Category Archives: Movies

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM

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Released 2024

I admit, I’m terrible at telling mechas apart, so I was never a huge fan of the series’ battle scenes. I was surprised that even the director said in his introduction that battle scenes could seem “insipid” if there were too many, and unfortunately, for me this was already too much.

Maybe it’s just me not paying enough attention, or not recalling enough from the TV series, but I wished there was better explanation of their strategies. Like, they decide to let’s save Lacus – but how? And I didn’t get a good grasp of how the antagonists’ mind-control/mind-reading abilities worked.

Foundation needed Lacus’s support to make their plan a reality; but they didn’t even try to court her in earnest before resorting to underhanded methods. In general, I found all the villains to be too blatantly villainous.

I also personally thought the cheesy love stuff, and love triangle side plots, to be a bit overdone. I get that freedom of choice to love was being used as an analogy for freedom of life, but I guess I’m just particular in my enjoyment of love stories and this wasn’t my thing. For the record, I was invested in the Murrue x Mu romance back in SEED and the Cagalli x Athrun pairing during DESTINY.

There were things to like about the screening. Obviously it was pleasantly nostalgic to re-visit these iconic characters. But the biggest crowd-pleaser was when several of them got into a full-on fist-fight.

The first Gundam SEED anime used to air on YTV in the 2000s, so I’ve watched it all the way through at least twice. As the overall plot is very complex, I definitely got more out of it during subsequent viewings. The same could be true of this film, I suppose.

TIFF – Saturday Fiction

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Released 2019

2 stars (out of 4)

This movie, set in 1941 Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, was too… advanced for me.

There were very many characters, each with their own allegiances, motivations, and secrets. Four languages were spoken prominently in the film (Chinese, Japanese, French, English); at least I had the benefit of recognizing each of them when I heard them, otherwise it would have been even harder to keep track of who was whom. In general, it was challenging to discern what was truth and what was a lie when the characters interacted with each other. That applied to the main character too. Great that she was a badass film star/undercover agent, but she remained as much of an enigma to the viewer as to her allies and enemies.

Additionally, there was a “play within a play” (the film shares the name Saturday Fiction with the play) which seemed to blend in to reality.

Based on the title, this blurring of fact and fiction might have been the whole intent, but for me, I could not tell what the movie was trying to say then.

The film was all in black and white, shot with hand-held cameras closely following the characters. With a period piece like this, I would have liked to have seen some historical scenery images, but there was not much to be found here beyond the inside of the buildings.

TIFF – No.7 Cherry Lane

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Released 2019

3 stars (out of 4), having the benefit of the director’s preface. Likely less without it.

3D-animated to start, then redrawn to appear 2D on a rice paper canvas, No.7 Cherry Lane takes place during the political unrest of 1967 Hong Kong. The film was made in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beijing; and the dialogue is a mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese.

Director Yonfan was in attendance and he provided an interview and comments before the screening – which was a really good thing! Apparently, he does not watch animated works himself, so he did not have preconceptions about how things should be done, and so the film might be seen as unconventional. He also warned that it would be a slow movie and advised us how important he thought the soundtrack was.

Indeed, No.7 Cherry Lane was pretty different from the anime that I’m accustomed to, which values “show” over “tell.” Some parts were so heavily narrated that it seemed more like reading a book, with the images on screen matching the narration. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as otherwise I might not have known to pay attention to the somewhat mundane details. Yet, for all the abundant exposition in those scenes, there were just as many that could have benefitted from further explanation.

Some parts were just plain weird. I still don’t understand the point of the ball-less tennis match (at first I thought it was an artistic choice to not show the ball, while my sister thought it was a budgetary choice – but apparently there was actually no ball!) And particularly, that hallucinatory sequence near the end had us wondering, quite literally, “What the heck is she smoking?”

The computer-graphic origin of the art was especially apparent in the characters’ movements, which was the “slowest” part of the film. The way they walked reminded me of zombies; and if I had been streaming this on the computer, I might have thought I had a connection problem with how laggy it looked!

