Anime

Princess Mononoke

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Princess Mononoke
  • IMDb: link

When I first saw Princess Mononoke more than 25 years ago I thought it was weird, but a very pretty and visually striking film. Rereleased into theaters in a remastered 4K version, the film still looks terrific. Credited with helping to elevate anime to a new level and discussion as a serious art form, Princess Mononoke remains a favorite of many, including influencing several modern-day filmmakers. Sadly, it’s still a little too weird for me with emotional beats that don’t always hit their mark.

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The Great Films – My Neighbor Totoro

/ / Home Video
  • Title: My Neighbor Totoro
  • IMDb: link

Universally regarded as one of the best animated films of all time, 1988’s My Neighbor Totoro follows 10 year-old Satsuki Kusakabe (Noriko Hidaka | Dakota Fanning) and 4 year-old Mei Kusakabe (Chika Sakamoto | Elle Fanning) on an amazing adventure after the move to the countryside with their father Tatsuo (Shigesato Itoi | Tim Daly). Shortly after arriving, the girls discover their new home is different finding dust spites in the house. Mei later follows two more unusual characters through the woods where she encounters the slumbering Totoro who more fascinates the young girl than scares her.

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The Boy and the Heron

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Boy and the Heron
  • IMDb: link

The Boy and the Heron

The latest from writer/director Hayao Miyazaki follows a familiar formula of a child dragged into an unusual and magical world. Based on experiences Miyazaki had as a child with loss, the film is a personal one for him with a message of striving to overcome grief and loss and the growth from childhood into adulthood by learning to unselfishly care for others.

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One Piece – Tell No Tales / The Pirates are Coming

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: One Piece – Tell No Tales / The Pirates are Coming
  • wiki: link | link

One Piece - Tell No Tales / The Pirates are Coming

The third and fourth episodes of Netflix’s One Piece center around our trio making landfall in the port of Syrup Village after their existing boat begins to sink. The episodes introduce an important new character in Usopp (Jacob Romero) who apparently has lived on the streets since his mother died and is a general menace in his constant crying wolf of arriving pirates to the point when pirates do arrive at the port no one will believe him. However, it’s not the Straw Pirates Usopp is afraid of but the group led by Kuro (Alexander Maniatis) which is hiding as the wait staff of his friend Kaya (Celeste Loots) planning to kill her on her next birthday and steal her wealth. Given the situation even Nami (Emily Rudd) decides it would be in bad taste to steal from Kaya and instead, surprisingly for her, she makes a new friend.

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One Piece – The Man in the Straw Hat

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: One Piece – The Man in the Straw Hat
  • wiki: link

One Piece - The Man in the Straw Hat

While the main storyline features Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), Nami (Emily Rudd), and Zoro (Mackenyu) being taken prisoner by the clown pirate Buggy (Jeff Ward), the episode’s title comes from the flashbacks to young Luffy’s relationship with Shanks (Peter Gadiot) and the series of events which led the pirate to leave his hat with him (and provide the episode with its most notable CGI sequence). The big top pirates fit right in with the wackiness that we’ve seen and working to escape them helps bring Luffy, Nami, and Zoro closer together (although one is keeping a rather large secret from the others).

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