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Post by angilasman on Mar 25, 2010 15:59:34 GMT -5
I just rented and watched Ponyo. Ummm ... To be honest, I didn't like it. Maybe it loses something in its English conversion, but I just couldn't relate to it. The characters were obnoxious and it did start to get boring. Also, I think they glossed over Liam Neeson's character's desire to execute the genocide of humans. Also, that ending credit's song is just grating. It's a creative interpretation of "The Little Mermaid", but it didn't strike a chord with me. I think Ponyo is my least favorite Miyazaki film so far - I actually think it's a very good film, but it's audience is clearly very young children, and while other films he's done can be enjoyed from both a young and adult viewpoint this one is targeted, IMO, solely at the kiddies. - but I still enjoy it, and from a technical viewpoint it's quite an achievement.
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Post by Dangus on May 25, 2010 17:52:54 GMT -5
Lupin. Definitely. While not his most original work, (Lupin was a manga character before), it's still his best. The artwork is awesome, the characters are awesome... Everything, just... Awesome...
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Post by Birdgirl90 on May 31, 2010 19:30:45 GMT -5
I love Kiki's Delivery Service. It is, hands down, one of my favorite movies.
Why I like it: it's about a young woman who has to come into her own and find her way. It addresses the problem of feeling like a social misfit, and how you can, in fact, find a place to belong.
These are things I can relate to. Plus, Jiji is awesome (who doesn't want a talking cat?), and I love the characters of Tombo and Osono. Kiki herself is a well-written character who goes through personal growth during the movie, allowing us to see her character progress, which I also love.
All around, I love Kiki's Delivery Service.
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Post by braindeadzombie on Jun 12, 2010 11:08:13 GMT -5
From checking the list, it turns out I've seen all of Miyazaki's movies somehow. That seems kind of freaky to me for some reason because I didn't set out to watch them all; It was all coincidental over a decade and a half. Anyway, my favorite is Porco Rosso.
Poroc Rosso: You'll believe a pig can really fly. No, really. A movie that can combine fascism, flying, sexual politics, meaningless heroics with a hint of fairy tale while still retaining a certain sense of fantastic realism is nothing short of remarkable. Also, I really loved the ending.
Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Nausicaa also top the list with My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke being on the bottom.
Yes, I liked Ponyo more than the other two. You haven't seen everything until you've seen a five year old tadpole-goldfish girl running on a tsunami. Weird, so weird...
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Post by angilasman on Jun 12, 2010 16:19:48 GMT -5
Has this entire thread gone by without me talking about how great Hayao Miyazaki's wonderful 7-volume comic book version of Nausicaa is?
It's really quite an extraordinary work. Miyazaki worked on it off-and-on (between his films) for 12 years. I love his film version (a heavily revised version of the plot of the first two books), but the comic is much more complex and rewarding.
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Post by spackle on Jun 12, 2010 18:03:00 GMT -5
Has this entire thread gone by without me talking about how great Hayao Miyazaki's wonderful 7-volume comic book version of Nausicaa is? It's really quite an extraordinary work. Miyazaki worked on it off-and-on (between his films) for 12 years. I love his film version (a heavily revised version of the plot of the first two books), but the comic is much more complex and rewarding. I didn't even know such a thing existed. I must have them! Thanks, angilasman!
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Post by angilasman on Jun 15, 2010 13:21:22 GMT -5
^No problem. And your Baba Yaga avatar promts me to ask if you have this book: www.amazon.com/Russian-Fairy-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394730909I'm going to order it. It's from the mid-1800s and was Russia's answer to Germany's Brothers Grimm. It contains tons of Baba Yaga tales and included the stories adapted into The Sword and the Dragon and Jack Frost. Ghibli's new film is based on The Burrowers. I remember that story from childhood - not the book, but I remember seeing some of the movies and cartoons based on it.
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Post by spackle on Jun 15, 2010 20:16:31 GMT -5
Looks like a good one, angilasman! I got some good laughs just reading through the table of contents. As you say, they sound familiar. I also recognize titles from some other Russian films I've seen, like Vasilisa the Beautiful. I was surprised to not see Viy in the contents or index, he's a Russian demon with his own movie. But the movie is more about a novice priest than the demon. Good movie, anyway.
I'm adding this to my book buying list. Thanks again. ;D
The Burrowers or the Borrowers? I've heard of the Borrowers. But I think I have some of the Burrowers in my garden.
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Post by angilasman on Jun 16, 2010 9:33:02 GMT -5
^Oh, sorry "Borrowers," the little people that live under the floor boards.
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Post by jackbauer on Jun 18, 2010 22:00:55 GMT -5
Anyone notice the Totoro plush toy in Toy Story 3? Miyazaki even gets a "special thanks" shout-out in the end credits. Pretty cool.
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Post by angilasman on Jun 19, 2010 16:58:43 GMT -5
^Yeah, Totoro's in several scenes. I bet kids in Japan love that because he's like their Winnie the Pooh.
Toy Story 3 is fantastic, btw.
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Post by ilmatto on Jun 21, 2010 0:38:12 GMT -5
^Yeah, Totoro's in several scenes. I bet kids in Japan love that because he's like their Winnie the Pooh. You're right; I live in Japan and Totoro/Catbus stuffed toys are everywhere even though it's been a while since the movie has been released. You also see a lot of stuffed Jiji cat toys from Kiki's Delivery Service.
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Post by Trumpy's Magic Snout on Jul 1, 2010 16:35:40 GMT -5
I plumped for Totoro just over Spirited Away and Castle of Cagliostro, one of my favourite films as a kid I only realised it was Miyazaki later on.
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Post by angilasman on Jul 1, 2010 17:51:47 GMT -5
^I wish I'd seen Miyazaki films as a kid. I was already a teen when I saw Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service.
I became a super-fan in early 2006 when TCM had its month long Miyazaki tribute hosted by Pixar's John Lasseter. Once a week they showed two Miyazaki directed (or produced) films. They were dubbed during prime time and then were immediatley re-aired in their original language with subtitles.
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Post by The Mad Plumber on Jul 13, 2010 1:36:12 GMT -5
There is one thing I want to vent about that I might elaborate on should I write a full review.
Generally, I consider Spirited Away to be a pretty good film, though there is not a particular strong connection for me with it and I feel it's highly overrated. Here's my problem, though: in all the reviews I've seen, not one critic brings up the blatant product placement within, and if they do, they do it in a gushing manner to applaud Miyazaki. The obvious one is the Audi which has its label clearly detailed for the audience to see, and not to mention how the father boasts about his four-wheel drive. Furthermore, I caught a Bridgestone Tires station clearly displayed and there's also that candy that Lin is tossing to the soot ball creatures. I'm paying full price for a film and I'm still getting commercials, and no critics are willing to bring this up.
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