Speaking of Grave of the Fireflies, and a little off topic, I'm doing a research paper on pacifism in Studio Ghibli films. I haven't seen all of them, but any recommendations for focus?
Nausicaa of the Walley of Wind.
Of all their films these, in the addition to the aforementioned, fit the description in one way or another:
Castle in the sky
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
Howl's moving castle
The wind rises
The wind rises could perhaps be best paired with Grave of the fireflies, both being set in a non-fantasy world.
Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke have the clearest anti-war message. The rest depict war and conflict as disruptive, destructive and beyond one's control, but always as a backdrop to some other character drama.
I'll recommend Danny the Dog (or 'Unleashed', in the US). If the amazing fight choreography and the Massive Attack soundtrack don't sell it, watch it anyway, because the dog obeys.
I'd only recommend it if you don't mind spending its running time ogling visual artism, while listening to good music with your cognitive functions switched off. There's nothing else to do, as the story is so cliche and poorly executed it hurts my brain even now just thinking about it.
Fans of Massive Attack may be better off just getting the OST.
One of the best films I've seen semi-recently was Ink. Its a true poster child for creativity responding to limitations. Very low budget, with more imagination and heart that you could dredge from the typical yearly output of the whole Hollywood combined. The monetary limitations lent it a very Gilliam'esque look and feel, but unfortunatelly also show in questionable acting skills of some of the cast.
I admit to having a soft spot for the film, as it sneaked upon me completely unawares and stole my heart, as well as probably the part of my brain responsible for unbiased criticism.
I cry me manly tears everytime I watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C5I1SavGyAThe main contender for last year's The Only Hollywood Movie That Not Only Doesn't Suck But Is Actually Great award will certainly be Her. It's heartfelt, genre-savvy, multifaceted and artsy. The sci-fi elements are subdued and non-intrusive, yet integral to the plot. Very much like Gattaca in this respect.
It's really great to see a reasonably big-budgeted film that doesn't hit you on the head with its drag-queen flashiness or paper-mache grand ideas.
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Topic: The Movie Discussion Thread! (Read 169832 times)