Kung Fu Panda 4

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... Kung Fu Panda 4!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st February 2025

I didn't have plans on watching this, but this turned out to be one of the situations where Kiera chose the movie. Still, I am willing to be surprised. And I have had some glowing things about the other three Kung Fu Panda movies so can that winning streak continue?

Well allow me to resort to bullet points:

• The first three had their fair share of solemn moments but this does not. This was a mistake.
• The Furious Five are also absent. This is also a mistake. 
• Viola Davis was great as the antagonist. 
• Seems to be some hostility towards Zhen. Is it the character? Or Awkwafina's voice? If that is the case of the latter, I have to wonder this hostility came from as she was great in Crazy Rich Asians 
• I did enjoy the dynamic Po and Zhen as clearly the latter was written in a way reminiscent of the former in the first movie. 
• The idea of Po being a state of wisdom is a compelling one given the journey he had taken to get here. 
• The action is still as solid as ever
• The end credits theme is hilarious
• Ultimately there is some enjoyable moments but the end result is indeed removed from what the first Kung Fu Panda movies so great.

When Harry Met Sally

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... When Harry Met Sally!

Original image located here. Accessed 14th February 2025

Well it's Valentine's Day so here's one I've been saving for such an occasion. 

Seems to me that this movie is remembered for three reasons: Firstly, it defined rom-coms for the next couple of decades. Secondly, it made Meg Ryan the go-to actress for rom-coms. And thirdly, the diner scene. But I however came to this movie to judge on it's own, without these three factors in play.

And honestly, it's still really funny. There are some great gags and some razor-sharp writing, exploring the mindset of both genders. And it's interesting to note that whereas this movie became a benchmark of rom-coms it doesn't really follow the tropes associated with the genre (as dictated by It Happened One Night) and is all the better for it. 

It's also nice to see Carrie Fisher in a non-Star Wars role. 

The Boy and the Heron

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Boy and the Heron!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th February 2025

So when was it that I discovered the works of Studio Ghibli? The year 2000. And much like any other movie connoisseur/anime nerd, it didn't take much to win me over: Stunning animation, boundless imagination, a distinct brand of humanism and a fearlessness when talking about big ideas. How could I help myself but jump on that particular bandwagon.
But I did so at an interesting time. For the years that would follow would prove fascinating for Ghibli figurehead/genius Hayao Miyazaki: Releasing Spirited Away. Achieving worldwide success with said movie. Scoring anime's first Oscar. Going back and forth on retirement. Growing outspoken to the point of becoming a curmudgeon. Losing his friend/colleague/sempai Isao Takahata.
In fact, I think that the success of Spirited Away may have been something of a turning point: Whereas Miyazaki's movies prior were unique in their own way, what has followed Spirited Away (Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo) seemed to be following the same template of throwing whatever weirdness his imagination can come up with. However one could make the argument that said weirdness can be relied upon too much and can be used as a smokescreen to cover up a weak script. 
Granted it is foolish of me to draw comparisons to previous Ghibli works but given the factors of the uniqueness of each work, the high quality of the studio's output and Miyazaki's advancing years, any instances of repeating one's self becomes hard not to notice. 

As for the movie itself it is extraordinary. The animation is of the typical Ghibli high quality and the afore-mentioned weirdness is at play. And the imagery is inventive and the imagination is, as ever, wondrous. 
But the real heart of this movie is this is a personal work for Miyazaki. All the pieces are in place to explain where he come from: The experiences of his youth, the building of the empire that is Ghibli, the musings of moving on and building something with one's own hands. Big themes to be sure but the movie does address them with flair.

Mind you, watching this movie however I can't help but draw comparisons to The Tale of the Princess Kaguya: The bombing sequence is animated in the same way and both films share a sense of finality running throughout. Makes me wonder just how hard Miyazaki took the passing of Takahata (seriously, watch him give the eulogy at Takahata's funeral: the poor guy is barely getting through it). Still, much like Kaguya, this is an effective way to say goodbye.

Also, props to the English dub for having Robert Pattinson playing the Heron as he seems to be having the time of his life.

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st January 2025

As an IP, Wallace and Gromit's output is small: One feature film and a handful of shorts. Granted the quality of animation demands a lot of time and effort, but what there is, is never dull. And when a new entrant emerges, it is difficult to avoid.

No idea why you'd want to: The humour is near non-stop, the visuals are inventive and there are some surprising use of mood that would be suited to a horror movie. Also pleasing is the jabs at the increasing influencing devices and tech have in our lives. Okay sure there are more than a few allusions to The Wrong Trousers (perhaps to the point of reliance?) and Wallace makes for an exasperating character but this was a lot of fun. 

I recall watching Wallace and Gromit when I was in High School. And I'm glad to report this IP is still delightful three decades later.

