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Archive for the ‘Movies’ Category

Movie: CODA

Posted in Hobbies, Movies, tagged , , on February 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The themes are simple and well portrayed: passion versus obligation, and family relationships amid hardships and disadvantages. The soundtrack stands out, especially the beautiful rendition of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.

Here’s a review.

Lyrics:

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
Looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way that you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I’ve looked at love that way

But now it’s just another show
And you leave ’em laughing when you go
And if you care, don’t let them know
Don’t give yourself away

I’ve looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions that I recall
I really don’t know love 
I really don’t know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say, “I love you, ” right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I’ve looked at life that way

Oh, but now old friends, they’re acting strange
And they shake their heads and they tell me that I’ve changed
Well, something’s lost, but something’s gained
In living every day

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all

It’s life’s illusions that I recall
I really don’t know life
I really don’t know life at all

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Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-San (Teasing Master Takagi-san)

Posted in anime, Movies, Uncategorized, tagged , on January 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Love is an uncertain feeling, while enjoying each other’s company is more tangible. I like the chemistry between the main characters, even though Nishikata’s character feels unrealistic when he’s an adult. Infatuation fades, but finding ways to think about our loved ones and enjoy each other’s company seems more sustainable. Their interaction is a bit like Nagao and Rika’s in Tokyo Love Story. The actress Mei Nagano’s expressions remind me of Milet, and the ending song by Aimei is lovely.

PS: I watched the Netflix series after this movie and learned that it is adapted from a shonen manga. I guess it’s like Densha Otoko, where men who lack confidence in themselves have their fantasies come true.

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Movies I Watched on Recent Flights

Posted in Movies, Reflection, tagged on December 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It All Began When I Met You. This’s the Japanese version of Love Actually. While it’s not as good as the original, it helps get me into the Christmas mood. I also like the ending theme song by Yuzu. Here’s a review.

Spy x Family Code: White. I haven’t watched the anime, but the movie works well as a stand-alone story. It features some funny moments and likeable characters. Anya is voiced by the same actress who voices Frieren in Japanese, but the two characters sound noticeably different.

April Come She Will. We get hurt because we care. It’s easier to be alone and detached than to risk the pain of losing someone. But deep down, we all long to love someone in a pure and straightforward way. The film includes beautiful scenery, and Takenouchi Yutaka makes a small appearance. He still looks great after all these years (I like the moments he shared with Takashi Sorimachi in the Japanese drama Beach Boys, where they tried to figure out what they wanted to do in life). Here’s a review.

Living in Two Worlds. This movie reminds me to treasure the time I have with my kids. Time flies, and while we know people age, we often don’t notice it on a daily basis until we look back. In the film, even though the parents are disabled, their love for their child shines through and ultimately matters most for the relationship. Here’s one review.

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Summer Ghost

Posted in anime, Hobbies, Movies, tagged on October 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Short yet beautifully done, it reminds me of the time when I first came across Shinkai Makoto’s earlier short anime.

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Movies I watched recently

Posted in Movies, tagged , , , , , on September 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I watched several movies on recent long-haul flights.

The first is called 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days, a Taiwanese-Japanese co-production about first love, regret, and self-discovery through travel. While the story didn’t resonate with me personally, the characters were likable. The film references various aspects of Asian pop culture, like Mayday, Love Letter, and Slam Dunk, and reminded me a bit of 5 Centimeters per Second. Here’s one review.

I Have to Buy New Shoes was a movie I had watched a long time ago but didn’t remember until I rewatched it. I liked it more this time around. Miho Nakashima is still charming and has great chemistry with Osamu Mukai. She was residing in Paris at that time and speaks French. Iwai Shunji’s camerawork, combined with Sakamoto Ryuichi’s music, made this small Parisian encounter more beautiful. From a review:

Also, Kitagawa, working with producer Iwai Shunji and cameraman Kanbe Chigi, brings a fresh, flawless eye to the beauties of her setting, making even the Eiffel Tower look new. Yes, hers is a quietly glamorous Paris you may not recognize while rushing for the Metro on a rainy February morning. But you can, like Aoi and Sen, see it in the right season, the right light and, of course, with the right person.

