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My Neighbors the Yamadas (Blu-ray) (Multi Audio & Subtitled) (Region Free) (Japan Version)
Takahata Isao (Director)
| Masuoka Toru
| Miyako Chocho
| Masako Araki
Scenes from a family through the eyes of Studio GhibliMy Neighbor the Yamadas is in some ways the black sheep of the Studio Ghibli family. Not only was it a financial failure for the studio, there were also stories about newspaper headlines lying about its success and company employees ordered to fill in as audiences at one of the film's promotional events. While My Neighbor the Yamadas is a charming film that does the Ghibli tradition proud, it's also easy to understand why it was a box office failure. More a series of short episodes than a coherent story, the film would've worked perfectly as a weekly television series. As a 105-minute theatrical presentation, the film's lack of a narrative will cause the viewing experience to drag by its... [read more]
August 25, 2011 Picked By Rockman See all this editor's picks
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ONE PIECE Film: Strong World (Blu-ray) (Normal Edition) (Japan Version)
Nakai Kazuya
| Okamura Akemi
| Tanaka Mayumi
| Sakai Munehisa (Director)
The frequent complaint about manga-based anime "filler" arcs and theatrical features is that they're not canon. Well, no such complaints can be levied at One Piece: Strong World. The tenth film based on the hit manga from creator Oda Eiichiro, Strong World was conceived and supervised by Oda himself, with new characters, relationships and details neatly fitting into established One Piece continuity. Not that it matters that much; this is your standard One Piece adventure, meaning equal parts stirring friendship, over-the-top action, offhand coolness and pronounced wackiness. One Piece fans, this is your One Piece movie dream. Strong World details the Straw Hat Pirates' conflict with Golden... [read more]
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Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Normal Edition) (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Hisaishi Joe
| Naya Goro
| Sakakibara Ryoko
| Tsujimura Masato
Miyazaki Hayao's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind presents an apocalyptic fantasy tale admonishing the horrors of war and the continued pollution of the environment by ignorant human behavior. In his second feature-length animation released in spring 1984, Japan's master director and animator warns of how mankind may finally bring about their own destruction through senseless warring activities and ignorant use of advanced technology, turning originally fertile land into one filled with toxic elements. At the center of Miyazaki's film is the relentless fight against all odds of a peaceful boundary nation living in the remote Valley of the Wind, as nature turns against them and power-greedy... [read more]
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My Neighbor Totoro (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Hisaishi Joe
| Takagi Hitoshi
| Hidaka Noriko
| Sakamoto Chika
My Neighbor Totoro takes viewers on another ride into a world where fantasy never sleeps. The magical elements of storytelling wizard Miyazaki Hayao take the upper hand again in his classic anime My Neighbor Totoro, primarily revolving around the adventures of Kusakabe Satsuki, her younger sister Mei, and their family in rural Japan. Totoro is a mammoth chinchilla-like creature among whose favorite pastimes are sleeping and traveling around in the unique Cat Bus which takes him to wherever he likes. Harmless in spite of his gigantic proportions, Totoro and his family and friends are not only rare sights to observe, but are also very useful to have around as the protagonists of this anime... [read more]
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Komaneko - The Curious Cat (DVD) (Special Edition) (Taiwan Version)
Health is poor, spirits are low, work is piling, and rent remains blissfully unpaid. At least I still have Komaneko. Written, designed, and directed by Goda Tsuneo, Komaneko - The Curious Cat is a feature-length stop-motion animation starring a very cute, very cuddly, and very curious stuffed cat who happens to be an aspiring stop-motion animator herself. Clearly the paws-on type, Komaneko earnestly goes though the steps to make her very first stop-motion film, down to sewing little felt leads and creating sets and background art with paper and crayons. With everything in place, she starts snapping away with her 8mm, but that's when everything starts falling down... Komaneko's opening... [read more]
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Pinocchio (Limited Edition) (Japan Version)
Rusk Hamilton (Director)
| Cliff Edwards
| Jones Dick
Walt Disney's animated version of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio presents a classic in its own right. It's not difficult to like this 40s masterpiece that comes with unique narration by a cricket, namely Jiminy Cricket. The animation retells the familiar story of industrious toy inventor Geppetto who longs for a son of his own. As he is a kind and loving man, the Blue Fairy grants him his wish and bestows the gift of life to his latest invention, the wooden puppet Pinocchio. Arguably presenting the best animated adaptation of the story to date, Walt Disney's take on Pinocchio sparkles through its renditions of such memorable characters as Figaro the cat and the cute goldfish Cleo. As far as... [read more]
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Shaberedomo Shaberedomo (DVD) (Special Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Kokubun Taichi
| Karina
| Matsushige Yutaka
| Morinaga Yuki
