Hail, Ceasar!

★★★★☆
This is one of those films you see for the atmosphere. It's a joy to watch, the plot is not boring, in fact it's rather interesting, but it lacks the highs and lows of classical film work, it doesn't obviously try it's hardest to climb up to the climax, but instead flows in a way that seems natural and life-like and makes watching it a relaxing pleasurable experience.

It's artistic, not only in it's interesting aesthetics, but in a way that in certain parts the film seems a bit over-exaggerated. It's not a fantasy film of the supernatural genre, but the world portrayed here is not an accurate image of how Hollywood used to be or the world in that time in general. It's an idealized fantasy world that seems a bit naive, but you forgive that to the film, because it seems intentional. It's not an inaccurate portrayal of realism simply, because they didn't know how the world was back then, but because they wanted to make it like that.

It's artsy. And Tilda Swinton's role in it is worth a mention on it's own. It's fun and impressive and the outfits are great. It doesn't feel like she's doing a double-role, because of her huge ego, but because it fits the film. And she does it brilliantly.

It's a film that makes you feel good and when you write a review of it weeks later like I am right now, you might no longer remember all the plot, but you'll remember the way you felt and the thoughts you had about it and how cool the outfits looked.

The Huntsman: Winter's War

★★☆☆☆
Two sisters, princesses, the  one with icy powers flees her kingdom to build her own ice empire, because she doesn't need love or any of these feelings. In the end the kinder sister finds out she was horribly betrayed? Think I'm talking about Frozen? No, but I wish I were, Frozen was much better and with a far more original plot. Here, I was left wondering if they thought that a princess with icy powers is all takes to film a blockbuster.

Predictability is a big pet peeve of mine and man that film was so predictable that I could literally guess some of the lines actors were going to say and it wasn't even a very enjoyable plot line. You know, because sometimes there are films that you really enjoy none the less? I'm not mad that I saw it. It was okay, it wasn't bad in a sense that it didn't make me feel angry with the world or grossed out or vaguely sick, but perhaps even that might be better that what you're left with - which is, nothing. It's a bland, boring, predictable tale. It's only true really great aspect are the stunning outfits. If you're the kind of person who enjoys a film for a nice scenery and gorgeous costumes this might actually be something for. I suppose it's also a fairly enjoyable fairy-talesh tale for the lovers of the genre. Although I still personally would have loved a bit more originality from the "tale before Snow white".

Joy of Man's Desiring /Hitono nozomino yorokobiyo

Every now and then I'll see a movie and I can't write about it, because I'll feel like I'll ruin it, but I also want to write about it, because these are the films truly worth seeing. Japanese films are a tiny bit hard to come by, especially in cinemas in Europe, but if you can I recommend it very highly. It's a heavy piece, but it is also a truly moving and beautiful picture that's not such made sad and heavy for the sake of drawing tears out of the audience. I hate nothing more than cheap tricks used to play with the viewer's emotions.  This actually has a deeper meaning and perhaps this becomes much clearer to me having met the wonderful director Masakazu Suigita, but I like that for once a movie was made not just to make the audience weep, but because the topic had both a personal meaning to the author and that the author believed that his film could have social impact and help people understand feelings and grief perhaps a bit better. It feels like a rare thing to see a movie that wants to serve a social cause…
So to put my words in bit more context I should point out that the film is about two children who loose their parents in an Earthquake and about what happens in their lives after that. After having witnessed one Earthquake close by at a younger age and then another one bit further in 2011 Suigita decided to make a film both because of his own feelings and because he wanted to give something to the society to help them in long term. The outcome is stunning, emotional, powerful and utterly worth watching.

It's JAFF week here again so this movie screened here in the Japanese Animation Film Festival, despite not being an animation