I am so tired of fatal illness love stories and the bittersweetness of youth.
I keep meaning to talk about movies I've watched recently, but then I put it off and watch more movies and end up with more to talk about. Argh, let's deal with this before it gets out of hand.
Fish Story: Apparently based on a novel by the same guy who wrote Jyuryoku Pierrot, which I did not know was based on a novel. Much like Pierrot, Fish Story is kind of incredibly awesome. It has so much cool stuff without getting out of hand or turning especially unrealistic - an impending apocalypse, a champion of justice, multiple timelines, and Kora Kengo singing a punk version of Nagasaki wa Kyou mo Ame Datta. OMG it was just. I loved it. The ending scene was just so perfect, I don't even know what to say. ♥
ROCKERS: It seemed so ridiculous, and then I found out it's based on a true story. You guys, IDEK. I thought it would be cool to see Sato Ryuta and Okada Yoshinori in a movie together, but Tamaki Hiroshi and Nakamura Shunsuke were just so awesome there was no room for anyone else to be awesome. Just go watch this, and then realize that the climax of the movie is them doing four songs in five minutes. JUST. SO. COOL.
Linda Linda Linda: High school girls performing songs by The Blue Hearts, and Matsuyama Kenichi doing his damnedest to speak Korean. What else could I want in a movie? Admittedly it is really slice-of-life-y, which does not always work so great for movies and left the plot feeling kind of thin, but what little incidental bits of plot and non-plot do pop up are pretty good. And of course I adore The Blue Hearts, so *THUMBS UP*
Tenshi no Koi: This movie was just so... IDK. I didn't much like it, let's put it that way. I thought the heroine was just irredemably bitchy, so when the movie was like, "She's in love! That means she's a good person now!" I totally did not buy it. Her love interest, on the other hand, was pretty awesome. I would've watched an entire movie just about him, no heroine involved. I keep forgetting Tanihara Shousuke's such a good actor. I'd say it's almost worth watching just for him. I am getting so sick of fatal illness love stories, though. =/
Aruitemo Aruitemo: I would bet money that Koreeda Hirokazu watched a bunch of Ozu films before making this. I say that partly because of the mostly stationary camerawork, partly because of the plot, and partly because oh god the pacing it just never ends. It's weird how it feels really Koreeda but also really Ozu. But I don't really get why Abe Hiroshi was cast in the lead role; the fit was not quite right, and it made the whole film seem very slightly off-balance to me. Ultimately it's a good film, but really not my style.
Fure Fure Shoujo: Oh gosh this movie is so cute and nice, and aaaahhh Aragaki Yui in a gakuran! Oh gosh oh gosh this movie, it just gives me piles of good feelings and makes me want to make everyone watch it. ♥
Little DJ ~Chiisana Koi no Monogatari: How did I stumble into another fatal illness love story without even knowing it? :( But oh gosh this movie was pretty good, especially given my affection for '70s jpop. It's really just an all-around good movie, and Kamiki Ryunosuke is just so darn good in it, but omg the end is just so sad. And some of the middle parts, actually. Okay I'm getting sad thinking about it, let's move on.
Lemon no Koro: The more I think about this movie, the less I like it. If Linda Linda Linda was a high school festival film about the bittersweetness of youth and the value of friendship among girls, Lemon no Koro is a high school festival film about the bittersweetness of youth and how girls are defined by their relationship with men which are typically subpar and unsatisfying, and if a girl looks for more for herself in life this is to be considered a Bad Ending. Eikura Nana and Tanimura Mitsuki were totally wasted on this movie, and I will go out of my way to avoid Iwata Yuki movies in the future. In short, I am disappoint. :(
Fish Story: Apparently based on a novel by the same guy who wrote Jyuryoku Pierrot, which I did not know was based on a novel. Much like Pierrot, Fish Story is kind of incredibly awesome. It has so much cool stuff without getting out of hand or turning especially unrealistic - an impending apocalypse, a champion of justice, multiple timelines, and Kora Kengo singing a punk version of Nagasaki wa Kyou mo Ame Datta. OMG it was just. I loved it. The ending scene was just so perfect, I don't even know what to say. ♥
ROCKERS: It seemed so ridiculous, and then I found out it's based on a true story. You guys, IDEK. I thought it would be cool to see Sato Ryuta and Okada Yoshinori in a movie together, but Tamaki Hiroshi and Nakamura Shunsuke were just so awesome there was no room for anyone else to be awesome. Just go watch this, and then realize that the climax of the movie is them doing four songs in five minutes. JUST. SO. COOL.
Linda Linda Linda: High school girls performing songs by The Blue Hearts, and Matsuyama Kenichi doing his damnedest to speak Korean. What else could I want in a movie? Admittedly it is really slice-of-life-y, which does not always work so great for movies and left the plot feeling kind of thin, but what little incidental bits of plot and non-plot do pop up are pretty good. And of course I adore The Blue Hearts, so *THUMBS UP*
Tenshi no Koi: This movie was just so... IDK. I didn't much like it, let's put it that way. I thought the heroine was just irredemably bitchy, so when the movie was like, "She's in love! That means she's a good person now!" I totally did not buy it. Her love interest, on the other hand, was pretty awesome. I would've watched an entire movie just about him, no heroine involved. I keep forgetting Tanihara Shousuke's such a good actor. I'd say it's almost worth watching just for him. I am getting so sick of fatal illness love stories, though. =/
Aruitemo Aruitemo: I would bet money that Koreeda Hirokazu watched a bunch of Ozu films before making this. I say that partly because of the mostly stationary camerawork, partly because of the plot, and partly because oh god the pacing it just never ends. It's weird how it feels really Koreeda but also really Ozu. But I don't really get why Abe Hiroshi was cast in the lead role; the fit was not quite right, and it made the whole film seem very slightly off-balance to me. Ultimately it's a good film, but really not my style.
Fure Fure Shoujo: Oh gosh this movie is so cute and nice, and aaaahhh Aragaki Yui in a gakuran! Oh gosh oh gosh this movie, it just gives me piles of good feelings and makes me want to make everyone watch it. ♥
Little DJ ~Chiisana Koi no Monogatari: How did I stumble into another fatal illness love story without even knowing it? :( But oh gosh this movie was pretty good, especially given my affection for '70s jpop. It's really just an all-around good movie, and Kamiki Ryunosuke is just so darn good in it, but omg the end is just so sad. And some of the middle parts, actually. Okay I'm getting sad thinking about it, let's move on.
Lemon no Koro: The more I think about this movie, the less I like it. If Linda Linda Linda was a high school festival film about the bittersweetness of youth and the value of friendship among girls, Lemon no Koro is a high school festival film about the bittersweetness of youth and how girls are defined by their relationship with men which are typically subpar and unsatisfying, and if a girl looks for more for herself in life this is to be considered a Bad Ending. Eikura Nana and Tanimura Mitsuki were totally wasted on this movie, and I will go out of my way to avoid Iwata Yuki movies in the future. In short, I am disappoint. :(