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Shah_ajay95
Reviews
Umi ga kikoeru (1993)
Love Triangle
A valiant coming of age story.
Those who don't get this film don't grasp the nostalgia and subtle emotional spikes we get when "our world is small".
Oddly enough, our protagonist is at first queer, with remarks about Yutaka that hint at fondness. In fact, one of the most interesting scenes is when Yutaka calls Taku to tell him about his visit to Rikakos home, where she was sleeping alone on the bed. Taku is trembling, "and?" he ask. Yutaka responds nothing happens.
The scene is left up to interpretation. Is he interested in Yutaka or Rikako, or both? In this moment, his encounter with Rikako hasn't even occurred.
The shift to Rikako then happens on his Tokyo trip, where he witnesses Rikako's hardship: daddy problems, ex-boyfriend problems, and plain old biology, her period. There's an emotional bond cemented in that hotel room. Critics might suggest, that nothing happened. And they wouldn't be wrong, in the literal senses. However, as a reminder, at that age, the emotional whirlwind these characters went through during that time, an unplanned flight, drinking whiskey, a hotel room, are not normal for teenagers of that age, and therefore must be taken seriously.
The reunion is what ties everything together. Classmates admitting their crushes is one side. However, as one of the characters says, "our world was small" and "I felt nostalgic" despite not liking her back then.
The story is about how we chose to deal with emotions when we were young. Maybe your story isn't exact, but I'm sure most of us can remember trying to exercise restraint to not hurt your friends, or some of us can remember rejection, or some of us can remember bullying/ coercion, some of us can even remember an ugly divorce, and some of us can remember putting up a facade for former classmates.
Whatever it is, ocean waves captures the romance of adolescents in the most subtle and raw way.
The White Lotus (2021)
Sobering and Prescient Commentary
The tension is palpable throughout.
First and foremost, there's an American love for the cookie cutter resort. It's become not a place for relaxation, but instead a home for escapism.
However, we all know too well that the underbelly of our rage - particularly, white Americans who fancy such resort culture - find it boiling to the surface when they have nothing to do beside re-evaualte what they "stand for".
"What do you stand for?" Is a question that asked to each of the characters.
For some, it's about race. For others, it's about classism. And for others, it's about peeling back the layers - "the onion" - to show who we truly are.
God, what an epic show.
American History X (1998)
A movie for it's time
It's unfair to review this movie as if we're in 2020s.
The atmosphere of the 90s were much more opaque and contrived as it relates to racism.
Now, given this assumption, I think the movie could have easily gone an extra hour or so. There were some plot that needed patchwork.
However, the real question this movie ask of you: how do you react to American socio-politics - immigration, welfare, civil rights?
There is certainly rage and fury displayed here, and I particularly enjoyed the b&w.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
At least it tried....
The show tries to deliver a realism surrounding grief and tragedy.
While Mare is the main actress, she is not the only victim or hardship. Her cadre of women in the famous Lady Hawk game are also victim of a drugs, infidelity, suicide, homicide, etc.
Overall, I'm trying to say this show was great but it wasn't.
I found myself gripping myself in certain areas, but in others failing. The crime story isn't really thought out well, which is a real disappointment because Mare / Kate Winslett were great. But you can't act a subpar plot.
Overall, this deserved to be on LifeTime. Not saying I wouldn't watch, but I am saying, it's not something that's HBO caliber.
Normal People (2020)
Few romance shows that the ability to shake your core, this one does
If you loved Blue is the Warmest Color, this will fit right into your alley-way.
The ending is just so beautiful. Love is about being there for on another despite all the ups-ands-downs. Love is about dealing the trauma together. Love is greater than socio-economic status. Love is greater than what everyone thinks, it's a deeply intimate relationship between the people that cohabitate it.