UN for Taiwan

Ratatouille (2007) ****

Two words for "Ratatouille":

Simply irresistible!

Apparently, Pixar's success does not lie in its animation craftsmanship. The story, as always, is the soul of this fantasy adventure. The characters are so lovable that you can forgive any mistake the filmmakers made.

I wonder whether the filmmakers intend to send out a message about "trust."Can we have to trust a new friend to make a dream come true? The movies tells us that it is still those of our own kind who can really rescue us from any embarrassing trouble.

"Ratatouille"'s technical achievements have already reached a point where you almost forget that it's a bit silly to critique the performance of these fictionalized characters. Alas! I am thankful that we still get to see a movie like Ratatouille this summer.

Oldboy (2003) ****

Can a film be hypnotic, disturbing, powerful, ugly, and beautiful, at the same time?

Oldboy almost tops most shocking films I have ever seen. Based on a Japanese manga with the same title, the movie was thrillingly spectacular. The Korean director Park Chan-wook and the whole cast did deserve Palme d'Or of The 2004 Cannes Film Festival more than Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore (which snailed the top prize in 2004) did.



The plot could not bear with any spoiler. Briefly speaking, the story is about vengeance and one of the darkest fears and sins human beings can imagine. The reason why this movie could avoid the danger of becoming a mess of sexual and violent perverse is the attitudes of filmmakers. Their cameras served as both the indifferent bystanders and a sympathetic journalist. The breath-taking ending, therefore, can endure all the impact of the audience's intuitive sense of being repulsed by the theme of this film.

Honestly, I am not quite sure whether this is a truly great artistic achievement, but it is certainly a phenomenal cinematic tribute to Greek tragedies.

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) ***

I felt a little bit depressed after seeing Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)." First, it did not live up to my expectations. Second, it's difficult for me to watch the "below-standard" work of the maestro.



Overall, the movie was scatteredly paced. The major roles were not fully developed in terms of their personalities and attitudes towards the war. The intention of the moviemakers was no doubt decent, but the good intention seemed to overshadow the story-telling scheme. It's easy to fall for the dichotomous enemy-friend complex in such a movie. Eastwood did not nail it, unfortunately.

However, it would be unfair to dismiss this movie out of hand. The story carries so much weight that it is not easy to choose a neutral tone when revisiting the history. Eastwood attempted to use "Flag of Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima" to tell the two sides of a story. The war itself is a tragedy. After all, there is no real glory or hero when killings are not about survival or a greater cause.

Surf's Up (2007) ***1/2

Rarely have I seen the audience clapping their hands when an animation film ends in the theater. Surf's Up (2007) totally surprised me.

In the beginning, the pace of this film kind of annoyed me, because this was not what I expected. I guess I was expecting something closer to Finding Nemo or Madagascar in terms of storytelling style and visual effect. The filmmakers blended the documentary film and reality show in "Surf's Up," which might have risked forcing some impatient kids to leave the theater.

Fortunately, the movie was getting better and better as the story unfolded. Despite the attempts to get emotional, the filmmakers have tremendous patience to lead the audience to the glory and shame embedded in the story's theme step by step. I personally think this is the boldest story-telling method that has ever been implemented in the animation film history.

Don't be deceived by the cute and chubby penguins ... this movie was not made for kids who are looking for simple-minded fun in the theme park.