Another wonderful and successful Frontiers conference. Can’t wait for next year in Helsinki!

had focused more on the engineering and less on former employees saying “I told you so,” there’s likely a good movie in here. They surely had enough footage. But ultimately we are watching half of two okay films. The story here would’ve worked better if Stockton wasn’t an off-brand James Cameron.

It feels like Titan (the film) is trying to paint this picture of Stockton’s obsession with making it to the Titanic. But for films about obsession, the protagonist needs to have some sort of moral grounding (family/friend) or the topic itself needs to be inherently interesting. If the story

But at the end of the day, this wasn’t aiming to be a highbrow film. It’s fun and maintains most of the charm. If you liked the original, it’s worth checking this one out. Yet at the end of the day, if I’m going to sit down to watch Lilo and Stitch, I’m still going w/ the original.

which were all done pretty well. There is just a natural fluidity to animation in the way it tells the story that’s almost impossible to replicate with live action. Which is why live action remakes should, in theory, build upon the source material. Which I can’t say this movie does.

which was needed. There are also a few added jokes that land to varying degrees.

A few things did stick out to me, mainly regarding how animation can convey emotions that may be difficult in live-action. Believe it or not, the issue for me wasn’t the aliens,

Of course not.

Is it just a money grab by the Mouse? Surely.

Is the movie fun? Absolutely, if you like the original.

The movie manages to maintain most of the beats from the animated version, while adding about 20 minutes to the runtime. This is used to flesh out Nani’s character a bit,

I plan to give this another rewatch soon (I mean, it’s only 96 minutes!). The parallel stories stuck with me for different reasons, but Ohama’s plot is the one that has, for lack of a better phrase, messed me up. I wouldn’t say this is a sad movie, but definitely some downer moments. A great movie.

—which makes sense given the source material (ghost stories).
The men are the focal point of Ugetsu, but the story and fate of their wives is what really stuck with me. The film also doesn’t sugarcoat the horrors of war. Not in a bloody, gory way but in ways of consequences, whether deserved or not.

If made today, Ugetsu could’ve added more to the first act to flesh out the characters a bit. This could easily be a 3 hour movie. (I’m glad it’s not.)
That said, this tale of greed and reckless ambition against the backdrop of a civil war shows lessons that are timeless—

P.S. this character limit is brutal. I wrote this in the notes app and hopefully I didn’t mess up trying to organize things this time….

Putting the experience of this film into words is difficult. I am reluctant to say there is a list of “movies everyone should watch,” but if there were, Tokyo Story would surely be among them. An undeniable classic.

… and the relationship between Noriko and Shukichi, is one of the true highlights in all of cinema. In a way, the conclusion is an infringement upon the realities of the world today that we viewers are experiencing and provides an uplifting perspective among the emotional breakdowns that occur.

… Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, and contrasting Tokyo Story to their other work.

It takes a lot these days for a movie to affect me and keep me thinking about it afterwards. Yet, without spoiling (a ~70-year-old movie), the conclusion of the film…