i wanna stuff my face with chocolate.
some quick thoughts on 47 ronin and frozen, both of which i watched today.
47 ronin: 2/5
frozen: 4/5
- this was … painfully average. i wanted to like it because i was enthralled by the trailer, and there were things that i liked about it. however, it felt lacking in some aspects, and ultimately, that evened out whatever i thought was good about it.
- for one, the build-up to the concept of the 47 ronin was so slow, and the final showdown between the ronin, kira, and the witch was rushed and anti-climactic. i remember reading a summary of the film's reviews that said that poor pacing did this in, and i'm very inclined to agree.
- this is really more of oishi's story than kai's, which makes the latter's inclusion in the story … questionable, to say the least. kai had little to no contribution to the plot other than his connection to the tengu. i suppose that this makes up for the fact that this film had the potential to devolve into uncomfortable "white saviour" territory, but at the same time, it highlighted the disturbing "need" to include a white lead in a non-western setting to draw in audiences. i was also quite irritated at the fact that kai's death was shown instead of oishi's.
- his relationship with mika seemed forced, and was distracting and hardly the epic love story that the film would have you believe. oishi and his wife's relationship was far more convincing, in spite of the minimal screen-time they shared.
- i was generally more invested in oishi, to be honest.
- i can't believe that kai didn't tell anyone to take note of a woman with differently coloured eyes, since that was what tipped him off that there was a witch in their midst. seriously, isogai and basho would've survived! oishi would've probably backed kai up, too, if it was an issue of them not believing him.
- why is kira's main samurai so huge? oh my god, elsa, you can't just ask people why they're huge.
- i was admittedly looking forward to rick genest's role because he was like, 40% of the reason i wanted to see this. imagine my disappointment when he was in it for only 30 seconds. or so. he's on almost of all the promotional material, and that's it? it's this and how the film can't seem to decide between oishi and kai as its driving force, that makes me think something had gone off the rails somewhere behind the scenes.
- the costumes and sets were utterly beautiful.
- i would've preferred more depth to the witch. i expected her to be the one pulling the strings all along. alas, she wasn't. and really, i also found kira a flat villain. he was played with an overabundance of smarminess, which sold the character on a superficial level. otherwise, he was simply being evil because he was the designated villain, is all.
- i really, really enjoyed this. prior to today, the only exposure i had gotten to this was the terribly misleading teaser trailer and all the posts about its racial treatment on tumblr, lol. i guess that worked out in its favour for me.
- i loved that this subverted a ton of tropes commonly found in its ilk. i loved that it was sisterly love that saved the day. i loved the reveal of hans's true nature. i loved that in the end, anna and kristoff were slowly easing into their relationship, not rushing headlong into marriage.
- it hit the right notes when it was supposed to; there was laughter, tears - genuine emotional investment in these characters. and the main conflict, in spite of the fantastical setting, is something that can hit close to home on several, different levels for people. it's relatable in so many different ways, really.
- "let it go" is a breathtaking song. all the awards!
- i was surprised that there was a song every ten minutes or so. overall, the songs were okay. i really didn't like "fixer upper", though. it felt out of place and awkward, like it was a last-ditch attempt to throw in the idea that hey, maybe anna and kristoff could work out as a couple.
- olaf surprisingly wasn't annoying and was actually really funny and didn't steal the spotlight from the main characters in an obnoxious manner.
- i had a crush on hans and was prepared to announce it to the world until the third act, after which i nope'd the hell out. nooope. dangit.
47 ronin: 2/5
frozen: 4/5