Movie Review - The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu)

The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu)

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Martin Short, Stanley Tucci, Mandy Patinkin, Mae Whitman, Zach Callison, Jennifer Gray, and more.

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki Screenplay and comic by: Hayao Miyazaki Music by: Joe Hisaishi

Premise: As a boy, Jiro always dreamed of planes and flying. But Jiro is nearsighted and will never fly. Yet in his dreams, Giovanni Caproni, the famous Italian aeronautical engineer, encourages him not to worry about flying, and instead to ride the wind and create beautiful flying machines instead. Having found his calling, Jiro strives toward his goal while also living through several major moments in Japan's history. He even finds love along the way.  (Rated PG-13)

Review:
(This review is of the dubbed version of the film. Depending on your area, you can find "The Wind Rises" playing in the original Japanese with subtitles at the local art theaters.)

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Walt Disney picked a great cast for the dubbed version of the Studio Ghibli film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was very convincing as the voice of Jiro Horikoshi, very reserved yet deeply passionate in both his dreams and his goals. Emily Blunt brought some nice depth to Jiro's love Nahoko. By far, however, the character that will make the most impact is Mr. Kurokawa, played by Martin Short. Between the visuals of the man and Martin Short's portrayal of Jiro's boss, the character was a lot of fun.

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Studio Ghibli was in top form with this film. With Miyazaki directing it, it couldn't be otherwise. Strangely though, the longer the film went, the more beautiful it became. The characters themselves are in Miyazaki's signature style. The watercolor backdrops were gorgeous. The rooms, clothing, and machinery were all rendered in amazing detail.

Where the animation truly shines is in the sequences where reality and fantasy merge. As we head toward the climax it isn't the dream anymore showing the world, but the world being swept up by the dreams. As the film's title denotes, wind plays a metaphorical and physical part in events. The theme of wind even stems from the early days of Japan when a 'divine wind' saved the Japanese people from the invading fleets of Mongols. More ironic is the fact that the 'divine winds' or 'kamikaze' also played a part with the very planes Horikoshi developed for the Japanese navy.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: While this is a heavily fictionalized biography of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, Miyazaki imbued it with a lot of passion. It's also a great way to experience the lives of the Japanese during the years between World War I and World War II.

Miyazaki incorporated subtle touches of Japanese mythology into the work as well. The Great Kanto Earthquake and several other moments in the film had what can only be described as the sounds of the spirits which inhibit the land of Japan. These sounds added an extra layer to the world, and made it all the richer for it.

"The Wind Rises" is an adult film, one that builds over time, so there won't be much there for the younger viewers. The guys will love all the planes (Italian, German, and Japanese) as well as the engineering, while the gals will enjoy the beautiful vistas as well as the love story woven around it. (I heavily encourage taking tissues to this one.)

There are a lot of themes in the film, many of which are quite subtle - sacrifice, invention, looking to the future, living in the moment, the power of dreams.

Conclusion: "The Wind Rises" is another great film by Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. Beautiful and intriguing, it is a film for adults rather than children. The film is rather sedentary, so don't expect a lot of action. But definitely bring some tissues...just in case.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Looper

Looper

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Pierce Gagnon, Garrett Dillahunt, Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano, Piper Perabo, and more.

Directed by: Rian Johnson Written by: Rian Johnson Cinematography by: Steve Yedlin Original Music by: Nathan Johnson

Premise: In the year 2044, Joe is Looper, an assassin for the mob who shows up at a preassigned location and time and kills the person sent back from thirty years in the future then disposes of the body. As part of their contract, Loopers know that if they're still alive in thirty years, their older selves will at some point be sent back and they must execute them when they do. Joe is totally okay with that, until one of his kills doesn't show up on time and when it does, he has no hood and is partially free. Now Joe needs to find Older Joe and kill him as contracted, before his bosses find Joe and do horrible things to him to bring the loop to a close. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Joseph Gordon-Levitt did a phenomenal job as Joe. Not only did he let them change his features so he might more closely resemble Bruce Willis for the role, but he also picked up some of his mannerism and manner of speech as well. Bruce Willis is well known for his dry wit deliveries and performed to his usual high standards. Old Joe resonated with the lessons he'd learned and the things he'd experienced later in life. And Bruce pulled the audience along as he was tortured by some of the decision he now felt he had to make. Emily Blunt was also very convincing as Cid's angst ridden mom.

