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Reviews
Neko no ongaeshi (2002)
BEST STUDIO GHIBLI FILM OF ALL TIME
The Cat Returns is fantastic and original film by Studio Ghibli. They have quite a good reputation producing animations, but this movie takes the cake for me.
Maybe I am biased as a cat person but I was thrilled to see the cats' own world and how they interacted with humans. There is an air of mystique in the beggining as the viewers slowly find out more and more about the Cat Kingdom with our protaganist and the cat she resqued. Haru, the main character, has a seemingly normal and boring life at her high school. Her life changes in an instant when she resques the prince of the cat kingdom before he is run over by a car. Mysteriously the following day more and more cats start following her around. The cats intentions are unclear to her. She's afraid as she is swarmed by cats.
Haru gets the chance to visit the Cat Kingdom which exists in a different universe, similarly to the Wizarding World in Harry Potter. For all fantasy lovers it is really interesting getting swept up to this cool new world but there is a twist. Which I won't spoil here.
But overall, this is a 10/10 movie for me, I watched it as a kid and loved it and I recently rewatched this as an adult and equally enjoyed it and not only for nostalgia reasons, but because the story is genuinly that good and well-told.
Irish Wish (2024)
Light-hearted romcom
I'm giving this movie 7 for satisfactory. It did what it needed to do. Irish Wish sets up a similar plot we've seen many times in 90s and 2000s romcoms. Theres a girl who works as some type of writer/editor and she goes on an adventure and finds the guy shes supposed to be with out of the two male love interests.
Now for the review, without giving too much a way from the plot its pretty straightforward easy to follow. Theres some fun quirky characters that are a bit two dimensional but mainly the story revolves around Lindsay Lohan's character's trip in Ireland and her unrequited love interest Paul and James a guy she meets on the bus on her way to her friends wedding in Ireland.
The scenary is very beautiful in the movie. The dialogue is a bit cringey, but thats kinda what makes it funny. Its nowhere near the iconic romcoms from 90's and 00's but its fun to watch with friends and have a good evening. I think you'll enjoy it if you don't take the movie too seriously since it definitely doesn't take itself too seriously.
Wonka (2023)
Enjoyable kids movie, but straying too far from the original plot
Timothee Chalamet was the right choice to play Wonka. He was charming and captured a new side to the character hasnt been done before. Remakes are always tricky in that regard. This was more of a kids movie than I had anticipated, nevertheless I enjoyed it all in all. I didnt really enjoy the musical numbers. The singing was satisfactory but never excellent. The costume design and colours of the Wonka world where great though. The most disappointing part of this movie for me was the plot. I was hoping to see how Willy Wonka became the Wonka as in how he built the chocolate factor and how he found the Oompa Loompas (which granted that was slightly touched upon). However, the plot was a completely new story featuring a girl named Noodle and a bunch of characters whose names I dont remember indebted to an unfair Inn owner played by Olivia Coleman. They try and try to escape with the help of Wonka and his chocolates. The story isnt bad at all but it was disappointing as I was expecting somethign that was very specific to Willy Wonka and rather the movie gave a story that I felt like I had seen before.
Next Goal Wins (2023)
Feel good story with a Pacific heart
This movie was absolutely amazing. I havent seen a lot of movies about Pacific islands, probably there are not many. This was a very unique story based on true events which made it all the more incredible. I've lived in Fiji and Vanuatu and I think Taika Waititi did a great job of capturing the life style and vibe from the islanders. The comedy was superb. The plot is pretty straight forward, an American football coach moves to American Samoa and faces culture shocks which creates both comedic and emotional scenarious. The landscapes were absolutely mesmorazing. The only thing this movie couldve used to improve for me is a little bit more of the landscapes. Everything about the movie felt authentic somehow, the characters were well thought out and it was interesting to have a fa'afafine character. Although, fa'afafine's were maybe too westernised in the idea of transgenderism. I loved the soundtrack, music and overall vibe that was achieved. The acting and comedy was amazing. This is overall a well done feel good movie and I left the movie theatre with a smile on my face. So I would definitely recommend Next Goal Wins.