4 out of 10 Another Ghibli animation; not bad, but far from the studio's best. Earthsea follows the tale of a young boy who... kills his father... for whatever reason... and is then taken in by some good wizard dude while he's effectively on the run. Some other bad wizard dude then steps in and... well, I'd better not give too much away. Besides, I'm struggling to recall the finer points of the sometimes-meandering plot. Suffice it to say it's the usual Ghibli fable of struggling with inner demons and how a more spiritual, less greedy, less materialistic outlook can be your salvation. Sadly, it just never really took off for me. Perhaps the books would be better?
10 out of 10 Caught this while channel-surfing last weekend and realised I just had to watch it again. And you know what? It's still a great film. In fact, it struck me just how little it had aged. For something that came out of the 80's, that's no mean feat. Granted, some of the leading lady's fashion choices were noticeably... wrong (shoulder pads ahoy!), but on the whole, it could've been from any era. Of course, a large part of what makes it work so well is Tom Hanks . He's utterly believable as a suddenly-grown-up boy and makes the film the charming experience it is. Yes, it's a bit cheesey, but so what? It works, dammit. Top marks.
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