But the actor who stole the show was Pierce Gagnon as the young boy Cid. He gave an excellent and unexpectedly deep performance. He'll be one to watch in the future.

2) Special Effects - Thumbs Up: The bulk of the story occurs in a near future, so it's a lot of the little touches that make this feel real. Old and new tech mix together, people picking and choosing depending on what they can afford.

The most impressive special effects were during a sequence close to the beginning and one towards the end. But it is the first one which will stick with you because of its impact. Seth's fate is one watchers will not soon forget.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: There is so many fun directions that can be taken with time travel stories, and this film makes definite use of a few of those. What was truly enjoyable was some of the inventiveness that went along with the film. There were several threads running concurrently and many will link back on one another. I don't want to say too much or I might give something away, but the story will not exactly go in the direction you expect.

Only one scene in the film seemed out of place. Almost like they wanted to play the old multiple timelines game, but didn't exactly go through with it, but yet they didn't get rid of the scene, so things didn't quite fit. However, there was so much going on around that same time, that most audience members will forget the momentary confusion as they get carried along by the rest.

4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: There were several lovely sweeping views of the 2044 cityscape as seen from the direction of Joe's killing field. Cane fields and farms filled the zone outside the city and they played an important part as backdrops in several scenes.

Conclusion: A fun time travel romp filled with action and unexpected bits of humor and angst. Definitely worth a watch.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission and Would See Again For Matinee)

Movie Review - Premium Rush

Premium Rush

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dania Ramirez, Michael Shannon, Jamie Chung, Sean Kennedy, Kymberly Perfetto, Anthony Chisholm, Wolé Parks, and more

Directed by: David Koepp Written by: David Koepp and John Kamps Cinematography by: Mitchell Amundsen Original Music by: David Sardy

Premise: A bike courier working the busy streets of New York gets harassed about handing over an envelope he's picked up for delivery. Though he slips away, the guy who wants the envelope is persistent and keeps finding him again and forcing the situation to escalate. Going to the cops to report him, Wilee accidentally finds out the man gunning for him is a police detective. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: I have to give Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dania Ramirez and Wolé Parks a well deserved round of applause. Not only were they acting in the film, but they also did most of the bike riding and some of the stunts as well. They trained hard for this movie and it shows. And giving great acting performances as well just made the movie that much better. I had no trouble believing the characters portrayed actually did bike deliveries for a living.

Michael Shannon did his usual best as the cop with impulse issues. Jamie Chung was great as well. Her emotions as she followed her path were contained and controlled for those around her in the film yet at the same time they were quite palpable to the audience. Very nice work.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: There weren't a lot of special effects, but the ones they had were a lot of fun. Colored lines would appear whenever the camera pulled up over the city to let you know the routes being taken, or where people were located at that point in time, which was pretty neat. They also added numbers representing the time to help the audience keep the time line straight and realize if the coming sequence was a flashback.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The plot wasn't too complicated, and all the pieces were shown and wrapped up nicely by the end. It even had a couple of subplots, some of which tie eventually back to the main plot. Unfortunately, while the flashbacks were enlightening, in a couple of spots they ended up detractring from the fast pace of the film rather than help it along.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: You will cringe several times while watching the movie with sympathetic pain. The fact Wilee can look at what's ahead and determine the outcome of each route before he takes it was really neat, yet also really painful. CGI helped create several of these simulations, but not all of them. And several of the spills were done by the actors themselves. There is one police bicyclist you will feel very sorry for by the films end. Ouch!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Many decent views of New York, especially busy New York streets. Lots of shots from different angles and perspectives, which helped keep the act of following the cyclists very fresh and new. Some of the routes Wilee takes as he's being chased were unusual and a lot of fun.

Conclusion: "Premium Rush" is a nice, heart pumping action film. Go in, sit back, and just enjoy the rush.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: None - he was out of town)