With Netflix (in most territories) adding the entire Ghibli back catalogue (minus Grave of the Fireflies) over the next three months, it’s the perfect time to either revisit or visit the collection. If revisiting, why not write about them? Great idea. Welcome to ‘Ghibli: The Netflix Batch,’ a collection of essays inspired by each film. … Continue reading The Cat Returns (Ghibli: The Netflix Batch)
Tag: opinion
The Hunt (2020) (Review)
Unfortunately, the Hunt will be forever overshadowed by the controversy it caused. The controversy was ridiculous and framed the movie as something grotesque and deplorable. It also gave the film a huge political weight, one that it is not equipped to handle. Fundamentally, The Hunt is not the movie it was described as being - … Continue reading The Hunt (2020) (Review)
Bacurau (Review)
Starting out as a beautiful presentation of a distinct culture and identity, and ending up as a brutal defence of those very same concepts, Bacurau is a very impressive - and very important - film. Its clear tonal shift from start to end - functioning like a vérité exploration of an isolated, rural community in Brazil … Continue reading Bacurau (Review)
The Invisible Man (2020) (Review)
The opening act of Blumhouse's Invisible Man reboot is excellent. It begins with a brilliant credits sequence and segues into a nail-bitingly tense escape scene in a clifftop house (an architectural marvel that lends an austere beauty to the film). For a third of the running time, the film's identity is very clear: it is … Continue reading The Invisible Man (2020) (Review)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Review)
I once visited a Jeff Koons exhibition in which reflective spheres had been placed in pieces of art - often classical art. The spheres reflected the art back at itself but also made it so that you could not look at the art without looking at yourself and your surroundings. It was an effective, if … Continue reading Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Review)
My Neighbour Totoro (Ghibli: The Netflix Batch)
With Netflix (in most territories) adding the entire Ghibli back catalogue (minus Grave of the Fireflies) over the next three months, it’s the perfect time to either revisit or visit the collection. If revisiting, why not write about them? Great idea. Welcome to ‘Ghibli: The Netflix Batch,’ a collection of essays inspired by each film. … Continue reading My Neighbour Totoro (Ghibli: The Netflix Batch)
First Love (Review)
Takashi Miike has made some of the most bizarre films of all time. Most famous for his frenetic, violent - and often surreal - Yakuza movies, First Love sees him perhaps returning to his first love: the aforementioned genre. From any other director, First Love is a really promising and super stylish action film full … Continue reading First Love (Review)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Review)
To be fair, it's hard to make a film out of a character whose only defining characteristic is: they go fast. This is however, more of a reason not to make the film than any kind of defence of this awful movie. Sonic the Hedgehog may have been a bad idea from the get go, … Continue reading Sonic the Hedgehog (Review)
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Ghibli: The Netflix Batch)
With Netflix (in most territories) adding the entire Ghibli back catalogue (minus Grave of the Fireflies) over the next three months, it's the perfect time to either revisit or visit the collection. If revisiting, why not write about them? Great idea. Welcome to 'Ghibli: The Netflix Batch,' a collection of essays inspired by each film. … Continue reading Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Ghibli: The Netflix Batch)
Gillespie Awards 2020 (My ‘Oscars’)
For some reason, the Academy won't let me have any control - never mind complete control - over their process. Perhaps because of this, they keep making terrible decisions! So, here are my awards. Criteria: released in the last 12 months in the UK and seen by me. If it's not nominated and I haven't … Continue reading Gillespie Awards 2020 (My ‘Oscars’)
Assorted Opinions 