Results tagged “spiritedaway”

This morning, Irene Sinyavin is our hero. She just gave birth to her 11 pound, 10 ounce baby boy - naturally. And without pain medication. Sinyavin is 5'9" and her husband is 6'4", but you might not expect an a baby over 11 pounds. Weill Cornell Medical Center thinks it's the biggest baby ever delivered there, and from the picture in the Daily News, baby Alexei seems to have totally skipped that scrunched-up, old man face that most newborns have because they are much tinier.

Blah blah blah, Shrek 2 made over $100 million over a five day period, which is a record for any film except Spiderman 2 and a record for an animated film with the voices of a Canadian, former model, one of the greatest comics, a Spaniard who stars in some great Almodovar films, a member of Monty Python, and Mary Poppins (while Shrek 2's record breaking is legit, if we had a buck for everytime Hollywood makes up these so-called records..."record for a film starring Brad Pitt in a toga directed by Wolfgang Petersen after The Perfest Storm" - Jesus, Gothamist would like to write the press release for New York Minute: "Record opening for twins of any kind in a film co-starring someone from SCTV"). Whatever. Gothamist went to see Shrek 2 and while it's entertaining and all, it's not that great. There are a number of fun in-jokes, you know, clever jokes that will appeal to adults only while kids laugh at the incongruities of a donkey becoming a horse, but overall, it lacked whimsy and heart that makes other animated films transcend their format and be remember as movies (think Spirited Away, Iron Giant, and yes, Disney films like Dumbo and Toy Story). Shrek 2 seemed to be more about being a great DVD later on, so you can stop and pause to admire the cleverness of the writers and animators, but as a film, it's pretty shallow. There are some structural issues as well (splitting up the two ostensible leads, Shrek and Fiona, being the main one, making it seem like a bad romantic comedy) that don't benefit the film. But, if you really want to go, the animation is dazzling and while Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother is delicious and Eddie Murphy/Donkey is a scene stealer as ever, however the best thing about the movie is Puss...in Boots. In the name of disclosure, we didn't much care for the first Shrek, but at least that one seemed new to us. And, yes, Gothamist is a curmudgeon.

Also check out the array of Law & Order related artwork Brandon put together for a gallery show: Law & Order: Artisic Intent.

It takes an Oscar on top of pretty much unananimous critical praise (98% Fresh on the Tomatometer) to convince Disney that anime great Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away should get a wider release. Run, don't walk, to see it. Forgive the cliches, but it is truly dazzlingly beautiful, incredible funny, eye-opening, and a warmly told story.

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar.

The evening is over, while Gothamist will be following up with extensive commentary about the actual Oscar telecast, here are the winners and some post-game analysis:

My supplies for my wisdom teeth post-surgery weekend (yes, I keep talking about it...but it's ripping teeth out of my jaw, I ought to talk about it):

The thought of another snowstorm just makes me want to go home and watch My Neighbor Totoro. It's about these two sisters who move to the countryside. They suddenly realize that there are these "totoros" who live amongst them. What is a totoro you ask? Nausicaa.Net has the best FAQ about the film and has this answer:

As a hopeless cinephile, I feel that the year I spend watching movies is like having a crush on some unattainable person. It makes me feel alive, with all the planning and dreaming and effort I put into it, and somehow, even when I see a bad movie, it’s okay, because it’s one of the knocks I take in wishing that maybe this in time, after paying $10+ for a movie, it might reward my desperate passion with an enlightening moment that can transcend time and place. (For the record, that includes Owen Wilson’s goofiness, Katharine Hepburn trying to hit Cary Grant, and the way Christopher Doyle moves a camera.)

Go see Spirited Away this weekend, the animated film by Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki (he made Princess Mononoke) that Disney did not know how to distribute. Definitely one of the best things I've seen recently, it's whimsical, fantastic, sad, romantic, scary. It's on the Top 10 films of the year lists of many critics, including Roger Ebert,; three New York Timesies: A.O. Scott, Elvis Mitchell, and Dave Kehr (number one on his list); Time's Richard Corliss; and even the usually iffy Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly.