Soul

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

Original image located here. Accessed 29th August 2025

Like every man and his dog, I do love me some Pixar: They tell great stories, have stunning animation, have boundless imagination, and can inspire both laughter & tears in equal measure. We all know what to expect from this fiendishly talented studio and yet we don't complain. As such, they have had hit after hit.
That being said, with such a success rate, it makes the weaker films easier to forgive and forget. And that makes an interesting question: Never mind which is the greatest Pixar movie; what is the least Pixar movie?

But even if Pixar may be running on successful formula, the greatest achievement is that the formula doesn't get old. And Soul may be running on said formula but it still works.
All of the above is, of course, a long-winded way of saying that this is a Pixar movie so we can't expect the usual high standard of animation, imagination, laughter and tears. Which is what we all signed up for.
What is particularly noteworthy about Soul however is it's strength of ideas: It is indeed a bold move to bring up existential themes in a children's movie (Never-Ending Story anyone?) but they still resonate deeply as an adult: The concerns of whether you've lived a meaningful life and whether you are prepared to live. And that really speaks to someone like myself who has struggled with self-worth - and no matter how many movies I see related to this topic it still resonates.

And that epiphany scene is truly something astonishing. 

Also: Wait, Nine Inch Nails did the music to this?!

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.

The NeverEnding Story

Recently I watched the NeverEnding Story for the first time in a long time.

Original image located here. Accessed 29th September 2019

Geez, when did I see this last? I had only seen this once before and it was when I was in primary school, either in year 1 or year 3. Still, I do recall this being one of my earliest exposures to fantasy. As such, there is a lot from it that I remember quite vividly: I remember Rockbiter; I remember Falkor; I remember two sets of Sphinx statues (one gold that shoots death rays, the other blue that crumbles); I remember the trauma-inducing fate of Artax and, of course, I remember that unforgettable theme song in all its eighties-synth glory.

Looking back at it now through the perspective of nearly thirty years, I see some things I don’t recognise in the form of the Gmork and the climax where Atreyu meets the Childlike Empress. Furthermore, looking at the movie through the perspective of an adult, I have to admit that the film that the film still holds up with the use of puppetry, practical effects and the strength of its ideas. I have previously stated that the eighties fantasy movies tend to look a lot more grungier than their post-Lord of the Rings cousins and this is no exception.

However, one thing that strikes me about the Never-Ending Story, particularly through an adult perspective, is that it doesn’t look like a High Fantasy movie. If anything, I can’t help but notice but Fantasia looks kind of…..well…barren. The population is sparse, there is little to no sign of civilisation, and Atreyu’s quest seems to be going from location to location with stretches of empty-looking distance in between. Rockbiter, Nighthob and Teeny Weeny are shown as messengers for regions that are never shown and the Childlike Empress is the only sign of authority which makes me wonder just how much authority she actually has. Okay granted the film-makers of the time most likely didn’t have the budget to produce a living, breathing world (like Lord of the Rings) but we are told that Fantasia is a dying world – and yet shown at the same time that Fantasia is kind of empty. I swear, I can’t be the only one who noticed that the Southern Oracle is shown to be situated right in the middle of nowhere.

In fact, as strange as this may sound, I’m getting a Legend of Zelda vibe from this movie. Allow to me explain: When I played the original Legend of Zelda I realised that we have a protagonist, Link, traversing across a dangerous and sparsely populated world in order to help out an unseen monarch (Princess Zelda). The idea was a strong one and enough to make me wonder that if Hyrule is in the state it was, what kind of power Zelda had. Of course that maybe me trying to find a truth that wasn’t there to begin with but it’s the same wavelength with the Never-Ending Story. Indeed, I can’t help but think that whether the Never-Ending Story informed my perception of Legend of Zelda.
But at the end of the day, this movie still has wonder, inventiveness and holds up quite well over three decades later. And hey, who wouldn’t want to ride across the skies on a luck dragon?

Das Boot

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

Original image located here. Accessed 17th August 2018

From the director of The Never-Ending Story...

Let me say this up front: Tense does not BEGIN to describe this movie. I was dreading a three and a half hour movie would be a slog to get through but this wasn't the case. It was gripping, it was never dull and one gets the feeling that this is as real as one is ever going to get with a German U-Boat. Furthermore, one gets the impression this is quintessential submarine movie: the one where everyone has been trying to replicate ever since.

But I think the greatest achievement of this movie is to make me root for a cast of Germans in a World War 2 movie. I found the rising of the sub in the last half hour genuinely inspiring and the conclusion a real punch in the gut. Seeing as people like a clear distinction between Good-guys and Bad-guys (if the Facebook debates I've seen are anything to go by) one would have to be insane to try and give Germans in a WW2 movie some humanity but here it works - largely through a committed cast.
Mind you, at least i now know where that joke from Disney's Aladdin originated...

Excalibur

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

Original image located here. Accessed 12th May 2017

I admit I have an interest for fantasy movies in the eighties because they strike me as looking more gritty and grungy than the fantasy movies made in a post-Lord of the Rings world. I will argue that the eighties produced some solid fantasy movies (ie Labyrinth, Conan the Barbarian, Never Ending Story and this) with a unique look that has never since been replicated.

As for the movie itself, this was a decent retelling of the stry of King Arthur and indeed setting a benchmark for future adaptations. Ever since I was a young lad I'd always associated King Arthur with the stories of heroism that made them famous - so it is indeed a surprise to see this adaptation boasting lots of grittiness, blood and sex. No way around it: Excalibur is King Arthur viewed through the lens of eighties Low fantasy and is all the better for it.
Special mention must also go to the use of music with O Fortuna and Siegfried's Funeral March
Plus it's fun to see a young Gabriel Bryne, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren.