Movies recently viewed:	Interest	Rating
*	Nodame Cantabile, anime and manga	+++	4/5
	I really wanted to give Nodame a 5/5.  It is an outstanding and long running anime with four seasons and an OVA.  The original has 24 episodes followed by a Paris and a Finale.  I was surprised to find the Finale.  In all, the anime followed the manga almost exactly.  That is partly the reason it slipped just one mark below my perfect.  I will definitely watch it again, but I think the end, like the manga reduced the strength of the story and plot. Nodame (means worthless in Japanese) is about Noda a pianist of amazing vivacity and power, but who has problems with practice and "wholeheartedly" facing the music.  She was traumatized by a music teacher in her past, and she will not be forced to love music she isn't interested in.  The series is her tale.  Her main benefactor is the person she inspires the most.  Chiaki is a pianist too, and he wants to become a conductor.  They meet when Chiaki, after being dumped, ends up drunk on Nodame's doorstep.  He wakes in her apartment among garbage and the most wonderful rendition of Chopin he has ever heard.  Anyone who hears Nodame's playing is affected by it.  He finds himself unusually drawn to this needy and strange girl who is introverted socially, but not musically.  Nodame becomes the "angel" who propels Chiaki in his dreams.  Chiaki, in turn, becomes her greatest help.  The series is filled with classical music and with touching romance and stifled emotion.  It is a wonderful anime and manga that are both classics in the genre.   The art is not that great.  It has some typical manga styling.  The music is very fine, but not that which was made for the anime.  The story is what drives this anime and manga.  I recommend it for this and this alone.  That's why it is a 4/5 instead of a 5/5.  I will watch this again.
*	Paradise Kiss, anime and manga	+++	4-5/5
	Paradise Kiss is a real jewel.  I'm not sure why I gave it a 4-5/5 instead of a 5/5.  It really is a 5/5, but it is a tragedy and I like tragedies.  I just wanted both the manga and the anime to end differently, yet, I knew it couldn't. Paradise Kiss is a beautiful look at dreams and how they might be found.  Caroline (really Yukihara) the heroine is recruited by students to be a model for their University project.  She is tall, beautiful, studious (but not a great student), and totally uncertain what she is going to do with her life.  She has been under the thumb of her mother for her entire life and never imagined anything for herself.  When these art students take Caroline under their wing, she discovers the strength to think for herself.  George, the leader of the group, becomes her leader and mentor.  Caroline becomes his muse.  As Caroline becomes more and more independent in her life, something George demands, the ultimate break becomes obvious.  Caroline must be independent to become herself, and that means she must be independent of George.  The end of the manga and anime is beautiful.  This is a wonderful anime for its art, implementation, and music.  The amine only went for a single season of 12 episodes, but this was sufficient to tell the most important points of the story.  It was cleanly completed.  I highly recommend this anime and the manga, but be warned, this is not for children.  The themes are adult.  I want to watch this again--it is excellent.
*	Ponyo, Miyazaki	+++	2-3/5
	It is difficult for Miyazaki to disappoint.  This one does.  I expected magic and this time he delivered a kid flick.  Don't get me wrong.  The animation is beautiful, not cutting edge or novue or cool, just beautiful.  The music and sound track isn't fantastic, just normal.  The story is about kids doing something monumental--kids don't do monumental stuff.  Kids rescue their parents (Spirited Away), find themselves (Kiki), explore their world (Totoro), find love (Howl's).  Those are M's 5/5 (in my opinion).  In Ponyo, five year olds save the world.  Maybe M has spent too much time watching American drivel.  Whatever, it brought us Ponyo.  I'll likely watch it again, with the grandkids.  Its a fun innocuous flick.  Don't expect anything more.
