Ramblings on Cinematic Matters
Next in my Beatles retrospective, I turn to the dazzling Yellow Submarine. When I was a kid, my introduction to the Beatles came from two sources. The first was my older sister, who was a massive Beatles fan in her teenage years. Beyond owning many of the albums, she plastered her room in our house …
Continue reading “Living Beneath the Waves: Yellow Submarine Review”
Here I review the long-awaited new movie from Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron. Returning from the longest of his many pseudo-retirements, Hayao Miyazaki has made his first movie in 10 years, The Boy and the Heron (2023). The much-anticipated movie is a lovely work, boasting all the beauty, grotesqueness, and poignancy we have …
Continue reading “Life, Death, and Life: The Boy and the Heron Review”
Two movies, made almost 30 years apart, offer two different interpretations of the same fanciful, melancholy book. In this review, I look at Night on the Galactic Railroad and Giovanni’s Island. Night on the Galactic Railroad, sometimes also translated as Milky Way Railroad, is a book by schoolteacher, poet, and children’s author Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933). …
UPDATE: I have revised the ranking below to include The Boy and the Heron. When I began this movie blog back in 2019, the first reviewing project I decided to undertake was a retrospective on Studio Ghibli’s work. I must admit I did not expect that (because of my slow work pace and various instances …
Continue reading “The Ghibli Retrospective: Final Rankings and Thoughts“
In the final review of my Ghibli retrospective, I examine the “proto-Ghibli” movie, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Once upon a time, in the bygone era known as the early 1980s, a 40-something Japanese film director and artist named Hayao Miyazaki decided to make a movie. Miyazaki had at the time directed some …
Continue reading “Setting Off into the Unknown: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Review”
Next in my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I turn to the most recent Ghibli movie to date, Earwig and the Witch. Earwig and the Witch (2020) feels like a movie made by some parallel universe version of Studio Ghibli. Recognizable Ghibli characteristics are here: a strong young heroine, a story that blends the domestic and the …
Continue reading “Children Are the Real Monsters: Earwig and the Witch Review“
Next in my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I look at The Red Turtle. Probably the first point to address in reviewing The Red Turtle (2016) is “Does this really count as a Ghibli movie?” My answer: Yes, to me it counts. The movie was co-produced by Studio Ghibli and as such is part of the studio’s …
For the next installment in my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I look at When Marnie Was There. During his time at Studio Ghibli, Hiromasa Yonebayashi carved out an interesting niche for himself. He directed two movies, both based on children’s books by British female authors: The Secret World of Arrietty, an adaptation of Mary Norton’s The …
Continue reading “Ghost of an Idea: When Marnie Was There Review”
Next in my Studio Ghibli retrospective comes The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. I would like to take a moment to talk about Isao Takahata, one of Studio Ghibli’s original founders. Although he has been overshadowed by his more prolific and famous co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, Takahata’s work and life are no less worthy of attention. …
Continue reading “Caught between Two Worlds: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Review”
In the same month that brought the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I examine the life and work of a man who helped make that catastrophic event possible. Next in my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I look at The Wind Rises. Jiro Horikoshi was a Japanese aeronautical engineer who went to work for Mitsubishi in the …
Continue reading “A Head in the Clouds: The Wind Rises Review”
The Cameraman