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Satoshi Kon’s last words

Last week, acclaimed anime filmmaker Satoshi Kon died at the age of 46 from pancreatic cancer. Shortly after his death, his family posted his final words on his blog, which thankfully, Makiko Itoh has translated into English.

It’s a long, rambling post that touches on a number of topics, from coming to terms with his impending death to thanking his wife and friends, from regrets regarding his work to an absolutely heartbreaking final moment with his parents:

But then I came back home and survived the pneumonia. I made the big decision to see my parents. They wanted to see me too. But it was going to be so hard to see them, and I didn’t have the will to. But I wanted to see my parents’ faces one last time. I wanted to tell them how grateful I was that they brought me into this world.

I’ve been a happy person. Even though I must apologize to my wife, my parents and all the people that I love, that lived out my life a bit too faster than most.

My parents followed my selfish wishes, and came the next day from Sapporo to my house. I can never forget the first words out of my mother’s mouth when she saw me lying there.

“I’m so sorry, for not bringing you into this world with a stronger body!”

I was completely speechless.

I could only spend a short time with my parents, but that was enough. I had felt that if I saw their faces, that it would be enough, and it really turned out that way.

Thank you, Father, Mother. I am so happy that I was born into this world as the child of the both of you. My heart is full of memories and gratitude. Happiness itself is important, but I am so grateful that you taught me to appreciate happiness. Thank you, so very much.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The Matrix

You knew it had to happen sooner or later. Somebody mashes up Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and the Matrix movies and uploads it to YouTube. However, I bet you didn’t expect it to be this good, did you?

Filmwell Update: My review of “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

I’ve just posted my review of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World over on Filmwell.

Fumihiko Sori to direct “Dragon Age” anime

Dragon Age

Anime News Network is reporting that Fumihiko Sori will be directing the previously announced Dragon Age anime. Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about this. I liked Dragon Age: Origins quite a bit and am definitely looking forward to the sequel, and I think it would be an interesting world in which to set other stories, be they animated or otherwise. However, I’m torn on Sori directing.

I loved Ping Pong for its energy, emotional depth, and clever use of CGI, and it continues to grow on me with each new viewing. On the other hand, I found Vexille—Sori’s 2007 CG/anime film—to be rather underwhelming, especially once the explosions and action subsided and the film tried for quieter, more character-driven moments.

I’m sure that Sori will be able to pull off the spectacle aspect of Dragon Age—i.e., epic battle scenes—but if that’s all the anime really has to offer, I’ll be disappointed.

“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is “‘Twilight’ for boys”?!

  • Posted Aug 11, 2010
  • Categories Movies
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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

It is according to MaryAnn Johanson, who writes:

It’s male adolescent sexual angst as “an epic of epic epicness,” as the poster tagline informs us… and as the movie matches in attitude and action. It’s the indulgence of everything a not-quite-adult, no-longer-a-kid manchild could want from women, in a package designed to appeal to not-quite-adult, no-longer-a-kid manchildren who would happily see their lives in the metaphors of the comic books, sitcoms, and videogames they were weaned on.

[...]

So far, it’s pretty much par for the idiotic course for idiotic romantic comedies: we hardly know nor like either of the would-be couple, but we’re stuck with them for at least another hour. But here’s the appalling twist: In order for Scott to continue dating Ramona, he has to fight—literally battle, videogame style—her “seven evil exes.” Ramona makes a comment about how we all have “baggage,” which is of course true. But these exes are not “baggage”: the first one is a boy she hung out with and kissed once in eighth grade. The others are mostly similarly benign past relationships that barely even rise to the level of “relationship.” (Of course, Scott’s idea of a “dating” is hanging out with a 17-year-old high-schooler [Ellen Wong] and grabbing a slice of pizza after school. Kissing is not even on the agenda.) What’s worse, the entire “battle of the exes” thing has been arranged by Ramona’s most recent boyfriend (Jason Schwartzmann: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Funny People), who really does seem evil. But why on Earth would the other exes go along with such a scheme unless they feel some kind of ownership of Ramona?

