Reviews

When I finished watching Taxi Driver, I felt uncomfortable and I didn't understand this film. Firstly, I'm going to talk about the relationship between background and this film. This film was created in 1976 and at that time, there were the Vietnam War and the assassination. The main character, Travis Bickle, was a marine and he suffers from insomnia which is related to the seriousness of the war. Furthermore, his hair style is also the influence of the war. In 1972, Arthur Herman Bremer tried to assassinate George. C. Wallace and becomes the first and only one person who becomes a free man again. Mr. Bremer said at the time of his trial that his motive was to become a celebrity, and many observers have noted the pernicious, if unintended, effect that intense media attention has had, glamorizing assassins and inspiring copycats. Finally, I have some comments and questions. First, what did Martin Scorsese want to tell us? The meaning of this film is unclear and the ending story is really terrifying and annoying so I don't like it but I think he tells us that there are a lot of evils which is allowed in our society. On the other hand, it has some good points. I like camera works of Travis's sight which seems to a real world and a fantasy. The long mirror scene is also funny. In addition, I like the sticker on his cloth at the end. It is nice to watch this film and compare with history but sometimes you have to see brutal scenes.

I cannot decide whether Psycho is good film or not. It is easy to understand the story of this film but a word and existence of psychopath has been spread by this film and it has made the world that allows to reduce a punishment because of psychopath. While I was watching this film, I was frightened because I felt as if I would be killed by someone. In other words, I feel realism when I watch this film. One thing which has us felt realism is camera-work and sound effects. For example, Hitchcock connected a lot of short scenes without a break, which is called montage. It relieves tension of frightening and also a monochrome relieves it too. While Hitchcock removes scares a little, he leaves some fright points. Another thing is angles. In this film, a main character is not decided, so the story is described by a few people' angle and our sympathies for the person who is described mainly then are switched immediately. Finally, I'll mention about the whole picture of this film. I think this film is composed of three parts. As I mentioned before, the main character is not set clearly so our sympathies change quickly. I think the main character is Norman. In the first part, Marion is described mainly, however, she is not the main character any more in the after parts. After that, the main is Norman. I don't know the meaning of the first part. I wonder Hitchcock can make it more surprising.

Before this film started playing, I read the original work. I am a slow reader but I read it really fast. I read it for only one night. This is a psychological thriller so some people don't like it so I don't recommend it for young people and people who are not good at bizarreness. Firstly, I'll mention the differences between film and book. This film is almost faithful to the original novel but some scenes are omitted. In addition, film is more grotesque than book because brutal scene is distinct and the storyteller (Takako Matsu) speaks like threatening as if we are scared. I felt I was mentally forced into a corner when I was listened to her talk. I felt the same feeling while I was reading it but film is much more terrifying than book. Film also has a lifelike image, however, I like book better because I can imagine a lot of images in my brain and spread my imagination.Secondly, the structure is very good. The whole picture becomes visible gradually and the most terrifying climax waits at the end. It is really shocking but I think it's nice. We can enjoy detecting.

Rurouni Kenshin is composed of three films. The first film is complete in itself and others consist one story. The final film has shown since 13 September but I have not watched it yet. I'm very looking forward to it. This film is based on a manga which is popular but I have never read because I don't like historical stories. However, once that I watched the first one on TV, I have been captivated by it. First of all, casts are really good. They are very famous in Japan especially the main actor, Takeru Sato, is popular with young people because he is good at acting. In addition, I love Tatsuya Fujiwara because he is really cool. Unfortunately, his face is mostly covered with a bandage so I'm shocked.Second, I don't feel an old-fashioned atmosphere so much. I think this is because of the young actors and actresses and action scenes. My image of period films is that many people fight and a screen is overcrowded. However, this scene is fewer and one to one fight is focused which is like a hero animation.Finally, I think the structure is not good. The first one is OK but others are too long to watch. When I watched this second one, I was getting tired of it in the middle and I could sometimes expect what happen next so I hope the final film is good structure and good climax.

I watched Alfred Hitchcock's films last year and studied about them. This summer, I wanted to watch some of them again so I chose this film. When I finished watching this film the first time, I could not understand its story and thesis so I watched it several times. While I watched several times, various ideas passed through my mind and some interrogative points were left. First of all, I found various interesting points in this film. It repeats the same story. Although sometimes lines are changed in the first and second halves, the same story is repeated twice. In spite of it, why do we lose interest? I think this is because of a good organization made by Alfred Hitchcock. While this is a suspenseful film, he reveals a secret in the middle of the story. The story is suspense told by Scottie at first, but it becomes a love story which is told by Judy in the latter of the story. I think because the similar story is written from a different viewpoint, we don't get tired of it. Finally, I totally recommend this film because it has a nice structure and we can study a lot of things from it. This film expresses various issues such as moral matter, fetishism, occultism and so on. These are complexly intertwined and formed a large spiral. If we watch it only one time, we don't understand its good point because, as you know, its theme is death and it's not comfortable. However, if we watch it several times and consider what Hitchcock wants to tell us and the meanings of each scene. This film is of course good not only for people who study films but also for general people who want to enjoy films.

