Truly amazing film. This makes me miss Robin Williams all that more and I can't believe I hadn't seen this film before. The combination of intelligence and and endless supply of witty remarks makes the dialogue between characters both powerful and entertaining.
This was such an incredibly powerful movie. Even a couple days later after watching it, I keep coming back to it, feeling like I should watch it again. Either I might’ve missed something the first time or maybe I just want to ride the roller coaster again. There’s an incredible gravity to this film just keeps trying to pull me back in. I play the scenes again and again in my head and the emotions of it all swell within me.
This was such a moving journey of bullying, self-hate, suicide, and perhaps, redemption. I will never think about the depression around me the same way, and because of this movie, I will never, ever hesitate to reach out to those around me. Just one hand can pull someone back from the brinks of despair and every life is worth it.
I came in to this fairly low expectations and I was absolutely wowed by whole movie. The animation had a cute quality to it but got incredibly vast and scenic for just the right moments. The music soared and flowed like a river throughout the film, matching the animation and the story progression perfectly. As for the story, it was really quite well done. It was highly reminiscent of Princess Mononoke (another fantastic film that you should watch) with the idea of spirits coexisting with humans despite the human evolution destroying their homes. The various amounts of comedic relief were well done and got a few chuckles out of me. The film explored the concepts of duality in all things quite well so that even a child (such as the child Hei) could understand.
Another superb film. The action was some ufotables best work and the animation was overall just incredible to watch. Not to mention the story and the twisting plot lines of motivation and long made plans was incredibly well done. Some things aren't made perfectly clear to those more unfamiliar with over-arching story (since its quite complex), but most everything was implied or briefly hinted at, making the movie incredibly faithful to the story and the complexities of the world that contains it. I'd highly recommend this trilogy to anyone who has watched Fate stay night. This trilogy truly brings the story into a living piece of artwork.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the first Heaven's Feel movie (likely because it feels slow to someone already familiar with all the setup). But wow these movie took the challenge and went absolutely marvelous! There was so much detail and incredible action scenes and the story went into such depth about each character's motivations, and I could just go on and on about every little facet of this movie felt incredible. And yes it got very dark, very quickly. If you suffer from PTSD on the subject of sexual abuse, you have been warned.
Overall, such an incredibly powerful film, I'm so glad that I got into the Fate/Stay Night series. ufotable has done a praise-worthy job of bringing this story to film.
This might be one of the best Anime movies I've seen, despite being over 20 years old at this point! The beautiful hand-drawn animations and moving music create a magical yet imperfect world. An imperfectly human world. This movie holds its ground against the many movies that depict the Humanity vs Nature archetype. You cannot help but be provoked by the fragility of life and the depiction of life and death in the movie perfectly describes how life ebbs and flows. All of this heavy and philosophical reasonings about life are nestled within a story that even a child could understand. No character seems to be truly evil, and the only one that seems truly good is Prince Ashitaka. But even he is struggling with his corruption.
This was a masterful story that kept me in awe and entertained all the while a philosophy of life was weaved throughout. Well done Studio Ghibli.
Wow this was a great one! The music and animation alone were breathtakingly beautiful. Shinkai has always had marvelous animation quality but this was his best work so far. And the choice of RADWiMPS for the music was clearly the right decision. Because the lead singer is also fluent in English, it has allowed this film's music to reach an incredibly wide audience. After watching sub and dub, you can hardly tell that the film wasn't originally intended for English only viewers, the impact is still wonderful. If you haven't really gotten into Anime (Japanese animations), then this film is for you. Just watch it, and enjoy the ride.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
The colors are so incredibly vibrant! Studio Ghibli’s animation quality really shines through here. Paired with the excellent soundtrack, this was one incredibly atmospheric Anime movie.
The story immediately sets up such an incredible sense of intrigue. This film just has so much character. Without spoiling too much, I will say that the interconnected characters and developments kept me well entertained. Right up until the beautiful illustrated and quite happy ending. While the end might have been rushed, it was just like a fairy tale ending and I don’t think I would rather end a fairy tale any other way.
Overall, it was a truly phenomenal story that was quite suitable for all ages.
