rtrsgwr Reviews

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

Another gem different from the original book

[9/10 · 3 April 2024]

Before delayed premiere in Japan, I'd long waited reading and re-reading the original book American Prometheus. Because the book full of anecdotes and captivating episodes is so enthralling that it made me long for the film. I've seen lots of stories beginning with the quote related to Prometheus, but this is the most suitable one mainly because it deals with the fact that the advent of nuclear bombs has ever changed geopolitical / diplomatic / moralistic matters that have always been centered in our reality. And such reality depicted in the movie is continuously found problematic to this day.

Although it would be little tough to follow the multi-layered timeline and recognize a flock of sub characters, Nolan did successfully and beautifully focuses on Oppie's personality throughout the three hour long story. It was a little shame that some funny-but-well-describe-his-character episodes are simplified or entirely omitted. Nevertheless, I generally enjoyed it especially the final part where after Oppie realized the significance of what he had done he as a human is in anguish over the sin.

Some critics in my country complain that it does not face and the disastrous and beyond the words realities in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However it does not necessarily mean that it ignore the hellish situations just because it does not visualize them. Nolan's brilliant implications about the sin and aftermath have enormously blown my mind and at the same time horrified me, because as it says, this was just the beginning of the new world, where we are living today.

Shin Kamen Rider (2023)

Mixed feeling...

[7/10 · 31 March 2023]

As the third of "Shin-" series, it is safe to say this title is much better than "Shin Ultraman" but way less developed than "Shin Godzilla" in terms of story, character and most importantly, relevance to the originals. My expectation had been low mainly because of the heart-broken experience in the disastrous parody of Ultraman by the multi-titles-holder Anno, thus the first sequence in this film surprised and even betrayed me a lot in a good way. Visual character designs are retrospective but fresh (almost as always), and battle scenes are exciting and speedy even though some parts are unrecognizable to see what is going on. If you can swallow some obnoxious fetishized scenes (a strong and straightforward woman& quiet but justice boy, rustic and long wordy scene, smell of woman for example) as his authenticity, it is recommendable.

Sayonara, Girls. (2022)

Did girls say sayonara to their adolescence?

[7/10 · 26 February 2023]

Original title is "girls NEVER graduate." Four girls face different affairs in two days before high school graduation ceremony in a typical Japanese high school in rural area ( Yamanashi prefecture.) And this school's building is going to be demolished within a month for a relocation. Therefore, the ceremony is also the last moment for its place, which overshadow them all a bit. Some are moving out to Tokyo while others stay in the area, which is widely known separation among the youth in countryside. One girl have a hidden crush on a teacher, which is often seen at least in a fiction. Those are all deja vu to me, nevertheless, all the girls are so naturally directed and acted by prominent young actors that I did not feel the story was banal. Rather, I found many similar experiences I had had in my own memory in detail. However, last scene is a little difficult to digest. The title suddenly cut in just before end-roll. If this story ends either literally the title, aren't the girls ready to move to there next step nor become adults? Otherwise, does a graduation ceremony means nothing but a ceremony and does not change them into something new?

The First Slam Dunk (2022)

The best not just in revival anime but in basketball movies

[10/10 · 3 December 2022]

Although there's been a lot of advance reviews expressing disappointment mainly from die-hard TV series fans, this animation movie has just completely blown my mind. Being one of an original comic fan for more than twenty years, I am truly amazed how beautiful this animation is, which should come from incredible hard work of creators. Members of the opponent team are now animated and all the characters act lively, this could not been better. New stories added, at the same time, some original parts are effectively cut off or omitted, I think I should call it creativity. Without any knowledge about original series, or even rules of the sport, you will be satisfied with this realistic sports movie and teenagers' hilarious&touchy drama.

Pepsi, Where's My Jet? (2022)

What a great anecdote!!

[10/10 · 26 November 2022]

This story begins with the ad claiming that you can get a harrier jet if you collect 7,000,000 pepsi point, which is not so unrealistic offer. And that is the point of this story because a college student named John Leonard really believed that and he and his mom started to drink boxes of colas in order to collect the points. Having an ambitious friend named Todd, who offered tremendous amount of money for John's insane plan to get the jet, John squarely fought one of the biggest companies around the world. He might sound crazy but he apparently believes its ad and truly imagines the plan after getting the jet. Yes, John is crazy, but his friend Todd has his spot, and I was impressed by his words for multiple times. This story is not just a stupid comedy because of his.profound insight and significant word, regardless of the outcome. Must watch!

