strictlynorton

Outstandingly good anime with deep philosophical and spiritual underpinnings. Its a series that will probably polarise critical opinion. The Art style is classic and the musical score throughout create a real emotional resonance. The lead character Ginko is a Mushi-Shi which I suppose would translate to western minds as a Shaman or Faith Healer, who travels the land acting as mediator between the local rural population of Japan in times long passed and the natural spirits that influence their everyday lives. He is a man apart and seeks neither money or prestige for his work, helping humanity learn to live in balance and harmony with the "Mushi" and see that they mean no harm. Anyone expecting thrills and spills from this anime will not enjoy the show which arrived several years after the original series in 2005. This being the next chapter so to speak. Often hypnotic and always intense, it will stay with you long after you finish the 24 or so episodes of Mushishi Zoku Shou. I cannot praise it highly enough. Its elite tier anime that shows just how impactful the artform can be in the right creative hands. Simply superb.

Truly beautiful art coupled with two lead characters one a human and one a young cat, both scarred by life seeking solace in solitude but needing to feel a sense of belonging somehow. MRIAC is a hugely underrated anime you'll quickly find has it all. The emotional nature of the show and its main protagonists never once feels clunky or overly realised due to the perfect pacing and a script to die for. If you've ever felt sad, lonely or lost this 12 episode anime will lift your spirits in no time at all. 10/10 in all departments. Please give us a series 2 or movie. After all Non Non Biyori's third season came a full five years after the end of season 2. Fingers crossed.

Overlong? Certainly, Over ambitious? Maybe, Muddled? At times yes... but all these flaws ultimately seem less important than the stunningly effective narrative that unfurls with absolutely no punches pulled. Its a time of huge change and the morality of Hollywood at an all time low. Margot Robbie gives a stellar performance as Nellie Le Roy, gifted the break few if any would be starlets will ever get, only to totally blow everything up around her. Brad Pitt gives a pitch perfect portrayal of a silent era matinee idol unable to transition once sound arrives on set. But for all its (to some) graphic nudity, sexual deviancy and outright Roman Empire levels of depravity, its also a love story. Both a love letter to a bygone Hollywood age but also a deeply moving story of two people drawn to each other like moths to a flame but only managing to damage each other in the process. The lead character Manny Torres played by Diego Calva is Oscar worthy. It reminds me at times of the truly mad intensity of the lead protagonists in John Fantes' novel that inspired Bukowski to write "Ask The Dust", a story coincidentally set in Los Angeles in another time period. Its definitely a movie worth watching and as others have noted here, a film that will gradually find an audience and be seen as a classic after initially bombing so badly at the box office.

QT really directs effortlessly in his 9th movie. The leads act so flawlessly that you're quickly rooting for them, and get a sense of how important and all encompassing Sharon seeing herself onscreen at a matinee is to her. The attention to period detail is almost insanely reverential. Whether it was his intention or not, the movie documents the pivotal moment in American pop culture when the 60's came screeching to a halt, all seen through the eyes of its protagonists. Tarantino at this stage of his directoral career has nothing to prove but everything to say. Can't recommend OUATIH enough.