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.

Howl's Moving Castle

So guys, now we've arrived ay another super, super famous Studio Ghibli movie and maybe its second most famous film next to Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle. People have been praising this movie for a long time along with Spirited Away and other huge Ghibli movies. That being said, not every review I've seen for this movie has been positive. Some have had problems with it and said they didn't like it and, I'm not gonna lie, when I first saw this movie, I was kinda on the fence about it myself. I saw more problems than I thought and I agreed with what some people were saying. There was something about what happens that I personally didn't like and thought was bad and boring. But, I recently rewatched the film in preparation for this review and I actually liked it a bit more if I'm being honest. I mean, I still have the problems I had with it the first and this is a film that's still not one of my favourite Ghibli movies and not really something I'd want to rewatch that much, but, my reaction is better than it was the first time anyway. The story is about a girl named Sophie who owns her own hat shop but she's visited by a lady named the Witch Of The Waste and wants Sophie's help for something but when she refuses, she turns her into an old lady and she decides to find a wizard named Howl to try to help her. She finds him in his litteral moving castle and decides to make herself the cleaning lady. Not only that, but there's also a war going on and two different sides wants Howl's help but he's running away from a lot of it. After the Witch Of The Waste has her powers taken away, Sophie sorta begins to go back to normal but she decides she wants to help Howl. So, yeah, while the film does have a lot of ideas and great thoughts like a lot of Ghibli movies, something about how it's done here didn't make it all that great here. I mean, there are a lot of good moments here and I'll get to those, but I didn't entirely like the pace the film was going at before. Like I've said a lot already, these Ghibli movies are usually really slow and that's been a huge positive for a lot of these. Here though, while it worked sometimes, I really didn't like how slow it was at the beginning. It felt really slow and kinda boring and didn't feel like it was going anywhere. Some stuff was also a but confusing like how Sophie doesn't ask Howl to help her with the curse and then that's kinda thrown aside for a while. I mean, it has some cool ideas and visuals, but, for the most part in the first part, it was just boring for a while and also kinda weird because there's a scene where Sophie goes to talk to someone for Howl but the Witch goes there too and there's a really, really awkward scene where they're walking up the stairs to meet the person and they're both so slow and it's so weird and kinda ugly to look at too so I don't get why that was there. However, I honestly think that after that scene, the film felt like it sorta picked up a bit more. I sorta felt things were a bit more interesting, though I found it weird that Sophie decided to keep the Witch Of The Waste with them after that, but, anyway, I think they did some other things like this more interestingly like how Howl's castle can move locations from a dial and I thought that was used for some cool things like when he shows Sophie a place he was when he was younger and how they do some things in the climax was cool too like how there's some other crazy things happening and the witch was sorta going crazy herself with trying to get Howl's heart and that leads to her causing the castle to fall apart when Calcifer goes out, as in a living fall of fire that allows the castle to move and stay together. Though, that also led to another weird scene where Sophie is able to go to the past and see Howl as a child when he first got his powers and, I dunno, I really didn't get it and I don't think they actually explain how that happened, but still. So, yeah, while it did have some stuff that was a bit confusing, I think the second part of the film made up for the kinda boring first part. They did also have some other cool things before that too like that scene I mentioned where Howl showed Sophie that other place and how they did the animation in that scene was really nice. There's also another cool scene where they show how Howl sorta remakes his castle from the inside and how they do that visually was really cool. Scenes like that are where I think I appreciated the film a bit more. The ending is cool too where it's revealed that another one of the characters named Turnip-Head is revealed to be a prince of a kingdom, though, again, like some of the other things here, it wasn't really explained very well and felt like it kinda came outta nowhere. So, this film is kinda up and down for me a lot because it does have a lot of cool aspects to it, but it also has some things that rubbed me the wrong way. But the stuff that works well does work really well. The animation is obviously outstanding like all these Ghibli movies and I really loved the dubbing here, especially Christian Bale as Howl himself. I thought he did a really great job and helped Howl stand out a bit more. But the others like Jean Simmons, Emily Mortimer, Josh Hutcherson, Billy Crystal and Lauren Bacall all do great too. So, yeah, this review might have been kinda all over the place, but it's hard for me to really get a grasp on my actual thoughts on the film because there's a lot that I liked and disliked. I'd say you should check it out if you're curious and see what you think, though I don't know if it's a fim I'd ever want to watch again. So, guys, that's my review of Howl's Moving Castle. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

The Cat Returns