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

EXTREME YOUTUBERS with a sense of 80s

[6/10 · 25 June 2022]

I am not a big fan of the series, but love Tom's innocent and creepy grinning shown throughout the first film. The new one contains tons of incredible camera work and realistic aerial combat scenes, which is definitely worth watching in a theater with blasting sound systems. Tom Cruise performs charmingly and more adorably than before mainly because he got old adding some kind of bitterness to his aura. The plot, however, is insanely naive and self-righteous. In other words, too much American. They just make a plan to sneak in other nation's(not named though) and drop bombs on their territory and bug out dodging from their self-defense missiles. The bandits pilots' face are sealed with full-face masks and made unidentified, and just killed by heroic navies. Aren't they going to become another Goose for their families? I cannot be ignorant about the indisputable fact as a person like it's repeatedly saying "don't think." The soldiers on shipapplauded two survivors who snitched an outdated(but ready-to-go) plane on their recklessness and brave hearts, but I cannot dismiss the following disastrous result. This is absolutely a "stringer's" logic as the U. S. always take, which is undoubtedly disgusting for people in other counties like me.

Melancholic (2018)

Cynical black comedy, Great talented actors made this absurd world so real!

[10/10 · 14 May 2022]

At the beginning, you'd likely assume this would be one of those that you've watched countless times, but at some point, you must be betrayed in a way that you have never imagined. It is safe to say that it's a film noir in which you can find some contagious problematic situations among youth in Japan, namely high percentage of non-permanent employment being accompanied by depressive idleness, parasitic relationships with parents, machismo exaggerated in a way widely observed in a relationship in working places out here. All the actors played so naturally that I could feel I'm in the world parallel to the one they had created. Worth watching.

Shin Ultraman (2022)

Overexpected..

[3/10 · 14 May 2022]

I love the director's last film "Shin Godzilla" because it focuses on bureaucratic struggles as well as visually astonishing creatures messing around actual cities in Tokyo. That authenticity was quite new to me and contributes the film's mult-layered attractiveness. As of the latest one of Shin series, those factors are mostly diminished and replaced by awkward plays of a heroine who has been one of the most popular (but not much talented) actors in Japan.

Jallikattu (2019)

uh..

[6/10 · 22 January 2022]

Like Jaws, it shows very few cuts of the beast and mainly focuses on how people go insane. I felt less excited because i'm the first half no one is killed by the ox unlike Jaws. Visually vivid and speedy, camera works are intriguing especially in the scenes of micro scope. It could have been way better if made the first half exciting.

All the Money in the World (2017)

Disappointed

[4/10 · 23 September 2021]

Amazingly boring, almost every details of the story are less exciting not because it's based on true story but because of its storyline. Low key even though the topic is intriguing..

In Those Days (2021)

Reminisce '00s of culture of the internet and post mass media in Japan

[9/10 · 24 August 2021]

It precisely depicted how the subculture felt like in 2000s in Japan. Worth watching not only how New Age geeks act like but also what Japanese people looked like at that time. The story plot is mundane and their singing is horrible, but after all, you would be somehow impressed because it expresses not how geeks live through their misarable lives but how those people die with their soulmates. The theme is general, and you'll get different feeling the repeated theme song for the third time in the end.

Day of the Dead (1985)

Provoking, Bizarre and Convincing

[10/10 · 29 December 2020]

The third film of "the Dead" trilogy, flooded with gruesome and obnoxiously bizarre scenes, is the one of the zombie classic that could not have been better. After more than 40 years, this film' s never been out of date in terms of its vivid cinematic production and an allegorical story line. Since the outbreak of zombie "pandemic" in "Dawn of the Dead, " people who were left behind as normal human beings on the planet have no clue even to survive any more, so they just keep struggling on their own. The quarrel over the strategy proposed by scientist between the scientists and military soldiers in the beginning scene made me associate it with the situation in which we all are now under the circumstance of COVID-19. This thought-provoking film indicates that even a catastrophic crisis like this may not be able to make differently mixed people get along together.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017)

implied metaphor for "democratic" society

[8/10 · 24 December 2017]

I enjoyed this movie totally. This is a romcom as well as a black comedy. In my opinion, the cult community came from other planet is designed as a metaphor of society of the U.K. or other "democratic" society. They have an assembly consists of six reps to make decisions by voting. And there's faction in ideological differences. One of the parties take an importance on communication with local tellurian citizen while another is apparently conservative. And another party holds up "individuality" as their ideology, but the protagonist girl Zan, who belongs to this group, was kicked out of the party due to her uniqueness. They admire "individuality" only allowed within their discretion. That's why Zan pursues "freedom" by punk.