EMPEROR : a review

TBH this is not my best review, but it was a movie that made an affect on me, so I'm posting it here. Emperor (2012) Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Matthew Fox This WWII inspired film begins with real footage of the large mushroom cloud of the Atomic Bomb being dropped on Japan. With a quick cut, real footage shows heroic-looking American fighter pilots in their planes flying over during the bombing. I marveled at how the historical footage was shot and appreciated the wartime film clips. I also became uncomfortable at seeing the mushroom cloud, because I realized what that cloud represented. The film is set a few months after the bombings, and at the beginning of the American occupation of Japan. General MacArthur, played by Tommy Lee Jones, briefs his military officials on the next steps of action while on board of a giant aircraft that has landed on an airfield in Tokyo. One of the officials in the briefing is General Bonner Fellers, a cultural expert on Japan, played by Matthew Fox (Party of Five!). Fellers was a real person, a General and advisor to MacArthur. Fellers has a secret that he is hiding from the American military. He has a beautiful Japanese girlfriend, Aya, who has gone missing at the start of the war. Also, since Fellers has been living in Japan for years, he has grown to love the Japanese culture, people, and country itself. Yet, he has to push that all out of his mind and focus on the job at hand…. occupying Japan. In the narration, Fellers says that the Americans must “be seen as liberators, not conquerors” and not ‘impose our will’ on the Japanese. General MacArthur sees it differently. MacArthur, with his “American Swagger” as he calls it, and poor consideration of Japanese customs, contradicts everything Fellers says he wants the American-Japanese relationship to become. Even Fellers intentionally breaks custom when interviewing a former Japanese Prime Minister. He doesn’t bother to take his shoes off when entering the Prime Minister’s home. It’s a calculated sign of disrespect, a show of bravado and power. As an expert of Japanese culture, this is something Fellers would have known. All of these subtle signs show that Americans are in control. The film focuses on Fellers and his internal conflict. He has a few objectives that are at odds with each other. First, he must find the 32 heads of state in Japan, and bring charges against them for war crimes... before many of them try to end their own lives. He also hopes to find the woman he loves. Then, with the slight pull that he has, he tries to guide MacArthur to have some empathy for the Japanese. Also, he has 10 days to interview heads of state to see if Emperor Hirohito should have charges brought on him. If the Emperor is found guilty of inciting war, he could be charged with war crimes and sentenced to death. The ending is surprising and moving. Overall, it was a good film. I saw WWII from a different perspective, that of the Japanese. It made me realize that everyone in war is human, and all have their share of suffering. However, the film was 15 min too long, some stuff about Fellers’ and Aya’s relationship could have been trimmed down. Also, Matthew Fox is playing a guy from 25-35, and he’s about 10 years older than that. He’s good looking and a decent actor so I’ll let it slide. poster image: By Krasnoff Foster Productions/Fellers Film - https://www.imdb.com/media/rm2534318848/tt2103264, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38700173

