Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
"The Wind Rises" so close to greatness and yet....
Indyfreak - wrote on 01/20/2015
Hayao Miyazaki ends his career as one of the best animation directors since Walt Disney on a high note with this gorgeously animated and ambitious biography of Jiro Horikoshi, among the early 20th century's best aircraft designers. It is unlike most other animated features, even anime, with its style and scope. It's not a children's film per se in terms of storytelling but rather a historical drama same as any live-action counterpart in pacing and atmosphere. There is no grand conflict, no major antagonist to be fought, no illustrious objective other than encouraging the audience to better appreciate the process of following through with one's own aspirations.
Still, there are sudden bursts of energetic action in the story to entertain younger (or easily bored) viewers such as a …
Rating of
3.5/4
A Beautiful Dream Made Real
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/23/2014
Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli has delivered some of the best animated films I have seen: from the tale of two young sisters who discover a forest spirit and a catbus in My Neighbor Totoro, to the bathhouse of the gods in Spirited Away, the battle of industry vs. nature in Princess Mononoke to worlds of wonder and magic in Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle - I have never been disappointed by the results. It has been reported that The Wind Rises could very well be Miyazaki's final film (though it may also not be - reports vary) but if this is indeed the case, he has gone out with one of his strongest films.
The Wind Rises takes the lives of the two people, author Tatsuo Hori and engineer Jirô Horikoshi (who designed the Japanese Zero so prevalent in WWII) and combines …
