hadn't even realized this was out; while this masterful "Borrowers" anime remake is not Miyazaki per se, he did co-write the screenplay, and it is quite obviously a Ghibli production, as well as the directorial debut of long-time Miyazaki animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and the animation is TOTALLY up to par; i would have completely believed this to be Miyazaki himself, though we are already quite familiar with this man's hand in his work; maybe not quite the same level / kind of character expressiveness, but some DIVINE backgrounds, colors, design work... perhaps not as dynamic in pacing and action, but really blessed with a subtle sentimental sensibility that really does shine here. unfortunately, this does feel like a kinda brief, almost rushed episode in a much larger story, and while it might make a nice series, mini-series, or series of feature sequels, it's hard to hope the quality would keep up, unless maybe a series of sequels was already planned and being executed by the same crew, which could end up being a much more fitting epic than the ambitious "Lord of the Rings" films in the end if done right (though i am excited to see the new "Hobbit"...) really i think a great, rarely perfected and masterfully appropriate and successful bit of cultural translation from a western source story / tradition into a more subtly Asian milieu, i think Yonebayashi is poised to be THE Miyazaki protégé much more than the master's own son, blessings and luck to him as well (see his probably well overly ambitious and in the end rather muddled and probably doomed from the start if certainly impressive and at times quite intriguing attempt at Le Guin's fantasy epic "Tales of Earthsea"... {not a truly terrible first attempt, and you've gotta feel for a guy with SUCH a DEEP shadow to work his way out from under...}) all said, this is a truly beautiful masterwork of animation at the least, with some very good writing and touching (if slightly breezed over) characterization; a really great instant classic of fantastic whimsical magic for young kids for sure! i happened to see the _UK_ English dub, and found it surprisingly quite satisfactory. Disney apparently also made their own "american" English dub, which predictably sounds pretty cheesy and juvenile from the trailers (and of course also changed some of the nice music...P
Reviews
9 Reviews
World on a Wire
(1973– )
Classy / Cheesy Early 70's Cyber-Sci-Fi with an Edge!
7 December 2011
HIGHLY recommended to fans of classy/cheesy 70's sci-fi, very early "cyberpunk", and vintage German film: the recently re-"discovered" and restored, creepy mind-bender "Welt am Draht" ("World on a Wire") originally shot on 16mm film and presented as a 2-part miniseries on West German television in 1973. while it's obviously quite long, starts out kinda slow, flounders at times in cheesy existentialism, has no special effects to speak of, and has been ripped off so much it almost seems clichéd at this point (the massively inferior 1999's "The Thirteenth Floor" was based on the same book, and similar concepts have cropped up in a variety of stories throughout sci-fi...) it was SO far ahead of its time that it still packs a lot of relevant futuristic cyber-bite, albeit with a VERY sweet, classy retro style. it's very much an "intellectual" James Bond in Alphaville, though with some "2001" flourishes of design and cinematography... maybe not the greatest of masterpieces, but such an influential and unique sci-fi classic, it really should be seen by any fan of the genres or style, especially for the first time in decades!
Until the End of the World
(1991)
So Disappointing, Don't Be Fooled
14 March 2010
1st: I have only watched the long(est) version of this movie once.
2nd: Wenders' "Wings of Desire" (Der Himmel über Berlin) is pretty much literally my favorite movie ever.
3rd: I have LOVED plenty of films that are any combination of long, abstract, meandering, foreign, low on action or even plot, with supposedly realistic, down to earth characters, etc. etc. etc.
4th: I think it's a bit of a stretch to call this "science fiction". Even more so to call it "cyberpunk". I just have trouble believing that just because you incorporate a few elements of sci-fi and film-noir detective genres in a near-future setting, it is just automatically cyberpunk. And even just to call it science fiction... the supposed overall premise that the world could end due to a nuclear satellite destabilizing is not actually particularly science fiction (nor even hardly realistically scientifically plausible) but it's pretty much completely ignored for the entire movie, so what does it matter. likewise, the "device" is little more than a generic "MacGuffin" for most of the film, and when they finally do get into it, it is with the shallowest, most cursory glossing over of any interesting exploration of the concepts, remaining little more than a MacGuffin still; a random crux for some ridiculous, muddled new-age psycho-babble philosophical wanking, which doesn't really go anywhere or last very long; just seems to be a random way of ending that part of the film. Anyway, if you really were interested in checking out some real sci-fi about topics such as these, you could so easily do SOOO much better, so don't get roped into watching this just because the sci-fi aspect sounds interesting. about the only interesting thing in that regard is that they somehow managed to predict modern automobile sat-nav units pretty much exactly!! So, all that out of the way, this movie is obviously VERY long. I am almost curious that a better edited version could be more interesting, but I don't really see how that's possible. It's the content, not the length, that failed to keep my interest. I did find it pretty interesting in the beginning, enjoyed the bit in Japan, and the Australia where most of the rest of the film took place seemed remarkably realistic and down to earth compared to typical depictions, so that was somewhat interesting.
