A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Hayao Miyazaki, “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” / “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” (2008) As always with Studio Ghibli films, and especially those SG…
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” (2017) A visually very attractive family movie, clearly influenced by the Studio Ghibli animation style – indeed, director Hiromasa…
Hayao Miyazaki, “The Boy and the Heron” (2023) A decade after “The Wind Rises”, the film that originally had been intended as his swansong, Hayao Miyazaki…
Goro Miyazaki, “Tales from Earthsea / Gedo senki” (2006) Watching this film, gorgeous as it is visually, I couldn’t help but feel that it’s a classic…
Hayao Miyazaki, “Spirited Away” (2001) In many ways, “Spirited Away” represents the peak of Studio Ghibli’s creativity and innovation, and the beginning of its decline as a creator…
Hayao Miyazaki, “The Wind Rises / Kaze tachinu” (2013) Miyazaki’s swansong film is a fictional biography of aeroplane designer and engineer Jiro Horikoshi, creator of the…
Hayao Miyazaki, “Laputa, Castle in the Sky / Tenko no shiro Ryaputa” (1986) One of Studio Ghibli’s great joys, this film has everything you could possibly…
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, “Arrietty / Karu-gurashi no Arrietti” (2010) A charming offering from Studio Ghibli, based loosely on Mary Norton’s novel “The Borrowers”, this film is beautiful…
Hayao Miyazaki, “Howl’s Moving Castle” (2005) Up to and including “Spirited Away”, the animated films by Studio Ghibli are of a high standard both technically and…
Hayao Miyazaki, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989) A charming coming-of-age film about a young witch who undergoes a series of challenges, not the least of which is…