• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| March 2016

Status
Not open for further replies.
omgkitty said:
Have always felt Ponyo was probably Miyazaki's most underrated film. I think it's absolutely wonderful.
Click to expand...

Same, in my top 5 probably.
The art style is the best along with Kaguya they've ever done, very round, soft, with crayons that make it look very organic and warm; the story is lovely and childish in a good way.

I love how the catastrophic flood is seen as a wonderful and adventurous fun, like i used to imagine it as a kid.
 
JUST LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS TITLE SEQUENCE

ponyo_gif_1_by_dekuhan-d4zohha.gif
 
Here we go:

1) Tale of princess Kaguya.
2) Only yesterday.
3) Princess Mononoke.
4) Porco Rosso.
5) Ponyo.
6) Grave of the fireflies.
7) Wind Rises.
8) Kiki's delivery service.
9) Spirited Away.
10) Pom Poko.
11) My neighbor Totoro.
12) From up on Poppy Hill.
13) Howl's moving castle.
14) Arrietty.

Haven't seen or don't remember well enough the others.
 
Here's a beautiful tribute to Chantal Akerman on the Criteiron website: Remembering Chantal.
Also for those in New York, the article says you'll have a great retrospective of her films during April, with Jeanne Dielman getting a weeklong run. Jealous of you..
 
This was really fucking hard. Like in my mind, almost all of their films are about on par with each other besides a select few which I just don't like very much
(As a lover of cats OBVIOUSLY The Cat Returns is like a fucking direct to DVD Disney sequel and has none of the emotional weight that Whisper of the Heart presents)
. I'd also say not a single Disney or Pixar movie would crack the top 5 or 6 here either, and even then I'd probably only put a handful up against most of these.

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
2. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
3. Kiki's Delivery Service
4. My Neighbor Totoro
5. Spirited Away
6. The Wind Rises
7. Ponyo
8. Whisper of the Heart
9. Castle in the Sky
10. The Castle of Cagliostro
11. Ocean Waves
12. Howl's Moving Castle
13. Princess Mononoke
No this shouldn't be higher, go away.
14. Only Yesterday
15. Porco Rosso
16. Arrietty
17. Tales from Earthsea
This movie isn't that bad
18. My Neighbors the Yamadas
19. The Cat Returns


I have not seen:

Grave of the Fireflies
I just don't feel like crying okay!
Pom Poko
From Up on Poppy Hill
When Marnie Was There
 
UrbanRats said:
Howl's is bollocks and you know it, deep down.

I should say, anything above Poppy Hill is pretty close though.
They didn't miss the mark often.
Click to expand...

I've always wanted to love Howl's more...I think it's a beautiful film, and I love the settings, but the film just kinda meanders too much plot wise.
 
Some of these I would need to revisit, but that top 5 is pretty set. Things only get disappointing from #14 and down.

1. My Neighbor Totoro
2. Grave of the Fireflies
3. The Wind Rises
4. Whisper of the Heart
5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
6. Princess Mononoke
7. Spirited Away
8. When Marnie Was There
9. The Secret World of Arrietty
10. Castle in the Sky
11. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
12. Kiki's Delivery Service
13. The Cat Returns
14. Only Yesterday
15. Ocean Waves
16. Porco Rosso
17. Howl's Moving Castle
18. From Up on Poppy Hill
19. Ponyo


Never Seen:
Pom Poko (looks stupid)
Tales from Earthsea (reviews)
My Neighbors the Yamadas (actually did watch half of this but kept nodding off)
 
MikeMyers said:
Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (Toshiya Fujita, 1974)

I liked the first one, but honestly, I didn't think a sequel was needed. Felt like the main protagonist's arc was concluded nicely in the first film, and this sequel didn't really convince me otherwise.
Click to expand...

The first movie more or less ends the same way the manga does, though I suppose you could say that the manga was more conclusive in one regard.

An entirely faithful adaptation of the manga sure would be something. Probably wouldn't be able to get it to run in any country without some kind of editing, though.
 
omgkitty said:
The fact that you have The Cat Returns above anything is a travesty.
Click to expand...

I thought it was harmless, Disney-lite fluff. I didn't really like it THAT much but it was the last one on the list where I didn't think to myself, "I have a problem with something here."
 
omgkitty said:
I've always wanted to love Howl's more...I think it's a beautiful film, and I love the settings, but the film just kinda meanders too much plot wise.
Click to expand...
And then they pull that completely unearned happy ending from their ass.
"Lol actually this bloody war silly, nvm, k bye!"
 
glad to see someone enforcing moviegaf's rigorous editorial standards

PS Ponyo is great. It's purposefully simplistic, pitched at kids the age of its protagonist, but accessible outside of that group. And I love the art, heavy on primary colors and thick lines
 
spirited away kind of bored me when i rewatched it recently. it's a beautiful movie but the pacing is a bit sluggish.

i haven't seen nearly as many ghibli movies as y'all but definitely mononoke, totoro, kaguya , porco rosso and nausicaa > spirited away. ponyo was really nice too.
 
Zootopia: A good film, and one of the better recent animated movies I've seen. Not amazing, though. Definitely better than overrated Inside Out.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: I remembered the trailer piquing my interest, and I sometimes like to watch family movies. They bring back memories and nostalgia. This one was okay, but didn't do a whole lot for me.
 
UrbanRats said:
Eightful Hate - I'm no big fan of Tarantino, but i at least find some enjoyment in his films.. except this time.
It felt like 6 hours of meandering and never getting to a point, filled up with not-as-sharp and not-as-interesting dialog, a drab location and visually nothing that interesting in general.
Music was good, a couple of gags made me laugh, Sam Jackson and Kurt Russell were both good, Jennifer Leigh was great, but fuck was it boring as shit.
Didn't find the twist clever, either (was that even supposed to be a twist?).

Definitely the worst thing i've seen from him, so far, if this was 1:40 minutes, i probably would've appreciated it more.
Say what you will about Django, but at least that movie had some energy and variety to keep you interested.
Click to expand...

If you wanted an action-comedy, no doubt you clearly missed the point of the movie, its twist, why it is cut at the middle, the cinematography and use of the 70mm and how rich the dialogues are.
 
woen said:
If you wanted an action-comedy, no doubt you clearly missed the point of the movie, its twist, why it is cut at the middle, the cinematography and use of the 70mm and how rich the dialogues are.
Click to expand...

I didn't want anything, aside from being entertained, or at least have something of interest to latch on to.
 
woen said:
If you wanted an action-comedy, no doubt you clearly missed the point of the movie, its twist, why it is cut at the middle, the cinematography and use of the 70mm and how rich the dialogues are.
Click to expand...

Watching Hateful 8 in 70mm, in one of Londons oldest and biggest cinemas, was one of the best movie experiences I've ever had. I also had literally the single best seat in the cinema, seat where there is tons of leg room due to the retrofitted nature of the seat in front.

And yes, the image of Hateful 8, at times was so breathtakingly and heartbreakingly stunning. The colors, the blue hues sneaking along with the snow under the doors, and the amazing orange glows of the lights and fires. It's really a great showcase for how different film looks and feels, how different and how much better colors are.

But the biggest star to me, in terms of technical aspects, is the sound. Till this day, there has not been a sound system that has been devised that can come close to matching 70mm 6 track magnetic sound. It's just incredible. It's always been incredible. It's heaven.

Even among projectionists and experts, there is some argument over how good the image of old and weathered 70mm prints are, better than digital projection? How good are 70mm blowups? But the one thing they all agree on is, 70mm 6 track magnetic sound is the best sound to ever grace a cinema.
 
Evil Dead 2 (1987)

tumblr_lw3ymjTRCe1r3hmi8o1_500.gif


This was the last of the Evil Dead trilogy I needed to watch. I figured I procrastinated long enough and decided to give it a go. In short it was great some really good visuals accompanied with Bruce Cambells excellent performance as ash. Certainly a must watch for Horror fans.
 
So my roommate and I were planning on starting a movie podcast this week but we both despised Batman v Superman[. So we're at a loss because we don't want to start out on a negative note.
 
