Porco Rosso (1992)
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Shuichiro Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Bunshi Katsura Vi
Rated: PG for Violence and Some Mild Language
Running Time: 1 h 34 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Whimsy, Artwork, Unique Story, Music
WEAKNESSES: Meandering Plot, Low Stakes
Set in 1930’s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot cursed to look like a pig fights off air pirates and goes on other whimsical adventures.
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Seven Samurai (1954)
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima
Running Time: 3h 27m
Rated: NR (best guess, R)
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Character Development, Cinematography
WEAKNESSES: Pacing. Maybe.
Bandit raids have brought a dirt poor village of farmers to the point of starvation. Are there any Samurai of honor who will help because of principle rather than pay?
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Ran (1985)
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu
Rated: R
Running Time: 2 h 42 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Writing, Directing, Acting, Production Design, Cinematography
WEAKNESSES: -
Akira Kurosawa’s spellbinding adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
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Come and See (1985)
Directed by: Elem Klimov
Starring: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius
Rated: NR (Suggested Rating: R)
Running Time: 2 h 22 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Cinematography, Directing, Writing, Acting, Unique Perspective
WEAKNESSES: -
After finding an old rifle buried in the sand, a young boy named Florya is recruited by the Soviet resistance to help fight the Nazis.
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Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper
Running Time: 2h 49m
Rated: R
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Everything
WEAKNESSES: Maaaaaaybe some pacing issues? Maybe?
Captain Miller and his squad, after surviving the assault on Normandy, must cross France in a desperate search for Private Ryan, whose three brothers were killed in action.
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