Jeoffrey

This Czech fairy tale is absolutely perfect. It is incredibly funny and full of memorable lines, which you can quote, and so when the men in the warehouse drop some of the boxes, the first thing I hear is, "You dropped something Machal, I think it is the wind," and I cannot help smiling. Karel Hermanek is the best ruler of hell I have ever seen in a fairy tale and other actors like Petr Narozny excel. This iconic movie has second place in my Top Ten because I rarely miss watching it when it is on.

The Last Boy Scout was the movie that made me realize that it is not enough for me to hit someone; they have to be taken down verbally first for me to have a good time. I also realized that the world is a dangerous place, Satan Claus is lurking, and we have to be prepared. I have learned some general truths: water is wet, the sky is blue, and women have secrets. In other words, this movie was incredibly good for me as far as memorable lines go, especially in the original version, which I have at home on VHS and which is much punchier than the one you see on TV today. I just had an incredible time watching it, and I still quote a lot of the lines today. Plus, Willis is in top form here, and I find him perhaps even better than in the Die Hard movies. I think the character of Joe Hallenbeck is perfect; I like heroes who are anti-heroes and are more on the fringes of society and make fun of everything and themselves. It is action-packed, suspenseful, and very funny. It has also got some food for thought, and so whenever I am in a bad mood, this is the first movie I reach for. Plus, when I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, the first thing that comes to mind is "Nobody likes you. Everybody hates you. You're gonna lose. Smile, you fuck." So when I had to choose my top movie, it was clear what to choose, because this one indeed shaped my character.

Hunter x Hunter is a show that made me go back to watching anime series about eight years ago. Although I came across the first few episodes more or less by accident, I could not resist, and this show managed to win me over very quickly. It has a very interesting and suspenseful narrative and great characters (especially Killua and Hisoka). It is not afraid to show violence and gore. Plus, it is beautifully colorful and with a nice soundtrack. The 2011 remake goes much further in the story and has a much brisker pace, although I put this older version in my Top Ten from a purely nostalgic point of view.

Rarely does anything get to me emotionally and move me to tears, although what Clannad and especially Clannad: After Story did to me was unbelievable. Hell, I was already crying like a baby at the Fuko narrative, and I had no idea what all was going to follow next. In other words, if anything could get me emotionally, it is Clannad, and for that alone, it deserves to be among my top shows, even if it will be a long time before I decide to watch it again.

This show is absolutely unbelievable. It has an incredible atmosphere, a charismatic main male protagonist who has little to say even though you cannot take your eyes off him. There is also a perfectly thought out and vivid fantasy universe dominated by Mushi of all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, the very concept of Mushi and what a Mushi can be and how it can behave and look will practically drive you to speechless amazement every episode. Then there are the awesome narratives, where many times you are not even sure of how things will turn out and this show will surprise you practically all the time. There is also an amazing opening that sets the atmosphere and a soundtrack that suits the show perfectly. In other words, this anime series is a real gem, in which the anime’s creators show us how wonderful fantasy can be and what can be invented based on a fairly simple concept. Finally, I would like to mention that you need to have a decent imagination and a certain mental maturity to watch this show. Otherwise, you might do what I did about six years ago: you drop it after the first episode because it seems like a weird ghost story. Anyway, if you have the above-mentioned personal qualities, then this work will probably grab you and not let go. 10/10.

I am so heartened after seeing all those mostly negative reviews on FilmBooster. I remember after watching this anime series, I asked myself just one question: "Is it really that stupid, or did I just not get it?" Watching this was truly mental torture, and I had no idea what they were going for with the visions. I was completely sick of dealing with the relationships between the main protagonists; hell, this was even worse than watching the teenagers in Beverly Hills. The worst part was that there was practically nothing else to deal with besides those two things, so I was suffering by the end. I even approached a die-hard fan on one online discussion to explain everything that was going on. She then tried to convince me that she was not a moron when she wrote about how "this is a great anime series." I have to say that I could not understand the explanations I got from her. So I have accepted that this show is either so brilliant that only people with an IQ over one hundred and thirty will understand it, or it is so totally stupid that only a few special individuals can understand it. Given the reviews on FilmBooster, it seems like the latter is correct. The only reason I could not ignore it is that the animation is quite nice.

I mean, considering how old this thing is, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, the animation shows its age, and the static cuts in the fight scenes, when they change the images, do not look great, although I still liked this movie a lot. I thought the soundtrack was especially nice. It does not have any profound narrative; it is a classic heroic tale. It appears that the main male protagonist is not in the center of the action, and so Hilda gets the most screen time for character development, which is a good thing. Many fell for Hilda quite quickly and liked listening to her singing. Plus, it had a certain amount of cuteness to it, so I even smiled at times. The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun was a very enjoyable experience and I am rating it with a charming 8/10.

After the very beautiful The Secret World of Arrietty, I was very curious to see Hiromasa Yonebayashi's next project, all the more so because this time the screenplay was not written by Hayao Miyazaki, and I could see what this animator is all about. When Marnie Was There features beautiful music and animation like almost every other production by Studio Ghibli, so I probably do not need to go into too much detail. I tend to take this for granted, which is why I like to find shows and movies made by this particular studio. It will only be a question of whether it deserves four stars or five stars, a decision made by how intense my experience was and how moved I was. I guess I am saying that it only depends on how well the anime's creators manage to hit me with the story, the characters, and their imagination. I have to say that I enjoyed this movie quite a lot and that it made me quite emotional in a good way. The beginning was quite enjoyable; the main male protagonist, who is like an outsider, is always very interesting, and it was no different with Anna. When she meets Marnie, it is quite mysterious because of the circumstances. However, I must say that the anime's creators managed to beautifully portray the intensity and strength of the relationship between the two girls. The bond between them was palpable, and even at this point, I was already wondering, "why?". At times I even thought that it would be a shoujo-ai because of the intensity of their connection. There is no love like true love. I had managed to block out the logical explanations of things before the revelation at the end, so I could enjoy the emotional conclusion with peace of mind (it was strong, although I still did not cry). In my view, this is a very enjoyable movie worth five stars, although my rating is more like 8.5/10.

What The Secret of Kells failed to do for me, Song of the Sea did perfectly. I felt like I lived this story fully and enjoyed it immensely. It is such a nice combination of a fairy tale and Celtic mythology that it is lovely to watch. As with The Secret of Kells, the nice and colorful animation is worth mentioning, which, especially in the last part (when Saoirse starts singing), turns into what I think is a really beautiful visual experience. If I add to this the soundtrack, which is simply magical (especially the main theme’s melody), the interesting characters, led by the incredibly cute Saoirse, and the movie’s narrative, which is quite straightforward yet emotional, I had a great experience. Therefore, it quite obviously deserves five stars and 10/10.

I do not think I know anyone who has seen My Neighbor Totoro and has not fallen in love with a catbus. The cat-shaped bus cameo performance in this movie is amazing, or rather the kittenbus puppy, as well as the huge grandmother; otherwise, of course, the soundtrack and atmosphere are wonderful. Thanks to mr.filo for the link; it is quite hard (more like almost impossible) to get to see these Miyazaki shorts, and this is one of the few I missed in my collection.