So guys, if you remember in Whisper Of The Heart, there was that Cat Baron doll thing that Shizuku saw in the antique shop and it's what she decided to write a story about it. Well, they actually decided to give that cat character his own movie and so we got this one, The Cat Returns. I will admit, a part of me feels that's a bit weird, the fact that they just decided to make a film about a relatively small part of another film, but in my opinion, I think they did the best version of this that they could have done because this is honestly another one of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies. I don't think it really resonates with me emotionally like a lot of the other Studio Ghibli films, but, in terms of one of their films that's just meant to be a small fun time, that's what this is for me, just one of their movies that's just a lot of fun to watch. And, yeah, while I don't think it's as good as Whisper Of The Heart, it's still really good. So, the plot of this film is that it centres around a girl named Haru who saves a small cat from getting run over and it he then begins to walk and talk and it turns out he's the prince of a cat kingdom and the king decides to kidnap Haru and take her to the kingdom to marry the prince. Haru doesn't want to go, so she's told of the Baron, who's in some different place this time and he tries to help her but she's taken away to the kingdom before they can help her so now it's up to the Baron and another cat on this side named Muta to get her out of there, especially since Haru herself is starting to turn into a cat. So, yeah, a lot of that really does sound like a story for small kids and, to be fair, the whole film does feel like it's something that's aimed for a younger audience, but, for what it is, I really enjoy this film. I mean, it's not like some other Ghibli films where they try to have a deep message in them and try to be more serious, it's mostly just a simple adventure with more simpler animation and so on. The film itself isn't even that long, it's only 75 minutes long and I'm glad it's something that doesn't overstay its welcome. For something that's really simple and kid-friendly, it's a decent length. But what they do in that time is nice too. It's like what I said the last time where I really like the events that happen here with the different things they do. Even though a lot of it goes by quickly, it's still really entertaining when it's there. It's kinda hard to explain, but I mainly like the different interactions between the characters and the ways the film ties itself together. I say it's hard to explain because, like I said, the film is a lot shorter and simpler compared to other Ghibli movies, but, something about how this film does it is pretty nice and sweet. But it's also just a nice film to watch. It's like I said, the film is really short so it gets to everything really quickly. As soon as Haru saves the cat, she's taken to the kingdom really fast and that leads to the climax really quickly. It's just a very fast paced movie that feels like it knows what it is and just goes with it, which I really enjoy. The climax as well is really exciting and funny at the same time with the king and his army chasing Haru, the Baron and Muta through a maze and then they go to a tower where the cat prince helps them out. I also feel like this movie confirmed the fact that the Baron himself is actually a very underrated character for me. He's just really likeable and I like his mature personality. A good help with that is thanks to Cary Elwes voice performance who helps make him very likeable. Speaking of, the rest of the cast is also great. Anne Hathaway makes Haru very likeable and innocent and just does a great job in general, Peter Boyle, Andy Richter and Tim Curry are really funny as Muta, Natoru and the king cat and the rest are great too. Plus, like I said, I think the film has a really creative way of tying itself together. Again, since it's not on the same heights as something like Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, it's nothing insane, but, like I've said a lot already, for the kinda movie it is, it just makes it very likeable. What I'm talking about is at the end when one of the cats named Yuki reveals that she's a cat that Haru helped when she was younger and I think that was a nice moment. And it has a nice moment with her and the prince too. So, yeah, like I said, it's not really an amazingly spectacular movie, but I don't think it was supposed to be, it's just a very small adventure film and I really enjoy it on that level and because it never tries to be more than it is, I really enjoy this movie for that and this is still one of my favourite Ghibli movies because of that. I just really enjoy the film greatly for the fun adventure it has. I also feel like the animation being simpler helps with that too. So, yeah, I really don't think there's much to really say about this film. It's just a really fun time and it's nice that they made this spin-off film for a very minor character from another movie and made him more likeable. So, yeah, I do think you should check this out if you're curious, I really liked it. So, guys, that's my review of The Cat Returns. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

So guys, we're finally at one of the most anticipated M.C.U movies ever and one that a friend of mine and I were especially very hyped for, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. This is a movie so many people like me have been anticipating for a long time sense, ever since James Gunn made the first Guardians movie and properly introduced these characters to people, they've been some of the most popular characters in the entire M.C.U. I love the first movie and I really, really, really like the second one. I was also lucky enough to see this very early on Thursday and the anticipation was huge going into it. So, in the end, did it live up to the hype? Eh, it was pretty close. I don't think this is the best Guardians movie, and, if I'm being honest, I think this might be the least of all of them, but I still had a great time with this and I loved the experience of seeing this on the big screen, whether or not I can I say I loved the movie itself is a little tough because I do have some problems with it, but my reaction is definitely more positive and I'm really glad this is what we got as a send-off for these characters. Also, like always, this will have no spoilers for the first part of this review and then I'll go into all the spoilers afterwards. So, what's the story? The Guardians are still on Knowhere and are trying to get by and Peter is still sad about Gamora. But after someone called The High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, sets out to capture them, they decide to try to fight him and stop his plans for the galaxy. So, that's really the best I can say about the story without spoilers, but, there's so much more to the film than that. So, even before seeing the film, you could tell this is a movie that was gonna try to be darker than the last two. The first two Guardians movie were mostly light-hearted with some dramatic moments