Jason’s Random Thoughts

Hayao Miyazaki’s (宮崎駿) latest film hit the theatres this weekend.  His first in four years, the tale of 崔の上のポニョ (Gake no Ue no Ponyo — Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) end the speculation that the animation great had made his last movie.  Reiko and I took advantage of the half-price movie tickets at Kakamigahara Jusco today, and we’re glad we did.  The movie was great.

The movie is said to be inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson classic, “The Little Mermaid,” but there will be very few similarities between the original story or the Disney re-telling.  The story’s main character, Ponyo, wants to see more of the world and escapes her home on a jellyfish.  After running into some trouble with the excessive amount of man-made garbage in the oceans, a boy named Sosuke helps her out and vows to protect the girl from harm.

I won’t go into too much detail, as that would spoil the fun of the movie, but it’s one of those films that people will think of as an instant classic the moment they see it.

That said, perhaps due to my limited Japanese skills, there are some areas that are difficult to understand.  The comments about the proximity of the Moon and how most of an island was completely drowned by the ocean continues to leave me perplexed.  Yet despite the slight confusion, the 110 minute journey into the life of Ponyo and her quest to grow up is a great story for anyone regardless of age or linguistic ability.

Not Miyazaki-sensei’s Last

I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy most of Miyazaki’s works, with the first being Nausicaa.  He’s been said to be one of Japan’s biggest cultural exports and his last film, “Howl’s Moving Castle,” broke box office records in Japan before winning a following among anime affectionados around the world.  What’s interesting, though, is that he has stated repeatedly that he’d like to retire.

Viewers of Gake no Ue no Ponyo will probably notice that there is absolutely no computer animation involved in the movie.  Miyazaki has said that using pencils will be the only way for the Japanese animation market to stay alive, as it sets them apart from the rest of the world.  Regardless of how accurate the statement might be, the hard labour involved to create this motion picture classic can certainly be appreciated.  170,000 hand-drawn pictures were used to animate characters and objects.  A record number for anything done by Miyazaki.

There are also a number of manually drawn pictures as the background, which can be seen with every scene where the small town (possibly in Kobe prefecture) is visible.

Mr. Miyazaki is getting close to 70 years of age, but I certainly hope he doesn’t give up his art.  The man does deserve a rest and to enjoy his remaining  years on the Earth but, at the same time, he clearly loves his craft and it would be a shame if the youthful wonder he adds to the films were to be limited.

If you get a chance, go see Gake no Ue no Ponyo.  Young or old, married, single, other … it doesn’t matter.  The movie is a timeless classic that can be enjoyed by all people, regardless of what moment in life we happen to be in.

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I just got back from watching The Simpsons Movie, and I must admit that it was well worth the eight bucks.  Over the past 18 years we’ve seen the characters in all kinds of situations, and the last few seasons has been witness to some pretty lame episodes, but this feature certainly makes up for some of the disappointment we’ve faced on Sundays.

Naturally, the characters were permitted to be a little more brazen on the big screen.  Marge took the Lord’s name in vain, Homer gave the middle finger, and we even get to see Bart skateboard through the city naked (not that I’m interested in seeing young boys skateboard through a city in the buff, but it was funny nonetheless).

I’ll admit that before going in to the show I had my doubts.  The three trailers I had seen had nothing to do with each other, and I couldn’t piece the story together mentally beforehand, but the writers certainly came through with a decently put together script that had the theatre laughing.

Of course there were a few times I found myself to be one of a few people laughing at the jokes (Mr. Burns’ racial comment had me laughing pretty hard while the audience remained silent), and the characters came through with their classic wit.

Okay … I think I’m rambling here, as it’s way past my bedtime
If you get a chance to see the movie, I’d certainly recommend it.  If you haven’t watched Simpsons for a few years, then this will remind you of what the show used to be.  For anyone with an encyclopedic knowledge of The Simpsons (guilty), you’ll love all the vague references to the 400+ previous episodes.

If you have seen the movie, what did you think?  Worth the money (or download) ?

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Just when it seems that there’s been a movie made about everything, the Sneaky Bastard makes public his intentions to film a movie about 10 bloggers.

I’m not sure what it is about this idea, but I have this strange sense of excitement about it.  Perhaps it’s because I will actually be able to relate to the people that are chronicled in the documentary, or perhaps it’s because this is the first time I’ve heard of such a film.  But then of course, the word “documentary” is enough to get me excited most days alone, regardless of the subject ….

With Paperplane Productions producing the video, Mr. P (a.k.a. Sneaky Bastard) will scour the earth in search of 10 bloggers that blog everyday to ordinary people.  These can be the authors behind popular, new, professional, personal, rambing, random, adult, elderly, and niche sites.  If there’s a category I missed, that’s okay, because he’s looking for those, too!  The key is to have a story that the world will love (or hate) to relate to, and Mr. P will fly to anywhere in the world to let you tell the tale.

At the moment, there is no way we can apply to be a part of the documentary, but if you keep checking his Blogging the Movie site, the instructions will soon be posted.  Chances are that a contest will be posted and people will be invited to submit their sites that way.

Personally, I hope it’s a contest where readers vote for the winners.  People could post their site, and if visitors think that the site is worth a mention, they give it a point.  Not only would this have the potential to save Mr. P countless hours of labor, but it would give the blogging community as a whole the opportunity to play a role in this film about their world.

This has the potential to become one of the biggest contests the blogosphere has ever seen, so stop by and check it out.

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Spartans.  Impossible odds.  Raw testosterone.  Unblocked naked breasts (female, of course).  What more could a guy want from a movie?

Since hearing about this movie, everyone has known that it would be 95% war and 5% back-story.  We were not disappointed.

Frank Miller’s 5 issue graphic novel was published by Dark Horse Comics almost ten years ago, and I remember reading this shortly after moving into my first apartment.  The story line is pretty simple:  Persians approach Greece with plans of global conquest, and Sparta is but one of a few states that try and prevent it.  The movie barely strays from the original.

There’s plenty of blood, dismembered body parts, CG animated enemies and sceneries, and even a few sex scenes.  While I wouldn’t recommend this kind of movie for anyone that can’t handle excessive death, blood and gore, this is a pretty enjoyable movie.

Rather than get into the details of the movie, I would suggest watching it.  To quote some of the reviews I’ve seen elsewhere; this is made of win.

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