10s Movie Review - From Up On Poppy Hill

Director: Gorô Miyazaki
Genre: Animation/ Drama/ Family
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2011
Starring: Sarah Bolger, Anton Yelchin, Gillian Anderson, Chris Noth,
Alex Wolff, Beau Bridges, Bruce Dern, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, Aubrey Plaza

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 49: AN ANIME

Description: A group of Yokohama teens look to save their school’s clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
 
Review: “From Up On Poppy Hill” is yet another great animated film by Studio Ghibli. This time not by Hayao Miyazaki, but by his son Gorô Miyazaki.
This animated film is striking because it doesn’t contain any magical or fantasy elements like we are used from the Studio Ghibli movies. So it is a more realistic animation, similar to “Whisper of the Heart”. 

The story takes place in the harbor of Yokohama in the year 1964. 16-year-old Umi lives and works in her grandmother’s boarding house, together with her younger sister and brother. Her mother is a doctor and studies in America and het father died as a sailor during the Korean War. 
Every day Umi still raises a flag for her father, the guesthouse is located on the highest point of the harbor town. 
During a school day Umi is confronted with the boy Shun who, together with his clubmates, take action against demolition of the old and dilapidated school clubhouse. The two bond and start working together. However, pas events put their friendship to the test. 
As usual, this Studio Ghibli film contains beautiful animations and landscapes. Visually there is nothing wrong with this film. And I loved the soundtrack, which is similar to that of “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. The characters are captivating and the story is beautiful. 
“From Up On Poppy Hill” is probably one of the most overlooked films by Studio Ghibli, because it’s so simple in its premise, but it will certainly not disappoint. I even think this is one of my favorites. I loved the images, characters and the story. 

Rating: 4,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Director: Isao Takahata

Genre: Animation/ Drama/ Fantasy/ Adventure

Runtime: 137 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Chlöe Grace Moretz, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, James Marsden, John Cho, Beau Bridges, Dean Cain, Darren Criss, Lucy Liu, Oliver Platt

Description: Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter (James Caan) and his wife (Mary Steenburgen), a tiny girl (Chlöe Grace Moretz) grows rapid fast into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her, but ultimately must confront her fate, the punishment for her crime.  

 Review: A farmer finds a tiny princess in a bamboo plant, takes her home and soon she’s turned into a human baby. It all happened without any commotion in the first few minutes. Where Disney would accompany it with sparkling star rains and magical music, in “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” is brought as something familiar and logical. It’s a true fairytale from Studio Ghibli.

The young Kaguya grows up as a normal child on the farmland, but her adoptive parents understand that they are dealing with royalty and only want the very best for her. Father and mother address their child with greatness and take her to the big city to make her a full-fledged princess. In the meantime, the child herself has nothing to contribute. She does not want to get married at all, but in order not to disappoint her proud father, she agrees to choose from a number of selected noblemen.

That this search for love is actually a little too long and predictable can be taken for granted, because the rest of this fairy tale is beautiful. When more is known about Kaguya’s background, the film gains strength to end in a deeply movie scene.

Director Isao Takahata, best known for “Grave of the Fireflies”, gives the message to be merciful and supportive towards each other in the last act, but puts a lot more in his film through symbolism. References to the story of Jesus Christ and other religions for example.

Apart from symbolism and fantasy elements, “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” is above all a drama in which human emotions such as mercy and melancholy are central. This is recognizable for everyone. in addition, the animations department provides a number of beautiful scenes. Not everyone might like the style, since it’s more outlined art or sketch-like, with a more limited color palette. But I think it looks beautiful.

If you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli movies, you should not miss this one.

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Mountain Between Us

Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Genre: Drama/ Adventure/ Thriller/ Romance
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney, Linda Sorensen

Description: Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers (Kate Winslet, Idris Elba) must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.

Review: Neurosurgeon Ben is on his way to perform a very complex surgery on a young patient. Photographer Alex is about to get married. Both are stranded on an airport, when their flights are cancelled due to the weather.
Alex manages to rent a private plane and overhears Ben, who is in a similar situation having to be at his location the next day. They board the plane together, but their pilot suffers from a stroke and they crash. They end up in a snowy landscape, with no people or towns nearby. Ben and Alex don’t know each other, but are forced to survive together.
The pilot didn’t survive, but his dog did, so Alex and Ben have a companion. With minimal supplies and a couple of chocolade bars they two have to decide if they wait for help or look for help by foot.
Director Hany Aby-Asad used the book “The Mountain Between Us” by Charles Martin, as its inspiration. It’s an ambitious project, while the screentime is filled with only two characters and a dog. And he got lucky with Kate Winslet and Idris Elba as his stars. “The Mountain Between Us” is beautifully shot. And the first half of the film I really liked. Ben is the stronger of the two, so he has to make sure Alex makes it through. But as soon as the two are on an equal playing feel, so to say, you realize hos old fashioned this story actually is. Alex becomes this ‘damsel in distress’, when she is in fact a very strong woman on her own. And Ben is ‘the knight in shining armor’, who will make sure that he will get her of that mountain.
And what bothered me the most: this is supposed to be a survival movie, right?. I really loved this part. Why does there have to be a love story? From being a good and solid survival tale, it turns into a mediocre romantic drama. With a very cheesy ending I might say.
I was so disappointed in this film. Not because of Elba and Winslet, they are great. But the direction the story takes is just so lame.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 74: The Descendants

Director: Alexander Payne

Genre: Drama/ Komedie

Runtime: 115 minutes

Year: 2011

Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Beau Bridges

Description: With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King (George Clooney) takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the man who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

Review: There are many reasons why it’s fun to be George Clooney. Women love him, men would want to trade with him, he is rich and he has the best job in the world: filmmaking. But there are also a lot of negatives to his life. Clooney is famous, that it’s sometimes impossible for him to get lost in a character. But nowadays he decides to work with directors like Joel and Ethan Coen, Anton Corbijn and Jason Reitman. In “The Descendants” it’s Alexander Payne, and his role gave him a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination. It seems like George Clooney is more an actor then a star now.

We know Payne from tragicomedies like “About Schmidt” and “Sideways”. Like both films “The Descendants” centers a middle-aged man, who is on a crossroads in his life. They realize that they have failed and want to make it right. Matt King on the other hand, doesn’t realize he has failed. And his life is turned upside down when he finds out that his wife, who is in the hospital after a waterski accident, had an affair. Not to mention how he’s trying to be a good dad for his two daughters.

Alexander Payne finds the right balance between drama and comedy, without overdoing one of the two genres. The humor is subtle and the drama is light. George Clooney is very convincing and sometimes says it all with his facial expressions. The young Shailene Woodley is also great, with some really strong scenes. The only thing missing is and edge, what “About Schmidt” did have. It’s all a bit too neat.

Great acting, a perfect movie for award season. I liked it, it touched me.

Rating: 4,5 / 5