Japanese humor can be a perplexing beast. The wacky game shows and eccentric movies I can appreciate, but word comedy is a lot harder to understand. It's not just the language barrier, but the style of delivery. The non-stop verbal barrage of manzai stand-up comedy, for example, often gives me a slight twitch. Compared to manzai, rakugo (traditional comic storytelling) at least doesn't make me feel like a deer in headlights, but the punchline payoff versus story length is questionable. In its pure form, rakugo is a precise art of gestures, tones, and expressions, and a master can bring down the house telling a familiar story that has already been told countless times. Or so I've gathered. I... [read more]
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Brave Story (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Matsu Takako
| Tokiwa Takako
| Imai Miki
| Wentz Eiji
Anyone who's ever played an RPG should find the story of Brave Story familiar. A 10 year-old boy named Wataru follows mysterious friend Mitsuru through a strange portal, only to arrive in a fantastic medieval land called Vision, complete with dragons, anthropomorphic creatures, melee weapons, and armor. Once there, Wataru assembles a party of compatriots and treks across in the land in search of the "Goddess of Destiny", in order to fulfill some important quest involving fate, destiny, and the lives of untold innocents. Or something like that. Wataru's quest actually has acute real-world significance to him: his parents are estranged and his mother deathly ill, and Wataru wants the Goddess... [read more]
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Ocean Waves (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Tobita Tetsuo
| Seki Toshihiko
| Midorikawa Hikaru
| Araki kae
Not all great anime movies need giant robots, cyberpunk settings, or sweeping ecological themes. Sometimes they just need to elicit the right emotions, perishable though they may be. Ocean Waves (a.k.a. I Can Hear the Ocean) is a notable Studio Ghibli production for a few reasons, among them the fact that it's not included in the Disney-Tokuma licensing deal that gave Miramax the North American rights to the Ghibli catalog. Somehow, the powers-that-be over at Disney didn't think a sweet tale of gestating high school romance would be as big a hit as, say, Princess Mononoke. Judgement from the Mouse aside, fans of Ghibli may find plenty to enjoy in Ocean Waves. Even though it possesses none of... [read more]
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SPIRITED AWAY (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Hisaishi Joe
| Naito Takashi
| Sugawara Bunta
| Irino Miyu
The Garden of Eden Among Fantasy AnimationsMiyazaki Hayao's epic animation Spirited Away takes viewers on a fantastic roller coaster ride through Japan's land of make believe. Spirited Away is the tale of a seemingly ordinary ten-year-old girl, Ogino Chihiro, who gets drawn into a dangerous inhuman world full of bizarre happenings that is inhabited by the likes of phantoms and sorcerers. Presented as a spoiled brat at the outset of the movie, Chihiro's character sees a big change in attitude after she gets separated from her parents, proving that she can fend for herself if worst comes to worst. Even though Miyazaki's film also approaches some serious themes, including how the individual can be changed by the influence of a greedy... [read more]
November 1, 2007 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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My Life As McDull (Korean Version)
Animation
Hong Kong's best-loved pig is the star of the hilariously funny biography-style animation My Life As McDull. For all those who consider the Hong Kong reflected in movies such as the Infernal Affairs trilogy as a bit too grim, this 2001 hit movie, which was even a match for Miyazaki Hayao's Spirited Away, should come as a positive surprise. It follows the various life stages of piglet McDull who views the world through rose-tinted glasses. Anything but a successful person, McDull may stand as a representative of the ordinary Hong Kong citizen, living in a small apartment and clinging on to small dreams. However, what makes this naively cute protagonist stand out is the fact that he always... [read more]
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Hokuro Brothers Full Throttle!!!! (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Morishita Yoshiyuki
| Miki Shunichiro
| Ishii Katsuhito (Director)
| Tatsuya Gashuin
For a concentrated dose of brilliant insanity, there's nothing quite like Hokuro Brothers Full Throttle!!!!. This hectic collection of animated shorts from Ishii Katsuhito is an extension of the even more hectic world that is Nice no Mori (a.k.a. Funky Forest: The First Contact). Those who have seen the film will automatically appreciate this collection, and those who haven't have nothing to worry about, because Hokuro Brothers does not operate by any rhyme or reason. It is a singularly stupefying piece, and by and large a lot more accessible and likable than the film that spawned it. Despite my great film nerd desire to embrace it, I found Nice no Mori to be fairly underwhelming, an... [read more]
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Aachi & Ssipak
Lim Chang Jung
| Shin Hae Chul
| Ryoo Seung Bum
| Hyun Young
Though most definitely not on the level of My Beautiful Girl Mari and Wonderful Days, Aachi & Ssipak represents a wholly different kind of breakthrough for Korean animation. Comically violent, unabashedly crude, and hilariously profane, this film is not one for the kids. But for those not turned off by some indecent exposure and, literally, toilet humor, Aachi & Ssipak is an incredibly fun ride, easily one of the most entertaining films of 2006. All the people who think that our natural resources will last forever should watch Aachi & Ssipak for a very uncomfortable backup plan. In the Kool-Aid-colored world of the future, natural resources have run dry and society is sustained by fecal... [read more]
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