I really like the central concept here, drawing a hazy contrast between a fleeting relationship and the aftermath of the horrific bombing of Hiroshima as a way to explore how we're forever unable to escape the destructive events of the past because they continue to haunt the present. Lingering despair causing cycles of heartache, memories to distort and commitment to cease; most effectively demonstrated with the striking opening monologue interlaced with images of devastation and Emmanuelle Riva's poignant performance. Sadly,…

Starting to think that I'm just not a big fan of Orson Welles because I found this to be mildly diverting fluff in all honesty. Reading that his original vision was butchered in post-production comes as no surprise (it's basically his directorial trademark, sadly) as the entire narrative feels jumbled in a way that doesn't evoke the kind of mystery or tension that was probably intended. It's packed with the types of twists and double-crosses that you'd expect from the…

On one hand, it is quite refreshing to look back on a big-budget film that is so clearly someone's idiosyncratic vision and full of passionate filmmaking, espeically in the current climate of blockbusters made by committee. On the other hand, I'm still bewildered that this feels like the longest film ever made when it's barely 3 hours long. I honestly feel like I had a birthday while watching this thing. It's obvious that Peter Jackson was given carte blanche on…

Given how well worn this type of material is, I feel that Train to Busan plays things a little too safe to leave much of an impression. I could forgive the lack of inventiveness on concepts we've seen many times before such as quick zombies or action on transportation if the characters were strong, but they're all so rigidly cliched that I struggled to get invested in their plight which deadened most of the emotional impact. It also doesn't help…