[...]

I know, I know: It’s all supposed to be “funny” and “cute” and “lighthearted.” But for as long as “women as trophies, as prizes for men who do heroic deeds” has been an unfortunate trope of Hollywood, a movie has never been this blatant, this outrageous, this nonchalant about it. And while there’s lots that is indeed funny and cute and lighthearted—the always delightful Chris Evans’ (The Losers, Push) action movie star, one of Ramona’s exes, is a definite highlight—there is no sense of satire in the unmetaphoric winning of Ramona. All the style is nothing but a would-be “sweet” metaphor for men treating women as property… and woman acquiescing to being treated that way.

I haven’t seen the movie yet—I plan to see it Friday—so I can’t say whether Johanson’s criticisms hold any water or not. But I wonder: is Edgar Wright’s latest really a misogynistic work, or is it more proof of a generational gap that some claim the film has brought into stark relief?

Based on what I know of the film’s storyline (based on having just finished the comic book) as well as of Wright’s history as a filmmaker, I’m inclined to vote against the former. But I’m not ready to vote for the latter, yet.

“Blackstar Warrior”: The best “Star Wars” film never made

A Star Wars blaxploitation film about Lando Calrissian?! That’s one prequel I would watch the hell out of. Via

Watch the first 22 minutes of “Welcome to the Space Show”

Welcome to the Space Show is the debut feature film from the folks behind R.O.D. Read or Die, and is one of the more well-known anime films to have been released in the last year or so (with the other being Summer Wars). The film follows a group of five children who save the life of an alien while at summer camp, and subsequently, embark on all manner of interplanetary adventures (more info here).

The footage in the trailer below looks absolutely stunning, and there’s both some great action (primarily in the very beginning) and humor (once the kids find the alien). The film had its American premiere at this year’s Otakon Convention, but no word yet on when the film will be released on DVD/Blu-ray. I was interested in the film when I first heard about it a few months ago, but after watching the trailer, this is definitely “must see” material as far as I’m concerned.

Thanks to Sam for the link.

Funimation licenses “Summer Wars”, “Evangelion: 2.0”

According to Anime News Network, Funimation has recently announced that they have licensed Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance and Summer Wars for release here in the States.

Funimation will be releasing the the “2.22” version of Evangelion 2.0—the second in the planned four-film “rebuild” of the seminal Neon Genesis Evangelion series—on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as in theatres. As for Summer Wars—Mamoru Hosoda’s critically acclaimed follow-up to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time—Funimation will be doing a theatrical release this year, with DVD and Blu-ray releases coming sometime next year.

These two titles are at the top of the list of anime titles that I’m most looking forward to, so suffice to say, this news makes me a very happy boy.

Guillermo del Toro (finally) travels to the “Mountains of Madness”

  • Posted Jul 29, 2010
  • Categories Movies
  • 0

Guillermo del Toro

He’s been talking about it for years, but in the wake of his departure from directing The Hobbit, Guillermo del Toro has announced that he is finally moving forward on his adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic At the Mountains of Madness. The film will be shot in 3D and will be produced by James Cameron.

This is simply fantastic news. There are few people in this world who could pull off a good Lovecraft adaptation, and with his considerable storytelling and visual skills, Del Toro is one of them. Sure, it sucks that he’s no longer directing The Hobbit, but if there’s anything that can ease that particular sting, this announcement is it.

Related: The entire text of At the Mountains of Madness is available here for your reading pleasure.

Regarding “Inception”

  • Posted Jul 21, 2010
  • Categories Movies
  • 0

Inception was very near the top of my list of “must see” movies for 2010, right alongside Toy Story 3 and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Well, I saw it earlier this week, and while it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, to say that I liked it would be something of an understatement. Or perhaps “like” isn’t even the right word to use in describing Inception; rather, it’s a film that I greatly admire and respect.