But in general it just wandered nowhere so aimlessly... I doubt it's true, but I really got the feel that they were just making this up as they went along past the initial setup, and really could not figure out where to take it without writing around in circles, into corners, through ridiculous plot-holes, trailing loose ends all along the way.
Of course, this wouldn't be so bad considering Wenders' penchant for stunning, timeless cinematography, directing, pacing, and phenomenally real, alive, emotionally transparent acting... but shockingly none of that is in evidence here! about all this albatross has going for it is a few interesting characters, a few pretty good minor actors, and a rather cute, intriguing leading lady, but even that wasn't nearly enough to carry it past the first two hours.
The use of various languages could have been interesting, but I just found it jarring and unnatural. While it seems that many of the actors were pretty gifted in at least one language, they end up speaking a lot in other languages, particularly English, in which their performance seemed severely curtailed. Absurdly enough, the well established American actors actually tend to give some of the most wooden, hokey, unbelievable deliveries in English on here! And i generally do like them in other films I've seen.
It's all pretty inexplicable. I can't find myself believing most of what takes place in this film. Other reviews on IMDb have pointed out a few of the ridiculous plot holes and pointlessly unrealistic plot twists, and I'm not much inspired to suffer remembering it to point out more; there are PLENTY.
But even when you ignore these technical blunders, the main dramatic story line just makes no sense to me whatsoever. Why does she suddenly fall in love with some random guy just because she runs into him on her little adventure, gives him a ride, and he steals some of her money? i certainly see no chemistry or connection whatsoever between them at that point; it's completely out of nowhere. And she's instantly completely obsessed with him and it becomes her life-consuming mission to stalk him literally to the ends of the earth, not even to get back at him, but to have sex with him and save him from... she has no clue what from? As stupidly as I have seen some women behave, I can not believe that she would keep this up after risking her life only to be used, stolen from again, and ditched the first SEVERAL TIMES! And why the heck would he keep doing this and conceal the device and his motives completely from her, when it turns out later he really is such a nice guy? So there you have it, pretty consistently horrendous acting, not much special visually, a tangled, moth eaten plot that drags on forever going nowhere for no particular reason, fairly uninteresting characters who make no sense, self-inconsistencies and loose threads out the wazoo, and not really that much in the music department as far as I'm concerned. A huge disappointment from the director of one of my very favoritest movies ever! What a drag.
I'm not sure what to recommend as a much better, alternative to this film with relatable themes or elements, but definitely check out "Wings of Desire", and maybe some appealing works by Kieslowski, Tarkovsky, Wong Kar-wai, maybe even Fellini... Even if you like this film, believe me, you CAN do MUCH better, so keep looking!
2nd: Wenders' "Wings of Desire" (Der Himmel über Berlin) is pretty much literally my favorite movie ever.
3rd: I have LOVED plenty of films that are any combination of long, abstract, meandering, foreign, low on action or even plot, with supposedly realistic, down to earth characters, etc. etc. etc.
4th: I think it's a bit of a stretch to call this "science fiction". Even more so to call it "cyberpunk". I just have trouble believing that just because you incorporate a few elements of sci-fi and film-noir detective genres in a near-future setting, it is just automatically cyberpunk. And even just to call it science fiction... the supposed overall premise that the world could end due to a nuclear satellite destabilizing is not actually particularly science fiction (nor even hardly realistically scientifically plausible) but it's pretty much completely ignored for the entire movie, so what does it matter. likewise, the "device" is little more than a generic "MacGuffin" for most of the film, and when they finally do get into it, it is with the shallowest, most cursory glossing over of any interesting exploration of the concepts, remaining little more than a MacGuffin still; a random crux for some ridiculous, muddled new-age psycho-babble philosophical wanking, which doesn't really go anywhere or last very long; just seems to be a random way of ending that part of the film. Anyway, if you really were interested in checking out some real sci-fi about topics such as these, you could so easily do SOOO much better, so don't get roped into watching this just because the sci-fi aspect sounds interesting. about the only interesting thing in that regard is that they somehow managed to predict modern automobile sat-nav units pretty much exactly!! So, all that out of the way, this movie is obviously VERY long. I am almost curious that a better edited version could be more interesting, but I don't really see how that's possible. It's the content, not the length, that failed to keep my interest. I did find it pretty interesting in the beginning, enjoyed the bit in Japan, and the Australia where most of the rest of the film took place seemed remarkably realistic and down to earth compared to typical depictions, so that was somewhat interesting.
