Average Rating:

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Howl's Moving Castle [2005]

starring: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey, Pete Docter

January 01, 2007
The action of Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated fantasy takes place in an undetermined place and age, though it looks like the late 19th century (allowing for a number of anachronistic details) in a Central European kingdom (the Austro Hungarian empire of the time seems the country where the action takes place, and the book happens in a place called Ingary, though the kingdom in the movie has a large port by the sea, which the Austro Hungarian empire didn't). The story starts with a young woman called Sophie working in a hat factory who is suddenly turned into a 90 year woman through a curse by some witch. She then tries to meet the wizard Howl, to see if he can help her. As it later turns out, Howl faces some curses of its own. The story soon ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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Spirited Away [2003]

starring: Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, Kirk Wise

March 29, 2004
My 7 & 10 year olds love this and watch it lots. I was pleasantly surprised as it is not the usual box office, Disney wonder. I first heard of it when Jonathon Ross raved about it. He was right - the animation is great and the story is quite interesting (to me) and fascinating (to my children). Nice to see eastern cartoons that are not just kungfu rubbish, but are well thought-out.

Average Rating:

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Kirikou And The Sorceress [2002]

starring: Theo Sebeko, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Kombisile Sangweni, Antoinette Kellermann, Atsuko Asano
directed by: Michel Ocelot

December 01, 2003
The sweet-natured Kirikou and the Sorceress, is a French animated movie drawing on a West African tale that has an authenticity The Lion King lacks. The diminutive, preternaturally wise hero talks in his mother's womb, cuts his own umbilical cord and proceeds to save the village from an oppressive sorceress. The two-dimensional drawings with the characters usually in profile look like folk art and have the feel of a children's book. The attractive score is by the Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour.
By the way, watch the original French version which adapts itselt to Westren African based accents as opposed to the dubbed English version which incorporates a broader range of African accents.

Average Rating:

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Howl's Moving Castle [2005]

starring: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey, Pete Docter

March 13, 2006
The action of Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated fantasy takes place in an undetermined place and age, though it looks like the late 19th century (allowing for a number of anachronistic details) in a Central European kingdom (the Austro Hungarian empire of the time seems the country where the action takes place, and the book happens in a place called Ingary, though the kingdom in the movie has a large port by the sea, which the Austro Hungarian empire didn't). The story starts with a young woman called Sophie working in a hat factory who is suddenly turned into a 90 year woman through a curse by some witch. She then tries to meet the wizard Howl, to see if he can help her. As it later turns out, Howl faces some curses of its own. The story soon becomes very convoluted, ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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Survive Style 5+

starring: Tadanobu Asano, Reika Hashimoto, Kyôko Koizumi, Hiroshi Abe, Ittoku Kishibe
directed by: Gen Sekiguchi

May 29, 2006
This is one of the few times reviews and straplines have not lied when they say "You will never have seen anything like this". This film is truly original. I admit that maybe the fact there are five interlinking stories is similar to Magnolia, The Player and Pulp Fiction, but the content of these stories is so insane you would only ever encounter them in an arthouse short film. This film however has far more budget and talent than that.

You can enjoy this film purely for visual reasons. Each shot is beautifully sculpted and the sets are amazing. Asano's house is probably the visual highlight, at times sophisticated and at times garish, but never less than eyecatching.

The acting talent on display is also top level. Asano of course keeps ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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The Great Yokai War [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Chiaki Kuriyama, Bunta Sugawara, Kaho Minami
directed by: Takashi Miike

September 12, 2006
This is one of the few times reviews and straplines have not lied when they say "You will never have seen anything like this". This film is truly original. I admit that maybe the fact there are five interlinking stories is similar to Magnolia, The Player and Pulp Fiction, but the content of these stories is so insane you would only ever encounter them in an arthouse short film. This film however has far more budget and talent than that.

You can enjoy this film purely for visual reasons. Each shot is beautifully sculpted and the sets are amazing. Asano's house is probably the visual highlight, at times sophisticated and at times garish, but never less than eyecatching.

The acting talent on display is also top level. Asano of course keeps ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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Howl's Moving Castle [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

starring: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey, Pete Docter

March 07, 2006
The action of Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated fantasy takes place in an undetermined place and age, though it looks like the late 19th century (allowing for a number of anachronistic details) in a Central European kingdom (the Austro Hungarian empire of the time seems the country where the action takes place, and the book happens in a place called Ingary, though the kingdom in the movie has a large port by the sea, which the Austro Hungarian empire didn't). The story starts with a young woman called Sophie working in a hat factory who is suddenly turned into a 90 year woman through a curse by some witch. She then tries to meet the wizard Howl, to see if he can help her. As it later turns out, Howl faces some curses of its own. The story soon becomes very convoluted, almost impossible ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Kirikou And The Sorceress

starring: Theo Sebeko, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Kombisile Sangweni, Antoinette Kellermann, Atsuko Asano
directed by: Michel Ocelot

December 01, 2003
The sweet-natured Kirikou and the Sorceress, is a French animated movie drawing on a West African tale that has an authenticity The Lion King lacks. The diminutive, preternaturally wise hero talks in his mother's womb, cuts his own umbilical cord and proceeds to save the village from an oppressive sorceress. The two-dimensional drawings with the characters usually in profile look like folk art and have the feel of a children's book. The attractive score is by the Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour.
By the way, watch the original French version which adapts itselt to Westren African based accents as opposed to the dubbed English version which incorporates a broader range of African accents.

Average Rating:

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March of the Penguins/Duma [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

starring: Charles Berling, Romane Bohringer, Jules Sitruk, Morgan Freeman, Ryunosuke Kamiki
directed by: Luc Jacquet, Carroll Ballard

October 10, 2006
The sweet-natured Kirikou and the Sorceress, is a French animated movie drawing on a West African tale that has an authenticity The Lion King lacks. The diminutive, preternaturally wise hero talks in his mother's womb, cuts his own umbilical cord and proceeds to save the village from an oppressive sorceress. The two-dimensional drawings with the characters usually in profile look like folk art and have the feel of a children's book. The attractive score is by the Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour.
By the way, watch the original French version which adapts itselt to Westren African based accents as opposed to the dubbed English version which incorporates a broader range of African accents.

Average Rating:

.

Howl's Moving Castle [2005]

starring: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey, Pete Docter


The action of Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated fantasy takes place in an undetermined place and age, though it looks like the late 19th century (allowing for a number of anachronistic details) in a Central European kingdom (the Austro Hungarian empire of the time seems the country where the action takes place, and the book happens in a place called Ingary, though the kingdom in the movie has a large port by the sea, which the Austro Hungarian empire didn't). The story starts with a young woman called Sophie working in a hat factory who is suddenly turned into a 90 year woman through a curse by some witch. She then tries to meet the wizard Howl, to see if he can help her. As it later turns out, Howl faces some curses of its own. The story soon becomes very convoluted, almost impossible to follow ... Read More: