Tag: movies

Back to the 90s (2015) – Movie Review

, , , , , I Like It, Reviews5 Comments on Back to the 90s (2015) – Movie Review

Back to the 90s is a movie about a teenager who accidentally travels back in time and tries to repair his mom and dad’s rocky relationship. It’s a fun story, with some touching moments and a couple good plot twists thrown in. Add some nostalgic ’90s references (Tamagotchi!) and you have a nice, entertaining movie. Nothing amazing, but the acting is strong, and the ending is both satisfying yet leaves you wanting more. (sequel please?)

I really enjoyed Som and Tam’s characters, and learning about their motivations brings a welcome level of complexity and interest to the story. It’s also the first time I’ve seen a Thai movie, so that made it fascinating to watch. Cool to get a glimpse into an unfamiliar culture, even if it is off by two decades and covered with a Hollywood-like polish. 😁

BTW, I came across Back to the 90s by reading Age’s blog, Write Them All. Lots of good things to read about there. Check it out if you have a chance!

I definitely recommend Back to the 90s if you like romcoms or are a fan of Baifern (the actress who plays Som), which I have now become. Enjoy!

My rating: 8/10


Saturday Viewing

, , I Like It, Slice of Life2 Comments on Saturday Viewing

こんばんは。

Today, I had a few free hours alone (Bay is out of town at a Robotics competition, Mariko was at a winery with friends, and Koa was at a pool party) so I went to see Your Name again!

I knew that there would be so much more to appreciate in the second viewing. I guess it’s because I don’t catch a lot of the plot nuances the first time I see movies, but also because Your Name has quite a few twists that it makes it hard to keep track of all that is going on.

****spoiler alert****

So, in the second viewing, I was fully away that besides being separated by distance, Mitsuha and Taki were separated by time as well. Because of the 3 year difference, the first time they met in Tokyo, Mitsuha was probably 17, but Taki was only 14. That whole scene on the train made a ton more sense now that I realized that Mitsuha had been experiencing the switch for a while, but the switch would not happen for another 3 years for Taki.

The body-swapping aspect of the film made a lot more sense to me since I could pick up on the cues as to when the switch is “active”. For instance, the real Mitsuha could braid her hair with ease, while the Taki-Mitsuha wore her hair in a messy ponytail.

On the flipside, the scenes where Mitsuha is in Taki’s body were a lot more interesting, just seeing the way he/see walks and sits, and the way he speaks is feminine. I enjoyed it during the first viewing, but now could concentrate 100% on the subtleties.

Interestingly enough, the second viewing was even more touching emotionally. Every time I saw the comet in the sky, I would feel my eyes welling up with tears. It was crazy. Then of course when Mitsuha opens her hand to see what Taki wrote… ah the flood!!! And finally, the ending scene was just perfect. 😢

One small thing I noticed in the first viewing was that one of the buildings in Tokyo was one I took a photo of back in 1997. It’s the building at the 0:18 second mark in the video below. It gave me a feeling of a little more of a connection to the movie. 😄

"Shinjuku Skyscraper" Tokyo, 1997
“Shinjuku Skyscraper” Tokyo, 1997

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

またね～

Your Name 君の名は (2017) – Movie Review

, , , , I Like It, Reviews1 Comment on Your Name 君の名は (2017) – Movie Review
"Movie Night" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Movie Night” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。

This evening I went with my friend Mikey to watch the Japanese anime blockbuster “Your Name / 君の名は”. It’s the highest-grossing animated movie in Japan of all-time, surpassing even Spirited Away, which is my favorite Studio Ghibli film. I’ve heard so many great things about Your Name that I had high expectations for it, and I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed! I thought the story was amazing, the visuals stunning, and the soundtrack was great. There were several powerful moments, where I could forget that I am a 48-year old 伯父さん and just simply shed an emotional tear or two. Dark theaters you know! But to me, the movie was that good.

But, the only negative to me (pointed out by my more perceptive viewing companion, Mikey) was the placement of the Radwimps song at the beginning of the film. I do like the song a lot, but it “cheapened” the movie a little bit. Instead of a pure cinematic epic, the song brought it down to a tv-like quality since it looked like the opening of a tv anime. And they showed a lot snippets of upcoming scenes. It was weird.

Despite the opening, I thought Your Name was a brilliant movie. I plan on seeing it again soon, and of course owning it when it is released in stores. Recommended, but bring tissues!

Here’s the official trailer:

And another Radwimps tune from the movie, with plenty of great movie scenes:

My rating: 10/10!

