Topic: The Movie Thread

Watched Wonderwoman great film with a strong female lead. Enjoyed it a lot more than any of the Marvel movies from the last few years.

Your Name: Watched this earlier today, so everything is still a bit... fresh.

Makoto Shinkai's previous work, while promising and incredibly distinctive, has always felt a bit... incomplete. His cinematic voice, while very clear, hasn't always worked well with the trappings of the fictional devices he has used to deliver them. His films often feel like imperfect structures meant to convey some sense of his fascination with the passage of time and the mystery that is the emotional life of a human being, with a sense of overwhelming longing being the glue he uses to marry these two things together. Your Name is the first film of his where the symbolism and themes usually explored in his works seem to be almost wholly integrated into the action of the fictional narrative itself, resulting in a captivating display of mature and engaging storytelling.

This film is ingeniously constructed, but not in a way that calls attention to itself. It's almost perfectly paced, for example: most films, even truly excellent ones, often feel like they're lingering too long in certain areas, or are rushing through other sequences with a bit too much speed. But every sequence in Your Name is there for a reason, and every scene lasts exactly as long as it needs to to achieve the desired effect. The way in which the film is plotted is also pretty brilliant, launching the viewer (and the characters) into the central thrust of the story without warning, allowing us to experience this journey with them while also avoiding the usual pitfalls of this sort of approach (namely, confusing the heck out of the viewer). It also cleverly foreshadows a later twist throughout the film: the twist felt surprising but inevitable, like the plot developments in a first-rate mystery.

Multiple genres are blended pretty seamlessly here: this film is simultaneously a body-swapping comedy, romantic drama, coming of age story, apocalyptic science-fiction thriller, and thoughtful meditation on the nature of time, fate, and human life. Every aspect of the film comes together pretty beautifully to create something uniquely charming, entertaining, and beautiful.

I should also mention that this is the least openly emotionally manipulative of Shinkai's films that I've seen. Obviously everything has been constructed to lead viewers on a certain emotional path, but it's so well-integrated into the fabric of the film itself that it feels like these emotions just spontaneously arise from the experience. Gone are the long, maudlin monologues set against stunning environmental backdrops that dotted previous films of his. If his previous works were too "tell" and not "showy" enough, then Your Name is almost entirely about showing the emotional journeys of his characters.

Not that the film is flawless. There is a running joke throughout the film where the male main character, Taki, begins to fondle himself when he wakes up in the body of the female main character, Mitsuha. The first time it happens, it's understandable, but it seems a bit skeevy and violating when he keeps doing it throughout the film, as he knows Mitsuha is a real person and she's uncomfortable with Taki exploring her body. Moreover, certain aspects of the story itself, even though they work brilliantly on a thematic and character level, probably wouldn't stand up to scrutiny from a viewer looking to "connect the dots" between everything that happens in the film. And there is a pretty blatant deus ex machina in the latter half of the film that I felt hurt the integrity of the narrative as a whole. It obviously wasn't enough to spoil the experience, but it does feel like Shinkai writes himself into a corner at one point, and there is no way to proceed without appealing to a mystical plot element that never popped up before in the film. It works thematically, as I said, but there is only so much you can reasonably hope to accomplish in a narrative by appealing to the mysteries of the divine.

Oh, that's one other thing I should discuss. This is a pretty uniquely Japanese film. Japanese traditions, mysticism, and their place in the modern world are a fairly prominent element of this film, and I loved the flair they lent it. Despite the emotions being universal, this film feels very Eastern, and I adored the way it celebrates both modern and traditional Japanese life-styles and customs.

While I wouldn't call think Shinkai's most distinctive or unique work, it is more definitely his most well-made film: something that succeeds wholly as both art and as mass entertainment. I wouldn't call it the greatest work of Japanese animation I've ever seen, but I do think it deserves to be in the running when people discuss great works of Japanese cinema.

If you haven't seen Your Name, you owe it yourself to remedy this. Regardless of your feelings on body-swapping comedies, animation, Japanese animation, romances, or films with heavy speculative elements, you're almost guaranteed to have a good time with this one.

