Coming several days too late… A list inspired by a series of videos that I love.
- My neighbor Totoro. 10/1/20 | 8.5/10
- Animated – Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli
- Captures the spirit of youth beautifully
- Soaks us very thoroughly into the characters, life and beautifully mundane world in which the story is set
- Painted backgrounds and animation are stunning
- Very patient, warm and enduring – it feels like a nice bath
- Enchanting music. Love the mix of realism and whimsy
- Shows us the regular sights and sounds of life alongside fantasy
- See The Beauty of Children’s Entertainment
- Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows P2. 10/3/20 | 6/10
- Live action, directed by David Yates
- Meh – this movie feels like it doesn’t trust its audience. Just didn’t enjoy
- Nausicaa: the valley of the wind. 10/9/20 | 6/10
- Animated – Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli
- Lot lot lot of character’s narrating dialogue – kind of painful in places
- Interesting world building / world
- Animations of fire and explosions are gorgeous
- Very slow action
- Reflecting heavily on ideas of climate change
- Liked the trust in strong female leadership
- Castle in the Sky. 10/13/20 | 7/10
- Animated – Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli
- Fantastic opening and credit sequence
- Weird mix of music
- Some absolutely gorgeous sequences… that trumpet sequence at the beginning (!)
- Production design overall is fantastic
- Protagonist if flat
- Pirate mom is not flat
- Recount. 10/23/20 | 6.5/10
- Live action, directed by Jay Roach
- Tacky, overexcited performances
- Cliché music
- Looks staged
- Nice production design
- Shows the worst of political division
- Who’s our protagonist?
- Snappy dialogue, but long
I watched far fewer movies this month than I’d like to have, and fewer than I normally do. I was also in a Studio Ghibli kick for the first time ever.
I’m striving for 100 watched this year, and I’m currently at 81… We can do this. I reached by book goal of 30 already, so that’s a plus.
I’ll be doing this every month, and at the end of the year, I’ll do my top 10 or 20 movies of this year here as well.