Ponyo 2008

     Sosuke is five years old and he lives on an ocean side cliff with his mother Lisa.  His father is a sailor and sometimes he needs to take extra shifts at sea.  Sosuke heads to the edge of the water to play with his boat and it’s designed just like the boat his father sails.  He rescues a beautiful goldfish trapped in a glass bottle and he names her Ponyo.  She isn’t an ordinary goldfish, she is the daughter of a wizard and a sea goddess.  She is still very young but she uses some of her father’s powerful elixir to turn herself into a young girl.  She doesn’t realize she has caused an imbalance in the world by using this magic.  The moon is drawing nearer to the earth and Ponyo’s father has sent mighty waves to find her.  The small village has never seen the ocean in such turmoil and there is heavy rain. 

     There is a lot of imagination and artistry in this film.  The ocean is very alive and the debris of human civilization is threatening the creatures and the water.  Ponyo is trapped in a bottle left behind by a human.  A bottom-scooping ship dredges up many items thrown into the water as trash.  The debris is not the focus of this film.  The love between Sosuke and Ponyo is the story.  4* (I really liked this movie)

101 min, Animation directed by Hayao Miyazaki with the voices of Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Noah Lindsey Cyrus, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin, Betty White.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, 92% critic 83% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*.

Sherlock Holmes: Case of Evil 2002

     Sherlock Holmes is 28 years old and he is in pursuit of Professor Moriarty.  He is able to shoot Moriarty but later his body cannot be found.  Because of a newspaper article and the notoriety from the press, Holmes meets Dr. Watson.  Holmes learns Dr. Watson is an early practitioner of autopsies.  They start an investigation into the murder of several crime lords.  They believe Moriarty is behind the murders and he is organizing drug dealing.  Since Moriarty has been reported dead, Holmes has a difficult time convincing Inspector Lestrade to investigate.

     I could not seem to get interested in this film.  It’s just too casual about so many heavy situations that are going on? Professor Moriarty is always 'supposed' to be dead but he seems to have more than nine lives!!  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)  

100 min, TV Movie directed by Graham Theakston with James D’Arcy, Roger Morlidge, Gabrielle Anwar, Vincent D’Onofrio, Nicholas Gecks, Peter-Hugo Daly, Richard E. Grant, Struan Rodger, Mihai Bisericanu.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10, 39% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.0* out of 5* with 46 reviews.

Special Note:  The person seen by a young Holmes being given drugs is Mycroft, the brother of Holmes.  This movie was filmed in Bucharest, Romania.  There is mistake in the movie too.  Holmes and the police search the home of a suspected murderer using battery-powered flashlights and the year is 1886?  It was 1899 when they were first used.

Cut Bank 2014

     Cut Bank, Montana is known as the ‘coldest spot in the nation.’  Dwayne McLaren and his girlfriend Cassandra are out in a field and he is making a video of her.  In the background they see the local postman being shot twice with a gun.  They ask Sheriff Vogel to come out and look at the film.  There hasn’t been a murder in this town in his entire career as the sheriff.  He calls for the Postal Inspector to come to Cut Bank since there is a $10,000 reward for information concerning a crime against a postman.  Dwayne has been looking for a chance to escape Cut Bank since he graduated from high school several years ago and he's hoping the money will make this possible.

     This film is listed as a thriller but I would not put it in that classification?  I don’t think a slow pace and not much life in a film would be called a thriller?  Everything goes wrong that can go wrong but it’s draining to wait for the conclusion.  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

93 min, Drama directed by Matt Shakman with Teresa Palmer, Liam Hemsworth, Billy Bob Thornton, John Malkovich, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bruce Dern, Oliver Platt, Ty Olsson, Sonya Salomaa, Peyton Kennedy. Christian Distefano, Chilton Crane, Tom Carey.

Note:  Imdb 6.0 out of 10, 32% critic 28% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1 ½*.

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Edmonton and Innisfree, Alberta Canada.  A slightly different role for Billy Bob Thornton since he's not involved in the crime and he's not the sheriff.

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro 1979

     Wolf also known in Japan as Lupin III is a well-known international thief.  He travels to the small European duchy of Cagliostro to investigate counterfeit money.  He committed a robbery but found the money to be very a well done counterfeit.  He discovers Lady Clarisse d’Cagliostro is being held captive and she will be forced to marry Count Lazare d’Cagliostro.  Even though they are related their bloodlines have been separated for hundreds of years.  She is the light side and he is the dark side.  There also the mystery of a hidden treasure dating back to the 15^th century.