But in general it just wandered nowhere so aimlessly... I doubt it's true, but I really got the feel that they were just making this up as they went along past the initial setup, and really could not figure out where to take it without writing around in circles, into corners, through ridiculous plot-holes, trailing loose ends all along the way.
Of course, this wouldn't be so bad considering Wenders' penchant for stunning, timeless cinematography, directing, pacing, and phenomenally real, alive, emotionally transparent acting... but shockingly none of that is in evidence here! about all this albatross has going for it is a few interesting characters, a few pretty good minor actors, and a rather cute, intriguing leading lady, but even that wasn't nearly enough to carry it past the first two hours.
The use of various languages could have been interesting, but I just found it jarring and unnatural. While it seems that many of the actors were pretty gifted in at least one language, they end up speaking a lot in other languages, particularly English, in which their performance seemed severely curtailed. Absurdly enough, the well established American actors actually tend to give some of the most wooden, hokey, unbelievable deliveries in English on here! And i generally do like them in other films I've seen.
It's all pretty inexplicable. I can't find myself believing most of what takes place in this film. Other reviews on IMDb have pointed out a few of the ridiculous plot holes and pointlessly unrealistic plot twists, and I'm not much inspired to suffer remembering it to point out more; there are PLENTY.
But even when you ignore these technical blunders, the main dramatic story line just makes no sense to me whatsoever. Why does she suddenly fall in love with some random guy just because she runs into him on her little adventure, gives him a ride, and he steals some of her money? i certainly see no chemistry or connection whatsoever between them at that point; it's completely out of nowhere. And she's instantly completely obsessed with him and it becomes her life-consuming mission to stalk him literally to the ends of the earth, not even to get back at him, but to have sex with him and save him from... she has no clue what from? As stupidly as I have seen some women behave, I can not believe that she would keep this up after risking her life only to be used, stolen from again, and ditched the first SEVERAL TIMES! And why the heck would he keep doing this and conceal the device and his motives completely from her, when it turns out later he really is such a nice guy? So there you have it, pretty consistently horrendous acting, not much special visually, a tangled, moth eaten plot that drags on forever going nowhere for no particular reason, fairly uninteresting characters who make no sense, self-inconsistencies and loose threads out the wazoo, and not really that much in the music department as far as I'm concerned. A huge disappointment from the director of one of my very favoritest movies ever! What a drag.
I'm not sure what to recommend as a much better, alternative to this film with relatable themes or elements, but definitely check out "Wings of Desire", and maybe some appealing works by Kieslowski, Tarkovsky, Wong Kar-wai, maybe even Fellini... Even if you like this film, believe me, you CAN do MUCH better, so keep looking!
Equilibrium
(2002)
a horrible if pretty movie actually redeemed by its intense action scenes!
12 January 2008
while most of this film is a horrible, ridiculous sponge of logic holes not even remotely believable by any real science fiction fan or people with an actual life, even without being the main focus the action scenes, particularly the extended climactic sequence, are so audacious and over-the-top fun as to actually make up for all the rest of the laughable to painful crap. quite amazing, at that, as they're not even close to taking up most of the screen time. it falls far short of The Matrix it is trying so hard to be, but by not taking itself as seriously and being all around so much more goofy, it gets to be a bit more fun while being technically far inferior. really, if you think this actually does compare with The Matrix (not a perfect movie, but often good) in terms either of action or substance, you must be suffering from brain damage, or just have some serious hate of The Matrix or it's popularity for unrelated reasons. it is a bit pretty tho, and i do like the style, set designs, costumes, etc, even if they did rip off the Nazis mercilessly.P
Bolo
(1977)
Pure Kung-Fu Crack!
8 September 2006
By far thee most hilarious, cracked-out kung-fu movie I have EVER seen!!! I am really sad so few people have ever heard of it; this is pure gold!!