Toothless said:
So my roommate and I were planning on starting a movie podcast this week but we both despised Batman v Superman[. So we're at a loss because we don't want to start out on a negative note.
Click to expand...

As if you'll get any hits with a positive podcast.

You know what internet you're on, son?
 
Ridley327 said:
The first movie more or less ends the same way the manga does, though I suppose you could say that the manga was more conclusive in one regard.

An entirely faithful adaptation of the manga sure would be something. Probably wouldn't be able to get it to run in any country without some kind of editing, though.
Click to expand...
Hmm, sounds interesting. Guess I should check out the source material when I get the chance then.
 
I saw Grand Piano (aka Blackmail) last night. It's a bit like Phone Booth, but with a piano.

While the story was quite unbelievable, the pace and tension were excellent and kept me entertained from start to finish. Elijah Wood's performance was rather good, and it was fun to see Alex Winter again.
 
omgkitty said:
JUST LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS TITLE SEQUENCE

ponyo_gif_1_by_dekuhan-d4zohha.gif
Click to expand...

I think it's a beautiful movie, but that's it really. The plot just kind of falls apart. It drops its environmental message that it had at the very beginning of the movie. It drops its villain, Fujimoto, after Ponyo turns into a little girl.

So while I appreciated the art and visual details, it was just kind of something to look at while nothing really happened plot wise.
 
MikeMyers said:
Hmm, sounds interesting. Guess I should check out the source material when I get the chance then.
Click to expand...

It's a pretty short manga (only 4 volumes, IIRC), but the path to Yuki's targets is a lot more jagged and takes some rather crazy detours along the way. It's not pornographic or anything, but Yuki is definitely not a pure killing machine on the page.
 
Minishdriveby said:
I think it's a beautiful movie, but that's it really. The plot just kind of falls apart. It drops its environmental message that it had at the very beginning of the movie. It drops its villain, Fujimoto, after Ponyo turns into a little girl.

So while I appreciated the art and visual details, it was just kind of something to look at while nothing really happened plot wise.
Click to expand...

I think they should've simplified the plot even more, but how do you figure Fujimoto as the villain? There are no villains in Ponyo.
 
Ali: The 2 biggest things this movie has is how good it looks and how inherently interesting the story is. But it's almost 2 and a half hours and feels superficial in a lot of ways, especially all the family drama. Will Smith tries his best, but something about it is off. The music is a little overbearing too, it seems like every other scene is underscored with some song.
 
The Legend. Jet Li in full cheese mode. The beginning was chaos in cuts and transitions, almost nauseating actually. That finally settled in but the movie felt off. My guess is that the subtitles were elaborated on because some of the things said seemed odd. This very much felt like a b movie but had some decent action sequences. My whole problem was the fast cuts. Everything felt so frenetic but at least the worst of that was at the beginning. Jumbled is a good word to describe this. I've only watched Jet Li's American movies so this was pretty cool to see him in his element at least.
 
Starship Troopers

I was going through netflix and BAM there it was, I wanted to know more. So I clicked and enjoyed an old favorite. Now with my citizenship incoming I know I made the right choice. Enlist Today!
 
Fanny & Alexander - I'm gonna have to eat crow on this, I thought this was a masterpiece.
I still don't know if I liked it more than Scenes from marriage.
Maybe I wish some characters had a bit more development (Fanny for one) but it kept surprising me with how it went into unexpected territory every time, and yet every time it felt such a natural development.
It also feels like Bergman was able to wrangle down his pessimsm, into a more balanced view of existence, without renouncing his brutal honesty.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Movies You’ve Watched Lately | OT | - 2026
|OT| Social  13 14 15 16 17
802
9K
HRK69 replied
What is the weirdest/creepiest thing you've seen while you had sleep paralysis?
2
63
805
IntentionalPun replied
The worst commercials you've ever seen.
2
84
3K
Beretta replied
Film Limbo: 18 High-Profile Movies That Were Shot But Haven’t Seen The Light Of Day
12
667
Panajev2001a replied
What is the weirdest/creepiest thing you've seen while you had sleep paralysis?
2
72
2K
Xeela_sunston replied
Top Bottom