Fine, FINE.
I...resolve to not mention anything that has to do with gay sex in animu in this post. For once.
Yeah, I know.
That said:
"Howl's Moving Castle" is the...first Ghibli movie I've bought, and only the fourth one I've watched. (The others being "Nausicaa," "Laputa," and "Spirited Away." And even if it was expensive ($26 after taxes - damn me for buying it in New York State instead of (the slightly cheaper) New Jersey), it was definitely worth the purchase.
Popping the DVD in for the first time, I didn't know exactly what to expect - I don't like reading synopses for things I want to watch because that kind of spoils me. And...well, the other Miyazaki films I've seen weren't quite as heavy on the romance as "Howl" is. The movie isn't so much about the conflict going on as it is about Howl and Sophie, and...honestly, it reminded me a bit of Twilight in that regard.
Though I think that's really unfair to make that comparison - for one, they're really independent of each other. More importantly, though, the comparisons are only really cosmetic - you have the plain-Jane girl (in Twilight's case, Bella; in Howl's case, Sophie) who gets swept off their feet by the dangerous pretty-boy who just so happens to be a monster (Edward and Howl, respectively). But the stories couldn't be any more different - for one, there's actual conflict in "Howl." For one, Sophie's little dilemma (because some fat rhymes-with -wait, no, she's actually a witch - blew in and made her actually 90 instead of just acting like a spinster). More importantly, Howl himself seems to need something - that being...well...heart. (To not put too fine a point on it. Though that may be a spoiler.)
I'm not entirely sure what love is, but I think a lot of it is based on getting something from the one you love. That it makes you more than whole. And I think that's what it is - though they both show it differently, I think they end up having the same problem - not being able to really love themselves, and thus not being able to love another.
I dunno. Maybe I'm reading too far into it, but I think that's kind of the main thrust of it.
Not only that, the supporting cast - mainly the Witch of the Wastes (who was the one that cursed Sophie) and Calcifer - really make it enjoyable. And of course, it's pretty throughout. The soundtrack, the animation, the setting.
In the end though, a movie's mainly supported by its story. I've only seen "Avatar" once. I only intend on seeing it once. It's possibly the most beautiful thing I've seen in theaters ever, but the story itself has huge problems with race and other issues, what with it being built entirely on the "noble savage"/"white guilt" tropes. It's a great experience, but it doesn't have that much re-viewing value, at least for me.
And I think that's kind of where Miyazaki delivers - his storytelling actually brings you into the world. Maybe it's not so much the story you tell but how you tell it.
I ramble on a bit, and that's not really a proper review, but I guess that's what I took out of it. Anyway.
The rain let up finally. It was brutal yesterday - most of NJT's service was shut down, including Hoboken Terminal. I got lunch at Panera yesterday, and by the time I left the wind was HORRIBLE.
Then I caught up on "Drag Race" (goddammit, and just when I was beginning to like Morgan, too - though Tatianna was a complete bitch and Ru should have thrown her ass off stage even though she had immunity. And now I hear that Celebrity Apprentice is debuting tonight. With Rod Blagojevich.
JESUS CHRIST YES. THIS WILL BE A BATTLE OF THE TOUPEES LIKE NONE OTHER.
Yeah, I know.
That said:
"Howl's Moving Castle" is the...first Ghibli movie I've bought, and only the fourth one I've watched. (The others being "Nausicaa," "Laputa," and "Spirited Away." And even if it was expensive ($26 after taxes - damn me for buying it in New York State instead of (the slightly cheaper) New Jersey), it was definitely worth the purchase.
Popping the DVD in for the first time, I didn't know exactly what to expect - I don't like reading synopses for things I want to watch because that kind of spoils me. And...well, the other Miyazaki films I've seen weren't quite as heavy on the romance as "Howl" is. The movie isn't so much about the conflict going on as it is about Howl and Sophie, and...honestly, it reminded me a bit of Twilight in that regard.
Though I think that's really unfair to make that comparison - for one, they're really independent of each other. More importantly, though, the comparisons are only really cosmetic - you have the plain-Jane girl (in Twilight's case, Bella; in Howl's case, Sophie) who gets swept off their feet by the dangerous pretty-boy who just so happens to be a monster (Edward and Howl, respectively). But the stories couldn't be any more different - for one, there's actual conflict in "Howl." For one, Sophie's little dilemma (because some fat rhymes-with -wait, no, she's actually a witch - blew in and made her actually 90 instead of just acting like a spinster). More importantly, Howl himself seems to need something - that being...well...heart. (To not put too fine a point on it. Though that may be a spoiler.)
I'm not entirely sure what love is, but I think a lot of it is based on getting something from the one you love. That it makes you more than whole. And I think that's what it is - though they both show it differently, I think they end up having the same problem - not being able to really love themselves, and thus not being able to love another.
I dunno. Maybe I'm reading too far into it, but I think that's kind of the main thrust of it.
Not only that, the supporting cast - mainly the Witch of the Wastes (who was the one that cursed Sophie) and Calcifer - really make it enjoyable. And of course, it's pretty throughout. The soundtrack, the animation, the setting.
In the end though, a movie's mainly supported by its story. I've only seen "Avatar" once. I only intend on seeing it once. It's possibly the most beautiful thing I've seen in theaters ever, but the story itself has huge problems with race and other issues, what with it being built entirely on the "noble savage"/"white guilt" tropes. It's a great experience, but it doesn't have that much re-viewing value, at least for me.
And I think that's kind of where Miyazaki delivers - his storytelling actually brings you into the world. Maybe it's not so much the story you tell but how you tell it.
I ramble on a bit, and that's not really a proper review, but I guess that's what I took out of it. Anyway.
The rain let up finally. It was brutal yesterday - most of NJT's service was shut down, including Hoboken Terminal. I got lunch at Panera yesterday, and by the time I left the wind was HORRIBLE.
Then I caught up on "Drag Race" (goddammit, and just when I was beginning to like Morgan, too - though Tatianna was a complete bitch and Ru should have thrown her ass off stage even though she had immunity. And now I hear that Celebrity Apprentice is debuting tonight. With Rod Blagojevich.
JESUS CHRIST YES. THIS WILL BE A BATTLE OF THE TOUPEES LIKE NONE OTHER.