*	Alice in Wonderland, Burton	+++	4/5
	I'm not as keen on live movies now days.  They seem trite and unimaginative to me.  So I was pleasantly surprised by the new old Alice in Wonderland.   It should really be called Alice in Underland--I guess the child Alice had it wrong. Alice returns to "Underland" during a party in her 20th year.  She finds that she has lost her muchness and this is something she must regain.  The rest is wonderful adventure and comic excitement. Fantastic, wonderful, and not wrapped up with a bow.  I liked the movie a lot.  The only reason it is not a 5/5 is that it lacks some gravitas that it should have had.  The "F" dance at the end is an example of this silliness that doesn't follow the pathos of the original or that is defined in the current AiW.  Muchness isn't muchness if it is not muchness.
*	Hell Girl, anime	+++	4/5
	When the music is so good, you have to listen to the opening and closing credit every time, you know it is great, and this one is great.  The anime has a similar quality in both the story and the animation.  Hell Girl is about a girl and her three helpers who bring revenge to those who can't ever revenge themselves--they take the oppressor to hell.  The catch is, those who seek revenge through Hell Girl must pay the price of their own soul.  The psychological and philosophical dimensions to this are obvious.  The episodes are stories that deal with the most pitiable of people, helpless from their oppressors, and whom only Hell Girl can free.  We agonize with them when they must decide to send their tormentors to hell and pay the price themselves or to live with their pain.  The pain is sometimes heartbreaking and you cheer the choices, in spite of the price.  Then comes Hajime and Tsugumi. Hajime is a freelance reporter and Tsugumi is his 7 year old daughter.  Hell Girl begins to allow Tsugumi to "see" her interactions with those she helps and Hajime begins to research about Hell Girl.  These two become the continuity binding each of the episodes together. One of the complaints I heard before I viewed Hell Girl was that it was repetitious.  It is in some ways thematically and structurally repetitious, but this doesn't reduce the power or the subtle beauty of the series.  If you find it repetitious, just keep watching.  You will find the end of the first and second seasons very satisfying.  Hell Girl is only down graded to a 4 for a couple of overwrought episodes--it is otherwise perfect in every way.  Even the sound at 5.1 and dubbing is excellent.  This is not for kids or the weak at heart.
*	Special A, anime and manga	+++	2/5
	Here is a shojo anime and manga that is really in the manga comedy style.  Where most anime use comedy to break up the tension, Special A uses comedy to drive the theme and the story line.  This is very true of the anime which is slightly different than the manga.  The manga is complete and is worth a read although the completion isn't as satisfying as many manga--it's still good. Special A is about a class of the 7 top students in a prestigious HS.  The students, like all students in Japan, are ranked by class standing.  The top two students are Kai and Hikari.  Kai and Hikari's rivalry started when they were children and continues today.  All the other students in the SA Class are wealthy and come from distinguished families while Hikari's family is poor and her father is a carpenter.  Hikari is always number two to Kai in every field and she wants to beat him at something.  Her life's goal is to win against Kai in some endeavor and he and she are constantly challenging each other.  Unfortunately, Hikari always comes out number 2.  Kai even calls her Miss Number 2 which drives her to even greater attempts.  No one else would ever call her something like that because Hikari is sweet, lovable, old fashioned, beautiful, and kind.  This is the irony of the situation.  Hikari is everything Kai isn't.  Kai is aloof, tough, individualistic, alone, and boring.  Further Kai is completely in love with Hikari and will risk anything to defend her.  Everyone knows that Kai is in love with Hikari except Hikari.  Hikari sees their relationship as a rivalry while Kai is trying everything he can to show Hikari that he loves her. The anime plays out this situation well as does the manga.  Both are touching. The music and animation are okay but nothing special.  There isn't a dubbed version yet.  One production detail that irritated me was the lack of translation of many of the signs and written text.  Since one of the 7 student characters only writes her lines, the lack of translation of her writing was not helpful. I recommend this anime for a look it's very good.