Breathtaking animations and a solid set of music throughout. You feel a slowness to the film at times, that builds slowly until the release. But it worked for the film.
There could’ve been more said, more words to explain how the characters felt. But I think it was more impactful because of what wasn’t said.
In a very short amount of time that the film takes, I was able to empathize with the characters and I love the relationship between the simplicity of their lives and the complexity of their emotions.
When the characters finally opened up to each other, it felt like a breath of fresh air. They were each drowning in their lives, lonely and looked down upon. But together, they could finally breathe.
It’s a simple story, but poetic and meaningful.
I honestly didn’t expect this movie to be that superb considering it’s precursor was just a slightly better than average Hollywood movie for it’s time. But with this movie they managed to keep the same feelings and atmosphere as the original while elevating it to the modern aesthetics of plane fighting and action films. The cinematography was masterful and it really made for a great movie. They did a decent job with the story too, not horribly special, but just good enough to keep things moving at a strong pace.
This was quite the zany hectic movie! Imagine a mashup of the classic American western movie with slavery in the South. Don't think for a second that you are watching this movie like a documentary, because this movie thrives on the crazy concept of a freed slave gone gunslinger.
The movie definitely went along with the style of other Quentin Tarantino movies, and it really worked well here. By the end of the movie, I was both shocked and bursting out with laughter. "Our mutual friend has a flair for the dramatic."
To be perfectly honest, this movie just summarized all the best parts of the original SAO that I enjoyed so much before the Aincrad arc got rushed into its completion, so of course I'm inclined to like it. But it really doesn't include a whole lot of new content. So the real test on whether SAO Progressive is the best way to watch this Anime will come with the release of the second movie, and I eagerly await it. If it's as good as I'm hoping, I'll probably just recommend people skip the original Anime and watch Progressive then they can watch the series at their own risk.
I think this movie is quite a hidden gem and underrated for the level of depth it provides. The art and music throughout the story were perfect together and the scenery was undeniably beautiful. The story itself was well made. I can understand where the story could become confusing to viewers since a lot of the details about this foreign world are skimmed through but they spent so much time in the buildup that they really couldn't afford to add anymore background. And personally, the level of mystique that remained with the world building was just the right amount for me.
There were a lot of themes about the cyclical nature of life. The best part about the story is that some of the ideas the movie wants you to take away are obvious and given away, but there are subtler hints throughout the movie that provide other thought-provoking ideas and beliefs. Oh, and the end credit scene is a must-see. To me, it truly completed the movie and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The beauty of the animation was breathtaking. I could just stare at the blending of colors and shapes for hours, just admiring the artistry that went into their production. The music complimented the scenery just as well.
Despite the start of the movie, don’t expect the film to remain realistic. It was definitely a fantasy film, but one that’s was quite good and honestly felt underrated.
It was by no means a perfect film. Lots of the transition scenes felt weird, and moments where you expected a chase scene or some action, just faded to black and the movie picked up elsewhere.
I also think the antagonist could have been slightly better portrayed. Yes I was not fond of the character from the start, but the film could have better shown his naive desires and how it drove him to do horrible things like sacrificing Asuna to bring back his wife.
But truly overall, the film had a magnificent animation style and soundtrack with a journey that felt emotionally significant and meaningful.
I’m a bit of a technology enthusiast so I’ve come to love most of the Anime’s that have a more futuristic setting. This movie was just right for me.
The animation and music quality was just fine. The story progression and pacing felt great and was very entertaining. The character development was interesting. I will say that a lot of movie drama is built by characters just behaving dumbly. For example, When Kenji (and the others) respond to a random spam email with a decrypted key to break into Oz. In addition, there was certainly some drama that just didn’t have the right intensity.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the way they did the connection between Oz and the real world as it was stuck between virtual reality and just playing a video game. I also thought the virtual world of Oz animating could’ve been better quality, but that’s just an opinion with my predefined notion of what a virtual world might look like.
It was a wonderful story with many intricate details and a little bit of love.
The film was such an interesting take on a romance story. Not because the plot was original (far from it) but because of the story was portrayed in such a lyrical form. As if the very film itself was further romanticized and dreamed up, set apart from reality.
This film made me understand what it’s like to be having a beautiful dream. And we should all keep dreaming such beautiful dreams.
