cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/4326326

This is a pretty cool movie.

The plot is very interesting, and there's tons of tension! Definitely keeps you on your toes as the pressure mounts for the main characters, especially in the undercover scenes. There wasn't really a point where I thought anything in the main storyline didn't make sense; the motivations of the characters are as clear as they should be, and the emotional weight of the story is perfectly translated every time. The immense stress that they're under is very compelling, and the inner struggle of the characters is fantastically depicted.

That being said, I thought some of the side characters and side plots were superfluous, not developed enough, or just straight up didn't make sense. Inspector Lau's fiancé's novel is a bit on the nose, and Yan's relationship with his psychiatrist came out of nowhere.

The acting was pretty good, especially for the two main characters and their respective handles. Some side characters were also pretty cool, I really loved Chapman To in particular.

The cinematography had some highs for sure, but also some lows. There were some shot transitions that looked like someone just pulled up WMM.

Overall, it's a cool film. I decided to watch it because it's highly rated and from Hong Kong. I'd previously watched Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love and absolutely loved them, but Infernal Affairs simply doesn't compare. It's OK, and definitely worth a watch, but it didn't blow me away.

What do you think?

Rating: 3/5

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/4326326

This is a pretty cool movie.

The plot is very interesting, and there's tons of tension! Definitely keeps you on your toes as the pressure mounts for the main characters, especially in the undercover scenes. There wasn't really a point where I thought anything in the main storyline didn't make sense; the motivations of the characters are as clear as they should be, and the emotional weight of the story is perfectly translated every time. The immense stress that they're under is very compelling, and the inner struggle of the characters is fantastically depicted.

That being said, I thought some of the side characters and side plots were superfluous, not developed enough, or just straight up didn't make sense. Inspector Lau's fiancé's novel is a bit on the nose, and Yan's relationship with his psychiatrist came out of nowhere.

The acting was pretty good, especially for the two main characters and their respective handles. Some side characters were also pretty cool, I really loved Chapman To in particular.

The cinematography had some highs for sure, but also some lows. There were some shot transitions that looked like someone just pulled up WMM.

Overall, it's a cool film. I decided to watch it because it's highly rated and from Hong Kong. I'd previously watched Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love and absolutely loved them, but Infernal Affairs simply doesn't compare. It's OK, and definitely worth a watch, but it didn't blow me away.

What do you think?

Rating: 3/5

Check out this awesome video by General Hay on YT!

I don't know how many of you are familiar with this audio drama called The Magnus Archives (often abbreviated as MAG).

Not to get into spoiler territory, but the basic plot of MAG is that there's a set of evil entities, one of which is called The Eye. The Eye is the manifestation of the fear of being watched, exposed, followed, of having secrets known, but also the drive to know and understand, even if your discoveries might destroy you.

SOUND FAMILIAR?!?!?

Oh, you're not convinced? Ok. Entities have avatars, which are basically people who have a deep connection with the entities, and often embody what the entities represent. Who are the avatars of The Eye? Oh, just

THE ARCHIVIST!!!!!

Yes, The Archivist is a notable avatar of The Eye, whose function is to record statements from people. Shiorin is the archiver, which I suppose is lEgaLlY DisTinCT. Just a coincidence, right?

Except The Eye has another avatar... Wanna know what that one's all about?

From the wiki:

[This avatar is] an avatar of the Eye with the ability to view any events or thoughts at will, as well as the ability to place information into other peoples' minds. By placing his eyes into the head of someone else, he takes control of their body, ensuring that he is always the 'heart of the institute'.

Did you read that right? By placing his eyes into the head of someone else, he takes control of their body. And what is Shiorin's most notable feature? Oh, just HER EYES. Pic related.

Oh but there's more. Here's some things associated with The Eye and being its avatar:

• Insomnia
• Hearing voices and being generally insane
• Having different voices
• Obsession with seeing things you shouldn't see

Shiorin has stated she suffers from insomnia, also that people don't think her voice is real (has different and unnatural voices), she's clearly insane (I don't think I have to justify this), and she likes the microscope (seeing things that are too small to see normally) and has requested to see our cells and biology. This is CLEAR AND OBVIOUS avatar of The Eye behaviour.

In conclusion

Shiori Novella is the embodiment of The Eye, and must be contained at all costs. She is manipulative, extremely dangerous, and her continued existence is likely to lead to the end of the world. It is my personal belief that the only way to stop her and her evil objectives is to subscribe to her channel and support her VTuber activities (action to the contrary may enrage her and result in our doom).

