FadedBlue_net

Alright, another year of free, great Japanese cinema courtesy of yours truly’s alma mater. I’ve been going to these series (summer and fall) for several years, since I took a Japanese Cinema course at UofMichigan. I highly recommend viewing of any and all of these if you happen to be in the area. I’ve seen half of the films on the list for this summer, and will include my rating for them on the side.

I will really be looking forward to seeing the ones that I haven’t seen yet, and am always up for seeing Kairo again. Don’t be fooled… it’s not the junky American version of Pulse! Retribution was not bad, and Audition is a must-see for any serious fan of film, horror, or Japanese film.

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Summer 2008 Film Series: “Summer Chills: Japanese Horror Films”

Friday, July 18th ~ PULSE (KAIRO) – Rating: 5/5
Friday, July 25th ~ ONIBABA
Friday, August 1st ~ KWAIDAN (KAIDAN)
Friday, August 8th ~ HELL (JIGOKU)
Friday, August 15th ~ RETRIBUTION (SAKEBI) – Rating: 3/5
Friday, August 22nd ~ AUDITION (ODISHON) – Ratin: 5/5
Link: UofM Ann Arbor – Center for Japanese Studies

Title: Son of Rambow
Director: Garth Jennings
Year: 2007
Genre: Comedy
Format Reviewed: Film

I certainly went back and forth in whether or not I wanted to see Son of Rambow. In the end, I trusted some positive reviews and was bored enough to go check it out. Thankfully, I did. This is a great film. Very light-hearted and clever. If you want the bottom line: I didn’t find any flaws in it, at all.

So you follow the boy who appears on the poster to the left. He is the epitome of the term: protagonist. He grows up in a restrictive, religious household void of all electronics, in 1970s England. Rambo has just hit the theaters, and with the help of a trouble-maker become blood-brother, our boy grows a passion for the character Rambo. It is obvious that him and his new friend have a lot of talent, and it’s funny how they resemble a grown-up writer/director duo.

On our story of liberation, many quirky characters come into play, the best of which is a hilarious characterization in a French exchange student. With their help, the production becomes fairly complex, while the tensions arise between our two main characters. The acting of some “emotional” scenes aren’t the best, but you can’t blame them for not being child prodigy actors. I wouldn’t say the film is “cheesy” in any parts, because while there is some silly comedy, that is the goal of this movie. The story is not bad at all, and shouldn’t overlooked either. If you want, you can read into the plot and get some deeper message, but it’s quite subtle. It’s a great movie for all!

Rating: 4 /5