oh and i forgot to mention in my previous entry:

THE EDITING BUS!!!!!

chronicwind ended her rant at 03:08 AM on November 10, 2009.
catch a feather

Story a bit dragging, was only engaged in the middle. Too many names made me a bit lost, and made my mind wander onto other, non-movie-related things. Cinematography and color-grading is awesome though, and so is the production design. I want my thesis to be colored like that! Or like Amelie. Hahaha.  <3 Had an I don’t care attitude towards girl in the start because of lack of flashback of girl and boy moments. I wouldn’t want to follow the story if I don’t know their ‘pinagsamahan’ ok. I need to know her motivation; why she loves guy so much. So at first I was frustrated and was mentally screaming at her to give up and move on. HAHA. Younger version of girl and guy and flashbacks are sweet and cute though, which made me root for them.  Nearly cried at the end; fulfilling ending. Sweet and sad and the music is lovely. Damn the war and its absurdity. Oh and why does Audrey tatou always have, um, detective-like roles? Amelie. Da vinci code. And this. But then again, people ARE always searching for some kind of truth. Or trying to hide them.

What I really want to comment on is THE PRODUCTION ITSELF. OMFG actually medyo nanghihinayang/nasasad ako kasi for all that work that was put in at hindi ko naman masyadong naappreciate yung movie itself, HAHA. Pero nung pinanood ko yung behind the scenes omgshet, saludo talaga. All that meticulous planning and execution was amazing. OMG ang yaman yaman nila.  From storyboards to locations to cg enhancements to special effects to extras (200! And more) to the production design..WOW. costumes palang for what, 200 people is so hard in itself. Tapos may made-for-the-movie wigs pa sila and mustaches. Plus yung prosthetics pa.. AMAZING. Tsaka yung coordination nung mga bomba. Use of the camera is love. Crane all the way, k! haha.  Tsaka omg yung market scene at paris scene at lighthouse shet ang hirap magcoordinate ng sandamakmak na mga taong yun a. oh and orchestra things! <3 tsaka would you believe nag tanim pa sila ng field of talahiban-like halaman/flower haha para sa less then 5 second na shot! Plus nagptunaw ng yelo para sa isang summer scene na shinoot nila during winter. Haay basta sobrang POWERFUL ng pagkakagawa nito. Sobrang hindi ko maimagine na ginagawa ng isang Philippine movie  huhu kelan kaya tayo mapupunta sa ganung lebel ano. LEVEL UP LEVEL UP LEVEL UP! Also, gusto ko sa thesis ko me establishing shot ako na gumagamit ng helicopter hahahaha maarte right. magthesis nalang kaya ako na ang title ay a very wrong engagement hahaha.

I definitely have to stop writing like a Bridget Jones merged with a bangag writer-wannabe has-been.

chronicwind ended her rant at 03:00 AM on November 10, 2009.
catch a feather

I first thought that 500 days of summer was a lowly b-movie, a romcom in a he's-not-just-that-into-you level. Sometimes i do judge movies based on their posters, which is becoming a pretty bad habit. I didn't expect that it would create this much buzz, which made me itch to see it, the same way i badly wanted to see Drag Me to Hell because of the good reviews. Thankfully though, unlike Drag Me to Hell, 500 Days delivered. Reality definitely exceeded expectations.

Expectation: Buff, handsome guy and sexy lady meet, fall in love, have conflict, resolve conflict, and live funnily ever after, typical hollywood style, except not, because someone dies/gets sick/loses a puppy (I had been warned that movie has sad ending). Reality: Guy with cute smile but narrow shoulders fall in love with carefree beauty who’s uncomfortable being anyone’s anybody, and life happens.

Expectation: Modern, cinematic summer romance, where summer lasts 500 days or something,  with a twist title (peg: 50 first dates). Reality:  Girl’s name is Summer. That makes the title literal. Interesting use of the name there, high five.

Expectation: Lots of little laughter, and a few tears (expectation caused by early warning) Reality: Lots of little laughter, a couple of big ones, and no tears (hey, the ending’s hopeful)

Expectation: Fun characters which reinforce american individualistic and consumerist culture Reality: Fun, relatable characters which reinforce general truths. Use of non-famous leads adds to the quaintness of movie. Summer has that look which is not striking at first, but become more and more beautiful as the movie progresses.

Expectation: Engaging storyline with several insights. Reality: Engaging storyline - really relatable situations with a lot of insight.

Expectation: nothing out of ordinary visual-wise Reality: Split screens (wow it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one); time-lapses! <3 Use of the bird animation which I think was unnecessary.

Expectation: some witty dialogue but interspersed with a couple of tired, cheesy ones Reality: dialogue is more on the side of.. natural,  not cheesy; and quotable.

Expectation: Linear storyline Reality: Non-linear but a totally witty way to show its non-linearity. It may take some difficulty in remembering the day numbers but story chronology is still weavable. That also makes the revelations interesting; the plant-and-payoffs definitely make a jolting impact.

Expectation: MegRyan/Julia Roberts/Drew Barrymore romcom feel Reality: Amelie feel, what with its use of voice-over narration and color and that touch of whimsical magic (the OBB, the “what-is-love” video..)

Expectation: Watching it once is enough Reality: Watched it twice already, and I plan on watching it again.

 
Watch it if you hadn’t, watch it again if you had.  

chronicwind ended her rant at 05:39 AM on November 9, 2009.
2 caught a feather