Short – Jurassic Park (Sweded)
Tag: Fantasy
100 Word Review – Moana (2016)
Nominated for two Oscars, including best animated feature, Disney’s latest princess is a chieftain’s daughter, chasing a demigod.
Written and directed by the hands behind Aladdin, Hercules and Princess and The Frog, this film is a wonderful and refreshing look at Polynesian mythology with a family friendly feel.
Music from the award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda (writer of Broadway sensation Hamilton), and star performances from the likes of Jemaine Clement (What We Do In The Shadows) and Alan Tudyk (Frozen, Serenity).
Newcomer Auli’i Cravalho is wonderful as Moana but Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as arrogant demigod Maui manages to steal the show.
100 Word Review – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Quill (Chris Pratt) and the team are back, battered and bruised and better than ever.
Continuing from Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) gets the gang into hot water with the Sovereign, forcing the Guardians to cross paths with Quill’s long lost father, Ego (Kurt Russell).
With the same great cast and skill-full direction of the first film, the soundtrack may not be quite as epic, but it is still the fun, fantastical journey you might hope for. Suitable for older children, it’s already been voted number 229 in IMDb Top 250, in it’s first week of release.
Don’t miss it.
100 Word Review – Brave (2012)
The first Pixar film with a female protagonist, it also won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Set in medieval Scotland, Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) refuses to marry a prince, defying her father (Billy Connolly) and causing more arguments with her mother (Emma Thompson). When a witch (Julie Walters) offers her a way out, she takes it without considering the consequences.
Full of the feel of Celtic myths and a magic that is integral to both the story and the feel of the film, this is a wonderful family movie. Although sometimes overlooked, this is another example of Pixar’s genius.
100 Word Review – Being John Malkovich (1999)
Craig (John Cusack) a puppeteer with a failing career finds a portal that allows him inside the mind of famous actor John Malkovich, where he starts to put his skills to work.
Written by Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation) and directed by Spike Jonze (Where The Wild Things Are, Her), this film was always going to be an unusual movie.
With John Malkovich playing himself and co-starring Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener, this film is weird, dark and completely trippy. The acting is superb and there are moments of dark humour that make it thoroughly watchable.
100 Word Review – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
It’s not often you see Jim Carrey in a serious film, and I’m not sure why because he’s brilliant in this.
At the end of their relationship, Joel (Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) undergo a procedure to have each other removed from their memories.
As would be expected with a film written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) and directed by Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind, The Science of Sleep), it’s equal parts wacky and beautiful.
The film is far from linear and takes you on an extraordinary journey filled with romance, laughter as well as darkness and despair.
100 Word Review – Where The Wild Things Are (2009)
Based on the award winning children’s book by Maurice Sendak, this film is an exploration of the dark and wonderful imagination of a child called Max.
A young boy called Max (Max Records) runs away from home following a tantrum, retreating to a world of his own imagining full of wild beasts who hail Max as their King.
James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker and Catherine O’Hara provide voices for the wild things. Adapted and directed by Spike Jonze (Her, Being John Malkovich) it retains much of the awe inspiring magic of the book while adding a more complex plot.
100 Word Review – Cloud Atlas
Adapted from David Mitchell’s novel and directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume:The Story of a Murderer) and the Wachowskis (The Matrix, V for Vendetta), this film is extraordinary.
There is no describing the plot. It crosses time and space in seconds, covering both the past, present and future as well as alternate worlds.
The cast is fantastic (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Doona Bae, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon) and the cinematography is exquisite. There is simply too much to see to take it in with one viewing. This film is Romantic with a capital R.
100 Word Review – Dogma (1999)
Abortion clinic worker and half-hearted Catholic Bethany (Linda Florentino) is visited by an angel (Alan Rickman) and instructed to stop a couple of fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) from ending the world.
Written and directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), it somehow manages to satirises institutional Catholicism without criticising those with genuine faith.
Co-starring Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek and George Carlin, the film is a mixture of toilet humour, road movie and religious dogma that somehow works. For fan’s of Smith’s work, don’t worry; Jay and Silent Bob lend helping hands.
100 Word Review – Ghostbusters (1984)
Written by and starring Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis, this should be compulsory viewing for everyone over the age of 10. If you haven’t seen it (like Callum), then watch it!
Peter (Bill Murray), Ray (Ackroyd) and Egon (Ramis) stumble upon a method for trapping ghosts and set out to save New York from the spectral fiends who are bombarding the city.
A brilliantly 80s film, with as many daft one-liners as you can shake a stick at and wonderful soundtrack. It’s funny, perhaps scary for younger children, but also downright wonderful. Sigourney Weaver is simply sublime, as always.
cinemescope 