My Neighbor Totoro

Bug has surprisingly eclectic tastes. For movie night, she asked for a non-fiction movie. For movie night, I pick up three DVDs at the library and we choose as a group. Since there was a request for non-fiction, I got March of the Penguins. For the other two choices I selected Snow White and My Neighbor Totoro. I thought that Totoro looked interesting, but was going to be a passed over in favor of penguins. I was pretty sure the Bug wouldn't pick it as her choice, and was pretty sure that H would vote for anything else.When presented with the choices, Bug choose Totoro. H decided to abstain. I was shocked and pleased. It was my first choice.My Neighbor Totoro is a Japanese animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is a genius whose other films include Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away. His films differ from typical American animated films in much the same way the European films differ from American films. They are not as in your face or fast paced. They take their time to develop and the animation is muted while still epic. I thought that this would be a problem or Bug, who is used to American entertainment. I was happy to be proven wrong.

When the weird shit does happen, it is beautiful and touching.The girls need a friend and the world provides.

I think it was a great film.

Zootopia

Bug and I saw Zootopia at the Lexington Venue. It was so small that we sat in hot front row and didn't have to look up. It was quaint in a way that a modern megaplex with powered reclining seats and the latest sound system will never replicate. The theater didn't change my view of the film in anyway. It was just a nice place to see a film.
Zootopia itself was nice. As with all Pixar films, the animation and voice acting were top notch. Pixar doesn't do bad production quality. That does not mean their movies are always great; Pixar did make all of the Cars movies.....
Zootopia is not Cars. It is one of their truly great movies. The story was fun and fast paced, but covered a lot of moral ground. It is a caper that manages to provide serious commentary on bigotry, race relations, police profiling, and other social ills. It is seriously funny for both adults and children. It does not play down to the kids, but it does make some jokes that only an adult would get.
Bug thought Zootopia was engaging and funny as well. She and I both liked it better than Inside Out. Bug did not, however, find it better than Frozen or Tangled.
Zootopia, while great, is not as great as the classics like Toy Story, Up, or Wall-e. It lacked some of the emotional depth of the those films. It also feels a little too wedded to current events. It will be interesting to see how it ages.
What Zootopia lacks in emotional depth it makes up for in social commentary. It is a worthy trade off for an early summer movie.

Maleficent

I know this movie sort of ruins Sleeping Beauty for some. I, on the other hand, thought it makes the story much better. "Evil witch curses girl; girl is saved by handsome prince" is a lame story compared to what the new movie presents.
Making Maleficent more complex and giving her a good reason for her wicked act provides space for the original films lessons about being good hearted and that love conquers. In addition, it provides space for lessons about honor, rage, and forgiveness.
Angelina Jolie does a great job chewing up the scenery. She also does a good job showing the conflicting emotions in Maleficent. Her turn to darkness and willingness to see it through are not a surprise given her earlier passion and willingness to use violence to defend the Moors. Her eventual redemption also feels part and parcel of the character. Her earlier self was a lover of beauty and honor and love.
I personally liked how the movie turned all of the fairy tale tropes on their heads. The good King is a small, fearful, greedy madman. The handsome Prince is a bit dopey. The good fairies can barely help themselves.
I am a big fan of Disney's new live action reinventions of classic properties. Maleficent is more radical than the Cinderella live action film, but still in the same spirit. It gives me hope that the new Beauty and the Beast film will also be something that I would want my daughter to see.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I am very behind on my Marvel movie watching. It is hard to find the time between all the princess movies.
However, with all the rave reviews for Civil War, I felt obligated to at least try and catch up. At least I will have a glimmer of hope of seeing this one in the theater.....
So to catch up, I took Winter Soldier out of the library. It feels like the only required prequel to seeing Civil War. I'm sure seeing Age of Ultron would help, and I do want to see it, but it does not feel necessary.
I thought the first Captain America movie was the best Marvel movie out of its cycle. The Iron Man movies were great fun and Thor was epic, but Captain America was fun, epic, and more real. Steve Rodgers was somehow more human and likable than Tony Stark. I thought that was true in the comics as well. Stark, even when felled by drink or wracked with guilt, always seemed a little to entitled for my taste.
I think Winter Soldier continues the pattern. Steve Rodgers, even when faced with difficult moral choices, sticks to his, perhaps naive and outdated, moral code. Truth, honor, loyalty, freedom, justice: these are not just words to Rodgers; they are the bedrock of his world view.
It was interesting watch Rodgers adjust to a world that was more complicated. SHIELD is a spy organization and not an army. It keeps the world safe through subterfuge and managing the truth. That is not Rodger's way even if he sometimes understands that it is necessary. He do what needs to be done, but not blindly follow orders. How does that fit into an organization that does not always provide clear information to its soldiers?
Rodgers is the type of hero that will fight his best friend, if he has to, but will also fight to help that friend.
So, thumbs up.

Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins is a crazy anime series being distributed by Netflix. I stumbled into it while suffering from Dardevil withdrawal and waiting for Jessica Jones.
It is supposedly a very popular manga series and in Japan there is already a second season aired. Many people consider it good. I'm on the fence about saying it is good.
I think it is interesting enough to keep watching. The plot is pretty standard: princess seeks out supposed outlaws to save the kingdom from overly sanctimonious men. The characters are also pretty stock. The good man with a dark and dangerous secret. The pure girl who doesn't know her own strength.
What makes it weird is that it is very sexualized. There are a lot of dirty jokes and borderline R rated material. It is not a kids cartoon.
While I didn't find the Seven Deadly Sins a must watch, I will likely watch the second series if it is on Netflix and I am in between good shows.

Aldnoha Zero

I have a minor anime addiction. It also happens that anime series on Netflix happen to be packaged in under thirty minute episodes that I can sneak in without much disruption.

That is how I happened upon Aldnoa.Zero. It follows all of the standard tropes of the genre and is beautifully drawn. The action is satisfying. It ticks all of the right boxes.

What made it appealing to me was that it had the feel of the proto-anime from the late 80s and early 90s. It was dark but not hopeless. There were moments of touching emotion, humor, heroism, and ultimately redemption.

The female characters were not caricatures. They all had agency and talent and heroism. I wouldn’t mind my daughter finding any of them, except for one of the princesses, as a role model.

One other thing that I found appealing was that it ended its first season in utter darkness. Before I knew there was going to be a second season, I was truly shocked at how things ended. The fact that there was a second season and the unbelievable explanations does bring it back a notch. However, it was still a bold move.

Aldnoah.Zero is still anime and does not rise above its genre. It is, however, a finely crafted piece of work.

Two Days in New York

I am a sucker for Julie Deply and I loved the chemistry she had on Wittertainment with Chris Rock. I added Two Days in New York to my Netflix cue as soon as I could. It took a while to get around to watching it, but that is mostly because I tend to watch Netflix for my boy movie fix before my rom-com fix.

Anyway, H and I were looking for a fun rom-com to while a way a Saturday night, so we opted for Two Days in New York. Overall, the plot was predictable. Cooky family from France visits New York and makes all sorts of mischief. It could have been just a terribly ordinary film.

What makes it so good is the dialog and the level of crazy. The family is totally bonkers and turns Delpy’s character into a mad woman.

There is also a subplot about selling your soul that is an interesting side show.

The acting is great. Delpy and Rock play their characters straight and with a loving understanding of who they are in time and place.

For a run of the mill rom-com, Two Days in New York is special.