Mac's Movies

UK Release Date: 23 September 2005 Certification: U Director: Hayao Miyazaki Cast: Chieko Baishô, Tatsuya Gashûin, Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Haruko Kato, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa Rating: 62% A mediocre Studio Ghibli film.  Review: Having to read 'Howl's Moving Castle' by Dianna Wynne Jones a few years ago for a Book Quiz, I despised every second but after my successful viewing of Princess Mononoke I thought I would  give the movie a chance. Whilst the theatrical version of Howl's Moving Castle is a huge improvement, it's still a huge let down compared to other Studio Ghibli films.  As is to be expected with a Ghibli film the animation is out of this world. Every single shot is so sleek, it isn't hyper-realism animation, and yet it feels like it belongs in the world that's been created. That's simply due to the time and care that the animators put in to bringing to life frame after frame. It was revealed recently that every year Studio Ghibli create twel...

UK Release Date: 19 October 2001 Certification: PG Director: Hayao Miyazaki Cast: Yuriko Ishida, Kaoru Kobayashi, Yôji Matsuda, Akihiro Miwa, Masahiko Nishimura, Sumi Shimamoto, Yûko Tanaka Rating: 90% "Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed. But still, you find reasons to keep living." Review: Princess Mononoke, released in Japan in 1997, tells the tale of a cursed boy who finds himself entangled in a war between a mining colony and forest spirits. Distributed under the banner of famous Japanese movie studio, Studio Ghibli - whose films include Grave of the Fireflies , My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away - and directed by legendary director, Hayao Miyazaki, it was always going to be a huge success.  It's difficult to talk about the voice cast because I watched the movie in Japanese with subtitles (the way foreign language films should be watched) but I felt they all did an incredible job. I often struggle to connect with characters when I watch fo...