Gaviel Reviews

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)

(spoilers!)

[10/10 · 25 December 2014]

WARNING: Contains spoilers! (This is also for the Japanese version)

Perhaps one of the most anticipated movies this year (for us non-Japanese), Princess Kaguya had me both worried (all the hype) and so excited (it's Studio Ghibli), but when I finally watched it, it was worth the wait, the anxiety and the hype. The animation style is simplistic yet exquisitely done in that simplicity: it echoes the traditional Japanese art and style you won't see in modern-day anime, which I'm not saying is bad, but "Kaguya" is a refreshing breath of air. The voice acting is superb, as is the norm with Ghibli's productions, and the choice of music and songs are almost heartbreakingly beautiful (the harvest song especially). The plot is a little slow and... well, non-exciting, as it is essentially a tale of a girl waiting to be married off: this plot takes up the majority of the film, but the subplots of Kaguya's wishes versus her father's hopes, is constantly there and the viewer is moved by the protagonist's simple desires and wishes. While it lacks the action of its predecessors, it makes up for it with the sheer joy of its own being: once again, the music, animation and characters themselves bring so much life to it.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes Studio Ghibli, and maybe a few tissues for the ending which is rather bittersweet.

Moving Alan (2003)

Loved it!

[9/10 · 25 June 2012]

Though it took me like a week to track down someone who sold this on DVD (in Brazil no less), the money was well spent. Truthfully, I expected a rather so-so movie, you know, the kind you see of SyFy or Lifetime - much to my surprise, this movie was really good. Marley and Samantha Shelton have great chemistry (with each other and others) and play off each other better than many other, better known siblings (looking at you, Olsens) and their performance is rock-solid. While not the funniest comedy out there, it still gives a few laughs: the quirkiness of Melissa (Marley) against straight-man Emily (Samantha) is excellent and the dialogue flows easy. Though he is the titular character, Mark Pellegrino (as Alan) is shown very little but has his trademark menace down, as always. Next there's Misha Collins, whose character is simply outstandingly well-acted and quite hilarious. The jabs his character takes on soap operas are very accurate and very entertaining. The story is quite funny yet has sombre, sad moments that gives it a depth that draws you in and makes you sympathize with the characters - Melissa's and Emily's back-story being the main point. As for the music score, I think most of the song choices are great, though it's a little much on the chick-flick side for me personally, but it is a movie about two sisters, so I get it. I touched upon this earlier, but the writing deserves credit as well: the movie is very dependent on dialogue and it never disappoints: it's witty, sharp and funny yet contains sad moments that adds to the levity.