I came to Tokyo Godfathers knowing only that it came highly recommended by both my Google search and the Netflix rating. (Yes I’m that lame.) I must have read the synopsis at some point, but I sure didn’t remember it, I thought it was going to be about the mafia or something. Which come to think of it was really stupid of me, just because the word “godfather” is in the title doesn’t mean that there is a crime syndicate. (Thanks Mr. Coppola for forever tying the two together forever in my mind.) What I wasn’t expecting was an incredibly touching yet incredibly entertaining and exciting romp through the streets of Tokyo with three bums and a baby.  Of course that’s about as close to capturing what the movie is really about as saying Kill Bill is about a chick with a sword.

Tokyo Godfathers is all about human connection, worth, and redemption set in Christmas time Tokyo. Our teacher/heroes in this lesson just so happen to be three bums who find a baby on Christmas Eve. That’s all I’m going to say. Maybe I’ve said too much, you should definitely come to this gem (yes I just used the word gem) of a film with as little forward knowledge as possible if for no other reason than its so much more fun that way.

4 Meh’s out of 5

I give it:

4 Meh’s out of 5

        Parents should be forbidden from fucking up their kids. That’s the message I kept finding in this movie about a girl under a curse. Played by Christina Ricci the title character of this 2006 romantic comedy is by far the prettiest pig girl you could ever imagine – Miss Piggy and furry enthusiasts jump back! Though the cause of the initial curse (valuing class over personality) doesnt quite fit with the curse itself (valuing inner beauty over outer beauty) the film is adorable enough for you to forget it.

        Great characters are what make this movie really shine: Reese Witherspoon on a vespa, a mamma’s boy with some serious issues, a little person photographer with one eye and an agenda, and parents who push you from amused to outraged and back again. Whoever did the makeup and prostetic was great. The butler in sneakers is a really cute touch, and the modern fairy tale atmosphere makes me want to watch it again.

        Penelope is an adorable film perfect for combining with chocolate therapy, a rainy day, or a fuzzy blanket and skeptical boyfriend who isnt really sure about this pig-girl movie.

        I give this film FOUR STARS.

The Ramen Girl is a 2008 indie comedy that follows the adventures of a girl named Abby as she aprentices herself to a harsh ramen sensei (see general plotline above). Here in the U.S. we tend to think of ramen and think of little orange packets with so-so noodle soup inside. In Japan, the movie shows us, the view is drastically different: the sensei describes it as ‘the universe in a bowl’ and eventually Abby comes to see it as a process of getting closer and closer to achieving perfect soup every time you make a bowl.

In many ways the film is unrealistic but overall it’s charming and cute. The ending is a bit unorthodox for those of us used to the standard cinematic endings where all the parties bear their souls just before the big climax and everything goes beautifully because of it, but overall it’s a cute film.

I give this film THREE STARS and one big bowl of American style microwavable ramen.

Last night we watched The Other Boleyn Girl. Worst movie ever. I actually hate it. Let me tell you, I already knew the costumes were horrible because I saw them on display at FIDM. They’re pretty but also the most inaccurate things I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t played to the current time period’s standards — because I actually like costumes done that way — it was just bad. Oh, and why do the Boleyns have German garb in the movie? They are English. Actually, the German garb looked better than the English garb. Now, moving on…why can’t they at least try to make the events historically accurate? They’re so far off, I just got even more confused. I’m already confused and have failed to memorize everyone from that family and period, but this just was bad. They completely changed the sisters. Now, this is just me, but I’m part of the group that thinks Mary is the older sister. And you know what…this movie actually supports that! Despite the fact that they say she’s younger. Older sisters are the more responsible ones, while younger sisters are the ones that scream and yell for attention, duh. That’s usually how it works, and I really doubt that a well-to-do family would take enough care to make their children turn out differently. I was not sold on the interactions between people in the movie, and I kept waiting for more to happen. I was completely confused when Anne’s downfall came about and kept thinking they’d added another drama…because Mary had not yet moved out and cut off communication with the family. They made her out to be a complete wuss. In real life, when her family forsook her, she stopped talking to them, she didn’t go back and fight for them even more like in the movie. I do not like how they over exaggerated the two sisters, making one completely quiet and nice and the other completely bitchy and stupid. I’ve actually never had that much against Anne Boleyn — I mean, I can’t hate Elizabeth’s mother — but this movie really tried to make us hate her. I kept waiting for more to happen so I could like the movie, but that more never came.