For anyone who knows me, I absolutely love Studio Ghibli (Pronounced Jib-Lee,) films. One of them actually features on my top five favourite films of all time. (Which I probably won't review because I couldn't analyse them critically. It'd be like trying to decide which child is your favourite. You just can't do it.)
In any case, the Tale of Princess Kaguya follows the story of a girl who was found in a bamboo stalk. Her adopted family was gifted with beautiful clothes and gold and thus was lead to become nobility.
It's a tale of rags to riches, with a twist.
Story/Dialogue: Having watched this in Japanese dub, I found myself enthralled in the story that I don't think the English dub could have compared to. Each character is well rounded and though you don't really remember most of the names of the characters (The only ones I really remembered were Kaguya and Sutemaru,) each one plays their part perfectly. The story itself is powerful and Kaguya is a fantastic character to follow. She's so earnest but doesn't allow even the Emperor of Japan to walk all over her.
Animation: For those of you who are familiar with Studio Ghibli's works, this was a bold step in a different direction to their other works. Princess Kaguya feels more like a moving storybook, with each of the characters moving with a slow, deliberate grace. It's arguably the most human animation I've ever seen.
Audio: Joe Hisaishi. That guy could make white noise sound beautiful. From the 13 stringed Koto to the fusion of Japanese and Western instruments to the beautiful, sad song that reminds us to live as nature does. It overwhelms you and makes you feel a part of something bigger. It puts a soft light on your inner demons and makes them weep. I have never been more moved than listening to his music.
Overall: This movie was outstanding. From the beautiful animation to the well rounded characters and the passion that went into this movie, I would be doing the world an injustice if I didn't give this movie 5 stars.
Final Thoughts: I feel as though the only reason this movie lost out to Big Hero 6 is because the Western World relates to Big Hero 6 than Princess Kaguya.
Now don't get me wrong. I LOVE Big Hero 6. I won't even review it because I love it so much.
However, I feel that by such a beautiful and intimate piece of culture being set aside for something more familiar, we're doing the movie a disservice. Frankly, it's like taking a cake that someone makes you and smooshing it against their face.
So please, if you haven't seen it, I insist you do.
Feel free to drop me a line and share your thoughts with me on this movie.
What's your favourite Studio Ghibli film??
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Sunday, 22 February 2015
(Movie) A New Kind of Class.....a look at Kingsman: The Secret Service
Never in my life did expect to see the classiness of James Bond combined with the hyper violence of Kick-Ass.
Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin is a young man who excels at everything he does, including getting into trouble. Upon being arrested, he calls the number on the medal his father was honoured with in order to get out of trouble.
Thus Eggsy falls into the world of Kingsman, a high class independent international spy agency.
With that out of the way, let's finish our Guinness and get to the review.
Story/Dialogue: This story was rich with characters that were likeable and charming. Even the villain was hard not to like. One of the most notable things was that the plan was fleshed out gradually. There was no telling of the master plan until close to the end when there wasn't much time.
Eggsy is a ballsy, charming character who thinks on his feet, but his reluctance to trust makes for a well rounded character.
I honestly would have liked to see Roxy have a bit more background, though I can understand why they didn't add that.
The best part was the fact that Eggsy and Roxy's relationship was platonic or at least they saw each other as comrades.
Cinematography: This movie was shot brilliantly. The angles during the fight scenes forced you to the edge of your seat and gave you a grand sense of scale, even in the tiniest of rooms.The colours were rich and intense, the same way Bryan Fuller shoots his tv series. I enjoyed seeing the contrast between hero and villain organisations. Where Valentine's scenes were full of shadows, reds and purples, the Kingsman's headquarters were restrained. Tortoiseshell, greens, golds and woodgrain.
Audio: One of the key things about the audio that I enjoyed was the transition from, 'Bonkers' to something more refined and grand. It really added to Eggsy's character. When the music plays around a character's development and it contrasts to the scene itself, it makes the overall feel all the more intense. Tarantino does that a lot in his films and it was nice to see someone take his approach.
Overall: This movie was astounding. It's hard to critically analyse a movie when you're so immersed in it. You want to like the characters, you want to laugh and you want to sit on the edge of your seat to see what happens next. Sometimes it's not about putting butts on seats, it's about how close to the edge of the seat you can get the audience.
5 stars.
Feel free to comment and discuss and/or fangirl with me about this film.
Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin is a young man who excels at everything he does, including getting into trouble. Upon being arrested, he calls the number on the medal his father was honoured with in order to get out of trouble.
Thus Eggsy falls into the world of Kingsman, a high class independent international spy agency.
With that out of the way, let's finish our Guinness and get to the review.
Story/Dialogue: This story was rich with characters that were likeable and charming. Even the villain was hard not to like. One of the most notable things was that the plan was fleshed out gradually. There was no telling of the master plan until close to the end when there wasn't much time.
Eggsy is a ballsy, charming character who thinks on his feet, but his reluctance to trust makes for a well rounded character.
I honestly would have liked to see Roxy have a bit more background, though I can understand why they didn't add that.
The best part was the fact that Eggsy and Roxy's relationship was platonic or at least they saw each other as comrades.
Cinematography: This movie was shot brilliantly. The angles during the fight scenes forced you to the edge of your seat and gave you a grand sense of scale, even in the tiniest of rooms.The colours were rich and intense, the same way Bryan Fuller shoots his tv series. I enjoyed seeing the contrast between hero and villain organisations. Where Valentine's scenes were full of shadows, reds and purples, the Kingsman's headquarters were restrained. Tortoiseshell, greens, golds and woodgrain.
Audio: One of the key things about the audio that I enjoyed was the transition from, 'Bonkers' to something more refined and grand. It really added to Eggsy's character. When the music plays around a character's development and it contrasts to the scene itself, it makes the overall feel all the more intense. Tarantino does that a lot in his films and it was nice to see someone take his approach.
Overall: This movie was astounding. It's hard to critically analyse a movie when you're so immersed in it. You want to like the characters, you want to laugh and you want to sit on the edge of your seat to see what happens next. Sometimes it's not about putting butts on seats, it's about how close to the edge of the seat you can get the audience.
5 stars.
Feel free to comment and discuss and/or fangirl with me about this film.
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