Watership Down

Title: Watership Down
Year: 1978
Director: Martin Rosen
Voices: John Hurt, Richard Briers, Michael Graham Cox, Harry Andrews
Rated: PG

Reel Reviews Rating:

Watership Down is another film that my boyfriend Netflixed because he saw this movie as a kid and wanted to see again. Wary of past childhood movies that he Netflixed and forced me to watch (e.g., Death Race 2000 and The Black Hole), I watched Watership Down with some trepidation. As it turned out, I didn’t have anything to worry after all.

Team America: World Police

Note: I did a review of this movie on my other blog when I first saw it. I watched it recently on DVD, so I’ve modified the original post to reflect DVD viewing.

Title: Team America: World Police
Year: 2004
Director: Trey Parker
Voices: Trey Parker, Matt Stone
Rated: R

Reel Reviews Rating:

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone switched from computer generated animation to old-fashioned marionettes in this 2004 film to deliver their political message with their usual razor sharp wit.

The Black Hole

Title: The Black Hole
Year: 1979
Director: Gary Nelson
Starring Cast: Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine; voices by Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens
Rated: PG

Reel Reviews Rating:

The Black Hole was apparently Disney’s pathetic attempt to cash in on the Star Wars phenomenon. However, it comes nowhere near the quality of Lucas’s magnum opus.

Miyazaki Week(s) Wraps Up

I had planned on reviewing Howl’s Moving Castle for Friday, but since it’s been almost a year since I last saw it, I didn’t think it was fair to review it. There’s several parts about the movie that I had forgotten. It’s best if I rent the movie when it comes out on DVD and review it then.

Tommorow’s going to be a fun review. My sarcasm level was on full tilt when I wrote it

Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

Title: ���尋�神隠� (Spirited Away)
Year: 2001
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voices: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki (original Japanese version); Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Suzanne Pleshette (American version)
Rated: PG

Reel Reviews Rating:

Ah, now I get to review my FAVORITE Miyazaki film This will be my pleasure.

Mononoke Hime

Title: も���姫 (Princess Mononoke)
Year: 1997
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voices: Yoji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yuko Tanaka (Japanese version); Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver (American version)
Rated: PG-13

Reel Reviews Rating:

Unlike the cute and cuddly Tonari no Totoro, Mononoke Hime is much darker and carries a serious message about the delicate but strained relationship between human technology and nature.

Kaze no Tani no Naushika

Title: 風�谷�ナウシカ (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)
Year: 1984
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voices: Sumi Shimamoto, Goro Naya, Yoshihiko Sakakibara, Ichiro Nagai (original Japanese version); Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman, Edward James Olmos (American version)
Rated: PG

Reel Reviews Rating:

Hayao Miyazaki Week(s)

Miyazaki image is created by Tarnas.

Hayao Miyazaki is a legend. One of the most famous and highly respected creators of Japanese animated films, Miyazaki is sometimes called the Walt Disney of Japan*. Although Miyazaki does credit Mr. Disney as an influence in his work, Miyazaki’s own creations differ significantly from anything generated by the Mouse House.