(from http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/howl/poster_images/USA_full.jpg)
If you're wondering who's Howl, here's a picture for ya..
Oh and here's him as well.. with a cool hair color
Yeah.. he's an anime character from Miyazaki's masterpiece -
Howl's Moving Castle
. A very whimsical animated movie, as expected from Miyazaki. I know it's kinda late for me to watch this, but I got really curious and I can't help myself but watch. It didn't fell under the "Best of the Best" category, but definitely it was under the "You're suppose to watch this 10 years ago" category. Oh boy did I miss a lot in my younger years.. Anyway, It's time for me to give my review.
Here goes...
The Look.
Definitely Miyazaki written all over it. The look, the colors, the characters.. EVERYTHING! It's what we all call trademark. It really worked for me. I love how dreamy the scenery are and how magical the scenes are. I was blown away by the moving castle's animation; really sophisticated! everythings almost perfect. The only thing that bothered me a little was Sophies dress... It's so.. dull. No offense to the designers, but it was really dull.
The hat didn't help..
Howl's outfit was fine. It wasn't too flashy, wasn't too dull either. No matter what he was wearing he ended up kinda dreamy, and with Christian Bale's voice.. WOW! it made the character sound so suave! At one point Bale did the batman voice, and I was like "whut the-?". It was a weird moment for me, but at least the voice fits.
The Characters and the Story.
Howl... there's nothing to describing except for pure dreamy-ness and awesome-ness! He was cool! well, not for his tricks but for his dashing manner. He treated Sophie like a princess... awwwww! [like any man should do! hmp!]. I wish he was real. I'd marry a guy like that, even though he's a drama queen.
Here's a proof that he's a drama queen..
hahaha! so funny, but I still love him!!!!
Sophie was plain and innocent. She depicts a person who is so new to Howl's world. Even though her plainness can bore people, the movie is nothing without her. She is one of the important keys to the story.
To be honest, Howl and Sophie were pushing for the two-totally-different-people-love-team cliche; I mean pairing an overly vain guy to a fashion disaster is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Then again, if I watched this 10 years ago, I won't mind this love team cliche. And, it's not the movie makers' fault, because it's actually based from a fairly old novel. In short, the love team won't work as much as it would've been ten years ago. For me, it worked in most parts, specially at the climax, it got me hooked. Now, the villains, I love. The witch of the waste a.k.a. "fat granny", wasn't useless as I thought she would be. She was freaky but at the end turned into a poor old lady. The Sullivan lady was a wolf underneath a sheep's clothing, she was the selfish kind of evil. The sidekicks were awesome. Markl is cute and so is Calcifer. The voice actors gave good performances. Christian Bale was excellent. Emily Mortimer (as Sophie) was just OK, but didn't disappoint.Blythe Danner is the best as Madame Sullivan. Billy Crystal managed to keep me laughing (as Calcifer). Josh Hutcherson was adorable as Markl. For some anime shows, english dubs suck, but this cast was no joke! I applaud them. :)
The story was as good as the movie's art and style; very whimsical and dreamy. But similarly to what I felt in Spirited Away, the movie left me unsatisfied with some facts. As much as it impressed me, it left me with questions in my head. I realized it was the director's style to encourage the audience imagination. Good technique, but confusing [for some viewers]. Overall, the story kinda left me hanging. I wish there was a sequel. But in some sense, the story was simply beautiful.
My Rating...
7.9/10
If I were to rate Howl's awesomeness -- 10/10 hahaha!!! I officially have a crush on cartoon character.
Here's more of Howl's awesome-ness!.. xD
! Can't stop thinking about it. I'm so in love with the story. Now I hate to admit it, but I broke one of my rules - Don't read the book (before watching the movie). I really did read the novel. I can't believe I broke my own rule! HUHUHUHU!!!... Shall I go punish myself? lol.. Anyway, the movie was great despite me reading the novel which was phenomenal. I gotta say, I really wanted some scenes from the book to be included in the movie. BUT I didn't mind it at all. The movie makers really did picked some good scenes from the book. Some scenes were changed and the ending was expected but also changed. The love story was solid, teary and dramatic. The time travels were weird and hilarious. Love and Time travel = works fine with me. Eric Bana as Henry is DREAMY. Rachel McAdams as Clare is so perfect. Overall, it's a nice flick to watch from time to time.
. I know it belongs to a reader's blog or something, but I'll try my best to make it in the movie context.
. Based from the trailer it's about a guy (Reynolds) kidnapped and trapped six feet under, in a coffin. wow! talking about phobiac suspense! The plot kinda reminds me of the movie Phone Booth
, but instead of a telephone booth, they used a coffin. I think Buried is gonna be so much better that Phone Booth. I just hope they don't mess up the ending.. making it too "artsy" would ruin the thrill.
. BUT take note, I AM NOT a twilight FAN!!!!! Don't get me wrong, I somewhat hate that movie' coz they made the vampires [in the words of my cousin] "toothy-fruity".. anyway back to this next movie..
, I was kinda impressed by her performance because she wasn't exactly acting like a kid like most actors her age. The only thing I didn't like about her performance was the fact that she cursed so much (well, it's not her fault). Anyway, Let Me In is perfect for Chloe.. makes her join the ranks of Dakota Fanning.. As I've said before.. I'm a bit hesitant, I'm just waiting for the reviews to come out. If it's too creepy, I won't watch it.. totally not a sucker for scarey stuff O_O..
, I watched an [apparent] last installment of the franchise. But it's not just a sequel; it's one of those movies that are hard to forget, as if they are engraved into my brain. I knew this was gonna be big. And I knew, from the minute I saw the first annoucement, that I'll be watching this despite my age.
. As for the new characters, all I say about the strawberry smelling teddy bear is that he's PURE evil. No kidding! See the climax and you'll know what I mean. Ken is the one that stood out. I really like his character. In fact, I was glad that he kinda joined the gang. Now for the other new characters that didn't have enough screen time (because they're too many to squeeze in), they were colorful in terms of personality. The one that really freaked me out is the worn out baby toy. He's close to Chucky from Child's Play
.
