Reviews
Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004)
Watch it for the castle!
As soon as I saw the preview artwork for the titular castle, I knew I just had to see this film in the cinema rather than DVD. Personally, I think the castle ranks as one of cinema's most incredible visual creations - a lumbering, wheezing mechanical colossus that rumbles along the countryside. Characters in the film stop to stare when it passes, and you too will be taken in by its awkward majesty.
Like a lot of other people, I am a Miyazaki fan and I must agree this is not his best work. But when your body of work is as accomplished as his, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, I would still say Howl's Moving Castle was my favourite film that year.
I agree with those who say watch it in its original Japanese soundtrack. Yes, the American actors do their best, and it's not a bad cast, but there is something quintisentially Japanese about all of Miyazaki's films, and these subtle nuances are inevitably lost in translation. No fault of the English-speaking actors or Lasseter himself who supervised the dub, that's just the way it is.
So to calibrate your expectations - it's not as good as Spirited Away, but it does have that Miyazaki magic, and that's all the reason you really need to go see it.
Appurushîdo (2004)
A Landmark Piece of Animation
After seeing a trailer for this film, I thought to myself "that looks amazing, I have to go see it!" I was lucky and got the opportunity to watch it in Japan when it was cinematically released in 2004.
Visually, it is a real treat - like nothing else I had ever seen. I'd recommend it for this reason alone. The action sequences are stunning, and the way characters subtly move even when they are not the focus of attention is just amazing.
The plot..? Well, for me it just tries too hard to be 'deep' and it contains a lot of clichés that have already been used by some of the 'deeper' anime efforts of recent years. That's not to say it is bad, but seasoned anime watchers will definitely feel a sense of deja vu. Indeed, the opening sequence where the lone female in a derelict city is rescued by a team of hi-tech soldiers is hugely reminiscent of the opening from 'Final Fantasy Spirits Within', another movie that tried too hard to be intellectual and came across as just dense.
Overall, I would say watch it for the amazing visuals. It's a landmark piece of animation. The dense and overambitious plot does pull it short of being a classic, but that's a criticism that could equally be levelled at a lot of other films that would be less worthy of your time.