Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no takkyûbin)

Kiki's Delivery Service (Majo no takkyûbin) Japan (2014) Dir. Takashi Shimizu The perils of making a live action version of an animated film or TV series will never change regardless of the status of the original. Most people won’t be aware that Kiki’s Delivery Service was in fact a 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono before …

Tuesday, After Christmas (Marti, dupa craciun)

Tuesday, After Christmas (Marti, dupa craciun) Romania (2010) Dir. Radu Muntean Love triangles are arguably one of the most popular – or hackneyed – “go to” story ideas for writers and filmmakers alike. It really doesn’t matter what the setting is, the circumstances, the location or in what era it takes place, the central premise …

Goodbye First Love (Un amour de jeunesse)

Goodbye First Love (Un amour de jeunesse) France (2011) Dir. Mia Hansen-Løve There is a scene late in this film where the two principals leave a cinema and in discussing the movie they just saw, the male complains “It’s so French! It’s talky, complacent.” It is therefore with some irony that this could be levied …

Naruto Shippuden Movie 5: Blood Prison

Naruto Shippuden Movie 5: Blood Prison (Cert 12) 1 Disc (Distributor: Manga Entertainment) Running time: 98 minutes approx. We’ve reached film number eight in the Naruto catalogue but the fifth to carry the Shippuden suffix, which also makes up part of a five disc box set of the Shippuden movies to date. Unfortunately Manga is …

Kundo: Age Of The Rampant (Kundo: min-ran-eui si-dae)

Kundo: Age Of The Rampant (Kundo: min-ran-eui si-dae) Korea (2014) Dir. Yun Jong-bin It may be an act of laziness to describe this Korean martial arts period drama blockbuster as “Robin Hood meets Seven Samurai in 19th century Korea” but it is an accurate description of Yun Jong-Bin’s follow up to his hugely successful Nameless …

WWE – True Giants

WWE – True Giants (Cert 15) 2 Discs Blu-ray / 3 Discs DVD (Distributor: Fremantle Media) Running Time: 108 minutes approx Pro-wrestling has always been the domain of the big man, be it in the old territory days when the occasional super sized worker would make for a special attraction to today where certain promoters …

Bayonetta (The Movie): Bloody Fate

Bayonetta (The Movie): Bloody Fate (Cert 18) 1 Disc DVD/Blu-ray (Distributor: Manga Entertainment) Running time: 86 minutes approx     Just like Hollywood is covering up the dearth of fresh ideas for its films by raiding the comic book franchises and reboots of existing classics, anime is heading down a similar path by adapting the plots …

Community

Community UK (2012) Dir. Jason Ford I have to confess that the sole reason for watching this film was because the director Jason Ford is a local lad so I was interested to see his work. As this, his second feature, has been afforded an international release and gained national exposure at the annual Film …

Ghost In The Shell: ARISE – Borders 1 & 2

Ghost In The Shell: ARISE - Borders 1 & 2 (Cert 15) 2 Discs DVD/Blu-ray (Distributor: Manga Entertainment) Running time: 114 minutes approx   Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 film Ghost In The Shell is pretty much a rite of passage for anyone sampling anime for the first time. As one of the Big Three (with Akira and …

Pot Luck (L’auberge espagnole)

Pot Luck (L'auberge espagnole) France (2002) Dir. Cédric Klapisch The European Union has been a central political talking point in this country of ours for many a year now but as ever most European citizens try to put politics aside in the name of harmony, creating cosy little multi-national relationships for themselves. This is the …