This was actually so much better than I expected going into it. I had heard some good things, but it still exceeded expectations. The animation was a really cool mix between crisp animation and hand drawn caricature style. The humor was surprisingly funny and the sheer absurdity of the scenarios really brought back home how silly our everyday lives can be. Not to mention a relatable story about the complexities of human character and relationships. Overall, it was really enjoyable to watch, might even be worth a rewatch in the future.
I honestly can't even make heads or tails of this film. It was really good to watch, especially for such an old Anime film. I don't even know what is going on with all this psychological trauma after watching this. Apparently I need to go find a therapist somewhere to explain what the hell just happened to my psyche.
Sure the movie was filled with Cliches about a father and a distant son. But the atmosphere of the movie was like a party! Crank the music up, start cooking in the kitchen, and just relax with a cold one. That’s how this movie is meant to be enjoyed.
Truly a phenomenal movie. The film was a little more predictable than I would’ve preferred but it worked in this case. It simply worked to drive home the ultimate point of the movie: it was never about having a single purpose in life. The cute and funny moments we got as we watched the movie are ultimately a metaphor for the way you should be living your life. I would really recommend this film to anyone and all ages, because it’s never too late to start living, not even for Joe.
This film was a really neat representation of the classic “students in detention” scenario. It really showed what happens when you look beyond what you immediately know about a person. There is a collection of experiences and feelings that makes each person who they are, and if you assume them to be just one thing, then you are completely wrong. Maybe a person represents a stereotype, but that stereotype does not represent them.
The only way to describe the movie: a fantastical journey of imagination. The writing and the characters were all perfectly created. I wasn’t a huge fan of the music at first, but even that slowly won me over. Roald Dahl would be proud.
A very touching movie. The story was built upon with a perfectly paced climax. There were absolutely flaws throughout the movie, but overall, I enjoyed the parable-esque nature of the film.
Wow!! That movie was entirely captivating, there were so few moments where I felt I could even look away. As a lover of all sorts and varieties of music, I could feel the beat of the movie reverberating through my mind all the way through.
This movie was trippy as hell. With a well-deserved R rating worth of violence. Still was a really entertaining film, even though I figured out the big trick a little earlier than when it was revealed.
I think this film had a bit of a "slow burn" to it. You could feel the tension and the sadness building in Takaki as the story progressed. All the way up until the ending where he finally sets himself free from wishing about "what could've been." It feels almost painfully slow at times because that's what it felt like to Takaki.
The animation, art, and music was phenomenal; as we come to expect from Shinkai. It was a worthwhile film to watch, and while it doesn't leave me in awe of it's power, it still shared its emotion with me.
Honestly, this movie was pretty good. The story and visuals were engaging and there was plenty of action to keep things going. My biggest complaint is really just the ending. There was so much left unexplained and didn't quite make sense. If I were the producer of this, I would've looked at the script and said: "This needs to be a series, not a movie." That way there would be more sufficient character development and truly satisfying ending.
It was a really good movie, it was filled all the usual timey-wimey shenanigans that you have come to expect of Haruhi Suzumiya. The metaphors and concept behind the movie is truly admirable and I've never wanted to appreciate the "weird" in my life so much. This was a much better feeling to leave off on than the Endless Eight (which I still think was well imagined, just poorly executed). The character development throughout the entire piece is truly central to enjoyment of this movie, you need to understand the tiniest changes in Kyon's behavior and thinking as he comes to terms with how much he loves his life (and Haruhi) as well as Nagato evolving from a humanoid interface to more something a little more human with emotion. It's still not the most moving film I've ever watched, and it certainly required an awful lot of backstory from the series to understand, but if you enjoyed the series even the tiniest bit, you'll be happy with your decision to watch this too.
Very similar to the Anime series (which is quite good), the animation and soundtrack is great quality. The story was sweet. Not the best Anime movie I've ever seen, but if you enjoyed the series, you'll likely enjoy this as well.
For all the cliché filled plot, this was still a pretty entertaining movie. Ryan reynolds and walker scobell played off each other perfectly for a crazy comedic duo. And there were a handful of funny references and futuristic action scenes to keep things interesting.