*	Kimi ni Tonoke, anime and manga	+++	5/5
	Kimi ni is what manga and anime is all about.  This is likely the finest manga or anime in this style you will find.  I was and am impressed by the manga (it is still ongoing), and the anime was even better than the manga.  Unfortunately, for some, the anime is not dubbed.  I hope it will be someday. Kimi ni, in a nutshell, is about a girl, Sawako.  Who has never had any friends at all.  She is smart, nice, sweet, and old fashioned.  Her problem is her appearance and her personality.  She never learned to interact with others and her appearance (she looks like Sadoko from the ring, a horror movie) gave her the nickname Sadoko and led people to believe she was dangerous and bad luck.  Sawako is happy in her life of isolation.  People don't bother her and she tends the school flowers and takes all the jobs no one else wants.  She is the top of the class and the class rep, but no one really cares--they stay out of her way.  Sawako is happy until she meets Karishima, a very outgoing boy who is the life of the class and a friend to everyone.  He treats Sawako with dignity and even calls her by her correct name.  Sawako's new desire in life is to be accepted by her classmates and to make herself like the outgoing Karishima.  Throughout, Karishima is there to help her because he is in love with Sawako, but kind enough to realize, she is unable to even understand love and friendship.  And so it goes.  This is a truly satisfying rollercoaster about the meaning of friends, friendship, and love. This is a must view by anyone who enjoys anime.
*	The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, anime	+++	2-3/5
	This is a very engaging and interesting anime.  I want to get the manga to see where it goes.  I understand the anime and the manga are based on a series of light novels.  The anime is very good.  The story line is excellent.  The music is okay, but the tag music in the anime is well done. The basic story is about a very odd HS girl, Haruhi who basically has god-like powers, but has no idea.  She can literally change the fabric of reality.  The real danger comes about if she is bored or angry.  She has a different, energetic, but prickly personality.  She has chosen Kyon.  Kyon is the boy who sits in front of her in school.  He is smart and mature and tries to keep Haruhi under control.  Did I say, she is Haruhi's chosen.  Haruhi starts a club, it was Kyon's idea--the SOS Brigade.  Its purpose is to discover odd things and seek out espers, time travelers, and aliens on the earth.  In the first few days, the club attracts an alien robot, an esper, and a time traveler--they are all there to keep an eye on Haruhi and Kyon.  Haruhi because of her powers and Kyon because he was chosen by her and is her only real friend. Kyon discovers the truth about each of the club members, but Haruhi has no idea.  The work of all of them is to prevent Haruhi from being bored or angry. I recommend a watch.  I want to see the other episodes that were not on the English dub.  The 00 episode is odd--it turned me off until the whole thing was made clear at the end.  Better to start with the first (01) episode and watch from there and go back for the 00.
*	Last Exile, anime	+++	2/5
	This one was recommended to me, and it is okay, but not the top of the heap.  If you like flying stuff, you will like this.  The animation, drawings, vocals, music are all great.  The plot is kind of typical, but not bad.  It feels a lot like a takeoff of Myasaki's Castle in the Sky. Story works like this.  Claus and Lavie are vanship pilot and navigator.  Their dads died trying to take a message to the enemy concerning a ceasefire.  Their world is strangely inhospitable and ruled by two kingdoms and the guild.  The guild controls warfare and the power plants of the flying warships.  Claus and Lavie get involved in the war by rescuing a girl "Al" who is a level 10 cargo.  The rest of the anime revolves around their vanship, the war, Al and their new friends.  It is satisfying and fun.  Not nearly as hard hitting or powerful as most anime at this level. I recommend a watch.  The animation is great and you'll like the characters.  The ending music is so good, you will listen to it at the end of every episode--I guarantee it.
