1. 2. 3. Lists.

[LemonMelon]

Studio Ghibli, in memoriam:

1. Princess Mononoke (A+)
2. Spirited Away (A)
3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind* (A)
4. Castle in the Sky (A-)
5. The Wind Rises (A-)
6. Only Yesterday (A-)
7. Grave of the Fireflies (A-)
8. Kiki's Delivery Service (A-)
9. Whisper of the Heart (B+)
10. Porco Rosso (B+)
11. The Secret World of Arrietty (B+)
12. Pom Poko (B)
13. My Neighbor Totoro (B)
14. Howl's Moving Castle (B-)
15. Ponyo (C+)

Rock solid filmography. Nothing more to say other than I'll miss their contributions terribly.

*It's Ghibli at heart, dammit.

 

[bono_212]

I'll personally not include Nausicaa because I'm a pedantic ass, but it would probably be #4 or 5 on my list.

1) Spirited Away (top ten, all time favorite film)
2) Castle in the Sky
3) Only Yesterday
4) Princess Mononoke
5) Grave of the Fireflies (even though I just can't stand watching it)
6) The Wind Rises
7) Pom Poko
8) Whisper of the Heart
9) The Secret World of Arrietty
10) Kiki's Delivery Service
11) Howl's Moving Castle
12) My Neighbor Totoro
13) Ponyo
14) Porco Rosso

And I don't dislike any of those movies, just some of them kinda trail off into infinity and never quite reach the heights of their contemporaries.

 

[lazarus]

Looks like some people need to see Tales Of Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill, I Can Hear The Sea (aka Ocean Waves), and The Cat Returns.

 

[LemonMelon]

And My Neighbors the Yamadas

 

[bono_212]

Yeah, by no means done, but we did just double-feature Whisper of the Heart and Porco Rosso, both of which were very good.

 

[Lancemc]

I've neglected to see a few Takahata films, thus far, which I think maybe I'll correct today. And it's been too long since I've seen My Neighbors the Yamadas to recall it properly enough to rank.

This is going to be astounding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lDrkokymLQ

1. The Wind Rises
2. Ponyo
3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
4. Grave of the Fireflies
5. My Neighbor Totoro
6. Princess Mononoke
7. Porco Rosso
8. Howl's Moving Castle
9. From Up on Poppy Hill
10. Spirited Away
11. Arrietty
12. Kiki's Delivery Service
13. The Cat Returns
14. Tales From Earthsea
15. Castle in the Sky

 

[lazarus]

9. From Up on Poppy Hill
10. Spirited Away

 

[Lancemc]

Yeah yeah. All these films are great but Spirited Away, for all it's charms and artwork and lovely set pieces, has one of the thinnest emotional centers for me personally of all Miyazaki's films. At some points it's almost just like a bewildering parade of crazy shit without making much of an impression.

 

[bono_212]

Yeah yeah. All these films are great but Spirited Away, for all it's charms and artwork and lovely set pieces, has one of the thinnest emotional centers for me personally of all Miyazaki's films. At some points it's almost just like a bewildering parade of crazy shit without making much of an impression.

And Howl's Moving Castle is somehow better?

 

[Lancemc]

Duh

 

[bono_212]

I was mostly referring to its incredibly loose and convenient plot. I don't dislike the movie, by any means.

 

[lazarus]

Spirited Away is certainly less sentimental, and because the main character is separated from her family (and her whole reality, really), you don't get the typical father figure or community interaction.

But that train scene culminating with the depot where the shadowy figured disembark is one of the most moving passages in all Miyazaki's work, however abstract it may be. The loneliness of the setting and the anonymous riders contrasting with Chihiro's misfit band of friends is something special.

Howl's, while containing some great material, ain't even close.

 

[LemonMelon]

I've always found the ending of Howl's Moving Castle to be extremely clumsy and the narrative in general to be a bit of an afterthought. Its story did not reel me in the way I was hoping it would. It looks GREAT though. Gorgeous movie.

And yeah Lance, watch Only Yesterday as soon as possible. I have seldom been so moved watching a Ghibli film.

 

[bono_212]

No matter what happens, Spirited Away will likely always remain my favorite of their films, simply from having watched it as a project in Japanese class. We spent two weeks with that movie, analyzing its themes and cultural significance. I don't know if there's any other movie I know the background of as thoroughly, except for some of Hitchcock's works (also from school-related reasons).

 

[lazarus]

There are a lot of references to Japanese folklore, Shinto, etc. that an outsider just isn't going to pick up on. Would really love to delve into the background a bit more as I don't know anything about it myself.

Regardless, even without understanding all the symbolism, I believe this is the best film of the 00s and the best animated film ever made.

 

[bono_212]

I would agree without hesitation about it being the best animated film, but that's just me. Only one or two movies from the 2000s I enjoy more.

