Kiki's Delivery Service 魔女の宅急便

 Released Year: 1989

Directed by 宫崎駿 Hayao Miyazaki

Voiced by:

高山南 Minami Takayama & Kirsten Dunst as  琪琪 Kiki
佐久間玲 Rei Sakuma as 吉吉 Jiji
三浦浩一 Keiko Toda as 歐其諾 Osono 

 Story:

Kiki is a 13-year-old witch-in-training living in a village where her mother is the resident herbalist. Traditionally, witches live a year alone when they reach the age of 13. One night, Kiki takes off for the big city with her best friend Jiji, a loquacious black cat.

Kiki settles in Koriko, a port city. After a hard start, mostly because of her own insecurity, Kiki makes friends and finds a place to stay. However, she discovers that her only skill as a witch is her ability to fly on a broom, at which she is still not fully proficient. To support herself, she begins a delivery service at Gütiokipänja Bakery, a bakery owned by Osono and her husband Fukuo.

During her time in Koriko, Kiki experiences setbacks, and she must contend with adolescent worries. She is pursued by Tombo, a local boy crazy about aviation who has developed a genuine respect for her flying power and a strong liking for Kiki as a girl in general. Kiki eventually warms up to him, but after a brief encounter with Tombo's friends, some of whom she had met earlier under unfavorable circumstances, Kiki loses her powers to fly and speak with Jiji, devastating her. However, one of her friends, a young painter named Ursula, invites her to stay in her forest cottage, where she analyzes Kiki's current crisis as "some form of artist's block." Since many things had not gone as hoped for, Kiki is experiencing such a period, which resulted in the loss of her powers; but if she finds a new purpose, she will be able to reclaim what she has lost.

Heartened, Kiki returns to the city. While visiting one of her customers, she witnesses an dirigible accident on the television. A strong and sudden gust of wind blows in the area. Tombo is lifted into the air and blown away hanging from the dirigible. Kiki pushes herself to regain her flying ability and uses a street-sweeper's push broom. Kiki is able to regain her power and rescue Tombo.

Kiki becomes comfortably part of the life in Koriko as its own local celebrity and flying in formation with Tombo on his human-powered aircraft, a propeller-rigged bicycle. Kiki sends a letter to her parents about gaining confidence through difficulties and that she has decided to make Koriko her new home.

L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

Love this animation of Hayao, the idea of a witch going around to gain experience is something like Harry Potter, i wonder whether Harry Potter copy this storyline or not? As this animation has won multiples awards for Best Animation in USA & Europe countries...

Upside Down 2012

 Released Year: 2012

Directed by Juan Diego Solanas

Casted by:

Jim Sturgess as Adam

Kirsten Dunst as Eden

Timothy Spall as Bob

 Story:

The film starts with Adam telling the story of his planet, unique from other planets as it is the only one that has dual gravity. Two planets live next to one another. The gravity has 3 rules:

    All matter is pulled by the gravity of the world that it comes from, and not the other.
    An object's weight can be offset by matter from the opposite world (inverse matter).
    After some time in contact, matter in contact with inverse matter burns.

The two worlds are separated. While Up is rich and prosperous, Down is poor. Up buys cheap oil from Down and sells electricity back to Down at much higher prices. Going Up is strictly forbidden and the only connection between the worlds is through the company "TransWorld".

Adam lives in an orphanage Down Below as he lost his parents in an oil refinery explosion. The only living relative he has is his great-aunt, whom he visits every week. His great-aunt has a secret recipe for flying pancakes using pollen from pink bees. The recipe has passed through generations and will be inherited by Adam.

As a child, Adam secretly climbs a mountain that gets very close to the Up world. There he meets Eden, a girl in Up. Years later, they are now friends as teenagers and are in a romantic relationship. They meet on their mountains and Adam uses a rope to pull Eden towards Down. As Eden sits on Adam's shoulders, they form an anti-gravity object that easily floats. But they are found and while Adam is trying to pass Eden back to her planet, he gets shot and drops her. He thinks she is dead. When he returns home, his aunt is arrested and her home burned.

