Karigurashi no Arrietty

Movie Name: Karigurashi no Arrietty
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama, Slice of Life

Somehow watching Ghibli Studio movies make me feel good, therefore I watched one on my birthday. As always, it did not let me down and I was once again filled with new enthusiasm and a will to fight for survival.

The story revolves around a "borrower" girl named Arrietty. Borrowers are small sized people who live beneath the wooden floors and survive by borrowing from humans. A young boy named Sho comes to visit his grandmother's house, where he sees Arrietty. The story follows the survival story of Arrietty and her family. The movie is all about the will to survive against all odds. Arrietty gives hope to Sho also who has to undergo a heart surgery. The story leaves a deep impression despite being simple and pretty much predictable.

I always liked the simplicity and the characters of Ghibli movies. Sho and Arrietty depicts the pessimist and the optimist respectively. The animation is great and beautifully shows the importance of trivial things in the life of borrowers which are not much valued by humans. The music is okay. This movie may not be as great as other Ghibli productions but still I feel that for animation lovers, it is a must to watch.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Kiki's Delivery Service

Movie Name: Kiki's Delivery Service
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice-of-Life

I like Ghibli movies as they depict the everyday trials of human with such a ease in the movies. I recently watched another masterpiece by the Studio.

This movie revolves around a young witch named Kiki. She needs to live independently for one year as per her training as a witch. Therefore she lefts her home and reaches a coastal town where witches are not so common. She makes new friends and opens a delivery service for survival as all she can do as witch is flying. The movies depicts her trials and her efforts as she makes friendship with locals. The movie gives message that everyone needs inspiration to do one's task wholeheartedly. One can continue one's work only when one has strong feelings about the work and great inspirations to do the same.

The movie at its course also delivers the message about individuality. Kiki wants to buy a dress in the movie so that she can look pretty like the other girls of her age but she does not have enough money to spare. In the end it is shown how her way of dressing has become a fashion. Kiki inspires one to maintain one's own individuality rather than following others.

This movie was like all other Ghibli movies with a simple plot and lovable characters. The music was good and the dialogues were simple. The movie is ideal for the teenagers who are eager to go out in the world and experience the things first hand. My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Whisper of the Heart

Movie Name: Whisper of the Heart
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice-of-Life

I like Japanese animation movies. I watched this Ghibli production animation movie recently. Again the movie did not fail my expectations.

The movie revolves around a young girl named Shizuku who is studying junior high school. The plot revolves around her life, her friends, her love and most importantly her aim in life. The movie is successful in giving message that everyone needs to search for one's true inner calling. Humans are like rocks which are needed to be dug deeper to find gems and later to be polished to reach at its actual worth. The story is about Shizuku's journey to find her place in the world. The movie is able to give deeper sense to any simple scene. For example, there is a scene where Shizuku's boyfriend tells her that he wanted to carry her on bicycle on a steep road. But the girl declines and tells that she does not want to be a burden to him, she rather wants to help her on the steep road. The scene renders the beliefs of a couple beautifully without much ado.

As the movie deals with the life and trials we face everyday, important aspect of the movie are dialogues. Scenes and dialogues combined are capable to deliver the message. The music is great. This movie is must for any Chibi movie fans. This may not be as great as "Spirited Away" yet it is a treat for the people who believes in trying and trying hard with everything they got.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Naruto Shippuden: Bonds

Movie Name: Naruto Shippuden - Bonds
Genre: Action, Drama, Slice of life
Language: Japanese

I like animation movies and Naruto is among my most favorite characters. I was planning to watch the movies for long and finally last night I was able to spare time to watch this movie. I always believed that Naruto is not just about action; it is about the life in general. Naruto always inspires me to fight with all my might for the things I believe in.

The story of the movie is about Sky Country ninjas, considered extinct during the Great War, who attack Konoha, hometown of Naruto. Naruto is sent on a mission to save one fire village from the Sky ninjas. He there meets with his long lost friend Sasuke and eliminates the threat of Sky ninjas. The story is not about the fights; it is about the bonds between people – bonds between friends and bonds between teachers and their students. I felt that there could have been more to the story as most of the movie is devoted to development of plot and lesser attention is given to relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. This might have happened to keep the movie aligned to the main series.

The action sequences and dialogues are the main selling points of the movie. There are not much to do for other characters as this movie solely belongs to Naruto and his bond with Sasuke. The animation is great as always. The music score is not that impressive as with other Naruto franchise. I will recommend this movie all anime fans even if they have not seen other Naruto movies/ series.

My ratings are 3.5/5.0

The Seaside Motel

Movie Name: The Seaside Motel
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Slice-of-life
Language: Japanese

I watched this movie yesterday. I wanted to watch some interesting movie after the disastrous Friday movie. I preferred it over others as I am confident with Japanese directors when it comes to Slice of life dramas.

The story is of occupants of four rooms in a hotel named The Seaside Hotel, so is the movie name. The hotel is surrounded by hills without any real view of sea. The occupants vary in their nature and profession widely. There is a gambler, his girlfriend, a department store owner with his wife, a cosmetics sales man, a call girl, a female escort and her client. The plot develops as the different characters are introduced and their stories are carried further. All the stories end with a twist.

The acting was great so were the dialogues. The development of the plot keeps one bound to his seat as to expect what is going to happen next. There are all the flavors of cinema available in the script whether it is love, hate, tragedy, action, drama. The characters leave a lasting impression and easily recognized as the people around us.

The movie is around 105 minutes long, yet it succeeds in keeping the person bound to the movie. There are no side tracks or deviation from the main plot.

My rating is 4.0/5.0.

Time of Eve

Movie Name: Time of Eve
Genre: Drama, Sci Fi
Language: Japanese

Being an avid animation fan, I started to watch this movie even when I was not much aware about the movie itself.

The story of the movie is from the futuristic world where androids are common place. The movie deals with the relations of human and androids. Besides the plot emphasizes that the androids can have their own feelings and desires. The story set up is simple and very few and realistic characters are used who mostly are in the age group of 15 to 25. There are various movies with the similar plots but it is can not be considered as another run of the mill movie.

The movie successfully attempts to show the emotions of human towards the androids/ robots they are living with. Besides it also shows that androids are capable of thinking of their own and behave according to their emotions within the scope of “Three laws of Robotics”.

Voice actors are able to bring forth the emotions of the characters (I am not in a situation to comment on the dialogues as I watched with English subtitles). Music was good and the pace of the movie was exquisite.

This movie is one of the many which deals with human – robots relations. It does not prove to be anew Turing stone but with a simple story and characters it compels us to thinking a whole new light. My rating is 3.0/5.0.