There is a word to describe “Ponyo,” and that word is magical. This poetic, visually breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched. It’s wonderful and never even seems to try: It unfolds fantastically.Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 91%.
Tampopo Feature from Joe Medjuck on Vimeo.
And this very, very Japanese movie, which seems to make no effort to communicate to other cultures, is universally funny almost for that reason. Who cannot identify with the search for the perfect noodle? Certainly any American can, in the land of sweet corn festivals, bakeoffs and contests for the world's best chili. This is a very funny movie.Empire Online says it's "Charming and touching, with lots of sumptuous meals to inspire you to get cooking." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 100%.
Here I sit writing in a locked room, where the door has no handle and the windows can’t be opened. They’re made of unbreakable glass. I tried. Not out of a wish to escape or out of rabid fury, I just wanted to be sure. I’m writing at a walnut table. I have plenty of paper. I’m allowed to write. Except no one will ever read it. But I’m writing anyway. I don’t want to be alone, and I can’t read. Everything they give me to read is a lie, the letters start to jump before my eyes and I lose patience. None of what’s in them has been of the least concern to me ever since I realized how things really are. They take great care of me. In the morning there’s a bath, warm or tepid, subtly scented. I’ve learned how to tell the days of the week apart: on Tuesdays and Saturdays the water smells of lavender, and on the other days of pine forest. Then there’s breakfast and the doctor’s visit. One of the junior doctors (I can’t remember his name, not that there’s anything wrong with my memory, it’s just that these days I try not to memorize unimportant things) was interested in my story. I told it to him twice, the whole thing, and he tape-recorded it. I guess he wanted me to repeat it so that he could compare the two accounts, to find out what stayed the same. I told him what I thought, and also that the details weren’t essential.
I also asked if he was planning to work up my story as a so-called clinical case study, to attract the attention of the medical world. He was rather embarrassed. Perhaps I just imagined it, but at any rate, since then he has stopped showing interest in me.
But none of that is of any consequence. ...
Nowadays it’s hard to make an effective haunted house movie as we’ve pretty much seen it all. They range from extremely minimalistic to over-the-top silly. We Are Still Here hits the sweet spot effortlessly and is a horror film that is not only firing on all cylinders but delivers on all counts. Keep your eyes out for this one. It’s an old school spookshow that is NOT to be missed!Roger Ebert's site has a positive review. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 95%.
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| image from Amazon |
Five minutes in a meadow on Pyrrus is like a century of global war on other worlds, for Pyrrus is a Killer World -a planet where all life, plant and animal, has evolved into lethal terrors, where all humanity lives barricaded in one fortress city.
Jason dinAlt is a gambler, about to start the most dangerous game of his life. Where but Pyrrus would he go?
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| image from Amazon |
Precious Ramotswe loves her dependable old van. Yes, it sometimes takes a bit longer to get going now, but it has always gotten the job done. This time, though, the world -and Charlie- may be asking too much of it. After borrowing the beloved vehicle, he returns it damaged, and, to make matters worse, the interior seems to have acquired an earthy smell that even Precious can't identify.Publishers Weekly calls it "leisurely" and says, "Series fans will be charmed, as usual..."
On addition Mma Ramotswe is confronted by a distant relative, Blessing, who asks for help with an ailing cousin. The help requested is of a distinctively pecuniary nature, which makes both J>L>B> Matekoni and Mma Makutse a little uncomfortable. Still. Mma Ramotswe is confident that through kindness, grace, and logic -and the counsel of her friends and loved ones- the solutions to all these difficulties are there to be discovered.
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| image from Amazon |
Giovanni Tricanato has brought ruin to the shipyard he inherited from his father, and when a newly fired worker hangs himself from a hull under construction, Inspector Montalbano is called to the scene. In short order, the Inspector loses his temper with the crass Giovanni and delivers a slap to his face. Unfortunately, it won't be the last he sees of Trincanato. Meanwhile, a mysterious schooner called the Halcyon shows up in the harbor, seemingly deserted except for just one man. With its presence come even more mysteries, another death, and the arrival of the FBI. Alongside Sicilian American agent Penninsi, Montalbano and his team must attempt a suspenseful infiltration operation in this new page-turning Inspector Montalbano mystery.Publishers Weekly says, "Once again, Camilleri ... does a fine job balancing comedy and crime."
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| image from isfdb.org |
Elijah Bailey was NOT prejudiced; he knew robots were not the terrifying menace imagined by the billions of Earthmen huddled in the safety of their completely enclosed cities.
Robots were ... tools, nothing more. Yet he could not help feeling uncomfortable on this planet where not only were the robots permitted to roam free, and in plain sight, but the people themselves thought nothing whatsover of stepping outside of the safety of their houses at any time of the day or night.
To a man raised in the womb of Earth, the very thought of open spaces were abhorent. But Lije Bailey found himself actually forced into the open air ... and in the company of a hated robot.
There was one who was famed for the number of things
He forgot when he entered the ship:
His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
And the clothes he had bought for the trip.
He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
With his name painted clearly on each:
But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
They were all left behind on the beach.
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