*	Gunslinger Girl, anime & manga	+++	5/5
	Okay, stupid translations and weird titles are pretty usual in mangas and anime--don't let it put you off. Gunslinger Girl is one of the most powerful animes you will see and mangas you can read.  Each of the episodes are small tragedies.  Sometimes only the bad guys die, but you know the pathos of the small death in each of the characters. The Italian Social Welfare Agency takes people who are considered physical and mental medical losses and rehabilitates them.  The only problem is they rehabilitate them with cyborg implants and reconditioning.  The implants remove the physical infirmities and the reconditioning, the mental.  Both also make them perfect assassins for the Italian Government.  They take only young girls because their bodies accept the cyborg implants and conditioning best.  Then they match them with their brother, their handler. The handler trains and manages his "girl" during operations.  They become linked like brother and sister in a peculiar relationship.  The relationship is peculiar because the "brother" knows eventually the conditioning will kill his "girl."  Each of the teams, the fatello (siblings) handle this truth differently.  The girls don't know they are destined to an early death--that is the distinct pathos in this powerful series.  The more the conditioning the earlier death will take them.  The less the conditioning, the more difficult the girls are to handle and the more they remember their pasts and question the current work they do.  This is a fantastic and wonderful series that is a must see and must read for anyone who likes anime and manga.
*	XXXHolic, anime & manga	+++	3/5
	The XXX refers to spirits--so, spiritholic (addicted to spirits).  The main character is not addicted to spirits, he can just see them and they bother and chase him all the time--they are attracted to him.  When Kimihiro Watanuki enters Yuki's shop, it is because he wishes to get rid of his spirit attraction.  Yuki can grant any wish, but every wish has its cost.  Watanuki must toil in Yuki's shop to gain his wish.  What we find is that Watanuki's spiritual affinity is not all bad.  The friends he makes in the spiritual world make this a very compelling manga and anime.  The manga is not complete. The only irritational thing in this anime is Watanuki's temper which is there for some comedy relief.  His temper and character is what prevents and aids him in making friends.  It is mainly driven by his greatest help--Doumiki.  Highly recommended, the OVAs are beautiful, but not as good as the regular series.
*	Kare Kano, anime & manga	+++	2-4/5
	The translation of this title in English is "His and Her Circumstances."  It is a very deep and well done manga.  I recommend the manga.  You can see I rated the anime 2-4 out of five.  This is the most oddly varying anime I have ever seen.  The quality varies between awesome and avant-garde to strange cheesy and weird.  All the earlier episodes are fantastic.  I would rate them all a 4 until around 18.  At that point everything goes wacko.  19 and 20 are strange and cheap.  21 to 25 are well done.  25 is especially different than the others, but it is still well done.  26 is very cheesy.  I'm not sure what happened.  I heard there was a change of director and the artist canceled the agreement due to artistic differences--I can see that. The story is very different, but great.  Yukino is a model student only on the surface.  She is a vain girl who craves attention.  Arima is a boy who is also a model student with his own ghosts.  Yukino sees Arima as a competitor, but Arima falls in love with the girl who appears "like" him.  When he finds out Yukino's model student persona is just an act, he then begins to use her mercilessly to do his work.  That is just the beginning. Excellent manga--good to see anime (unique).
*	Glass Mask, anime & manga	+++	3/5
	Another awesome acting manga and anime.  This is the number two manga in Japan and has been ongoing since 1996.  The first season release of the anime is supposed to be just the beginning.  This anime has already been through a couple of seasons of releases, but I haven't seen the first series only the second.  Both the manga and the anime are worth reading/watching. The story is great.  The heroine, Maia, starts at 13 in middle school.  She is a girl who is distracted by movies and able to memorize the lines and the actor's slightest nuance with a single viewing.  Her mother constantly puts her down because she is "worthless."  Maia's skills are recognized by a retired actress who believes she can turn Maia into the most skilled actress of the time. The rest of the story follows the adventures of Maia in becoming a great actress. Highly recommended.