I may not have found it very satisfying emotionally—I could resonate with the idea of a father yearning to be back with this children, but the film’s particular instance of that idea didn’t do much for me—but I found it fascinating and mind-blowing on a technical level (e.g., the set design, special effects). It’s definitely a cerebral movie, and I mean that in the best possible Kubrick-ian way. Or, to put it another way, I can’t wait to pick Inception up on Blu-ray so that I can watch all of the “behind the scenes” and “making of” features.

Oh, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt kicks ass.

In doesn’t surprise me at all that the movie has created a lot of discussion, commentary, and collective head-scratching. Indeed, I would be surprised if a movie this densely layered and detailed, and adamant about not talking down to the audience, didn’t drum up this much discussion, etc. Here are some of the more interesting articles I’ve found.

Note: These articles contain spoilers, consider yourself warmed.

An Illustrated Guide To The 5 Levels Of Inception

Like a lot of you we’ve spent most of the weekend thinking about one thing: Inception. You can see our attempt to explain what’s going on the movie here but before you can even begin to guess at director Christopher Nolan’s intentions or what happens after the movie’s mind-blowing final sequence, you’ll need a clear idea of all the levels of Inception.

What If Inception Were Analyzed By Dream Experts?

...in my boning up on dreams, I studied a great deal of the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, who is arguably most famous for his work on dream analysis, with the collective unconscious and archetypes being two of his most studied discussions. Now, I’m not claiming to be an expert in Jungian concepts such as the self or the collective unconscious… but in a nutshell, Jungian Archetypes are basically the rawest, innermost characteristics of ourselves that exist within everybody at the deepest level of the collective unconscious, which is basically the deepest realm within ourselves.

Inception Explained: Unraveling The Dream Within The Dream

To help make sense of some of the movie’s more twisty details the entire Cinema Blend team got together and tried to ask some of the more common questions people are asking about the film. It’s our attempt to explain Inception and make sense of Christopher Nolan’s fantastically detailed dream world.

Origins of “Inception”

In many ways, “Inception” might suggest that the only viable way forward for a particular kind of blockbuster movie is this further maturation of the Tarantino approach. Meta films such as these—films that are about films as much as they are about ideas—may be the only films that can hold their own financially against the onslaught of sequels, remakes, comic book properties and franchises of every sort that dominate the multiplexes in this day and age. In a summer film season filled with more direct derivatives of other films, “Inception” is likely to stand alone among top grossers as being the product of an ‘original’ idea. Its fighting chance and apparently healthy early returns owe a lot to the fact that we’ve seen lots of it before. What’s more, it’s probably no coincidence that the “inception” concept of the title posits that it takes a paramilitary-style assault on the subconscious to plant an original idea.

Analogue Inception

The structure of the film is that of a heist movie, but if the film were to be slotted into a genre, that genre would have to be science fiction. Personally, I would say it’s cyberpunk. But it’s a strange kind of cyberpunk where the emphasis is less on technology and more on the film-noir mood and transcendental possibilities of the genre.

In fact, technology in Inception is notable by its absence. There is a piece of hardware to enable the central premise of the film, but it’s of no more importance than the hardware used in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind—the last great science fiction film to cover similar territory.

Both films also avoid making any reference to specific dates. We assume that the narrative plays out in the very near future but we’re never explicitly told that. It strikes me that both films are attempting to place the action in a kind of continuous present.

Five Ways of Looking at Inception

Christopher Nolan’s Inception may have left us emotionally cold, but it did make our brains overheat. The puzzlelike film is stuffed with so much detail it threatens to collapse in on itself, just like that folding city—while also providing enough material for careful (obsessed?) viewers to excavate several plausible interpretations. Here are some of the prevailing theories currently floating around the Internet.

Inception‘s Dileep Rao Answers All Your Questions About Inception

Over the weekend, Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending Inception extracted $60.4 million from moviegoers, leaving many in a limbolike state of confusion. Where to turn for answers? Today, Vulture had the pleasure of speaking with Dileep Rao, who plays Yusuf the chemist in the film (he was also in Avatar, which makes him, in terms of box-office bankability, the Indian Will Smith). Rao helpfully revealed everything he knows—and thinks he knows—about Inception‘s mechanics.