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Tag Archives: Disney
Review: Ready Player One (2018)
A thought kept occurring to me while watching Steven Spielberg’s READY PLAYER ONE: what would a director like Paul Verhoeven have done with this material? The movie would certainly have had more bite. Spielberg isn’t prepared to step over that … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Moana (2016)
MOANA is colourful, energetic and heartfelt, and enriches its world with Polynesian cultural influences in a far less patronising manner than was attempted in POCAHONTAS with Native American folklore. It’s also very safe in its storytelling, falling back on Disney … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Alan Tudyk, Animation, Auli'i Cravalho, David Bowie, Disney, Dwayne Johnson, Family Film, Jemaine Clement, Moana, Pocahontas
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Review: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Even for Disney, it’s an audacious move to out-musical your own musical. THE JUNGLE BOOK upped the spectacle and downplayed the songs, CINDERELLA was out to make sense of its protagonist in her time and place and again skipped the … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Alan Menkin, Beauty and the Beast, Bill Condon, Cinderella, Dan Stevens, Disney, Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor, IMAX, Jean Cocteau, La Belle et la Bête, Luke Evans, The Jungle Book, TIm Rice
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Review: Ratchet & Clank (2016)
I’m a big fan of Insomniac Games’ RATCHET & CLANK series. I played through them all on the PS2 and grew very attached to the characters, the high-octane action and the knowing sense of humour throughout. This year the original … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Video Games
Tagged Animation, Comedy, David Kaye, Disney, Douglas Adams, DreamWorks, Family Film, Film, Insomniac Games, James Arnold Taylor, Jim Ward, John Goodman, Movies, Paul Giamatti, Pixar, Ratchet & Clank, Sci-fi, Sylvester Stallone, Video Games
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Review: Zootropolis (2016)
ZOOTROPOLIS (which has the much better title of ZOOTOPIA in the States) is not only the best film of 2016 so far but also may well be the most important. It’s the usual pristine, vibrant and peppy animation from the … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Academy Awards, Animation, Chinatown, Disney, Film noir, Frozen, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idris Elba, Jason Bateman, Jenny Slate, Maurice LaMarche, Mystery, Oscars, Straight Outta Compton, Zootopia, Zootropolis
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Review: The Jungle Book (2016)
Last year I asked on this very blog what Disney were playing at in remaking their animated back catalogue. I might have to eat my words soon because I’ve really liked most of this production cycle. MALEFICENT was reprehensible but … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Bill Murray, Casablanca, Christopher Walken, Cinderella, Disney, Family Film, Fantasy, Film, Idris Elba, Jon Favreau, Maleficent, Movies, Robert Sherman, Rudyard Kipling, Scarlett Johansson, The Jungle Book
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Review: Cinderella (2015)
Did you really have to put the talking mice in it again, Disney? Rodents shouldn’t have facial expressions! I’ve never really had that much affection for Walt’s 1950 animated “classic” – I always found it a bit simpering and wet. … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Ben Chaplin, Cate Blanchett, Cinderella, Derek Jacobi, Disney, Eloise Webb, Fantasy, Film, Hayley Atwell, Helena Bonham Carter, Holliday Grainger, Kenneth Branagh, Lily James, Maleficent, Movies, Patrick Doyle, Richard Madden, Romance, Sandy Powell, Sophie McShera
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Series Retrospective: Pirates of the Caribbean
I haven’t done one of these for a while, I don’t think since the first year of this blog. This is the segment where I pick apart a film series and see how well it’s aged, and how well it … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Feature
Tagged Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Bill Nighy, Blockbuster, Chow Yun-Fat, Disney, Family, Fantasy, Film, Geoffrey Rush, Hammer, Hans Zimmer, Hunger Games, Ian McShane, ILM, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Keith Richards, Movies, Orlando Bloom, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Sam Clafin, Tom Hollander
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Review Embargoes: A Catch-22 for All Involved
To embargo or not to embargo? That is the question. Whether gagging journalists’ criticisms pre-release or simply not showing anyone your product before the big day, it’s a major concern for film studios and their flagship blockbuster products, not to … Continue reading →