My Neighbor Totoro
1988
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
My Neighbor Totoro is an animated fantasy. My Neighbor Totoro is an almost indescribably beautiful and charming film. The unhurried pacing, meticulous animation, and carefully controlled tone make Totoro a masterpiece of children’s art.
Must see.
High Flying Bird
2019
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
High Flying Bird is a drama about basketball. Excitingly, it features no footage of basketball being played. High Flying Bird is light, fun, and clever, but it is not as substantial as it intermittently threatens to be.
Would see.
Roma
2018
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Roma is a drama set in Mexico in 1970 and 1971. The film is beautiful, full of careful observations, but it is unable to fully confront the questions it raises.
Would see.
Grave of the Fireflies
1988
Directed by Isao Takahata
Grave of the Fireflies, based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, is an animated film set in Japan during the Second World War. The film is achingly sad, abstracting grief and suffering to its most elemental forms.
Would see.
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
2009
Directed by Damien Chazelle
Damien Chazelle’s first movie, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is a romantic musical. Evanescently light, the film is formless and frequently boring. One might want to see it to witness the inchoate talents and early preoccupations of Chazelle at twenty-four.
Would not see.
Micro Film Reviews 