Continuing with my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I turn to Porco Rosso. The opening shots of Porco Rosso (1992), written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, are a masterclass in economical storytelling. We begin with a shot of a blue sky, glimpsed from within a ravine. The camera tilts down the ravine cliffs to reveal a small …
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Going Back to School: Only Yesterday Review
Who says animated movies can’t be subtle, character-based dramas? I continue my Studio Ghibli retrospective with a review of Only Yesterday. Some moments in our lives can take on an importance far beyond what any objective measure would suggest. This is especially true in childhood, because children lack perspective and minor incidents can be rapturous …
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The New Girl in Town: Kiki’s Delivery Service Review
Years before anyone had ever heard of Harry Potter, Studio Ghibli provided its own tale of a magical, broomstick-riding adolescent. I continue my Ghibli retrospective with Kiki’s Delivery Service. The most outlandish stories can move us emotionally. A reader or viewer might never have experienced magic or journeyed to other worlds or otherwise had the …
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Childhood Magic: My Neighbor Totoro Review
Having previously been called upon, by my Studio Ghibli retrospective, to review one of the saddest movies I have ever seen, I am now called upon to review one of the most delightful. My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was released by Studio Ghibli in 1988. The movie notoriously appeared on a double bill …
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Down and Out in Shinjuku: Tokyo Godfathers Review
Recently remastered and released into theaters, Tokyo Godfathers provides a darkly surreal take on a familiar genre. The body of Christmas-themed movies is so large and diverse that I hesitate to describe any such movie as “unique.” While it might not be unique, however, as Christmas movies go, Tokyo Godfathers (2003) is certainly unusual. An …
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A Not-So-Happy Disposition: Emma Review
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” Today, I look at the latest cinematic version of Jane Austen’s Emma! Groucho Marx supposedly …
Innocents in Wartime: Grave of the Fireflies Review
Continuing with my retrospective on Studio Ghibli films, I turn to Grave of the Fireflies (1988). Released two years after Studio Ghibli’s debut feature Castle in Sky, Grave of the Fireflies is quite the contrast to Hayao Miyazaki’s rollicking science fiction adventure. Written and directed by Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, from a novel by Akiyuki …
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Stormy Adolescence: Weathering with You Review
Probably the most crucial moment in Weathering with You, the latest animated feature from Japanese auteur Makoto Shinkai, comes relatively late, during a conversation between two secondary characters. One, a gruff police detective perhaps in his 50s, admits his secret envy of Hodaka, the movie’s 16-year-old protagonist. The boy may be a runaway from home …
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Bringing the Saga to a Close: The Rise of Skywalker Review
For the first time on the Cameraman blog, I am reviewing a new release. And this is not just any new release, but the final chapter in the biggest movie series of them all. Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, directed by J. J. Abrams, aims to bring the 42-year saga of the …
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Cold War Intrigue in Berlin: Bridge of Spies Review
The Berlin Wall came down 30 years ago this fall. To mark the anniversary, let’s look at a movie that takes us all the way back to the days when the Wall was being built, Bridge of Spies (2015), directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Matt Charman and Joel and Ethan Coen. In …
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