Nonureva Really Surprised!

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Pufferfyshe I think the problem with some reactions to this film is that they don't focus on its problem with deciding who it's really for, and what it's really about. On the we-like-it side, there are those who are taken in because it's CUUUUUTE. Sure it has very nice visual design, pretty costumes, and a variety of elements. Some children's movie fans love the colour and animation, and all the un-scary 'magical' effects, shapeshifting animals, and so on. Some culture vultures like the complicated references, the layerings of different folklore elements, and the fact that they can watch Zhang Ziyi singing and quasi-miming, in two different languages, in what really was intended to be a children's comedy. I hate to pop the balloon, but a hodgepodge of styles and references does not a movie make. (1) A children's movie should still have a point, (2) a blend of folktales is not the same as a coherent story, and (3) it's easier to believe in magic when enough thought and care has gone into the technical aspects to make it seem real.In other words, the ideas could be lovely; but when you put them onstage they have to deliver. Here, they don't.A good folktale - from any country - has a clear story, a point, and characters who interact strongly with each other. This picture lacks them all.As a fantasy fan, I must say that I've sat through some turkeys and loved a few, but this one really tries to do too many things - cheaply. The main problem isn't that there's no plot; there's half a plot, which means that you keep getting pulled in, then dropped again as another none-too-sharply-executed dance number kicks off. Putting in Zhang Ziyi to try to add a little glitter smacks of exotic flower syndrome. A few over-sophisticated gestures towards OPERA, Western and Japanese, are no replacement for a solid theme.The characters all seem to know that they're starring in a movie. Unless you really like watching other peoples' amateur video, this ain't good. I'd like to test this on real children; I think they'd drop it for Uproar in Heaven after about 20 minutes.

alishere OK so this is a totally confusing and at times bizarre experience. Of course I didn't understand it and can also understand why lots of people think the whole thing a disaster. Yet on several levels it has a wicked fascination. Forget the story, it's so illogical that trying to make sense of it is like trying to explain the fifth dimension. Viewed as a series of extraordinary images you just keep watching, as one tableau transforms into another. Viewed as a send up of Japanese opera it has its moments, likewise as a take on western musicals it hits some bulls eyes.Frankly, it feels like something made by someone from another planet so why expect to understand it all? But you do, so just sit back and give in. If you like your films neat, packaged and with a clear story line, this is not it. On the other hand, I bet you'll talk about it quite a lot.

ellabooth This film is completely and utterly surreal. The first point is that I don't speak Japanese, and so had the English subtitles on. The translation work is dodgy at best. There was more than one time I was on the floor laughing at some of the lines. Secondly, the actual story line is very difficult to follow- I suspect this wasn't helped by the bad translation, but it is just so totally and utterly random, that at times it almost seems like there isn't a storyline. Sometimes there will be a two second long shot of something, which is completely out of context, or an entire song that has no words and was totally out of the blue- there was absolutely no point in it. It is very hard to rate this film- I watched 5 minuted of it and decided I would turn it off, because it was so awful, but in the end watched the whole of it. It certainly keeps you entertained, maybe not intentionally, but it does.

matchett79 Weird with unnecessary singing and backdrops. Randomly much of the action will occur on stage giving the feeling of an opera performance. None of that explains why this is such a bad film.It's the impression that either not enough rehearsal took place or that no experienced choreographer was available. The acting is flat. Even the sparkling Ziyi Zhang looks like she's just waiting for her next movement or line. You may notice the trivia on this site stating that she spent half a month in Japan learning to sign and dance. Read that again as 2 weeks and things begin to make sense. Even worse are the little kids who seem to be looking at their parents at the back of the studio rather than at the camera.The cheap and cheerful sfx are just cheap and cheap. The editing is staccato chops peppered with slices of just nothing that adds to anything except annoyance. Just imagine all the silly dance scenes from the recent Zatoichi - particularly the closing routine - performed by your local high school drama club with one famous actress who speaks in another language (but you get her in simply because she's so good normally despite being unsuitable), recorded on a cheap camera and then edited into three times its length in no artful order.