Stan & Ollie

In April 2019, I watched Stan & Ollie at Movix Kameari. I remembered that I almost cried toward the end. 

In April 2020, I watched it again on DVD. I did not cry but I was really moved. 

The movie is based on the true story about a comedy duo named Laurel and Hardy who were popular but could not become superstars like Charlie Chaplin. It focuses on their longtime friendship and their last tour in the United Kingdom. The situation is similar to the one of Judy. 

Although they sometimes argued with each other, yet they had a strong friendship and they deep down trusted each other. I was really touched by the last stage where they showed their deep and beautiful bond. Each of them had stuck to what he wanted to do and each had not been able to lie to himself. I admired how they live. 

The duo consists of a fat and a small man. If their drama was adapted and filmed in Japan, Honjamaka would be the proper comedy duo. Toshiaki Megumi has now become a famous TV newscaster in Japan but he must be ready to star in the film if he has received the offer.

僕たちのラストステージ

2019年４月、『僕たちのラストステージ』をMovix亀有にて観覧した。最後で涙がこぼれそうなった記憶有り。 

2020年４月、DVDにて再観賞。泣きはしなかったが、また感動した。 

まあまあの人気は博したが、チャップリンのような大物にはなれなかった、実在したお笑いコンビ、ローレル＆ハーディの友情物語。『ジュディ』同様、彼等の晩年のイギリスツアーを描いている。 

喧嘩もするが、強い友情と信頼で結ばれている二人。最後のステージにおける彼等の美しい絆には本当に感動させられた。己れを貫き通してきた彼等、そして、最後まで自分に嘘をつけない彼等。本当に憧れる。 

デブとチビのコンビ。日本で映画化されたら、ホンジャマカが適役だろう。恵俊彰も今やテレビの大物MCだが、映画の主演となれば重い腰を上げるに違いない。

Beauty and the Beast

In April 2020, I watched the Disney live-action movie Beauty and the Beast for the first time on DVD. I first knew the story of it at the same time. 

Heart-warming was how the beast had changed since he met with a village girl named Belle. Disgusting was how arrogantly and selfishly the former soldier Gaston acted. 

The lead, Emma Watson, had debuted in the Harry Potter series and is known as one of the most beautiful actresses in the world. I, however, saw her for the first time and I did not feel that she was really beautiful maybe because I had hardly watched the popular series and as a result I had not emotionally involved with her, unlike her longtime fans. It also might be a matter of preference. Yet I felt that she was acting and singing quite well, so I believe that she is certainly an excellent actress. 

As for the film, I had expected it a lot because all the fans of the film around me had told me that it was wonderful, yet it was not better than I had expected and not better than the Disney animation film Coco that I watched just before then. It was as good as the Disney live-action movie Maleficent and it never bored me through, though. It also interested me in the animated version of it, so it was worth watching it over all. 

Evan McGregor appeared in it. Around the release of it, he allegedly had a difficult time due to his adultery. Basically, I am not interested in the personal matters of the famous persons but when I knew about it recently, I was kind of shocked because I thought of him as clean and pure. After that, I talked about it to a coworker who was a fan of him when she said that it could not have been helped because he is so cool that women around him are likely to fall in love with him and not let him alone. She was absolutely right, but all the same it was still shocking to me. Only they know what is happening between two people, though. By the way, it is said that Evan's present girlfriend is Mary Elizabeth Winstead who he allegedly had an affair with. Both of them appeared in Birds of Prey together where she was pretty and attractive. They must be happy now.

美女と野獣

2020年４月、ディズニー映画『美女と野獣』の実写版をDVDにて初観賞した。『美女と野獣』の物語自体も初めて知った。 

村娘ベルによって野獣が変わっていく様が微笑ましくて、元軍人の傲慢なガストンが醜悪だった。 

主演のエマ・トマソンは、『ハリー・ポッター』シリーズ出演でスターとなり、現在は美人女優との誉れが高い。だが、今回の視聴で初めて観たが、そんなに美しいとは思わなかった。これは好みの問題だろう。歌や演技は上手かった。優秀な女優さんであることは確かだ。

作品に関しては、この映画を推薦してくれた方が周りに大勢いたので期待し過ぎていた感もあるが、この直前に観た『リメンバー・ミー』程は楽しめなかった。それでも、以前観た『マレフィセント』と同じくらい良い映画だと思う。それ程退屈もしなかったし、物語は割と面白かった。アニメ版にも興味が湧いたので、視聴自体は無駄では無かったと思う。 