here and there, here though, this does try to be the darkest of all of them and there's that kinda sombre tone throughout the film. But there's still some really great jokes and laughs throughout the movie. The Guardians movies are some of the most comedic M.C.U movies ever and this tries to be the same but there's more drama here than the last two. So, in terms of pros and cons for the movie, I'll go over my small problems with the film and then I'll go into the positives. The main problem I have is that the film kinda feels like it has a bit too many characters in it. I understand why it did. I mean, for a film like this, you kinda want there to be a good amount of characters to help make it bigger and more epic, and it is, trust me, but it sometimes felt like the film was going a bit too far with it and made it felt kinda cluttered at times and it makes some characters feel a bit shoehorned in and kinda pointless. The biggest examples I can think of are Adam Warlock and Ayesha. It kinda felt like Gunn wanted to do something with Adam Warlock in this but there was already so much going on that he just felt wasted because he comes in and out of the movie at different points and it felt kinda pointless at times. I also feel like the opening was pretty rushed. It was a bit like Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania where the opening felt kinda rushed and felt like it was trying to get into the main plot really quickly and so some of the editing in those first few minutes felt a bit weird. Another problem I had was The High Evolutionary himself because he felt like like a bit of a weird villain to me with being this guy who was trying to make the universe better by creating new life and constantly destroying it until he reached something perfect. I also felt like the acting for him a bit too over the top. I know it's a comic book film so it's gonna have over the top characters, but he felt a bit too over the top to me. And really, I guess the main thing to point out in terms of problems is that the film felt a bit messy at times. Sometime by how a scene plays out and is implemented, but also in terms of the pacing at times too. But, moving that aside, I can still say that this is really good regardless. It's hard to say that I think this movie's great, but still, I really enjoyed myself with the film so let's get into the positives. The first main one that I always talk about is that the cast is still incredible. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautisa and all the rest are really fantastic and I think this film cemented the fact that I really love Nebula as a character. I've really liked her since the second Guardians movie and this film really made me love her and I still think she's an underrated character. I also think Kraglin as well is an underrated character, especially from how Sean Gunn plays him. This film also had my favourite version of some other characters too like Groot. I think the Groot in this version is my favourite we've ever had. I really liked him here and they do some new stuff with him that surprised me as well. The film also tries to have different dynamics with the characters because we have a version of Gamora here who's the one from the past from Endgame and so there's a different dynamic with her and Peter because Peter's trying to tell her what kind of relationship they used to have but she keeps telling him that since that was another version of her, they don't have a connection and so that's sometimes funny and dramatic as well. I also like how this film explored Rocket's past because from the trailers and posters, it was obvious that this was finally gonna show Rocket's backstory and I think they did a great job showing it. I've always loved Rocket as a character and it was awesome to see what really happened to him and it was pretty tragic, especially in one particular scene. Speaking of tragic, like I said, this film is way darker than the last two and they show that in various ways, again, especially in that one scene I just mentioned. That one scene actually helped subvert my expectations too because I thought it was gonna contribute something to the film later, and, while it technically did, it didn't do it in the way I thought it would and I liked that. The action and special effects are also still terrific. Actually, this might have my favourite Guardians action scene ever. There's a scene where they're all together and they have an action scene and it's incredible for a lot of reasons. The ending is also really insane. These Guardians movies are always insane with their climaxes and this one is no different. I dunno if I can say it's crazier than the second movie, but it's still nuts. Something that's always been apparent with these Guardians movies is the jokes and, yeah, this is another one of those. Even though this is the darkest Guardians movie, it still remembers to have humour in it and James Gunn's familiar comedy is still here and it's still great. There's one scene towards the middle in particular that made me laugh really hard. And, really, for the last bit of positives, the best thing I can say is that I'm so glad this was how the Guardians' last film went and you can absolutely see that James Gunn and everyone involved put so much love and care into this to make it as passionate as they could, and I think they succeeded immensely because, even though I think it may be the weakest of the Guardians movies and I'm not 100% sure if I can say this is a great movie that I love, there's so much stuff in this that I did love and so much that was done so well, and I really have to thank James Gunn hugely for doing an amazing job with these characters, especially with the amount of love you can tell he put into making these and I love when you can feel that watching a Marvel movie. So, I guess that may have been kinda short, but I do just wanna say that I really, really enjoyed this movie, even if I didn't think it was perfect. Like I said, I'm so glad this was the last thing with the Guardians we're probably ever gonna see, or at least for a long time and it's sad that James Gunn is now leaving Marvel. So, overall, I do really recommend this film, I had a really good time with it and I can't wait to see it again. So, guys, those are my thoughts on Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think. All right, now we're going to the spoilers. If you haven't seen the film yet, go see it then come back and read the rest of this.