*	Skip Beat, anime & manga	+++	3-4/5
	Skip Beat is an awesome manga.  The anime follows it nearly exactly, and that is the problem, there is only 25 episodes and the manga is a lot longer than that. The story is very compelling and well told.  Kyoko, abandoned by her mother, grew up with Fuwa Shou and his family.  Fuwa Shou's family owned an Inn, and Kyoko was being groomed to be his wife and the eventual lady of the Inn.  Fuwa Shou wanted to become a rock star had no intention of being the owner of an Inn or a married man.  Kyoko just loved Shou.  When they graduated from middle school Shou ran away to Tokyo to realize his dreams and asked Kyoko to come with him. In Tokyo, Kyoko found three jobs to keep up Shou's apartment and feed him while he followed his dream.  The manga begins where Shou has become number one on the pop charts and is the idol of young women all over Japan.  Kyoko is his secret woman who still supports him, although he rarely comes home and rarely sees her. The action really begins when Kyoko secretly visits Shou and overhears him tell his female manager that he loves her and only keeps, the plain, Kyoko as his housekeeper.  Kyoko literally loses it.  She doesn't cry, she swears she will get revenge on Shou by entering the entertainment world herself and beating him at his own game--that's what she sets out to do. The wonderful parts of the manga and the anime are those that show the power of Kyoko's dedication and acting. This is a story that is hard to put down.
*	Vampire Knight, anime & manga	+++	3/5
	Vampire Knight is a very dark anime and manga.  It is not for the faint hearted and does require some acceptance of a Japanese cultural view.  It is excellent in its own way.  The music and animation is above par.  The symbols and imagery are uniquely Christian and not Japanese.  This is very interesting.  This redemption subtheme isn't as powerful as FF, but it is strong. The story line revolves around Yuki Cross (Cross Yuki) who was found and saved by a pureblood vampire from a vampire and brought to Cross Academy.  Cross Academy becomes a place where the director Cross Kain is attempting to bring the human and the vampire worlds into more peaceful coexistence.  He is helped by Yuki's savior Kaname, the pureblood vampire.  Yuki and another child saved by Kaname from vampires is Zero, a boy.  Yuki and Zero are the only ones who know the night class is made up of vampires, and they are the protectors of the school.  Unbeknown to most of the players, Zero was bitten by a pureblood vampire and is slowly turning into a vampire himself.  The problem is that Yuki feels responsible to Zero like a sister and at the same time, gratitude and love toward Kaname as a woman.  So begins your atypical, typical sojou manga theme. There it is a human girl who feels love and relationship to two vampires--yet there is a great secret in the background of Yuki herself.  As her life spirals out of control by the events around her, the question becomes what event killed her family and what secret does Kaname and Zero share.
	Fruits Basket, anime & manga	+++	3/5
	If it were up to me, anime like this would be all of children's "cartoon" programming.  The characters here are beautiful and awe inspiring.  The Japanese create the most wonderful "classical" romantic "not romance" characters.  Each of these characters are flawed, but they can be redeemed, and in Fruits Basket, they are redeemed.  The means of their redemption is the fatally flawed Tooru Honda (Honda Tooru, most precisely). Tooru's father died when she was three.  Her mother died at the end of the last school year.  She is entering second year HS.  She is currently living in a tent and working as a cleaning lady.  Her only consolation is her mother's picture, which she treats as a living symbol of her mother.  She has almost nothing, but she has friends, and she is skilled in many ways.  Her greatest skill is a boundless optimism and open frankness she inherited from her mother.  Still, she is overly polite (in the Japanese sense) and naive.  Life has beaten her down, but never broken her. Tooru's life is about to change.  She meets the Soumas on whose property she set up her tent.  This house of Soumas includes three men--two in her HS and their older cousin.  They need a housekeeper and cook.  She needs a place to stay.  They need much more that Tooru can uniquely provide.  The Souma family is cursed by being living members of the Zodiac.  They turn into the Zodiac animals, and this creates enormous problems for them and their families.  Fruits Basket is ultimately the story of Tooru's redemption of the Soumas.  The manga is complete and wonderful.  The anime is very close to the manga until the last three episodes.       The only flaw in this anime is its departure from the manga.  The Tooru of the anime is a slightly different character.  The music is wonderful (and I do mean wonderful).  The animation and artwork are about midgrade.  It is typical anime style and that detracts slightly from the presentation.  By the way, the title comes from a children's game where each child gets a fruit for a name and is called into play.  Tooru is always given the name riceball (which isn't a fruit), so she is never called during the game.  The symbol of her strength and politeness is that she is content with being a riceball, different and unique, while everyone else is playing.
