Monsters are good but the people parts are terrible. The Apocalypse Now allusions are fun. The film is directed well, for the most part, but these blockbuster type things are dumbed down/camped up to the point of me asking myself why I bother. And honestly, even though I can admit some of it is well staged, fighting is not something I like watching, between humans or monsters. It makes no sense. The film starts with a typically stupid gun fight, sword fight, fisticuffs thing. I should have bailed immediately, but I like monsters.

Big Sono fan, disappointed by this. It's good looking, graded on a curve for budget. I admire directors who can make low budget look good. Sci-fi's built-in excuse for boring—portraying loneliness & isolation—isn't warranted. Megumi Kagurazaka isn't skilled or gifted enough to make watching her sweep the floor worthwhile. The "ideas" of the film are interesting, but they are insubstantially filled out by slow pans and scenes screaming for an edit: style in search of substance. The sound design is great, and annoying. Bottom line: I hate the sound of Stars Whispering.

I applaud Koreeda for exploring "nice". It's got to be one of the greater challenges a filmmaker faces.