+khRAIN has decided to join us with a movie review Howl's Moving CastleGenre: Adventure, Fantasy, Family, Romance
Age Certification: PG Director: Hayao Miyazaki Writer: Based on Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Notable Actors: Chieko Basho, Takuya Kimura (Japanese voices); Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale (English voices) Release: 11/20/2004 (Japan) Plot Outline: Sophie, a self-conscious girl working as a hat-maker, unwittingly attracts the attention of the handsome wizard Howl, which also attracts the wrath of a jealous witch. After a curse transforms her into a 90 year-old woman, Sophie must go on an adventure to find a way to reverse the spell. Review Acting: 7/10. Although I had not previously known of Emily Mortimer, I enjoyed her charming interpretation of young Sophie. I also loved the voice for her counter-part, old Sophie, played by Jean Simmons. Simmons did an amazing job of incorporating the confusion and sass of young Sophie with the newly-gained wisdom of her older self. (I have not watched the Japanese dub, therefore I cannot review it.) Writing: 8/10 Miyazaki chose to change many aspects of Jones's novel in order to give Howl's Moving Castle a Ghibli-esque feel. However, any holes or confusion that resulted from a slightly complicated plot is quickly blown away by the spell-bounding overall story and the dynamic characters whom viewers will quickly fall in love with. Soundtrack: 10/10 It's Joe Hisaishi (a long-time partner of Miyazaki) at his finest. Featuring a beautiful soundtrack with songs such as "Merry-Go Round of Life" and "Cave of Mind", the music will leave you feeling eerie or elated at all the right moments. It wonderfully enhances the scenes. Visuals: 10/10 Exactly the top-notch animation quality that you would expect from Miyazaki and Ghibli. The animation is mostly hand-painted while using a touch of computer-animation to enhance it. Miyazaki can create truly breath-taking settings and graphics with this technique. "Feels": 9/10 I was completely engrossed in the story. The relationship between Howl (a handsome, but whiny, guy) and Sophie (a hard-working girl who is a tad insecure) is very believable and they're able to take great steps to change before the ending. Although I disliked Howl at first, I found myself rooting for both of them through thick and thin! Personal Experience: I was a great Ghibli and Miyazaki fan before watching Howl's Moving Castle (I have also watched titles such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke) and this movie definitely did not disappoint. Miyazaki's animation combined with Joe Hisaishi's music score created a beautiful story that made me want to watch it again after the first time. Overall Rating: 9/10 Would you recommend it? YES YES YES! Staff member and dog owner %Limbo Hengoku brings you this next review for the touching Hachi: A Dog's Tale
Hachi: A Dog's Tale Genre: Family, Drama Age Certification: General audience Director: Lasse Hallström Writers: Stephen P. Lindsey, Based on Hachi-kō by Kaneto Shindô Notable Actors: Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Hachi is portrayed by three dogs: Chico, Layla, and Forrest. Release: 6/13/2009, English Plot Outline: A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home. Review Acting: 8/10 The acting was good and believable. Richard Gere was good, but at times he was not believable. The same goes for everybody else. In addition, I found Jason Alexander to be quite funny. Writing: 9/10 The story is interesting and the characters are introduced properly. There was decent character development as well, with no unnecessary scenes. In addition, the dialogue was decent. Sound/Music: 7/10 The soundtrack of Hachi is good and it positively influenced each scene, especially the sad ones. The sound effects weren't outstanding in any way. Visuals: 6/10 Hachi: A Dog's Tale is dialogue based so the visuals are less important. However, there was one scene that I thought looked cool. Furthermore, there were good shots of the characters and scenery. All in all, everything looked decent. "Feels": 10/10 I was really emotionally invested because Hachi: A Dog's Tale is really touching. As a dog owner I really bonded with Hachi and his owner. I almost shed tears because I really felt bad for the dog for the second half of the movie. As a whole, Hachi: A Dog's Tale is really touching and a tear jerker. You're gonna shed tears watching this movie, trust me. Personal Experiences: As a dog owner, I really related to Hachi. I was really intrigued with the relationship between the dog and his owner. I was watching with my dog and the whole second half I kept holding him tight. Near the end of the movie was probably thesaddest moment of the movie and I really bad for Hachi. One thing this movie taught me is to never forget someone you're close to. In addition, I liked how they took the dog perspective of things, as it made me feel more attached to him. There's nothing I did not like about this movie and I wished it was released in theaters. Overall rating: 7.5/10 Would I recommend it? Yes I would because this movie truly is good. If you're a pet owner like I am you're gonna love and relate to this movie and if you're not, you're still gonna enjoy it. It's worth watching. Factor is back and reads us a page from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Genre: Comedy, Family Age Certification: PG Director: Thor Freudenthal Writers: Jackie Filgo, Jeff Filgo, Gabe Sachs, Jeff Judah Notable Actors: Robert Capron, Devon Bostick Release: 3/19/2010, English Plot Outline: Live-action adaptation of Jeff Kinney's illustrated novel about a wise-cracking sixth grade student. Review Acting: 6/10 I liked some scenes but sometimes it got too mean-spirited at times and I just didn't like it as much as some of the other scenes that did slightly better. Not much of the movie was all that funny and Greg and Rowley don't connect with each other as friends unlike the book where they are great friends. Writing: 4/10 There were some unnecessary scenes that felt like it looked like something good would happen, but really nothing really good happened to the main protagonist and it ended up not being all that funny in the end. I didn't really like how Patty was written, she sounded really annoying and just unlikable in every sense and nothing bad ever happens to her. That's what a movie should do if there's an antagonist. Sound/Music: 4/10 Most of the songs played in the movie aren't really set correctly and there could've been much better choices made then to chose very cheesy ones from the 80's and such. Visuals: 1/10 There weren't any visuals that really added to the experience to this movie. Actually, there were no visuals, so not much here. "Feels": 1/10 I don't think that Greg was well played in this movie. I found Rowley to do the stupidest things sometimes, even a dog would know not to do what he did. It didn't really add to the comedy that was already dead in this movie. I didn't bond with the characters because they're either bland or annoying painful to see them in the film. Personal Experiences: [MINOR PLOT SPOILERS] Well, I didn't enjoy it. The film wasn't really all that funny and sometimes when it tried to be funny it seemed that it got very mean spirited instead. Some scenes you can tell were just plain stupid and wasn't really meant to be there in the first place. I didn't feel like the scene where Rowley got a new best friend, because it didn't really go anywhere to begin with. Also, there could've been ways to make some of the unnecessary scenes much better. For example, when Greg needed to hide himself from the red truck he could've easily faced his back towards the truck and that would've been fine. Would I recommend it? No not really, but I do recommend the book instead. It's much better and the unnecessary scenes in the movie aren't in the book Overall Rating: 4/10 Read the books they're much better. Directly from the mind of %Limbo Hengoku stems this newest review for the animated supervillain movie MegaMind.
