oh crud...there's been a murder! or two.

i like movies that involve murder. not that murder's fun in real life, but when it's in a film, it gives the film an edge and makes it more badass.

"Double Indemnity" is a dark, spooky (but not the pee-in-your-pants kind of spooky) film. actually the first of its kind. pretty impressive, i gotta say, because it took the risk of exploring a place/genre where no other movies dared to venture.
the film portrayed the face of murder by effectively applying black and white, very suspenseful music, an almost flawless conspiracy, and an unhappily ever after.

what i liked about the film was the fact that the true villain in it was a woman. a woman named phyllis who tricked (or should i say...seduced?) the innocent and half clever salesman walter neff into murdering her husband and (almost) getting tons of insurance money. walter was kind of naive for thinking he could get away with murder and live forever with phyllis the evil witch with the deceivingly pretty face. it seemed that he was blinded by looove. it probably wasn't even love. it was more like an unhealthy infatuation.

even though it was heartless of phyllis to kill her husband, it was only 90% her fault. her husband didn't care for her, and he was a drunk who constantly abused her.
still, what she did was whack. she could've dealt with her husband differently, like fleeing (a less cowardly word would be flying-free) to somewhere far far away, or just giving her husband some champagne with happy,singing in the (please insert the place where he cleans/washes himself) pills.
walter wasn't completely cruel either. he was only killing under the influence of phyllis' very hot and appealing evilness. when he was driving in the car with phyllis' step-daughter, he was having doubts and feeling a little guilty about the fact that he was going to kill the crazy woman's husband. i felt bad that he didn't make the right decision. he would've made a great senior salesman.

life is so abnormally fair sometimes.
walter didn't get the money, didn't get the girl.
and phyllis got bitch slapped by karma.
ooo snap.

let your spirits run W i L d!

wow, "Spirited Away" is a brilliant film! it's filled with interesting characters, humor, wit, rich imagination, stunning visuals, and so much more.

i'm not really into anime because some lack emotion, and the visuals look flat. but this film is so different. the creator of the film, mr. hayao miyazaki, is truly an artist because he is so observant, and applied those small observations (that are often overlooked by general anime) to the film to make it seem almost real even though it is a story filled with magic and strange talking creatures.

the first time i saw the film (about 3 years ago), i thought it was a gem, and i was immediately drawn to it. i was amazed by the intricate details the film captured, such as the way chihiro was tying her hair while keeping the rubber band between her teeth, or how she tapped the tip of her feet lightly on the floor after putting on her shoes to test if the shoes were secure and comfortable.
the second time i saw the movie was in film class (i'm glad mr. D showed it to us), i was once again captivated. the sounds in the film made it seem disarmingly naturalistic. the score was undoubtedly beautiful and nostalgic. besides that, i liked the sound of the characters' footsteps, whether they were walking across the bridge or running around doing chores in the bath house. i also liked the sound of water that appeared so many times in the film, such as when it was being poured onto the stink spirit (the contaminated river spirit), or when the train was gliding smoothly in the water that made small splashing sounds. they sounded so real!

the characterization of the main character and the plot of "Spirited Away" were very touching. chihiro, who in the beginning of the movie was a whiny, dependent and clingy emotionally weak child, matured throughout the film. after her gluttonous parents turned into pigs, she set out to save them. she remained determined to find them even when impossible obstacles came her way. throughout her journey, she was hardworking and courageous. she was kind to no face and let him inside the bath house when he seemed lonely and cold, and later did not abandon him even after seeing the damage he did to the bath house. she was also a loyal friend to haku; she looked for him when he was in danger, cared for him when he was hurt. chihiro possessed great self control during her stay at the bath house. unlike her parents, she was not greedy at all; she persistently refused the appealing gold that no face offered her, and stuck to the mission of rescuing her parents.

at the end chihiro's adventure, she had undergone a metamorphosis. she was not a scared, one dimensional brat anymore, but an intelligent and brave heroine. she not only learned about love and friendship, experienced fear, and battled obstacles, but also affected the people around her with her honesty and determination.

chihiro's love and kindness were contagious.

what IS the right thing?

"Do the Right Thing" is an interesting movie. what i like about it is that it shows the brooklyn neighborhood through many different people's eyes, but the characters' lives and perspectives somehow are interlocked. also, the film uses humor and bright colors to address a very dark matter: racial injustice.

the end of the movie is kind of depressing. it shows everyone's true colors. sal the pizzeria owner is a stubborn and cranky old man who doesn't like change; buggin out is a trouble maker with strong opinions and annoys the hell out of everyone; mookie only cares about money; and the police is flat out racist. they killed radio raheem because he was black. one minute the man's alive and strong, the next, his face meets the pavement cracks, expressionless. dead.
then after that, there's chaos everywhere. mookie and his followers trash and burn down sal's precious pizzeria without a second thought.
the next morning, things seem to quiet down, and mookie and sal somehow establish a small truce...

radio raheem's death was unfair and unnecessary. it shouldn't take a death/sacrifice like that to make the people of the neighborhood get along.

what they really needed was love