Kiki’s Delivery Service

Continuing to sample the works of Miyazaki, I tried Kiki’s Delivery Service. Upon the advice of my readers, I watched the subtitled instead of dubbed version, and I agree, Phil Hartman as the voice of the cat would have been too distracting. Although I’ve only seen a couple of Miyazaki films, I could already identify his common themes here: spirited young woman unsure of her skills meets neighbor boy fascinated by her strength and with unusual interest of his own. […]

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My Neighbor Totoro/Whisper of the Heart

I’ve been hearing how much I need to see Miyazaki’s films for a long while now, so I used the Turner Classic Movies showings to sample two. The first, My Neighbor Totoro, was fluffier than I expected. I knew that the movie was about two girls who meet a fantasy character, but I was surprised that the first third of the film was simply about them setting up housekeeping out in the country. The images were beautiful, as expected, but […]

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Sin City

Man oh man, what is Frank Miller’s fascination with male genital mutilation? Yes, Sin City was exactly what I expected: heaping lumps of testosterone-soaked sexism portrayed in visually interesting ways. What I didn’t expect was how often my husband and I laughed at the overwrought voiceovers. I hated the text, but I enjoyed the film. Although when it was over, he asked me if I’d seen A Clockwork Orange. I said yes, why? He responded that this felt like what […]

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Christmas in Connecticut

Christmas in Connecticut is my favorite holiday movie. Every time I see it, I love it more. From 1945, Barbara Stanwyck plays that generation’s Martha Stewart, a famous magazine writer who’s always describing her farmhouse, her delicious gourmet meals, and her loving husband and baby. Problem is, she has none of those things. She’s a working woman who can’t cook but buys herself a mink because she’s always wanted one. When a war hero writes her publisher saying all he […]

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Fantastic Four: The Movie

I know the Fantastic Four movie wasn’t all that popular with comic fans, but I liked it. It was exactly what I expected, an enjoyable summer action movie with comic book characters. Some random thoughts: Reed Richards really was portrayed as the “world’s dumbest smart guy”, as Doom said. He didn’t seem to do much of anything in this film; everything was someone else’s invention or choice or accident. He was pretty to look at, but that got boring quickly. […]

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Labyrinth

My gracious, I do love Labyrinth. I just watched the DVD again, and I always forget how engrossing it is. David Bowie turns in a superb performance as the Goblin King, scary and exotic and attractive and magical all at once. The older I get, the more patience I have with Jennifer Connelly’s performance, too. Once I thought she was much too wooden, just something existing for the creatures to dance around, but she seems more subtle to me these […]

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Titus on DVD

KC and I just finished watching the DVD box set (seasons one and two) of one of the best sitcoms of all time, Titus. Those of you who know of the show will note that this was a somewhat twisted choice for the holiday season. Those of you who don’t, you have a fascinating and funny! discovery ahead of you. The show ran for all-too-brief a time on Fox, and it was rumored to have been cancelled for pushing the […]

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