I like Ghibli-movies as much as anyone else, but apparently I'm in the minority that I didn't really care for this one.
The animation is fine, and while the plot is a somewhat mundane teen drama, that's not a huge problem by itself. But I simply didn't understand the characters. Especially the love interest, who is just capricious, unlikeable, and hard to get a feeling for. Sure, they are teens, but the character growth is fairly limited.
It's a bit as if they wanted to re-make Laputa: Castle in the Sky, but then with worse animation, really crappy storytelling and side-characters whose only reason to do things is a punchline.
An uncomplicated lovely little movie with quirky, but deep down loveable, characters - made to give warm fuzzy feelings of happiness. Like hot chocolate on a cold winter day.
Either that, or you can be of the persuasion that movies need to be layered and deep and meaningful with rollercoasters of character development, philosophical insights, and genuinely surprising twists. In that case, don't watch this movie.
This is a great little movie - and much better than the meagre 10 checks collected so far would imply.
A fluid combination between animation and liveaction, it shows great inceptionlike creativity and a more serious reality. There's not much dialogue; the film is mainly driven by music and sound editing - which is exquisite.
Some minor details might've been improved upon - but overall this is a nice little gem.
Starting with the positive aspect; it looks absolutely fantastic. Very imaginative, and detailed world building, with lots of ideas. In that respect, it's on equal footing with the best animation films.
However, it really suffers; from a subpar plot, from cliche-driven dialogue, and from generic characters.
So I can't help but feel that it could've been so much better.. And I hate to be that guy, but the female character was only there for the hasty romantic subplot.
Visually it's rather interesting, being shot entirely in front of a green screen.
But the plot and the dialog is just incredibly bad. You shouldn't play a spot the cliche-bingo with this movie, unless you want to get wasted rapidly. This is the kind of movie wherein Villain captures some Artifact, but doesn't actually flee the scene. Instead, they first take a moment to look down theatrically at the Location, takes out Artifact to observe it (for a nice clear shot for the viewer), before pocketing said Artifact and leaving in their fancy mode of transportation. For No Reason Whatsoever.
It's a kind of Indiana Jones-y fun, as long as you can keep your brain [and ears] from interfering with your eyes.
It's an uneven film. Visually it's fantastic, creative, great attention to detail and scenery, nice quirkiness, great direction. Feels like Wes Anderson in that respect. And a fantastic performance by Carrey. So three thumbs up for all that.
However, and it's a big however, there are some major problems. The plot has substantial holes, utterly illogical actions take place to further the plot, and the dialog is simply.. sub-par. The kids are introduced as brilliant - but only shine at a few points where the plot demands a brilliancy.
So it's fantastic as a kids movie, they won't notice the deficits that much.
However adults probably find themselves muttering "Well, that's not how that works at all" regarding diverse matters such as
Comments 1 - 8 of 8
Movie comment on Umi ga kikoeru
stroopsoldaatje
I like Ghibli-movies as much as anyone else, but apparently I'm in the minority that I didn't really care for this one.The animation is fine, and while the plot is a somewhat mundane teen drama, that's not a huge problem by itself. But I simply didn't understand the characters. Especially the love interest, who is just capricious, unlikeable, and hard to get a feeling for. Sure, they are teens, but the character growth is fairly limited.
Movie comment on Atlantis: The Lost Empire
stroopsoldaatje
It's a bit as if they wanted to re-make Laputa: Castle in the Sky, but then with worse animation, really crappy storytelling and side-characters whose only reason to do things is a punchline.Movie comment on This Beautiful Fantastic
stroopsoldaatje
An uncomplicated lovely little movie with quirky, but deep down loveable, characters - made to give warm fuzzy feelings of happiness. Like hot chocolate on a cold winter day.Either that, or you can be of the persuasion that movies need to be layered and deep and meaningful with rollercoasters of character development, philosophical insights, and genuinely surprising twists. In that case, don't watch this movie.
Movie comment on Dissonance
stroopsoldaatje
This is a great little movie - and much better than the meagre 10 checks collected so far would imply.A fluid combination between animation and liveaction, it shows great inceptionlike creativity and a more serious reality. There's not much dialogue; the film is mainly driven by music and sound editing - which is exquisite.
Some minor details might've been improved upon - but overall this is a nice little gem.
Movie comment on Mune, le gardien de la lune
stroopsoldaatje
This animation film has some major pros and cons.Starting with the positive aspect; it looks absolutely fantastic. Very imaginative, and detailed world building, with lots of ideas. In that respect, it's on equal footing with the best animation films.
However, it really suffers; from a subpar plot, from cliche-driven dialogue, and from generic characters.
So I can't help but feel that it could've been so much better.. And I hate to be that guy, but the female character was only there for the hasty romantic subplot.
Movie comment on Northwest Hounded Police
stroopsoldaatje
Tends to get deleted from youtube - but it's [at least currently] available at veoh:http://www.veoh.com/watch/v202943sX3q26aT?
Movie comment on Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
stroopsoldaatje
Visually it's rather interesting, being shot entirely in front of a green screen.But the plot and the dialog is just incredibly bad. You shouldn't play a spot the cliche-bingo with this movie, unless you want to get wasted rapidly. This is the kind of movie wherein Villain captures some Artifact, but doesn't actually flee the scene. Instead, they first take a moment to look down theatrically at the Location, takes out Artifact to observe it (for a nice clear shot for the viewer), before pocketing said Artifact and leaving in their fancy mode of transportation. For No Reason Whatsoever.
It's a kind of Indiana Jones-y fun, as long as you can keep your brain [and ears] from interfering with your eyes.
Movie comment on A Series of Unfortunate Events
stroopsoldaatje
It's an uneven film. Visually it's fantastic, creative, great attention to detail and scenery, nice quirkiness, great direction. Feels like Wes Anderson in that respect. And a fantastic performance by Carrey. So three thumbs up for all that.However, and it's a big however, there are some major problems. The plot has substantial holes, utterly illogical actions take place to further the plot, and the dialog is simply.. sub-par. The kids are introduced as brilliant - but only shine at a few points where the plot demands a brilliancy.
So it's fantastic as a kids movie, they won't notice the deficits that much.
However adults probably find themselves muttering "Well, that's not how that works at all" regarding diverse matters such as