There is a wealth of material to dig into, as far as Japanese folklore/customs go, with that movie. It's well worth the time to look into it. I wish I still had the links to all of the various sources we used in class for explanations, or I would share them with you.

 

[Lancemc]

Wow, a lot going on here now.

I was mostly referring to its incredibly loose and convenient plot. I don't dislike the movie, by any means.

Yeah, it's a wildly adventurous film, structurally, and not necessarily in a good way. But both films seem fairly similar in their general style and construction to me eyes, and I really like how Howl's embraces the sweepingly romantic gestures and bigger setting and craziness that goes along with the broader strokes of the narrative in comparison to Spirited Away, which honestly is a little tedious to me in its ornateness.

But that train scene culminating with the depot where the shadowy figured disembark is one of the most moving passages in all Miyazaki's work, however abstract it may be. The loneliness of the setting and the anonymous riders contrasting with Chihiro's misfit band of friends is something special.

This is the highlight of the film for sure. But aside from this, Howl's has a number of sequences that carry me away far more emphatically than much of the former film. And in terms of the CG-assisted animation, I find Howl's to be a generally more beautiful film as well. But yeah, both films are in the lower half of Ghibli's output for me, evidently.

I would agree without hesitation about it being the best animated film, but that's just me. Only one or two movies from the 2000s I enjoy more.

When I first walked out of The Wind Rises, my thought was that it is the best Japanese film in roughly 40 years. I was riding the high, clearly, and haven't revisited it yet, so that's possibly a bit overzealous, but yeah.

And yeah Lance, watch Only Yesterday as soon as possible. I have seldom been so moved watching a Ghibli film.

Watched this today. Without the first 5 minutes, I felt this had the spirit of a lost Ozu film from his color period. Of course that dissipated fairly quickly as the two share almost nothing formally. Still there were a number of similarities that were obviously intentional that I enjoyed. As its own work it's still really lovely though. Top 6 or 7 maybe. Not really a fan of this kind of flashback structure as a rule and it's kind of weaker for it, but the childhood segments, along with the denouement are really exceptional.

 

[bono_212]

It also reminded me of Ozu, probably because it was the most Japanese movie I had seen, since Tokyo Story.

 

[Lancemc]

It hits on a lot of the post-war generational strains that define much of Ozu's post-war work; he was a clear influence, even tonally as it manages to vacillate so subtly between jubilant and soul-crushingly devastating in a single scene.

 

[bono_212]

Also speaking from how much I appreciate/love Ghibli films, based on how much they share, culturally, I am dead serious when I say that I absolutely loved Pom Poko.

 

[mikal]

Kind of off topic, but being on a Twin Peaks kick currently has me revisiting or discovering David Lynch's catalog.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[lazarus]

Also speaking from how much I appreciate/love Ghibli films, based on how much they share, culturally, I am dead serious when I say that I absolutely loved Pom Poko.

Pom Poko is supremely entertaining.

 

[bono_212]

Kind of off topic, but being on a Twin Peaks kick currently has me revisiting or discovering David Lynch's catalog.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Realizing that Miyazaki is likely for real done, now, got me very, very sad the other day when I realized that I may never again see another movie from two of my favorite directors. I hope Lynch makes another movie, but I just don't ever see it happening.

Pom Poko is supremely entertaining.

I was absolutely glued to the tv for the first 30 minutes or so of that movie. Just thrilled to be watching it. I know I go on about it often enough, but I really love Japan and its culture and, since I visited Japan in 2005 (Jesus!) I haven't really felt so supremely immersed in the culture as I did when I watched that film. It's the little things, I guess, but it was a really special moment for me.

 

[Lancemc]

David Lynch Working On A New, "Typically Dark" Script | The Playlist

Wonder if this is a sign of something to come.

 

[LemonMelon]

From 18 months ago

 

[Lancemc]

Sure but I really don't think it's unrealistic to expect another film from him eventually.

 

[bono_212]

Well, what the heck...

Top Ten Robin Williams movies:

Dead Poets Society
Mrs. Doubtfire
Good Morning, Vietnam
Hook
Jumanji
Good Will Hunting
The Fisher King
Jakob the Liar
Insomnia
The Birdcage

 

[lazarus]

I find Dead Poets Society to be shamelessly manipulative and phony w/r/t its subject matter. Williams is great in it, but that screenplay...ugh.

He wasn't in a lot of great films, but The Fisher King stands tallest for me, both the film itself and his performance. Awakenings is another great performance that was overshadowed by De Niro's more gimmicky (though credible) work.

 

[bono_212]

I was kinda making that list based on performance. I should've said so.

We're going to watch What Dreams May Come and Awakenings tonight...I have no idea why we picked such dour films, but...there you go, I guess.

 

[LemonMelon]

Your ranking of Good Will Hunting sucks, especially if you're just counting his performance.

I didn't like Dead Poets Society all that much.