Better than the first one!
“‘I’m Magic. Magic Mike.” – Mike
Reviewed by Laura Hodson
Under 5 Words – Magic Mike XXL (2015)
Tag: Comedy
100 Word Review – We are The Best! (2013)
Currently available on Netflix, this is a must-watch film that everyone can enjoy.
Three young girls in 1980s Stockholm join forces against their school, their parents and The Man to create their own punk band. Who cares if they can play their instruments or not? It’s about more than the music.
This film, as the trailer (below) says, is “for anyone who’s ever been 13”, full of anarchy, chaos and humour. It’s written and directed by Lukas Moodysson, based on his wife Coco’s comic book.
It is a guaranteed feel-good film that will leave you feeling empowered and wishing for youth.
100 Word Review – Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Barbra Streisand is one of the most fabulous people to walk the Earth, and this wonderful film is just one of her many gems.
Dolly (Streisand) is a rich widow who uses her many talents to improve the lives of those around her, namely as a matchmaker.
Based on the much-loved Broadway musical, directed by Gene Kelly (Singin’ In The Rain) and co- starring Walter Matthau and Michael Crawford, it’s little wonder it won three Oscars.
Funny, sweet, sad, romantic and jam-packed with songs that are liable to have you dancing in the aisles (one of which featured on Wall.E).
100 Word Review – Frances Ha (2012)
A truly wonderful film that speaks to the heart of anyone who’s ever pretended to be an adult.
Frances (Greta Gerwig) is an awkward twenty-something living in New York, surrounded by people who seem to have their life together but never seeming to manage it herself.
Co- written by Gerwig and director Noah Baumbach (The Squid & The Whale, screenplay of Fantastic Mr Fox), the feature was shot entirely in black and white. Combined with the light-hearted soundtrack, it gives the whole film a quirky feel completely in keeping with the main character’s eccentricities. Funny, sweet and genuinely moving, it’s fantastic!
100 Word Review – Attila Marcel (2013)
This was one of my unexpected gems from Bath Film Festival 2014.
Paul (Guillaume Gouix) is a mute. Living with his two over-bearing aunts, it is not until an accidental meeting with Mme Proust (Anne Le Ny) that takes him on a psychedelic psychological journey through his repressed childhood.
Written and directed by Sylvain Chomet (Belleville Rendezvous, The Illusionist), this is his foray into live-action, bringing all the creative visuals he is known for to a new medium. It is full of the charm, wit and philosophy you would expect, with such beautiful scene composition you cannot help but feel transported.
100 Word Review – Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox) explores the weird and wonderful world of childhood in this charming feature film.
Set on a small island off the New England coastline, a pair of 12 year old lovers run away together causing an island-wide search party.
This really is an ensemble piece, with the likes of Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormond, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman making up the inhabitants of this strange and beautiful community.
Part comedy, part drama with a touch of romance and tragedy thrown in for good measure, watching Moonrise Kingdom is watching Art.
100 Word Review – Eagle Vs Shark (2007)
Not the animal on animal gore fest you might expect. This is a wonderfully quirky Australian comedy.
Lily (Loren Taylor) works in a fast food restaurant in the same mall as the tech shop where Jarrod (Jemaine Clement) works. When he invites her to his friend’s animal-themed fancy dress (thus the title), all of her dreams have come true. What follows includes a road trip, exotic candles and a fight to the death.
Written and directed by the hugely talented Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows), this is funny, romantic, awkward and very human. It’s an absolute delight!
100 Word Review – The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
This is my all-time favourite film.
Hugo Weaving, Terence Stamp and Guy Pearce star as a pair of drag queens and a transsexual who drive to a hotel in the middle of the Australian outback to perform a show.
Priscilla is their magnificent bus and as the title would suggest this film is all about the journey.
The costumes are fabulous, the soundtrack is unapologetically camp and the characters are perfection; filled with hilarious one-liners, an unapologetic (at times almost nihilistic) determination to be themselves and genuine affection for each other that gets them through what life throws at them.
100 Word Review – The Artist (2011)
If you haven’t seen this already where were you in 2011? It is a masterpiece of silent filmmaking in the modern age.
George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and his dog are silent movie stars at the peak of their career in Hollywood’s golden years. He meets Peppy (Berenice Bejo) an aspiring dancer and helps her with her career. But as talking pictures takeover, their lives are sent spinning in very different directions.
Hilarious, romantic and dramatic, writer and director Michel Hazanavicius perfectly captured the essence of that tumultuous time in Hollywood’s history and translates it for a modern audience. It’s technically flawless!
Never Seen … My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
About a month ago, I set Callum Dunbar the challenge of watching My Neighbour Totoro, a wonderful family-friendly Japanese animation that has become a cult classic, which he had never seen before. Here’s the conversation we had after he’d watched it.
*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Elspeth H (EH): So today we’re talking about My Neighbour Totoro, the Studio Ghibli classic from 1988. Am I right in thinking you hadn’t heard of Studio Ghibli before?
Callum Dunbar (CD): That’s correct. My cultural knowledge is fairly crap when it comes to Japanese films.