Basically, this is a western gangster movie adapted to a rural Chinese kung-fu setting. VERY rural! These two misfits get out of jail by being "volunteered" to "sheriff" some middle-of nowhere podunk town. The town turns out to be completely run by local gangsters, and much back-stabbing and double-crossing ensues.
But this is a comedy! A really ballsey, absurd comedy! And not only that, but as far as I can tell, there is such a reliance on puns and obscure cultural references that didn't translate through to the English dub (and the dub acting is really bizarre/great as well!), that you'll be screaming WTF all the way through the movie!) really, there is some CRAZY stuff in this movie what makes no sense, unless maybe if you are Chinese? Don't expect to have any idea what is going on until you've seen it quite a few times, and even then, some bits are just inexplicable (the hand game? 426? the oranges!?!)
And to top it ALL off, this thing is actually CHOCK FULL OF SOME GREAT KUNG-FU! And it's kinda long, at that! Sure, much of it is totally ridiculous, but the execution and choreography of it all is really quite tight! And where else do you get to see _Yang Sze_ whooping ash with a chair? Crutches? Sandals!? A freakin wok!?!
Still, the story itself is even interesting. An archetypal, fable-like tale of the big dumb brute teaming up with the smart, witty, irreverent trickster to cause tons of mischief.)
Gloriously absurd and discordian to it's fullest.)
Basically, this is a western gangster movie adapted to a rural Chinese kung-fu setting. VERY rural! These two misfits get out of jail by being "volunteered" to "sheriff" some middle-of nowhere podunk town. The town turns out to be completely run by local gangsters, and much back-stabbing and double-crossing ensues.
But this is a comedy! A really ballsey, absurd comedy! And not only that, but as far as I can tell, there is such a reliance on puns and obscure cultural references that didn't translate through to the English dub (and the dub acting is really bizarre/great as well!), that you'll be screaming WTF all the way through the movie!) really, there is some CRAZY stuff in this movie what makes no sense, unless maybe if you are Chinese? Don't expect to have any idea what is going on until you've seen it quite a few times, and even then, some bits are just inexplicable (the hand game? 426? the oranges!?!)
And to top it ALL off, this thing is actually CHOCK FULL OF SOME GREAT KUNG-FU! And it's kinda long, at that! Sure, much of it is totally ridiculous, but the execution and choreography of it all is really quite tight! And where else do you get to see _Yang Sze_ whooping ash with a chair? Crutches? Sandals!? A freakin wok!?!
Still, the story itself is even interesting. An archetypal, fable-like tale of the big dumb brute teaming up with the smart, witty, irreverent trickster to cause tons of mischief.)
Gloriously absurd and discordian to it's fullest.)
The Man from Snowy River
(1982)
Woooah!
7 February 2006
I am not sure what to say about this film, but I feel I must say something. Technically, in pretty much every single way possible, this is one of the worst, cheesiest, flagrantly lame movies ever made...BUT I found that it went SOOO far over the top, it was actually laugh-out-loud ridiculous and funny enough that I actually watched the whole flipping thing, all the way through. If it was just dumb that would be one thing, but I was actually seriously amused.
I do not really mean to offend the obviously numerous people who wax sentimental over this film...I am coming at this from a mostly technical, post-post modern point of view. That said, this film is 100% cheese, completely derivative and unoriginal, pulling out every film cliché in the book. It is nothing but emotional fluff designed to shamelessly tug at the heart strings of young girls, and maybe older women, and show off some pretty horse flesh and scenery. The writing is ridiculous, the acting mostly totally flat and lame, the directing silly, and the editing seams to have been done completely at random by a five year old. Scenes are muddy and confused. The film starts out of nowhere in what seams to be an unintelligible conversation.
But it really is such a bad movie that it is absolutely hilarious, much more so than most. This really does not seam to be intentional. The flagrant cliché's, the repetition of stock footage, the cheesy "doom" music every time the evil stallion makes an appearance, the horribly written and staged harassment of the main character, and the wonderful shot where the evil stallion rears up all crazy like, and the frame actually freezes, and zooms in on his crazy eye in stages with the "dun dun dun!" music! Yeah, they really went there, and we laughed so hard we had to rewind!) But all said, the crazy miner was a fun character and well acted. And I had a good time.
I apologize again for everyone I am offending, I do not mean to hurt with the humor I feel in my heart.
Peace.
