The Shape of Water

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Shape of Water!

Original image located here. Accessed 26th January 2018

I was disappointed with this movie: I went in expecting to see an adaptation of the historical fiction novel of Sophia Degraves, the wife of the man who founded the Cascades brewery. But what i got was a movie wherein a woman has sex with a fish.

Okay seriously, get past the peculiar premise and this movie is indeed a touching one. i was dreading that this was going to be one of those 'ordinary person romances unusual partner' movies (ie Oh My Goddess and Twilight) but somehow that was not the case. it's great to see the kind of people who are misrepresented in mainstream cinema doing great things but somehow i feel this movie is more than that. But really, this movie is all about the bizarre marriage between the beautiful and the grotesque. In addition, it is not about the journey but the execution.

I've heard people call it a weird movie but i didn't think so (believe you me I've seen films weirder than this). I thought it was a very beautiful movie.

 And hey, Thane got lucky XD

The Book of Life

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Book of Life!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th January 2018

Well I saw Coco last week so seeing this is somewhat inevitable. So who ripped off Grim Fandango the most, then?

Okay so let's get this out of the way: similarities between this and Coco seem predictable but I feel both movies are their own thing, each saying something of their own and in their own words.
The Book of Life however boasts gags coming out at the rate of machine gun fire and some unrecognizable voice talent.
Other than that, I enjoyed the art direction, the creativity on display and the focus on Latino talent (oft-overlooked in mainstream cinema). It may not be a revelation of a flick but I sure had a lot of fun with it.

Coco

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Coco!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th January 2018

Yeah it was all right. But then again, Pixar making a great movie is like saying grass is green. Funny how Pixar make so many great movies that their missteps are easy to forget - or, in Pixar's case, easy to bounce back from.

Okay seriously, this was a genuinely touching movie. Okay sure there is a significant amount of predictability in the plot but ultimately, the strength of the movie lies not in the journey but in the destination. The animation has tonnes of personality, the art direction is stunning and there are times when it feel's like Grim Fandango on acid XD
But ultimately it is the heart that is the movie's strength. And at the risk of sounding like a complete and utter softie, one would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by this movie.
Erm.....Go see it!

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Star Wars: the Last Jedi!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th January 2018

Well there's a lot to unpack here and it's kinda tricky without giving too much away. I will do my best:

So let me say this straight out: I enjoyed this movie. That being said however, my favorite parts of the movie were those which involved Luke and Rey. Beyond that, a lot of the movie, particularly the parts involving the 'pursuit' came across as somewhat pointless. Still, the final battle was pretty awesome and it's interesting to see this series prove that there is plenty more to this movie series and that it has the potential to keep going in interesting directions. In addition, Kylo Ren being an avatar for the 'Angry Star Wars fan' continues to amuse.
One point however: I've heard people compare The Force Awakens to A new Hope and The Last Jedi compared to Empire Strikes Back. Keeping with this formula, does that mean that no.9 is in the (admittedly unenviable) position of rehashing Return of the Jedi?