Empire of the Sun: A review

FYI - this was Christian Bale's first major role on film! He was the highlight, for sure! Empire of the Sun (1987) (Actors Study) Starring: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Joe Pantoliano, Ben Stiller, and some others. This film is directed by Stephen Speilberg, and has his style. It is a scrolling giant of a film. It seems like a mural painting of epic size, and a romanticized image of WWII. Yes, it displays grit, destruction and huge sacrifice, but it’s almost idealized. I don’t know if I agree with that sentiment. War is very hard. Like another well known film of Speilberg’s focusing on boyhood (ET), this focused on the experiences of an upper crust British boy during the war. Jaime, played by Christian Bale as a kid, is a boy who wants for nothing while living in a mansion near Shanghai, China. In this era, wealthy British colonized parts of China, building towns similar to ones in England… making themselves at home. Jaime’s family has all the luxuries of England along with plenty of fine art from China. They even have their own British boys school. Jaime lives with his parents and they employ Chinese servants. He is smart, philosophical, but also very spoiled. However, he notices an old Chinese man who is panhandling, and often stares at the man. Perhaps he is questioning the inequalities of life, why he has so much, and the old man has nothing. He asks his father about this, saying they are lucky, but the father brushes it off saying they are ‘lucky’ because he works hard. Ironically, his father is placing a silver coin down on their sprawling yard to play golf beside their pool when he explains he works hard. Yes he may work hard, but the Chinese people have a disadvantage, and this family lives oblivious to that. Things change drastically when Japanese troops invade Shanghai and the surrounding areas. There is a juxtaposition of the wealthy and the poor when Jaime and his family are off to a costume party. In their fancy car with Chinese chauffeur, they pass by throngs of Chinese people who are running the opposite way in fear. They are running away from the Japanese invasion. The family still attends the party. Jaime has an obsession with planes, and he sees a downed plane that has been stuck in the mud for a while. When playing in it, he is confronted head on by Japanese troops but survives the encounter. The next day the invasion comes to their neighborhood. The family piles into the car again with the chauffeur to leave, but it is too late. They end up in the crowds. They run together, but Jaime drops his toy plane which he goes back for and he is separated. This is the most memorable scene I think, with the boy shouting on the top of a box looking for his mother. But it illustrates how Jaime is so oblivious of what necessities are, because he goes for a plane over being with his mother. It is a mistake, and a lack of understanding on his part, but it costs him. He spends a long time alone in his old home, which has been abandoned and emptied by Japanese troops. That wasn’t that believable to me, because like the pool water disappears and I was like, ‘how long is this kid staying there without supplies?’. There were a few cans of food, but that's it. Eventually he meets up with a guy Frank who takes him to this American who does bartering for a living, or stealing. This American, Basie, feeds the boy and lets them sleep there. Basie is played by John Malkovich. Basie is pretty much a “Fagan”, if you have ever seen “Oliver” or read Oliver Twist. He runs an operation of thieving, or taking stuff from people in the war who already are dead or have been captured. He actually tries to sell Jaime, I think, in one scene -- although Chinese was being spoken so I don’t have a clear idea. Anyway, the boy bonds with this thief and his business partner. Jaime gets his name changed to Jim by the group and, from this point on to me became like “Oliver”, the orphan boy, and Basie was Fagan with a group of thugs. They go back to Jim’s old neighborhood, which Jim calls ‘opulent’. Jim is doing this to keep in good graces with them. However, when they get back they get captured by Japanese, and sent to a concentration camp. Basie and Frank end up in the American wing of the camp, Jim ends up in the British section. Jim learns quickly how to survive, and is hustling for a while… he picked up some bartering skills from his idol Basie. The difference between Basie and Jim is that Jim wants to be a caregiver to everyone. He also learns to help people in the camp’s hospital. In contrast Basie only is out for himself and his needs, and if it helps someone else, then that’s ok. Although Basie does become a protector to the boy. There is a secondary plot where Jim is fascinated with the planes in the hangar next to the camp, but they are Japanese. This almost gets him killed a few times. The planes are Japanese, but he doesn’t see it that way, he just sees planes that he knows everything about. He befriends a teenage boy on the other side of the fence who is Japanese, when the boy loses his toy plane on Jim’s side. They help each other out, and this kinda skews Jim’s loyalties. There is another time when Jim sneaks over to see the planes, almost gets shot by a Japanese soldier, but when he sees the three pilots coming towards him he salutes the pilots out of admiration, it saves his life. This is a cinematic moment because sparks are flying in the background as an engineer is working on the planes, and there is smoke around the boy as he touches the planes. The pilots seem Godlike when Jim salutes them because it is in soft light and silhouette. No denying that this film was created by a master in the art of film. There’s a few notable ways of storytelling like when Jim’s Japanese friend dies towards the end of the film, and Jim tries to save him, but can't. For a flash Jim sees himself as the body, but as little Jaime. This pretty clearly expresses that Jim is mourning the loss of his childhood. But he learned the value of people over things and opulence in the end. Lastly he realizes that Basie is no good for him. Still, this scene kinda bugged me because Jim says over and over “I CAN SAVE EVERYBODY”. It was like 12 times. 1-2 times would have been fine. Although, Christian Bale as a kid actor was phenomenal! He hits all the right beats in his scenes, and takes major risks. He was already a pro at 12 or 13 yrs old. JMal is excellent as always, as the devious Basie, who’s moral compass is a little off but still cares for the kid. Ben Stiller is in it as a tough guy who is part of the American thieves. I am glad I watched it for the good performances, but probably would have enjoyed it more as a shorter version. It was so-so.

Bombshell - A review

“Bombshell” (2019)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51t-y1nHDT8 Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie Bombshell recreates the events of 2015-2016 at Fox News during the 2016 election. The story focuses on Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly, played (eerily, almost like a twin) by Charlize Theron, who also acts as the narrator of the tale. A subsequent story is the story of Gretchen Carlson, played by Nicole Kidman, a veteran news anchor who broke ground as one of the first female anchors fighting for space in the ‘Boys Club’ of Fox News. Both storylines are pulled from the news stories and ‘tweets’ of the day. The third tale focuses on Kayla, an ambitious, yet naive reporter seeking a spot as an on-air anchor. Kayla is a fictional character, however, her story is painfully true-to-life. The main villain in this true tale is Roger Ailes, the head television executive at the helm of Fox News, who has ties going back decades to the republican party. Megyn in her opening soliloquy goes so far as to say his hand has guided elections of Regan, Nixon, and many more. Roger is the self-proclaimed captain of the ship. Roger, played by John Lithgow, is one of the most powerful men in media, but also... a disgusting sexual predator. Things dust-up at the studios when two events happen simultaneously. Megyn, as star anchor, is tapped to be the presidential debate monitor, and someone mysteriously drugs Megyn’s coffee causing her to vomit. She pulls herself together and manages to throw some hardball questions at Trump. Trump later retaliates with a tweetstorm. At the same time Gretchen is getting tired of being called a “Skirt” on camera by the male anchors and being told that she is ‘sexy but too hard to work with’. She may be a former Miss America, but she is no fainting flower and tries fighting back. It fails and she is fired. She sues Roger for wrongful termination due to sexual harassment, and it gets kinda crazy from there. My favorite scene is of the other female anchors defending Roger Ailes in this wild chorus of women in 3-inch heels and tight shift dresses shouting into their phones ‘I wear pants! I wear pants! I can wear whatever I want!’ It is something you have to see. The last and most difficult tale to watch is Kayla’s story. She is so focused on her goal to be on air at the only network that matters, that she sadly falls victim to Roger’s sick manipulation. Margot Robbie plays her with a combination of ultra motivated, and sweet naivete. It is unnerving to watch. When she meets Roger in his private office, it’s like being on a razor’s edge, hoping she will walk out the door away from the slime, but she never does. When he asks to see her legs and then more, we see her fight back tears and can almost feel her violation. (shudder) All in all, for a lot of ladies who keep repeating the mantra “I’m not a feminist” like feminist is a dirty word, they do end up battling with the issues of equality for women and sexual harassment in the workplace. Megyn says more than once “ I’m not a feminist”. Yet her actions betray her. Despite her best attempts to ignore the misogyny around her, we come to conclude that she (gasp) just may be a feminist. At the very least, she’s someone who is fighting for equal rights of women in the workplace (um...feminist?) and wants sexual harassment of women to stop (cough - feminist!).