GODZILLA’S DELIVERY SERVICE
Jun. 1st, 2014 08:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogBeen awhile since I’ve been to the cinemas. But I've been. And so I have blog content now.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Not a remake of the Hayao Miyazaki classic, but a live-action adaptation of the first two books in the Kiki’s Delivery Service book series. Which I mention because I’ve seen mostly negative reviews of it, and it’s almost always because it doesn’t live up to the anime version.
Which is unfair, as I think they really are two different films that take two different approaches to the basic premise: Kiki is an apprentice witch who must leave home, settle in a town and live there for a year, using her magic powers to help residents. Whereas the anime focused more on Kiki’s adolescent problems, the live-action Kiki must deal with residents who don’t take her seriously, manipulate her or fear her powers. Personally, I like the second angle more.
However, the live-action version is the more flawed of the two films, for a couple of reasons. One is the slow-paced dialogue with lots of ponderous awkward silences that most Japanese movies tend to have. The more serious issue is the CGI animals, especially Kiki’s cat Jiji. They’re not really very convincing, which is all the more frustrating because (1) we’ve already seen plenty of examples of realistic-looking CG animals, and (2) Jiji is a crucial minor character, so it’s a shame more effort wasn’t put into her.
For all that, I have to say, it’s a very charming movie (especially considering that director Takashi Shimizu is better known for horror films like The Grudge). Fūka Koshiba makes a very likeable Kiki, and Ryōhei Hirota nails the character of the aviation-obsessed Tombo. The ending is somewhat cheesy, but overall I really enjoyed watching it.
Godzilla
If Kiki’s Delivery Service came with a lot of remake baggage, that’s nothing compared to Gareth Edwards’ remake/reboot of Godzilla. Like any film whose central character comes with a rabid fan base, everyone wants to compare it to both the original film and the 1998 Roland Emmerich version, mostly to make the point of how superior the former is and how the new film only looks good because the 1998 version sucked so bad, blah blah blah.
Do yrself a favor and forget all that. Taken on its own merits, the 2014 Godzilla is actually pretty good, thanks mainly to some interesting decisions by director Gareth Edwards to keep the monsters in the background for much of the film. Until the Big Fight at the end, we see more of the aftermath of battles than the actual destruction. And it works better than you might think. So many giant-monster scenes are filmed the same way these days – I like that Edwards took a different approach without sacrificing the payoff.
The film’s major flaw – apart from some ramshackle explanations as to what’s going on – is that the humans it focuses on aren't all that interesting. Whatever you may think of Emmerich’s version, you have to admit it had far snappier dialogue. Still, Edwards does a good job of setting the right pace for the story to unfold and make the monster scenes worth waiting for – and look great.
King of monsters,
This is dF
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Not a remake of the Hayao Miyazaki classic, but a live-action adaptation of the first two books in the Kiki’s Delivery Service book series. Which I mention because I’ve seen mostly negative reviews of it, and it’s almost always because it doesn’t live up to the anime version.
Which is unfair, as I think they really are two different films that take two different approaches to the basic premise: Kiki is an apprentice witch who must leave home, settle in a town and live there for a year, using her magic powers to help residents. Whereas the anime focused more on Kiki’s adolescent problems, the live-action Kiki must deal with residents who don’t take her seriously, manipulate her or fear her powers. Personally, I like the second angle more.
However, the live-action version is the more flawed of the two films, for a couple of reasons. One is the slow-paced dialogue with lots of ponderous awkward silences that most Japanese movies tend to have. The more serious issue is the CGI animals, especially Kiki’s cat Jiji. They’re not really very convincing, which is all the more frustrating because (1) we’ve already seen plenty of examples of realistic-looking CG animals, and (2) Jiji is a crucial minor character, so it’s a shame more effort wasn’t put into her.
For all that, I have to say, it’s a very charming movie (especially considering that director Takashi Shimizu is better known for horror films like The Grudge). Fūka Koshiba makes a very likeable Kiki, and Ryōhei Hirota nails the character of the aviation-obsessed Tombo. The ending is somewhat cheesy, but overall I really enjoyed watching it.
Godzilla
If Kiki’s Delivery Service came with a lot of remake baggage, that’s nothing compared to Gareth Edwards’ remake/reboot of Godzilla. Like any film whose central character comes with a rabid fan base, everyone wants to compare it to both the original film and the 1998 Roland Emmerich version, mostly to make the point of how superior the former is and how the new film only looks good because the 1998 version sucked so bad, blah blah blah.
Do yrself a favor and forget all that. Taken on its own merits, the 2014 Godzilla is actually pretty good, thanks mainly to some interesting decisions by director Gareth Edwards to keep the monsters in the background for much of the film. Until the Big Fight at the end, we see more of the aftermath of battles than the actual destruction. And it works better than you might think. So many giant-monster scenes are filmed the same way these days – I like that Edwards took a different approach without sacrificing the payoff.
The film’s major flaw – apart from some ramshackle explanations as to what’s going on – is that the humans it focuses on aren't all that interesting. Whatever you may think of Emmerich’s version, you have to admit it had far snappier dialogue. Still, Edwards does a good job of setting the right pace for the story to unfold and make the monster scenes worth waiting for – and look great.
King of monsters,
This is dF
