Warning: stacking any of these life-is-pain eurodramas with a Hiyao Miyazaki DVD in one CD sleeve could cause a massive explosion that destroys the Earth. I don’t mean to say that these are not well made, moving, thought-provoking critic-pleasers. Mostly they are, except for Seaside which could suck a golf ball through ten miles of garden hose. Still, after watching enough flawed people cause pain and then die or just drift along without learning or changing in any meaningful way, I could really go for some life lessons from a bug-eyed talking raccoon.
***
More candy for people who like bad reviews: Anthony Lane in the New Yorker on Nancy Drew.
Walker
Reviews in the New Yorker are like Scott Holleran’s reviews on Box Office Mojo. They hate movies so much that I cannot understand why they bother to review them. Perhaps it is a form of self-inflicted mutilation.
Pixie
Oh how was the Return??? I heard about it one morning about a couple of years ago on NPR and I made up my mind to purchase it before my bf and I go to FL so I can force him to watch it with me :) I never forgot about that movie, and so far it has gotten really good reviews! And I LOVE Hayao Miyazaki, I loved Howl’s moving Castle :) Man
CDB
Perhaps a good comedy is in order.
Brian Donors
DougJ
What about all the awful movies Clinton made in the 90s? How come you don’t link to any of the bad reviews of them?
demkat620
Excellent flick but, my kids loved Spirited Away
They will watch that every week as if they are seeing it for the first time.
ThymeZone
Is Ross Perot running again?
Chad N. Freude
Au contraire, the New Yorker critics take movies pretty seriously and they have no patience with the stupid, the bad, and the stupidly bad. In particular, Anthony Lane is witty (not snarky) and perceptive, and he writes very entertaining criticism. I think his Nancy Drew review is a classic.
grumpy realist
Spirited Away is even better if you have a background in Japanese culture. Miyazaki has taken all of the cliches about a Japanese furusato and Ye Traditionale Japan and twisted every one of them gently and with great humor. His spirits are especially amusing–some taken from Japanese ghost tales, some taken from prior Miyazaki movies (the little dust spirits, for example.) And I’m pretty sure at least one of the spirits came from a kids cartoon back in the 70s….
Pixie
I love Spirited Away too! :) I can relate to the kids watching it over and over and over :) I used to go to sleep to it everynight for like 3 weeks. :)
DougJ
I disagree, he’s just a narcissistic smart ass. David Denby is better.
But I’m biased: if it were socially acceptable, I would keep a shrine to Pauline Kael in in my living room, next to the DVD player.
Mr Furious
Is “With a Friend Like Harry” a French thriller/black comedy from a few years back? Saw that at the BAM back when I lived in NYC. Great flick.