Even now, more than a year after the announcement, the world continues to reel from the news of Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement. His swan song was the well-received and beautifully haunting The Wind Rises. Yet it wasn’t the first time he hinted at bowing out. Of all the animators out there, it was thought that another Miyazaki would keep the studio banner waving. In fact, this particular Studio Ghibli film is directed by his son Goro. We first took a look at Tales From Earthsea years ago, and we were really hoping that now, after a third outing, it would have grown on us. Considering the talent involved, even on the dubbed…
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“The CineMagic 8-Ball” – In Theaters 03/15/13
When so many movies are released each week and trailers often seem better than the movie itself, what should one do? In this precarious situation, we consult the The CineMagic 8-Ball(TM) to help us see through the nebulous marketing haze. Doing so just might save us all a disheartening trip to the cinema and spare us the shelling out for $7 popcorn and ridiculous concession stand prices. See what the 8-Ball says about this week’s releases… ——————————————————————————————————————————————- THE CALL When veteran 911 operator, Jordan, takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to…
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Sweet (Dubbed) Trailer…Studio Ghibli's 'From Up On Poppy Hill'
For those of you who have been patiently waiting to see the latest Studio Ghibli film From Up on Poppy Hill, your patience has nearly paid off. The film, the second from Goro Miyazaki (son of legendary animator and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki) will debut stateside next month and for this English dub these charming new Ghibli characters will be voiced by the likes of Aubrey Plaza, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christina Hendricks and Ron Howard to name a few. As we’ve waited long enough (nearly 2 years), I’ll cut right to the trailer… As a purist it pains me to sit through or even champion a dub of any…
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Sweet Trailer…Studio Ghibli's 'From Up On Poppy Hill'
With computer animated films taking a majority of the market in film these days it’s so refreshing to see studious continue to produce hand drawn and stop-frame animation. Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli’s latest film is one such traditional hand drawn tale about a high school love story that takes place in the year before the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Similar to their sensationally simple Whisper of the Heart, this very down to Earth tale focuses on the human element but still looks engaging and captivating. Enjoy…and thanks to Anomalous Material for the tip! Directed by Goro Miyazaki, Poppy Hill marks his second feature for Studio Ghibli. His first at bat for his father’s studio, one Tales From Earthsea…
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At Least Three New Studio Ghibli Projects Supposedly In Development
Studio Ghibli is never content to rest on their laurels or let the ink dry. Their charming and wonderful film from 2010 The Secret World of Arrietty will finally hit U.S. theaters this Friday (look for a G-S-T review then as well). Also, From Up On Poppy Hill (the second effort from Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro Miyazaki) was released last July in Japan. It has been making its way around the world, stopping at a Film Festival or two and has been very well received. But word from the other side of the world is that the studio, as suspected, is hard at work developing some new projects. For those of you ever hungry for the latest work from little animation…
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Japanese Cinema Blogathon – Off the Shelf…’Tales From Earthsea’
Tales From Earthsea is not the work of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki or even Isao Takahata. This animated feature comes from Goro Miyazaki; Hayao’s son. Admittedly it’s so very hard to think about Goro’s work (who is not, I repeat not a professional animator) and not compare him to his father. Further, expecting a Princess Mononoke level of film right out of the gates is not only a lofty expectation, but an impossible one. It’s like trying to compare “Juno” to “Ghostbusters”; just because Jason Reitman is Ivan Reitman’s son doesn’t mean he’ll top his father’s peak films with his first effort. But even though Goro didn’t grow up in…