Howl's moving Castle

Howls moving castle is an animated movie released in 2005 and is part of the Studio Ghibli collection. Directed and scripted by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a wonderful tale of magic, adventure, humour, and ultimately love.

The story goes like this, 

Sophie

Sophie is a 18 year old hard working hat maker on her way to see her sister, (yes I am aware this sounds very red riddinghoodish) where she is attacked by solders and is save by Howl (who is voiced by Christian Bale which I was surprised by because I don’t really like him as an actor). Howl is a very powerful magician who is caught in the middle of a war. The mysterious stranger who comes to her aid, who takes her for a magical walk above the crowded streets of Market Chipping to deliver her safely at the bakery where her sister works.

Howl

Because of this chance encounter the Witch of the Waste (yes I know Wizard of Oz)  puts a curse on Sophie and turns her into a 90 year old woman .We follow Sophie’s story ,along where she meets Turnip Head voiced by Crispin Freeman, who shows her the way to Howls moving castle.  It is powered and held together by a fire named Calcirfer voiced by Billy Crystal.

Turnip-Head

Through the whole movie there is a connection between Howl and Sophie which turns to love , it’s a war time love story  ,where you are just swept away by the art work in this film , it is just simply amazing.

DVD features:

There are not many features on the DVD. just the usually play ,select scenes and a theatrical trailer for the movie and a list of the Studio Ghibli collection , but other than that not much else , I know thrilling right , but what it lacks in this department it makes up for it on the art work on the front cover , there are a few covers out there depending on where you live and if you buy the English version (which this review  is about) of the Japanese version which was released first , but as I don’t know any Japanese I can’t review it .

This is my favorite movie in the vast Studio Ghibli collection, Because of the spectacularly beautiful art work and well-known actors that just sweeps you along threw the highs and lows of the whole magical love story. I recommend this to EVERYONE !

- Sora

Review; Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine

Firstly, let me say that if I saw this for sale in store I would've bought it based purely on the cover. It has a pop up in it! 

Secondly, I am going to have to admit that I'm not all that familiar with the original Lupin the Third series. It's something I've heard about and been told I should see. And if it's anything like The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, and is actually true to the original series, I'm going to have get my act together and lay my hands on some original Lupin the Third in the near future. 

For those of you that don't know, The Woman called Fujiko Mine takes place before the first season. It focuses on Fujiko Mine and features the whole gang (so I'm informed) before they joined together. It centres around Fujiko Mine who throws the lives of Lupin, Jigen and Goeman into chaos with her wild and unpredictable ways. 

 

There is something dark about most of the characters. But that's not to say that the whole series is dark. There are also moments of cool humour. The whole series is very laid back and cool, along the same lines of Cowboy Bebop with it's delivery.  

Throughout the series there are hints about Fujiko's past, but there's no definitive answers about what she's hiding. The opening and closing credits provide the most clues there. But it's clear that Fujiko is running from something in her past. It's also clear that she also enjoys living the life of a master thief, and that she's a very capable one. She'll stop at nothing and is willing to use anything at her disposal to get what she wants, and she wants what she lays her eyes on. Most of the time she's willing to leave others in trouble while she makes her escape, while at other times she's perfectly happy to team up if it suits her purposes. 

While he's already an established master thief, there is something amateurish and comical about some of Lupin's hijinks, as though he's still learning his trade. Or maybe he just really enjoys show boating. Given the fact that he announces his crimes to the police before hand, and the

amount of thought that actually goes into his heists, it's probably likely that it's the latter. Lupin really enjoys the notoriority of it all, and probably also enjoys making a fool out of Inspector Zenigata. However there is something predatory about Lupin at the same time; that note announcing that Fujiko Mine will be his, and we all know that Lupin gets what he wants, right? 

But while Fujiko and Lupin are enjoying their lives as master thieves, Jigen and Goeman are trying to forge new lives for themselves after crossing paths with Fujiko. They both seem to be unable to resist Fujiko's charm, and seem to find themselves caught up in her plans. Although since they both seem to be trying to find themselves, neither of them seems to might too much. At any rate, neither of them try very hard to avoid working with Fujiko. 

 

Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is a fantastic series that leaves the audience wanting more. It's very easy to get lost in that world of intrigue and vice. Even not having seen the original series, The Woman Called Fujiko was great to watch. It was a great way to get to know the characters before they became who they are in the original series. It's definitely made me want to want to watch the next chapter in the gang's story once the story of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is finished. Although one thing I did notice while watching is all of the owl symbolism that appeared in every episode. Up until the Death Day episode, I assumed that it had something to do with the overall Lupin the Third story that I wasn't familiar with yet. But after a couple of those flashbacks in Death Day, I now

think that all of that owl symbolism might actually pertain to Fujiko's secret. So it might pay to pay close attention to anything owl like that appears on screen; it might just help you figure out Fujiko's secret a little faster than the rest of us. 

Peace out!

Fox