Tag: movie

REVIEW: The Muppet Christmas Carol

Sappy Leave a comment

I hope everybody is having a wonderful break and a happy holiday season! This past Sunday, December 18th, the Michigan Theater was overflowing with Christmas joy. Although the showing of The Muppet Christmas Carol began at 1:30 pm, at 12:30 there was already a line at the door! The theater had planned a variety of surprise events, such as free hot chocolate from Sweetwaters, a free piggy bank, Santa Claus, and carolers that performed both outside and inside on stage. It was so much fun to see how excited everybody was, and the workers even dressed up with Christmas headbands and sweatshirts. It’s lovely to see how hard the community has worked together to put on this event!

For those curious about the movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol reminded me a bit of The Grinch, since both involve a protagonist that’s initially unwilling to celebrate Christmas before coming around. I didn’t know that the movie was based on A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens until Gonzo poses as the author himself; alongside Gonzo (in the film ‘Charles’) is Rizzo, and these two muppets act as the narrator for the film. Although I didn’t read the book, they made a powerful comedic duo that added a voice unique to the film.

Since most of the audience was children, parents, and the elderly, I was shocked by how different the viewing experience was; the laughter was a lot more boisterous and there were a lot more questions and comments; in addition to the muffled voices of the muppets, it was hard for me to hear the lines in the movie, so without subtitles, I struggled to understand the plot at times.

Something that impressed me was how well the directors incorporated both muppets and humans into the film. I knew the film was old, but the interactions between the muppets and humans were natural. It didn’t occur to me how old the film was until I saw the visual effects, though; it’s been thirty years since it was released!

To be completely honest, I didn’t enjoy the film as much as I hoped. Although it’s a children’s movie, I wish there was more background information given, and the character and plot development seemed rushed: the loud audience definitely made the event less enjoyable as well. Still, I can see how this film would be adored by muppet fans and those who watched it when it released or while growing up.

Merry Christmas everybody and have a happy new year!

REVIEW: Tokyo Godfathers

Sappy Leave a comment

I loved Tokyo Godfathers. Contrary to my expectations, it was not a tear-jerker movie, which was refreshing and much-needed for this stressful finals season. The comedic timing had the whole audience laughing, and the directors did an excellent job of turning an initial dark introduction and setting into a lighthearted movie. There were a lot of plot twists that was both funny and dramatic, and while I wouldn’t describe it as a heartwarming film, it had a perfect balance of sweet and dark humor.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but if you’re interested in hearing a brief description, the story revolves around three main characters, each with their own unique background. They’re all homeless and have been living together for an indefinite amount of time (at least six months?). Despite knowing one another for that long, they don’t know how each of them became homeless or how they lived beforehand. Their daily routine suddenly changes on Christmas after finding an abandoned baby in the dumpsters. They embark on a journey to find the mother of the abandoned baby. The concept of ‘family’ is seen all throughout the film and is the driving point of the plot. The importance of family extends to side characters as well, which is what develops important character growth for the main characters too.

My favorite character is Hana, who is the motherly figure in the trio. I love how caring and passionate she is, and she really brings energy and life to the other characters through her enthusiasm. As someone who likes poetry, her intermittent haikus are also fun and give a special perspective to what traditional Japanese haikus are like. A lot more can be conveyed from the standard five, seven, and five-syllable phrases in Japanese compared to English. In a different context, I think Hana’s haikus would be appreciated more for their beauty, but it certainly served to heighten the comedic sense of Tokyo Godfathers.

Of course, the voice actors contributed largely to how vibrant the film is too. I also appreciated that the color palette of the film was rather subdued and mundane because it still showcased the darker aspects of the story, which highlighted the funny aspects even more.

For those uninterested in anime as a genre, I still think this movie would be worth it. Even though it is a family-based film, it’s not the most child-friendly though, so keep in mind who you want to watch it with. I’d definitely watch Tokyo Godfathers again, and I highly recommend you guys watch it too!

PREVIEW: The Muppet Christmas Carol

Sappy Leave a comment

I live under a rock. I’ve never seen the Muppets and don’t know much about them besides Kermit the frog being a meme. Luckily, the perfect chance for me to learn about them came up! On Sunday, December 18th, the Michigan Theater will be showing The Muppet Christmas Carol at 1:30 pm for free.

Some people may already be out of town, though, and it might be inconvenient timing since it’s during finals (if you have late finals, which…rip), but it might just be the Christmas cheer you need before getting back to grind time. At least that’s why I want to watch it. I need some happiness after finals.

