Movie Reviews

A Movie – Tampopo 12/23/10 December 24, 2010

I watched Tampopo on DVD at home. I love this movie, and have seen it for several times. It was produced by Juzo Itami in 1986. If you have seen Japanese animation movies and Kurosawa movies, please try this one. Are you interested in Japanese food? You will enjoy this movie. Tampopo changed the style of […]

A Movie – Shoot the Piano Player 12/22/10 December 23, 2010

I watched DVD of this movie tonight. As you guess, this is a foreign film (to me). The director is François Truffaut. Oh well– I found this DVD in the closet while I was cleaning up last week. I guess my husband bought this movie to avoid shooting me. It was still wrapped. It is […]

A Movie – Girl who Kicked Hornet’s Nest 11/2/10 November 3, 2010

This is the final installment of Millennium Trilogy, and I needed to watch it.  Noomi Rapace has created a new heroine, Lizbeth Salander, in the 21st century, and her acting is just stunning. Without Noomi Rapace, Millennium Trilogy would’d be created. Lizbeth was a victim at first, but she fought back her enemies. And she triumphed […]

A Movie – Invictus 8/16/10 August 16, 2010

I joined with my church friends to see this movie. This is about Nelson Mandela’s life around 1995 when the World Cup Rugby championship was held at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, in South Africa. The big success, South Africa team, Springbok, won the championship, made post-apartheid movement easier. Without much of explanation, the relationship between Mandela […]

A Movie – Dinner for Schmucks 8/8/10 August 8, 2010

This was a very enjoyable movie, but also tells a truth in our lives. Steve Carell (Barry) is a genius actor, and the unique characters surrounded him are all great, Darla, Therman, Kieran, Julie, Tim…  I am always amazed by the imagination of writers and painters, but look! What those actors and actresses can do. Each […]

映画「442」を観て   7/30/10 July 30, 2010

先週の日曜日、ロサンゼルスのリトル東京にあるの劇場で、映画監督すずきじゅんいちさんの最新作「442」を観ました。日系アメリカ兵達の第二次世界大戦中のお話しです。当時アメリカに住む日系人は、アメリカ人であるにも関わらず、対戦勃発とともに迫害を受け、財産没収、そして収容所に送還されました。その中にあって、日系人兵士達が祖国アメリカへの忠誠心を誓うのです。彼らの戦い振りを、高齢になった元兵士達へのインタビューから紡ぎ出し、編集された映画です。驚きと共に、日米戦争の狭間で生きた人々の事を知る、とても良い機会になりました。私自身、ロサンゼルスに引越して来た当初、友人もなく、リトル東京の日系2世・3世の方達に混じってブリッジをしており、その時に拝聴したお話に、重なり合うものがありました。映画に登場なさった方々の、その奇跡ともいえる幸運さの影に、沢山の方々が残念ながら亡くなった事は否めません。戦争の悲惨さを改めて考えさせられます。 最近出席したアメリカ人の方の結婚式で、弟を真珠湾攻撃で亡くされた方から、「一人きりの弟の事、どうしてくれるんだ」というお叱りの言葉を投げかけられました。第二次世界戦争は65年前に終結していますが、傷は決して消えず、月日の中には、埋れていかないんですね。そして、これは日本の中国攻略にも当てはまります。アメリカに来て間もない頃、大学院の中国人のピアニストに、「日本兵が中国人に行った残虐さを知っているか」と詰め寄られたことがあります。女性の胸を抉ったり、それはそれはひどい暴行を働いたと言われました。史実は知っていても、私にはどうしようもない事。想う事しか出来ません。戦争が齎した心の傷、民族間の傷、平和に暮らしていると忘れがちです。きちんと伝承していかなければ、なりませんね。映画のナレーションにもありましたが、過去には戻れないので、未来に向けて、我々一人一人の姿勢で示す事しか出来ません。映画は明るく終わっていますが、奇跡的に生還したけれども、心身ともに傷を追い、一生立ち直れなかった方々もいるのでは。平和な世の中に、胡座をかいてはいけないと、自戒しています。

A Movie – The Girl Played With Fire 7/16/10 July 16, 2010

After seeing “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, this movie was MUST to see for me.  This is the second filmed installment of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium trilogy, about an investigative journalist (Michael Nyqvist) with a feisty computer hacker (Noomi Rapace) to go on her mission. The directer is Daniel Alfredson. “The Girl Played With Fire” carries […]

A Movie – The Secret in Their Eyes 5/3/10 May 3, 2010

It is just amazing. I had a free day for the first time in few weeks. “Free Day” is sometimes wasted because of no schedule attitude, but I spent my free day fun and efficient. One of activities I did was to see this Argentinian movie which received an academy award for the foreign film category. […]

A Movie – The Girl with The Dragon Tatoo 4/20/10 April 20, 2010

It is a fantastic movie, one of the best movies I have seen recently. The story, the drama, the characters, the beautiful sceneries, psychology, romance, suspense, it has everything. It is a 2&1/2 hour movie, but I did not feel that long at all. The theme of this movie is pretty heavy. The original title […]

A Movie – Vincere (2009) 3/27/10 March 27, 2010

It is about Benito Mussolini and his first wife (or mistress), Ida Dalser and her son, Benito Jr. Both Ida and Benito Jr. died in the mental institutions. The movie depicts the relationship between Mussolini and Ida, and the insanity grew in Ida and Benito Jr. In the background of the movie, the fascism was […]