Tales from Earthsea (2010)

Very Cool!!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

While I found the beginning of this movie incredibly tedious and boring, by the end it has become philosophically intriguing. I really enjoyed the idea that life without death is not life at all, and that overcoming death also means overcoming life. Now, I don't care that this movie isn't about Ursula LeGuin's books. Her books are a hot mess I like to read for the fun of it, but the storyline isn't particularly well done. This movie at least gets that right. I think Ursula LeGuin should be honored that her half-baked ideas inspire artists of various kinds to adapt some of her works as source-material. I am particularly pleased that we get to have a glance at Tennar as an older, more mature woman, and Sparrowhawk as a wise man instead of the firebrand we all know and love, but this story isn't about them, it's about a new set of challenges with new characters. Sparrowhawk just assists in restoring the world, but the spotlight is no longer him.

I just saw this film on DVD and was a little disappointed. Right at the start one of the main characters commits a terrible crime. Although in the course of the movie it becomes clear that he may have been influenced by an evil ghost, it is hard to develop sympathy for him. Also the other characters are poorly developed leaving a lot of questions about their pasts to understand their sometimes inconceivable behaviour. Beside these problems with the story, the animation is excellent. The backgrounds are rich in details, reminding me of a medieval city in the bycantine era. Unfortunately, at the end of the movie I was left with more questions than answers.

I really liked the film but I wouldn't consider this my favorite. The reason is because the storyline was lacking in most parts and the main villain looked more of a goth girl then an actual manic villain. Actually he looks so much like the singer Cher or even the Demon from Deathnote a bit haha! Seriously the drawers should've had more imagination then that! The soundtrack I think is the best throughout, its so medieval and interesting like. It reminds me of Game of Thrones but unfortunately the film didn't act as Game of Thrones otherwise I could've given it a 10 star. Its good anyway like I can listen to it all day long! The scenes where there is fields were very scenic and look very real. It made me feel like I wanna be in this film somehow except with all the violence and the enemies!

While it is a wonder that Tales from Earthsea (2006) is a box office success, this animated feature is certainly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The art is okay but the screenplay is beyond terrible. It is so terrible that I almost don't want to review about this film and am extremely tempted write several paragraphs of dots instead of sharing any of my analysis and thoughts on this film.Honestly, it is devastating. One hour into the movie and I am still clueless about the direction of the film or what they actually want to achieve through this anime film. I watched this film with an open mind; I thought this wouldn't be as bad as I've read online and actually intends to defend that it is too harsh to award this film the worst movie and the director as the worst director but... oh well.With no intention of bashing (and spoiling) this film but just for the record, I almost completely dropped this film after plenty of hours of breaks in between. It was truly an unpleasant experience as it spoils my mood so badly but I am glad that I've painfully endured and watched the whole film. At least, I have learned a little about this director, known a little more about this studio, seen one of the worst movies ever and be able to warn you all that you might not want to watch this film.PS. Still, kudos to the director for making his directorial debut. He has successfully entered the anime film industry with this one.