Howl's Moving Castle, Underworld, & Secret Honor

Howl's Moving Castle was about what I was expecting from Hayao Miyazaki. Brilliance, with an environmental and pro-woman stance that was only somewhat negated by the almost total androgeny of Howl. Almost total, since there was the towel drop bit, which caused a laugh in the theater. It was the first movie I'd seen in a theater since I moved to the District. It was a nice experience. Having it only 3 minutes away was also nice. Anyway, I highly recommend Howl's Moving Castle, even if it isn't as good as Nausicaa or Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away. It's better than Kiki's Delivery Service or My Neighbor Totoro, in my opinion. I also really hope that he doesn't stop making movies. It was so nice to see a PG movie that told a good story. Although my friend staying with me this week said that he didn't like to see PG-13 movies, because he thinks they're just a tease. And to a large extent he is right. At least you know what you're getting with a G or PG movie. And with an R you're getting lots of violence or some nudity. With PG-13, you get fake violence and maybe hints of breasts. Just a big tease. I'm a big fan of having more nudity and less violence in movies.

Speaking of which, I also saw Underworld. Which had just a couple kisses and a hell of a lot of violence. Much of which made no sense. Too bad it ruined the ability of anyone to make a good Vampire vs. Werewolf movie. Kate Beckinsale is hot, but she was the only reason to attempt to sit through that crap. Oh well. And it was strange to see Bill Nighy overacting in lots of makeup after seeing him be so good in The Girl in the Cafe. Sigh.

Secret Honor was amazing. Amazing for Phillip Baker Hall's transformation into Nixon. What a performance. Amazing. Too bad it wasn't all true. The whole Deep Throat rant about using him to get out of the presidency was just so bizarre. But that performance made up for anything. Riveting.