	Shikabane Hime	+++	5/5
	Corpse Princess (direct translation) is the best anime I have reviewed to date.  It is a definite 5/5.  From the opening music to the trailers, this is a piece of anime that any fan should see.  The artwork is beautiful.  The cinematography is outstanding.  The story is poignant and beautiful.  It is complex enough to be interesting and unpredictable.  Action, adventure, romance, classic themes of love, betrayal--all typically Japanese. The story is supernatural and fantastic (what else in there in anime).  A contract priest is bound to a Shikabane Hime--a woman who has died, but has irresolvable attachments to earth.  The purpose of the Shikabane Hime is to destroy other undead creatures called corpses.  The Shikabane Hime must destroy 108 corpses to achieve heaven (very Buddhist theme).   The main story revolves around a high school aged orphan, Orii, who's adoptive father/brother is a contract priest.  Orii sees his brother's Shikabane Hime, Makina, as a human and not simply as a tool.  Orii is strangely and supernaturally affected himself--for some reason he keeps ending up in the middle of the fights against the corpses.  I haven't seen the manga yet, but I look forward to it.  Everything about this anime makes it worth viewing.  I hope there are others out there like this--I was impressed and I think I am hard to impress in this genre.
	Karin, Anime	++	2/5
	Chokotto Vampire (little vampire) is a fun and surprisingly poignant manga about an oddball high school vampire girl who just wants to live a normal life.  It really is fantastic manga.  The anime is fun but it doesn't live up to the manga.  The anime adds an incompetent vampire hunter character into the mix and makes the anime open ended (the manga finishes).  This changes the focus and balance of the story not significantly, but in ways that detract from the original premise. The music and style of the anime make it worth a watch, but it doesn't have the reviewing quality or emotional punch of the manga.  I rated it 2/5 because I think it is worth reviewing.
	Ah, My Goddess, Anime	++	2/5
	The quality of this Anime is very good.  Not quite art, but much better than the norm.  The storyline is tender, but there is no end (true of the Manga too) and I haven't found further than the second season. The concept is a student accidentally calls the goddess hotline and gets a visit from a real goddess.  His wish is for the goddess to stay with him forever.  The results of granting this wish are really fun and crazy. Not as slapstick as most Anime.  The characters are typical in this genre--sometimes annoying, especially the main male.
	Chobits, Anime	++	2/5
	I'm looking for excellent Anime.  I don't expect much of it to get above a 2/5 simply because of the media.  The Chobits Manga is very good maybe a 4/5, but I'm not really rating Manga--yet. Chobits is typical Anime--the quality of the artistry is not that great.  It copies the Manga reasonably, and the storyline is the same.  The Anime actually improves a little on the Manga story and theme. Generally, this work is about a time when perscoms (personal computers) are designed to look and act like humans.  A student gets his hands on a model that was thrown out in the garbage.  The rest is a deep inspection of love--especially the potential for love between a human and an intelligent created device (perscom).  Well done and tender, but what did you expect with a Manga from Tokyo Pop.  This is a group of women who write Manga--wonderful Manga. Fun, frothy, the main character gets old at first, but improves in later shows.  Typical Anime style.
	Tales of Earthsea, Miyazaki	+++	2/5
	Taken right out of one of the Earthsea tales, this movie is kind of typical Miyazaki, but doesn't have the magic in it.  The storyline is predictable while the characters are complex.  Not much more to say about it.  See it if you like Miyazaki, but it's not a Kiki.
	Midsummer Night's Dream	+++	4/5
	Excellent movie version of Shakespeare's play.  The idea for the time and place are wonderful and creative.  The major characters, except the Duke are perfect.  The Duke can't act his way out of a paper bag and that is the only thing that pulls this movie from a 5/5 to a 4/5. Otherwise, well executed, well directed, well done.
