The Wind Rises

So, it's kinda been a while since I did a Studio Ghibli movie review, but I'm back to continue them with The Wind Rises. This is apparently another one of the Ghibli movies that was said to be their last movie ever, but they just kept making more afterwards. Anyway, the first time I saw this, I thought it was okay, but I did acknowledge how well made it was and how adult it was in regards to the fact that this is another more mature Ghibli movie that doesn't have that much going on, but, like so many of the other Ghibli movies I've reviewed, I rewatched it again recently and it did actually did get a bit better. I think the reason a lot of these have gotten better on the second viewing is because, when you see a movie for the first time, you're paying attention to the story and trying to follow along and understand it, and when you see it a second time, you know what's gonna happen and so you can enjoy it more and take it other great aspects about it and I think that's what it was like for me with a lot of these. So, moving onto the movie itself, I remembering first hearing about this years ago and not being all that interested like a lot of these Ghibli movies, but, these days, I'm glad I decided to finally watch it and all the others too and it's been great to see my thoughts on this one change in particular. Anyway, moving onto the story, it follows a guy in Japan named Jiro who has a dream of designing airplanes to be made. This also takes place during World War 2 and so Japan is really poor and he's trying to do what he loves with designing planes while all sorts of things happen around him like an Earthquake happens, he meets a girl and they start to fall in love and there's a whole bunch of trouble going on with the military. So, like what I've said for a few of the other Ghibli movies, this is another one that's super realistic and, not only that, but I heard this is actually based on a true story, so that's interesting. And speaking of, even though I usually don't care that much for stories like that, the way this movie does it and tells its story makes even some of the traditional stuff I'd usually find boring very interesting. Something that I think helps with that is the fact that a lot of the characters are very relatable. What I mean by that is that a lot of the movie is spent with Jiro trying to do everything he can to do what he wants to do because he has this huge dream of designing airplanes and how there's some problems going on around him but he's trying to push through to be able to keep doing it. Even though there are a lot of moments of him and the other characters having normal conversations about the state of things around them, somehow, they still manage to find a way to keep it engaging enough to be interesting. And they do it where you can also feel sorry for him in different ways too because a lot of his creations keep failing but he keeps trying to get better with the designs and make the best planes he can, and it's made even better because he's also doing it with his friend you like their relationship too since they try to help each other. It's like what I've been saying about a lot of these other Ghibli movies where, even though there's not that much going on and you're just watching people have casual conversations but they have great dialogue to make it so fascinating. I think I also appreciate the fact that they don't ignore the repercussions of the planes too because since this is set in World War 2 and it's about making planes, they explain how this could take so many lives and cause many people to die. Especially at the end when they show Jiro having a dream of planes crashing and you see him talking to someone he admires and how when he has people flying his planes, he worries since they could never come back from it and I admire the fact that they don't ignore the fact that the pilots could die and they could kill many people. So I totally give them huge respect for having it so that Jiro does do what he wants but that he also has to face the realities of it. So, in terms of that whole stuff, I liked it a lot. If there was one thing in the film I didn't like all that much, it's the romance between Jiro and the girl named Nahoko. I dunno, it wasn't terrible, but I didn't really care for that all that much and it felt kinda rush and not that earned. Maybe it had something to do with making it more faithful to whatever the true story is and so maybe that's why there was a romance at all, but, I still think it was the weakest aspect to the film. I think that also affects the runtime a bit too. I mean, the film is 2 hours and 6 minutes long and, while I give them respect for making a lot of it be involving the creation of the planes, the whole romance did make it feel like it was going on a bit too long. I will say, it was pretty tragic by the end because I'm pretty sure it's implied that Nahoko died, so it does work in that way because you do feel sorry for them. But, aside from that, I still really admire a lot of how this film played out. I love how they somehow took a concept for a movie that I'd generally think was not my thing and made it very entertaining. Again, how they address different things like Jiro's love for his work and creations really helped bring the film to life for me. Speaking of, kinda like what I said about my review for Grave Of The Fireflies, the animation helps with it too because it's a lot more realistic and so it compliments the entire movie, and they do great effects with it like the earthquake scene. The dubbing is also incredible here and, again, the fact that this is so realistic, the voice acting helps make the dialogue more interesting than I'd expect. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiro, Emily Blunt as Nahoko, John Krasinski as Kiro, Martin Short as Kurokawa, everyone is still just as perfectly cast as all the other Ghibli movies. Really, I just feel like this is another example of how Ghibli movies can tackle any kinda movie and make it extremely enjoyable no matter what the subject matter. So, yeah, despite this not being the traditional fantasy kinda story like most Ghibli movies tend to be, I would still say this is a great movie to check out. So, guys, that's my review for The Wind Rises. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Outlaw Star (Anime Review)

