Movies

Last couple of weeks I indulged in a couple of movies that were quite different. One, a Hollywood blockbuster, the other, an anime blockbuster -- just not in North America. The latter first:

Howl's Moving Castle -- an anime based on the children's book of the same title by Diana Wynne-Jones. The story is an unconventional fantasy. Sophie the heroine, doesn't become a heroine until she's turned in a 90-year old by the Witch of the Wastes. Her young life of boredom turns adventurous as she goes off to the Wastes and takes up with the no-so-evil wizard, Howl, who lives in a moving castle powered by the fire demon Calcifer. She turns out to be more brave as an old lady, and soon becomes a very important part of the misfit group that crews Howl's castle. Little does she know that both her and Howl hold the keys within them to free each other from the spells that they're under. Yes, it's love. Corny, but you had to expect it. The anime was pretty good. The only disappointment was the ending. Things were wrapped up way too fast, with some lose ends tied rather awkwardly. Altogether not that bad a movie though.

War of the Worlds -- Speilberg pulled off an excellent adaptation of the H.G. Wells book -- and even Tom Cruise, with his recent idiotic hijinks, couldn't screw it up. The movie was dark, not just in tone, but also in the filming. It stayed true to the book, even though it adapted the story, moving it to America and changing the characters. Dakota Fanning was exceptional as the young daughter to Cruise's character -- she has a scream that will do her well if she pursues a career as a scream-queen. Justin Chatwin, the son, had an annoying character. My only complaint was that he didn't have a swift death. He lives. The film is worth watching if you've read the book (or are a fan of SciFi) -- it comes close, but it's not the Academy Awards material as the 1953 George Pal version was. I suppose today we demand more special effects for our SciFi movie -- but Speilberg was good enough to let the story tell itself that distract with over the top special effects. Not to say the special effects weren't great -- they were -- and they were perfect compliments to the story, making the movie well balanced.