Spoilers:

Okay, so, there's quite a good amount of spoilers in this, so I'll go through each of them quickly. When I said the opening seemed kinda rushed, I was talking about how Adam just kinda comes to Knowhere and attacks everyone and then leaves after he's beaten and that's what I meant about the pacing being kinda weird because it comes in and out of the film really fast. It's not bad, but it's just something I thought was weird. But that did lead to Rocket almost dying and almost the entire rest of the movie is about the team trying to save him and them going to Orgoscope to try to get some passcode to save him, and I like the stuff there like the different character interactions and it led to a lot of funny moments. I also liked when they went to that Counter-Earth and fought the High Evolutionary there and that led to a really awesome scene where Peter and Groot team up on the ship and all that was incredible. But then they try to save Rocket and, yeah, this part here is where I can finally start talking about Rocket since the whole film was pretty much being marketed as a Rocket origin story and they did a great job because a lot of this is really gut-wrenching. Mainly regarding the friends Rocket made there and I honestly thought Lylla was gonna be a recurring character in this. I thought this was gonna show her and Rocket reuniting, I had no idea she was just gonna be his flashbacks and be revealed to be murdered by the High Evolutionary and that was tragic to watch Rocket's reaction with screaming in sadness and that led to a pretty gruesome moment when he just started scratching the High Evolutionary's face off. And when the whole thing with Peter, Groot and Gamora operating on him started, I really thought Rocket was gonna die. Actually, as the scene was playing, I remembered the part with Rocket with his gun in the trailer so that also made me think he was gonna survive and he did. Not gonna lie, I'm not 100% sure how I feel about that because, while I'm of course glad he survived, another part of me feels like Rocket dying would have been a nice sad and emotional moment. But, whatever, it was still nice to see him survive anyway. Anyway, that also then leads to the climax and this is what really insane stuff I was talking about where some really crazy stuff starts happening like Kraglin and the others bringing Knowhere itself to the battle and all of them using it and ships to take on the High Evolutionary's army and it was awesome and, again, pretty tense since this whole film felt like it had a sense of doom to it, like anyone could just die at any moment. But, this also led to that action scene that I mentioned that's honestly my favourite Guardians action scene ever where all the Guardians are together in that hallway just killing guards everywhere and they made it all look like one shot. It looked amazing, the C.G.I was fantastic and they made great use of slow motion and everything in that was absolutely mind-blowing. And then, it was nice that they were able to save all the prisoners and I thought Rocket looking at all the imprisoned animals was really emotional, especially with the music that was playing. But then that led to a really awesome and amazing moment where all the Guardians get together again and they all just start wailing on the High Evolutionary and, not gonna lie, even though I wasn't crazy about his character, it was really awesome and satisfying when they finally started fighting him and beating him and then finally killing him. I also liked how Groot saved Adam Warlock and sorta converted him to being a good guy. But, then, that led to another super emotional moment when it looked like Peter almost died and, again, that was another moment where I really thought he was gonna die, but then Adam saved him and it was nice that he got a cool moment. I was really surprised that everyone survived in this. I really thought we were gonna get some characters dying here, but they didn't. I know we got Rocket's friends dying in the flashback, but I really thought we were gonna see some of the Guardians die. Anyway, it was kinda sad to see Gamora and the others leave and then Peter and Mantis decide to leave the team completely and that leads to Rocket being named the new leader and we get a lot of great endings for characters from that. Before that though, I loved that we finally got to hear Groot talking properly, that was incredible, but then we get a lot of nice endings for the characters like Peter reuniting with his grandad, Gamora going back to the Ravagers and the other Guardians celebrating on Knowhere. This is kinda what I meant, this ending here really does show how much love and care James Gunn put into writing and directing this film because you can tell he really wanted to leave off these characters on a high note and I loved that. And then the credit scenes show that more with the new Guardians team being made and them helping out people however they can and I like how they gave Groot a more comic accurate look and it was cool that Adam was part of the new team too. And then the end credit scene with Peter talking with his grandad was nice and pretty funny too, but I am really curious when it said that Star-Lord will return. I'm wondering if that means we actually will see them again and they might get a new director for them or if it means we'll see them in the future Avenger movies. From that message alone, I'm curious to know what they're gonna do. So, overall, guys, I had a really great time with this film. Again, I do have problems and I still have a feeling it may be weakest of the Guardians movies, even though this and the second film are a bit interchangeable to me, but I'm still so glad this is what James Gunn was able to make with these characters before he leaves the M.C.U now and I'm curious to know what he's gonna do for DC. And so, yeah, everyone, that's my review of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Spirited Away

