I'm not dead yet...

... despite having walked, to my count, over ninety blocks in Philadelphia today for good academic reasons. (It shouldn't have been that long, but Philadelphia's public transportation, as we all know, is a model of efficiency, and I am Queen Marie of Romania.) My feet hurt. My back hurts. However, since I did take a dinner break at a nice Chinese restaurant recommended by my Cities prof (genuine Chinese food, as made in China-- and how often does one come across that?), I am not insanely exhausted. I also got to order plum wine with dinner, so I now feel genuinely twenty-one, although I also still feel like I am going to be arrested anytime for impersonating a grownup while mentally being, you know, This Many (holds out about eight fingers). I really like the taste of plum wine, and either I have a really good head for alcohol or that stuff is insanely mild, so the only effect it had on me was to cause me to feel like a grownup. Also, the restaurant TV was showing a Chinese-language version of Saiyuki, and the guy playing Goku was so beyond insanely cool. It was the Great Sage Above Heaven version of Goku, and it was actually better than the anime on that one, which says something. And the guy playing Sanzo had a genuinely cool hat, although he still looked pissed off about it. The people playing Gyu-mao and Gyokumen were also really good; I could pick them out despite it being in Chinese with no subtitles. I was really, really annoyed to have to leave the restaurant and go back to work, but I am now feeling pretty good otherwise, as, after all my wandering about, I was feeling put upon and tired and bitchy and stressed so I caught the late showing of Spirited Away.

Damn, Miyazaki just keeps getting better. I didn't think it was possible to better Mononoke, let alone Totoro, let alone in the same movie. I would rate this as his best film. I think it is the best fantasy movie I have ever seen, even in the dub. I want to see it subbed, because the voice acting was in general pretty good, and insanely good for English, but I had occasional problems. Also, I want to hear the honorifics and some of the Japanese vocabulary. But the dub is certainly more than just watchable. I haven't fallen into a movie like that in years. I forgot where I was. I forgot who I was. There was this universe to play with, see. I've read entire series of fantasy novels that don't have world-building this good; the sheer amount of creativity at play here is astonishing, and there are some allusions to other fantasy universes that are icing on the cake-- I caught Totoro, Lupin III, Whispers of the Heart, Mononoke and Neverending Story references, and there was a sweet little homage to Miyazawa Kenji that brought tears to my eyes. I wouldn't dream of telling you one word about the plot. Go into this movie blind.

And damn, do they need to give this a wide release. Like, right now. Those of you who know how stressed and upset I've been lately will understand when I say walked out of the movie theatre calm, peaceful, happy, and enjoying my life. Like, not life in general. My life. Specifically. At the moment. The world needs easier access to movies that can do this for people.

Angst-O-Meter: it seems to have turned into an odometer, and it says that I walked like six miles and should go the heck to bed.

I'm not dead yet...

... despite having walked, to my count, over ninety blocks in Philadelphia today for good academic reasons. (It shouldn't have been that long, but Philadelphia's public transportation, as we all know, is a model of efficiency, and I am Queen Marie of Romania.) My feet hurt. My back hurts. However, since I did take a dinner break at a nice Chinese restaurant recommended by my Cities prof (genuine Chinese food, as made in China-- and how often does one come across that?), I am not insanely exhausted. I also got to order plum wine with dinner, so I now feel genuinely twenty-one, although I also still feel like I am going to be arrested anytime for impersonating a grownup while mentally being, you know, This Many (holds out about eight fingers). I really like the taste of plum wine, and either I have a really good head for alcohol or that stuff is insanely mild, so the only effect it had on me was to cause me to feel like a grownup. Also, the restaurant TV was showing a Chinese-language version of Saiyuki, and the guy playing Goku was so beyond insanely cool. It was the Great Sage Above Heaven version of Goku, and it was actually better than the anime on that one, which says something. And the guy playing Sanzo had a genuinely cool hat, although he still looked pissed off about it. The people playing Gyu-mao and Gyokumen were also really good; I could pick them out despite it being in Chinese with no subtitles. I was really, really annoyed to have to leave the restaurant and go back to work, but I am now feeling pretty good otherwise, as, after all my wandering about, I was feeling put upon and tired and bitchy and stressed so I caught the late showing of Spirited Away.

Damn, Miyazaki just keeps getting better. I didn't think it was possible to better Mononoke, let alone Totoro, let alone in the same movie. I would rate this as his best film. I think it is the best fantasy movie I have ever seen, even in the dub. I want to see it subbed, because the voice acting was in general pretty good, and insanely good for English, but I had occasional problems. Also, I want to hear the honorifics and some of the Japanese vocabulary. But the dub is certainly more than just watchable. I haven't fallen into a movie like that in years. I forgot where I was. I forgot who I was. There was this universe to play with, see. I've read entire series of fantasy novels that don't have world-building this good; the sheer amount of creativity at play here is astonishing, and there are some allusions to other fantasy universes that are icing on the cake-- I caught Totoro, Lupin III, Whispers of the Heart, Mononoke and Neverending Story references, and there was a sweet little homage to Miyazawa Kenji that brought tears to my eyes. I wouldn't dream of telling you one word about the plot. Go into this movie blind.

And damn, do they need to give this a wide release. Like, right now. Those of you who know how stressed and upset I've been lately will understand when I say walked out of the movie theatre calm, peaceful, happy, and enjoying my life. Like, not life in general. My life. Specifically. At the moment. The world needs easier access to movies that can do this for people.

Angst-O-Meter: it seems to have turned into an odometer, and it says that I walked like six miles and should go the heck to bed.