This is not to say I completely disliked the film. There were aspects that worked for me. The music was beautiful, as promised. The historical Hong Kong backdrop was a treat to behold. Additionally, I did ship the May-December romance between the 2 leads, even if the love triangle seemed unnecessary and (at least for me) incomprehensible.

Sound! Euphonium The Movie ~Our Promise: A Brand New Day~ (Hibike! Euphonium: Chikai no Finale)

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Released 2019

This feature film, a direct sequel to Sound! Euphonium 2, stars Kumiko as a second year and introduces several new members of the Kitauji High School concert band club. It is lovely and will likely satisfy fans of the 2 preceding TV series.

But that, of course, is not me. As I have previously and recently stated, I watched, but wasn’t terribly excited about Sound! Euphonium season one. I never got around to watching season two. I enjoyed the side story film, Liz and the Blue Bird, somewhat. So keep in mind that my perspective might be considerably different from that of a true fan.

The first half of the film seemed to have an odd fixation on monikers. More than one character took issue numerous times about being called by surname instead of given name, or nickname instead of proper name. I found it a little weird that such a big deal was made out of it, and I guess I didn’t really understand the significance of it all.

The second half tackled the theme of talent vs seniority when selecting musicians for their club’s competitive performance, which is familiar territory for Sound! Euphonium viewers.

It’s obvious that a great deal of love, attention, and budget was put into the band’s final performance, which was easily the most impressive scene of the film.

Even though “finale” is in the title, the series is clearly not over; in fact, the ending teased a possible season 3.

Why did I go out of my way to see this, you might be wondering? The main reason is I believe in supporting anime screenings when they come to my local cinemas. The second is my sister is a slightly bigger fan of the franchise than I am (though not enough to get through season 2!) And finally, with the horrific tragedy that just occurred at the Kyoto Animation Studio, I’m especially keen to give the company some support right now.

The screening we attended was the English-dubbed version, which was rather a surprise to us in the audience. I’m not a dub hater, but it does take some getting used to; and some of the wording and intonations sounded awkward at times.

Toronto Japanese Film Festival 2019

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TJFF 2019 took place June 6 to 27. I attended only 2 screenings this year, the opening night murder mystery, MASQUERADE HOTEL, and train-themed drama, Our Departures. Both films were excellent, with great scripts and equally great acting.

MASQUERADE HOTEL

Released 2019

Police detectives go undercover at a fancy hotel after deciphering a message that a serial killer’s next target will be at that location. Hotel supervisor Yamagishi is tasked with training Detective Nitta to be effective and convincing as front desk staff, but their backgrounds and personalities are very different and they frequently butt heads. Gradually, over the course of multiple subplots, they learn to appreciate each other’s input and become better at their own jobs from the experience.

The details of the crime investigation were too complicated for me, so I didn’t feel that I completely understood it. Also, if it were not for one lucky coincidence, they might not have identified the killer in time.

On the plus side, I related very strongly to the depiction of the hoteliers’ dedication to their work. My own job also has a significant customer service aspect. I am a bit of a workaholic who constantly strives to help my clients and make them feel comfortable, so that stuff really clicked with me.

Our Departures

Released 2018

Akira’s life is uprooted after the loss of her husband. Only 25 years old, she suddenly finds herself a single mother with no home and no steady income. After connecting with her late husband’s estranged father, she decides to follow in his footsteps and start a career as a railway driver.

This film is quite the tearjerker, more than I expected. Obviously, there’s the death of the husband, but beyond that, it’s the subtle ways that Akira and Shunya are affected by what’s happened, even as they do their best to move forward, that’s affecting. No one would fault Akira for feeling sorry for herself – she definitely did not sign up for this – but she doesn’t wallow in self-pity. However, there’s a moment when another character shows her kindness, and that was when the floodgates in my eyes couldn’t hold the onslaught any longer. If you have a chance to watch this, be warned!

Liz and the Blue Bird (Liz to Aoi Tori)

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Released 2018

This Kyoto Animation film has the same setting as the Sound! Euphonium anime series. However, the focus here is on two other members of the music club, while the leads from the TV series hardly show up at all.

Ultimately it is a simple story, but told with a lot of nuance in the relationship between the two main girls and a lot of detail in the glorious animation. Speaking of animation, the parts recounting the fairy tale of “Liz and the Blue Bird” (the musical piece the band was rehearsing and a story the girls were fond of) had a whole different look, somewhat evoking the whimsical feel of a Studio Ghibli film.

I personally found the movie to be a little bit plodding, which was also my complaint about Sound! Euphonium. But at least here it’s dragged out to 90 minutes instead of 13 episodes. Additionally, Mizore and Nozomi are a more likeable pair than Kumiko and Reina. Therefore I was able to enjoy Liz and the Blue Bird regardless of the fact that I wasn’t crazy about the original series.

INUYASHIKI

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Released 2018

I have not read the original manga series, but I did enjoy the 11-episode INUYASHIKI LAST HERO anime from 2017. This live-action INUYASHIKI movie features a great cast, including Noritake Kinashi and Takeru Satoh in the lead roles. The acting is good too. The ending is a departure from the way the anime went. I don’t know which version is more faithful to the original.

I’m not fully convinced that there’s an anti-ageist agenda going on, but the movie is certainly an effective illustration of how wonderful or frightening great power can be, depending on who wields it.

Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – I. presage flower & II. lost butterfly

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Released 2017 and 2019, respectively

Prerequisite: Fate/stay night original series and/or Unlimited Blade Works or other familiarity with the franchise prologue.

Strongly recommended: Fate/Zero.

The Heaven’s Feel movies offer no recap of the events that start the story, including the initial attack and introduction of Saber, other than a brief montage in presage flower that’s more artistically evocative than explanatory. It is assumed that you have seen it all before, and will make no sense if you haven’t.

Heaven’s Feel is Sakura’s route. We had a glimpse of Sakura’s traumatic childhood in Fate/Zero, and her story definitely needed to be told. Unfortunately, Sakura’s quiet personality makes her kind of weak as a main character.

As expected, these films (parts I & II of a trilogy) are stunningly gorgeous, the best-looking rendition of Fate/stay night yet. While presage flower provides some set-up, lost butterfly features extended battle action scenes. By the end, a lot of troubling revelations come to light. I’m definitely looking forward to the final film, although I don’t really see how this can end well.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

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Released 2019

3.25 stars (out of 4)

Long in the making, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL is the live action Hollywood adaptation of a manga from the 1990s. I came to the movie as someone who has not read the manga nor seen any prior visual adaptations, and I really enjoyed it! I watched in IMAX 3D and found it to be an immersive experience that held my rapt attention throughout.

The motorball and fight scenes were exciting and were presented in a way that made it easy to clearly follow the action.

If I stop to think about it, there may have been some plot holes, and certainly points which could have been fleshed out more, but none of that seriously detracted from the overall enjoyment of the film.

ONE CUT OF THE DEAD

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Released 2018

3.25 stars (out of 4)

We intended to see the first screening of ONE CUT OF THE DEAD at the JCCC back in November, but missed it due to a nasty snowstorm. Thankfully, we got another chance to catch this comedic gem last week, weather permitted.

What starts off as a campy single-take horror film, in which zombies suddenly invade the set of a movie, becomes much more when the making-of details of that production are subsequently revealed.

So with a story about the people making a low-budget horror movie, which is itself about a film crew making a movie, this is essentially a show within a show within a show within a show. And that’s about as meta as it gets! ONE CUT OF THE DEAD is very cleverly put together, and the zombie action and film-making satire are tremendously funny as well. I think everyone in the audience had a smile on their face when it was over.