ユアン・マクレガーも出演。最近知ったが、公開当時、彼は不倫報道やら離婚問題で大変だったらしい。有名人の私生活にあまり興味は無いが、彼のクリーンで純粋そうなイメージから、不倫していたかもしれない事実は、結構ショックだった。だが、彼のファンである同僚の女性にその話をすると、彼女は、彼はカッコいいから周りの女性が放っておかないでしょうと言った。確かにその通りだ。それに、当人同士の問題は当人たちにしか分からないし。だが、それでもショックだった。ちなみに、ユアンの現在の恋人は、不倫相手と噂されたメアリー・エリザベス・ウィンステッド。二人とも『ハーレイ・クインの華麗なる覚醒』に出演していた。彼女は凄くキレイだった。幸せなんだろうな。

Coco

In December 2019, I watched the Disney Pixar animation film Coco on the television set for the first time. It was quite touching. I had thought that it was just a fantasy film which was not so deep, however, it turned out to be really wonderful and far better than I had expected. If I had watched it at a theater, I would have cried. 

In March 2020, I watched it again. I was really moved again. 

The movie is about a boy who desires to be a pro musician and whose families hate music. The boy named Miguel accidentally is transported to the Land of the Death on the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead and he knows the truth about his ancestors there, and then he strives to make his families and himself happy. 

The film is deep and thoughtful, so adults also can appreciate it. Moreover, the story is quite emotional. It is sad that you have to leave a person who is still misunderstanding you. 

I was amazed at how colorful and fantastic the scenery of the Land of the Death was. I would have felt it more magnificent if I had watched it at a theater. Then the skeletal creatures were cheerfully moving in the Land and they were all cute. Although they were the dead, yet they seemed to have no sorrow and sadness. Children would never be scared of them. 

I cannot imagine that human actors lightly play the skeletal creatures, so I believe that the animated version is the better way of telling the story than the live-action version. 

リメンバー・ミー

2019年12月にピクサーのアニメ映画『リメンバー・ミー』をTV画面にて初観賞した。凄く感動した。お気楽なファンタジーだと思っていたから、いい意味で期待を裏切られた。劇場観賞だったら泣いていたかもしれない。 

2020年３月、再観賞。2回目も十分感動出来た。 

音楽を毛嫌いする一族の中で密かにミュージシャンになる夢を抱いている少年ミゲルが、メキシコの祝日である死者の日に、偶然、その死者の国に迷い込んでしまい、そこで彼の祖先の真実を知り、家族の為、そして、自分の夢の為に奮闘する物語。 

大人も楽しめる、深い作品。そして、切ない物語。誤解されたままのお別れって、本当に悲しい。 

死者の国がカラフルで幻想的でとても美しかった。映画館での観賞だったらより壮観だっただろう。そして、死者の国の骸骨達の動きが可愛らしく、死人なのに全く悲愴感が無かった。子供でも普通に楽しめるだろう。 

また、死者の国の骸骨達のあの動きを、俳優達がポップに表現する事を私は想像出来ない。この作品はアニメーションの形態がベストだと思う。 

Sean Connery as 007

In March 2020, I watched the first movie to the fifth in the 007 series on TV. They were released between 1962 and 1967. Although their pictures were old after all, yet the movies were stylish and sophisticated. 

The still slender Sean Connery acted James Bond in the five movies when he was between 32 and 37 years old and did not look middle-aged. Connery's James Bond is cool and randomly have sex with hot women, which made me wonder why he did not suffer from sexual diseases. His Bond must have a super strong immune system. Connery reappeared in the James Bond series when Diamonds Are Forever was released in 1971. He was 41 years old at the release. I watched only the beginning part of it and I felt that he was not young anymore. By the way, the Scottish actor had given Japanese bold guys emotional support as a bold but cool man since he stopped hiding his bold head. I have had close-cropped hair since my hair started to thin but I am not cool at all, unlike Sir Sean Connery. 

I thought that Daniela Bianchi appearing in From Russia with Love was the most beautiful woman among the five films, though I felt that Mie Hama appearing in You Only Live Twice was not far behind from her. 

The action scenes were never compared with the ones of the recent action movies, which is natural because they were shot in the 1960s. I think that they certainly affected the following action movies, though.  

I have never watched movies in the 007 series at a theater. I had watched only Never Say Never Again on DVD because I desired to see the bewitching Kim Basinger at that time. I have loved Basinger and I remember only what a gorgeous lady she was. I have watched some Bond movies starring Roger Moore on TV but I have forgotten about them except that the handsome lead seemed to have kind of slow reflexes. I have not watched other Bond movies. When I heard the new Bond movie would be released in November 2020, I thought that I should watch all of the 007 films before the release. That is why I started to watch movies in the series. 

When I attended an English conversation school, I asked a teacher from Manchester how he thought of the James Bond movies. He said that the movies were their legacy. I do not know how I describe the It is Tough being a Man series that is the highly popular one in Japan. I might be criticized by many Japanese but I like James Bond far more than Torajiro Kuruma who is the main character familiarly called Tora-san.

