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Showing posts from June, 2016

When Marnie Was There (2014 in Japan, 2015 in the west)

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(I have only seen this in its native language (Japanese) with subtitles so cannot comment any dubs) It is rumored that this is going to be the final film from Studio Gibli. If this is true, I can happily say that they went out on a positive note. This is a sweet film that, in true Studio Gibli fashion, should appeal to a wide audience while pondering deep, topical themes. In this case they chose to focus in on depression, especially where it related to both parenthood and people who grow up without a true family. The film is centered around Anna, an introverted 12 year old girl who has lived with foster parents most of her life. She suffers from asthma and is consequently sent to live temporarily with relatives of her foster parents where the air is cleaner. While living there she discovers an abandoned mansion where she meets a mysterious girl named Marnie. She agrees to keep a secret Marnie a secret from the rest of the world as they use each other to keep themselves mentall

X-Men Apocalypse (2016)

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The X-Men movies are one of those franchises that can go both ways for me. For the most part I have thoroughly enjoyed what fox has done with the franchise. Some entries, however, have fallen very flat and recently others are have been starting to feel a little tired. Somehow, X-Men: Apocalypse manages to embody most of what can frustrate me about the franchise, while also not being an altogether terrible film. This film takes place in the prequel story-line, following on from days of future past. The story this time involves an ancient mutant by the name of apocalypse waking from a long hibernation to announce himself as king of the earth. He quickly comes up with a plan to destroy everything "weak" in the world including all non-mutants, leaving the Xavier and the other X-Men to stop him. It should come as no surprise at this point that Magnito is initially on board with this plan much of the tension in the film involves an attempt to stop him from getting out of cont

A bunch of films I have watched recently

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Here I am doing a bunch of very short reviews of films which I have seen this year. This is far from all the films I have seen and am not doing longer reviews for but it is the films that I can remember most vividly (as such it is probably some of the better or more noteworthy films I have seen recently). Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) This film has been on my radar for years but I only got around to watching it today. An absolute treat of a film. Particularly strong are the performances by both Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey and the screenplay by charlie Kaufman. This is an optimistic yet slightly melancholic look at modern day relationships, with depth and heart to spare. While being very moving it can also be very comedic at (albeit in a heartfelt way) with strange, witty characters that are hard not to fall in love with. A real gem that comes thoroughly recommended. 4.5/5 The Jungle-book (2016) One of the most visually stunning films I have ever seen. For a

Zootopia (2016)

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The idea here is that Zootopia is large urban city akin to New York or San Fransisco home to all kinds of anthropanthropomorphic (human-like) animals. In Zootopia it is said these animals can live simultaneously free of discrimination, where anyone can be or do anything. Unfortunately when our main character "Judy Hopps" a bunny who has always dreamed of being a police officer moves to Zootopia she finds that finds a society much less equal than she had imagined. If that descriptions sounds a little familiar to you, that is what I thought coming into this film too. Little did I know the Disney movie about talking animals walking around on two legs could end up being one of the best films of the year. I cannot think of a single aspect of the film that I would change if given the chance. Both the scenic and character animation are absolutely gorgeous. The world detail has particularly being meticulously designed, hilariously allowing for many different species to coexist

A plan of attack

So I decided that before I make my first post I should figure out what format this will actually take. I wish to include my opinion on as many films as possible, however, I have seen hundreds of films and am not about to review every single one of them now. Therefore I will use this post to provide an outline for how this may work. So without further ado let a tacky list be created: I will start by providing a brief review of some of the noteworthy films, which I have seen this year. I will label each of these to simplify any searches undertaken. Films will from thereon be reviewed when I see them or as a list when there isn't enough to talk about or I get lazy (most likely the latter). Reviews will be very short form because I do not have a lot of time in my life and wish to include as many as possible. Films will be assigned a rating out of 5, which will not necessarily mean much at all. I will occasionally provide lists of favorite films and they may not fit together coh