Summer Wars

Far from resorting to easy, reactionary technophobia, Hosoda shows Japan's age-old traditions being upheld throughout different generations, with the beautifully realised digital community of OZ proving as much the solution as the problem.

The filmmakers can't keep the strands of their clumsy plot straight, but they create brilliant images and manipulate them with blithe abandon.

An enjoyably trippy Japanese animated feature from director Mamoru Hosoda, Summer Wars combines real-world drama (school crushes, testy relatives) with virtual-world dramatics.

The story's been done better (and balder) in Die Hard With A Vengeance

The relationship between Kenji and Natsuki unfolds as blandly as a Debra Messing rom-com.

It's a sugar rush of candy-colored images, a beautifully drawn tale of family tradition and a bracing brain tonic about the Internet's charms and vulnerabilities.

... proclaiming the importance of helping one’s community before helping themselves because the act of protecting the community makes one stronger whereas focusing on self makes one weaker and more vulnerable.

Where it is far from perfect, Summer Wars feels perfectly in place in Mamoru Hosoda's filmography.

I cannot recommend this movie enough.

It can get a little convoluted but overall it's just so creative.