Reviews

Watcing this film is like seeing a master being surpassed. Heavily reminiscent of the works of Czech surrealist filmmaker Jan Svankmajer, S He uses impeccably realised stop-motion techniques to tell disturbing story of oppression, resistance, revolution, revenge, and cyclical self-destruction, all made using the refuse of civilisation, as the objects given uncanny life through the truly jaw-dropping animation are comprised of common everyday items which we throw away every day. The talent and artistry involved in producing this film is world-class. As far as the art of stop-motion animation, this is perfection.

If you're a jaded film buff looking for something you haven't seen before, seek this out immediately. If you have the slightest interest in stop-motion animation, this is esesntial viewing. Run, don't walk, to see this. I might sound hyperbolic because I've just finished watching it and am still reeling from the experience. It's absolutely incredible. Like nothing else. I'm shocked there aren't more reviews here.

Awkward horror comedy looks good but is full of unsuccessful tone shifts. Balancing horror and comedy is possible but it didn't work here. In reviewing a bad film, I try to look for something positive to say. The highlight of They Reach is the delightful Eden Campbell as Cheddar, best friend of lead girl Jessica. Campbell easily steals the film. Her funny performance makes me want to see her star in a teen comedy as that type of character - a bold, boisterous, fast-talking, quick-witted, rambunctious girl eagerly embracing mischief and shenanigans. She reminds me a bit of Eden Sher, in being someone who isn't just giving a good comic performance, but who comes across as a funny person. Give her a film with a better script and more focus on her as a comedic lead, I think she'd be fantastic.

You know those actors that you absolutely love but who never get the recognition you think they deserve? Corinne Bohrer is one of those actors for me. I just adore her in everything she's been in. No matter the quality of the overall movie, I'll watch it for her, even Revenge of the Nerds IV. Apart from being ridiculously gorgeous, her comic expressiveness and loose, vibrant physicality are uniquely charismatic. As a massive fan, this movie was a gift, as I believe this is Bohrer's only lead role in a movie. She holds onto it and never lets go.

Bohrer plays Eve Jacobs, a woman nearing 40 and trying desperately to get pregnant. Shenanigans ensues as Eve joins a support group for similarly fertility-challenged women and tries to undergo treatments without her husband knowing. Wacky and silly, but with genuine wit and moments of sincere drama. Inconceivable is the kind of film few will leap to praise as a classic, but it's perfectly fine. A solid, well-written comedy. I mean, there are plenty of big-budget Hollywood comedies that have nowhere near the charm and satisfaction on offer here.

Days after finishing Age of Resistance I'm still trying to express in (sensible) words how astonishingly wonderful it is without just typing "IT'S AMAZING!!!!!" over and over. I can't believe how good this series is. Proves they really can make them better than they used to. This show is part of my life now. It's stuck in my head. All I want to do is watch it again, think about it, talk about it. I see it everywhere, and see everything in it. It's an exhilarating masterpiece.

Dramatically ingenious, in that it's an entirely self-contained fantasy world, while also being one of the most politically conscious shows ever made. The themes woven throughout resonate across every aspect of human experience, which is why it doesn't feel like it's delivering a message. Obvious comparisons to Tolkien are cast off with ease. The world of Thra and its inhabitants is perfectly realised in a distinctive, unique way. Age of Resistance honours and greatly builds on Jim Henson's 1982 film, while also drawing inspiration from fantasy works that followed it, such as Miyazaki films like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

It's properly paced, which is another miracle. Scenes play out at a length consistent with their dramatic potential. Nothing is rushed. Scenes are allowed to breathe, which makes them more compelling. We're given proper time to luxuriate in these environments, to see the characters live as they are and not merely be mouthpieces for exposition quickly moving from one place to another as the plot dictates.

The puppets in Age of Resistance reach out of the screen with a reassuring tactility that computer-generated images can't provide. These hand-crafted characters, performed live by amazing puppeteers, feel every bit as real and emotionally engaging as any live-action human actor. Of course they're puppets, but they're imbued with life, and that might be the greatest achievement of this series: to remind us of a tremendously rich form of expression that we've been missing out on in the rush to computerise everything. Whatever its financial success, I hope this momentous series displaces significant cultural water, and that the incredible passionate dedication of the production team inspires people to understand that CGI is not the only method of creating other worlds, that these techniques will always have a strong place in our artistic imagination.

This stupendous solid gold masterpiece is superior to pretty much every teen high school comedy that precedes it. You don't loftily intellectualise emotional responses to movies. You feel it right away. You know when a film works. It's a vibrant, energetic sensation that lifts you up and has you floating away on a cloud of delight. That's how I felt as soon as Booksmart began and I stayed on that cloud for the whole movie and didn't come down for several hours. I'm still there, actually. Every time I recall a stereotype- shattering moment from this piece of genius I float up a little higher.