@Ralizah Your Name. is probably the best anime movie I've watched over the last few years. While character animations may not be as good as Studio Ghibli's, the background artwork is pretty superb. Love the soundtrack as well.

You should also try watching A Silent Voice.

@WanderingBullet Yeah, it's the best original anime film I've seen since Summer Wars. I'll admit, though, that I'm not a fan of Radwimps' music.

Pretty crazy to think Shinkai went from making experimental anime on his Mac at home to being compared to Hayao Miyazaki and releasing the highest grossing anime film ever made in 15 years.

And yeah, A Silent Voice is actually the next movie on my list! I've heard good things.

@Ralizah His first anime was Voices of a Distant Star, right? I actually haven't watch that yet but it's pretty impressive considering he did that anime on his own (if I'm not mistaken). I've only watched three of his movies so far, the other two were Garden of Words and Children Who Chase Lost Voices.

I actually think its fair to compare Your Name. to some of Hayao Miyazaki's work. It's that good.

@WanderingBullet It was his first work of any significant length. He developed a few shorts before it, though.

I highly recommend looking into 5 Centimeters Per Second. It's perhaps his most distinctive and emotionally overwhelming work, although it lacks the mass appeal, perfect pacing, and complex plot structure of Your Name. You'll get plenty of gorgeous sweeps of the Japanese countryside, somber monologues set to gentle, melancholy tunes, and a painfully realistic look at the long-term effects of unfulfilled love on a man's life. though.

@Ralizah I haven't been able to find 5 Centimeters Per Second in the local stores. Only way for me to see it is to buy it online from retailers like Amazon.

I watched 'Life' last night. The merch department missed a trick there, a Cuddly Calvin would have been perfect for the kids at Christmas.

@Gremio108 I was thinking the other day that I wanted to see that. Do you recommend?

Yeah, absolutely. It's kind of an Alien clone, but it's a good one.

Watched Sonatine this morning. One of the many Yakuza films Takeshi Kitano has done throughout his career. Definitely worth a look if you're into Japanese films.

BTW, I typically watch anime dubbed, and was wondering if Your Name would still be as highly recommended if I watched it dubbed? (I don't even know if it has one as I haven't looked much into it, but I've heard a lot of good things)

Watched Baby Driver the other day. Not a bad film but I think my expectations were a bit high and found it a bit derivative in terms of plot and story. Also thought the scenes in time to music would be better implemented and it came across as a bit gimmicky.

Just a random note ... in 2018 we are getting a lot of video game related movies. Jumanji, Ready Player One, Tomb Raider, Rampage, Wreck It Ralph 2, ...
Frankly, most of the time Video game movies are garbage, but it seems like there is increasing interest in cross-over projects.

@Th3solution If it's a movie based on a franchise that was originally a video game i.e. Tomb Raider, Rampage, Mortal Kombat I find them to be really bad. Something like Wreck it Ralph where as it's not based on video game per say isn't that bad.

I think it's because we already have an idea on what Tomb Raider is suppose to be like and when it's changed or different for whatever reason it just seems bad or odd if that makes sense at all.

As for Jumanji In wouldn't necessary consider it a video gameovie, heck I didn't consider the original a board game movie 😂 but maybe that's just me.

@Tasuki I haven’t seen Jumanji yet. (Not a fan of The Rock, actually. I can’t figure out the appeal there.) But I saw the trailer and it looks like they start by finding an old video game and when they play it, they jump into the game and become the characters they chose in the game. But, yeah, I don’t remember there being a Jumanji video game but maybe there was one before my time.

@Tasuki Actually I found this really good article. https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/12/27/jumanji-work...
It talks about not only Jumanji (actually makes me want to see it now) but the author echos almost exactly what you said about why game-to-movie and movie-to-game adaptations fail. It has to do with our preconceived expectations. Evidently Jumanji breaks the mold as it relates to this issue and therefore is more enjoyable, like Wreck it Ralph.

