This is a spooky, almost horror movie, as the old photos in the opening credits give me chills. When I sees the children with the masks, I think of 20th Century Boys (2008).
The premise of the story is that Miss Peregrine runs a "school" for peculiar children. The protagonist Jake's grandparent was part of the orphanage. And he told stories about the school to Jake when he was small. Jake would not believe until he finally meets Miss Peregrine and the children. Sounds a lot like Tim Burton's another movie called Big Fish (2003), where the dad tells tall tales and they turn out to be true.
The plot is average as the story is built up slowly but the ending ends too abruptly. I expect to see more of how Jake goes back to 1945.
Some think that the peculiar children are just like students in Xavier's School in X-men. I remember some people said that Elsa in Frozen is about outcast too. Elsa has special abilities that other people are afraid of her.
Eva Green played Miss Peregrine. Her make-up is awesome. She plays a similar Gothic spooky character called Vanessa Ives in Penny Dreadful.
Jake is a boring character as he does not do much in the movie. He miss the bow all the time. I somehow think this British actor looks and sounds like Ewan McGregor.
Enoch's playing-with-the-dead toys resembles the scary Baby Face toy in Toy Story (1995).
The many birds in the movie reminds me of The Birds (1963), which is a horror movie, by Alfred Hitchcock.
The gas masks worn by the characters remind me of Doctor Who Series 1 Episode 9 The Empty Child, where the story is also located in the U.K. during World War II. The episode is very scary as well.
Never has a movie that can be linked to so many other movies. Yet I still find the premise, plot and character interesting.
In my opinion, one of the message the movie wants to bring out is: is living forever is good?
By the way, I love the trailer song New World Coming by Dísa very much. It's the trailer song that attracts me to the cinema. Bravo to the trailer! But I'm surprised (not the first time though) that the trailer song is not in the movie!
The theme of this movie is the infinite choices and possibilities in life. This is a what-if movie concerning "what will happen if you do this and that". There are a number of what-if movies before Mr. Nobody, such as Groundhog Day (1993), Sliding Doors (1998), Run Lola Run (1998), etc.
The premise is the recount of Nemo Nobody's life by himself at 118-year-old. A journalist sneaks into his hospital room and interviews him. It turns out that Nemo has lived three different lives, concurrently. This not only confuses the journalist but also the audience.
***Spoilers Alert***
The movie starts with a psychology experiment. And then the dead Nemo/ narrator asked, "What did I do to deserve this?"
Nemo remembers everything because the Angels of Oblivion forget to wipe his memory out before he comes to earth. When he is nine years-old, his parents separate. He has to choose between his father and mother.
The young Nemo says, "You have to make the right choice. As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible."
In the story line that he chooses his mother: at age 15, Nemo meets Anna.
-> Nemo insults Anna's friends and they never see each other again
-> Nemo admits that he can't swim -> they become close -> they are separated by their parents -> at age 34 Nemo becomes a pool cleaner -> Nemo meets Anna again -> she gives him her number -> rain wipes out the number
-> at age 34 Nemo becomes a television host -> his car plummets into a lake and he drowns
In the story line that he chooses his father: at age 15, Nemo meets Elise
-> Elise accepts him -> Elise asks Nemo to spread her ashes in Mars -> they get married -> Elise has depression -> Nemo burns his car
-> at age 34, right after their wedding ceremony, a oil-tank truck explodes -> Elise dies -> Nemo becomes a television host -> his co-worker's car plummets into a lake and drowns
-> Nemo meets the co-worker's widow Anna --> Anna rejects him
-> Nemo takes minute-per-minute pictures of decaying food and flowers (implies that he is obsessed with life and death)
Nemo writes a sci-fi story on a typewriter
-> Nemo wakes up from a freezing state in a satellite station -> he spreads Elise's ashes in Mars
-> the satellite station explodes -> Nemo dies
-> Nemo meets Anna for the first time in a satellite station -> the satellite station explodes -> they die
-> Elise rejects him -> Nemo gets into a car accident -> Nemo stays in a vegetative state
-> Elise rejects him -> Nemo decides to marry the first girl whom he will dance with -> Nemo marries Jean --> Nemo is unhappy and bored with his life -> he goes to a hotel room -> an assassin kills him during his bath -> his body is dumped
It seems that all of his choices suck.
I think the way how the shocking truth is revealed (i.e. Old Nemo tells the journalist, "We are imagined by 9 year old child, faced with an impossible choice.") is similar to the way the truth is revealed in Fight Club (1999) in the end. It makes you wanting to watch the movie all over again, bearing the truth.
Color is an important cue in the movie. The three wives of Nemo are represented by three different colors: red for Anna, representing passion; blue for Elise, representing depression; yellow for Jean, representing greed (I personally don't find Jean representing greed. I think she represents unrequited love. Nemo randomly picks her as his wife. She loves Nemo but Nemo doesn't love her back. It's pathetic.)
In my opinion, there are quite a number of memorable quotes in the movie. For example, "Everything we see exists, we can see it. I can see mommy's eyes, but I can't see my eyes. The little baby can see his hands, but he cannot see himself. So, does he really exist? Do I really exist?" (This explicitly is a question on existentialism.) "In chess, it's called Zugzwang...when the only viable move...is not to move."