So out of all the Studio Ghibli movies out there, this one might actually be the most famous and best recieved of all time, Spirited Away. It's hard to even begin to describe how absolutely beloved this movie is. It's been praised as one of the best anime, and just animated movies of all time, some have even said it is the best animated movie of all time. That's insane and it felt so weird when I finally got to watch it after all the build up of hearing about it for so long. And I can confirm that the film absoutely lives up to the hype. While I personally don't exactly love it the same way everyone else does and I still personally feel like something like Kiki's Delivery Service or another Ghibli movie we're gonna get into later might be my favourite Ghibli movie, this film is still absolutely incredible and a real work of art. Everything you've more than likely heard about this film from how famous it is is completely true and it totally deserves all the praise it gets and I love how a film like this has been praised by so many people and it's incredible that Hayao Miyazaki made this. The story is about a girl named Chihiro who's moving to a new place with her parents, but, on the way there, they find some old amusement park but eventually find out that it spiritual bathhouse. Chihiro finds out that all kinds of spirits come to relax here and the way back the way they came has been flooded and her parents have been turned into pigs. She also meets a boy there named Haku who helps her and says she needs to get a job there so she speaks to the manager of the bathhouse named Yubaba and gets the job and she even changes her name from Chihiro to Sen and the rest of the film is all sorts of different things happening there while Sen meets new characters and even makes some other friends like Lin and Kamaji and she's trying to find out how to get her parents back to normal and how to get out of there. So, yeah, that sounds like a totally insane premise for a movie, but, thankfully, since it's a Ghibli movie, especially one made by Miyazaki, it's done masterfully. I love how a lot of these different events play out because we see Sen doing different things in this place and how she's trying to survive and the different kinda events that happen around that is what helps make the film really fun to watch and a blast. I like all the different characters she meets like Kamaji and Lin and how they're more friendly and helpful, but other characters are cool too like No-Face, who's easily one of the most iconic Ghibli characters of all time, are really cool too and the whole film has characters with unique designs and it's really insane how creative so much of the film is. And, like I said, I just love the different scenarios that happen around the film that helps make it so fun to watch like when that Stink Spirit comes to the bathhouse and Sen is able to help it and I love when that actually leads to it giving Sen something that comes into play later on in the film and how each thing connects to another is just so fun and enjoyable to watch. Sen herself as well is really likeable too and I like how she does change through the movie to become more mature and it's an interesting way of doing it since she has to adjust to this place quickly since she's in a place that's so weird and crazy and so it's done in a great way where she learns and grows through the film. I also like how even just smaller things in the movie come into play in other ways later on too like when No-Face goes with Sen and the others on the train and that leads to him being able to start some kinda new life. But even just other smaller scenes that I may have had problems with before in other Ghibli movies are done extraordinaryly well here like when Sen just isn't doing much of anything like just sitting around or doing small jobs are done well here, especially since some parts of it comes back later in really great ways. I just love how this story progresses in clever ways. I especially love how so much of it comes together at the end with No-Face going crazy and eating everything and destroying the place until he goes back to normal and Sen is trying to save Haku by going off to see Yubaba's sister, Zeniba and I like the stuff with her too with being the opposite of Yubaba but then Haku comes back and him and Sen get a nice moment together and it's kinda revealed what his past is. I will admit, some of that is a bit confusing for me personally, but it's still done in a way that's really satisfying. Speaking of satisfying, the ending when Sen is able to beat Yubaba's test and go back to normal with her parents is also satisfying and a brilliantly done. I love when you can tell when a film is given this much love and passion and you can see