A lot can be said for facial expression. Mannerisms, expressions, gestures, and actions can often say more than words can. Sitting down at a table with a couple you can instantly notice if they’re either happy and comfortable with one another, or completely out of love and hateful toward one another. What is it about silence and expression that’s so fascinating yet so under-appreciated? To prove the sad fact that this observation has gone utterly unnoticed, most acting is done through the eyes and the face. It’s why silent movies were huge, its why make up artists accentuated the eyes of actors during that era, and it’s why we’re so disconnected in this world. We follow one another by words, and never by mannerisms and expression.
Tag Archives: Foreign
Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro) (2004)
“Howl’s Moving Castle” is probably one of the weaker entries from Miyazaki. Miyazaki’s films have one thing for them that you can not deny. Originality. “Howl’s Moving Castle” is original, and it’s brutally entertaining, and that’s why I enjoyed this very much. Sure, I was watching the American dubbing (accidental, give me a break), but “Howl’s Moving Castle” possesses more unique fantasy elements and plot progression that really kept me in awe constantly. A scarecrow that follows our heroine like a lovesick dog? An old dog that weighs a ton? A little boy who masquerades as an old man? And a heroine who turns into an elderly woman sporadically? You take a look at Miyazaki’s universe and you’re nothing short of breath taken the entire time.
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru No Haka) (1988)
As an uncle, as a brother, the oldest of three, and as a son, “Grave of the Fireflies” was a grueling film to sit through. Being a victim of a horrible sequence of events and watching your loved one fade away is something I’m all too familiar with. Watching “Grave of the Fireflies,” possibly the most heart-breaking film I’ve seen in years, you will know what that’s like too. Isao Takahatacreates a film that doesn’t need ghouls and goblins and fairies. It’s all frightening enough.
Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto Del Fauno) (2006)
In a world filled with boy wizards, and dragons, every time I think the fantasy world is dead, there’s always someone who swoops in to reclaim the throne and show us that indeed the fantasy genre is still alive and well. All it needs is much imagination and no derivation. It’s not a hard concept to grasp, and it’s not a hard task to accomplish. Every time I receive an opposing argument on that declaration, two words will come from my lips: “Pan’s Labyrinth.” This would be the part where I’d compare this to fodder like “Legend,” and “Alice in Wonderland,” but Del Toro’s film is one of its own kind. Much like Del Toro’s previous “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” is unlike anything you can imagine watching.
Undead (2005)
Small town, hapless folks, average day, and a comet. All of which are the menu for a brutally satirical zombie film known by horror fans as “Undead.” The low budget Aussie production has become renowned among horror fans as one of the better zombie films to come around in years, and they’d be right. Aside from the masterpiece “Shaun of the Dead,” The Spierig Brother’s film manages to be both creepy, and utterly twisted a concept hard to accomplish with zombie fare now an utterly tired genre. What occurs in “Undead” is the typical, yet unpredictable. A bunch of comets crash in a small town, and now all the residents have become brain eating zombies—don’t you hate when that happens? Now, the remaining survivors, a bunch of officers, a model, a pregnant nurse, and a bayou hunter, have to find their way out and figure out how to stop the epidemic.
Doogal (2006)
“Doogal” is basically representative of everything that’s wrong with CGI animation. Everyone is out to be as hip as possible and mimic the success of “Shrek,” that they lose touch with story, characterization, and plot elements the audience can enjoy. I always tend to give the animated films the benefit of the doubt and half the time I’m rewarded. “Doogal” was punishment. It has all the basic principles of a kid’s film but no idea how to get in touch with the heart animation should have. There’s the rabbit Jimmy Fallon singing “You Really Got Me,” and the leader of the land watching the landscape while “It’s Magic” blares in the background. By the time the eighteenth pop culture reference was spewed out in the first ten minutes, I was ready to pack it in.
Fei ying (Silver Hawk) (2004)
The audience for “Silver Hawk,” will be split in two groups. One group will despise it for being the usual fluffy science fiction blockbuster malarkey, while the other group will enjoy it for the guilty action and camp. And you can’t really blame either for their thoughts. Michelle Yeoh’s actioner “Silver Hawk,” makes no bones about itself. It’s a really ridiculous and utterly moronic action film. You can see that by the fact that only within a minute the action begins without much preamble to recollect. Silver Hawk leaps over a bridge on her motorcycle and gets to work. Like a “Matrix” fan girl, Lulu Wong is a vigilante who, with her silver outfit, sneaks around stealthily, dons some odd sunglasses, and kicks the asses of anyone who dare confronts her during a mission.