The Last Movie You Watched

[Esquilax]

Summer Wars: Still one of my favorite films, and one that, despite being anime, I'd show to pretty much anyone. It's an accessible family film with plenty of emotional resonance, a neat little message about the importance of family without beating you over the head with it, and a surprising lack of moralizing about the evils of technology, for a movie about a rampaging computer program. The animation is beautiful, the score is cool, the characters- of which there are many, most of whom get minimal screentime- are distinct and mesh together well, and most importantly, this is a film full of children, most of which aren't annoying. Definitely comes recommended.

Wolf Children: As part of a Mamoru Hosoda double feature, I also got into his newest film, which is not as good as his last, but still pretty goddamn great. It's more of a meandering "experience" movie than one with an importance of plot, but since the characters are so likable and capable of growth, it's not exactly lacking for this. It's much cuter than Summer Wars, and the wolf children themselves are adorable, but for a movie with magic transforming children in it, it's their normal human mother that's the definite star. This is Hosoda's third original film, and he's now officially my favorite Japanese director.