I don’t think this is going to be the next Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but maybe it will at least be good dumb fun.
Category: Movies
Movie Review: ‘Mary and the Witch’s Flower’
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
This 2017 film is the first from Studio Ponoc, founded by Yoshiaki Nishimura, formerly of Studio Ghibli. Much of the crew of this new studio is from Ghibli, including director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who previously directed When Marnie Was There and was lead animator on Spirited Away. Unsurprisingly, with this kind of pedigree, Mary and the Witch’s Flower could easily pass for a Studio Ghibli film. From the looks of things, Hayao Miyazaki’s legacy is in good hands. Ponoc has comes strong out of the gate.
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‘Battle Angel Alita’ and Yet Another Internet Meltdown
Since the live-action Ghost in the Shell didn’t completely bomb, it should probably come as no surprise that a live-action Battle Angel Alita is now in the works, based on another manga from the same era.
For whatever reason, the movie will run under the less elegant title Alita: Battle Angel.
Sigh. Continue reading “‘Battle Angel Alita’ and Yet Another Internet Meltdown”
Movie Review: ‘My Little Pony: The Movie’
Possibly the best thing ever to come out of the My Little Pony franchise.
My Little Pony: The Movie. Directed by Jayson Thiessen. Written by Joe Ballarini, Meghan McCarthy, Rita Hsiao, and Michael Vogel. Lionsgate and Allspark Pictures, 2017. 99 minutes. Rated PG. CNS Rating is A-I, General Patronage.
As I expected, critics are panning it, and it might turn out that My Little Pony: The Movie will prove to be a financial mistake for Hasbro and Lionsgate.
That being said, I honestly don’t know what the complaints are about. I thought this was a great movie. My only (mild) criticisms are that none of the musical numbers are among the franchise’s catchiest, and some of the animation could be better, but aside from that, this is a fine, if not exactly stunning, children’s film. Looking at a few of the negative reviews, I get the distinct impression that the critics are turning up their noses not because it’s a bad movie per se, but simply because it’s My Little Pony.
However, in my humble opinion, this may be the best thing ever to come out of the franchise. I daresay this is the first time My Little Pony has come close to living up to its potential.
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Bad Signs for the ‘My Little Pony’ Movie
The above image is screencapped from Rotten Tomatoes. At the time of this writing, My Little Pony: The Movie has no critical reviews, which means they’re withholding it from critics.
It’s also opening the same weekend as Blade Runner. They don’t have exactly the same target audience, but still.
I smell a bomb.
This Woman Ruined the Perfect Score of ‘The Emoji Movie’
Betsy Bosdech, you had one job.
And that job was to give The Emoji Movie its perfect Tomatometer score of zero. Now, thanks to you, it’s up to three percent as of this writing.
Tsk.
‘The Emoji Movie’ Has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes
I didn’t even know that was possible.
I confess to having a case of the Schadenfreudes over here. I’m frankly tired of politics in my escapist entertainment; maybe a few more bombs and Hollywood will figure it out.
Wonder Woman?
Previously, I was not even slightly interested in the Wonder Woman movie, but I trust James Rolfe.
Review: ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’
It’s not the Batman movie we deserve, but the one that we need.
The LEGO Batman Movie. Directed by Chris McKay. Written by Seth Grahame-Smith et al. Starring Will Arnett, Michael Cera, and Rosario Dawson. 104 minutes. Warner Bros. Rated PG. CNS Rating is A-II—adults and adolescents.
This may be the greatest Batman movie ever made. And heaven knows a lot of them have been made.
Although it comes from before my time, I grew up watching the Batman television series from the ’60s, starring Adam West. As a small child, I thought the show was hysterically funny. I would sit in front of the TV and laugh my head off, and my father assures me that his cousins used to do the same thing when he was a kid, watching it in its original run.
I was in grade school when Tim Burton directed Batman starring Michael Keaton. When that movie came out, Batman was suddenly all the rage. Every kid at my school was in to Batman, except for me. I didn’t care for this new, bloody, violent, brooding vision, even if it was closer to the spirit of the source material. The Batman I loved was bright and colorful and happy, with really, really cheesy acting. Continue reading “Review: ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’”
Is ‘Sailor Moon R: The Movie’ Too Gay?
Featured image: Totally a real screenshot from the film and not some crazy cosplaying by GeshaPetrovich.
Sailor Moon R: The Movie, directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. Screenplay by Sukehiro Tomita. Starring Kotono Mitsuishi, Aya Hisakawa, and Michie Tomizawa. Toei Animation, 1993. In limited release from Viz Media, 2017. Dubbed. Runtime 78 minutes. Rated PG.
We’ll get to the meaning of the deliberately provocative clickbait title of this review in a moment. But first, let’s cover the preliminaries.
So, I just saw Sailor Moon R: The Movie, the first North American theatrical release of a Sailor Moon film, courtesy of Viz Media, which now owns the North American distribution rights. The film originally came out in 1993 and runs a mere hour and eighteen minutes. I hope some other showings around the country are more successful than the one I attended, or Viz Media is going to go broke, and I don’t want them to go broke until they finish releasing the series. Continue reading “Is ‘Sailor Moon R: The Movie’ Too Gay?”