Dial M for Murder (1954)
This classic is full of twists and turns you see coming as 70+ years of film has invariably duplicated aspects of the classic yet still does not detract from the experience. Another timeless film from Hitchcock.
The Cutting Edge (1992)
Watching this movie was a stroke of serendipity. There is absolutely nothing original in this romantic comedy yet the chemistry between the leads are evident and their acting brings it to reality truly making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Suzume (2024)
This is sadly my first movie I’ve seen of Makoto Shinkai and I understand why he has a following. It is gorgeously animated and the gratuitous use of magic hour helped with the theme (and visuals). The story is simple and cute but too many unanswered questions and plot holes ensured it did not live up to its hype.
Doghouse (2009)
Reminiscent of Shaun of the Dead but unfortunately holds none of the wit and charm while carrying a misogynistic undertone. The comedic bits and their varied “zombies” made it watchable.
Makoto Shinkai films are much more about the overall experience, rather than the details I think. They always have this very strong bittersweet/poignant element running through everything (visuals, music, story) that leaves me with this very odd feeling afterwards. Japanese cinema in particular has this wonderful ability to subtly convey very complex emotions to the viewer so that you get to the end of a film and realise you have tears in your eyes without really understanding how or why they got there.
I adored Perfect Days for those exact reasons yet Suzume’s attempts to pull at the heartstrings felt blatant and a little hollow and is why I chose the word “gratuitous”. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I entered without prior expectations of greatness or if I had a personal connection to the 2011 earthquake that so permeates throughout. Don’t get me wrong, the film to me was decent but the romance was shoehorned and it wasn’t cohesive enough to live up to the hype. I do intend to watch eventually Your Name as it’s widely believed to be his magnum opus and I would love to see a more compelling Suzume.
I haven’t actually seen Suzume yet so maybe I’ll end up agreeing with you. I’m not sure if you’ve seen ‘The Garden of Words’ but that is possibly my favourite from him, despite being very short. Maybe that’s part of the reason why it was so impactful - the shortened runtime cuts out a lot of the more distracting plot elements found in his other films and leaves you with a very distilled and pure Shinkai film.
I can see how as it was almost so ridiculous and fun it could be a cult film but it missed the mark IMO. There’s no copyright on formats so by all means use it!
Dial M for Murder (1954)
This classic is full of twists and turns you see coming as 70+ years of film has invariably duplicated aspects of the classic yet still does not detract from the experience. Another timeless film from Hitchcock.
The Cutting Edge (1992)
Watching this movie was a stroke of serendipity. There is absolutely nothing original in this romantic comedy yet the chemistry between the leads are evident and their acting brings it to reality truly making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Suzume (2024)
This is sadly my first movie I’ve seen of Makoto Shinkai and I understand why he has a following. It is gorgeously animated and the gratuitous use of magic hour helped with the theme (and visuals). The story is simple and cute but too many unanswered questions and plot holes ensured it did not live up to its hype.
Doghouse (2009)
Reminiscent of Shaun of the Dead but unfortunately holds none of the wit and charm while carrying a misogynistic undertone. The comedic bits and their varied “zombies” made it watchable.
Makoto Shinkai films are much more about the overall experience, rather than the details I think. They always have this very strong bittersweet/poignant element running through everything (visuals, music, story) that leaves me with this very odd feeling afterwards. Japanese cinema in particular has this wonderful ability to subtly convey very complex emotions to the viewer so that you get to the end of a film and realise you have tears in your eyes without really understanding how or why they got there.
I adored Perfect Days for those exact reasons yet Suzume’s attempts to pull at the heartstrings felt blatant and a little hollow and is why I chose the word “gratuitous”. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I entered without prior expectations of greatness or if I had a personal connection to the 2011 earthquake that so permeates throughout. Don’t get me wrong, the film to me was decent but the romance was shoehorned and it wasn’t cohesive enough to live up to the hype. I do intend to watch eventually Your Name as it’s widely believed to be his magnum opus and I would love to see a more compelling Suzume.
I haven’t actually seen Suzume yet so maybe I’ll end up agreeing with you. I’m not sure if you’ve seen ‘The Garden of Words’ but that is possibly my favourite from him, despite being very short. Maybe that’s part of the reason why it was so impactful - the shortened runtime cuts out a lot of the more distracting plot elements found in his other films and leaves you with a very distilled and pure Shinkai film.
ah i remember doghouse being pretty good. also i nicked your format for my own, cheers for that
I can see how as it was almost so ridiculous and fun it could be a cult film but it missed the mark IMO. There’s no copyright on formats so by all means use it!