What I watched in October

Coming several days too late… A list inspired by a series of videos that I love.

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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.


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