The studio behind Coraline and ParaNorman return with the magnificent Kubo And The Two Strings, their most ambitious stop-motion feature yet. Set in a fantastical Japan, young Kubo (Art Parkinson), troubled by his father’s mysterious death and mother’s illness, embarks upon a quest to locate a sacred suit of armour and defeat the powerful Moon King (Ralph Fiennes), aided by his magical shamisen and some helpful companions. Continue reading “Review: Kubo And The Two Strings (2016)”
The stop-motion animation studio behind Coraline and ParaNorman ups the ante with their latest release The Boxtrolls, a deliciously dark, witty and visually inventive adventure-comedy of particularly high quality. Eggs (Isaac Hempstead Wright), a young orphaned boy, is forced to face reality when his cave-dwelling captors, otherwise known as the Boxtrolls, come under attack by Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley), a dastardly tyrant with big aspirations. Continue reading “Review: The Boxtrolls (2014)”
The nominations for the 85th annual Academy Awards were announced earlier today by host Seth MacFarlane and actress Emma Stone, both of whom brought some much-needed humour to the usually dull announcement. Lincoln, Steven Spielberg’s historical biopic about former US president Abraham Lincoln’s endeavours to achieve passage of the constitutional amendment, was revealed as the frontrunner with a total of twelve nominations, with Silver Linings Playbook Continue reading “85th Academy Awards: Nominations”
2012 may not have been a landmark year for cinema in the same way 1999 was, but it’s certainly seen its fair share of outstanding releases challenge, captivate and move audiences in remarkable ways. The first half was arguably somewhat of a write-off, with only the left-over Academy Award releases and a sprinkling of surprising successes – 21 Jump Street (arguably the best comedy of the year), The Cabin In The Woods, The Hunger Games and Pirates! In An Adventure With Continue reading “Best Ten Films Of 2012”
Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is an outcast who harbours a unique ability: he can talk to the dead. The trouble is, no one besides his unusual friend Neil (Tucker Albrizzi) believes his claims. That is, however, until his alienated – and quite frankly bonkers – uncle, Mr Prenderghast (John Goodman), burdens him with the task of saving Blithe Hollow’s inhabitants from an age-old witch’s curse and the threat of being overrun by the undead. Norman, with the aid of some Continue reading “Review: ParaNorman (2012)”
Empty Screens 