this is perhaps the strongest and my most favourite part of the movie, consisting of industrial and thumping rhythms, I almost had the urge to dance mid-movie, really excellently done. It adds to the atmosphere of the movie in an amazing way. It's added in the movie in such a way that you feel it's both diegetic and non-diegetic!

The makeup, practical effects are amazing, obviously most of it is skilfully hidden by black and white filters or stop motion but honestly it makes it all look so good and adds to the world building in a way.

Also this movie has a few understated queer themes in it which is very interesting, almost in the same way as Alien has some queer themes.

Now to the negatives... I do understand why this movie has earned such a cult status, it is cool- I can't deny that. But the problem of it is that so many of its ideas and executions just don't feel very fully realised. It's clear that you can see a potential in the movie, something to be improved upon. But is a movie a great movie if I need to read a summary of the plot just to understand what is going on beforehand? No, at least not in my book. Information like that should only be read to expand the world of the movie, not as a dictionary for what is happening. And that is just what is happening in the movie, most of the context is delivered through haphazard and franticly cut scenes, perhaps adding to the nightmarish quality of it all but to me it just made it all into a confusing mess. Reading a plot summary helps, but to me I shouldn't even have needed to have done that. Also the overall presentation reads as a bit too pretentious, I understand that this is a part of an artistic vision but it's just so confusing, why does "arty" always have to be hard to understand? Why do you need to be a film fan to understand it? It's just silly, and this is honestly the same feelings that I have towards the movie Eraserhead by David Lynch, a movie that wastes the watcher's time in order to prove that it's "art".

As you see I feel a bit mixed with this movie, it has some pretty cool achievements but the bones that should carry it, the plot, just doesn't make sense without some contextual guidance from the net, that to me drags the overall grade down. As I said, I do understand why this movie has a big cult following, it has splashes of brilliance and should be watched by movie fans- it's also these splashes of brilliance that leave you wanting more. A more coherent story made with a bigger budget, this movie would look so cool in colour and with some proper funding and some coherent storytelling. Perhaps a remake in the future? That would be so cool! But for now we have this and it's so interesting. But not for everyone.

For the people that haven't seen RuPaul's Drag Race this might seem like an odd title. And honestly that goes for the rest of the movie, cause 99.99.99% of this movie is reference humour, either to RPDR or other camp gay culture. By the way an acting challenge is a type of challenge in every RPDR season where the competing drag queens have to act in a campy and comedic short, some of these can be funny and some of these are not funny. This movie falls in-between the two (although relatively better scripted than any of those challenges).

So, in The Bitch Who Stole Christmas we follow Olivia, a girl who's been working every Christmas since a child is ordered by her boss(adoptive mother) Hannah to report about a crown that is given out every year to a winner in the Christmas loving town of Tuckahoe. When she arrives to Tuckahoe she quickly befriends the town's outsiders to enter the competition and get that crown.

Let's start with some of the positives. I think this is such a fun idea to make, a more queer and campy twist to the usual Christmas time movies that we get. The drag queens casted are phenomenal and fun, I love that Jaymes Mansfield gets a fairly major role and some other queens get a more deserving shine on the spotlight. Ru is also deliciously campy despite some of the problems of her presence in the script (I'll get to it later). Also there's some fun celeb cameos.

And now to our negatives which seem to outweigh some of the positives. Let's start with what the viewer sees in the movie, Michelle Visage narrating in a Christmas cabin. I love Michelle Visage, she can be funny and has some really great charisma but it was unclear as to why she was a narrator? Was she a citizen of Tuckahoe? Why does she know about this story? If this was perhaps a part of a Christmas anthology with some connections to the story then it would've been passable but I would've loved to see more of a connection that the narrator has to the story.

And now let's talk about plot... for a relatively simple premise they sure didn't spend a lot of time trying to make the plot make sense, I didn't understand why it was so important for Olivia to write about a crown in Tuckahoe, they could've made that so much more clear. And the boss, Hannah, seems to change motives mid-plot which was so confusing. Everything could've been made much clearer.

Speaking of clearer, let's talk about Tuckahoe, for those of you who don't watch RPDR Tuckahoe is a fictive place that's generally (but not always) used as a setting for these acting challenges (the name is a play on the act of hiding your d**k through duck tape which is called tucking). And what first hits me when I get to revisit this place is why not go all out with it? Why not make every citizen a drag queen? That would've been so much more fun plus more drag queens get casted! It was very unclear why that town was special in the movie (Christmas loving?). For me personally it was a very big missed opportunity in cementing this place and building upon its campy lore. I was kind of disappointed to see there were a myriad of regular non drag queen people living on Tuckahoe... why? Maybe it's expensive to hire RuPaul drag queens just to be in the background but my idea still stands I think, they should've made Tuckahoe a drag queen only place.

Speaking of only drag queens I think that it is such a shame and missed opportunity to cast a regular girl actor as the leading role for this movie, don't get me wrong I think she does an ok job but goddammit I want to see at least a queer person at the helm of this movie, considering this is an RPDR-type of fare there should've been a drag queen casted as the main role instead. There's so many RPDR drag queens who could've carried the movie excellently and made it more fun. It seems like they casted the role of Olivia to appeal to the more casual non-queer demographic of RPDR watchers but I honestly think it was so ill-fitting. I want to see drag queens not regular people.

Which leads me to the next criticism, even if it is very much a RPDR-type of fare the drag queens in this movie are SEVERELY under-utilised, and I mean it. It's such a shame that "The Broads" in the movie (consisting of Ginger Minj, Peppermint, Jan and Brooke Lynn Hytes) are just not used particularly well, despite each of them having such charisma (which somehow appeared despite them being so under-utilised). They still made me laugh but I wish they would've been used more and got developed more as characters. None of them really get their own small narrative or use in the story (see Paddington movie, that does this with each of its main secondary characters that despite having simple plot motivations and everything, feels much more satisfying to watch cause it's all connected). Also Brooke Lynn's Russian accent... I understand what they were going for, but in the oeuvre of RPDR drag queens that particular character is mainly attributed to Katya... maybe it was a riff on Katya? Maybe not? Either way they could've made it stand out more and made it more "Brooke Lynn Hytes"- I mean she's so funny and has such a glowing charisma and personality, just watch her host Canada's Drag Race which makes her a phenomenal queen, so to see her do a Katya impression is a bit of (again) a missed opportunity.

RuPaul... from the poster of the movie and the marketing that I saw (last year tho when it was a Paramount + exclusive) it seems that she was gonna have a much bigger role than what we get to see here. Instead we see a weirdly detached and green-screened villain-type of character that just doesn't feel like she's a part of the movie at all. And RuPaul is FUN! She has shown that she can carry acting chops into the deliciously camp territory which she does here but she just does not have any presence in the movie, it's like they deliberately wrote her role so that she would have as little to do as possible... perhaps to give space to the other drag queens? I WISH! This movie doesn't have a drag queen main character. Instead we get regular girl and RuPaul appearing sometimes on a green screen.

Which leads me to the next question, who is this film even for? The main demographic is obviously RPDR fans but to me it appears they want to have a wider appeal as well which makes the movie not commit to what it truly is, camp. They should've gone all the way honestly. No matter the demographics. Which is confusing to me because of the type of humour it does, it relies way too much on reference and "aware/self aware"-humour which can be too on the nose and confusing for someone who perhaps doesn't watch drag race. Some of the references might fly over peoples heads, but it's so confusing how they made the movie try to be wider-appealing but at the same time be for RPDR fans which doesn't work at all- they should've committed to one line, not both.

All in all, this was an okay watch, it got some laughs out of me and I'll probably watch it again with some friends or something (that watch RPDR). But it's such a missed opportunity in so many ways that I can't with an honest heart give a high rating, but at the same time I wish they could do more films like these. They don't have to be oscar-worthy plots but they can be funny and campy, we LGBTQs need that, especially in such a lonely and trying time as Christmas.

Watching Paddington is such a revelation in itself, not because of its cute main character but in the ease it communicates its plot points so flawlessly without leaving a single detail behind. I've seen this movie more than 6 times now and it's always a pleasure every single time.

Paddington is about the titular bear who due to a natural catastrophe has to move from his home in the darkest Peru to find a new home (hopefully) in London.

The plot is relatively simple and easy to follow that both adults and kids can enjoy which makes this movie into a universally appealing affair. Very well made. Even the smallest plot points get their due resolution later in the movie, it's basic movie making 101 that not all moviemakers are capable of following. And it's in this achievement alone that sets Paddington apart from the rest. Even as a kids movie it's an achievement because kids movies usually are made without much thought about plot or anything else, cause kids don't crave as much as adults- but they do, they do see when a movie is made without care, which is why Paddington is amazing in that perspective. Also it achieves so much more than what movies achieve in 1 hr 35 mins, that runtime is almost unheard of today. Everyone has to do an ultra over bloated 2-3 hour movie and don't even manage to make you capable to sit through it. But Paddington with its effective use of forward momentum and plot does so much more for that!

The setting, the scenes and everything is made with a wonderful colour palette that is expressive and wonderful to watch. The costumes as well. The actors too, Sally Hawkins is exceptional as always, showing that she's a funny person. Even the voice of Paddington is just so well fitting, so iconic and amazing! Also the way Paddington's animated is so charming, even if some aspects of his animation is going to age (the unfortunate quandary of CGI animation) I think he's still gonna look just as cute and good a few years forward. The humour is also very effective, it almost has an Amelie de Montmatre type of quality in its observations (scenes) and humour which is very detail-oriented just like Amelie.

If there's any negative that I can give this movie is perhaps the soundtrack? It's just a bit unremarkable that's all, and I'm not talking about the Calypso band providing music cause they are freaking amazing, more of them in the movie please!

As you see I'm gushing about this movie, I love it! There's no other way about it, it's just so wonderful to see something that can give you so much happiness, and that's what Paddington is for me. Please watch it!

Today I got the privilege to be the first in Scandinavia to see the fully restored version of Satoshi Kon's masterful psychological thriller "Perfect Blue". First time I saw it was on a small laptop screen in my room, so it was definitely fitting to have the privilege to see it once again in full HD glory and wow is it even more amazing than I remembered it being. Also I'm surprised at how the themes of this movie still ring true today, truly visionary.

"Perfect Blue" follows the story of underground idol artist Mima Kirigoe that decides suddenly to change profession and go into the world of acting instead, but not everyone agrees with her decision... we soon get to experience a very intense and frantic story of mind games and psychological terror as Mina struggles to piece together her new identity- is she really Mima? Or just a traitor?

Let's start with the animation, it's very simple but so effectively done- it uses all the tricks available to convey the atmosphere that feels at times ultra bright and glossy to damp and claustrophobic. Every frame is used in a very effective way too, rife with symbolism and use of perspectives that give many meanings in consecutive watches. When I first saw this movie I unfortunately missed a lot of these symbols and references but now that I saw it in cinema it was as if I saw a completely new movie.

Same goes with the soundtrack which at first you think is gonna be filled with j-pop confections but soon turn into a very haunting, spectral and industrial score that sets the chilling tone for the rest of the movie. The music is very effectively used as well.

Also one of the most interesting themes that this movie takes up and what first hit me is how dominated by men the whole movie is, everything from the creepy obsessive male fans to the predatory men in the show business- the film pits these two against each other but you soon realise how much alike these people are. It's interesting and brave how this movie chose to portray this because it certainly does ring true today, even in the west. I see that a lot with alternative pop/electronic/rock female artists here in the west, a lot of the creepy comments come from these types of guys portrayed in the movie, possessive and unhinged.

It's interesting how this movie also uses the chamber of technology and the internet as something that can intrude upon your own personal life. It really is scary how this predicted how the internet was gonna be like much later. The constant closeness to people you don't know, the threat of doxing and the strong echo of opinions voiced on the net. This movie uses this very masterfully in a way that doesn't feel dated either.

Another thing that you have to be ready for when you watch this movie is that it can be a bit disorienting to watch, and it's made intentionally so. But never so much so that you lose the thread of the plot, this is all in Nina's perspective and it is done so well. It's also this that really invites you to watch it again, honestly I wish I didn't wait so long to see it again cause the second watch really brings more to the table.

All in all this is a masterfully done film, and to think that this was the debut feature of Satoshi Kon. I am truly thankful for his contribution to animation and adult themes in animation, showing that it's not only a medium made for children. Satoshi Kon really knew how to push the envelope which is why it hurts so much to think that he's not with us anymore, but thankfully we got this and some more movies! If you haven't seen Perfect Blue yet please do so!