The biggest mistake I made before watching Primal Fear is that I knew that there was going to be a turn over. This made the much less intriguing, bringing it down as much as fifty percent. However, the overall movie was smart, well plotted. The pattern of the turn-over, which is a bit of a cliché now, must have been special at that time, and it was still interesting for me.
In this suspenseful film, the greatest credit definitely goes to Aaron (Edward Norton). His acts were almost spotless, making me believe that he is a real existing character. When I look at a really good acting, I usually do not consider it as a great acting. Instead, I get immersed by the character and perceive it as a real character that I do not have capacity to evaluate its acting level. Edward Norton’s role on Aaron and Roy was very good, not to the point of goose bumps, but to the point that made me see how different an individual can seem.
The most shocking scene of all, was not the part where the archbishop gets his fingers chopped or the sexual video tape. The scariest scene was a brief moment when Aaron turns into Roy for the first time. His sudden change on his facial expression was shocking. That was more horrifying than the one most people talked about, where he reveals everything at the very last moment. People say his smile was terrifying, but for me, his sudden switch from Aaron to Roy when he was with the psychiatrist was the most terrifying.
Primal Fear was a satisfying movie that was responsible for its genre. If you want to watch some shocking, but astonishing act, this may be the movie for you.
2011년 6월 2일 목요일
In Bruges(2008)
Simply put, In Bruges is a story about three killers in Bruges. Its Korean title City of the Killers(translated) and exciting action-movie reminiscent trailers fooled many Korean audiences and received shameful stars. However, it is actually a black comedy that was nominated in many awards.
Director:Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Stars: 3.5/5
Watching In Bruges, I could see that killers, who are mostly in the image of guiltless killing machines in my head, also have feelings. They are all human creatures who feel the same as any other people do. They merely more used to killing. While conducting one of missions, Ray(Colin Farrell) accidently kills a little boy. I was wondering, ‘Of course killing a boy might make you feel a bit worse, but how is it so different from killing a grown up?’ However, a principle-oriented killer, actually a boss, Harry also feels the same way. In fact he is a more hard-core than Ray, insisting that anyone who kills little children should also be eliminated. “You’ve got to stick to your principles.” That was his final word.
In the movie, the three assassinators seem quite close together, especially between Ken and Harry. On a second they are joking cynically but friendly, and the next second they are pointing guns at each other. Although this may look like the world of the killers, this is also an allusion to the real world. In a blink, people can change from friends to enemies.
I may be not old enough to fully understand In Bruges, but I enjoyed the scenic views of Bruges and serene but suspenseful ambiance. It is definitely a must rewatch-movie after a few years later.
2010년 12월 24일 금요일
Original vs Remake - A Tale of Two Sisters(2003) vs The Uninvited (2009)
There are numerous folktales in Korean culture. Among those, there is “Jang Hwa Hong Ryun Jun”, that is focus of the two movies. The folklore is a popular story of two sisters and the evil stepmother that has been a source for many cartoons, movies, and television series. The most famous of all is a movie A Tale of Two Sisters that was released in 2003, which was extremely popular. Its twisted plots, unique sadness, beautiful scene compositions along with the perfectly matching soundtracks brought a sensation to the Korean horror film industry.
As if this popularity within Korea shed some influence in America, it was remade as The Uninvited in 2009. There was a lot of controversy regarding this movie, especially in Korea because A Tale of Two Sisters is considered as such a masterpiece. Its careful integration of Korean sentiment seemed to be very difficult to reintegrate in an American way.
Although goals of remakes are to portray the original in a different perspective, the audiences’ comparison of the remake with the original is unavoidable. One of the noticeable aspects of A Tale of Two Sisters is its scene composition. This movie is especially pleasing with its aesthetic features, having antique furniture, florid wallpapers, and perfect harmony of colors that have darkish hue. Especially, the field of reeds around the house is almost impossible to forget, emitting both serenity and eeriness. In the remake, numerous attempts to follow the scene structures are spotted. The two sisters wear flowery skirts; the house is in the country side by a lake. However, it is never close to reproducing the colors of the original; mixing vivid colors with dark ones, therefore failing to provide its desolate atmosphere with visuals.