Dark Star

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

Original image located here. Accessed 24th January 2025

Here's a question: Can anyone tell me, without looking it up, who created the Alien franchise?
My experience with sci-fi nerds - or any nerds for that matter - is that they tend to venerate creators who come up with successful IP. By way of example: George Lucas gave us Star Wars, Gene Roddenberry gave us Star Trek, J. Michael Straczynski gave us Babylon 5 and Joss Whedon gave us Firefly.
All recognisable names to be sure - so who created Alien?

The answer is two people: Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett. The former wrote a movie called Dark Star and it impressed the latter to a point that they joined forces, worked on some of the ideas from said movie and gave us the horror/sci-fi hybrid that we all know.
And if that isn't enough, this movie was the directorial debut of one John Carpenter. It was originally a student film but, with some additional funds, it was expanded upon.
Quite a pedigree one would think.....

Let's get this out of the way: This is a B-Movie. The sets look shoddy, the sfx are cheap, the premises are ludicrous and there is no attempt to hide it. The monster in this movie is a beachball and the cast act like they're stoned. Certainly there are some elements that will crop up again in Alien - blue-collar space-farers working for a faceless corporation - but both films are so removed from each other it's hard to make the connection both came from the same writer. 
And yet, this movie still works: There are plenty of laughs and the cheap nature of it makes it endearing. It certainly does say a lot about doing a lot with limited resources and you must give props to a student film that made the leap into a full feature. 
Funny how big things would come to those behind a mere student film....

Gimme Shelter

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

Original image located here. Accessed 17th January 2025

Behold: one of the most famous (infamous?) documentaries, music or otherwise, ever made. It's the chronicle of the Altamont Free Concert - a show put on by the Rolling Stones that ended in disaster.

For those who don't know: Altamont happened in 1969, four months after Woodstock. It was put together by the Rolling Stones and had them headlining with some other acts. During the show however the crowd was unruly and the security, provided by the Hells Angels, were very hostile to them. Needless to say, it descended into chaos and an attendee, one Meredith Hunter, was stabbed to death.
Since then, there have been varying accounts of the event but it has gone down in history as a catastrophe and, most significantly, the endpoint of both the sixties and the hippy ethos of 'peace and love' it inspired.

Of  course, this documentary does nothing to challenge such a narrative: the planning process is shown to be haphazard and the event is shown to be utter mayhem. And it is the latter that is the key selling point of this documentary: it is terrifying to watch and the alarm shown by the Stones is genuine. 

But the main strength of this feature is seeing Mick and Charlie being confronted with the footage. Granted the Stones may forever be the benchmark for pop music 'bad boys' but rarely are such 'bad boys' shown the consequences of their actions. And it is downright harrowing. 
Was that the intention of this documentary? Hard to say but what I do know is that this was a far from easy watch - but much like car crash, hard to look away. 

Nosferatu (2024)

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Nosferatu (2024)!

Original image located here. Accessed 10th January 2025

I saw this in the cinema where some goth girls were in the row behind me. And when the line came "He's coming! He's coming!" I heard some giggling....

It's a bold move to remake one of the foundation stones/benchmarks of horror cinema: what can one do with the source material? Okay sure the original is over a century old and may look creaky today, but there are some genuinely freaky moments that put more modern horror movies to shame. So what does this one bring to the table?

Well the atmosphere is stunning with some great use of creeping dread. The visuals are gorgeous and there plenty of nods to the source material. But at the same time, I can't help but think that this is a soulless exercise. It is horny to the point of absurdity, the accents are silly and I was left with the thought of what the whole point of it was.

Footrot Flats: A Dog's Tale

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... Footrot Flats: A Dog's Tail Tale!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd January 2025

Happy New Year! And what better way to set off another year of movie watching, lets take a look at a movie that I have wanting to see for a long time.

I remember Footrot Flats when I was a kid. Certainly I knew of the comic strip but a lot of the humour went over my head - I guess one has to be sheep farmer to get the most out of it. But I do remember knowing the characters and, in particular, Dog. And I knew of this movie and the accompanying theme song - Dave Dobbyn's Slice of Heaven - so I may as well get off my slack arse and watch this.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this movie is that it is a New Zealand production and a major stab at getting an animated New Zealand movie made (has any more been made since?). And the animated is indeed delightful - ironically being outsourced from a Sydney animation studio - with special mention going to some rather stunning backgrounds.
Problem is, there is no plot to speak of: just a series of misadventures involving bad jokes, pointless scenes, archaic situations, the afore-mentioned farmer-centric humour and New Zealand pride that would look alien to outsiders. 
Needless to say it was disappointing that a movie I have been wanting to see turned out to be downright dull. 

But at least we still have Slice of Heaven.

And so 2025 is off to a flying start....