Evil-Genius-27, I didn’t like WTWTA. It seemed very artistic and had cool music, but I personally found it really boring.
lizardgirl: While not as spectacular or thought-provoking as Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away or Grave of the Fireflies, Ponyo is so incredibly charming, it’s almost impossible to hate! And the original Japanese theme song is simply adorable! Much better than the facepalm-worthy Disney version. 
The English version is absolutely horrible; makes me almost not want to see the movie. But then the original version snaps me back to reality, and I want to see it again. 
In a little over a month, Ponyo will finally get its long overdue theatrical release in Germany. Fortunately, the local distributor so far has kept the original Japanese songs intact, even in the German dubs.
I just hope we will not have to wait as long for Karigurashi no Arietty - I am excited beyond words about Ghibli’s latest gem. 
I am ashamed to admit this, but I have never seen a film by Studio Ghibli!
I plan on watching one or two before the summer is out. Which films do you reccomend I watch?
It is much easier to list which Ghibli films to stay away from.
Tales from Earthsea is generally regarded as the only really bad one, but The Cat Returns isn’t exactly a good film, either, in my opinion.
My favourites are the following:
Whisper of the Heart (most highly recommended, and please do use surround sound, if possible. A few seconds into the film, you will know why… 
)
My Neighbor Totoro (there’s no better film for kids…)
Kiki’s Delivery Service (…except maybe that one.)
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Porco Rosso (it looks like swiss cheese for all the plot holes, but it’s fun.)
Only Yesterday (some of the great songs from this film are available on the website of Hungarian singer Márta Sebestyén.)
Thanks for the recommendations, totoro!
love70ways - If there’s one Ghibli film I think you have to see, it’s Spirited Away. My all time favourite, most definitely!
The only Ghibli film I’ve seen is Spirited Away, and I found it terribly disturbing. I have not seen a film by the studio since.
Spirited Away is probably the best one for somebody who has never seen a Ghibli film before, but for something a little more mature (but still PG-13 fun), try Princess Mononoke, which is my personal favorite. If you’re still hungry for more I reccomend Grave of the Fireflies (one of the saddest movies ever made), My Neighbor Totoro (very cute and visually entertaining), and Howl’s Moving Castle (creepy and smart). Kiki’s Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky are supposed to be good, but I’ve never seen them.
Grave of the Fireflies…it’s one of my favorite movies ever, but, man, I can’t watch it more than once a year. It’s just too sad. 
I also really liked The Cat Returns, although it’s not as famous as some of the other films. I would also highly recommend Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
I watched Sin City again recently. It’s chock full of some of my favorite actors, and it’s based on one of my favorite graphic novel series of all time. How can I not love it? My favorite characters are Kevin from The Hard Goodbye, Miko from The Big Fat Kill, and all three of the main characters from That Yellow Bastard. I think Kevin from Sin City is tied with, well, Kevin from Up for my favorite non-speaking character in a movie.
Spirited Away is also the only Ghibli film I’ve seen, and I didn’t get it. At all.
All of my family and friends don’t like the movie at all, but it is one of my all time favorites. 
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: A+
TMNT (2007): C-
Coming up: J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek (hopefully)
love70ways: Try watching Howl’s Moving Castle. Knowing how the Pixarians always watch Ghibli films for inspiration, I wouldn’t be surprised if this influenced Up! Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Mononoke are pretty good, too, but Spirited Away’s my all-time favourite.
I can see how it might be confusing to some viewers. After all, faceless ghosts, giant babies and boy-transfiguring-dragons don’t make a whole lot of sense! XD
I liked SA, and wish I could watch it again (maybe then I’d get some of it), but my dad sold my DVD…
J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek: A -
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark will release January 21 of next year. Co-written and produced by Guillermo del Toro, and directed by first-timer and del Toro protege Troy Nixey, it is a remake of the 1973 ABC television film of the same name.
Here’s the trailer:
traileraddict.com/trailer/do … er-trailer
The film stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce among others.
This looks as scary as heck… perhaps I’ll see it at some point, but not when it’s released.
I saw Milk yesterday. Very inspiring and powerful film. Usually I don’t like political dramas, but I found this one to be very enjoyable, with solid performances by the entire cast. I give it an 8/10.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is not the best film in the enormous 6 (soon to be 8 ) part series, but it’s still my personal favorite. This is arguably the most nostalgic movie ever for me, and every aspect still holds up well today. I love several things about it, the fantastic score, the cool set design, the spot-on dialogue, the overall sense of magic felt in the film’s incredible atmosphere, the ability to be hillarious, nightmare-enducing, and heart-warming, and it’s loyalty to the books, but the best part is obviously the acting. Chris Colombus and his crew really got lucky with the cast. Sure, the books are amazing and have a huge fan-base (of which I am a part of), but the movies are what launched Harry Potter into super stardom. Sometimes the special effects can be pretty bad and the portrayal of Slytherin as nothing but evil is a little stretched (which they thankfully improved on in later sequels), but this film means so much to my childhood that to give it anything but an A+ would be unfair to it. Now I can start counting down the days until I go to the Harry Potter section at Universal Studios and can try my first Butterbeer. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first movie I ever saw more than once in theatres (the only other ones being Tarzan and Toy Story 3), and I am able to relive the childish glee I used to have every time I watch this, as it is impossible for me to go without a huge grin for more than a minute.
I’d also like to give a shout-out to the actor who played Ollivander (the wand owner), who also played John Merrick in my favorite David Lynch film: The Elephant Man. He’s only on screen for a short amount of time, but everything he says and how he delivers it sends chills down my spine. Never has foreshadowing, creepiness, and warmth been combined in a monologue more perfectly than here. One of my friends met him at a film festival and he seemed like a nice guy, so there you have it.
Really? I wasn’t aware of that. Thank you, Chuckles. I remember watching The Elephant Man a few years ago, and thinking it was the most heartbreaking movie I had ever seen.