Ten years later, Adam is now working on creating anti-gravity using his great-aunt's recipe. The recipe allows matter to feel both gravitational fields at once. Adam is developing it as a cosmetic product for face-lifts. Then he sees Eden on TV and learns she is alive and works at TransWorld. He finally works out his formula and gets hired by TransWorld to develop the face-lift cream. Adam's plan is to find Eden in TransWorld. In his office he meets Bob, a TransWorld employee from Up who makes a deal with him. In return of Adam bringing material (like stamps) from Down, he will help him find Eden.

With the help of Bob, Adam meets Eden by putting Up-material in his clothes to disguise himself as a worker from Up. But Eden doesn't recognize him as she lost her memories with the impact of the fall years before. The Up-material in Adam's clothes starts to burn so he has to return to Down. Later on, Bob is forcefully retired but as he leaves, he secretly gives Adam his ID to help him. Later, by calling Eden through Bob's phone, Adam manages to get a date. He presents himself as Bob.

Meanwhile, his cosmetic cream becomes of great importance to the company. While Adam is doing a presentation of the cream, Eden sees him and learns his real name. Adam runs to find her but Bob's ID has been terminated so he is noticed. He goes to Bob's house. He shows him that by mixing the matter from both gravity areas can make matter that resists both gravitational fields and tells him he didn't give TransWorld the secret ingredient of his compound, leaving the company unable to produce the product without him.

With Bob's help, he goes back to the restaurant where he met with Eden before and finds out she started to remember him. But the cops come and he has to run. When he returns to his planet, he goes to the mountain top where he met Eden. Eden comes to find him and they meet as they used to. But cops find them again and as they fail to escape, Eden is arrested by cops while Adam drops. TransWorld agrees to drop the charges against Eden if Adam gives them his formula and never contacts Eden again.

Now Adam has gone back to his old life, believing he will never see Eden again. Eden goes to Bob for help. Bob finds Adam and surprises him by showing he can stay Down without the help of the weight supplements; Bob has been able to use Adam's methods to create a way to negate the effect of gravity. Bob tells him he had the patent of his beauty cream before TransWorld and tells him he has a date.

At the spot Bob tells him, Adam finds Eden, also able to walk without weights. There, he learns that she is pregnant with twins and that is what keeps her Down.

The film ends by Adam telling their act has changed their worlds forever.

 L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

I will scored it a 10/10 if not because of those mistakes they make:-

1. Why can the bullet be shot in the different world with the same speed and angle they want?

2. On the start of this film, when Eden was ridding on Adam's shoulder in the down world. Why doesn't Eden's hair flow up towards her own world?

3. How can Eden & Adam make love in Adam's world... and both of them can flow in the middle of air while turning round and round?

But overall this movie is very special, and i don't think anyone has use this idea before. Cool and i totally love it...

Marie Antoinette

Released Year: 2006
Directed by Sofia Coppola

Casted by:
Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette
Jason Schwartzman as King Louis XVI
Jamie Dornan as Count Fersen
Story:

Marie Antoinette (Maria Antonia Joseph Joanna), a 14 years old daughter of Austria empress' Maria Theresa. Marie was chose to marry her second cousin, the Dauphin of France, Louis XVI. This marriage is to seal an alliance between the two rival countries.

Marie and Louis were married without knowing much of each other. Both of them were asked to give birth of an heir as soon as possible. On their wedding night, nothing happen between the dauphin & dauphine as both of them were still young. Marie as the new dauphine in France, find that everything is different from Austria. She like least the king's mistress, Madame du Barry. Not long later, people in the castle said that Marie is a cold and distant Austrian as she can't produce an heir for the royal family. Maria Theresa wrote letter for her daughter to warn her that an unconsummated marriage could be easily annulled and encourage her to inspire Louis to have sex with her.

Marie tried her best to seduce her husband for a few times but fail. As days passed, Marie had been advice by her mother to stop snubbling Madame du Barry, so Marie talked to the mistress whom has all the fancy and weird dress. But Marie still hates her and will not talk to the mistress anymore.