From the first scene with Molly and Amy dance-greeting each other I was with the movie all the way. I get this completely. I know exactly what this movie is doing and I love it in every way possible. These characters are alive and real in a way that high school movie teens almost never are. They still inhabit a stylised movie world but their interactions are so precise and witty that every clever exchange reminded me how so few movies even try to be this smart or funny, especially when it comes to how TEENAGE GIRLS are depicted in teen comedies.

This movie shows how it should be done. Most movies are intended to fulfill fantasies, right? But they only fulfill a very narrow range of fantasies. Finally here's a movie - ONE movie - that comes close to presenting the world as it should be. Where people are multi-dimensional, where no one is a one-sided caricature, where everyone has layers and nuance and rich full lives that can't be summed up in cheap, lazy assumptions. I hope that in a few years there are many more movies that do what Booksmart does. I'm impossibly grateful for what Olivia Wilde and everyone involved in Booksmart have achieved. Contradiction in terms it might be, but this is an instant classic. It's wonderful.

Straightforward 'parent tracks down abducted child, mangling endless goons in the process' plot given reinvigorated exuberance thanks to Veronica Ngo's amazing performance. Just watching her fight and take heavy physical punishment was exhausting. Most significant element is the refreshing focus on women. As well as Ngo, there's Thanh Soi as the central villain and she is incredibly fierce. In a small part, a nurse helps Ngo in the only moment of humour in the film. Full of typical melodramatic moments but compelling throughout. Ngo is really the whole show. The male cop really was extraneous. It's the kind of movie where the level of unreality usually means ignoring complicated real-world things like actual police involvement. That stuff almost threatens to prevent Ngo from her unimpeded rampage, which is the reason for watching. Luckily, outrageous action and righteous motherly fury and vengeance stomps on everything else. Which is exactly what I wanted to see, so no complaints.

This is one of those shows I loved as a child in the 1980's, that I had no idea was actually anime. It's always a gamble revisiting shows beloved as a child as many won't hold any appeal to you as an adult, but I found a lot to enjoy in this series. The first of the four story arcs is the same as that in the 1939 Oz film, but the later three are from different Oz books, with various changes. Things really take off in arcs three and four with the introduction of the Gnome King.

The Canadian English dub has variable performances, but Morgan Hallet as Dorothy has the sweetest, loveliest voice. And the music in the English version has an undeniable nostalgic attraction, as upon hearing it I'm immediately taken back to childhood. The original Japanese version with English subtitles is sadly not available, but there are a couple of full episodes on YouTube (on Discotek's channel) and as usual for 80's anime dubs, plenty of dialogue was added to the English version.

When I first saw Alita: Battle Angel, I walked into the theatre with a somewhat cynical skepticism, not too unwarranted, given how poor prior Hollywood manga/anime adaptations have been. I came out of the theatre in a daze, not knowing exactly how I felt about what I'd seen. The only certainty was, "I need to see that again". The next day's viewing confirmed what was already becoming obvious: I LOVE this movie. It's part of my life now. Over the next several weeks and six more viewings, not a day passed without frequently thinking about it, imagining what happened in the past for its characters, what possibilities are waiting in their future. There was a total engagement with this world, an eagerness to probe further. That's a rare achievement indeed when so often with big Hollywood movies my memory of them flies away the moment they're finished.

There are moments and images in Alita: Battle Angel that are burned into my brain. It's a wonderful, beautiful, inspiring, strange, fascinating work of pure cinematic gold. It offers a compelling, fully-realised other world, with tantalising glimpses of a larger canvas waiting to be explored. It has quiet, delicate beauty and loud, pummeling action. There's sweetness, pure melodrama, wild over-the-top violence, dark and disturbing concepts. This isn't afraid to play with its tone, shifting between moods precisely, while always being sincere. There's no cynicism here. They mean it, and I believe it. Every time I watched it I felt such deep gratitude that this film exists.

While the film is a triumph of production design and visual effects, the reason it stands out so strongly and why it has inspired such passionate devotion is because of the emotional sincerity embedded within its story and characters, especially the magnificent titular heroine. Alita's producer Jon Landau was asked if he was glad it took 19 years for the film to be made, since the FX technology had advanced enough to make the film the way they wanted, and Jon was speaking my mind when he answered, "I'm glad it took 19 years because we found Rosa Salazar". Salazar is this film's irrepressible beating heart. Her performance is unlike any I've seen on film. This CGI performance-capture cyborg girl is more real, more honest, more alive, more unabashedly sincere than many movie characters played by purely flesh and blood actors. Salazar and the animation team should all feel deeply proud of what they accomplished here.