	Ocean Waves, Miyazaki	+	2/5
	Strange Japanese cultural TV movie.  I think the overall theme is driven by the "big city/country" plus divorce/honor idea in Japanese culture.  It is one of the flicks that the Japanese developed to try to get young people to marry and have children.  The movie is interesting, the subtitles move too quickly and I need to see it again. Basically about a transfer student with issues who is a great student, but causes problems in her class.  The main character is a young man who tries to help her.
	Grave of the Fireflies, Miyazaki	+	2/5
	Pathetic and sad.  Basically the story of the death of a young child through malnutrition during WWII in Japan.  Considering at the time, the Japanese were murdering millions of children in Korea and China, the whole story does not ring true.  It may be a true plot, but it is kind of like a terrorist complaining that his children are starving after he murders someone else's children. Not a kids flick.  Not persuasive.  High level of propaganda.  Needs some balance with the "comfort women" from Korea or the children of Shanghi.
	Porco Rosso, Miyazaki	++	3/5
	Fun movie all about flying and aircraft with a Circe, animagus theme.  Porco Rosso is a pilot who was turned into a pig--we don't know how.  We are not sure if he turns back at the end--it is implied.  The character is cut fine and Fio, his friend and engineer, is a hard charging girl. Not a kid's flick.  Above typical anime.  High quality and fun to watch.
	Quantum of Solace, Bond	+	2/5
	Bond is back and this is not really Bond.  They kind of tried to make Bond like Bourne from the Bourne identity.  Since this is the first Bond flick not cut from one of Ian Fleming's novels or stories, it isn't surprising it is kind of cut loose from its moorings.  Interesting to watch, it won't be a favorite.  The music is good.  The bad boy bond is refreshing, but still not real--was Bond ever, and no Q--that's sad.
	The Dragon Hunters	+++	3/5
	Fun kid's flick.  A little kitschy and cute.  The kid is fun and the animation is great.  The view of the world is really neat.  This is a well done movie.  It is a bit violent, scary, and dark for young children.  I think I heard a damn in there somewhere.  The message is okay and the story, though deficient is all right.  Most kids will accept it.  Most adults will enjoy it.  The animation is better than most Pixar flicks and the characters are engaging.  The movie tries a little too hard, but I still liked it and may watch it again. Plot is about a little girl whose uncle's kingdom and the world is in jeopardy due to a dragon at the end of the world.  The world is literally falling apart and flying, floating away.  The little girl finds the great warrior Leon Chew and his friends: Gizmo and a strange dog creature.  She enlists this group to find the dragon and defeat him.  The story goes from there.
	Igor	++	2/5
	Okay flick.  I'm not sure it could be made better, but it is contrived and strained.  Story is about an Igor (mad scientist helper) who wants to make an evil invention.  When his mad scientist dies, Igor can now invent.  He makes a Frankenstein lady who is nice and wants to be an actress.  The whole land is based on evil, so he wants the creature he made to be evil.  The plot should be kind of obvious here and the end is also obvious.  It is cute and predictable.  It is definitely not for children.  The story and jokes are adult and the whole story is dark.  Typical modern child crap from kid TV.  Don't let your children see this movie unless they are well grounded and mature.
	Omohide Poro Poro (Only Yesterday), Miyazaki	+++	5/5
	Another wow flick.  Unfortunately this is only in subtitles and you better have your clicker ready to stop the action, some of the subtitles come way too fast. Perfect anime piece.  It really could not be done as effectively in real or CGI.  This work follows a Tokyo woman, Taeko, who is going on vacation in the country to work on her brother-in-law's farm.  Unfortunately, she takes along the memories of her fifth grade self.  She did not have a very pleasant fifth grade, but that is not the way you will view this movie.  It is an astounding cultural and life piece that anyone will associate with.  Who didn't have problems understanding dividing fractions or not wanting to finish their school lunch.  Taeko's problems are accentuated by her culture, family, and her fifth grade perceptions--the producer just lets us experience and understand her pain.  We see how her fifth grade crippled her current but gentle self and we see how her fifth grade self may help redeem her. Omohide Poro Poro is a must see for anime fans, but a should see for everyone.