One night, Marie and Louis sneak to a masquerade party in Paris and she met Count Axel von Fersen for the first time. The beautiful daupine has attracted the good looking count Fersen. After King Louis Xv passed away, Louis XVI became the new king. The two young couple are inexperience in handling the country. Marie continue to spend non-stop on food and fashion while King Louis XVI spend most of the money on foreign war. This has make France go into further debt. One night, Marie and Louis talk about locksmithing which is a favourite hobby of the king, and using the key-making, both Marie and Louis has sex for the first time.

18 December 1778, the young queen gave birth to a princess, Marie Therese. At that moment, Marie has an affair with Count Fersen. France continue to spend for the American Revolution, and Marie was known as Madame Deficit who spend much on her luxurious lifestyle.

As Marie grew up, she gave birth to a prince, Louis Joseph. The French Revolution came into full fruition and an angry mob begins a march from Paris to Versailles. The King and Queen brought along the royal family, was forced to leave despite on that.

L² Scored: 6.5/10

L² Comment:

This film won the Best Costume Design in 2006. Woah, the fashion at that time is simply vogue!!! But i found it the guys at that century is quite gayish in the sense of fashion and their wig. don't u think so?

Though i'm not really interest in the revolution things, but this film brought out another kind of view of that century and it do really really attracted my attention.

Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

Released Year: 1994
Directed by: Neil Jordan

Casted by:
Brad Pitt as Louis
Tom Cruise as Lestat
Kirsten Dunst as Claudia
Antonio Banderas as Armand
Stephen Rea as Santiago
Christian Bale as Daniel Molloy

Story:

The story began as Daniel the interviewer came across with a good looking young fine man in a dark alley, they both went into a room and have an interview about this man's life.

In the early century, a 24 years old young man Louis just lost his wife and an unborn child. Feeling upset and exhausted, he let himself lost in gambling and sex. He wanted to die so badly so that he can meet his wife and child in heaven, but he was chosen to become a vampire by Lestat.

Beautiful and exotic Lestat turn Louis into his companion by drinking his blood and gave him an immortal life. Feeling sick about drinking human's blood, Louis only feed on animals blood. But the killed of chicken make the black slave suspect on him, after killing one of the servant, Louis decided to burn down his mansion and get away with Lestat.

Both of them then happened to see Claudia who is crying because her mother is dying. Feeling hunger and loving, Louis bit Claudia and turn her into a vampire, Lestat thought of using Claudia to control Louis for staying with him but things do not turn out the way he wanted to. As the 13 years old Claudia started to become mature in her brain but not her physical, she started to hate it and questioned the two elders. She hate being a child forever, and she think this is Lestat's fault for turning them into a vampire. Claudia then make a plan to kill Lestat.

After a several fight, Louis managed to bring Claudia and both of them escape to Paris. In Paris they met a bunch of their kinds. Armand is their leader while Santiago is the 2nd lead. Vampires at there dislike those who killed the same kind, and they find out Claudia is a betrayal of her maker. In another hand, Armand push Louis to give up on Claudia and be his follower. Claudia feel sad and found a woman to become Louis' replacement.

Begging on her knee to transform the woman into a vampire, Louis decided to let Claudia goes and bite the woman. But before the woman fully transform, Santiago brought his army and get them away. Louis was put inside a coffin and sealed in the brick wall while Claudia and the new vampire was closed in an open well. On the sunrise of the next morning, Claudia and the new vampire were burn to ashes.

Hatred filled Louis, he was saved by Armand. But Louis killed all other vampires with fire including Santiago. Refused to become Armand's follower, Louis decided to go back to America. World changed, technologies improved. Louis was glad he can see sunrise again in the theater. Meeting up with Lestat in an old cemetery again, Louis decide to live alone with nobody in his eternal life.

Coming back to Daniel interviewing with Louis, feeling awesome of how vampire is, he wants Louis to transform him into one but was rejected. Louis left and nowhere to be found. When driving back with excitement, Daniel found himself not alone! Lestat was following him and transform him into a vampire.

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

This is actually the first vampire movie i ever watch, maybe 10 years ago :) I really learn alot about vampy in this film. But the relationship between Lestat & Louis, Louis & Armand is kinda gayish :)