DVD Collectors Online

Howl's Moving Castle, a review by dfmorgan

Howl's Moving Castle (2004/Japan) Studio Canal (United Kingdom) Director: Hayao Miyazaki Writing: Diana Wynne Jones (Original Material By) Length: 119 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1 Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Chieko Baisho as Sophie
Takya Kimura as Howl
Akihiro Miwa as Witch of the Waste
Tatsuya Gashuin as Calcifer
Ryunosuke Kamiki as Markl

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Interviews
• Storyboard Comparisons

My original review of the R1 DVD is here.

Even more wonderful and gorgeous now in high definition. The whole film popped for me with colour depth and brilliance and with the sound seeming to have an extra dimension even though it was only down mixed DTS from my PS3.

Rating: Still a 5 from me


I must look into upgrading my audio setup sooner rather than later



edited for a typo

(From Ghibli Blu's on July 8th, 2012)

Ocean of an Old Man, a review by Danae Cassandra

Ocean of an Old Man
Year of Release: 2008
Directed By: Rajesh Shera
Starring: Tom Alter
Genre: Drama

Overview:
In the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and amid the stunning natural beauty of India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, an elderly British teacher struggles to run a small primary school despite the loss of many of the islands' children to the recent tragedy. Ignoring the overwhelming grief that washes over the islands, he continues to teach his few remaining students until a government official delivers a relocation order to all residents, causing him to embark on a heartbreaking search for his missing students, convinced they must still be alive.

Blending exquisite vistas with the ubiquitous sound of the ocean to convey the precarious balance between human life and the inexorable forces of nature, Rajesh Shera's debut feature quietly unfolds as a delicate meditation on grief and loss.

My Thoughts:
This is a nearly wordless meditation on grief and loss. How does one cope in the aftermath of unimaginable tragedy? How do you go on, seeing the empty spaces once inhabited?

This is the first movie filmed in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and it's a good thing that the setting is beautiful, because this is a slow, slow film. It held my attention, but I enjoy a story that plays out slowly. Not that there's much of a story here. It's really more of a study of this teacher trying to deal with the loss of his family, his young pupils, his home, as well as the future and an entire way of life.

This is a very low budget film, but it really doesn't need more money. Tom Alter does an excellent job conveying the depth of the teacher's grief and his increasing desperation to find any of his missing pupils. In many ways what The Old Man and the Sea should have been, in that here you see everything instead of it being told by a narrator. Recommended only if you have a background in slow film however.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From March Around the World 2016 on March 11th, 2016)

Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon, a review by Tom

03. Faith, Hope & Trick (1998-10-13)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Greenwalt (Writer)
Director: James A. Contner
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), K. Todd Freeman (Mr. Trick), Fab Filippo (Scott Hope), Jeremy Roberts (Kakistos), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder), John Ennis (Manager)

The arrival of Faith
I always enjoyed this episode. Great lines in this one.

Rating:

(From Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon on February 25th, 2009)