	A Whisper of the Heart, Miyazaki	+++	5/5
	Wow!  This is one of the best movies ever made.  The fact that it is anime should not keep anyone from seeing it.  Another coming of age story, but this is very realistically depicted.  It is likely one of the best place studies of Tokyo Japan ever done.  The depiction of daily Japanese life is delightful.  The heroine is a junior high school girl in her last year and studying for HS.  She reads everything all the time (you have to love a character like that).  She meets a young man who is studying to make violins.  He knows what he wants to do and be, while she has no idea, even why she is studying for anything.  He inspires her to use her writing skills--she does and decides that is what she wants to aspire to in life.  Beautiful characters, beautiful depictions, realistic animation.  This is a wonderful movie.
	Spirited Away, Miyazaki	+++	5/5
	This is one of the best movies ever made.  The fact that it is anime and is filled with fantasy should not keep anyone from seeing it.  It is likely the best movie from a Japanese coming of age perspective--any kid could take a beautiful lesson from the heroine who learns how to be successful, save her parents, and her friends.
	Much ado about Nothing	+++	4-5/5
	Fun, fun, fun...this is just a fun movie.  The acting is great and probably the only time Kenue Reaves ever really acted.  It is great from the first to the last--a great interpretation of Shakespeare and the play.  What else can you say.  The only reason I gave it less than a 5 is Denzel Washington and Reaves are just not as good as the rest of the actors and Beatrice is just a little too intense.  Playful touching and well done.
	Heidi, Disney	+++	3/5
	This is not Spyri's Heidi and that makes it very disappointing.  On the other hand, if you take this as a separate artistic concept copying the basic Heidi theme--it's not bad.  The actress who plays Heidi is the best in the movie.  She overshadows Robards and Seymour.  The director was obviously great with children, but the screenplay lacks strength and good dialog.  Robards is either miscast or misplays his role--he has nothing to love and you wonder why Heidi keeps trying.  Seymour just lost it--she plays a forgettable Rottenmeijer.  Herr Sessaman likewise is almost hateful.  The only reason to see this film is to see Noely Thornton masterfully play Heidi--the kid is cute and she is fantastic in the role.  Its an okay kid's flick, but not for the really younger crowd: Grandma dies, Heidi's parents die, Grandfather is scary, Clara is conniving, Rottenmeijer is mean, Tinnet isn't.  Plus the Disney crowd did their best to keep God out of it.  There are places in the movie where you are screaming--why is Heidi praying to a star, why isn't she asking Grandfather to pray at the meals, why doesn't the Grandmother pray, why is the Grandmother's gift to Heidi some stinky book about the mountains instead of the book of illustrated parables that leads to her and her Grandfather's redemption.  You get my point.
	Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day	+++	5/5
	This is really a fantastic movie and definitely not recommended for the artistically challenged.  If it didn't do well in the general marketplace it was not because of the acting--the acting is unbelievable without too much speaking to gum it up.  It wasn't because of the character development--that is finely done.  Probably the most memorable characters in a modern movie.  The story is poignant and well developed.  There is a little deus ex, but hey for a movie, you need some sometimes.  In all a fun, well made, well written comedy that is not laugh out loud.
	Ratings
	0/5 Not worth the time or the money
	1/5 Reasonable, issues, would not re-view, will not reference
	2/5 Good, good show, would not re-view, would reference
	3/5 Great, good show, not classic, might re-view, will reference
	4/5 Fantastic, great show, approaching classic, will re-view/reference
	5/5 Incredible, fantastic show, timely or classic, will re-view/reference
	Interest
	+ - Interesting
	++ - Very interesting
	+++ - Can't put it down
	- - Not interesting
	-- - Very not interesting