Paddington

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

Original image located here. Accessed 31st July 2020

Being a child of the eighties, I grew up in an era where the movies for children were some real hardcore stuff (ie Never-ending Story and Labyrinth). But when the nineties rolled around, movies aimed at families tended to be weak, lacking in bite and a struggle for adults to sit through. Thus, it is only in recent years that this stigmata against 'family' movies are now turning around and the audience aren't being  treated as idiots. And Paddington, it would appear, is one such example.

As i have yet to sire children, this enables me to judge this movie from outside it's family demo-graph and see if it stands on it's own two feet. And what do you know, it succeeds admirably. This movie is very funny, complete with a British sense of humour, and is surprisingly touching. Also seeing Sally Hawkins, Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman in this is hilarious to me.
Having seen this movie, along with the How to Train Your Dragon series and the Pixar stable, it seems to me that filmmakers are aiming for an approach of 'family movie that adults can watch without their kids'. If that is the case then more of the same please.

It Must Be Heaven

And this week's Friday night movie has been... It Must be Heaven!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th July 2020

Let me say this up front: I am not a fan of 'arty' movies. You know the type I'm referring to: The kind of movies that are loaded with images that have symbolism and little else. The kind of movies that have no plot favoring instead a series of non-sequiturs. The kind of movies that thrill critics (read: people who write words for a living). And the kind of movies that come across as being self-indulgent and clearly made by one guy yelling "Ask me what it means!" in a non-stop fashion.

So one would think that I would despise this movie. And yes I will admit that was indeed a challenge to get through. But if that was the case then it must have made some kind of impression on me. Considering that director Elia Suleiman dominates on both sides of the camera, this movie still doesn't strike me as self-indulgent.
There is indeed humour at work but it is strange to see it amongst scenes that don't appear to go anywhere. There is a hypnotic quality to this film but it appears to be at odds with a commentary on being a Palestinian.
So yes, this is quite an odd movie but at the same time, it has indeed a seductive quality to it. And that is enough to save it from being a target of contempt.
After all, if a movie can do that then it must be doing something right.

The Wind Rises

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Wind Rises!

Original image located here. Accessed 17th July 2020

We're heading back down to the anime well this time. And in a way encountering this movie was inevitable. It's a Studio Ghibli, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and it's a..... biographical picture? Well this is a new trick.

I've watched a lot of anime over the years and, as such, I've found that it's a medium where biopics are rarely touched upon (or least the one's I've found). So to have the legendary Studio Ghibli tackle one is cause to raise an eyebrow. And in this case, we have a movie on Jiro Horikoshi and his life as an aircraft designer

Of course, this being a Miyazaki movie there are elements we've come to expect: Flying sequences and a high quality of both animation & story-telling. All are present but there are new some tricks at play: Firstly is it's nature as a biographical film. Secondly, Miyazaki's imagination/whimsy takes a backseat to a more realistic approach. Sure there are some flights of fancy but here they are shown to be few and far between. And thirdly, Miyazaki's trope of female characters isn't in play here. Granted this is down to it being a biographic movie but I can't think of any other of his movies where a male character has such a dominating presence.
Seems you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks.

Ultimately, Miyazaki's touch is as sure as ever. The Wind Rises is quiet, thoughtful and beautiful.
Much has been said how this was the last movie that Miyazaki will be working on. So is it the curtain call that Tale of Princess Kaguya was? Maybe. I never got the impression that Miyazaki is saying good bye - There is some discussion on seeing dreams come to fruition but the most explicit sense of saying goodbye is the conversation at the end.
Wait, Miyazaki is working on yet another final movie? Oh well, never mind then...

Mirai

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

Original image located here. Accessed 10th July 2020

We're taking another trip into the anime well today. And another look into the mind of one my favorite anime creators, Mamoru Hosoda. I loved Wolf Children, I loved Summer Wars, I loved the Girl who Leapt through Time and Boy & the Beast was pretty good too. So can the Midas touch strike again?

No way around this: This is a movie that demands time. At first I didn't know what to think of it but slowly (and surely) this movie does reveal itself.
The strongest in this movie is it's depiction of families. Granted this is a strength of Hosoda's work but here, we are shown a family through a young child. The child in question may be loud, obnoxious, threatened by the arrival of a younger sibling and frustrated by unhelpful adults but that's the point. I have seen plenty of depictions of children in animated form but this certainly is the most realistic approach. Furthermore, the life lessons taught over the course of the movie are interesting and, the conclusion still works, proving that self-acceptance is a ploy that will never fail.
This may not be the most welcoming of movies but when it hits, it knocks it off the park. I know some people didn't like Boy and the Beast but having seen Mirai I think it's fair to say that Hosoda may be back on track. So what will he do next....?

Knives Out

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

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd July 2020

Man, hasn't this movie been proving itself to be something of a critical darling. I however noticed the name of writer/director Rian Johnson: the guy who gave us the Last Jedi and has thus been something of a polarizing figure in the Star Wars community. So the question here is can he do something with his own material?

Apparently he can. This is a murder mystery, worthy of Agatha Christie, but with some interesting twists on the tried-and-tested formula. Although it may not be immediately apparent at first, this is indeed compelling to watch and, as with any murder mystery, the clues are all there and there's no cop-out. Plus, the twist are enough to keep this movie standing on it's own two feet
Plus, this movie has a Southern James Bond and a Jerk Captain America - which should be the price of admission alone.