EH: So you hadn’t seen any Japanese films before?
CD: Nope. Nothing. The only Japanese anime I’ve ever seen is Pokemon. If you can call that…
EH: That counts.
CD: My expectations were not very high.
EH: In what way? In terms of the complexity of the animation?
CD: Yes, in terms of the animation I had extremely low expectations.
EH: What was it you were excepting?
CD: I was expecting a Japanese fairytale. A magical Japanese fairytale.
EH: And was it what you were expecting?
CD: Not at all. It was something far more complex and subtle than a fairytale. I guess it was more real and more hopeful than a fairytale as well.
EH: You found it hopeful at the end?
CD Yes, I did. It wasn’t just saying … there was no really hero, which I liked. There was no male character saving a helpless female life.
EH: Which is always refreshing to see.
CD: Which is why Frozen is such a great film because it breaks out of all those kind of tropes which I like.
EH: I guess there are similarities to Frozen, actually, in that there are two sisters and it’s about the elements and nature and the power of those things.
CD: Yes, I agree. And it has an interesting narrative as well. It’s exploratory in a way that other Disney films and other fairytales aren’t. It was far less of a fable. It wasn’t trying to teach me something, it was trying to ask me things which I think is good for children. But it’s equally entertaining for adults.
EH: I was going to ask, you watched it with your daughter didn’t you?
CD: I did.
EH: And how old is she?
CD: Olivia’s just six.
EH: What did she think of it?
CD: She loved it. In fact as soon as the film ended she asked me to restart it for her. She’s never done that before. it’s quite something. To get Olivia to sit still and do anything is a miracle.
EH: What was it she enjoyed about it do you think? Did she empathise with the children or was it the magic of the whole thing?
CD: Yeah, I think the fact it was a young girl. I think she liked Totoro. Actually I know she liked Totoro.
EH: You can get a Totoro onesie by the way, just if you’re thinking birthdays or Christmas…
CD: I think that’s it. I can’t speak for her but I think she liked the imagery, like the cat bus. We both liked that as fans of Alice in Wonderland.
EH: Admittedly I was much older than six when I watched My Neighbour Totoro for the first time, but I still found the cat bus kind of creepy and scary. But she didn’t find that?
CD: No, I don’t think so. But even if she did find it creepy, I think creepy is a good thing. It’s one of those films that expands the way you see things, which I really like. I really liked that. And maybe she was too young to get that but I think it was a good experience for her to watch it. It is exploratory in the art work and so on.
EH: There’s a fair amount of darkness in it as well. There are some really harsh and scary moments.
CD: At the same time, it’s not dragons, it’s real world darkness.
EH: So as you watched it with Olivia, I’m guessing you watched the dubbed rather than the subtitled version?
CD: Yes, the Disney release.
EH: I would recommend watching it by yourself with the subtitles instead. There is definitely a difference. Would you recommend it?
CD. Yes. And I’m not someone who watches films. Definitely watch it with a child as well. I should have asked Olivia what she thought because her reaction was very interesting. There must have been something in it that held her attention which, apart from the obvious ones like Frozen, I’ve not seen her do before.
EH: I’ve heard of other children reacting to it in a similar way. Identifying with the two sisters. I think that kind of childish madness is quite universal.
CD: Absolutely. And imagination. You know it touches on themes of your parents blaming things on your imagination, which I think is something all children can relate to. But it celebrates that as well. In the same way that Roald Dahl’s Matilda does that. And I know Olivia likes that too.
EH: So did it meet all your expectations? How did it stack up?
CD: It exceeded them by a long way.
EH: You like the animation style?
CD: I loved it. I thought the art work was beautiful. I thought the colours were beautiful. I thought the setting was beautiful as well. I just loved it.
EH: So have I created a Ghibli fan?
CD: I think so. I’d definitely watch more Ghibli.
EH: Would you be interested in watching some of the more grown up films? The wonderful thing about Ghibli is it covers quite a wide spectrum, unlike Disney which sticks to children’s films.
CD: I definitely think I would. I like to try all things and I felt like I got something new from that film. Yes. 100%.
EH: Fantastic. Any favourite moments?
CD: The cat bus.
EH: I rather like the dust mites. You know when you walk in to a room and it feels a bit like a lot of dust mites disappearing into corners and cracks?
CD: I like the … it’s hard to explain… I like the narrative and that it wasn’t a cause and effect narrative. So at the end when the girls left the corn on the window sill and the fact that the film didn’t end with them all visiting the mother in hospital. I really liked those things, it wasn’t obvious. And there’s the scene were they find the child’s shoe floating in the pond. It cranks up the tension, is this the younger sister’s shoe? and it’s not. And it just leaves it there. I loved it.
EH: Marks out of 5?
CD: Five. Better than Ghostbusters.
You can find Callum’s blog here or follow him on Twitter here.
We’d love to know what you thought of My Neighbour Totoro the first time you saw it. Was it the first Studio Ghibli you saw? Are you a fan? What do you think of Callum’s first impressions? Do you have a film you think Callum should watch? Please use the comments box below to join in the conversation!
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