Weekly Watches: May 22, 2024
Sharing Our Recent Discoveries: Weekly Watches with 100 Movies Every Catholic Should See
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
By Joe Wilson
It almost goes without saying that a Studio Ghibli film will be visually beautiful, but in my opinion Castle in the Sky may be one of the most stunning of them all. The lush world created by Hayao Miyazaki, from battles in the sky with pirates to chase sequences through deep mining canyons to the airy castle of Laputa, is a perfect fairytale world, real and yet unreal, like a place you would expect to find beyond the looking glass. It's the setting for a truly grand adventure, a quest for a castle in the heavens, complete with giants, treasure, and lost princesses. I've heard that Miyazaki does not like The Lord of the Rings, but Castle in the Sky is a perfect Tolkienian fairy-story, one which delights the heart and invites us to enter if we dare. It even has a message about the dangers of using technology to attempt to dominate the natural world rather than harmonize with it which would have been dear to Tolkien's heart. The beauty of its visuals and score, the rollicking fun of its adventure, and the epic scope of its story all make Castle in the Sky a great film for all ages.
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013)
Directed by Mami Sunada
Mami Sunada's peek behind the curtain of the inner workings of Studio Ghibli is as frank and delightful as Hayao Miyazaki himself. The documentary follows the production of both 2013's The Wind Rises and Isao Takahata's The Tale of Princess Kaguya, released the same year. It's an revealing dive into the creative process of what it takes to build an animated film, especially since many of the techniques used to make it are so old-fashioned and refreshingly analog compared to what's going on at Pixar and Disney these days. If you have Max and are a fan of either Miyazaki or just animation in general, this is one worth checking out.
La La Land (2016)
Directed by Damien Chazelle, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone
By Anthony Morales
Many things come to mind anytime the film La La Land is brought into discussion. Many might start talking about how much they loved the fantastic dance numbers, or how beautiful the story was, or how it brought them back to the “Golden Age” of Hollywood musicals. But what I would like to focus on in this article, which has caused such a film to be stuck in my thoughts ever since seeing it, was simply how its director Damien Chazelle chose to tell this story. The story follows the path of Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a professional jazz pianist, and Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, as they fall in love with each other and pursue their dreams in the grand city of Los Angeles. While this could be shown with the classic tropes of heavy dialogue, lazy cinematography, and the constant use of out of place comedy, it instead chooses to completely indulge in the great vastness of music and visuals to communicate and express to its audience the complexities and emotions between the two characters (Making it similar in approach to great old movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind). There is one scene in particular which plays this idea out for about eight minutes straight with nothing but the most beautiful of images and music that I have ever been able to witness in cinema. While at times this seemed to work against itself in feeling showy simply for the sake of being showy, that idea was drained out by the rest of the duration of the film in which I was left with nothing but awe at just the amount of wonders and complexities that cinema was able to offer in such a simple story. Thoughts, ideas, and conflicts were not displayed through the usual use of monologues by the film’s characters but rather through the deeper and more profound means of intimate musical motifs and stylistically beautiful imagery and cinematography. May this film be a reminder to all aspiring artists interested in pursuing film in the near future that it is not so much what kind of story you're telling as it is how you choose to portray and express that story to the audience. And even for those not interested in such an artform, may this just be a reminder that sometimes focusing on the how of what we do can be equal to or even more important and influential than what it is we do.
Hundreds of Beavers (2024)
Directed by Mike Cheslik
By Charles Scott
Hearing a quiet but very passionate choir singing the praise of this was enough to convince me to go. I had heard nothing but great things for a film that seemed so bizarre I had no idea what to expect. I bought a ticket for myself and a friend, not knowing what we were going into. Surprisingly, the late night showing we went to was sold out, and I am so glad we went to see this in a group setting.
Hundreds of Beavers is exceptional slap stick and budget film making. This film lands almost all of its comedic beats. Gags that are introduced are not wasted but rather developed with intelligence. The effects play in amazingly to many of the gags, and fit remarkably well with this film. An important thing to note is THIS IS A SILENT FILM. Or it is at least in the same way an old Loony Tunes is, which is easily the closest point of comparison. At some points, Hundreds of Beavers does turn into a sort of comedic fetch quest, which is by far the most effective way to communicate certain aspects of this.
I really hope this is the beginning of a great new direction for comedy from Mike Cheslik, as we have been in dire need for a revitalization in modern comedy films. If you enjoy Harold Lloyd/Loony Tunes style slapstick with some high quality comedic timing and delivery, Hundreds of Beavers is absolutely for you. I highly recommend seeing this in a group if possible, and to go out and support a fun and independent comedy film like this one!
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I love the breadth of work you all cover! Thank you!