Prince of Egypt

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Prince of Egypt!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th March 2018

I've been wanting to see this for a long time. And this time of year is as good as any.
So yeah, this is a really good movie. Clearly it's forging it's own path from that set by 1950s film The Ten Commandments and it becomes all the better for it.

What intrigues me the most about this movie is that it's something of an anti-Disney movie. This movie has a remarkably different art style, this is clearly aimed for an older-audience and it's intention to go down paths Disney refused to tread. Also pleasing is the relationship between Moses and Rameses. And Patrick Stewart's unmistakable voice.

But what stands out for me the most in this movie is the scale of it. Everything is..... well....Big. A lot of the settings are big, the songs are big and the animation is big. And all of this accumulates to the Parting of the Red Sea - which is...jaw-dropping to say the least.
So yeah. Great movie and I'm glad I saw it

The Iron Giant

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Iron Giant!

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd March 2018

Well it took me long enough but I finally got to see this movie. And all I had to do was find a spare eighty-odd minutes in my schedule XD
Watching this movie however I do realize, i do miss the art of the 2d hand drawn animation. Somehow it seems more expressive and more full of life than digital artwork. Still at least works like this function as time-capsule to a time that's disappearing over the horizon.

As for the movie itself, it was great! I do remember this not getting much of a run in it's original theatrical form but now, nearly two decades later, it seems to have obtained an audience and appreciation that eluded it the first time around.
It may not have had the budget of larger animated features but somehow, I found this to have more heart than a lot of other movies, animated or Live Action.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Pride & Prejudice and Zombies!

Original image located here. Accessed 16th March 2018

Well that was......something.
Okay seriously, I went into this expecting it to be completely stupid but somehow, against the odds, it isn't. Sure some of the dialogue is made nonsensical through the filter of zombie references but the appeal of this movie is, for me, it's indecision as to whether this is serious or not.
Prior to seeing this movie, the best comment I heard of it was it's better as a Pride and Prejudice movie than a zombie movie. And honestly? I feel inclined to agree - particularly with the talent involved. I mean, where else can you have Doctor Who exchanging lines with Cersei Lannister and Tywin Lannister?

Downfall

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

Original image located here. Accessed 9th March 2018

I recall when this film originally came out: it was subject to a lot of controversy due it's approach of humanizing Hitler. However such controversy seems inconsequential years later, when one considers the life this film gained as a YouTube meme.

Make no mistake: This was not an easy movie to watch. What made it so challenging to watch was we are watching the collapse of government: Where everyone is facing impending doom and/or getting out (in more ways than one). Still, the effort put into the art direction and the historical accuracy is impressive and the acting is frighteningly accurate - it's easy to mistake it for the real thing.
So yeah, good movie

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Close Encounters of the Third Kind!

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd March 2018

Once again, this is a well-known/regarded movie that managed to escape my notice for nearly three decades. I did try to watch it in high school but I don't recall getting very far. Well not this time: I came, I saw and I......

......it seems to me that this movie's reputation lies largely on the final half-hour. I have to admit it was something for a slog to get there but DAMN what a climax. The special effects are incredible - even for a forty one year old movie - and the UFO itself is truly awe-inspiring - which honestly, leaves a lot of CGI-heavy movies of today for dead.
So yeah: Great movie. It may have been a journey to get there but what a pay-off