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21 August 2008, 20:24
Soften the cynic, be touched: Dual movie review of Megane (2007) and Die Hard 4.0 (2007)
:: Feb 20, 08:23 AM
If I were to try really hard to think of the two most polar opposite movies I have seen in my entire film-major life, it’d be an amazing coincidence if I realized I saw them on the same weekend of my entire film-major life. For the sake of coincidental miracles, let’s just assume so.
Last Saturday, I went to a nearby second-run theater to watch Megane (English title: Glasses, dir. Naoko Ogigami). The story follows a woman (most probably from the city) vacationing alone on a remote island with the intention of being left alone – only to find herself surrounded by a handful of slow-paced-local town folk. With one relevation quietly following the next, I left the theater thinking “there was something so right about that.” And I am still thinking about why I think it was so right… and it’s Wednesday already. I have no clear answers and I don’t think it is applicable to come up with a clear-cut answer. But I will say this, I was completely engrossed – seduced by the rhythm of the characters and landscape. I was more than willing to soften the inner cynic in me without losing my identity.
Megane trailer
The business of cynicism brings me to my Sunday viewing of Die Hard 4.0. John Maclaine returns with his smart-mouthed comments™ and rippling muscles (with a little extra in the gut, it’s been almost 20 years…). Plot description is unnecessary as the overall format is mimicked in most action movies of today. That is the genius of Die Hard, it is a classic to be studied. But what many of the more recent action/disaster movies lack is John Maclaine. As bad and stinky as the lines are in the latest DH installment, we care about John’s struggle up until this point. Us and him, we go way back. And even in 1988, he touched us (before Apple did) and refuses to adapt and abandon his independent ways. He always comes out ahead in the end with his identity intact. It’s like McDonald’s – we know what’s going to be served when we order. And that is what is missing from Hollywood films these days – the operation seems confused, scrambling for something… and preoccupied (Blu-ray or HD DVD?).
Die Hard 4.0 trailer
Masako Motai is absolutely my favorite actress in Japan. she doesn’t even have to say anything, she just has such humor in that little face of hers! I also watched the new Die Hard on the plane last year—admit it, Bruce is the hottest dad EVER.
— kayoko Mar 6, 06:24