In the next installment of my Zhang Yimou retrospective, I look at Ju Dou. After his directorial debut of Red Sorghum, Zhang Yimou made a thriller, Codename Cougar (1989), which he co-directed with Yang Fengliang. Codename Cougar is not, as far as I can tell, available with English subtitles, so I have had to skip …
Tag Archives: Reviews
Stylish but Muddled: Black Widow Review
I review a Marvel movie for the first time, with a look at Black Widow! Michael Caine’s first starring role was in a spy thriller called The Ipcress File. According to Caine, the movie’s director was so dissatisfied with the screenplay that he made a point of publicly burning it on set. To compensate for …
The Anti-Hero’s Journey: Tales from Earthsea Review
Next in my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I turn to the not-quite-beloved Tales from Earthsea. Back in the 1980s, Peter Hyams wrote and directed a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Titled 2010: The Year We Make Contact, the sequel provided a follow-up to the basic events of the original movie but was …
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Various Guises: The King of Masks Review
Having been recommended the movie by a friend, I recently watched The King of Masks. Here’s the review! The King of Masks (1996), directed by Wu Tianming from a screenplay by Chen Wengui, introduces us to Wang, an older man who makes a living as a wandering street performer in China’s Sichuan province in the …
A Beautiful Contraption: Howl’s Moving Castle Review
Next in my Studio Ghibli retrospective comes Howl’s Moving Castle. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, boasts perhaps the most memorable opening shot of any Ghibli movie. We open with a near-blank screen, as the frame is filled with fog that shrouds the landscape. Through the mist, the silhouette of some …
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Amateur Dramatics: The Trial of the Chicago 7 Review
I generally do a poor job of keeping up with Oscar nominees, but I did recently catch (because the subject matter interests me) one of this year’s Best Picture nominees, The Trial of the Chicago 7. Here, a few days before the Academy Awards, I add my own small contribution to the related commentary. Dwight …
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Taking a Catnap: The Cat Returns Review
Next in my Ghibli retrospective, I look at The Cat Returns. The Cat Returns (2002), directed by Hiroyuki Morita and written by Reiko Yoshida, marks the beginning of an interesting new phase in Studio Ghibli’s work and hence in my retrospective of Ghibli movies. The studio’s previous movie, Spirited Away, was a turning point in …
A World Transformed: Spirited Away Review
Continuing with my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I turn to the Big One: Spirited Away. Among Studio Ghibli’s movies, Spirited Away (2001) is the crown jewel. Certainly it is the most commercially successful movie the studio ever produced, grossing over 30 million yen and standing for almost 20 years as the top-grossing movie in Japanese history …
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All in the Family: My Neighbors the Yamadas Review
Next in my Studio Ghibli retrospective, I look at My Neighbors the Yamadas. Imagine the kind of single-panel cartoon made famous by the New Yorker. Such cartoons are typically ironic, perhaps somewhat satirical, and, above all, elliptical. The limitations imposed by one drawing with a caption often require you, the reader, to fill in the …
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A Myth Realized on Screen: Princess Mononoke Review
I continue my Studio Ghibli retrospective with a look at the outstanding Princess Mononoke. “This book is like lightning from a clear sky…[I]n it heroic romance, gorgeous, eloquent, and unashamed, has suddenly returned…here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron; here is a book that will break your heart.” The passage …
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The Cameraman 