ショーン・コネリーの007

2020年３月、『007』シリーズの第１作から第５作をTV観賞した。劇場公開は1962年から1967年。さすがに古いがスタイリッシュで洒落ていた。

ジェームズ・ボンドはショーン・コネリー。32歳から37歳まで。若くて痩せててカッコいい。そして、節操も無く美女とセックスしまくっている。性病とか大丈夫なのだろうか。恐らく免疫力が異常に高い設定なのだろう。第７作『ダイヤモンドは永遠に』でボンド役に復帰した時は41歳。数分だけ観たが、さすがに少し老けていた。その後、長い間、カッコいいハゲ男として日本の禿げたオッサン達の心の拠り所となる。私は、髪が薄くなったので数年前から丸坊主にしているが、彼のカッコよさには遠く及ばない。

ボンド・ガールに関しては、第２作のダニエラ・ビンキが一番綺麗だと思う。もちろん、第５作の浜美枝も負けてはいないが。

アクションに関しては、最近の映画と比べたら見劣りする。当然だ。50年以上前の作品。だが、後のアクション映画に多大な影響を与えたのは間違いない。

『007』シリーズの劇場観覧は１度も無い。DVD観賞も『ネバー・セイ・ネバー・アゲイン』だけ。ボンド・ガールがキム・ベイシンガーだったので視聴した。当然のように彼女のセクシーさしか印象に残っていない。ロジャー・ムーアのジェームズ・ボンドはTV放映で何度か観たが、ハンサムであまり運動神経が良くなさそうだった事以外は、あまり記憶に残っていない。その他の『007』は全く観ていないが、最新作が2020年11月に公開予定と聞いて、それまでに全作品を観ようと思い本シリーズを視聴し始めた。

英会話学校で出会ったイギリス人教師に『007』をどう思っているか授業中に尋ねたところ、彼は "legacy" と言っていた。我々日本人は、『男はつらいよ』シリーズを何と表現すればいいのだろう。顰蹙を買うかもしれないが、車寅次郎とジェームズ・ボンドでは圧倒的にボンドの方が好きだ。

One Chance

In March 2020, I watched One Chance on TV. The movie is about a man who exists and won a talent show competition as an opera singer. Speaking of a movie about a competition, I watched Teen Spirit in January that is a fiction and describes the success story of a girl. The girl acted by Elle Fanning was eye-pleasing to me and so pretty that I was never tired of the film through. About One Chance, however, the main character, Paul, was never eye-pleasing because he was fat and seemed dull. The story kind of moved me, though. 

The appearance of James Corden as Paul reminded me Richard in Richard Jewell. Both of them looked similar but their characters are widely different from each other. Richard assumes himself to be always right, yet Paul has no confidence in himself. Both of them would annoy me if they were around me, though I believe that each could cause drama in his life thanks to his unique character. 

The movie was good but did not satisfied me so much. The climax scene did not move me maybe because I had known the result of the competition. I was most impressed when Paul's dad punched a guy in a pub. It really touched me. A fool will be a fool. Anyway, I was moved by the paternal love more than the martial love. 

Alexandra Roach as Julz, Paul's wife, was very charming but she was not quite beautiful, which I think makes the film realistic. Wonderful women do not necessarily look pretty in the real world. Humanity counts for everything in the end, though I think that it is better to be good-looking for both men and women. 

ワン チャンス

2020年３月に映画『ワン チャンス』をTVにて観賞した。オーディションでチャンスを掴む男の物語。実話。オーディションを扱った映画と言えば、若い女の子のサクセス・ストーリーを描いたフィクションの『ティーンスピリット』を思い出す。エル・ファニングが綺麗で可憐だったので全編で見飽きることは無かったが、本作は、冴えない青年の物語だったので眼の保養には全くならなかった。割と感動は出来たが。 

主人公ポールを演じたジェームズ・コーデンの太った容姿から、映画『リチャード・ジュエル』のリチャードを連想した。両作の主人公はいずれも同じ太った体型だが、それぞれの人間性はまるで違う。リチャードは自分が正しいと思い込む質。ポールは自分に自信が無い。どちらも周りにいたら面倒臭い男達。でも、そんな彼等だからこそドラマが生まれたのだろう。 

良い映画だが、何か物足りない。結果が分かっているせいか、オーディションのシーンではそれほど感動しなかった。そんな中、一番心に残っているのは、主人公の父親が酒場で男を殴った場面。スカッとした。クズはいくつになってもクズ。夫婦愛よりも親子愛の方が心に響いた。 

ポールの奥さん役のアレクサンドラ・ローチが、魅力的だけど、典型的な美人女優ではないことが本作をより現実的にしていると思う。現実世界でも、素敵な女性の容姿は普通であることが多い気がする。美しいに越したことはないが、最後にものを言うのは、男女共に人間性だと思う。