The Movie Nilblog: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

 

 

According to my Letterboxd movie count, watching this film led to the amazing coincidence of it being the 100th film that I’ve seen so far for 2014. And what a charming movie for the big 100 to be.

Based on the novel of the same name, this movie begins as the title suggests: a 100 year old man climbing out of the window of his retirement home and finding himself heading off on an extremely random adventure. As we follow the man, Allan Karlsson, on his adventure, we jump to flashbacks throughout the film to find out his entire life had been full of random adventures. Almost like a Swedish Forest Gump, he is a strange person who finds himself in the middle of historic settings and befriending famous leaders and dictators of the past. Though unlike Forest Gump (the movie, not the character), this movie is pure comedy, with the moral essentially being not to over-think things and go with your gut.

The story is not super original nor groundbreaking, but it was an enjoyable watch, enjoyable enough to easily be one of my favorite movies of the year so far.

Rating out of 5:

★★★½

 

The Movie Nilblog: Sharknado

 

 

Now I love b-movies. And always have a good time watching a movie that’s so-bad-that-it’s-good. Troll 2 is always fun to watch and I’ve seen The Room many times at its monthly theatrical screenings with friends, each time easily being some of the best theater-going experiences I’ve had in my life. But Sharknado was just bad. As in it’s so-bad-that-it’s-bad.

However, I’m not going to go total Negative Nancy here. The film gets one star for giving me a few chuckles here and there. If you want the cheesy fun that the trailer promised, I saw watch the first 20 minutes or so because that’s the part of the movie that features the wonderful John Heard being hilarious and doing his best from saving this movie from being pure shark poop.

In conclusion, if you wake up early on a Sunday, having nothing to do and is in the mood for watching something crappy to kill an hour or so, pop open a beer and load this baby on Netflix.

Rating out of 5:

★

 

The Cinematic Bucket List: Cinema Paradiso

 

 

This a a film for people who allow films to shape how we feel and effect them emotionally, whether it be a tender kiss or allowing a movie to cure our sadness with comedy.

The story is told through the flashbacks of Salvatore, a filmmaker who’s flashbacks take us to post-WWII Italy, where as a young boy nicknamed Toto gets taken under the wing of his future father-figure and mentor, Alfredo, a film projectionist for their town’s local theater. As we follow these characters through the years of their lives, we see the advancement of not only movies, but of Toto’s life in finding his first romance and artistic passion.

This movie is soaked with nostalgia that anyone can relate to and brings back feelings of remembering not only old friends and first loves, but also of the quirky people we grew up with in our home towns or cities. The nostalgia turns bittersweet at the film’s climax during the movie’s famous montage. Watching this has had a profound effect on myself and I gladly accept it into the ranks as one of my favorite films of all time.

Rating out of 5:

★★★★★

 

The Cinematic Bucket List: Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

 

 

It’s such a rare opportunity to go to the cinema and leave with the realization that you had just witnessed one of the greatest films ever created. Well this past Sunday it happened when my friend Jeane and I attended a special screening of Singin’ In The Rain at Agnes B. Cinema in Wanchai. Seeing this film was a long time coming but I couldn’t have been happier that my first time watching it was on the big screen. And to mark the occasion, it was raining a non-stop downpour that day too.

There’s just so much to praise here, where should I begin? The wonderful story? The catchy music? The perfect comedic timing, in terms of both physical movement and line delivery? That special way the film had me grinning almost throughout its entire running time? The performances were flawless all around but for me Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) stole the show. Every scene with him was full of infinite optimism and he easily was the major factor in some of the best sequences of the film.

If I had to make one complaint about the film, it would be that the Broadway Melody Ballet sequence ran a bit long for my taste. But nevertheless, it gets an easy 5 stars for giving me the pleasure to rethink my favorite films of all time list (ditto for comedies).

Rating out of 5:

★★★★★

As I final note, big ups to HKIFF Cine Fan for continually showing special screenings of classic  and foreign films year-round. Their contributions definitely help make Hong Kong a wonderful place to live for movie lovers.

 

The Cinematic Bucket List: Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

 

I’ll happily bow down to John Carpenter and Kurt Russell now.

Back in 2010, my first roommate used to rave about the glory of this film and now I understand why. It is simply one of the most insane and random action movies that I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The plot in a nutshell: Kurt Russell plays a truck driver helping out a friend rescue his fiancee from a 2000 year old sorcerer and his Chinese thugs in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Simply put, this genre-bending film is something that could have only existed in the 80s. Case in point.

Rating out of 5:

★★★½

 

Year In Lists: 2013

 

Is the correct way to say it Year End Lists or Year In Lists? For the time being, I’ll follow what Los Campesinos! said. It’s kind of messed up to be barely writing this one month into 2014 but since it is Chinese New Year this weekend I’m technically not cheating nor am I late.

Anyways, the bulk of these lists are going to deal with films. So lets jump into that first. I don’t quite remember if I wrote my Top 10 favorite films last year, but ever since I signed up for Letterboxd, keeping track of the movies I’ve been watching have been so much easier (ditto with their list creating features). So here we go.

 

TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2013

10. Gravity: This movie was a huge technical achievement and it’s result was a eye viewing spectacle. I saw this one twice in theaters and I’m definitely counting on it to win Best Picture this year at the Oscars.

9. Blue Jasmine: Woody Allen went into some dark territory with this one and I loved it. Cate Blanchett completely owned as the delusional Jasmine who loses everything and deals with it horribly.

8. Her: My favorite sci-fi film in ages. Same for being one of the best romances I’ve seen in a long time. From the writing to the camera composition, everything in this film was beautiful.