What is interesting about the two movies is that the roles of the two main characters differ. In the Korean film, the older sister is Sumi, and the younger sister is Su Yeon. In the Hollywood version, the older sister is Alex and the younger one is Anna. Both set the younger girls as the weaker and frailer ones. However, what differs is that in the Korean version, Sumi the older sister has mental disorder, and Anna the younger sister in the American version.
Also, the portrayal of the sisterhood differs greatly. Su Yeon is portrayed as an even more fragile character than Anna, with her big puppy eyes that makes the audience to expect tears to drop off soon. Sumi is extremely protective of her sister against the stepmom, acting like her guardian. Her protectiveness presents a deeper relation between the two sisters. On the other hand, although Anna looks weaker than Alex in The Uninvited, she takes care of herself and acts up against her stepmother and father, having Alex as a more friend-like companion. The two sisters in the Korean film shed an atmosphere of motherhood of protecting her baby, making it more sympathetic.
Moving on to the ends, the movie reaches a climax. Huge turnovers make both movies, helping audiences to sort out all the tangled mysteries. This may be the only part where The Uninvited partially does a better job than its counterpart. The American version is more audience-friendly regarding its twisted plots, because it enlightens the audience at once. However, the Korean version is more difficult to figure out the convoluted story and many audiences may need to hold on to the story for a long time or even watch it again. The Uninvited is more clear-cut at the end, setting the audiences free, whereas A Tale of Two Sisters can be described as more thought provoking. However, what I love about the Korean version is that it focuses on Sumi’s guilt as the cause of her insaneness, instead of revenge, like in the American film. The detailed emotional focus brings A Tale of Two Sisters to a whole new level, compared to the complicated American horror film The Uninvited.
2010년 10월 30일 토요일
Letters to Juliett(2010)
Director: Gary Winick
Casts:
Amanda Seyfried
Christopher Egan
Vanessa Redgrave
Gael Garcia Bernal
Stars: 2.5/5
Right now, I'm listening to Taylor Swift's Love Story, which was featured on a small part of a recent movie Letters to Julie. One of the reasons I watched this romanitc comedy is because I heard about the beautiful scenery of Italy. Another reason is for watching is to watch another Amanda Seyfried's movie. She has made such a beautiful impression on me on Mamma Mia! as a Greek goddess that I really wanted to watch another gorgeous movie that could bring up her bubbliness again.
Although it is always exciting to go to movie theaters, due to financial restraints I tend to refrain myself from going to theaters other than action movies, highly CG-ed movies, or movies which color plays a dramatic role in. Therefore, going to theaters for a romantic comedy was a quite a decision. However, it actually turned out to be a disappointment for me.
One thing's for sure: fairy tale lovers should definitely watch this movie. It will satisfy every single somatic cells in your body. I like the fact that the movie did not forget that it's a fairy tale. I was not happy because to start off, I'm not a huge fan of fairy tales. Even as a young girl, I was never into fairy tales or was day dreaming about my prince on a white horse. What really made me unhappy is that Amanda never really shined in this movie. Of course she was beautiful as usual, but all I can remember in this movie is her frowning and sad eyes. Obviously the role was meant to be like that - derived from her discontent - but I since it is a romantic comedy, especially a fairy tale romantic comedy - I think it should have showed her loveliness from time to time. Also, the color of the movie would have been much nicer if it was not too pastel. Lots of pastel colors and light yellow were used, just like an old faded letter. However, just like Amanda, there could have been a bit more vibrancy added.
One thing I felt after the movie: Obviously, this sort of movie should not be related to reality. However, it seems quite romantic to simply try to live like that - not to lose passion about anything you love until you are very old - even if the love is not a person. One last thing - I want to get old like Vanessa Redgrave! She is such a graceful lady.