So guys, after a while of not putting one of these out, I'm back making another anime review. This one being an anime I got into just a few months ago, Outlaw Star. This is another space themed anime from the nineties like something like Cowboy Bebop. But, if I'm being completely honest, I like this show a lot more. I honestly love this series. For me, this is my Cowboy Bebop. In a similar way to how people feel about that series and love so many things about it and have a great appreciation for it being a space themed anime, that's exactly what this show is for me. I've watched this show three times already and I absolutely love it. It's become one of my favourite anime's ever and I think this is a great series to be able to binge watch, especially since it's only 26 episodes long. I only found out about the series a few months ago and got curious to check it out and so I started watching it on my brother's DVD collection of the series and then I got my own Blu-Ray of the whole show and finished watching it that way. So, let's get into it and, like always, I'll be going into full spoilers so, if you don't want anything spoiled, go watch it then come back and read the rest of this. So, the plot of the series follows a guy named Gene Starwind and his partner, Jim Hawking on a planet where they run a business of fixing whatever someone wants. Gene also has a phobia of space, but that all changes when they meet a lady named Hilda who tricks them into helping her get off the planet. Not only that, but she's also being pursued by some people she stole from and she reveals she stole a girl from them named Melfina, who's actually a cyborg. They get off the planet and find a special ship that Melfina is able to operate because she's a cyborg. When they manage to get it, Hilda is killed by the people that were chasing them and Gene takes over as the captain of the ship and he calls it the Outlaw Star. They then hear about something called the Galactic Leyline, which is said to have a special treasure there. They decide to go and the rest of the series is following them on different adventures to eventually reach it. So, yeah, a bit of that does sound somewhat episodic, but, in my opinion, that's exactly what makes it so enjoyable. After the first few episodes, the majority of the series afterwards is showing them doing different things like jobs to get money to help them get to the Leyline. But the way they do them all is so fun and so entertaining. I love when an anime feels somewhat episodic but the episodes are super entertaining and they show the different things they do helps to show them getting close to what they're trying to do. I think something that helps with that is the rest of the crew they're able to get because, for the first few episodes, it's just Gene, Jim and Melfina, but they start getting more members like a Ctarl-Ctarl named Aisha, who can turn into a tiger, and an assassin named Suzuka. They join up after a while and the way they come together as a crew is a lot of fun and helps make the character dynamics even more entertaining. But, they also manage to have the plot unfold in other great ways too like when they introduce the MacDougall brothers, two of the main villains in the series with Ron being the older and smarter one and Harry being the crazy and violent younger one who's obsessed with having Melfina to himself. They encounter them at different points in the show and in different ways, the first time being when they enter a race with the Outlaw Star and lose, but they still find them and they have a really cool fight with them and then the series goes into being episodic again until episode 15, which is maybe the darkest episode in the show because it has some disturbing stuff in it. Gene is forced to fight someone but he realises he could most likely die and so this causes him to get depressed and miserable and he starts acting cold to everyone, especially Melfina when he's drunk and we get a disturbing scene with the two of them but then we see Gene at the fight and he manages to kill the guy only to see there's another one there who wants to kill him who he met earlier and so the crew decides to help him and they manage to win, but just barely and so it ends with their bond being stronger, but it was still a disturbing episode nonetheless, and how they did it was really well done. The series then keeps going as they keep doing more jobs and encounter more enemies, especially fighting the MacDougall again when they try to invade the ship, and do other things too like the episode where they help a guy get stuff from a sunken ship, or when Aisha takes part in a women's wrestling tournament or when they all get taken into custody or even some smaller stories like when Jim meets a girl on a planet and they quickly become friends but then they unknowingly fight each other in their ships which causes the girl to die and Jim is saddened with her not showing up again and so it's nice when we see someone like Jim get a story like this because, he may be really great with technology and be a great partner for Gene, but he's still a small kid and so having stories like this help us sympathise with him. But, the series begins to come to a close in episode 21 when the crew finds a planet with ruins that they think could help lead them to the Galactic Leyline and they end up fighting the MacDougall brothers again but then they're contacted by a guy named Gwen Khan, who's another one of the main villains, and this leads to an episode where Gene infiltrates a prison to find someone who can tell them where the Leyline is and so they manage to get out and he helps them find out where it is. It woulda been cool to immediately go to the Leyline from there, but then we get the funniest episode in the show where Gene and the others go to a Hot Springs planet and try to get Caster Shells, as in magical bullets for a special gun that Gene has. And this whole episode is just one gigantic laugh after another with Gene being forced to help someone in return for it while some loser idiot is after him trying to kill him but keeps failing. It's honestly one of the funniest episodes in an anime I've seen in ages. But, anyway, that then leads to the last three episodes, which serve as the finale to the whole show. This has Gene and the rest of the crew, along with the MacDougall brothers with Gwen Khan, a bunch of pirates led by a guy named Hazanko, who's basically the final villain of the show, all arrive at the Leyline and the Leyline itself sorta acts like it's alive. It teleports them to different places that meet at the same point and it even takes Melfina because, for a lot of the series, she's trying to figure out exactly what she is and why she was created, but it's revealed that she, along with the Outlaw Star itself, were created as a means of reaching the Leyline and understanding it, and she's taken to the centre of it and Gene and Harry try to get to her back. And we get another cool action scene where Harry tries to fight Hazanko but he kills him and then Ron is seriously injured. Gene then arrives and gets knocked out but Jim manages to help him and this actually helps show that this part has an amazing moment for all the main characters because Jim is helping Gene, Aisha finally gets to go all out with her power as a Ctarl-Ctarl, Suzuka fights the person who killed her family and Gene and Melfina find out more and more information about the Leyline. And this all culminates in Gene, Gwen Khan and Hazanko getting to the centre of the Leyline and getting a lot of information and Melfina has sorta merged with the Leyline and things start going crazy when Gene and Hazanko fight like when it looks like they've all been killed but are deeper inside the Leyline and Melfina explains more about the Leyline to Gene and that she can now grant him any wish. Gwen Khan was also killed after learning the information he wanted and Hazanko got all the power he wanted and Gene says he just wants him, Melfina and the rest of the crew to go back to the way things were and so they manage to get back to the ship and they begin to fight Hazanko and they manage to beat him and the series then ends with them going back to their home planet and Gene decides he wants to keep going around space doing jobs and it looks like everyone is happy and the crew decides to stay together and the series ends with them just flying off to whatever adventure is next. So, in all honesty, I love this show. Even though I'm fairly new to it, I absolutely love it and it's quickly become one of my all time favourite anime's ever. The series just has such a likeable charm to it and is so much fun from beginning to end. Even though the series is only 26 episodes long and is very episodic and feels like filler for a good amount of it, it's still done the best way it could be done and a lot of that is due to how much fun the characters are. I love all the main characters. Gene is a super likeable and fun and funny protagonist, Jim is great as a partner for him and Melfina, Aisha and Suzuka are great characters as well with Melfina being very kind and gentle and compassionate, Aisha being crazy and funny and over dramatic and Suzuka being quiet and a bit of a loner but still being really cool. I think Aisha is the funniest character in the series with being super over the top in a ton of different situations and being super over dramatic and, like I said, I love the different kinds of dynamics they all have with each other with getting on each other's nerves a lot and bickering a lot but still being great friends and having each other's backs. And, while I guess some episodes were better than others, there was never one I disliked and they all had a great charm to them. The episodic feeling to the show also helps make some side characters stand out too like Fred or even Hilda. I'll be honest, I was really surprised when Hilda died. I really thought she would be one of the main character given how integral she was in the first few episodes. The animation is also fantastic in this series. I love how colourful and bright it is and how everything really does just pop. The different way they do colours and designs makes this one of the best looking anime's I've seen in a while, especially since this was a show made back in the late nineties. I also love how even though this is an old anime from the nineties, it still holds up incredibly well. I think a good reason for that is the voice acting with the dub because it's filled with actors I've never seen in other anime's before, but they all do an amazing job. Bob Buchholz as Gene, Brianne Siddall as Jim, Emily Brown as Melfina, Lenore Zann as Aisha, Wendee Lee as Suzuka, every single one of them do an absolutely incredible job and I'm so glad this series introduced me to them all. So, overall, I am so glad I got into this series and so glad I love it the way I do. Like I said at the start, this is honestly my Cowboy Bebop. This is what I wanted that series to be and I genuinely believe this series is the better version of it, which is weirdly kinda fitting since this series actually started shortly before Cowboy Bebop did back in 1998 in Japan and they were both made by the same studio. I had an amazing time with it and I can confidently say that this is one of my favourite anime's of all time. So, yeah, guys, if you've never seen this series before, I would absolutely recommend checking this series out if you haven't. I especially think this is a great series to binge watch since it's not a long show at all. And so, yeah, guys, that's my review of Outlaw Star. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Elemental

