Your Name Film Review

by The Wanderer

Director: Makoto Shinkai
Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi
MPAA Rating: PG
Length: 107 Minutes

Your name is ...

Mitsuha a high school girl from rural Itomori Japan, and Taki a high school boy from Tokyo, begin to intermittently switch bodies when they fall asleep at night and begin to dream.

The Wind Rises Film Review

by The Wanderer

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Hideaki Anno, Miori Takimoto
Series: Studio Ghibli
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 126 Minutes

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In Search Of Cursed Dreams

Jiro Horikoshi has been fascinated with airplanes since his youth. His dreams of flying are crushed by his poor eyesight, and instead he decides to become the next best thing: an airplane designer.

Princess Mononoke Film Review

by The Wanderer

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Cast: Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Akihiro Miwa, Mitsuko Mori, Hisaya Morishige

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Length: 133 minutes

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To See With Eyes Unclouded By Hate

Princess Mononoke is the result of many years of hard work by Studio Ghibli founder and director Hayao Miyazaki – and that hard work shows itself, especially with its animation.  Studio Ghibli has always set the bar high in terms of animation with their 2D films, but Princess Mononoke is the most visually astounding of the lot.

While the animation is brilliant, the plot also excels with a story that looks to find compromise between humans and nature.  At times though the film’s lack of subtlety with its ideologies starts to make it sound preachy, and that can be a nuisance.  Nevertheless, Princess Mononoke is another top notch film by one of Japan’s greatest animation studios.

Grave of the Fireflies Film Review

by The Wanderer

Director: Isao Takahata

Cast: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi

MPAA Rating: No Rating

Length: 89 minutes

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Why Must Fireflies Die So Young?

If you remember watching Bambi’s mother getting shot and the feelings that came with that – the holding of your breath, the pangs in your heart, the tears in your eyes – well loop those feelings for an hour and half and that’s basically what you feel like when you watch Grave of the Fireflies.

Requiem for a Dream, Schindler’s List, and only a few other films in the history of filmmaking could be considered as depressing as this movie.  The story, based off real life events, follows two orphaned children in Japan during the final months of World War 2.  Even though viewers will know how the film ends 60 seconds into watching it, Grave of the Fireflies will still devastate you.

The Iron Giant Film Review

by The_Wanderer

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Eli Marienthal, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney

MPAA Rating: PG

Length: 87 minutes.

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Duck and Cover

Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, and Vin Diesel decide to make a film … and against all odds it turns out to be brilliant.  I never would have never believed it was possible, but this film proves my theory wrong.

The Iron Giant will nuke your childhood.  It’s sentimental exploration of life, death, choices, and humanity is done with beautiful simplicity. This hour and half animated film is considered one of the best animated films ever made, and for good reason, too. It should be watched by everyone.