Class is often invisible in America in the movies, and usually not the subject of the film.

Families and their problems go on and on, and they aren't solved, they're dealt with.

Horror fans are a particular breed. They analyze films with such detail and expertise that I am reminded of the Canadian literary critic Northrup Frye, who approached literature with similar archetypal analysis.

When I am writing my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be.

When I go to the movies, one of my strongest desires is to be shown something new. I want to go to new places, meet new people, have new experiences. When I see Hollywood formulas mindlessly repeated, a little something dies inside of me: I have lost two hours to boors who insist on telling me stories I have heard before.

Because of the rush of human knowledge, because of the digital revolution, I have a voice, and I do not need to scream.

Grave of the Fireflies is an emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation... It belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made.