7. Before Midnight: Along with Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Richard Linklater’s third film about Jesse and Celine rounds out the series into one of the greatest trilogies of all time. For a lot of people, this film was 9 years in the making and it certainly did not disappoint.

6. The Garden of Words: After a stint in fantasy, Makoto Shinkai’s latest anime feature returns to the roots of his hauntingly depressing 5 Centimeters Per Second by once again telling a tale of angst and distance. Though it doesn’t hit as hard as Centimeters, it is still one of the most beautiful animated films out there and the story moved me towards the end. But why didn’t Tenmon do the soundtrack?!

5. Drinking Buddies: Joe Swanberg pulled a bit from his mumblecore roots for his first mainstream feature, while at the same time keeping his signature style intact. I love pretty much everything this man does.

4. The Wind Rises: Though his last feature was a bit of a disappointment, Hayao Miyazaki came back with a vengeance in a film that solidified his status as the master of animation.

3. Frances Ha: Maybe it’s because I’m in my 20s or the simple fact that I love coming of age flicks, but I just enjoy everything about this movie. And at some points, it was just a complete comfort to see a likewise character who has no idea as to what she is doing with her life.

2. The Way, Way Back: As much as I loved both, this is the film that Adventureland failed to be.

1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: While some of the movies this past year were technically superior in storytelling, this is the movie that captivated me the most out of the whole year. Ben Stiller: BEST HUMAN.

 

TOP 5 LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2013: 

5. Thor: The Dark World

4. Iron Man 3

3. Unbeatable

2. Star Tek Into Darkness

1. Man of Steel

Fuck all these movies.

 

FAVORITE GIG OF 2013

Best Coast @ The Hangout: I’m still so grateful that they were able to come to Hong Kong and bring a taste of home sweet home. This show was a bittersweet emotional rollercoaster of radness and homesickness.

 

FAVORITE SONG OF 2013

September by Batwings Catwings

While this song definitely did not give out the same mosh friendly chaos I always enjoyed at their gigs, their sound of the summer was totally best and did it for me the most out of every song this year.

 

HOWEVER, a close second was Prom Night by Anamanaguchi – this was totallay sex.

 

That’s it for now I guess.

 

The Cinematic Bucket List: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

 

 

“It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder.”

I had seen bits and pieces of this film throughout my life – images of Gort the android and the iconic image of Klaatu’s spaceship parked in Washington D.C are some examples. However, for some reason, the scene of Klaatu finishing Professor Barnhardt’s equation always stuck to me the most as a child. But now watching it now as an adult has caused the film to leave a much large impact on myself. What struck me most about it was how well the film was able to make Klaatu and his people’s warning seem like such a powerful threat with just a few lines. For example, with Klaatu describing the abilities of his android companion: “There’s no limit to what Gort could do. He could destroy the Earth.” Along with the actual sequence of the film’s title, I have seen few stories that have been able to make the main protagonist seem as threatening as this movie does with Klaatu.

Of course, the soul of the story is Klaatu’s immersion into human society and his thoughts on fear, war and science. And along with an awesome 1950s era android, The Day the Earth Stood Still holds strong to its reputation as one of the greats in sci-fi.

Rating out of 5:

★★★★★

 

The Movie Nilblog: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

 

 

This was film #6 for my October Horror Moviethon list on Letterboxd.

Though Freddy Krueger isn’t as terrifying a character as he was to me when I was younger, his original outing in the first Elm Street movie still holds up as a fantastic movie. Watching it in its entirety for the first time in years, I had a blast retreading its plot. One thing that really separates it from other films in the slasher genre is how it was able to make every teen death important to the overall story. This allows for every person whom Krueger kills in this movie is somewhat developed character-wise.

The special effects hold up well, especially for the first big death scene, which looks amazing. I also loved the use of the main theme song, which lingers in the background for most of the film. I have to admit, I had my doubts about its quality before rewatching this again after so long and I am glad to say that my doubts were totally incorrect.

Rating out of 5:

★★★★

 

The Movie Nilblog: The New Year

 

 

I decided to watch this film after a friend from Pensacola excitedly recommended it. As a fan of this type of quasi-mumblecore indie genre, I decided to give it a view. Though it didn’t end up being my favorite in the genre, it certainly wasn’t my least favorite either. Except for some of the dialogue feeling awkward a few times, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The plot centers around a young woman who dropped out of college to take care of her cancer-ridden father and now lives a bit aimlessly while working at her local bowling alley. Though she has a boyfriend (making him a tae-kwon-do teacher as a nice touch), she begins to gain interest in an old high school crush when he returns to town.

Though some aspects of the movie were really cliché (the protagonist is an aspiring writer), some parts of it were pretty unique and worked well, such as the whole bowling angle.

The lead actress, Trieste Kelly Dunn, held the movie well and the directing by Brett Haley was well expressed, especially since this was a film set in his hometown. It is a movie I will definitely revisit and I hope to see more of his work in the future. As of this posting, it is currently on Netflix so check it out!

Rating out of 5:

★★★½

 

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/8432175]

 

The Movie Nilblog: Don Jon (2013)

 

 

I wanted to like this, I really did. The subject matter of porn addiction is something rarely touched upon in movies and while I felt the intentions were good in making this movie, it ultimately just really wasn’t a well done piece. Too many characters existed only for convenience, some of the plot holes were just too glaring to ignore and everyone fit into their own racial or character stereotype so well that I felt like I was watching a movie full of cartoon characters.

On the positive side, there’s definitely potential for Joseph Gordon-Levitt to become a good director and I think if he tries a few more times, each of his movies can get better with each go. But for Pete’s sake, if he’s ever going to put Tony Danza in a movie ever again, he needs to give the guy a lot more to do!

Rating out of 5:

★★