So guys, we're now at the latest Pixar movie and another one I wasn't super excited for, Elemental. This is a lot like Strange World to me where I wasn't really that interested watching the trailers or anything like that and I honestly saw on the last day of its release here. I saw it on Sunday last week and was just curious to see it, especially since, again, like Strange World, the movie was bombing pretty hard at the box office and the little bit of response I was hearing wasn't very positive. So, in the end, what did I think of it? Honestly, it's pretty mcuh the same as my thoughts on Strange World where I honestly didn't like this at all. In a way, I guess, it was somewhat better than Strange World, at least, unlike that movie, I wasn't completely bored to death. It was still pretty boring, but at least I kinda remembered the characters a bit more. But, overall, this was a pretty disappointing film for me. Also, since this has been out for over a month, I'm going full spoilers from the start, so, if you don't want anything spoiled, go see it and then come back and read this. So, what's the story? It's set in a world where the four elements are alive and have a society and in a town, there's a fire family there with a daughter named Ember. Her family owns a shop and she's hoping to take over it some day. She tries to show she's responsible enough to do it and one day when she's doing it, she causes a pipe to burst which causes a water guy named Wade to come through which starts flooding the shop and so now the two of them try to get to the bottom of what's causing a huge flood to happen. So, I will admit, some of that does some somewhat promising, I think a few elements they implement does help give the film a few cool concepts. Where it falls hard for me though is in the execution. A lot of the film was still really, really boring to me. The main problem I had with it is that the pacing was honestly pretty bad, especially at the start, it felt like the movie was really trying to get into the main plot as fast as possible and so the opening in particular felt pretty rushed. I also feel like this movie was trying to combine other Disney movies together into one like Zootropolis and The Princess And The Frog, except those movies did those plots way, way, way better, and so by feeling like other Disney movies leads to the film feeling kinda forced in its execution and being really bland. The film felt like it was going by really quick and so the relationships forming felt really forced and not earned. The main one I'm talking about is the romance between Ember and Wade. Again, it felt like it was trying to do Zootropolis in this a bit with Judy and Nick's connection, but this one felt really forced and not as well earned. The movie also has a ton of other clichéd moments like Ember and Wade trying to hide from Ember's parents and that eventually leading to them finding put and them getting mad and also Ember and Wade getting into an argument, which also felt really forced and clichéd. I mean, with everything I've said, that's not to say nothing is good in the film because the animation is of course great and actually pretty different from most Disney movies, something about how they do parts of the animation was pretty unique and cool. And the main thing I liked the most was the world because they take advantage of every cool idea you could have with a world like this. They make it so that the world feels unique and how they do a lot of those unqiue things like that makes this a world I would love to explore it. So the actual world building of the film was probably what interested me the most. However, while that is really great to me, it doesn't really make up for the rest of the movie still feeling really forced and really poorly paced. I also really don't like the ending. Like the rest of the movie, it felt forced and not earned with Ember being able to save Wade and the two of them get together. I will say, in terms of some other things that were kinda interesting, the middle of the movie actually was kinda entertaining. I mean, it had some moments I didn't like, but the middle of the movie when Ember and Wade are doing some other small things was actually not that bad and had some entertaining moments, but, for the most part, a lot of the movie just had scenes that made me care less and less and so that didn't really matter in the end. So, overall, I really didn't like this film. It gave me a lot of the same feelings as Strange World did, and while not as bad a feeling as film, still not exactly a good one either. So, yeah, I personally wouldn't want to see this again. All that being said, I honestly do have a lot of faith in Disney's next movie, Wish, which is out in November and I actually do have a lot of faith in that movie. The trailers have looked really cool so far and the animation looks incredible and the way it's being presented makes me really excited and I have a feeling this could be another big movie for Disney like Frozen was. But, as for this movie itself, I personally didn't like it and was really disappointed as a big Disney and Pixar fan. I'd only say check it out if you're curious. And as, everyone, that's my review of Elemental. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

My Hiei collectible (Review)

So, I haven't shared any of these for a few months, but on my YouTube channel, I've still been doing plenty of anime collectible reviews. The last one I shared on here was the one for Hisoka and I've gotten tons since and this is one I did after I did the Hisoka one, my one for Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho. It was great to be able to get him since he's another character from Yu Yu Hakusho and Hiei is still my favourite character in the whole series, and possibly my favourite Yoshihiro Togashi character of all time. Like I said, I've been able to get a lot more since the last one I shared, and I'll be showing them all on here for a while too and I'm excited for more of them coming soon to do reviews of those ones too. So, just for this one as a whole, this Hiei figure is possibly part of some set or something because it's not a Banpresto figure and looks different, but it still works well as a Hiei figure and one of him doing an awesome attack with The Dragon Of The Darkness Flame and so it's cool to have him and Yusuke together like this. Anyway, again, I was glad to get him when I did. And so, here it is and I hope you all like this.