@Th3solution Yeah I don't think there was a Jumanji game before but I can't be certain on that. Jumanji is actual a sequel/remake/reboot of the one that stared Robin Williams from the 90's where Jumanji took the form of a board game so there really wasn't any preconceived ideas before hand as it's not based off of an actual video game.

The Shape of Water: A mute woman working as a janitor in a research facility befriends and falls in love with a water monster that was stolen from its home in South America and brought in for testing. A fairly run-of-the-mill "beauty and the beast"-esque fable that dredges up the usual tired cinematic tropes about the oppressive cultural evils of mid-20th century America, toxic masculinity, and whatnot. Guillermo del Toro is going for the same mix of whimsical fantasy and horrifying, grounded violence that defined the unique vibe of his masterpiece, "Pan's Labyrinth," but it all really fell flat for me. The film's villain... the actor performs his role very well, but the actual character is boring beyond words. The film is also periodically interrupted by unnecessary, and often disgusting, sex scenes, which really takes away from the mood it tries so hard to establish with its excellent set design (this has a retro-futuristic aesthetic not unlike Bioshock going for it). Its best trick is to establish the film's tortured monster man on a spectrum of oppression: he seems like a fellow social outcast alongside the African-Americans, homosexuals, and other oppressed people in this setting, which allows for a fairly smooth integration of biting social commentary into the plot. Overall, though, it was a massive disappointment.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: The mother of a girl who was violated and murdered rents out billboards in her small and poor Missouri community to taunt and challenge local law enforcement after they fail to find her daughter's killer. It has been a week or two since I saw this, and my thoughts on it still aren't entirely in order. It's a remarkable work of art, mixing absolutely vicious satirical jabs at rural white America, a well-paced plot, complex and very human characters, a savagely funny script, grounded acting, and the feel of a Flannery O'Connor story (there's no way she wasn't a huge inspiration on the writer) together to create something special. The writer was a playwright, and that comes across on screen, because this movie is driven by wonderfully written character exchanges. The ending is inconclusive, but so is life, and a neat story that can be tied up with a pretty bow is not what this film was going for. One of the best films of 2017, and an absolute must see.

Princess Mononoke: A warrior from a small Japanese tribe named Ashitaka is exiled from this home after being cursed by a tainted boar god that attacked his village. He sets out on a quest to lift his curse that eventually lands him right in the middle of a violent conflict between a burdgeoning mining town (led by the ambitious Lady Eboshi) and local animal gods who are fighting back against the destruction of their lands (joined by the titular Princess Mononoke, a spirited girl who was raised by wolves). I've actually seen this before, but it has been many years, so much of it was fresh to me. My memories of it were apparently spot on. This film is still an utter delight! Miyazaki's environmentalism and humanism are quite clearly reflected in this film, but it's much less naively optimistic in this regard than previous films of his that treated similar themes (most notably, Studio Ghibli's first major motion picture, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind). It's his nuanced exploration of the "man versus nature" theme and its subversion of traditional cinematic tropes that makes it a really special film in his catalogue. The film is hardly hopeless, though, ending with a grounded and fragile hope. This continues to be one of the best animated films I've ever seen.

^ 3 lovely movies! Though I don't think shape of the water is a masterpiece, it's still worth watching.

@Feena The Shape of Water is certainly a competently produced film, but I fail to see why it has received such critical acclaim. Take out the superior aesthetic design and you have something eerily similar to tripe like Monster Trucks. Not that a movie can't succeed on aesthetics alone (one of my all-time favorite films, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, is arguably nothing but pure style and craftsmanship), but Guillermo del Toro isn't giving us anything transcendentally awesome in form here.

I am seriously toying with the notion of calling Princess Mononoke my favorite Ghibli film. It doesn't have the raw power and craftsmanship of Grave of the Fireflies, but it also doesn't ruin my week when I watch it like the fore-mentioned film (seriously: watching GotF is an exercise in pure masochism unless you have a heart made of tempered steel).