I loved My Friend Totoro. And my former manager used to swear by it. His older son was into zombies and the like, while his younger son couldn't stand anything with blood. This was one movie that had both of them transfixed. It's beautiful, and rich, and gentle, and I never once knew where it was going. But once I got there the plot made perfect sense.

DH and I are hyooge Miyazaki fans; we drove 150 miles in 90-degree weather to see Howl's Magic Castle--twice--before it was in our local market (and a couple of times, after, locally).

We each have a ranking of his films, and they're not the same, except for Totoro being at the top of both lists.

Miyazaki skies always stay with me, and Totoro has some of the best, although Kiki's and Spirited Away's wind in the grass and clouds come close.

There's something so enchanting and yet so ordinary about Totoro. There are long spaces without dialogue, which is rare, and of course the magical visuals.

Favorite. First favorite.

We each have a ranking of his films, and they're not the same, except for Totoro being at the top of both lists.

I want to see your ranking.

I want to see your ranking.

Ditto. Porco Rosso is very near the top of my Miyazaki favorites list, if not at the top.

Ditto. Porco Rosso is very near the top of my Miyazaki favorites list, if not at the top.

Concur. More people need to see it! If you see it you love it.

Porco Rosso is great, but Spirited Away still tops my Miyazaki list.

DH and I saw The Good German last night, and were disappointed. We both loved the direction -- Soderbergh really does a fantastic job of capturing the 40s shooting and editing styles -- but the script is just so convoluted that we both gave up trying to follow the mystery after a while. Also, Tobey Maguire is terrible. I can see why he was cast, but he's so so so so so so bad in this. He just can't pull it off the way Clooney and Blanchett can (who are both wonderful). I think I'd still recommend it, but it's not one of Soderbergh's best efforts.

There is a fantastic article in the NYTimes Arts section today about how he made the film -- he tried to replicate the studio system as much as possible, using only fixed focal-length lenses, boom mics, everything shot on sound stages, old-fashioned film stock, very little coverage, etc etc etc. Very impressive.

Oh, Porco's up there, probably second, on both our lists.

My list: Totoro, Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, Nausicaa, Mononoke, Castle Cagliostro, Castle in the Sky, The Cat Returns

DH's list: Totoro (these two had a terrible tussle for first place), Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, Whisper of the Heart, Howl's Moving Castle, Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Castle Cagliostro, Kiki's Delivery Service, The Cat Returns,

There are things I really love about Castle in the Sky--especially the robots, and the pigeons. But the pedophile vibe just shoots it way down to second from the bottom of the list. Plus, Anna Paquin's voice (yes, we usually watch the dubbed version, to accomodate the five-year-old) grates, after a while. Even though Castle Cagliostro has some strange and silly moments, much of it is quite beautiful. At the bottom of the list is The Cat Returns, which does have some pretty moments, and I do love the miniature building where the Cat waits. But again, little girl as sex object squicks me severely. Third from the top on my list is Whispers from the Heart, and it's because of the glimpse of modern life in Japan(nevermindthatIwasandamaconfirmedJohnDenverfan).

You'd think a confirmed environmentalist like me would love Nausicaa, and I do, but the robot-monster menace at the end sort of ruins the rest of it for me. I love the first half of Mononoke, the second half, not so much. The town Kiki settles in is so like all the pretty little medieval German towns I knew when we lived there, and because of the familiarity, I'm fond of the movie, even though I think the plot is weaker than some of the others.

And Spirited Away is just perfect. It should be my favorite, but there's Totoro, and Porco. And for all its flaws, I heart Howl's Moving Castle beyond all reason.

edited for frelling punctuation.

the script is just so convoluted that we both gave up trying to follow the mystery after a while.

I've had the book for five years now on my To Be Read shelf--I think I'll read it before seeing the movie (which now might end up being Netflixed rather than viewed in the theater).

To bring up a similarly titled film, I saw a trailer for The Good Shepherd when I saw The Queen last week, and that looks like it might be a decent film.

We watched Over the Hedge with Owen last night. The casting is FABULOUS. I expected better writing but it was an ok, funny time.

I want to take Owen to see Flushed Away. He's got a Rita doll in a Happy Meal and won't let go of her.

I saw The Return today. It's quite good, but not at all the movie the trailers would leadone to expect. Fans of Hawkgirl will find the denoument very familiar ...