You could count the happy moments in Grave of the Fireflies on no hands. Because there is no happiness here. Only death and sadness. So much death and sadness. Okay, now that that's out of the way, Grave of the Fireflies is a really great drama that illustrates the tragedies of war on a very personal level. It takes place in 1945 Japan shortly before their surrender, and tells the story a brother and sister, Seita and Satsuko, who are left to struggle for their survival without a home or anybody to care for them. The scarce rationing of food is far from enough to feed them and they are completely abandoned by the world around them. This is as dark as an animated movie can be. However, the relationship between Seita and Satsuko makes it more than just a downer of a movie; it's very beautiful and very emotional, at times overwhelmingly so. The story seems to unfold at a slow pace, with the characters simply wandering aimlessly and looking for food at times, but eventually I realized that the movie isn't so much slow-paced as it is different. The focus of the movie is the close bond between Seita and Satsuko and how they struggle together and care for each other despite their tragic circumstances. The only thing they have left in the world is each other, and it shows through their interactions. Then just when you think it can't get sadder, it gets much sadder. I won't give away what happens because that would pretty much kill the emotional experience of the movie, but it's devastating. There's really no reason not to watch Grave of the Fireflies. It's definitely a tough movie to watch, but it's also beautiful and unforgettable. Your tear glands will thank you.

It doesn't exactly break free from the cookie-cutter mold of superhero movies, but Iron Man 3 makes for a fun and entertaining entry in the Marvel movie franchise despite its flaws. Iron Man 3 picks up shortly after where The Avengers left off; Tony Stark is left in a vulnerable emotional state after he fell back down to Earth through a black hole from an alien dimension. Yeah, you read that sentence right, and it sounds slightly more ridiculous when it's written out like that. Stark, played by actor and professional bearded man Robert Downey Jr., has his life fall apart, with frequent anxiety attacks stemming from his black-hole-related tumble and his girlfriend Pepper Potts considering leaving him. To top it all off, Stark is forced to deal with terrorist known as The Mandarin who is planting people with regenerative powers who are biologically rigged to explode in flames around the country. Once again, that sentence sounds much less plausible when I put it that way. If the fire-people-who-are-designed-to-burst-into-giant-balls-of-flames-without-warning plot device didn't tip you off, Iron Man 3 is one of the slightly less realistic Marvel movies. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because hey, it's a superhero movie, but it does occasionally become a little too cartoonish. Namely, it gets sort of weird when a prominent character spontaneously starts breathing fire like a dragon for a few seconds. Luckily most of the movie is not nearly as bizarre as that moment, but it still struck me as a bit too crazy. The lovely Sir Ben Kingsley plays The Mandarin, and despite some cheesy dialogue he gives a good performance, and his character has a surprise midway into the movie that I liked a lot. Guy Pearce also has a large role, and his character is as comic-booky as it gets. Expect his character to have some anger issues. The action sequences of the movie are as CGI-packed as ever, but they're still well-done and much more entertaining than, say, that of a Michael Bay movie. There are abundant clichés, but the script is clever enough to disguise them, although some are clearer than others. The most obvious of the clichés is probably one of the major characters who is a young boy with a troubled past and whose only reasons for existence are to inspire sympathy and "d'aww"s from the audience. Still, despite its flaws and missteps Iron Man 3 ends up being a pretty good movie by Marvel standards, but it's not likely to linger in my mind a month from now. If you're interested in Marvel movies then you should enjoy this one very much. Otherwise, it's a fun but fleeting distraction that should hold you off until the flood of Summer movies kicks into full-swing.

My Neighbor Totoro is as warm and cheery as an animated movie can be, and has gorgeous animation to match its fun story. In the movie, two sisters named Satsuki and Mei (voiced by Dakota and Elle Fanning in the English-dubbed version) move to an old house near the woods to be closer to their sick mother who is in a nearby hospital. Satsuki and Mei discover that their new home is very close to the home of a friendly forest spirit named Totoro who only they can see. They befriend this unusual new neighbor and in return he takes them on fantastical and unforgettable adventures. It's ultimately about childhood being full of magic and discovery, and the movie is permeated with a near-constant liveliness and joy. Although it's not especially sophisticated or thoughtful, My Neighbor Totoro is a fun movie and it's pretty much overflowing with adorableness, and in that sense it's a wonderful and very enjoyable movie.