Sunday, April 11, 2010

Movies - Ponyo

Ponyo (Two-Disc Edition)

I recently watched Ponyo on DVD with my daughter.  We are both pretty big fans of Miyazaki's work.  We wanted to see this when it was in the theaters last summer, but it never seemed to work out, so we were pretty excited about seeing it on DVD.

Within 5 minutes, we were both sucked into the movie by the combination of amazing hand-drawn animation and adorable characters.  The music by Joe Hisaishi is always a highlight in these films and this film has bright, happy music to go along with it.

This film is probably best suited for younger viewers and fits in nicely for fans of My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service.   Very safe content, not too much scary imagery, and delightful characters.

We happen to like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle more, but that is because the plots tend to be more mature and more fully fleshed out.  Where Ponyo seems to fall down is at the very end, when it seems like they ran out of time to finish the story, and it just sort of ends abruptly.  The overall film is well-made and recommended despite this sort of slapped-on ending, and I know we will be watching it again pretty soon.

Other films I am watching right now:  Sherlock Holmes, The Prestige, Fringe Season 1

A short disclaimer about my taste in books, movies, music, etc.

My taste in things is eclectic, normal, strange and all over the map.  So, I will like some horror films as well as animated films, foreign films, schlocky romance pics.  My tasted seems to be all over the place.  You have been warned!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

...and so it begins....

Yes, my fine friends, I've fallen prey to a vicious internet viral disease and decided to create a blog. This little corner of the internet will be comprised of random stuff that is of interest to me. As such, it may have little or no interest to you. It may in fact bore you to tears or cause you fits of rage. If that is the case, you are welcome to leave this little corner of the internet and find any number of interesting blogs about orange kittens or nuclear waste or little known bands that start with the letter "G" (all of which are fine blogs, I am sure).

You are also welcome to stay. I look forward to your opinions on things (even if *gasp* I don't agree with you). I can't promise it will be the most exciting journey, but I might surprise you. I also don't promise a new post every day (or every week, month, millenia, etc.). I'm old enough to know better than to make such a bold promise.

To sway you further, I offer a bit of bio information about myself. I grew up in a pretty small town (no traffic lights in the entire county). I'm an IT Manager for a software company (and, no, I will not fix your computer). I have been married to a wonderful woman for a very long time (they discovered fire at our reception). I have two smart and quirky children (sorry for the quirky part, kids). I live in the Pacific Northwest, and while I am not waterproof, I can be weatherproofed. I am a self-professed geek (I'm also professed that by just about everyone who knows me).

Things that I am geeky about that may or may not make it into this blog: Books, Movies, Music, Theater, Disney, Animation, History, Boardgames, Comics and any host of things that I'm just not thinking about at this particular moment. Hence the shrapnel part of the blog name.

So, come along for the ride. Tell me what you think. Offer suggestions, advice, criticism, barbed comments, witty comments, etc. Type at you soon.