From Up On Poppy Hill

So, guys, now we're moving onto a really high-up Studio Ghibli for me, From Up On Poppy Hill. This is another one I absolutely love. When I saw this for the first time, I really, really loved it and I rewatched it again recently and I still do. This is another very small stakes movie with people just kinda living their lives and do what they can in different situations. I think this is similar to something like Whisper Of The Heart where there's just people trying to live their lives with some complications in the way. Though, I guess this does have a bit more of a story to it. The film just has a huge amount of charm and likeability to it. The story is about a girl named Umi who lives with her sisters. Her mom is in college and her dad is dead. She goes to a school that has a clubhouse next to it that's going to be demolished and everyone wants to save it, especially the boys who use it a lot and Umi asks her friends to help fix it up to help. Not only that, but the main story outside of that is Umi meeting a boy named Shun and they both don't really like each other but begin to develop feelings for the other after a bit of time but that starts getting complicated after Umi shows him a picture of her dad and he realises that her dad might be his as well so now things are complicated because they think they could be siblings now. So, yeah, a part of this does sound like very typical teenage drama stuff that's been done a lot, but I think what helps make this so special for me is the pacing. Again, like I've said so much about this Ghibli movies already, this is another film that is so slow with its pacing and how long it spends on different scenes, even when the characters are doing absolutely nothing at all, and they still somehow manage to make this super charming, likeable, fun and incredibly engaging. But I think what I liked about the film the most is when the characters are discovering different pieces of information about their history because Umi and Shun are clearly trying to figure out what happened with Umi's dad and see what kind of relationship they really have and how they do a lot of that is done super well. And even the subplot with the clubhouse is really fun with how much time they spend on cleaning it up and also showing how much care they all have for it. And even in some scenes like when Umi, Shun and some classmate of theirs go to some place to talk to someone and all they do is just sit and wait, something about that alone is kinda engaging too. But I also like just general character stuff like when Umi and Shun are bonding and sorta figuring out what they want to do and so on. And all that stuff is great, but just how they go through the rest of the mundane stuff is just as great as it is in the other movies. And I think the ending couldn't have been done any better. Out of all the endings in these Studio Ghibli movies, this is one of the most satisfying because Umi and Shun and all the students manage to save the clubhouse by cleaning it and having one of the higher-ups come and he agrees to leave it alone and then Umi and Shun go to the docks and meet someone who knew Umi's dad and he reveals that Shun's dad was someone else who knew him and Umi's dad. Again, just really fantastically executed and really well presented too. It's also nice how even before that, Umi's mom came back and even explained it to her like that too. So, yeah, again, this film just has the same charm to it that so many other Ghibli films like Whisper Of The Heart and I love it for that. It has such a great way of doing everything it does and makes it so engaging and interesting to watch the whole thing. I think the dub in this is a good reason as to why that is because they all do great, especially Sarah Bolgar as Umi and Anton Yelchin as Shun. So, I'm not exactly sure if this would really appeal to everyone, but I do think you should check this out regardless because I do believe there's some really great stuff in this. So guys, that's my review of From Up On Poppy Hill. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Arrietty

So, for the last few Studio Ghibli movies I've reviewed, I've gone over ones that I've enjoyed to lesser degrees than some of other ones, but now we're back to ones that I love and think are some of my favourites, Arrietty. I know in most places, it's called The Secret World Of Arrietty, but, here, it's just Arrietty. Anyway, apparently this is based on some book that I really don't know anything about, so just judging this film on its own, I honestly love it. I feel like this is the same kinda movie as something like My Neighbour Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service, as in I feel like it gives me the same kinda feels in a way. I feel like I've seen this kinda story before, but the way they do it is very likeable and very charming. The story is about a family of tiny people called Borrowers who live in a tiny house inside a normal house and try to live their lives by taking things from the normal house without ever being seen. One of the members of the family is a teenaged girl named Arrietty who's then spotted by a boy named Sho who's staying at the house for a while and he's really sick. They start to get along and they start to open up to each other but the maid of the house named Haru starts to suspect that they're around and tries to capture them so Arrietty and her family decide to try to move and Sho tries to help. So, unlike some of the past few Ghibli movies that felt like they had big stakes on the rest of the world and stuff like that, this one is definitely back to things being smaller scaled and more relaxed in a way, and you could say it really is small scaled given the premise and what they do. I really like how they shoot this film. It's the kinda thing you'd see in something like Toy Story or A Bug's Life where you follow small characters and so you see the world as massive like they do and I really love it for that. I love how they use common items as tools and the different ways they do all that is really creative. The film is also pretty fast paced. I mean, it's only an hour and a half long but they do a lot really quickly but I think they do it really well too and allow a lot of character moments in it too like showing the connection between Arrietty and Sho and how they get to the point where he's helping her. But I think they also do a great job at hateable characters too, and by that, I mean Haru, the maid of the house because she's constantly trying to catch Arrietty and her family and so she's doing all these things to them and it makes her extremely hateable and so it's extremely satisfying at the end when she fails and you see her be defeated. And, really, all that really helped make this one of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies because even though there's not really anything in this that's insane or masterfully done like other Ghibli movies, just the little things they do do just helps make these characters very likeable and enjoyable and I love how they show that by having the characters be incredibly smart about the situation and knowing what to do at any moment. I especially love how the ending is almost kinda bittersweet because, not only does Arrietty and her family move, but it's shown that Sho could die because of his illness so that's kinda left open at the end too even though he says he's going for an operation. But I still think they leave it open enough to see that there is hope for him anyway. So, yeah, even though this is a more smaller film, literally, I think everything they do in this made it very enjoyable and just very fun to watch. I also love the dub here and how genuine it is. There's actually two versions of this film's dub because there's the American one and the British one and I've only seen the British version, but I think they do an amazing job like Saoirse Ronan as Arrietty and Tom Holland as Sho. I was really surprised to see Tom Holland do a dub for a Ghibli movie, but he does an amazing job. And the rest do a great job too. So, again, this review probably wasn't the most insightful you'll ever see about this film, but it's still just a film I'm really happy I saw and these are my genuine thoughts on it. And, with what's in it, I still love this movie because they do so much that makes the film so likeable and I'm really happy to say this is one of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies. So, I would highly recommend checking this out if you're watching all the Studio Ghibli movies. So, yeah, guys, those are my thoughts on Arrietty. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Ponyo