I do not really mean to offend the obviously numerous people who wax sentimental over this film...I am coming at this from a mostly technical, post-post modern point of view. That said, this film is 100% cheese, completely derivative and unoriginal, pulling out every film cliché in the book. It is nothing but emotional fluff designed to shamelessly tug at the heart strings of young girls, and maybe older women, and show off some pretty horse flesh and scenery. The writing is ridiculous, the acting mostly totally flat and lame, the directing silly, and the editing seams to have been done completely at random by a five year old. Scenes are muddy and confused. The film starts out of nowhere in what seams to be an unintelligible conversation.
But it really is such a bad movie that it is absolutely hilarious, much more so than most. This really does not seam to be intentional. The flagrant cliché's, the repetition of stock footage, the cheesy "doom" music every time the evil stallion makes an appearance, the horribly written and staged harassment of the main character, and the wonderful shot where the evil stallion rears up all crazy like, and the frame actually freezes, and zooms in on his crazy eye in stages with the "dun dun dun!" music! Yeah, they really went there, and we laughed so hard we had to rewind!) But all said, the crazy miner was a fun character and well acted. And I had a good time.
I apologize again for everyone I am offending, I do not mean to hurt with the humor I feel in my heart.
Peace.
A classic, an icon, and loads of fun!
6 February 2006
I am not particularly into westerns, and I thought this was an all around absolutely wonderful gem of film! The acting is incredible, the sets, props, and costumes are absolutely perfect, the design, composition, and colors are superb, the directing, the pacing, the editing, and the writing are all perfect too! The soundtrack is just out of this world and over the top wonderful, and the story is just so classic "western" mythology. This film has so obviously influenced so many creations since, from "Star Wars" to "Cowboy Beebop." The main characters are such archetypes of the classic American male, but none of them is truly a stereotype; they all have crystal clear dimension and personality. They definitely do not make films like this any more! The only reason I give it a 9 rather than a 10 (sorry to be such a snob!) is that unfortunately, for my taste, as psychological as it is, it just is not as deep and revealing of human mysteries as I really prefer my films. Sorry!) Otherwise, friggin awesome!
What Happened to the Rest of the Movie?
29 January 2006
This movie is quite funny and interesting, and it is always a treat to see India on screen here in the US, but the ending is such a let down that it really ruined the whole experience for me. It is as if they took a rather nice movie, and cut it right in half, ending it abruptly and out of knowhere right in the middle. All of the build up and interest and involvement with the characters is betrayed with an ending that really does not fit in with the rest of this movie or it's charm. It just drops and that is it, do not pass "Go." Of course, I probably would not have cared so much if i had not really enjoyed it up until then. It is pretty, colorful, well designed, and very silly and amusing, and definitely has some great laugh out loud moments. It's really too bad...but maybe they'll finish it in a sequel?P
Brokeback Mountain
(2005)
Don't Believe the Hype
21 January 2006
Yes, this is a very nice movie. Beautiful scenery, fine directing and shooting, very good acting, interesting drama...but it certainly is not the phenomenal masterpiece everyone is raving about. Plenty of other movies are far superior, but get a tiny fraction of the praise this film got. If the main couple were not gay, I doubt it would have ever gotten out of the underground. Of course, I guess if it takes a gimmick to get a decently made movie into the big theaters for a change, I can not complain too much.) The first half of the movie is a detailed look at the everyday lives of cowboys in the 60's?, and by far my favorite part. The second half is mostly less interesting domestic drama amongst small-town and country folk in the 70's. The actress who plays Jack's wife is very pretty and a good actress, but especially whoever played her daughter when grown up I think is a wonderful actress, and I really hope to see a lot more of her. The actor who played Jack was great as usual and still one of my favorite actors, despite having played Spiderman, though he did a good job even there and I hope he got payed real good for it. There are some very funny and cute bits throughout.
Yeah, I cried.
Anyway, I guess it's a good thing for there to be more non-hetero relationships on screen in general, and it is good to look at things differently, but I can not say that it really did all that much for me. I have much more appreciated other queer depictions, such as Hedwig, and Niel Gaiman's graphic novel A Doll's House (not yet a movie, unfortunately!) Do not believe any rumors of excessive female nudity.)
Yeah, I cried.
Anyway, I guess it's a good thing for there to be more non-hetero relationships on screen in general, and it is good to look at things differently, but I can not say that it really did all that much for me. I have much more appreciated other queer depictions, such as Hedwig, and Niel Gaiman's graphic novel A Doll's House (not yet a movie, unfortunately!) Do not believe any rumors of excessive female nudity.)
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