I hope you had a nice Friday!

またね～

Reading and Watching

, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Reading and Watching
"Deserted Library" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Deserted Library” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。

Today was the beginning of spring break here in Texas, but it was a grey, cold, and rainy day. Nice to spend it indoors. At least most of the day!

Movie Day

I watched two really good movies today: Kon-Tiki (2012), and The Kite Runner (2007). Both were fantastic.

I read The Kite Runner before, but never saw the movie. Happy to say the movie really matched what I read in the book almost perfectly. Amazing, but tragic, story.

I haven’t read Kon-Tiki, but after seeing the movie, the book is on my to-read list. The epic ocean journey is captured with breathtaking cinematography, which reminded me a lot of another favorite movie, Life of Pi.

By the way, I have kept a list of the movies watched/books ready for the past couple years here on my blog. Check out this year’s list, or access all the lists from the site navigation menu.

Library Visit

Today’s photo is one I took at one of my favorite places: the library. I borrowed both of the movies from here. They have a really nice selection. It’s great! Anyways, the photo makes it look like the library was deserted, but it was actually quite busy. I just happened to take the photo when no one was in the frame.

I hope you had a nice, warm Saturday!

またね～

バロン

2017 Movies & Books

Here’s my 2017 list of books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched, with my rating in parentheses (out of 10).

To see other years’ lists, click on the “List Love” menu in the top navigation.

Books

Movies and Dorama

Leisurely Afternoon

, , Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Leisurely Afternoon
"Watching Movies" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO640
 “Watching Movies” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Today was a schizophrenic Saturday, in that I worked a few hours this morning 😩, but then had a totally relaxing afternoon ☺️.

On the way home from work, I stopped at In-N-Out Burger and picked up some food 🍔 for Koa and I. Normally we get Double-doubles or just a cheeseburger, but today we both got 3×3’s, which are burgers with three patties and three slices of cheese. I thought we should try that once in our lives.

"3x3" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/13 sec, ISO3200
 “3×3” Cedar Park, 2016

As you can see from the photo, they were pretty massive. Aside from having more meat and cheese, it pretty much was the same as their regular offerings, but now that we’ve tried the 3×3, it’s back to our normal-sized burgers.

After lunch, Koa went to the park to meet his friends and I had the rest of the afternoon to do as I pleased which meant putting Star Wars: The Force Awakens on with the surround-sound system cranked way up. It was great! I have to say, Episode 8 is my favorite of the Star Wars movies.

My favorite part started when Rey and Finn are running to the Quad Jumper and she says “that one is garbage!” referring to the Millenium Falcon. My heart soared when the Falcon came into view the first time, and then the ensuing dogfight was just amazing! I thought that dogfight was the best of all the movies so far, and it was just 3 ships! There was so much more action that even the epic battle at the beginning of Episode 3, which had hundreds of ships and seemed to go on forever. Bigger is not always better where spaceship battles are concerned.

That dogfight at the beginning of Episode 8 was just one of several moments when my heart was pounding hard, and there were a couple times when I even teared up a bit too… so I know Episode 8 is my favorite. It was an emotional thrill-ride for me.

I hope you had nice Saturday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Tuxedo Cat and Godzilla

, , , ReviewsLeave a Comment on Tuxedo Cat and Godzilla
"Tuxedo Cat" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/75 sec, ISO6400
 “Tuxedo Cat” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

So, one of our kitties is black and white – a “tuxedo cat”. I had never heard that term before, but I like it. And I heard that tuxedo cats are strange… not sure if that is a trait or not, but ours is certainly the odd one of the pair of kittens we got. They are sisters, so I thought their personalities would be more similar, but the tuxedo cat is really quirky. She’s a lot of fun!

Earlier this evening my friend Mikey and I went to see the movie “Shin Godzilla”. It’s in limited release here in the States so the theater was sold out. We both enjoyed the movie quite a bit! The special effects were great, and Godzilla was pretty amazing (and very destructive). This version reminded me of a Titan from “Attack on Titan”… anyone else think so?

What I thought was fun about the movie was that it was filled with so many recognizable Japanese actors. Seems like everyone had a cameo or starring role. I also thought Ishihara Satomi’s character was funny speaking English. It was just like her English in the dorama 5-9. It was silly and fun!

Lastly, the English acting from the gaijin was terrible… yappari (as expected). But all-in-all, I thought it was a good movie. And I am amazed at how many conference rooms could be shown in a single movie. They must have set a record. 😜

shin-godzilla

I hope you had a nice Tuesday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto