So we get to the end of the run for the superb Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. Following Disney’s takeover of the Lucas Empire, it seemed unlikely that heads wouldn’t roll, and so it was for The Clone Wars. Did this decision make sense…not really. The Clone Wars has consistently been the brightest …
Continue reading “Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season 5 Review”
A new film from Studio Ghibli is always an exciting prospect, but this one came with, for me, a certain degree of hesitancy. A post-Korean War slice of reality directed by Goro Miyazaki…could Ghibli deliver their usual magic in a non-fantastical setting, and could Goro-san improve from the utter disappointment that was “Tales From Earthsea”? …
Continue reading “From Up On Poppy Hill – Studio Ghibli Movie”
There are some films which are considered cult classics. And then there are some cult classics that are considered all-time greats. And then there are some all-time greats which are considered the perfect example of their type. Evil Dead 2 (Dead by Dawn) sits comfortably in this final category, and with this fantastic new restored …
Looper arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on 28th January 2013 (in the UK) covered in countless 5-star reviews and glowing superlative-heavy review quotes. Starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt, and directed by Rian Johnson, it is a time-travel action thriller mystery something-or-other that is both genuinely original in places, and stultifyingly dull in …
It is Sunday evening at 6pm, and for most of the afternoon I have been sitting uncomfortably in the Odeon Leicester Square in London watching a screening of Peter Jackson’s new LOTR movie, The Hobbit. Uncomfortably not just because the film is long (too long by far), and not just because the Odeon’s seats are …
Continue reading “The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey – Review by Neil Gardner”
The second Hi-Def helping from Studio Canal and Ghibli in November is not a Ghibli film at all, it is an earlier work, directed by Miyazaki-san called “The Castle of Caglisotro”, aka Lupin III. Made in 1979, it is Miyazaki’s first full-length anime film, and features Wolf (or Lupin in French), a character created by …
SF comedy legend Red Dwarf returns to our TVs, courtesy of a new commission by DAVE. Following on from the much-hyped but pretty terrible Back To Earth, this new 6-part series arrived with a whole heap of expectation. Could it return the series to its heyday? Would it put to rest the lingering distaste of …
Once again the lovely folk at Studio Ghibli and StudioCanal spoil us rotten with new Bluray releases of classic Ghibli films this month. First up is my all-time favourite film (ever!)… “My Neighbour Totoro”. Ostensibly a children’s movie, but a film so magical, wonderful, intelligent and moving that anyone of any age can, and will …
Livid Review by Neil Gardner French fantasy horror film ?Livide? by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury is out now on DVD (titled ?Livid? in the UK) in a fanfare of positive reviews. But does it live up to its reputation as an original, scary modern horror? The horror film world is in a bit of …
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StudioCanal are making a bit of a habit of releasing classic British comedies, the one?s you used to see on Sunday afternoon TV. On DVD from 9th July comes the UK premiere of 1964 caper-comedy ?Crooks in Cloisters? starring Barbara Windsor, Bernard Cribbens and Ronald Fraser (among a host of other British comedy thesps). After …
Time for another nosedive in to the world of home 3D cinema, this time in the hands of top notch director Martin Scorsese. ?Hugo? is a sci-fi lite/steampunk-esque family movie based in a post-World War 1 Paris with a seemingly endless supply of top British thespians. From Sir Ben Kinglsey and Ray Winstone, to Richard …
I honestly didn?t know what to expect as I settled in to watch the Wachowski?s much-derided hyper-real live-action love letter to the Japanese anime ?Speed Racer?. I only saw a few eps of the original TV series and didn?t really like it that much, and I had been disappointed with the Matrix sequels. And of …