2016 The Year of Films [June]

June. Will I watch less in summer?
Here is the link to the index.

01. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya [Ghibli] (06.06.16)
Wonderful. Such a joy to watch, amazing animation and art style. The music and tone were spot on and the ending works well and is full of emotion. A nice simple story that flows well more plot progression and less simple wonder than other Ghibli films but it works well. It just feels good.

02. When the Wind Blows (08.06.16)
What a film. A fantastic small production that hits to the heart of life among a hidden war. Love the music and sound design. The set was great and allowed for some cool shots. The feeling of the film is what makes it, so dark and bleak after a sense of melancholy. Glad I watched it.

03. Ghostbusters (12.06.16)
Classic. I think this is the first time I've seen it properly, I've seen it on TV now and then but that must have been ten plus years ago. Very funny and well produced a bit dated in some aspects but a solid film.

04. X-Men (13.06.16)
Wow 16 years old. Still a great film, its been a while since I had last seen it. It holds up well with only a few parts looking out of date. The is still some odd direction but its solid. Love how the X-Men aren't great at fighting then must be new to it all.

05. When Marnie Was There [Ghibli] (15.06.16)
The is a steady build up until about two thirds of the way trough. The emotions come flying out and plot is trust at us, it works and wow dose it hit hard. Such a fantastic film, top notch animation and the style and feel of the film is wonderful. The last ten minutes is hard to watch with dry eyes and the end song hits hard. Ghibli's last, and one of the best.

06. Jack Reacher (17.06.16)
Almost like a old Thriller along the lines of a Jack Higgins book. Relied a bit much on action on the end but it was smart and well plotted. Good and complex characterization of Jack and some nice direction, if a bit over the top at times.

07. X-Men 2 (18.06.16)
Better acted and with a more interesting plot than the first. The is a fair amount going on and even though it could have done with a few more interactions between certain people it handles everything well. Easy to see how its been held up a a great comic book film for so long.

08. The Silence of the Lambs (19.06.16)
A truly great film. From the atmosphere to the acting and direction its all pitch perfect. I love how the plot is handled and how it weaves two stories. Then the is how they don't treat the audience like idiots its good grown up story telling. One of the best films I have ever seen.

09. Iron Man - Rise of Technovore (24.06.16)
A Japanese animated Iron Man Film by Studio Mad House should be good right? Nope its almost complete garbage. Bad characterization, bad plot, bad animation, and structure, bad voice acting. Such a dumb plot. I could rant in detail about most aspects but I don't want to think any more about it.

10. Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life [Short] (25.06.16)
A Oscar winner from the 90s by Peter Capaldi. Nice and freaky short about Kafka struggling to write a story, with some very surreal images. Good acting and direction with the story make for a very good little film.

11. X-Men 3 The last Stand (29.06.16)
Went into this with very low expectations, from years of seeing people hate on it online. I ended up being very impressed and I like it more than the first two. Handles characters better with the exception of prof X (felt a bit off, made bad choices) but loved the pacing and the plot. I think I will do a short write up on it.

Half way gone. My studio Ghibli journey has finished and want a ride it was. Also got through and nice variety of films. best of the month? When Marnie was there, by a hair.