     This is the second Lupin III anime film but the first directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 

This movie is like an animated swashbuckling Errol Flynn type film!!  There is a damsel in distress and she must be rescued!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

102 min, Animation directed by Hayao Miyazaki with the voices of Bob Bergen, Steve Bulen, Micahel McConnohie, David Povall, Edie Mirman, Joan-Carol O’Connell, Jeff Winkless, Kirk Thornton, Mike Reynolds, Steve Kramer, Julliana Donald.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 90% critic 89% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 219 reviews.

Special Note:  This film had a very tight production schedule of four months.  The director, Hayao Miyazaki said he had to alter the story line to meet the deadline.  He has never revealed his original idea but has been dissatisfied with this film since it was released.

Mr. Turner 2014

     This film covers the last quarter century of the life of the British painter JMW Turner.  He lived from 1775 to 1851, he was a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts but both celebrated and reviled by the public and royalty.  The death of his father in 1829 affected him greatly.  He had a main home and a loyal housekeeper but he rented a room by the seaside.  He forms a close relationship with the landlady and eventually lives with her for 18 years under an assumed name in Chelsea.  He travels, paints, he was a habitual user of snuff and he and stays with the country aristocracy.

     There is a lot of grunting in this film and Mr. Turner does a lot of it?  He has a strangeness and more resembles a pig-person than a famous painter of wonderful masterpieces worth fortunes today?  I found a lot of this movie hard to understand because there are no ‘whys’ given to happenings and behaviors. 2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

144 min, Bio directed by Mike Leigh with Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Karl Johnson, Ruth Sheen, Sandy Foster Amy Dawson, Lesley Manvill, Martin Savage, Richard Bremmer.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, 98% critic 56% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*.

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women' 2009

     This film is Season 23, Episode 8 of the American Masters series and based on a novel by Harriet Reisen.  There are many interesting details in this account of the life of a very prolific American female writer.  She wrote many sensational novels under the name A. M. Barnard in order to support herself and her family.  She went to Europe during the time of the Civil War, she was a feminist and an abolitionist during a time when both were unpopular.  Much of the dialogue is related using her words and the scenes are done in re-enactments.

     There are many surprises in this film about the background of Louisa, she could barely keep still and as a young girl, she liked to run and she did that often.  She was home schooled by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.  She served as a nurse in the Civil war until she became ill with scarlet fever.  There is lots of additional information about her life.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

84 min, TV Episode, Doc directed by Nancy Porter with Elizabeth Marvel, Daniel Gerroll, Emily Sarah Stikeman, Jane Alexander, Dossy Peabody, Molly Schreiber, Haley Garvin, Marianna Bassham, Maggie Quigley, Linda Amendola, Ellen Adair, Anna Frinklestein, Elarnor Farris, Ken Cheeseman, Beno Chapman.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, 100% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, PBS 4*.

Spirited Away 2001

     This film is a follow-up to the film Princess Mononoke.  Chihiro and her parents are moving to a new home.  Chihiro is not happy to be moving away to a small Japanese town in the country.  On their way, her father takes a wrong turn and drives down a one-lane road.  It dead-ends in front of a tunnel and her parents decide to explore the area.  Through the tunnel is an abandoned amusement park with a little town.  Chihiro doesn’t want to go into the town and she doesn’t want to eat at the Café because no one is there to wait on them.  Chihiro meets a boy named Haku and he tells her that they are in danger and they must leave immediately.  When she goes back to the restaurant, she finds her parents have been turned into pigs.  They didn’t know that demons, spirits and evil gods inhabit the park. 

     The animation by Hayao Miyazaki is very meticulous, rich in detail and filled with endless variety.  There is boundless imagination in the story with few human characters and many spirit or animal creatures.  All the humans must find a job of their own or they will be eliminated from the park.  Chihiro must remember her name and keep track of which two pigs are her parents or both with be lost to her forever.  4* (I really liked this movie)  

125 min, Animation directed by Hayao Miyazaki with the voices of Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, Lauren Holly, Michael Chiklis, John Ratzenberger, Tara Strong, Mickie McGowan, Sherry Lynn, Jack Angel Mona Marshall, Bob Bergen.

Note:  Imdb 8.6 out of 10, 97% critic 96% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*.

Special Note:  Spirited Away has also been released in 5 volumes of paperback books and also a picture book.  Awards for Best Animated film were received from Critics' Choice, Academy Award, Golden Bear, New York Film Critic Circle, Satellite, National Board of Review and Hong Kong Film For Best Asian Film.