Toku's blog for movies

  🎬 Reviewer's Take on “The Andromeda Strain” (1971) Robert Wise’s The Andromeda Strain is a cerebral, elegantly executed science fiction thriller that still resonates, more than 50 years after its release. Directed by the genre-hopping maestro behind Citizen Kane (as editor), West Side Story , and The Sound of Music , Wise brings his clinical eye and artistic restraint to a story that unfolds with scientific precision and apocalyptic dread. 📖 Literary Origins and Crichton's Vision Based on Michael Crichton's debut novel, originally published as The Andromeda Strain , the film is a model of speculative fiction grounded in biomedical realism. Crichton—a polymath who studied anthropology and later medicine—crafted the novel in his late twenties with such academic depth that Harvard later awarded him an honorary M.D. for its rigor. It’s a rare specimen: a novel cloaked in the format of a peer-reviewed medical paper, bristling with citations yet pulsing with suspense. ...

 **Film Review: "The Citadel" (1938)** In 1938, MGM brought to the silver screen *The Citadel*, a black-and-white adaptation of A.J. Cronin’s acclaimed novel published just a year prior. Directed by the distinguished King Vidor and filmed in the United Kingdom, the movie garnered significant critical acclaim, winning Best Picture from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle. Despite four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, it ultimately left the ceremony without a win — a near-miss that speaks more to the competition of the year than to the film’s inherent quality. **Synopsis**   The story follows Andrew Manson, a young, idealistic doctor portrayed with heartfelt sincerity by Robert Donat. Upon graduating from medical school, Manson is assigned to a struggling mining town in Wales. With earnest dedication, he engages with the miners and townsfolk, confronting the harsh realities of public health and labor conditions.   Th...

 Do you know the movie *Men In Black* (1997)? It is a thrilling comedy sci-fi film in which actor Tommy Lee Jones, who became widely known for playing strange aliens in a canned coffee commercial, teams up with Will Smith to face off against evil extraterrestrials. The term "Men In Black" does not refer to men dressed in black suits as the phrase might literally suggest, but instead refers to officers who are assigned to protective or security duties and wear black suits as uniforms. For example, in *Roman Holiday*, there is a scene where black-suited officers, dispatched from the home country to search for the missing princess, get off a plane in a large group, causing the princess's military attaché to lament, "I told you to come quietly." During a shipboard dance party at Castel Sant'Angelo, the captain finds the princess, but a big brawl ensues. In *The Matrix*, all the agents, including Agent Smith, played by Hugo Weaving, are also dressed in black suit...

  Is Totoro a “Rabbit” or an “Owl”? Among the New Year’s cards I received January 2023(Zodiac sign was a rabbit) , there was one with Totoro printed right in the center. Perhaps because I’d been staring at pictures of rabbits for a long time, I started wondering if Totoro might have some “rabbit-like” qualities. There’s a popular theory about Totoro’s true identity. In an interview, director Hayao Miyazaki revealed that during the production of My Neighbor Totoro, the staff nicknamed the large Totoro “Miminzuku” (a type of owl), the medium-sized one “Zuku,” and the smallest one “Min.” This led to the widespread idea that Totoro is based on a “miminzuku,” or owl. However, Totoro has no wings, can’t fly on its own (though it rides a spinning top), has teeth instead of a beak, and features whiskers, hands, and a round tail. This leaves some people scratching their heads, wondering, “How is this an owl?” On the other hand, the parts that look like Totoro’s ears might actually be t...

  Captain Corelli's Mandolin I’d like to introduce a film that isn’t very well-known: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin . Directed by John Madden, who also helmed Shakespeare in Love , and starring Nicolas Cage and Penélope Cruz, this movie was released in 2001. It’s a shame that the film didn’t receive high acclaim, especially since its source material is a novel by Louis de Bernières, published in the UK in 1993. The book became an instant bestseller, with one in twenty people said to have read it. In the final scene of the movie Notting Hill , Hugh Grant’s bookstore owner is seen reading this novel on a park bench while Julia Roberts, playing a pregnant character, rests her head on his lap. Over seven years, it sold more than two million copies and was published in 26 countries. Coinciding with the film’s release, a Japanese translation was published in 2001. The Story The narrative is based on a real event during World War II on the Greek island of Kefalonia, where 117 Italian sold...

"Vivien" When you hear the name "Vivien" in a movie context, who comes to mind? Most people would think of Vivien Leigh from the classic " Gone with the Wind ." Some might even think of Vivien Hsu. However, the focus here is not on a woman. It's on a man named Vivien Thomas . You may be familiar with actor Alan Rickman . He played Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series and gained worldwide recognition. I first knew Alan Rickman from "Die Hard," where he played the villain falling backward off a building. As I was researching Alan Rickman, I came across his role as Professor Alfred Blalock. Intrigued, I searched for more information related to medical films. I found several interesting websites and, to my luck, discovered the full version of the movie " Something the Lord Made " on YouTube. Vivien Thomas' mother wished for a daughter and even picked out a girl's name while pregnant. When a boy was born, they named him Vi...