I think most people find the movie confusing is because of its non-linear editing. The story itself is profound, yet the editing makes it even more complicated. (By the way, a very good non-linear narrative story is Memento (2000).)
Doctor Who Season 3 Episode 10
Ratings:
Premise: Good
Plot: Good
Characters: Average
Dialogue: Good
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Make him the cutest that I've ever seen (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Give him two lips like roses and clover (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over
Sandman, I'm so alone Don't have nobody to call my own Please turn on your magic beam Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Bung, bung, bung, bung
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream Make him the cutest that I've ever seen Give him the word that I'm not a rover Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over
Sandman, I'm so alone Don't have nobody to call my own Please turn on your magic beam Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Bung, bung, bung, bung
Mr. Sandman bring us a dream (Yes) Give him a pair of eyes with a come-hither gleam Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci And lots of wavy hair like Liberace
Mr Sandman, someone to hold (Someone to hold) Would be so peachy before we're too old So please turn on your magic beam Mr Sandman, bring us, please, please, please Mr Sandman, bring us a dream
Doctor Who Extra - Series 8 Episode 11 - Dark Water
Two unlikely movie / TV show being compared as they both share a theme on death.
First, I'm going to talk about McDull: Me & My Mum. McDull is not a bright kid but he eventually grows up as a brilliant detective "Bobby Mak". The story is about McDull telling his story of his childhood, his relationship with his mother and how he becomes Bobby Mak.
McDull has a close relationship with his mother. Even though they were very poor, his mother always tried to provide with hin the best and she always made good excuses to make McDull feel better about life. After his mother passed away, McDull ranaway until one day, he suddenly discovered his talents, after all these years being "dumb".
The theme of appreciating the love of our parents is very touching. I think McDull found it regretful that he didn't stay with his mother but ran away to be a sailor on her last few years. It also reminds us on how we should treasure our time with our parents.
The second material I want to talk about is the two-part finale of Doctor Who Series 8. It is surprising that Dark Waters starts with Danny Pink being dead. It makes Clara go crazy and she takes it out on the Twelve Doctor.
When Clara found Danny, he has already been turned to a half-zombie half-cyberman. It's a dilemma for her to decide whether to cut off his emotions by activating the cyberman emotions inhibitor. It's becasue Danny says that the emotions of remembering Clara hurts him so much.
The most disturbing part of the story is that the TV noise we heard is deciphered as "Don't cremate me! X3". So scary!!!!!!!!!!! There is afterlife and the soul is still connected with the body on earth and would feel the cold and pain and even the burning. That's horrible news about afterlife. Those with skeletons preserved will resurrect and rise again as cyberman.
So it is said that the egyptians preserved their bodies for resurrection. If the majority of Hong Kong people will most likely be cremated one day as tombs are in shortage in Hong Kong, will they not be able to resurrect?
I'm a big Doctor Who fan. David Tennant is my first doctor. Then I get to watch Christopher Eccleston and Matt Smith's doctors, which I both like. But now Peter Capaldi as the Twelve Doctor, who is older and much darker, is hard for me to get used to it.
I like the first episode Deep Breath. Good writing as the writer managed our expectations from Clara's (or the viewer's so to speak) POV on adapting to this new doctor.
But I don't like the episodes follow (up to Mummy on the Orient Express as of today). Can't stop the feeling of "I've seen it before!"
It does not have a strong story arch compared with series 5 and 6. It is said that the reason is to attract new audience who have not seen Doctor Who before.
Character-wise, not very promising either. Clara is having an ambivalent relationship with the Doctor. Besides, Pink is not a very likable character. I still don't understand his importance in the series.
I still hope the ending of this series is splendid. Please don't let me down!
To start with, I watched P.S. I Love You (2007). Though it's a little bit late, still catch it on screen. The story is very touching. Just want to give Hilary Swank a message from Face of Boe, "You are not alone." of Doctor Who. Don't cry, my sweetheart.
Enchanted (2007) is a cliche. Amy Adams' costumes are really low-cut. Hey girl, you're too sexy for a family movie. And Patrick Dempsey is playing the Mr. Darcy again. Just like his character in Sweet Home Alabama. Thought man like him should be good. But from the cut scenes in the DVD, there was a storyline of the perfect man cheating his girl. That's the reality, huh?
Conclusion: there's no fairy tale in real life.
Sleuth (2007) is crap. A simple plot about love, jealousy and manipulation. The whole film only stars two men, Michael Cain and Jude Law. They only talk the talk. So wasting my time watching it!
Big Fish (2003) is about the story of father and son. Not until the end I find the story touching. The father said he would die in way you wouldn't expected. Turned out was quite plain. The son put him into the river and he turned back into a big fish, which he always talked about. It's somehow like Seven, need to fulfill the prophecy and make things complete.
Eastern Promises(2007) stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. It's another dark story of the Oscar this year. There's an nude scene in the movie. And very violent and bloody. Not everybody can take it.