Goro Miyazaki directs this gentle, somewhat slight, yet unexpectedly rich story of student life and young love in early sixties Japan.
Tag: PG
‘Mirai’ – Oscar-nominated family fantasy on Netflix
A surprise Oscar nominee in the animated feature category, Mirai (Japan, 2018) is the sweet, imaginative tale of a four-year-old boy who becomes jealous of his newborn sister Mirai when she becomes the center of attention in the household while his parents grapple with new strains that the growing family puts on the household. Mother […]
‘Okko’s Inn’ – an orphaned girl finds purpose on Netflix
An orphaned girl finds purpose when she goes to live with her grandmother, the aging innkeeper of a small spa in a country vacation town known for the healing waters of its natural springs, in the lively animated feature Okko’s Inn (Japan, 2018). Okko, an urban girl who loses her parents in a devastating car […]
‘Prom’ on Disney+
Prom (2011), a familiar but sweet teen romance made without a trace of cynicism or calculation, was a conspicuous underachiever at the box office. Which is surprising as it seemed ready made for the teen and tween demographic that made Disney’s High School Musical films such hits. All that’s missing is the song and dance […]
‘Meek’s Cutoff’ – Lost on the Oregon Trail on Amazon Prime
Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff (2010) opens without preamble. We are given a place and a year—”Oregon, 1845,” stitched into a piece of homespun embroidery—and then dropped in the high desert to observe three frontier families ford a river. They wordlessly, almost morosely, march across, then take the opportunity to fill canteens, wash and check the […]
‘Good Night, and Good Luck.’ – Why journalism matters on Netflix
David Strathairn plays broadcast journalism godfather Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005, PG), George Clooney’s austere, astounding drama about his career-threatening decision to use the airwaves to take on Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1953. Directing in a stripped down style, Clooney’s direction captures the […]
Michael Keaton goes ‘Mr. Mom’ on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video
Michael Keaton was a newly-minted comedy star when he took the lead in Mr. Mom (1983) as a dedicated automobile engineer who loses his job due to corporate cost-cutting and becomes a househusband taking care of his three young children while his housemaker wife (Teri Garr) goes back to work for an advertising firm. It […]
‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ – An animated Japanese odyssey on VOD and Blu-ray/DVD
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) – In the age of CGI and Pixar’s animation domination, the Oregon-based Laika is keeping the art of stop-motion animation alive in inventive, engaging, and engrossing features filled with textures and details you won’t find in even the greatest Pixar accomplishments. “If you must blink, do it now,” recommends […]