I’m sick of Elf being the only Christmas movie that pops into my head too. I haven’t watched any Christmas movie musicals, so it’s time to expand my collection. I’ve heard good things about Michael Caine’s performance being funny, so that’s another aspect I look forward to.

Good luck with finals everybody, and I’m wishing you some Christmas cheer!

PREVIEW: Tokyo Godfathers

Sappy Leave a comment

This Friday, December 9th at 9:30 PM, the State Theatre will be showing Tokyo Godfathers, an animated Japanese film. I have no idea what this movie will be about, but I’ve heard many good things about it. I believe the State Theatre put on this film last year as well: I’m wondering what has made them show this anime annually, which gives me high hopes about its quality. I’m especially excited to watch it in a theater on the big screen.

I’m very happy that the showing will be in English sub. I personally prefer Japanese dub, since it’s closer to the creator’s message and nuances. I also like Japanese voice actors more. To each their own, though; if you like English dub, I’m sure there’s a version out there of this movie for you to watch.

Some predictions I have about what this movie will be like from the featured image would be it’s family-themed, will probably have comedy and tear-jerker moments (= good OSTs), and doesn’t take place in the modern day.

I’m excited to let you guys know my thoughts and opinions afterward!

PREVIEW: Oscar nominated Shorts – Live Action

Joann Leave a comment

Shorts TV annually released oscar nominated short films. This year’s nominations are:

On My Mind (Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson / Denmark)

Please Hold ( K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse / USA)

The Dress (Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki / Poland)

The Long Goodbye (Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed / UK/Netherlands)

Ala Kachuu – Take and Run (Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger/ Kyrgyzstan/Switzerland)

Ranging from 12-38 minutes, they all seem to tell strong stories within a short time span. Click here for trailers.

Among the movies, the synopsis of ‘Please Hold’ was especially interesting. It’s based in the future in a mysterious jail controlled by the ‘computed bureaucracy of the privatized American justice system‘. The trailer of ‘The Long Goodbye’ also intrigued my interest as well – the irony between bright, cheerful rap music as the background and something serious and dangerous seems to be happening to the characters made me wonder what’s going on.

Again, U of M students can get a ticket to the Oscar-nominated shorts series free if they use the Passport to the Arts before March 22th. The movie is playing on the 19th and 22nd at the Michigan theater. Please refer to the webpage of Arts at Michigan for further information on where to find the ticket / how to use them.

REVIEW: THE BATMAN

Joann Leave a comment

The Batman, 2022 / Spoiler Alert!

 

If we look at the evolution of superhero movies decades later, I think it will be a pretty interesting anthropology resource. All superheroes symbolize justice but the social norm of justice changes over time. This happened in the new batman as well.

New society, new villains. The villains in this movie do not work on personal, fictional motivation like pride or psycopathy. Instead, in this movie, they are the ones who were harmed systematically. The villain is not lone genius anymore – they are people who urge others to turn to violence with them to break down the society, and the most vicious crisis was aroused when they worked as a group. This resembles the spread of hatred on the internet and violent crimes happening in consequence of those messages. The metaphor to the modern society was quite clear – the riddled even blatantly talked like a  youtube or user of another Social Media platform, thanking the viewers for their support. I was almost expecting a ‘please like and subscribe…’.

The classic hero changed with the society to address the new messages aginst the evil as well. Bruce Wayne, if I remember correctly from prior films, was torn between his identity as a billionaire and the mysterious superhero and the dilemma of the personal judgment of justice was his main worry. For this new Batman, however, whether it’s known who’s under the bat-mask is not such an existential problem. This batman seems to be more careless about it (he got almost unmasked by a curious policeman after he was unconscious due to a bomb explosion) and the Riddler even says that who’s under the mask “does not matter”. If the former batman hides deeper inside himself to solve his doubts, this one comes out. The scene where batman leads the civilian out of the water with the red light and help carry wounded citizens clearly showed that this batman demonstrates a new notion of peace-not one that is magically achieved by a lone superhero, but one that is led by a superhero symbol but that can be achieved together. This batmans stands with the people, and that reminded me of the appeal in the society to unite together to fight the wrong. Batman with the mysteriousness reduced, interacting with the people was a new change. Almost like a friendly neighborhood… No, that’s another guy.

This movie is dark-literally. It had a lot of rain in the scenes and ones that minimal light is used. This led to many visually highly satisfying scenes-my favorite was the one where the screen was all dark and the movement of the characters was illuminated only with the fire from the end of the gun. Also, I saw the rain as more than the weather- with the final crisis being the flood, water could mean the danger to the city, and the rain could represent that the city was in danger. In all, highly recommend this movie. Go check it out!