Alone in Beauty

Someone else has reviewed this as "Hans Christian Andersen's Castaway," which isn't wrong. This is the first Studio Ghibli film to be directed by someone who isn't Japanese, because Hayao Miyazaki saw Dutch director Michael Dudok de Wit's Oscar-winning short "Father and Daughter" and wanted to work with him. Apparently, de Wit did not initially believe this, probably in no small part because of the "not Japanese" thing. However, Ghibli has long made films that connect mysticism…

Art Is Personal

I get that a lot of people are worn out on Tim Burton's directing style. It's been relying on quirkiness for some time now. And I mean, he's always been quirky. Edward Scissorhands? Yeah. It is what it is. And if you don't like that, that's your deal. But I will also say that he's been going back to the same well a lot in recent years, and I say this as someone who legitimately likes Alice…

Another Lost Father Figure

Dear Roger,

It's not like you'd be surprised it wasn't nominated. I think we could have shared a grim smile, if you'd still been able to smile. No, of course Steve James wasn't nominated for Best Documentary Feature for this, even though it's better than Finding Vivian Maier. Leaving aside that there seems to always be one mediocre film nominated in the category, every year, we could share a grumble about Hoop Dreams. If you'd still…