Janseon

Blade Runner 2049 left me with the hardest-hitting post-movie depression that I have not felt in a long time. The film follows Officer K, a replicant (artificially created being), whose purpose is to "retire" (kill) rogue replicants. Throughout the movie, we gain insights into K's underlying feelings and emotions, as he struggles with identity and purpose. K is one of the best representations of real modern societal issues of loneliness, polarization, and depression. The film questions what it means to be human. Is being human of biological origin? Or is humanity the quality of self-awareness and the ability to experience emotions and form relationships? The film is incredibly immersive (or maybe I just love the aesthetic) and creates a visually and emotionally stunning atmosphere, one that appears so alien yet feels so human, one that is permeated by a sense of melancholy that I could bask in forever. The movie is not for everyone; it's slow and lacks actions, but if you don't mind a slow burn, Blade Runner 2049 is incredible.

I have never cried so much. This movie is a near-perfect conclusion to the Violet Evergarden series. Violet's emotional maturity that she developed throughout the TV series was prominent in this movie as she began to explore her own deeper feelings. This was noticeable in the side story with Ulysse, which was well executed. I have mixed feelings about the relationship between Violet and Gilbert but I believe it plays well into the series's idea of unconditional love that unifies and transcends our more-constricting "types" of love (e.g. romance, parental, friendship).

Everything Everywhere All at Once is ambitious and wildly imaginative—the film truly lives up to its name in terms of what it accomplishes. There is so much to unpack, and I don't know where to start. The movie combines many genres and themes, to say the least: it intertwines drama, comedy, action, adventure, and science fiction while exploring themes of family, intergenerational trauma, depression, queer identity, neurodivergence, as well as more philosophical ideas such as nihilism and absurdism. Despite its chaotic nature, the film never loses sight of what it intends to accomplish. The theme that resonated most with me was the idea of our interconnectedness, explored through the (very Asian) mother-daughter relationship strained by intergenerational trauma, but also how, through our interconnectedness, we can create meaning by making the conscious choice to treat each other with compassion and empathy. I also couldn't help but smile at the language and dialect switches between English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

This movie is incredibly special to me. The animation is beautiful. The story is emotional. The music... oh man, the feelings are too much. I wish I could watch this movie for the first time again.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of my favorite superhero movies ever. The animation is absolutely mind-blowing, creative, and original—it's everything I love about animation and hopefully propels the medium forward. The soundtrack slaps; props to Daniel Pemberton. The story is solid and quite heartfelt. The climactic scene is a masterpiece and genuinely had me tearing up. It's been a while since I've been captivated by a superhero movie.

This film was visually stunning. Nolan's ability to capture feelings of expanse and loneliness in interstellar travel was perfection. The plot felt messy toward the end, and the conclusion was underwhelming. In my opinion, the fact that Cooper escaped the tesseract lessened the emotional impact. Nevertheless, this movie was thought-provoking and emotionally driven. The soundtrack is a masterpiece.

This movie was my favorite for some time. I am absolutely in love with the animation style. The storyline was sometimes a bit questionable; however, the film was well-executed and very emotionally touching. Makoto Shinkai never disappoints.

The Truman Show is an existential film that leaves you questioning your own reality. Truman's character arc is well-written as he pushes beyond the boundaries of his own reality. Despite being released over two decades ago, the themes remain quite relevant in modern-day mass media.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is one of MCU's most mature and emotional movies. The film excels in its exploration of Rocket's heart-wrenching backstory, and the other protagonists truly shine as well. The villains were rather uninspired and underdeveloped, and the ending felt a bit too safe, but regardless, I'm satisfied with this conclusion to the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.

This film tells a coming-of-age story about Segundo's relationship with his father, highlighting the harmful effects of homophobia and toxic masculinity. I loved the use of the Quechua language and the various Peruvian cultural references... although I am not Peruvian so I am not qualified to speak in depth on this.

A disturbing documentary about the power of large technology companies in a capitalist system. I highly recommend this documentary to the general public, who tend to be less aware of how external influences affect their lives. I felt, however, that the documentary's presentation was somewhat sensationalist and didn't acknowledge the more intricate nuances of the issues discussed.

This movie was a heart-aching film centered around a mother-son relationship. The story was sometimes inconsistent, but I don't think it detracts from its emotional impact. The story has the potential to reach your heart; it indeed reached mine.

As someone who has suffered from depression, watching the experience of depression from a different perspective was insightful in better understanding my own past experiences. The story is emotionally touching, and the portrayal of depression and anxiety was flawless. I must've missed a lot of details because I was a bit lost in the plot and character relationships. Maybe I'll rewatch this movie.

This movie was undeniably fun to watch, and it certainly was an emotional rollercoaster. I was, however, mildly irritated by the plot conveniences, and I was not a fan of the ending. To be fair, I never watched Sony's Spider-Man movies, so the nostalgia factor was absent.

Suzume is a story about finding closure and national trauma, specifically referencing Japan's 3/11 earthquake. The animation and soundtrack are absolutely stunning. I loved the style and feel of Shinkai's previous movies and Suzume did not disappoint. However, the narrative felt convoluted, the characters bland, and somehow the main character develops romantic feelings for a chair.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever offers a more emotionally driven narrative compared to its prequel as the movie centers around Shuri and her struggle with grief. I enjoyed Shuri's character arc although it felt mildly cliché and the resolution, in regards to her conflict with Namor, was rather predictable. The movie's pitfall, however, was the plot. The introduction of new characters—Namor and Riri Williams—and an entirely new civilization (as well as their conflict with Wakanda and the rest of the world) was an obvious attempt to advance the overall MCU timeline in a somewhat forceful manner. All of this detracted from the originality of the film itself, and I believe there was much greater potential in a more character-driven movie. Still, I will applaud Marvel for handling Chadwick Boseman's death honorably.

This movie is a side story to the Violet Evergarden TV series and fits nicely into Violet's character arc by following a similar formula as the series. The animation is beautiful. The story is emotional but doesn't stand out compared to the other stories in the series. To be fair, it was only intended to be a side story; thus, if you enjoyed the series, it's worth watching.

This film was a humorous but heart-aching coming-of-age story. I enjoyed the comedy and satirical approach toward issues of war and the influence of societal norms. Although I appreciated the humor in the film, I couldn't help but feel that it detracted from the emotional impact.

This movie was a refreshing break from the generic and formulaic MCU productions. I enjoyed the film's melancholic tone and thought-provoking questions. However, the film lacked an emotional impact, possibly because there were just too many characters. While this wasn't the greatest film, I appreciated the change of pace.

I'm glad that Marvel is authentically increasing the diversity of their main characters. The landscape shots and the fight choreography were satisfying to watch. However, the story wasn't very compelling, which made it difficult to empathize with the characters. As an Asian American myself, I'm excited to see how Shang-Chi will fit into future MCU productions.

I felt emotionally detached from the characters and the storyline; much of the movie's deeper meaning flew over my head. In hindsight, I respect the film's rich symbolism and references to real-world issues. This movie deserves high ratings; however, it wasn't my cup of tea.

This film was, at times, enjoyable to watch, but overall, it wasn't great. The story was weak and superficial; I could not find anything meaningful to take away from the film. I was disappointed by the lack of creativity and boldness because the concept of the multiverse remained largely unexplored.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is enjoyable, fun, and capitalizes on childhood nostalgia. However, the story felt bland, poorly written, and clearly targeted towards a younger audience. Besides Mario Kart, I was never super involved in the franchise, but if you're a fan of the Mario games, you'll probably find more enjoyment than I did.

Blade Runner has undeniably made great contributions to the science fiction genre. However, I found the plot to be rather uninteresting, and the film's deeper philosophical meaning was unimpactful—maybe I missed a lot of the subtleties throughout the film. Perhaps, as a younger person, I have been spoiled by modern-day visual effects, which make it difficult for me to appreciate how ground-breaking this film must've been in the 80s.

The animation was stunning (as expected from Makoto Shinkai). The story, however, lacked substance as nothing particularly meaningful happened. It was a short and sweet story... although it was probably too short to leave an impact.

I enjoyed the concept of Big Hero 6 more than the execution. I found it hard to empathize with the main character, Hiro, whose character arc felt forced and cliche. The other characters were quite two-dimensional and lacked any sort of development.

Thor: Ragnarok was one of my favorite MCU films. I was looking forward to watching Thor: Love and Thunder, but unfortunately, I ended up feeling disappointed. I was generally apathetic toward the characters, notably Thor, who I found hard to root for. The villain, Gorr, felt shallow, and his character arc was cliché. I did enjoy the drama, but it felt undermined by the film's attempt to be humorous: most of the jokes fell flat.

I was excited when I heard that Black Widow was getting her own film. Unfortunately, I was disappointed because the story felt too generic and failed to capture Natasha's unique character and personality. I wished they focused more on espionage rather than generic action scenes.

This movie was unmemorable. The plot was lackluster and the resolution was unsatisfying. I don't enjoy stories centered around genie wishes because they are bound to have plotholes.