the people involved really came up with the best story they could, and a lot of that has to do with the great idea they have for this bathhouse location and how it's designed. And, a lot of that is attributed to the unbelieveable animation in this and the fact that it's one of the most gorgeous hand-drawn animated films ever. How they accomplished this in 2001 is really incredible. If I'm really gonna be honest, if I had to pick one thing I wasn't a fan of here, it's that I'm not exactly a fan of the Chihiro and Haku romance. It's nice and I like their friendship, but, I dunno, the fact that they have a romance is something I didn't like that much, but, to be fair, it does make sense for the movie and it does have its purpose, it's just the one thing about the film I don't love. But aside from that, I can't believe how good this film is. It's been praised by so many people for so long and it was nice that the build up was totally worth it for me. I love how the film is told and I absolutely understand why people say this is the best Ghibli movie ever. Again, whether or not I can say it's my favourite is hard to say, but it's definitely up there. The dub in this also couldn't have been done better at all. Daveigh Chase couldn't have been better cast as Sen, she was incredible as Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and she's amazing here. And others like Jason Marsden as Haku, Suzanne Pleshette as Yubaba and Susan Egan as Lin are all flawless. So, yeah, if you've ever heard anything about this film and know how well regarded it is, they were right, this film really is one of a kind and the fact that people are still talking about it to this very day should just go to show ya why this movie is so special. So yeah, totally check this movie out yet if you haven't. It's absolutely worth your time and I'm so glad I got pushed into seeing it myself. So guys, that's my review for Spirited Away. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

My Neighbors The Yamadas

So, guys, we've kinda gone back to Studio Ghibli movies that I personally don't really like and one that I personally think is kinda bad. Again, not terrible, just one that I don't think is good, My Neighbors The Yamadas. This was actually the first Studio Ghibli movie I saw that I didn't like. It's like Ocean Waves where nothing really happens and it doesn't build to anything so I just found it really boring and a waste of time. The story in this one isn't really a single story. It's a bunch of different stories about this family called the Yamadas doing different things and in different situations and how they live their lives and none of it is interesting to me. It also moves at the pace of a slug and never really does anything interesting. The first story deals with the family losing the daughter named Nonoko and then it focuses on the dad and son trying to bond and all the film does is just show very mundane stuff with this family extremely slowly and uninterestingly that it never really gets captivating. I know some of these were mostly supposed to be kinda comical and humourous, but I just never found the film funny and so a lot of the film just feels like a huge drag. It honestly felt like some kinda TV show episodes put together in a movie, but they were just kinda boring so I just never really cared. I'm not gonna lie, when I first saw this, I didn't even finish it because it bored me so much and I didn't really care to finish it to the end. I will say, something this film does that's kinda nice is the animation. Sure, it looks kinda cheap and it's not used for anything particularally mind-blowing, but the style is pretty unique for Ghibli with looking like classic Japanese sketches and it looks unique for a film. Aside from that though, I just don't care about this film at all. Whether or not I can say it's the worst Ghibli film is kinda hard to say, but it's definitely one of them, which is a shame because this film was actually directed by Isao Takahata, as in the same guy who directed Grave Of The Fireflies, Only Yesterday and Pom Poko. I rememeber mentioning how it felt like he seems to like to make movies about characters living their lives and he did a good job doing that with those other movies, but I don't think it really works here because everything just happens really slowly and without much interest that I just didn't care for it. Again, the film itself is harmless and doesn't really do anything wrong, it's just something I don't care for. The dub in this is pretty good though like Jim Belushi, Molly Shannon, Daryl Sabara, Liliana Mumy and Tress MacNeille. They all do a good job but I feel like a lot of it is just wasted. So, yeah, I know all I did was just complain about this movie the whole time, but it really is just a movie that I really don't want to watch again and one that I think just isn't very good. Again, kinda like some of these other ones I've talked about, if you're curious to check this out with the other Studio Ghibli movies, it's a harmless waste of time, but, really I just really didn't like it and think it's one of the worst Studio Ghibli movies. So, that review was really, really short, but I really just don't have much to talk about. So, yeah, guys, that's my review of My Neighbors The Yamadas. Thank you all for reading and plesse comment down below to tell me what you think.