So, out of all the Studio Ghibli movies out there, this one is probably one of the weirdest, Ponyo. And, when I say that, I mean in terms of the movie itself and also how I personally feel about it. I know a lot of people most likely absolutely love this film, but it's honestly just another very okay movie for me. Not bad, just very okay. I don't love this film, but I also don't hate it. You can tell from watching that this is meant to be a more kid friendly film than some other Ghibli movies. Though, and this is kinda the opposite of how I felt about the last few Ghibli movies. I recently rewatched the film to prepare for this review and I think I liked it a bit less than I did the first time. I mean, it's a very harmless film, like I said, but, I dunno, I just didn't really connect with this film at all like I did with a lot of other Ghibli movies. I'll get into that in a second, but, let's get into the story first. The story is about a small girl creature from the ocean that comes to the surface and begins to turn into a human. While there, she meets a small boy named Sosuke who names her Ponyo and Sosuke does everything he can to keep her around and he's also living with his mom who tries to help wherever she can while also doing her job. Not only that, but Ponyo's dad is furious about her leaving the ocean and so he constantly tries to get her back home, especially since her being on the surface is causing all sorts of damage like the sea going crazy and the moon is going to crash into the world. Yeah, this is something that's weird about the film, it starts off so small and simple, but then just becomes completely insane because there's then another element introduced that Ponyo being out of the sea could destroy the planet. But, I guess to be fair, this isn't really a film that was really meant to be taken seriously, I think it was just meant to be a fun small kid's adventure film because everything that happens feels like it's aimed for kids. The majority of the film is centred around watching Ponyo and Sosuke's friendship develop with Ponyo getting insanely over excited for everything and going crazy for it like whenever she eats ham and them getting into strange situations while Ponyo's dad is constantly trying to get her back. This is just kinda what I meant. I dunno, I just didn't really get into the film the way it wanted me too and I didn't really care much for the characters involved. I mean, I liked them, I guess, I just didn't particularly care that much, especially since I've seen this kinda story done before and I've enjoyed it more in other things like that. Again, yes, definitely a film that feels like it's aimed for children so it can get away with that, but in terms of something that would appeal to an older audience, I'm sure loads of people would like it fine, it's just something that doesn't appeal to me that much personally. But that's not to say the film doesn't have anything going for it when it comes to adults because it does because things like the animation is still clearly phenomenal and they did it in a way where the animation looks somewhat more simpler than other Ghibli movies but still look really great. Again, like some of these other Ghibli movies, I appreciate a lot of what they did and I do acknowledge that this is a good film, it's just not one that I think is spectacular and isn't something I think would appeal to everyone like a lot of other ones, but it is still a good film regardless and there are a lot of great aspects, especially the dubbing. They did a really great job with the dubbing for this like Noah Cyrus as Ponyo, Frankie Jonas as Sosuke, Liam Neeson as Ponyo's dad and Cate Blanchett as her mom. I think they all do a great job and how they do different parts of the film interestingly as well. So, this review was really short and probably sounded way too harsh, but I do see this as a good movie and I am glad I saw it. So, I do think you should see this if you're curious to check it out with the other Ghibli movies. So, yeah, guys, those are my thoughts on Ponyo. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

