This week’s movie was The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the movie, but it’s usually mentioned as a second-round draft pick from the Studio Ghibli catalogue. It’s one that I kept telling myself to watch for a couple of years, but I found myself picking Howl’s Moving Castle or Princess Mononoke instead. The first thing that stuck out to me is the art style. It follows a watercolour style and is reminiscent of the depiction of the original material. They used soft, consistent strokes at times of calm. Then, during times of distress, the lines were harsh, rushed and jagged. There was a great attention to detail, from the babies’ pigeon-toeing when they walk to the vibrations of the Koto strings after they are played. It is evident that they put a lot of care into the details, even though the style is “simpler”.

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Last week I finished Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. It was the third installment of the Castlevania series on the Game Boy Advance, but it was widely considered the definitive game for the system (Source: Wikipedia). I decided I’d start with this one. I haven’t played a Castlevania game before, and my only other Metroidvania experience was Metroid Fusion, which I didn’t beat and will have to return to at some point.

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Drunken Master was one of Jackie Chan’s breakout roles from 1978. It is acclaimed as one of the original and best martial arts comedies created. It was directed by Yuen Woo-ping, who would eventually be the choreographer for the Matrix and Kill Bill series. Basically, I’m trying to say I had a lot of expectations going into the movie.

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