Princess Mononoke

So, guys, now we've arrived at one of the most famous Studio Ghibli movies out there and maybe one of the most famous anime movies ever, Princess Mononoke. Whenever you hear about extremely famous anime movies, this is definitely one of them. This was also technically my first real Studio Ghibli movie. I had seen clips from some of the others, but this was the first one I saw completely properly. The first time I saw it, I absolutely loved it and really got into the story and characters. The second time though, I didn't really love it the same way, but I still really enjoyed it. And, recently, when seeing it again to do these reviews, I think I was leaning more in between both those thoughts where I didn't exactly love it like the first time I saw it, but I liked it more than the last time. But, either way, my point is that I really, really like this movie and think it's great, this is another one of my favourite Ghibli movies and I do get why it would be considered one of the most famous anime movies of all time. The story is about a prince named Ashitaka who stops some demon from attacking his village but his arm gets touched by it so now he has some curse on him that'll kill him soon. This causes him to have to leave and he eventually finds a town called Iron Town where he meets the people there, especially the leader of the town, a lady named Eboshi and they're trying to kill a bunch of animals in the forest to make a better future for themselves with their town, especially a bunch of wolves and a girl named San who's actually half human/half wolf and so Ashitaka is trying to figure out what to do and how save everyone. So, yeah, as you can probably tell, the movie has a lot going on. This is actually a pretty long movie with being 2 hours and 13 minutes long. But, thankfully, about 99% of this movie is paced extremely well that it uses that in great ways. Plus, since it has a lot of aspects about the forest and all that, it's clearly trying to tell a story about how we should protect the environment and, while I personally don't usually get into stories like that with some exceptions, I think this film does it really well. Something that helps that for me is the characters. I really like a lot of these characters. Ashitaka's really likeable and, while he may be a bit too stoic at times, I think the writing for him is really well done. I also really like San, as in the actual Princess Mononoke. She's also really likeable and I think she has some really cool moments. I don't think there's really a character I don't like. Sure, some characters like Eboshi and Jiko are kinda villains, but the writing for them is done well too. Something else that the film does extremely well that I think Ghibli movies do amazingly is world building. I really like the way this world gets explained to us and how everything here works, especially when it comes to locations like Iron Town and the forest, especially where the Spirit Of The Forest is, which an amazing concept that the film takes great advantage of. The Spirit Of The Forest is this giant deer thing that can transform at night time and it gives life to the forest and Eboshi wants to kill it so it won't cause any more trouble for them and Jiko wants to kill it to sell it. Again, some of that might sound a bit clichéd and overdone, but, with the way this film does it, I think it's done in a way that's really entertaining. The animation is also really impressive here. I know I always gush over how much the animation in the Studio Ghibli movies is incredible, but, for this one, it's even more impressive for a lot of reasons. One, this came out in 1997 so at the time, I can only imagine how mind-blowing this must have been, but, the second thing is the animation in the action scenes. The way the characters move in these action scenes and how the camera moves in it too is beyond impressive. I especially love the opening scene where Ashitaka fights that demon and just shoots it with arrows, it's really cool. Plus, I love how different parts of the film gets revealed to us. For one, I love from some parts of the film comes back later like when Ashitaka finds out about how the demon in the opening was created by a piece iron that came from the town. Plus, I think a super underrated aspect of the film is really underrated is the relationship that builds between Ashitaka and San. I know people like it, but I really like their connection and how they begin to care for each other. Plus, a lot of the stuff in the story helps lead to a lot of great aspects like when Okkoto, this giant old boar, is dying towards the end and this leads to him accidentally leading a bunch of men towards the Spirit Of The Forest and this causes them to eventually kill it and that leads to the really crazy climax where the Spirit is sorta going crazy and causing the land to be destroyed and it wants its head back because Jiko has it and wants to bring it back with him and so Ashitaka and San try to get it back from him and the climax just gets crazier and crazier with the land becoming more destroyed and so on. It's really nuts but it's done really well and it has a really nice ending to all that too. I just love when movies like these have smart structures to them and seeing how the events in this film happen is really great to watch. Honestly, if I had any problems with the film, it would be that I think it's a little too long. Like I said, I think it uses its time really well and the pacing is really well executed, but, sometimes, it feels some things could have been cut out like when Ashitaka isn't doing much but just doing some travelling and running around. It makes sense in terms of the film itself, but from the point of view of the time length, it just makes the film seem way too long at points. But, regardless, I do really like this film and I do think it's one of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies. There's a reason this film is so popular and famous and it's not hard to see why. I also especially love the dub here like Billy Crudup as Ashitaka, Claire Danes as San, Minnie Driver as Eboshi. They all do great and other actors like Billy Bob Thornton, John DiMaggio and Keith David are fantastic too. I just really love this and I'm really glad this was my real introduction to Studio Ghibli after hearing so much about the studio. So, yeah, I would say you see this, there's a lot of really great stuff here. So guys, that's my review of Princess Mononoke. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Whisper Of The Heart