The Flash

So guys, now we've arrived at the last DC.E.U movie before James Gunn starts on his own version of it, The Flash. This is a film that I was kinda surprised was really coming out because this film has had so many behind the scenes issues and things like that that it honestly felt like there was a possibility that it would never come out. But it has now and I wasn't that excited for this originally, but as the trailers started coming out, they started looking like this could be a really fun film. So, I was able to see it on Friday last week and, I gotta admit, this film really surprised me. I really didn't think I'd see this film as really that good, but I gotta be honest, it was. I really liked this film and I think it's a really fun movie. That's not to say it perfect, or even great necessarily, but it was definitely more fun than I was expecting. And, like always, this will have no spoilers for the first part and then I'll go into the spoilers after a warning. So, what's the story? Barry is still part of the Justice League and is helping in anyway he can, but after realising he has the ability to go back in time and fix things, he decides to try to go back and make it so that his mom never died. But, by doing that, he's created a new timeline where there's no superheroes aside from a new Batman, played again by Michael Keaton, and Supergirl, played by Sasha Calle. Not only that, but there's also another him from this new timeline. So I'm gonna stop there for now. So, right off the bat, what I liked the most about this film was just how fun it was. This is one of the most fun comic book movies I've seen in a while and there's so many scenes in this that made me really happy and enjoy the journey of what was going on. I like how the film sorta did right what a couple of M.C.U movies haven't done that well lately like Thor: Love And Thunder where they balance the comedy and serious things really well and, no, I don't think this is super emotional, but it's done really well and when it's funny, it's really funny and when it's dramatic, it's really dramatic. It does all of that so well. Moving onto the cast, they're really great here. I know what's been going on with Ezra Miller lately, but just going off this movie alone, he's really great here and really funny and really likeable. Something they do with him here that's really fun is that Barry is having to team up with the Barry Allen from this new timeline and they have it where the main one gets annoyed with this new one and so the two of them have a really fun dynamic and I like how they both mature in the film in different ways. Michael Keaton is also back as Batman and this is easily my favourite version of his character we've ever seen. I've never really liked or cared about his Batman before in the other movies, but they do a good job here of making him very fun and likeable here and I really like the team-up with him and Barry and they have some funny moments. The main new addition in this movie though is Sasha Calle as Supergirl, and she's really great in the film too. I've wanted to see a proper version of Supergirl on the big screen for a long time and they do some really cool and interesting things with her here. Everyone else is really great too in terms of acting. All the acting in the film is so good here. As for the action itself, I'd say it's good, I don't think anything here is absolutely incredible and some of the best action scenes in a comic book movie ever, but there is a whole lot of it and they do a lot of cool things here, especially one part in particular at the start of the film that was really fun to watch. I also liked the various ways the story gets told because they do some imaginative stuff with this too like when they explain who the main villain is and what they do with that is pretty surprising. I think the most surprising part of the story is probably how it's all solved in the end and they have a nice character arc for Barry with that. Not only that, but this is clearly a film that offers possibilities for a lot of cameos. We already have Michael Keaton coming back, but there's a ton of other great ones and some of which that were extremely mind-blowing to see. I'm obviously gonna talk about that stuff in the spoilers, but I was so surprised by the cameos we got to see here. And, in general, I just thought the film was well told and well presented for the most part and was just a lot of fun to watch overall. If there's anything I really have any problems with, it's not that many, but the main one I can think of are the effects because the C.G.I here is honestly horrible a lot of the time. Sometimes it looks amazing, but a lot of other times, it honestly looked really awful. I don't know if it was sometimes intentional, but, there were moments when it clearly wasn't supposed to be and it just looked horrible sometimes. And, I guess the other thing is that I don't think there's anything really that special about this. I mean, it has a lot of truly awesome stuff and I guess it's better than the average comic book film, but I also don't think it's up there as one of the best. That being said, I personally would place it as one of my favourite DC movies because, like I said, there's a lot of really fun moments here and some moments that make me excited for what they could do in the future. So, I realise this section of the review was probably kinda short, but, there's so much in this film to go over in the spoiler section that I'm really excited to talk about. But, as for this film overall, I really do think you should go see it. Apparently the film is really bombing at the box office, but I really do think you should support it. Regardless of some behind the scenes drama, I still think the film itself is extremely well done and is worth viewing. I personally can't wait to see it again. So guys, those are my thoughts on The Flash. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think. Okay, now we're going into the spoiler section, if you don't want anything spoiled, so watch the film then come back and read the rest of this.

Spoilers:

Okay, so, like I was saying, there's a fair amount of things to spoil in this film, so, let's just get right into that. First off, the opening scene at the beginning is what I was referring to when I said the film had a really creative and imaginative opening action scene, but the C.G.I kinda distracted me from it a bit because it looked really bad a lot of the time, especially any wide shots. But the whole thing of Barry catching all the babies was pretty fun to see, and creative with how he did it. It was also cool to see Ben Affleck again. I was pretty surprised to see he came back for this, but it looks like this is gonna be the last time we ever see him as Batman, and I liked seeing him again one last time. It was also a huge surprise to see Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman too. I assume this is the last time we'll see her as Diana too, but it was cool to see her here. Also, I liked how they show Barry trying to help his dad showing that he's still trying to clear his name and they have some nice moments with that. But then this leads to Barry learning about going back in time with his powers and it was interesting how he used it to save his mom from dying but then that led to a new future where all the superheroes are either gone or never happened. And having the two Barry's together was funny to see too. Like I said, this led to some fun scenes where the main Barry gets annoyed by the other one and sorta realises why so many people find him annoying. I also found it interesting how the main Barry loses his powers when the other one gets his powers, I think that was a fun way to do that and I think they do it in some creative ways because we then see Zod from Man Of Steel come to the planet and I liked how they show that Barry was actually already there in the Man Of Steel movie trying to help people and so it's cool that they added that. However, that then led to the scene where the two Barry's go to Bruce's house only to discover it's a different version of him who's the Michael Keaton version. It kinda makes me wonder if it's supposed to be the same version of him from his own movies or if it's still kinda supposed to be Ben Affleck's version but he just looks different. I then also liked when they start to get along and Bruce agrees to help them get Superman out of captivity to stop Zod only to realise that it's actually Kara and the first action scene with them and the soldiers was cool too. I then also liked the scene where Barry tries to get his powers back and how they do that is pretty cool, and I like how this film was a cool reference to the Flashpoint story with having it look like Bruce was gonna help Barry with it. When he does get his powers back, the action scene that follows goes back to what I was saying about how it was cool and it had some creative moments, but, again, the weird C.G.I really did distract me from it. But, as for the rest of it, I was surprised when we see Bruce and Kara die and this led to Barry eventually realising that this was something that couldn't be prevented and that they had to let it happen but then, this kinda led to the reveal of the main villain, maybe. Which is a third and old version of Barry who's been time travelling for so long that he's now old and this led to the second Barry getting killed and that old one getting killed too. Before that though, we get a scene that was really mind-blowing to see. We get to see different universes and old versions of characters like Christopher Reeves Superman, that original Supergirl from that terrible 80's movie and we even see that Nick Cage Superman that was never really made, but is one of the most infamous superhero ideas ever, but then we see some versions of Batman like Adam West and things like that that were really mind-blowing to see. But then we see Barry having to make things right again by making it so that his mom does die, which was pretty sad to see, especially during the scene where he says goodbye to her. But he did it in a way where his dad would be proven innocent so he's free now. And this led to maybe the most mind-blowing scene in the movie for me when Barry is about to see Bruce again, but this time, it's actually George Clooney's version, which absolutely made me lose my mind when I saw this. It almost makes me wonder if he'll actually keep going as this character now that it looks like this universe has been reset, so I'm very curious to know what's gonna happen now. As for the post-credit scene, it jsut shows Barry talking to Arthur and I'm wondering if Jason Momoa is gonna keep going as him. But, yeah guys, that's really everything. There were so many surprises in this film that made me really happy and really excited for what they could do in the future. I'm just really excited to see what James Gunn is going to do with this new universe now. And so, yeah, everyone, that's my review of The Flash. Thank you all for reading and please comment below to tell me what you think.

