Tag: reviews

It’s a stormy day and there’s not much to do so I decided to watch Emperor. It’s about the war crimes investigation on the Emperor of Japan at the end of World War II. Which is good since I am generally interested in history. Unlike typical WW2 movies, there’s not much guts and glory action and is mainly dialogue. I thought that would be a challenge but it turned out fine and I was able to finish it :P

The key character is General Bonner Fellers, tasked with investigating the role of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito in war crimes. The other key character is General Douglas MacArthur, who just happens to be one of my childhood heroes, played as Tommy Lee Jones by Tommy Lee Jones. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around  the US marshal, being my MacArthur :P

While Fellers went around carrying on his investigation. He also engaged in a side quest searching for a Japanese woman that he met while studying in the US. The significance of this thread of the story is that because of his relationship with the Japanese woman and her family, Fellers had a good understanding of the often inscrutable Japanese culture which helped towards his final decision.

In the end, Fellers concluded that they couldn’t find any evidence that Hirohito is involved in war crimes. Likely because the fanatical devotion of officials (most of them are also going to be hanged) and their desire to protect the emperor. But the emperor has undisputedly called for an end to resistance and any further bloodshed. Hanging him would undo that. That’s what saved him.

There’s something interesting about crime family dramas. People usually think about the epic Godfather series. But there are many more films with variations of the theme. In this case, a Russian special forces team is tracking a gang of drug smugglers. And it appears one of the soldiers, Kolyma, is tracking one of the smugglers specifically. As the team gets closer to their prey, Kolyma’s past is gradually revealed: growing up with friends in one of the remote Siberian towns where Stalin resettled various ethnic groups during his ethnic deportations. While growing up in a generally tough environment, the friends are involved in and quite a bit of petty crime. Stereotypical for bad ass special forces types, I guess. But of course, it’s got more story to the drama than that.

Following the mold of the Godfather series, there’s John Malkovich is the godfather figure. He has always been one of those quirky, harmless-looking but pretty scary characters and he fits the role perfectly. Aside from him and Eleanor Tomlinson, I don’t know the other actors. Which is fine, even good. One thing that seems a bit off is the use of English while retaining the hard ethnic Russian accent. Trying to retain a bit of realism, I guess. But personally I’d rather have Russian (or even the particular ethnic language) with subtitles. If you can get past the faked accent, then it’s no problem.

The movie features Ryan Gosling as Luke. And after last seeing Gosling in Drive, I was expecting something similar. This time he is a motorcycle stuntman who finds out that he has a newborn child with his ex-girlfriend in one of the towns the circus passes through. He decides to stay and turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for their child. But it wasn’t so simple since his ex-girlfriend is already with another man, Kofi. Then he got shot and killed by Avery (Bradley Cooper) and that’s that for Gosling. Quite a surprise really.

The story is then picked up by Avery who is a rookie cop and a new father himself. The shooting elevated him to something of a local hero. This and his idealism eventually got him into conflict with the corrupt cops in the police department. He then leveraged the situation to become the district attorney and eventually a candidate for attorney general.

Then the story shifts to Avery’s and Luke’s sons who are now teenagers and studying in the same school. There’s the irony that Luke’s son had a father in his mom’s husband (Kofi). While Avery’s son didn’t since Avery got divorced and was very busy with his career. The two became friends, then enemies when Luke’s son realized who his friend’s father is. The story culminates in a confrontation in a place beyond the pines :P and with Luke’s son following his father’s tracks. Motorcycle tracks, that is.

Good watch. Almost like reading a good book.

Finally a Superman movie that’s actually super. Not since Superman (and somewhat Superman II) has there been a worthy Superman movie. I hated Superman III and I don’t even remember Superman IV. And Superman Returns? Let’s just say he shouldn’t have.

The general story is familiar to those who have seen the first two original movies. Kal-El was sent to Earth, Krypton was destroyed, Kal-El grows up to become Superman, outlaw Kryptonian general Zod and underlings shows up, big fight, Superman wins.

But the execution is what makes it super. Fights were dynamic and titanic. Even the ones between Jor-El and Zod. Yes, a scientist kicking ass! Never has Russel Crowe been so cool since Gladiator. And wait till you see Superman vs Zod. No external underwear here. This Superman not just kicks ass but takes names as well. This is Superman for the younger set. Not necessarily good. But not necessarily bad. And it’s definitely a fun watch.

That Man of Steel wraps up the stories of Superman and Superman II makes the reboot complete and in one move (or movie) sets up the stage for what’s next. And that’s the question: What’s next? Given the height of success of Man of Steel, it’s easier to screw it up than make it better. But I hope they’re able to do the former. The franchise now shows so much potential.