Totoro

Dan and I have been watching a lot of movies lately. We watched two in theaters this weekend: The Time Traveler’s Wife and District 9.

I had actually just finished reading The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, and found it to be one of the most powerful books I’ve read in a while. The author does an incredible job of developing each of the characters and making them come to life, even the marginal ones — each of them have so much dimension and depth to them. The story itself was one of the most original I’ve ever read, and the way it is written is very interesting as well. Clare’s life is a linear constant while Henry’s is unpredictable and jumps around all the time; Clare is his stabilizer, one of the few things that are constant in his life. A lengthy book, it took some time to get through, but it was a detailed character study, engaging science fiction concept, and timeless love story rolled into one. The story is magical and is one of those that haunt you and stay with you for weeks, and I can see myself revisiting it and rereading it for years to come.

So, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to see the recently filmed movie The Time Traveler’s Wife, based on the bestselling book. I knew that movies based on books, in general, usually pale in comparison to their novel counterparts. I knew that the movie got a whopping 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. But somehow, I still felt compelled to see it. Maybe it was the fact that I like both Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. Maybe because I was curious to see how they would translate this complex story into film. Maybe it’s because the only way I can get Dan to show interest in a book is to make him see the movie first. (I know, bad approach to reading… but he is a movie junkie.) So Dan and I went to see a late showing the other night at the Shattuck Cinema, and let me say that that particular theater we saw it in (I believe it was Theater 10 within the Shattuck Cinema) was so comfy! They had two-seater leather sofas for seats, and it was perfect for couples. Dan thinks that they show romantic movies in that particular theater so that they can have a more comfortable and sweet viewing experience. Of course, it would be sort of awkward for the single viewers who come to see it by themselves… then again, it would even be nice if you were going to see it with a close friend. But I digress. The movie was alright. I think it did pretty well for how complicated the storyline is — the movie didn’t include several of the subplots and some of the secondary characters (there was absolutely no appearance by, nor reference of, Ingrid Carmichael). I kept getting frustrated while watching because I’d just read the book and knew exactly how certain scenes were supposed to play out, but had to witness the dialogue and scene play out in a very different way onscreen. I went on for a whole hour after we’d exited the theater about how this scene was supposed to go like that, and actually, that scene didn’t go that way in the book. Some parts of the movie were cheesy, and there was less emotional depth than could be felt from the book, but there is only so much you can expect from an onscreen adaptation. I went into the movie prepared to be utterly disappointed, and came out feeling like there were some redeeming elements despite much of what was hacked off of the novel’s timeless tale of love.

Last night, we went to see District 9 at the Alameda Theater with my sweet coworker Tarrin and her equally awesome boyfriend Jason (but not before having a heavenly meal at Burma Superstar… it was our first time trying Burmese food and it was so good). Dan has been dying to see this movie for about a month now, being the sci-fi/alien/horror flick lover that he is. I, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive — seeing those creepy, insect-like aliens in the previews seemed like enough of an alien dosage for me, but  I obliged, since I had dragged Dan to see The Time Traveler’s Wife with me and since everyone seems to be raving about District 9 since it arrived in theaters last weekend. (It got a 89% on Rotten Tomatoes! I don’t necessarily follow the ratings on RT religiously, nor do I completely trust them, but it does serve as a quick reference to gauge how the general public is receiving the movie.) Although the movie had some stomach-turning moments and had a good share of bloody violence, I actually found it to be pretty entertaining. I didn’t expect to find myself taking sides with the ugly aliens and feeling sympathetic towards them, but in this case the humans are the bad guys. Dan definitely liked the movie a lot and was talking about it for a while afterwards. Not the prettiest of movies, but definitely a new, groundbreaking alien sci-fi movie. I liked the way it was filmed, with documentary-esque segments that flowed smoothly into the actual ‘live action’ scenes.

Ponyo (or the Japanese title Gake no Ue no Ponyo – translating to “Ponyo on the Cliff”) seems to be doing awesome in the States, too! We actually didn’t see this one in the theaters — we saw it last year, when Dan downloaded the Japanese original version, with English subtitles. I’m glad that the critics are liking it, because despite how great of an animated film it is, it does have its share of strange parts, like many other Studio Ghibli films by Hayao Miyazaki. The movie has elements of the Hans Christian Anderson story The Little Mermaid, although it by no means follows the folk tale strictly, and Ponyo is a fish instead of a mermaid. I’m a little concerned that Disney may have tweaked the story here and there, based on what I saw in the American trailer, but hopefully it is true to the original for the most part. I am still getting over the fact that they had Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas sing the theme song though — it sounds like a horribly digitized, (at some parts) inaccurately translated, sped-up version of the simple Japanese theme song. I liked this latest film from Miyazaki because it’s reminiscent of some of his cuter films from back in the day, like Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. Many of his recent work, like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, have some really bizarre, even frightening moments. I think since I grew up watching all of his movies as a child, I really liked the more “child-like” ones. Totoro, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are among my childhood favorites. I’m kind of bummed that I missed Miyazaki’s lecture when he visited UC Berkeley a month ago, since his movies have a special place in my heart and I really respect him as a filmmaker. I think Ponyo is a movie that almost anyone would love, although I recommend getting your hands on the Japanese version with English subtitles, if possible.

So I’m a little movie-ed out from this weekend, although with a film lover/cinema major for a hubby, the movie-watching just don’t stop….