Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Quick Movie Review


Death Trance (2005, Japan) | Rating: 2.5/5

I first watched this movie through a dear friend of mine that I'm sure some of you are familiar with from my old online show. The main appeal of this movie was 1) Dir en grey contributed to majority of the soundtrack, 2) Tak Sakaguchi is a lovely piece of eye candy and a pretty good action star, and 3) the story is quite interesting. I'll admit that this isn't the greatest movie in the world, but it is entertaining. The story might be a little confusing, but once you strip away the extra stuff then it's easier to digest.



Paris is Burning (1990, USA) | Rating: 4/5

With the slight mainstream popularity of drag queens through shows like RuPaul's Drag Race, this might open the minds further into the foundation and history of it for those who want to look a little further into drag culture. I've heard of this movie before, but I had no idea it had to deal with drag culture and homosexual minorities until I watched this in class last semester. It has a great insight on the lifestyle, mindset, and even vocabulary that came from these inspiring icons. After watching it, I hoped to find a follow up to this piece or at least an update on what drag culture has evolved to in present day.



Looper (2012, USA) | Rating: 4.5/5

I've heard some really good things about this movie and it seemed like Joseph Gordon-Levitt was one of the stand out actors of last year. This wasn't something I was rushing to see in theaters like some people due to my iffy feelings toward the storyline, but experiencing it at home was something I don't regret. I'm sure the impact of this movie would've been greater in a theater full of people, but even without those elements this movie surprisingly blew me away. I couldn't help but constantly praise it. As the movie states in the beginning that this isn't a time travel movie, the focus is elsewhere and I'm glad that that isn't the plot.



Please Vote For Me (2007, South Africa/Denmark) | Rating: 3.5/5

Just a little warning, you might see an awful lot of documentaries in these quick reviews from me. I'm taking two documentary classes. Anyway, this observational piece set in China was quite entertaining and it was much needed after watching such a heavy emotion filled documentary, which is below. It has a lot of comical moments as well as some that will make you want to hug the children immediately to comfort them. The crazy reality of this election process set in this school is that it accurately reflects politics here. Sad truths~



Children of Leningradsky (2005, Poland) | Rating: 4/5

I don't know if it's because Daichi Miura tugged on my heartstrings with his perfection or what, but I felt so weak watching this in class. It was so tragic. The situation seems worse since this is focused on homeless children. The documentary does a great job of convincing the viewers to sympathize for these children and their situation. Some of the students in my class and perhaps even other audience members felt upset with the lack of participation from the filmmaker during certain situations. To counter the sympathy you feel for these children, it also challenges your emotions when they do things that are wrong as well. I recommend tissues for this one.



If there's something you want me to review (or want a more in depth review of the movies above or previous ones), check out this post on how you can submit requests.

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