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1994067

Visually stunning and a brilliant cast!

The visuals are by far the most striking aspect of this movie. They're absolutely brilliant! I'm sure the black and white color-scheme and the odd aspect ratio play into this, but it's more than that; it's incredible cinematography, and it really helps tell the story and explore the intense emotions of the characters.

More than that, the acting is incredible, especially Frances McDormand, she really blew me away, though Denzel Washington was also fantastic. And Kathryn Hunter as the three witches was absolutely ridiculous, especially that scene where she continuously contorts her body... It really freaked me out, I loved it!

I thought the plot was great, but the pacing was a bit odd. The series of events, and the escalation of the situation felt somewhat rushed and disconnected. I've never read the original play, so I can't say if this is just how Macbeth is or if it's the movie.

What do you think?

Rating: 4/5

Arr 🏴‍☠️!!!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1994067

Visually stunning and a brilliant cast!

The visuals are by far the most striking aspect of this movie. They're absolutely brilliant! I'm sure the black and white color-scheme and the odd aspect ratio play into this, but it's more than that; it's incredible cinematography, and it really helps tell the story and explore the intense emotions of the characters.

More than that, the acting is incredible, especially Frances McDormand, she really blew me away, though Denzel Washington was also fantastic. And Kathryn Hunter as the three witches was absolutely ridiculous, especially that scene where she continuously contorts her body... It really freaked me out, I loved it!

I thought the plot was great, but the pacing was a bit odd. The series of events, and the escalation of the situation felt somewhat rushed and disconnected. I've never read the original play, so I can't say if this is just how Macbeth is or if it's the movie.

What do you think?

Rating: 4/5

Arr 🏴‍☠️!!!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1738775

Hilarious and action-filled!

Finally managed to watch this movie, and the wait was worth it!

The music is impeccable (as usual), and the comedy is on point. The action is great as well, with tons of thrilling sequences with interesting character designs and well choreographed fights. The environments were also fantastic, with disgusting, slimy scenes everywhere, which really drove home the whole idea of "perfecting" the world being a complete sham.

The plot doesn't leave anything to be desired either. It's interesting and thrilling. The main villain does a fantastic job of being hateable! I thought it was great acting by Chukwudi Iwuji, really outstanding job.

The only thing I didn't like too much was the very notable lack of stakes. Well, obviously there were stakes, but I never got the feeling they could actually fail to get the job done. I never thought that they might actually lose, for once. On one hand, that kinda sucks, on the other hand, it's a comedy-action movie that has great comedy and action. I don't think the lack of tension is a big deal.

What do you think?

Rating: 4/5

Arr 🏴‍☠️!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1738775

Hilarious and action-filled!

Finally managed to watch this movie, and the wait was worth it!

The music is impeccable (as usual), and the comedy is on point. The action is great as well, with tons of thrilling sequences with interesting character designs and well choreographed fights. The environments were also fantastic, with disgusting, slimy scenes everywhere, which really drove home the whole idea of "perfecting" the world being a complete sham.

The plot doesn't leave anything to be desired either. It's interesting and thrilling. The main villain does a fantastic job of being hateable! I thought it was great acting by Chukwudi Iwuji, really outstanding job.

The only thing I didn't like too much was the very notable lack of stakes. Well, obviously there were stakes, but I never got the feeling they could actually fail to get the job done. I never thought that they might actually lose, for once. On one hand, that kinda sucks, on the other hand, it's a comedy-action movie that has great comedy and action. I don't think the lack of tension is a big deal.

What do you think?

Rating: 4/5

Arr 🏴‍☠️!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1541244

Beautiful and emotional!

Such an endearing story, told in such a marvelous way. This is what animation is for, I mean, everything is so beautiful and fluid and whimsical. I particularly liked the mice, but the bears are cool too.

The music is also stupendous, gorgeous strings and piano throughout the film. The little sections when Ernest plays piano and violin for Célestine are so adorable, and it actually sounds great. The voice acting is incredible as well, so much emotion in every word!

I'm a big character guy, and the varied cast really sells this movie. I suppose one could argue that characters outside of Ernest and Célestine are a bit one-dimensional, in that they're stuck in their ways and consumed by prejudice, blind to the world and obsessed with the otherness of the other species. Still, I feel that they serve their purpose perfectly, and they're all HILARIOUS! Once again, the animation shines here, granting these characters a certain absurdity of movement to match the absurdity of their ideologies. It also lets Célestine show how persistent and determined to change Ernest she is with more than just her words, namely with her ability to appear from anywhere after being tossed out, which also makes for some absolutely hilarious scenes.

