Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Vertigo


(Movie, 1958)
I don’t get why this movie surpassed Citizen Kane the title as the best movie of all time recently. Citizen Kane is only 1-1/2 hours yet so many things happened, while Vertigo is 2 hours long yet nothing really happened. The story is so simple. You could miss 15, 30 minutes here and there and not really miss the whole idea. I couldn’t agree more to a friend who watched this movie before me. He said it’s kind of boring and dragging. Like they just made some scenes to make it long. That’s what I also feel. Plus, the main protagonist, Ferguson (James Stewart) seem too old for the girl, Judy Barton/Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak). I love the movie poster, tough.

Casting & Acting:           7.0
Cinematography:           9.0
Overall Production:        9.0
Plot/Story:                  10.0
Rating:                      8.75



Citizen Kane


(Movie, 1941)

I loved this movie. It’s full of mystery, intrigue, and entertainment. Orson Welles really did a good job on this. The production is excellent, the make-up is superb! Orson Welles is one of the very few who can play an old man very well. No wonder it was hailed as the best movie of all time… because it is.

Casting & Acting:            10.0
Cinematography:            10.0
Overall Production:         10.0
Plot/Story:                    10.0
Rating:                         10.0


Miyazaki Movies

Princess Monokoke 
(Movie, 1997)

When I learned from 9gag and tumblr that a scene from Snow White and the Huntsman was copied from this movie, I wanted to download it right away and watch. But I wanted the original version (Japanese language). I don’t mind reading subtitles… If a movie is in a foreign language, I want to watch it as it is. Unfortunately, the copy that my brother has is dubbed.

Anyway, the scene I was talking about is the deer-like creature in the forrest that Snow White bowed to. There was also a comment that the whole forrest in SWatH was copied from PM. After watching this movie, I'm afraid I have to agree. Although PM is a cartoon and 2D for that matter, no one can deny how it was able to convey to the audience the beauty of nature. Aside from the deer, the small white baby-ish creatures also resemble the white little fairies with big eyes in SWatH. Maybe not exactly but the idea is similar. Anyway, plus points for PM for this.
 
The movie is 2+ hours long. It is too long for a cartoon but is guess it's not maybe entirely for general patronage because of the theme of the movie. It is quite violent and with a little gore. What distracts me more is the dubbing. It’s the worst dubbing job in the history of animated movies!  I was about to give it a pass until I watched the rest of Miyazaki movies. The dubbing for the others are OK. So I concluded they really sucked in PM. I’ll give a 10 for the original (Japanese) since I’m pretty sure they’re always excellent in dubbing but the Engish dub is 2. So halfway, the score is 6. 

Casting & Acting (Voice):                6.0
Cinematography/Visual Effect:        9.0
Overall Production:                       9.0
Plot/Story:                                    7.0
Rating:                                       7.75

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Spirited Away 
(Movie, 2001)

I’m so glad I finally watched this film. No wonder this was dubbed as the best animated movie of all time in most top movie lists. It is really great. It is excellent. It is exceptional. Even if it is only 2D, the movie still provides awesomeness. The story is great, too. Dubbing is excellent: Japanese 10, English 10!

...And the photo above? I used that as my wallpaper.

Casting & Acting (Voice):              10.0
Cinematography/Visual Effect:       9.0
Overall Production:                       9.0
Plot/Story:                                 10.0
Rating:                                      9.50

______________________________________________________________________


Howl's Moving Castle
(Movie, 2004)


This movie did not reach the height that the previous Miyazaki movie achieved. Nonetheless, it was still good and funny. The main girl character was funnier when she was older than when she was young. It was cool and magical. Imagine what it could offer it wasn’t done in traditional cartoons (2D). Dubbing: Japanese 10, English 8, Score 9.




Casting & Acting (Voice):                9.0
Cinematography/Visual Effect:        9.0
Overall Production:                        9.0
Plot/Story:                                    8.0
Rating:                                       8.75

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Ponyo
(Movie, 2009)

I’m sorry but I slept halfway through the movie. It was dull and creepy. Yes, Ponyo is creepy!

Dubbing: Japanese 10, English 4, Score 7.




Casting & Acting (Voice):                7.0

Cinematography/Visual Effect:        8.0
Overall Production:                        8.0
Plot/Story:                                    4.0
Rating:                                       6.75





The Pirates! Band of Misfits




(Movie, 2012)

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! or The Pirates! Band of Misfits is one animated movie I really, really enjoyed this recent year. I got curious when this film got very positive reviews from critics. I never read the book, so seeing this is a movie about pirates, I thought what could they offer more that the past pirate movies hadn’t? I applaud the makers for this film. Not just the story, the production was so intricate. In this age of 3D and HD, it’s amazing some still do the clay-ish thing, though that kind of animation freaks me out when I was younger. I also salute the writers for wittily incorporating past events in the story. Well done, mates! Garrr!

Casting & Acting (Voice):                9.0
Cinematography/Visual Effect:        9.0
Overall Production:                       10.0
Plot/Story:                                    9.0
Rating:                                       9.25

The Muppets

(Movie, 2011)

I am not actually a fan of the Muppets. I’m familiar with the characters but I don’t really memorize their names or whatever. But getting the gang on the big screen in this new generation, I was surprised on the feedback the movie got especially from the critics. Well, the movie is actually good and funny. I just have one question… What is Selena Gomez doing there? I don’t get it. 

Casting & Acting:           8.0
Cinematography:           8.0
Overall Production:        9.0
Plot/Story:                   8.0
Rating:                      8.25


Mr. Popper's Penguins

(Movie, 2011) 

Watching Jim Carrey on this movie made me realize one thing: he’s old. Nevertheless, the movie as a whole is enjoyable. It is predictable and cheesy but for kids, it won’t matter. I still liked it even so.

Casting & Acting:           8.0
Cinematography:           9.0
Overall Production:        9.0
Plot/Story:                   7.5
Rating:                      8.375