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Have a Nice Day (Hao Ji Le) Some of the best movies are the ones that feel familiar while telling new stories. Goodfellas is thoroughly distinct from any other mafia film but by including familiar themes about “made men”, it allows us to approach the film from a feeling of familiarity. Revionist Westerns also set new interpretations of stories within a familiar setting. And, of course, it’s even possible to take a fairly similar story and place it within an entirely new landscape (such as Avatar). Have a Nice Day is one of those films that seem as though you’ve seen it before and also, remains like nothing you’ve ever seen before. With a storyline that seems to have been heavily influenced by Tarantino ( Reservoir Dogs, in particular) and an animated style that brings to mind Waltz with Bashir, this is a movie that certainly springs out of familiar territory. But influences are only tangential, and the final product is wholly original. It’s a film set in a bleak ind...