This is a really cute and funny film and one of the best short films I have ever watched. It is a toy animation but it's earlier than Toy Story. Knick knack means a small inexpensive mass-produced article so the title is really simple and clear. The most impressive point is a good structure. This film just last 4 minutes but it has a lot of focus points and little climaxes so you might feel longer than actual time. The theme (scene) changes clearly by changing the main character's motivation and obstacles. While the story goes on, our curious and expectation become bigger and bigger. I think this is because the items become stronger. The stronger items appear, the stronger we expect the main character does well and have curious what the story ends so I recommend that children watch this film.

"The Lunch Date" is probably a comedy film but it's difficult to define the genre, I really don't like this film because it is not interesting. It was created in 1900s and it might be in a station in the UK because of the main character who is an old woman and seems rich and an aristocrat. She wears a dress, a hat and a pair of pumps with high heels and she is careless person and selfish. If you watch this film, you can find her personalities quickly. In addition, the title is strange. The lunch date doesn't match this story because the "date" scene is plain and boring so it can't be said it is a "date". That's why I don't like this film. However, it has a really admirable point. It is characters' expression. The main actress is especially quite good to change her face and the tone of voice. If you see her face, you can totally understand her feelings without dialog.

"Terry Tate" is a funny film. It is a kind of comedy and a very short film so everyone can enjoy watching it as you watch TV commercials. In fact, the first time I watched it, I felt it was like a TV commercial. This film lasts only a few minutes but I feel it takes over 10 minutes because it has a lot of scenes and the characters are always speaking very fast. Sometimes I can't understand because they speak fast so I think it is difficult for non-English speakers to understand in detail. In spite of this, I could really enjoy it even though I couldn't catch their words exactly. I think the main reason that I can enjoy it is the main character's characteristics. His feelings and actions are really clear so it is easy to understand the whole of the story. In addition, the situation of this film is also clear so we can get into the film easily; an abnormal situation, but realistic. Therefore, I recommend this film to people who want fun.

I think Three Days in Kamakura is a good film but a little bit difficult. It has about 20 minutes and has a lot of scenes, however, characters speak not so much. Firstly, I'll mention about the script. I just read the script of this film at first and then I watched it. The first time I read it, I could enjoyed it but it sometimes felt ambiguous. The script gives us a obvious image of that situation but it is difficult to change the location in our brain quickly. When I watched it, the ambiguous points became clear. Of course there is a gap between the script and the film but I think it's nice to read and watch both of them because it helps us to understand it deeply by connecting with each other. Secondly, I'll talk about the film. As I mentioned, it has some ambiguous points but I like it because it cleans my soul. The view is really beautiful and the dialect is clear and simple. Furthermore, the characters' actions are nice. Their expression of mixed feelings and various tones of voice make their feelings clearly. The ending is moving and beautiful. Totally I recommend to watch this film.

'Fish Out of Water' is the one of the most interesting films I have ever seen before. First of all, the story is so nice because it is really easy to understand. Everyone, even children, can enjoy watching this film definitely. In addition to this, it has the funny twist which nobody can't expect. It is the unexpected ending. I love it. Secondly, I like the back ground music of this film. It is fun even in the annoying scene. I sometimes feel the music doesn't match this film, however, I never tired of this film because of this. I think that the music gives this film a certain rhythm so it might be necessary to develop the story and keep viewer's attentions. In conclusion, this film is really nice. I think everyone likes it and everyone feels empathy with the main character. I totally recommend all people to watch this film.

Whacked! is one of the most terrifying films I have ever seen. At first, this film starts with an abnormal situation which can happen in our daily life. In the first a few seconds, we are attracted by the strange situation and totally can't understand what happens there. However, we can see a big clue to solve it in the second scene which is difficult to connect with the first one. Is is in the final scene that we can understand this film. This film has only a little sound and nobody speaks. Moreover, we can't see the characters'faces clearly because the screen is dark and has only black and white. In spite of this, we can feel the main character's feelings clearly and understand his horrible action. That is because there's no extra things. It uses only important elements; the sounds are simple and distinctive and it points the camera lens at some subjects which are necessary. This film is only 5 minutes but it gives us an active question and fascinates our eyes in the first few seconds so it's really good film. However, I don't recommend it to those who are very stressed and young children because it is quite violent.

Father and Daughter is a really beautiful and moving film. there're no dialogs or subtitles. We only watch the animation and hear the back ground music which is very simple. the animation has few colors and repeats almost the same scenes many times with the same music. Some people possibly become tired of it in the middle, however, everyone has a chance to be surprised at the end. Those scenes are different respectively. They express a long time by changing the animation and music bit by bit. At the end, it seems many years have passed. The image is cute, the color is warm and the back music is a little bit pop so they are really nice but I can't understand the last scene. I didn't know what happens at the end so I didn't feel good when I finished watching this film. I think there are some interpretations. Now I still don't understand that but I'd like to watch it again because of it. There're lot's people like me. This film has a unique attractiveness. I recommend it all generations to watch this film.