Had some time this weekend and didn't want to go outside so I rented some movies. Picked up a couple from last year that I didn't get a chance to see in the theater.
Howl's Moving Castle
I've been a huge fan of Miyazaki's ever since I first saw 'Princess Mononoke'. He creates gorgeous animated landscapes and weaves interesting complex stories. His stories usually feature people with conflicting interests rather than the more conventional good vs evil of most Disney films.
This film centers around a young girl who has been put under a spell that's turned her into an old woman. She heads out into the wilderness and finds an scarecrow that hops around pogo style. They find shelter in Howl's mobile machine (castle). It's powered by a fire demon (Billy Crystal!). It turns out that most everyone is under some spell or other. And they must help each other to have them lifted. Loved this one.
Broken Flowers
This is a Bill Murray movie in the same tone as 'Lost in Translation'. Murray plays a tired man whose life is stuck in a rut. He gets a letter out of the blue telling him he's a father and that his son is on the road looking for him. The letter isn't signed and there's no return address. His next door neighbor makes him list the possible women. What follows is a series of meetings with his old flames. Clues and possibilities abound.
The pace on the film is slow. It worked for 'Translation' but doesn't really work here. It's interesting, but not great.
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