Fantasy – Page 2 – cinemescope

100 Word Review – Porco Rosso (1992)

November 30, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Drama, FantasyTagged 1930s, Action, adventure, animation, Anime, Drama, family, Fantasy, Hayao Miyazaki, Italy, Japanese, Michael Keaton, war, WWILeave a comment

In classic Hayao Miyazaki (Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke) style, this Japanese anime perfectly captures the spirit of adventure and freedom that permeates throughout it.

Set in the skies above a 1930s Italian coast, a WWI veteran pilot makes a living in his sea plane as a bounty hunter, taking down air pirates. His name is Marco Rosso and he was cursed to look like a pig.

Definitely family friendly, but with hidden depths that might have made me cry. There’s humour, there’s romance, there’s a sense of history and the dubbed version even has the voice of Michael Keaton.

100 Word Review – Stardust (2007)

November 15, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Fantasy, RomanceTagged adaptation, adventure, British, Charlie Cox, Clare Danes, Comedy, family, Fantasy, Ian McKellen, Jane Goldman, Mark Strong, Matthew Vaughn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Neil Gaiman, quirky, Robert De Niro, RomanceLeave a comment

Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s (Coraline, Mirrormask) brilliant novel, prepare for a fabulous flight of fantasy.

Determined to prove his love by returning with a fallen star, Tristan (Charlie Cox) sets out into the land beyond the wall, unaware of the witches, kings and pirates waiting for him on the other side.

Dream-team Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman) wrote and directed this seriously star-studded film. Clare Danes, Ian McKellen, Mark Strong, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro co-star to name just the best known. It’s fun, mostly family friendly, funny and completely fantastic in every sense of the word.

100 Word Review – Manborg (2011)

November 5, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci FiTagged 1980s, Action, adventure, animation, Astron-6, blood, Canadian, Comedy, Fantasy, robots, Sci Fi, Vampires1 Comment

Possibly the greatest and most ridiculous film ever made, Manborg is a must-see for any fans of 1980s action Sci Fi.

Set in the future, Nazi vampires rise from Hell and take over the earth. One man is bought back from the dead by a mad scientist, who gives him some robotic modifications. He is no longer a man. He is Manborg.

Created by Canadian cult movie masters Astron-6 (Father’s Day, The Editor) and in the same vein as Kung Fury. Made on $1000 budget, it seeps with the passion of it’s creators. This film is barmy from beginning to end.

100 Word Review – Hocus Pocus (1993)

October 30, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, FantasyTagged Bette Midler, Comedy, family, Fantasy, featured, Halloween, Horror, Kenny Ortega, Omri Katz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, witchesLeave a comment

If you’re only going to watch one film this Halloween, make it this one.

Max (Omri Katz), with his little sister (Thora Birch) and a local girl (Vinessa Shaw), lights a candle and sets in motion an age old curse, resurrecting the Sanderson sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy), witches who have been dead for 300 years.

Corny maybe, but it is also hilarious. Full of enough jokes to keep adults thoroughly entertained and jumps to keep kids on the edge of their seats. Directed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, This Is It), it could be nothing less.

100 Word Review – Coraline (2009)

October 27, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged adaptation, adventure, animation, Dakota Fanning, dark, Dawn French, family, Fantasy, Henry Selick, Horror, Jennifer Saunders, Neil Gaiman, Oscars1 Comment

Disappointed and frustrated by her life, Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) discovers an alternate reality in which everything is the same but better. What dark secrets could such a place be hiding?

Based on a novel by the always remarkable Neil Gaiman (Stardust, Mirrormask) and adapted and directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach), this is a beautiful family animation with a dark and twisted underbelly only found in the best children’s stories.

Nominated for an Oscar and with some recognisable voices (listen out for French and Saunders) this film is quite simply brilliant.

Short – Curvas

October 15, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in Comedy, Fantasy, ShortsTagged Comedy, Fantasy, HorrorLeave a comment

Corto “CURVAS” de David Galán Galindo from David Galán Galindo on Vimeo.

100 Word Review – The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)

October 8, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged adaptation, animation, Anime, Fantasy, Isao Takahata, Japanese2 Comments

A bamboo cutter finds a tiny princess in a bamboo shoot. He takes her home where she quickly grows into a young woman, delighted by the world around her.

Written and directed by Isao Takahata, the man behind Grave of the Fireflies, so expect a moving story. It is delicately animated like a children’s book, the style capturing the innocence at the centre of the story.

It’s full of pieces of stories that transcend geographical boundaries; Thumbalina, the Practical Princess and other such tales form the bones of a film which is ultimately about humanity and its capacity for good.

100 Word Review – Megamind (2010)

September 22, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Fantasy, Sci FiTagged animation, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, David Cross, family, Fantasy, Jonah Hill, Sci Fi, super heroes, Tina Fey, Tom McGrath, Will Ferrell1 Comment

Don’t underestimate this film. It may not be Despicable Me, but definitely fits into that wheelhouse and is certainly worth a watch.

Megamind (Will Ferrell) is the ultimate super villain; he defeated his arch-nemesis Metro Man (Brad Pitt). But what is a villain with no one to struggle against?

Clearly based on the Superman origin story with an unusual perspective, it highlights everything that is brilliant about super heroes, as well as everything that isn’t.

Directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar) and co-starring Jonah Hill, David Cross, Ben Stiller and Tina Fey, this film is great fun for all the family.

100 Word Review – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

September 20, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell, Fantasy, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Lily Cole, Terry Gilliam, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer1 Comment

It’s a shame that this film is best known for being Heath Ledger’s last and not for its own merit.

Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) with his daughter (Lily Cole) and the rest of his theatre company (Ledger, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield) travel through modern London performing their strange show, ever followed by the mysterious Mr Nick (Tom Waits).

Written and directed by ex-Python Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Twelve Monkeys, Brazil), it is coated in his trademark style of combining the mundane and the bizarre to create something magical. Co-starring Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.

100 Word Review – Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

September 15, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged Anne Rice, Antonio Banderas, Brad Pitt, Bram Stoker, Christian Slater, Fantasy, Horror, Kirsten Dunst, Neil Jordan, Thandie Newton, Tom Cruise, VampiresLeave a comment

Despite the fact that Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt both play vampires in this film, it is actually really good.

Daniel (Christian Slater) interviews Louis (Pitt), who tells him a tale of loneliness, betrayal and blood. His story starts in the 1700s, when he first became a vampire.

Adapted by Anne Rice (Queen of the Damned, Exit to Eden) from her own novel and directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Byzantium), it’s a brilliant example of modern vampires who are true outsiders looking in, in the vain of Bram Stoker, rather than glittery misunderstood heart-throbs who monopolise our screens.