The Personal History of David Copperfield
A super whimsical picture so incredibly messy that it loses the the thread, so to speak, numerous times. It's so well-intentioned and earnest that it's hard to hate too much on it. Dev Patel is charming, fun, and quite rangy in his performance, however theatrical it is. It just tries to pack in so many characters and experiences, it never lets you revel in any of them. There is a group of characters living in a home made from boat that was grounded upside down on the beach, which, real or not, seemed to have served as a formative experience for David Copperfield, yet we don't get to live with the characters long enough or get to know them well enough to truly care when they become entangled in a much darker way in his narrative later in life.
It's a relatively fast-moving dramatic piece that I found moving in certain spots, fascinating and fanciful in others, but at the same time just too fast. It also tries to be snappier and wittier than it often comes off. I love the love for language inherent in this piece, though. The aim is true, but it misses about as often as it hits in this regard.
A decent watch, I don't even know if it could've been better. It would've had to have been more of a TV series than a 2-hour film. Actually, come to think of it, it might have thrived in that form. But, alas.
Taipei Story
Just a really sharp film from Edward Yang. It doesn't quite have the personality of Yi Yi or the gravity of A Brighter Summer Day, but it's still a stellar portrait of Taipei as Yang saw it. Those are about all my words on it for now.
Our Little Sister
Watched it again last night with Dad. He's been watching all the Kore-eda's with me, and I thought it'd be a shame if he missed this, maybe the best of the catalog. Although all a film is is a 2D rendering of reality, I swear Kore-eda set-out to stimulate all the senses. The smell of nature, especially with the cherry blossoms or the white bait and the sea. Taste, forget it, so many wonderful-looking dishes here, plus the plum wine. Don't forget the white bait on toast. Hearing and seeing are granted, but even the puncturing of the plums or the preparing of the white bait are tactile experiences. If anyone else was ever to do a feel-good film marathon, this is one that I'd be nominating but quick.