Here are, as promised, the favourites this month.
Studio Ghibli :) This is the new-er one. This film is loosely based on the life of the Japanese plane designer in the Second World War - but mainly centres on his love life. I love the animation in these films (not so much the plot). For those of you who have seen the films My Neighbour Totoro, or Howl’s Moving Castle, or any of the other of the Ghibli films then you’ll know what I mean when I say that they are just so beautiful. I wasn’t so taken by the plot - it was a little unfocused. At the beginning of the film, it talked a lot about planes, then suddenly it talked a lot about Nahako. I understand that it was meant to represent the change in his life, but perhaps it could have been done a little more smoothly for the purposes of the film. Twas a good film though, with beautiful graphics - 9/12 ★★★★★★★★★
Book: The Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, Haruki Murakami [14+]
Murakami is widely considered one of the greatest writers of our time, yet I’ve rarely heard his name in conjunction with the topic. I’m not going to hazard a guess as to why this is but I will leave it as he is a great writer and although I read the translation of his novel, it was wonderfully written and I definitely could not have predicted the ending (which is what I always look for in a book). The plot is centered around a young man and how he some how manages to get cut off from his group of friends. He believes this is because he has always been an outcast (for instance, his name is the only one that doesn’t contain a colour - for example Kei Akamatsu, shortens to Aka meaning Red - hence the title). This leaves him feeling depressed and “colourless” - again, hence the title - until he meets Sara, which is essentially where the book begins. He finds himself telling Sara all about his friends and she helps him to solve the mystery of why he becomes the outcast, and why he’s the “Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki”. I really enjoyed it, despite the horrible ending, and the strange part in the middle. This book is aimed at adults, so it does have some strange content, but I skipped over those bits. Even if you just read if for Murakami’s descriptions it would be worth it. 8/12 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Murakami is widely considered one of the greatest writers of our time, yet I’ve rarely heard his name in conjunction with the topic. I’m not going to hazard a guess as to why this is but I will leave it as he is a great writer and although I read the translation of his novel, it was wonderfully written and I definitely could not have predicted the ending (which is what I always look for in a book). The plot is centered around a young man and how he some how manages to get cut off from his group of friends. He believes this is because he has always been an outcast (for instance, his name is the only one that doesn’t contain a colour - for example Kei Akamatsu, shortens to Aka meaning Red - hence the title). This leaves him feeling depressed and “colourless” - again, hence the title - until he meets Sara, which is essentially where the book begins. He finds himself telling Sara all about his friends and she helps him to solve the mystery of why he becomes the outcast, and why he’s the “Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki”. I really enjoyed it, despite the horrible ending, and the strange part in the middle. This book is aimed at adults, so it does have some strange content, but I skipped over those bits. Even if you just read if for Murakami’s descriptions it would be worth it. 8/12 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
App: Stop Motion Studio [Free - 8+]
This app allows you to make those stop motion animation videos and it’s actually pretty easy to use - I mean, if I can use it, pretty much anyone can use it. My only issue with it is saving - it’s just a little too easy to delete everything you’ve done and then not be able to be redo it. Apart from that, it’s a great app to have to entertain pretty much anyone with. 11/12 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Game: Disco Zoo [Free - 5+]
A surprisingly addictive game that will make you feel like a five year old again - the only way of summarising this game. When you see people playing it, you think “meh, how could that ever be fun” WALK AWAY NOW. I mean it has pandas. Pandas people. Sorry, anyway, this game essentially puts you in charge of your own zoo where you can collect animals. The twist is you can throw disco parties and buy them hats. The hard bit is solving the puzzles to get the animals (when you rescue animals, you’re faced with a grid, and you have to find the pattern to get the animal). It’s surprisingly fun. The best part is you’re not forced to buy anything (I mean you can buy more money and you can buy the ZooPedia which gives you all the answers, but where’s the fun in that?). I would say that it does get a little boring waiting for things to happen, but that’s the same with pretty much all games like this so you can’t really criticise it too heavily for that. 11/12 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
So that’s the first Culture :)
See you Friday,
M x
This app allows you to make those stop motion animation videos and it’s actually pretty easy to use - I mean, if I can use it, pretty much anyone can use it. My only issue with it is saving - it’s just a little too easy to delete everything you’ve done and then not be able to be redo it. Apart from that, it’s a great app to have to entertain pretty much anyone with. 11/12 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Game: Disco Zoo [Free - 5+]
A surprisingly addictive game that will make you feel like a five year old again - the only way of summarising this game. When you see people playing it, you think “meh, how could that ever be fun” WALK AWAY NOW. I mean it has pandas. Pandas people. Sorry, anyway, this game essentially puts you in charge of your own zoo where you can collect animals. The twist is you can throw disco parties and buy them hats. The hard bit is solving the puzzles to get the animals (when you rescue animals, you’re faced with a grid, and you have to find the pattern to get the animal). It’s surprisingly fun. The best part is you’re not forced to buy anything (I mean you can buy more money and you can buy the ZooPedia which gives you all the answers, but where’s the fun in that?). I would say that it does get a little boring waiting for things to happen, but that’s the same with pretty much all games like this so you can’t really criticise it too heavily for that. 11/12 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
So that’s the first Culture :)
See you Friday,
M x
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