MegaMind Genre: Sci-fi, Family, Comedy, Animation Age Certification: PG Director: Tom McGrath Writers: Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons Notable Actors: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Brad Pitt Release Information: 11/5/2010, English Plot Outline: The supervillain Megamind finally defeats his nemesis, superhero Metro Man. But without a hero, he loses all purpose and must find new meaning to his life. Review Acting: 10/10 The voices are really good and they all fit each character very well. Everyone did a great job. Writing: 10/10 The story is very interesting and characters are introduced. MegaMind also had good character development. There are no unnecessary scenes. Sound/Music: 10/10 The soundtrack was good and fit the scenes perfectly. It influenced the story in a positive way and the sound effects were cool too. Visuals: 10/10 MegaMind looked stunning and the visuals added to the overall experience. Not only that, the cinematography was awesome too. "Feels": 9/10 I did get emotionally invested because of all the heart it had. I really cared for MegaMind as well. I have never felt for or cared about a villain this much before. Aside from that, MegaMind as a whole had me happy the entire time. Personal Experiences: I really loved MegaMind and it's probably one of my favorite animated movies. In addition, I really liked the growing connection between MegaMind and the girl. One of the things I like were the romantic aspects of the story. I also enjoyed the superhero vibe Metro Man had and thought the villain was good. There is nothing I did not like about this movie. It was very entertaining and I loved it. Overall Rating: 9.5/10 Would I recommend it? Yes I would because everyone will feel for the characters and enjoy this movie. It is well worth the watch. In case you needed an extra set of lessons in dragon training, +Limbo Hengoku is here to talk you through summer blockbuster How To Train Your Dragon 2.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Animation Age certification: PG Director: Dean DeBlois Writer: Dean DeBlois Notable actors: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera,Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse,T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, Djimon Hounsou, Kit Harington Released: June 13 2014, original language English Plot outline: When Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Review Acting: 10/10 each voice over was done really well and fitted each character. Writing: 9/10 The story was really well written and the dialogue was good too. It was touching and it established the characters. Also had good character development as well. There were a couple of moments where the story pushes past emotional moments without derailing the action or suspense in the plot. Visuals: 10/10 The computer animation was really good. Some of the shots looked like live action. The cinematography was excellent as well. Sound/Music: 9/10 I enjoyed most of the the soundtrack in the movie. It fit each situation and influenced the moments in the movie. Sound effects were good too. Feels: 10/10 I really loved the bond that Hiccup and Toothless shared. There were really touching moments in the movie and really sad ones too that made me tear up. The action was really exciting as well. Would I recommend it? I'd recommend this movie because it's really good. If you're a pet owner you're gonna relate to it. This movie is made for both adults and children, all age groups can enjoy it. Adults would love this movie because there are themes that really hit adults. Kids will like this movie because of the fun action and awesome dragons. This movie had everything you would want in a movie. It's totally worth the shot. Overall Rating: 9.5/10 must see Personal experience: I really enjoyed this movie. It was a great way to start off the summer . Also really loved the connection Hiccup and Toothless had. As a pet owner I was able to relate to and understand them. The only problem I had with the movie was the end. As in, the fact that the movie ended. I honestly did not want it to end at all. I was so engrossed in it, it had me entertained the entire time. I really want a third movie, that's for sure. Factor's latest review covers Disney's recent live-action film, Maleficent. Maleficent generated great buzz as a Disney film to tell a familiar story from a new angle - the side of the villain. Unfortunately, it seems like it hasn't lived up to the hype.
Maleficent Genre: Action, Adventure, Family Age Certification: PG Directors: Robert Stormberg Writers: Linda Woolverton Notable Actors: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning Release Date: May 30 2014 Synopsis: A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child may be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land. Review Acting: 3/10 I felt that the characters were poorly portrayed, boring and sometimes awkward and it didn't catch my eye all that much. Writing: 2/10 I felt that there were many unnecessary scenes and those scenes just annoyed me and they weren't funny at all and I just found them to childish for me Sound/Music: 5/10 I liked the soundtrack but it didn't really add to anything that was going on unlike movies like Guardians of the Galaxy that have done that perfectly. Visuals: 1/10 It was so fake!! I could tell what was CGI and what wasn't without having to try. it looked like it was trying to be fake and wasn't appealing. "Feels": 1/10 I couldn't feel anything that the characters were feeling because the movie was paced poorly and I couldn't catch on to it. Overall Rating: 4/10 Just boring... My Personal Experience: [MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS] Click "Read More" to view. |
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