Okay, so, the last couple of Studio Ghibli moive I've talked about on here, I've mentioned how I think they're either pretty good or not that memorable, but, now we're back to ones that I think are absolutely fantastic with this, Whisper Of The Heart. I honestly love this movie and it's one of my favourite Ghibli movies. I just think that a lot of what the last few movies have done pretty good at is done really fantastically here. It's like when I did my Kiki's Delivery Service review where I said the first time I saw it, it filled me with so many emotions and the same is true here. This was also directed by someone who only directed this film and no other one from Ghibli before he passed away. Anyway, the story for this movie follows a girl named Shizuku who loves reading books and going to the library. She also discovers that a lot of the books she's checking out are also getting check out by the by the same person and she begins to wonder who the person is only to discover it's someone she's beginning to get annoyed by. The guy's name is Seiji and the two of them begin to talk more and develop feelings for each other. Not only that, but Shizuku begins going to an old antique shop and meets the owner who's actually Seiji's grandad and she gets interested in an old cat doll that's there called the Baron and she decides she wants to write a story about it. And, that's really about it. There's some other details too, but most of the film is centred around Shizuku and Seiji's relationship and Shizuku's desire to do writing. But what I think helps with this is that a lot of the film is also a bit of a coming of age movie. Shizuku is trying to find out what she wants to do with her life and she's also comparing herself to other poeple she knows and some of her friends and a lot of the film also centres around the mindset she has and how it's beginning to change since she's a teenager. It's kinda like when I did my review for Only Yesterday where I feel like I can relate to her and I can totally understand when it comes to not knowing where to go in life with all the different things happening and how you process them. But the other aspects to the film like Shizuku's relationship with Seiji and her family are nice too and I really like the relationship she develops with Seiji's grandad, it's really sweet. It's also nice when we see her begin to write and we sorta see how she imagines it in one instance and it's cool when she imagines talking to the Baron in it. Speaking of, they actually made a sorta sequel spin-off thing with the Baron in a later movie. We'll get to that film later, but it's cool they took something small from this film and decided to make something else with him. But, back to this movie, I just love Shizuku's development through the film since we see her develop different feelings and we see how they come about with the various things happening and it's really nice to watch, it's especially nice to watch at the start when she's trying to help her friend and the two of them try to learn a song that Shizuku herself wrote and it's nice how each thing she experiences has an inspiration for her and she begins to grow from it. Again, how Ghibli usually does these kinda things is great to watch and seeing how she grows is well done. You could also even see it as kinda tragic since we see her also comparing herself to other people and thinking she's not good enough so a lot of the others try to help her through that too. Really, I think the main thing I like here is just the relationships that build here and how Shizuku learns from them and how each thing is like an inspiration to her. It's honestly really relatable to me personally in different ways and I really like that about this. The ending is also nice where Shizuku is able to meet Seiji again they have a nice moment together and he feels like he knows what he wants to do with his life. Really guys, I just find this to be a lot like Kiki's Delivery Service where a lot of this does feel like some mundane things that maybe don't amount to that much, but it's still told extremely well and how Shizuku learns from everything and learns more about what she wants out of life and everything else is just so facinating to watch and I just love this movie. The animation is also a bit like Grave Of The Fireflies where everyone and everything just moves like real people or things and it just makes everything that the characters do and go through feel very real. The English dub is also perfect in this. Brittany Snow and David Gallagher are both fantastic as Shizuku and Seiji. Actually, before this, I only knew them as Naminé and Riku in Kingdom Hearts and this was the second real thing I've seen them do outside of that and they're both incredible in these roles, and everyone else does a great job too. Really, I just think this is a great movie that, again, just shows more and more why these Studio Ghibli movies are so, so, so good and I highly recommend checking this film out if you haven't yet. So, that's my review for Whisper Of The Heart. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.