Last Life in the Universe
Firstly, if you hate subtitled movies, steer clear of this one. On second thought, if I had to recommend one subtitled movie where you would do as little reading as possible, it would be this one. “Last Man in the Universe” is a VERY quiet Thai film. That silence is not a bad thing in this movie. It adds to the loneliness of the main character, Kenji. There is also enough dialogue in this movie to keep you interested and well informed.
This movie is about a man, Kenji, that wants to kill himself (very Seven Pound-ish, I know). He is a Japanese man living in Thailand. He explains that he wants to die simply to be at peace, not to escape anything. The movie starts off with Kenji standing on a stack of books with a noose wrapped around his neck. His yakuza brother rings the doorbell, disrupting Kenji from escaping to his eternal bliss. The movie goes on and eventually Kenji tries to jump off a bridge. This leads to an unexpected tragedy for someone else. This tragedy (along with others) connects him with a girl (Noi) who he ultimately develops a friendship with. This is basically the main focus of the movie. This movie does an excellent job on developing the relationship between these two people. The overall feel of this movie and their relationship is very similar to Lost in Translation.
This movie is not all great. I was loving this movie up until the end. It is way to ambiguous for more to love. I like to have some kind of closure in a movie. It’s not like the movie ends prematurely, it’s more like the ending is too open to debate. There is no TRUE end to the movie. Some interpretations to the ending will leave you wondering if you can trust the script. I would love to go further in depth about it but I don’t want to ruin it for people wanting to watch it.
The main parts of the movie coupled with the end make me give this a score of a 7.5 it’s worth a watch, but I wouldn’t bend over backwards to see it. It apparently has a following of worshipers so I would not be mad if you disagreed with me.
Score: 7.5/10
Download or Buy: Download
Outside of “Maps” and Karen-O’s song in that shoe commercial, I haven’t been too exposed to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. After stumbling over their new single “Zero” I knew I had to listen to the album; and I was sure rewarded for that. To fans of this band, this new album being good comes as no surprise.
This album has a mixture of high-energy songs (“Heads Will Roll”, “Dull Life”) and relaxing songs (“Soft Shock”, “Hysteric”). The quality of this album starts out high and stays that way throughout the album. It seems to have its techno infused moments while still being hard enough to be considered rock. I can only describe the album’s overall sound as “dance-rock”. Labeling it as such is kind of a disservice to the album because it doesn’t succeed in just making dance songs. “Runaway” is a sad sounding song about a lost love (hardly dance-worthy). Lead singer Karen-O complimented the rest of the band, who provide enough skill to where they don’t get outshined by her.
Simply put, this album is addictive. It is catchy enough to grab the ear of the casual listener yet its deep metaphors are good enough to keep even the pickiest of listeners coming back for more. This album seems to have a personally of its own and I would imagine it would be hard to find another album that sounds exactly like it.
Best Songs: Heads Will Roll, Soft Shock, Hysteric
Score: 8/10
Download or Buy: Buy!
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THIS BLOG: Reviews on movies, music, and video games. If a reader wants me to review a specific M,M, or G, I'll be sure to do so. Also, If someone wants me to post of of their reviews on here be sure to email me.
I have a deep love for music and video games (and I'm growing a soft spot for movies). For as long as I can remember, I've always been recommending music, movies, and games to people. I now have a reputation for having great recommendations so I figured I'd start a blog.
I wont be reviewing every new movie, album, or video game that is released, but I will give my honest opinion on the ones I do see.