2010년 8월 7일 토요일
Toy Story 3(2010)
Director: Lee Unkrich
Casts:
Tom Hanks
Tim Allen
Joan Cusack
Ned Beatty
Don Rickles
Stars:
4.5/5
It's never really happy to see others or yourself grow old. In Toy Story 3, Andy's beloved toys go under heartbreaking experiences due to Andy's leave for college. This one of the classics of PIXAR's, movies is awesome, even to the point of exceeding the very first sequence.
The story was awesome. It clearly showed that the society of toys are no different from our human world. There are corrupted and naive. What breaks my heart looking at Andy's toys was that they are so naive and loyal to him. Overall, it is a great, touching movie that all the adults and kids will enjoy!
2010년 7월 26일 월요일
INCEPTION
INCEPTION
Director: Christopher Nolan
Casts: Leonardo DiCaprio
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ellen Page
Tom Hardy
Ken Watanabe
Marion Cotillard
Stars: 5/5
This movie is something I've been waiting for so long, so I watched it on the release day, which was July 21st! It is an amazing movie, the one of the few movies to live up to my expectation. That's why I watched it 4 times in theater up till now.. Once in IMAX and in regular screens for the other 3. Just to watch it in IMAX, I had to take a bus for more than an hour and take a taxi.
The movie was TERRIFIC. Despite its complexity due to the multi layers, the plot is actually quite simple, dealing with the subconscious of the humans to 'extract' or 'implent' thoughts. I'm not going to discuss much details of the movie, in case there are folks who haven't watched it yet. If you are one of them, I strongly suggest that you do! But before you go, if you are one of the 'slow' people - who don't actually get the movies, but simply say "I didn't understand it but it was good", then I recommend you to read some brief summaries of the movie. I've seen many people say that they don't follow.
The visual effects and the actions are the most exciting parts of the film, having numerous creative scenes well-delivered. My favorite part was Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 'free fall' action, which was HOT beyond words. The music was also fantastic, thanks to the 'motion picture music big hand' Hans Zimmer. I belive he also wrote the scores for The Dark Knight, another movie of Chris Nolan. The coherent theme of the music in Inception is harbors or ships, because there are sounds that resemble ship whistles. In fact, the movie is constantly related with water and sea with its mysteriousness making it well connected.
Although the movie is highly entertaining, it is NOT merely limited to the entertainment factors. Dreams comprise life. People often talk about their dreams last night and try to interpret them. Sometimes a dream decides people's moods throughout the day and or even become the reality. Nolan does a breathtaking job of conducting a highly complex concept(three or four levels of dreams) without making it too confusing. It brought up my perception of dreams to a whole new level. Even after watching it four times, I am still astounded by his creativity and is looking for any clues that he might have left to help come up with a conclusion for an open ending.
Even though I am giving Inception five out of five, there may be some disappointments, especially for action frenetic. This doesn't contain intense actions every five minutes, but its originality makes a must-watch movie. Thank you Chris Nolan!
2009년 8월 5일 수요일
UP(2009)
Director:Pete Docter, Bob PetersonStars: 3.5/5
This is obviously an animation, which I usually don't like to watch. However, this one was different. Since the first time I watched the trailer, I knew I want it.
There are two reasons to watch this movie. First, its graphics and the colors are simply adorable. There is no exaggeration in saying that a house floating in a clear blue sky hanging on to thousands and millions of rainbow-colored balloons makes the movie. The scene is that much fantastic. Second, it's a cute story of an old man and a boy having the particular Disney humor.
The story is simple: an old man, living a life in a comfort zone faces a trauma, and decides to live his dream. A boy scout boy accompanies him unexpectedly, and they meet a dog on the way. Of course, they also face a villan who used to be the old man's hero.
Although the movie conveys a very simple message of "Don't give up, live up to your dreams", it is conducted in such an attractive way that it even appealed to the adults who watched it with me. I hope there are more animations as pretty and as pleasant as this in the future.
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