Tales From Earthsea

So guys, now we've reached another pretty interesting Studio Ghibli movie, this time though, it's because I haven't really heard that much about it. Some have said they loved it and some have said it's not that good and some have said it's a film they didn't really have any interest in watching it and so, despite having properly heard one person's thoughts on this film, I still went in curious to know what my thoughts would be and, in the end, I think my thoughts on this are pretty much the same as my thoughts on Howl's Moving Castle, as in the first time I saw it, I didn't think it was very good. I mostly found the story and characters kinda boring and the story never really interested me that much. But, again, recently, I watched it again to prepare for this review and it actually did get a bit better. Again, my basic thoughts are pretty much the same and there's some weird plot holes I noticed, but it was a bit better than the first time I saw it. The story is set in a fantasy world where there's wizards and dragons around and a lot of people are talking about how a lot of weird things are happening and that they feel like something's coming. Not only that, but the king of a kingdom is then killed by his son named Arren who then steals his sword and runs away. A man then finds him and reveals he's a wizard named Sparrowhawk who decides to take him along and they begin to travel until they go to one of Sparrowhawk's friend's house and they meet a girl there named Therru who's an outsider from people around her and she hates Arren until they start to bond. But another wizard named Cob wants to use them as a way to become immortal. So, yeah, that's a lot to throw into a movie like this, but, for the most part, I feel like they do a decent job at keeping the focus of this film in check and making it fairly interesting. But I mainly mean in regards to the ideas and events that happen because, in regards to the characters, I don't think there's much interest. I didn't hate them, but I didn't find them all that interesting either. The only one that had my interest was Sparrowhawk because he sounded interesting and felt like there was something you really wanted to know about him. The rest though, like Arren, didn't interest me at all. I dunno, maybe they were trying to make some deep, complex character with him, but I never really felt it. He just didn't hold my interest and didn't really seem that likeable to me. But, that's not to say nothing else held my interest because there were some things that I felt helped keep me invested enough. The main one I think of is Cob, who's obviously the main villain of the film and is this weird and creepy and crazy guy who acts as calm and quiet as he can but there's something about him that's kinda charismatic too. And, again, like the other Ghibli films I've mentioned, this film has a real slow pace to it and I think the first half of the film didn't have my interest. I think all the wandering and all that got kinda boring, but once they reached Tenar's house and met her and Therru, things felt like they picked up more. I found what they spoke about more interesting because this is a film that has a lot of talking in it and not a lot of action and it's mostly just watching the characters discussing about how there's a lot of things going on and something could be happening soon. There's also a lot of other things going on like how Arren is getting visions of some other version of himself that's haunting him. But, that's kind of another thing that's weird about this film. The fact that there's this other version of Arren and we're never really told what it is. Maybe it's something Cob is doing or maybe it's supposed to be like Berserk where his emotions have sorta manifested as some other entity in his head. I dunno and it's a little confusing, especially when it talks to Therru at the end. So, there's a lot of things in this I'm trying to be supportive of here because I do think the film got better the second time and I do think it had a good amount of potential to be amazing, but there's just some moments here and there that kinda held it back a bit. I think the biggest example of that is the ending because there's some stuff in it that's cool, but a part of me feels like it was pretty disappointing as well. We have Cob kidnapping Arren and Tenar and Arren has apparently told Cob his real name, which is also something that's a bit confusing, and he has Sparrowhawk taken too and so Therru comes to help and eventually Arren is able to break free of some spell Cob put him under and they fight with Cob getting older and crazier and so Arren has to save Therru who Cob has taken now too. So, yeah, there's a lot here that's cool and they do have some nice moments for characters like how Arren and Therru start to bond more, but some of this didn't seem that interesting to me. It was kinda cool, I just didn't think a lot of this was that interesting. Also, there's a really weird part where it's revealed that Therru is actually a dragon and she manages to kill Cob and, I dunno, it felt like it kinda came outta nowhere and wasn't properly explained. I mean, I guess I like the idea itself, I just wish it was explained more and, I guess they do kinda tease it earlier on, I just don't think they explained it properly. That being said, I did still like how the film ended with Arren and Therru having a nice moment and so I liked it on that level. So, this is kind of a weird movie for me because it has all the positives and negatives I just mentioned and, as I said at the start, the positives did kinda show themselves a bit more on my second viewing and I did find it more interesting than I did the first time. So, like what I said about Howl's Moving Castle and a couple of other Ghibli movies, I don't think this is one of my favourite Ghibli movies, but I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around. Plus, as always, the animation is really great here and there's some kinda disturbing imagery here like when we see a dragon die at the start and when Cob begins transforming at the end. I also feel like the voice acting really helped this film a lot too, especially Timothy Dalton as Sparrowhawk and Willem Dafoe as Cob. I feel Timothy Dalton made Sparrowhawk feel really respectable and confident and Willem Dafoe helped make Cob feel super weird and creepy, especially with how quiet his voice was a lot of the time. But the rest like Matt Levin, Blaire Restaneo and Mariska Hargitay do an amazing job too. So, I guess this was kind of a weird review for me, but it's hard for me to really get a proper grip on my thoughts on this film because of everything I've mentioned, but I'm glad I saw this the second time to improve my thoughts on it and I do think this is a film that's worth at least one viewing if you're interested. So, yeah, guys, those are my thoughts on Tales From Earthsea. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

