Important life lesson: Whenever you think that you have seen everything, there is always a Japanese filmmaker that proves you wrong. As a decade-long anime fan I thought that I already learnt this lesson, but even I was a bit baffled to see anthropomorphized tanukis using their giant testicles for several tasks including fighting humans in an anime for children. Only in anime.
“Pom Poko” feels a bit like the Japanese answer to “Watership Down”, only much cuter, more absurd,…

“The Hunt for Red October” is a classic submarine movie/ Cold War thriller that aged really well. It is brilliantly crafted and directed, still looks fantastic, and has fascinating characters, great production design, and a tight, well-structured plot. There are some slow and boring parts, but for the most time, it is very suspenseful. Sean Connery is definitely the standout and his screen presence is just unreal, but Alec Baldwin, Sam Neill, Scott Glenn, and most of the other supporting…

Oh boy, 12 years old me would have totally loved this movie. 24 years old me still enjoys the charm, fanservice, and nostalgia but can´t overlook the several flaws of the film. The story is stupid and predictable, the villain is really lame, the pacing is bad, and the acting is weak and sometimes cringey (apart from Ryan Reynolds stellar voice acting).
Nevertheless, as a fan of Pokemon since the first video game/ first season of the anime, I am…