The messaging is on point, of course. This movie is from 2012, which is more than a decade ago, but things really haven't changed. The characterization of society as divided yet equal, and of how, fundamentally, the great divider is class rather than anything else (for which species is a catch-all stand-in), strikes hard. The pervasiveness of hatred rooted in fear, and the initial scenes showing how this fear is nurture rather than nature really struck a chord with me. Ernest and Célestine both struggling with authority figures and their expectations of them, of the role they were meant to take in their respective societies, really pushes this idea that the system is flawed and broken.

The ending was a bit underwhelming, perhaps. That's really the only negative thing I can point out. It felt like things were resolved very easily. It's a metaphor, and really it's a bit on the nose, but I guess I just wanted another chase scene...

What do you think?

Rating: 5/5

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1541244

Beautiful and emotional!

Such an endearing story, told in such a marvelous way. This is what animation is for, I mean, everything is so beautiful and fluid and whimsical. I particularly liked the mice, but the bears are cool too.

The music is also stupendous, gorgeous strings and piano throughout the film. The little sections when Ernest plays piano and violin for Célestine are so adorable, and it actually sounds great. The voice acting is incredible as well, so much emotion in every word!

I'm a big character guy, and the varied cast really sells this movie. I suppose one could argue that characters outside of Ernest and Célestine are a bit one-dimensional, in that they're stuck in their ways and consumed by prejudice, blind to the world and obsessed with the otherness of the other species. Still, I feel that they serve their purpose perfectly, and they're all HILARIOUS! Once again, the animation shines here, granting these characters a certain absurdity of movement to match the absurdity of their ideologies. It also lets Célestine show how persistent and determined to change Ernest she is with more than just her words, namely with her ability to appear from anywhere after being tossed out, which also makes for some absolutely hilarious scenes.

The messaging is on point, of course. This movie is from 2012, which is more than a decade ago, but things really haven't changed. The characterization of society as divided yet equal, and of how, fundamentally, the great divider is class rather than anything else (for which species is a catch-all stand-in), strikes hard. The pervasiveness of hatred rooted in fear, and the initial scenes showing how this fear is nurture rather than nature really struck a chord with me. Ernest and Célestine both struggling with authority figures and their expectations of them, of the role they were meant to take in their respective societies, really pushes this idea that the system is flawed and broken.

The ending was a bit underwhelming, perhaps. That's really the only negative thing I can point out. It felt like things were resolved very easily. It's a metaphor, and really it's a bit on the nose, but I guess I just wanted another chase scene...

What do you think?

Rating: 5/5

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1402187

Great concept, poor execution.

Everything that relates to the production value of this movie is subpar: the voice acting, the sound design, the animation... There's nothing excellent here, there's really nothing good here.

The voice acting sounds awkward at times. Japanese voice acting is known for being great, but here nearly every line feels emotionless, and the main characters sound like they're whispering very loudly instead of just talking. Which is something I can only assume is an artistic choice? I suppose it fits the theme of the movie but it sounds bad. Notably, Anzai Chika's performance as Kobayashi was actually pretty great.

The music and sound design on this thing is also not great. It sounds so quiet, so empty. Once again, this must have been by design, as it fits the theme, but it sucks! It makes the whole movie feel bland and faceless. Just because it's about a secret and escaping others doesn't mean the movie should be empty.

The animation is somewhat decent. It's not a very distinct style, and some frames look horrible. There's also some scenes with 3D animation that are very not good. Still, for the most part it's OK.

Still, this is definitely not a bad movie. It's a very interesting concept. Personally, I love time-related movies (like Tenet and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), and the idea of being able to stop time for a short duration is cool.

The relationship between the two main characters is also great, and very engaging. Murakami's whole personality, or lack thereof, really made me think... I wonder if there really are people that act this way. Personally, I related to Moritani WAY more, feeling overwhelmed and just wanting to run away. Murakami's whole ordeal felt very odd to me, but it was still very emotionally compelling. I think it was conveyed in a very nice way.

The conclusion was a bit underwhelming though, probably as a consequence of this running for only 1 hour. Still, it didn't leave a sour taste in my mouth or anything, I just wish there was more to the story. I suppose that's actually a compliment to the plot, in a way.

^I^ ^related^ ^to^ ^Moritani's^ ^perverted^ ^tendencies^ ^too.^

What do you think?

Rating: 3/5

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Arr 🏴‍☠️!!!