buckleym-1
Joined Apr 2001
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buckleym-1's rating
This is no knock on "The Lion King", "Beauty and the Beast", "Fantasia" or "Snow White and Seven Dwarfs", but "Grave of the Fireflies" has done something very few, if any animated features (I feel) have ever done. The film has an emotional power, which is drawn from its serious topic of war and the human spirit. Plus "Grave of the Fireflies" is rich in animated detail and human feeling, which towers this film above most animated films.
Perhaps one of animation's few downfalls is its simplicity. Animation for the most part is viewed as a child's medium. There are many reasons for this, but "Grave of the Fireflies" proves without a doubt that this is a falsity. Director Isao Takahata shows that animation has all the capabilities of approaching difficult issues (like war and its consequences) with a personal heart and creative touch.
The story is about a brother (Seita) and a sister (Setsuko) who deal with a great tragedy and struggle after a bombing during World War II. Yet this film has so many moments of beauty to respond to the moments of horror. The moments of Seita and Setsuko swimming or of Setsuko burying the fireflies are absolutely wonderful in their subtlety. There's not a ton of action going on in those scenes but they're so richly detailed in the animation and narrative that your eyes stay glued to the screen.
This film is a testament to the human spirit and living life to the fullest. I will not lie, this film is fairly hard to swallow, it deals with difficult issues. Yet it is because of this challenge that this film stands above about every other animated films. It proves that animation is not just for children, but for everyone. This film made me smile and almost brought me to tears at the same time. "Grave of the Fireflies" is truly one of the greatest animated films of all-time. A 10 out of 10.
Perhaps one of animation's few downfalls is its simplicity. Animation for the most part is viewed as a child's medium. There are many reasons for this, but "Grave of the Fireflies" proves without a doubt that this is a falsity. Director Isao Takahata shows that animation has all the capabilities of approaching difficult issues (like war and its consequences) with a personal heart and creative touch.
The story is about a brother (Seita) and a sister (Setsuko) who deal with a great tragedy and struggle after a bombing during World War II. Yet this film has so many moments of beauty to respond to the moments of horror. The moments of Seita and Setsuko swimming or of Setsuko burying the fireflies are absolutely wonderful in their subtlety. There's not a ton of action going on in those scenes but they're so richly detailed in the animation and narrative that your eyes stay glued to the screen.
This film is a testament to the human spirit and living life to the fullest. I will not lie, this film is fairly hard to swallow, it deals with difficult issues. Yet it is because of this challenge that this film stands above about every other animated films. It proves that animation is not just for children, but for everyone. This film made me smile and almost brought me to tears at the same time. "Grave of the Fireflies" is truly one of the greatest animated films of all-time. A 10 out of 10.
Reading the advertisements or listening to the commercials for "The Banger Sisters" is extremely promising. The names: Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn and Geoffrey Rush pop up right at you. All three of those actors possess a world acting talent and (of course) Sarandon and Hawn do not disappoint.
The story starts out fairly fast. Suzette (Hawn) gets let go by the club she was working at and needs money and hopes to rekindle her past friendship with former groupie Lavinia (Sarandon). So Suzette hits the road to track down her old friend, she picks up a suicidal writer (Rush) along the way. The problem is Lavinia is now settled down and has a family who knows nothing of her past.
Watching Sarandon and Hawn is a treat to behold. Hawn has a true ability to combine facial gestures with her dialogue to create moments of laughter without much noticeable effort. The scene at the dinner table with Lavinia's whole family and Suzette as their guest is a perfect example of this. The moments where Hawn and Sarandon are together on screen are by far the most effective and enjoyable piece of the picture. Perhaps the funniest scene in the film is where Sarandon and Hawn are together in the basement. They are down there smoking a joint and remembering their past with the help of some interesting (to say the least) pictures.
Aside from Sarandon and Hawn's comedic abilities, the film tends to be weighted down by unrealistic and rapid changes of emotions in the characters. The feelings of the characters change so quickly and conveniently a person gets the sense that the screenwriter is trying to rush us to the happy conclusion. Rush's character Harry seems almost like a throw-away, added in only to supplement Suzette's zesty personality. In one scene, by sheer coincidence, Suzette finds Lavinia's daughter, Hannah (Erika Christensen) after she's overdosed on acid. Suzette takes care of her that night in her hotel room while Harry watches. All of sudden, like a bolt of lightning, this cures Harry's writer's block and suicidal thoughts and completely changes him for awhile.
This isn't the only place in the film with this sudden character adjustment. Near the end of the movie, watch how quickly the family goes from accusatory and narrow-minded at the hospital to one big happy family a few minutes later at Hannah's graduation. It would be one thing if the situation resolved itself on screen, but it doesn't. Hannah delivers a honest, but sappy graduation speech and we see the big joyous family of Lavinia and Suzette together all easily wrapped up with few explanations.
There's no doubt that Sarandon and Hawn are wonderful actresses and it's a real treat seeing them together. Overall though, "The Banger Sisters" tries almost too hard to please, without showing how it got there. A 6 out of 10.
The story starts out fairly fast. Suzette (Hawn) gets let go by the club she was working at and needs money and hopes to rekindle her past friendship with former groupie Lavinia (Sarandon). So Suzette hits the road to track down her old friend, she picks up a suicidal writer (Rush) along the way. The problem is Lavinia is now settled down and has a family who knows nothing of her past.
Watching Sarandon and Hawn is a treat to behold. Hawn has a true ability to combine facial gestures with her dialogue to create moments of laughter without much noticeable effort. The scene at the dinner table with Lavinia's whole family and Suzette as their guest is a perfect example of this. The moments where Hawn and Sarandon are together on screen are by far the most effective and enjoyable piece of the picture. Perhaps the funniest scene in the film is where Sarandon and Hawn are together in the basement. They are down there smoking a joint and remembering their past with the help of some interesting (to say the least) pictures.
Aside from Sarandon and Hawn's comedic abilities, the film tends to be weighted down by unrealistic and rapid changes of emotions in the characters. The feelings of the characters change so quickly and conveniently a person gets the sense that the screenwriter is trying to rush us to the happy conclusion. Rush's character Harry seems almost like a throw-away, added in only to supplement Suzette's zesty personality. In one scene, by sheer coincidence, Suzette finds Lavinia's daughter, Hannah (Erika Christensen) after she's overdosed on acid. Suzette takes care of her that night in her hotel room while Harry watches. All of sudden, like a bolt of lightning, this cures Harry's writer's block and suicidal thoughts and completely changes him for awhile.
This isn't the only place in the film with this sudden character adjustment. Near the end of the movie, watch how quickly the family goes from accusatory and narrow-minded at the hospital to one big happy family a few minutes later at Hannah's graduation. It would be one thing if the situation resolved itself on screen, but it doesn't. Hannah delivers a honest, but sappy graduation speech and we see the big joyous family of Lavinia and Suzette together all easily wrapped up with few explanations.
There's no doubt that Sarandon and Hawn are wonderful actresses and it's a real treat seeing them together. Overall though, "The Banger Sisters" tries almost too hard to please, without showing how it got there. A 6 out of 10.
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is little kid's eye candy. Funny, crazy and weird creatures and backgrounds appear around every corner, which is fun to behold until a point. This film, directed by Chris Columbus and based on the popular J.K. Rowling novel, comes in at around two and half hours and feels at least that long, if not a little longer. Little kids will probably enjoy it, but after awhile, eye candy can only do so much. Children will enjoy the visual imagination in front of them, but anyone over the age of 13 may be looking for a little more substance behind the characters than this. A 5 out of 10.