Zíza

The story is quite interesting. I wasn't bored,on the contrary I was quite entertained. I was just a bit annoyed by Shuichi's behavior a.k.a. puppy dog, etc... But I can live with that, otherwise I wouldn't have watched it until 6am :-) And I'd take Yuki too... Plus, I've heard a lot of guys saying Gravitation is awful fun if you hey picture Shuichi as a girl, which – considering how it's cartooned – isn't a problem. I highly recommend the manga. It's even more fun.

The music is great. But I kind of miss the blood, it just seems out of place that where there's so much shooting, killing, like here, there's just almost no blood. And red. There was maybe only one shot like that, and that was at the end when she killed that one lady. I consider this a good warm-up round, a good prequel to Madlax, because I found it 3-5x better there. Well, I certainly didn't lose any precious time by watching this anime. :-)

What I really like about this movie is that the main character isn't a moron, idiot and doesn't let himself be led around by the nose... at least not for too long. But that's about it. The main couple is likable, the music is too, Perry is no longer just doing Chandler and it suits him well. A feel-good film to sit down to after a tiring day or just to stave off boredom – that's what it's made for.

So now I've got this cult masterpiece under my belt as well. Nice. Really. A very well done romantic film that seemed to catch a lot of tears from romantic souls in the middle of the last century :-) Well, it didn't get mine because it didn’t end up the way I wanted it to. I did think that Ingrid Bergman overacted here and there and I had to chuckle at it, which probably spoiled the overall impression a bit. But why not? For film geeks, this should be required reading.

A very nice film. Gentle. And the characters in it don't act like they always do, but become people, real people. I was drawn into their midst. I didn't want to be a bystander. I wanted to walk around Tokyo. A city I long to visit. For all that, I'm simply forced to give it full stars. I just want to, and that's it. Because this film is first and foremost “human". All I can do is recommend it for viewing.

A strong story, what can I say; yet I don't know why, but it felt rather jagged, lacking. Lacking what? I don't know, I didn't find it that earth-shaking. Probably because I've seen stories like this before, heard stories like this before. Let the film enjoy its Oscars, which are well deserved I'm sure, but for me it's not the winner of the "Best Picture" category for 2008. That prize goes to a different one.

I wouldn't mind at all if this had been a milestone between what Czech film has been and will be. I'm just tired of watching those bitter comedies, I don't want to watch the plight of ordinary people when it's handled the same way over and over again. Fine, this is not a work of art; but it's not a typical American comedy, either. It's an interesting film. It's a movie where everyone’s always drinking. It's a movie with lots of shots of Moravia. I didn't even know there was anything that nice in our country. So I guess I'm grateful for that. It's not a movie I'll remember days later. On the contrary, after a couple of hours I've forgotten it. Still, I think it's a stepping stone. Nothing that was, nothing that will be. Maybe it’s the sign of a change. Or maybe not; I'm clapping my liver. Without wine.

Hard to define, hard to swallow for some, but I got carried away by the "imbecility" and had a pretty good time with it. I saw similarities to The Matrix, The Wolverine, and Spiderman, but why not, that could hardly hurt this movie ;) I'll probably go watch this stupidity again to see if I missed any homages to other movies... XoD Basically – I enjoyed it much more than Nim’s Island, which I saw before this.

I'm... I’m still smiling. It's not that kind of grin that makes you feel like your hinges are going to bust and you're literally going ear to ear. No, it's a pleasant smile, a gentle sparkle in the eyes. Perhaps that's a sign of contentment? Maybe, could be. So how did I get to five stars? At first, I couldn't stand Liza – hearing her, seeing what she got up to; it was something awful. Seriously. Which is to say, Audrey hung in there and handled her role perfectly. For me, the whole film rests on her performance; without her, where would it be? The other thing that captivated me was the delightful dialogue, such a beautiful play on language! Higgins' mother is a wonderful lady and I wouldn't mind having her as a mother-in-law :) And the ending... Without pouring out that beating muscular organ. Without the big speeches and hugs and reassurances that everything from now on will be good, great, with much love. Which I very much appreciate. Another plus was the costumes, especially at the races – those fabulous hats :) the only thing that bored me was the unnecessarily long songs. I wanted to move on, at least one step forward, and yet they kept repeating the same lines. Yes, I thought, I got it the first time, truly, and I’m amazed I didn't start gnashing my teeth :-D But the movie gets 5 stars – mostly for the smile and the inner peace.

I like to make up hidden meanings. [SPOILER] She didn't get the metal finger, she didn't learn to talk, she wasn't happy with him. She just imagined, in one last gasp, what it could have been like. She was dreaming. But then she opened her eyes and saw the silent depths. She didn't think of it in a happy future. She just lived it and stayed connected to the piano. With it for the rest of her life. But unfortunately, the filmmakers probably intended it differently; then again, who knows? [END SPOILER] And most importantly, if you really want to enjoy the movie, watch those eyes of hers. The expressions, the twitches, the waves of emotion that wash over them.