Howl's Moving Castle

This Entry:
Date: 2005-07-03
Time: 22:29
Comments: 1



Return To:
Recent Entries

Elsewhere:
Category Selector

Search:
Archive:
 • Oct 2008 (2)
 • Sep 2008 (4)
 • Aug 2008 (2)
 • Jul 2008 (2)
 • Jun 2008 (4)
 • Apr 2008 (2)
 • Mar 2008 (2)
 • Feb 2008 (2)
 • Jan 2008 (4)
 • Dec 2007 (2)
 • Nov 2007 (4)
 • Oct 2007 (1)
 • Sep 2007 (6)
 • Aug 2007 (4)
 • Jul 2007 (3)
 • Jun 2007 (2)
 • May 2007 (2)
 • Apr 2007 (4)
 • Mar 2007 (2)
 • Feb 2007 (4)
 • Jan 2007 (4)
 • Dec 2006 (4)
 • Nov 2006 (24)
 • Oct 2006 (3)
 • Sep 2006 (1)
 • Aug 2006 (2)
 • Jul 2006 (3)
 • Jun 2006 (6)
 • May 2006 (5)
 • Apr 2006 (5)
 • Mar 2006 (1)
 • Feb 2006 (8)
 • Jan 2006 (11)
 • Dec 2005 (8)
 • Nov 2005 (12)
 • Oct 2005 (10)
 • Sep 2005 (18)
 • Aug 2005 (8)
 • Jul 2005 (10)
 • Jun 2005 (14)
 • May 2005 (8)
 • Apr 2005 (10)
 • Mar 2005 (14)
 • Feb 2005 (12)
 • Jan 2005 (12)
 • Dec 2004 (9)
 • Nov 2004 (18)
 • Oct 2004 (13)
 • Sep 2004 (12)
 • Aug 2004 (16)
 • Jul 2004 (6)
 • Jun 2004 (10)
 • May 2004 (8)
 • Apr 2004 (8)
 • Mar 2004 (27)
 • Feb 2004 (19)
 • Jan 2004 (8)
 • Dec 2003 (10)
 • Nov 2003 (18)
Random Entry

Others:
 • Jen
 • Keltie
 • On LiveJournal

Howl’s Moving Castle

Well, after the excitement of getting ready for our housewarming party and its successful execution yesterday we were ready for some serious chilling out today.

Jen discovered that some adequate movies have poked their heads up out of the sand. Accordingly, as part of our relaxation plan we watched Howl’s Moving Castle.

I have to say that I was very impressed. These review things always seem to start with a vapid plot summary, so here’s a go at one: The story (adapted from an English novel) follows a girl (Emily Mortimer/Jean Simmons) who becomes embroiled in the struggles of a young recluse wizard (Christian Bale). As they battle their separate demons together they discover that the important things in life are only to be achieved by living it. Wow… that was pretty content free.

The film was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who gave us Spirited Away a few years back. That alone should place it high on your list for summer movie-watching. (The English translation was executive produced by John Lasseter of Pixar, and the western voice talent was directed by Pete Docter who also directed Monsters, Inc.)

The story is a good bit more western-familiar than Spirited Away (which was all the more powerful for its weirdness) but it really is a charming story, filmed in charming big-eyed anime-style Japanese animation. It follows the fairytale form, but without the emphasis on the “good” guys and the “bad” guys. Plus it has a wicked moving castle, so how can you top that?!

Ok, so this may not be much of a review, but I am telling you to see this movie because it was made by fantastic filmmakers who are living up to their names. You will like it. Ok?

return to cmh blog Arts & Literature › movies     2005-07-03 22:29   ...1
Good for the young, the old, and the young at heart...

And how's that for a generic, content free comment title? But quite appropriate for this movie...


I was going to put a link to this movie in my blog, too, because I really enjoyed it. This was such a nice surprise of a movie. I only discovered it's existence by looking at the Ottawa movie listings yesterday and, as a result I knew absolutely nothing about it before seeing it. This was also due to the (mercifully) content free reviews that I found. I thought your content free review was also very appropriately non-revealing.


I will say that I really like the quirky environments in these movies, because they are basically a character in the movie. The bath house in Spirited Away was also like that.

at 2005-7-4 16:12 by Bixby
Add your comment...

your name Help stop spammers: prove you're human! 
    Three plus three is: (learn more
subject/title
comment





All content © 2003-2005 by Colin Henein. All rights reserved.
People & Places CMH Science & Nature Opinion Arts & Literature Sports & Leisure