cteavin-1
Joined Nov 2002
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cteavin-1's rating
I live in Japan and have been a huge fan of the series since it was made into an anime years and years ago. What the anime (and manga) can do that neither movie can is pace the story. The original Japanese Death Note film was rushed but this new America remake was contorted to fit it's just over 90-minute run time.
If you don't know, Death Note is about a young man who receives a "magic" book that will kill anyone's name written into it.
What the original manga and anime are able to do is explore the public's relationship with the person behind the killings and debate their morality. Neither movie could do that, the American movie much, much less so.
This new American retelling went for style over plot. There is a lot of work on the cinematography at the expense of what makes the Death Note so compelling. Worse still, they edited in mainstream music during key emotional scenes. The lyrics are meant to convey what the characters are feeling but they are distracting and clearly there to help abbreviate the narrative and punctuate a scene -- it's bad visual and sound editing.
The plus is that they departed from the main narrative, so even I was surprised at where the story was headed. They also give background information on the character L, something you don't get until the third stand-alone film in the Japanese franchise.
Because they chose an African-American L and a Caucasian Light, they could have nuanced the story with the racial tensions in the US to give it a reason to be told in America. They could have spent time exploring the theme of justice. They could have taken a lot of different threads to make this version of Death Note a story that needed to be told. Instead, the American Death Note is a cool lesson in cultural differences between Japanese and American storytelling.
Watch it but be sure to watch either the original Japanese movie or the original anime -- if you can read the manga, it's a truly wild ride.
If you don't know, Death Note is about a young man who receives a "magic" book that will kill anyone's name written into it.
What the original manga and anime are able to do is explore the public's relationship with the person behind the killings and debate their morality. Neither movie could do that, the American movie much, much less so.
This new American retelling went for style over plot. There is a lot of work on the cinematography at the expense of what makes the Death Note so compelling. Worse still, they edited in mainstream music during key emotional scenes. The lyrics are meant to convey what the characters are feeling but they are distracting and clearly there to help abbreviate the narrative and punctuate a scene -- it's bad visual and sound editing.
The plus is that they departed from the main narrative, so even I was surprised at where the story was headed. They also give background information on the character L, something you don't get until the third stand-alone film in the Japanese franchise.
Because they chose an African-American L and a Caucasian Light, they could have nuanced the story with the racial tensions in the US to give it a reason to be told in America. They could have spent time exploring the theme of justice. They could have taken a lot of different threads to make this version of Death Note a story that needed to be told. Instead, the American Death Note is a cool lesson in cultural differences between Japanese and American storytelling.
Watch it but be sure to watch either the original Japanese movie or the original anime -- if you can read the manga, it's a truly wild ride.
The film takes a somber, serious tone as to what would happen if Japan were attacked -- in this case, by a seemingly unstoppable foe.
At present in Japan, there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not Japan should amend it's constitution to allow for an offensive military and this Godzilla film plays to exactly how powerless Japan would be in making it's own decisions during an attack of any kind. The reality is that the Japanese Prime Minister would have to ask for permission from the United States President before making an offensive move against a foreign threat and this film plays to that hard reality.
This new Godzilla starts out as an homage to its former man in a monster suit so that when you first see Godzilla, you'll disbelieve what you're seeing, but this Godzilla evolves into something majestic and utterly awe inspiring in its power.
What's more, this film makes it clear people die. In the Japanese release there's a lot of word play about how the government officials up high (on the fifth floor) make decisions that get passed down to people on lower floors that eventually hurt the people. I'm not sure how much will be translated, but the film is deliberately showing the disconnect between the political and day to day realities.
Overall, the performances are good. There is one character who they, for whatever reason, decided to make speak English in odd an inappropriate times.
This isn't a film for US audiences. The aesthetics will turn off a lot of non-Japanese young people accustomed to CG reality. But if you're open to learning about another culture, this is an excellent film, one of the best kaiju-films you'll ever see.
At present in Japan, there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not Japan should amend it's constitution to allow for an offensive military and this Godzilla film plays to exactly how powerless Japan would be in making it's own decisions during an attack of any kind. The reality is that the Japanese Prime Minister would have to ask for permission from the United States President before making an offensive move against a foreign threat and this film plays to that hard reality.
This new Godzilla starts out as an homage to its former man in a monster suit so that when you first see Godzilla, you'll disbelieve what you're seeing, but this Godzilla evolves into something majestic and utterly awe inspiring in its power.
What's more, this film makes it clear people die. In the Japanese release there's a lot of word play about how the government officials up high (on the fifth floor) make decisions that get passed down to people on lower floors that eventually hurt the people. I'm not sure how much will be translated, but the film is deliberately showing the disconnect between the political and day to day realities.
Overall, the performances are good. There is one character who they, for whatever reason, decided to make speak English in odd an inappropriate times.
This isn't a film for US audiences. The aesthetics will turn off a lot of non-Japanese young people accustomed to CG reality. But if you're open to learning about another culture, this is an excellent film, one of the best kaiju-films you'll ever see.
I read the book when I heard it was going to be made into a movie. As I was reading I wondered how they could film it. The answer is that they can't. Instead they took the concept and worked out a three act story line with hero and villains. I'm sure the dissatisfaction I've read here is partly due to trying to make something that is almost unfilmable a movie. It's well made. If you've read the book, it's worth seeing how they made it into a film.
I've shown this to my high school classes several times and they have loved it. It presents a simple idea that resonates. The characters might behave differently than you'd expect given their upbringing, but if you're going to watch a movie whose premise is that two people can collectively hold the memories of the world in their minds, roll with that discrepancy and enjoy what the movie has to say.
It's weakest point is the ending, not in the outcome but in the physical distances they cover. If you pay attention to the timing the film makers went too far in trying to be cinematic given the time frame they had to work with. Again, given the premise, it's forgivable -- and beautiful.
I've shown this to my high school classes several times and they have loved it. It presents a simple idea that resonates. The characters might behave differently than you'd expect given their upbringing, but if you're going to watch a movie whose premise is that two people can collectively hold the memories of the world in their minds, roll with that discrepancy and enjoy what the movie has to say.
It's weakest point is the ending, not in the outcome but in the physical distances they cover. If you pay attention to the timing the film makers went too far in trying to be cinematic given the time frame they had to work with. Again, given the premise, it's forgivable -- and beautiful.