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An intimate, lovely poster for Tran Anh Hung's Norwegian Wood
Young Japanese male Hizaki commits suicide. His girlfriend and best friend sleeps together, but she later becomes unstable and moves into a home in the mountains, while he balances their capricious relation with the temptations of living in Tokyo.
Norwegian Wood is an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's (Sputnik Sweetheart/Supūtoniku no koibito (1999))same-titled 1987 novel by great Vietnamese writer-director Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya/Mùi du du xanh (1993)). It is an utmost delicate, youthful film of grand emotions set in a vividly beautiful Japan in the 1960s: Especially natural scenery are utilized to great effect throughout the film, which has spectacular cinematography by Ping Bin Lee (The Rooftop/Tian tai ai qing (2013)).
The film is long but so immersive and filled with sexually piquant scenes as well as fine moments that convey loneliness other intimate feelings, as if taking a bite of a ripe fruit of youth. The Japanese specialty for overwrought feelings and behavior, (and, surely connected to that, a striking absence of humor), is strongly portrayed here; the film may even go as far as to go along to a small degree in the local custom of romanticizing suicide. In any case Norwegian Wood is a fabulous, wonderful film.
Cost: Unknown Box office: 19.1 mil. $ = Unknown [Norwegian Wood premiered September 2 (Venice International Film Festival) and runs 133 minutes. It took Hung 4 years of talks with Murakami, before the famous author approved the adaptation in 2008. Filming took place in Japan in October 2008, February 2009 and from June - July 2009. The film opened #56 in just 3 theaters to a 13k $ first weekend in North America, where it never went out wider and got pulled out of distribution after those just 3 days. The film made the vast majority of its gross in its native Japan: 16.3 mil. $ (85.3 %). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 550k $ (2.9 %) and Spain with 383k $ (2 %). Without knowing the film's budget, it is impossible to know if its gross makes it a theatrical hit. The film was nominated for 3 awards at the Asian Film Awards, winning for Best Cinematography (Ping Bin Lee (The Assassin/Nie yin niang (2015)). Norwegian Wood is certified fresh at 74 % with a 6.5 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of Norwegian Wood?
One of the gigantic robot fighters invoke awe on this poster for Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim
In the 2020s, giant aliens known as Kaijus have begun to come out from a portal in the floor of the Pacific Ocean to destroy Earth's cities and annihilate humans. Major human-operated robots called Jaegers have been created to fight them, but the project is being shut down in favor of building insecure walls instead. Now the Jaeger program continues as an independently financed resistance army, who will attempt to put an end to the Kaiju menace. Pacific Rim is written by Travis Beacham (Dog Days of Summer (2007)) and co-writer/co-producer/director Guillermo del Toro (Cronos (1992)).
Del Toro had worked on the Pacific Rim project for years, nurturing it with valuable thoughts and developing it as a nostalgic salute to the kaiju genre (Japanese giant monster movies) that he fell in love with as a boy. And his boyish enthusiasm, glee and visionary powers make the film a unique and blessed event. Pacific Rim looks more than stunning, - it simply pops from the screen in all its resplendent neon-drenched, ultra-saturated glory. Some of Del Toro's concepts in it include that people are evacuated from the areas of destruction (avoiding bodily mayhem) and that the film actively dodges war and army-idealizing imagery and apocalyptic, brooding atmospheres, which is refreshing. Del Toro did not want to make a dark movie but a fantasy-type adventure kaiju science fiction film brimming with enthusiasm and hope in the genre and in humankind. Along the way, however, Del Toro has had to admit that not all of his ambitions could succeed: "We cannot pretend this is Ibsen with monsters and giant robots. I cannot pretend I'm doing a profound reflection on mankind", he has stated. Del Toro admitted this, as fellow strong Mexican director colleagues Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu came in and helped him with editing, (during which apparently a full hour of the film was cut!) Surely for the better, because the film seems to have a suitable length as it is now. The film's main strength lies in its visual artistry, which is phenomenal, both in terms of the Kaiju monsters, who are truly spectacular, the sublime production design and CGI universe, which is incredibly detailed and amazing. There is also no visible borders between physical reality and CGI, great sound design, - and Pacific Rim is a 3D film that will make everyone not watching it in 3D on a big screen with great sound sorry that he or she isn't. The film's troubles lie with its actors and characters. Some, - Charlie Day's (Hotel Artemis (2018)) sqeaky-voiced scientist, partner Burn Gorman's (Crimson Peak (2015)) archaic ditto and Ron Perlman's (Nightmare Alley (2021)) Kaiju brain expert especially, - are cartoonish, silly creations that you'll find more or less fun. The three actors' wildly theatrical performances grate some with those of leads Charlie Hunnam (The Lost City of Z (2016)) and Rinko Kikuchi (Last Summer (2014)), who don't exactly light the screen up with visible chemistry. Idris Elba (No Good Deed (2014)) lurks around as a sexy general, - and maybe you'll forgive the film for its less than ace acting and character department (and the fact that most of them simply seem too young for their characters), when Hunnam and Elba adorn the screen with their impressive physiques. Pacific Rim
is an amazing film to watch, and for anyone who loved these giant
monster films as a kid, it is a nostalgic and excellent time. It has feeling,
heart, and above all spectacle and awesome monster fights and
mind-boggling destruction. If you have kids of ages 8-16, watch Pacific Rim with them for added value. - They'll love you for it.
Cost: 190 mil. $ Box office: 411 mil. $ = Flop (returned 2.16 times its cost)
[Pacific Rim premiered 1 July (Mexico City) and runs 132 minutes. Beacham started work on the script in 2007. Shooting took place from November 2011 - April 2012 in Germany and in Toronto, Ontario. It opened #3, behind holdover hit Despicable Me 2 and fellow new release Grown Ups 2, to a 37.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 101.8 mil. $ (24.8 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 2nd biggest market; the biggest was China with 111.9 mil. $ (27.2 %). The 3rd biggest was Russia with 20.6 mil. $ (5 %). The film was nominated for a BAFTA, among many other honors. The film additionally made more than 37 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. Likely due to the film's impressive numbers from China, a sequel was green-lit despite its over-all flop status: Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) had a few stars returning, without Beacham and with Del Toro only co-producing; it was a larger flop. Del Toro returned with The Simpsons (2013, TV-series), The Strain (2014-15) and theatrically with Crimson Peak (2015). Hunnam returned in Sons of Anarchy (2008-14) and theatrically in Crimson Peak; Kikuchi in 47 Ronin (2013). Pacific Rim is fresh at 72 % with a 6.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