All the Long Nights is about two people suffering from different disorders who learn to cope with them and find meaning in life. We all have our own struggles, and sometimes they’re beyond our control. But as this review noted, nobody is beyond repair in Sho Miyake’s films.

Divertimento is based on the true story of twin sisters trying to make it in the classical music world despite their challenges. It suits those who like classical music and the pursuit of excellence. Here’s a review.

Perfect Days is still my favorite movie of the year. I can easily imagine myself living the way the protagonist Hirayama does.

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Perfect Days and Beauty in Routine

Posted in Movies, Reflection, tagged , , , on March 2, 2024| 2 Comments »

It doesn’t take much to live a ‘perfect day’: a simple routine, taking one’s work seriously, and some hobbies along with oldies and books. A good attitude, being present, and paying attention to little things also help. When we find connections with others along the way, it can transform an ordinary daily routine into something magical.

“Komorebi: A Japanese word for the dancing shadow patterns created by sunlight shining through the rustling leaves of trees.”

“Next time is next time. Now is now.”

“The world is made of many worlds. Some are connected, and some are not.”

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Past Lives

Posted in Movies, Relationship, tagged on October 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Here is one review.

Combining the aching yearning of Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love with the casual intimacy of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, it paints a picture of unresolved affection as delicate as it is profound, interweaving timeless themes of fate and providence with more playfully down-to-earth musings on happenstance and shapeshifting identity. The result, which has one foot in South Korea and the other in North America, feels at times like an impossible mashup of Davy Chou’s Return to Seoul and Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle, shot through with a stoical melancholia that recalls the final scenes of Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story. Yes, really.

Life is all about choices. And there is no one correct path. Opening one door often means closing another.

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Before Sunset Apartment

Posted in Movies, Uncategorized, tagged on September 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I am a fan of the Before series and happy to come across this article about the Paris apartment in the movie.

As Celine opens the front door there is an inescapable sense that, unlike the other locations they have visited, this is a destination, not somewhere to pass through.

Yes, we see Celine’s apartment through Jesse’s eyes, and see how it represents everything he feels his 30-something married life is lacking: freedom, adventure and pleasure. But, I understood it also marks the moment when Celine stops being Jesse’s fantasy woman — existing in his memory and his dreams as a symbol of lost youth — and comes into focus as a fully real person. Sitting on her wonky futon, looking at her childhood photos, rifling through her CDs, Jesse can finally get under Celine’s skin. And isn’t that the most fervent fantasy of all? To invite someone in, reveal the intimate, cluttered parts of yourself, and be truly known?

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Boyhood

Posted in Movies, tagged , , on November 8, 2014| 1 Comment »

Boyhood_film

A fascinating movie about various stages of life: childhood, growing up, parenthood. Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors/screenwriters, and the Before series my all time favorites.

Here’s what actor Ethan Hawke said about the film:

It’s Tolstoy-esque in scope. I thought the Before series was the most unique thing I would ever be a part of, but Rick has engaged me in something even more strange. Doing a scene with a young boy at the age of 7 when he talks about why do raccoons die, and at the age of 12 when he talks about video games, and 17 when he asks me about girls, and have it be the same actor — to watch his voice and body morph — it’s a little bit like timelapse photography of a human being.

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Magic in the Moonlight

Posted in Movies, tagged , , , , , on September 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

film-poster

Woody Allen continues his Europe shooting (in French Riviera this time) and provides a beautiful setting to ponder the meaning of life type questions (usual dose of Cole Porter, but also Nietzsche quotes and Beethoven music). I like the haughty rationalist that Colin Firth plays; reminds me of his 1995 BBC Darcy but also Henry Higgins from My Fair Lady.

I think we all need some magic and illusions in our lives.

Here is an interview with Woody Allen about the movie, and here‘s some real magic.

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