So guys, we've now reached the super highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 animated masterpiece from Sony, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Across The Spider-Verse. This is a film that so many people like me have been waiting for for a long time ever since the first movie five years ago. I did a review for it back in 2020 and I said the same praise about it that everyone else has. Given how it was a film that was not only incredible, but also surprised everyone with how good it was, it was gonna be really hard to live up to it. But, I think they did an amazing job. I honestly loved this movie. It was just as good as the first and had way more drama than I thought it would. That being said, I personally think Into The Spider-Verse is still better, but this was still really amazing. And, like always, this will have no spoilers for the first part, and then I'll go into all the spoilers after a warning. So, let's get into it. What's the story? Miles is still doing everything he can as Spider-Man in his universe, but after an incident occurs where he's fighting a new villain goes crazy, he's forced to team up with a whole bunch of different Spider-Men from every other universes to find out what to do. So, that's really the best I can do without spoiling anything because there's a lot of spoilers here. But, just like the first movie, this films knows exactly what it and gives us what we loved about the first movie and more. Just like the first movie, it has so many great jokes and so many hilarious scenes that poke fun at Spider-Man but also respects the character greatly and knows how to do it right and there's tons of references. I'll get into the cameos later, but the comedy is still something that's very apparent and something Phil Lord and Chris Miller always do really well. But, just like the first as well, they also remember to give the film a huge amount of drama and heart. Into The Spider-Verse is one of the most heart-wrenching and heart-warming comic book movies ever and this is the same. Personally, I think they do it a tiny bit too much here and I feel like maybe the film goes on a bit too long as a result, but they still know how to balance it out enough so you feel the emotions and they do a great job of making Miles and the others extremely loveable as a result. Also, I feel like they improved the animation here. The first movie created this very unique and creative animation style and this one carries that and makes it even better. Something I think I mentioned before in another review is that I love when a movie or show is able to capture motion and gravity perfect so you feel like you're with the characters as they move and this one does that so well. The way the characters move here made it feel like I was moving along with them and I loved it for that. If I'm being honest, sometimes it felt like they threw a bit too much at the screen and sometimes it felt kinda hard to follow some of the action, but it was still done so well and this style is amazing to look at. But, really, the best thing about these Spider-Verse movies is that they add the perfect amount of heart to it and make some of the best drama in any comic book movie and the way they do it here really shows they know exactly how to do it right. The film also has so many amazing cameos and one that I didn't expect at all that I'm really excited to talk about in the spoiler section, especially one in particular. The ending is also something I didn't expect at all and it perfectly sets up the next film, which is gonna be Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse next year and I am so excited to see that after seeing this. So yeah, guys, this film really did live up to the anticipation. If I really had to nit-pick anything at all, it's kinda like I said already, I feel like it was a bit too long, maybe 15 or 20 minutes could have been cut out and I still don't think it's as good as Into The Spider-Verse, but, aside from that, this film is just as amazing as the first and I couldn't be excited for Beyond The Spider-Verse next year. So guys, those are my thoughts on Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think. Okay, now we're going into the spoilers. If you don't want this spoiled, go watch it then come back and read the rest of this.

Spoilers:

Okay, so, like I said, there's a lot to spoil about this movie, so let's just get right into it. So, first off, I was really surprised by the opening because we spend quite a lot of time with Gwen in her own universe before we even see Miles at all and it was pretty tragic seeing what happens to her because, even though I already knew what happened, it was still pretty gut-wrenching, especially seeing what happens to her and her dad. I also liked the whole thing with Miles trying to stop the Spot at the start and then that leads to him not being able to attend his dad's party on time and that's what I meant by there being plenty of real drama with Miles that's done really well. Though, that whole opening with that is what I meant by it going on a bit too long, I feel like some of it could have been trimmed down a bit, but it's still compelling. Also, I noticed at the start when we see Ganke, he was actually playing the PS4 Spider-Man game, so that was a cool detail to pick up on. Anyway, that then led to Gwen and Miles meeting up and I really like the connection the two of them have, it's nice and I like them both together. But then it was shown that Spot himself is actually the main villain of the film and I didn't see that coming. I thought he was just gonna be a small villain that appears for a few minutes based on the trailers, but I didn't expect him to play such a huge part. It was also nice that it was explained how he was originally one of Kingpin's workers from the first movie and got the powers from the collider. And that led to some cool stuff too like when he goes to the live action Venom universe. I didn't expect to see that at all and it was really cool. Sure, I don't like those films, but it was still cool. And then, when we start seeing the whole going to different universes, I like when we go to the Indian Spider-Man's universe and we see what that's like and we see a cool action scene where they all try to stop Spot and we even see Spider-Punk as well, which was cool too. And I loved the action scene there. When the characters move around, that's what I meant by the animation helping to convey the movement of the characters and it was just awesome. But then we learn that Miles wasn't supposed to save one of the men there who was supposed to die and then we're brought to where all the other Spider-Men are and there's so much to unpack from this scene. For starters, I loved seeing the live action Prowler with Donald Glover, that was absolutely mind-blowing and it's so cool to think that that could lead to Prowler and Miles in the M.C.U and I'm so excited for that. But then we also see the PS4 Spider-Man there and the Spectacular Spider-Man. Having the best game and animated Spider-Man in this was also incredible to see and I was just smiling from ear to ear when that happened. But then we meet Miguel and he explains everything about what Spot is doing and how Miles wasn't supposed to be Spider-Man and I didn't expect to see that at all either. But then we get an amazing scene where we see clips from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield alongside the Spectacular Spider-Man and that was another thing that was incredible to see. But then we also see Peter from the first movie and I was really surprised he wasn't in the movie that much. It makes sense and how they do it is clever, but I was surprised since he was such a major part of the first movie. Anyway, then we get to the scene where Miles learns that his dad is gonna die and Miguel says it has to happen so Miles tries to get back with all the other Spider-Men trying to stop him and this chase scene was amazing, we even see they got Josh Keaton to come back as the Spectacular Spider-Man and he got some things to say, that was really phenomenal to see. But then it ends with Miles being able to send himself back, but he accidently sends himself to a different universe, and I'm not gonna lie, I honestly was able to predict the fact that he went to the wrong universe before it was revealed. And then we get a crazy scene where the Aaron in that universe is alive and the Miles in this universe is not only evil, but is the Prowler and they want to keep him there. As for why, I'm curious to know that and I'm really curious to know what the next film could be about. And it really does end with Gwen, Peter and some others like other others from the last film and some more trying to help Miles while Miguel and some others are trying to stop him. So, I have a few theories. They could either do it where Miles has to let his dad die in the next film or maybe he's able to save him or he might have to make a choice between saving his dad or Gwen and it might end with him choosing Gwen realising he has to let his dad die, so I really want to know what's gonna happen now. And so, yeah, everyone, that's my review of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.