Top Japanese Art Animation DVDs of the Decade

For fans of art animation and experimental film, the ‘naughties’ have been an exceptional decade in terms of the wider availability of both individual films and collections. Previously, such films were only available to a lucky few privileged enough to have an animation festival, art house cinema, or cinémathèque in their community. The life story of an animated short usually went follows:the artist...

Murata Joint (村田関節)

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at puppet animation but didn't know where to start? Tomoyasu Murata (村田朋泰), one of Japan's most prolific independent animators, has recently introduced his own line of armatures. In puppet animation, the armature acts as the skeleton or frame upon which figures are built. Some animators make their own armature using simple tools such as wire and endnuts, as...

PLANET 51 - harmless, disposable fun

PLANET 51 is the Meg Ryan of kids animation. It's not flashy, ground-breaking or breath-taking. Rather, it's harmless, banal, and mildy amusing in parts. As Christmas entertainment for bored kids, you could fare worse, but this is no TOY STORY.The concept is clever. Instead of aliens invading earth, with all the predictable genre-defining consequences, earthlings invade an alien planet. Or rather, a narcissistic astronaut (voiced by Dwayne "The...

Merry Christmas

One of Keita Funamoto's animation students 'Izumi' put together this festive animation. Merry Christmas to you all. Thank you for your support throughout 20...

DISTRICT 9 - a re-review

So some nice movie folk sent me a DISTRICT 9 BluRay disc and I took the opportunity to rewatch one of the most original sci-fi flicks of the year. I haven't fundamentally changed my opinion of the movie, which you can read here. The movie is two thirds superb satire of South African politics; brilliantly conceived mockumentary; and re-casting of the sci-fi genre. I still love the down and dirty look of the film. I still admire the way that the director...

Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ, 2003)

If you are looking for a good Christmas movie to watch during the holiday season but without the saccharine schmaltz that usually goes hand-in-hand with such films, then look no further than Kon Satoshi’s 2003 animated feature film Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ). Be warned, however, that although this film is animated it is not a family Christmas film. . . unless your kids are mature enough to...

An Excoriating and Witty Review of Star Wars The Phantom Menace

Thanks to Malcatraz for the tip off. Be sure to continue to Part 7. Despite the funny tone, this reviewer has a lot of incisive analysis on how genre cinema should work and why The Phantom Menace doesn't. He even has some amazing behind the scenes footage. Maybe he was an insider? The worst part is where the Editor of the film delivers the most devastating critique of the denouement, and even Lucas seems to admit that the thing is a mess, but that...

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE - weather with you

Spike Jonze, the visionary director behind BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and ADAPTATION, returns to the big screen with an adaptation of Maurice Sendak's iconic children's book. The book is slight, dark but also joyful: a little boy called Max throws a tantrum, is sent to his room, and disappears into an imaginary world of wild things. The wild rumpus if fun, but he grows lonely and returns home in time for his supper, which is still hot! BBC Radio 4 produced...

ST TRINIAN'S 2: THE LEGEND OF FRITTON'S GOLD - too few genuine laughs

I rather liked the 2007 St Trinian's remake. It was cheeky, rather fun, but in a rather charmingly lo-rent way. Rupert Everett dressing up in drag to play Camilla Fritton, headmistress of the most anarchic school in England, was a fun antidote to all those airbrushed teen-rom-com flicks starring Amanda Bynes and Emma Roberts. I liked the visual humour and Colin Firth sending up his Mr Darcy image.So it was with some anticipation that I watched...

NINE - a series of songs sung by women who are basically in love with a shit

Rob Marshall directed two movies before NINE and I didn't like either of them. His movies are pretty on the surface and are obviously the product of much care and attention to detail. But somehow they miss the essential point of the story, not to mention any subtlety or subversion. And this is a major flaw in movies that deal with the the appearance and reality of sexual domination (MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA) and sexual and judicial corruption (CHICAGO)....

AVATAR - you can have too much of a good thing

AVATAR is the much hyped new film from writer-director and special effects obsessive James Cameron - the man who brought us TITANIC, ALIENS and TERMINATOR. Let us say that James Cameron has consistently pushed forward the technology of film, and has produced consistently thoughtful sci-flicks. Indeed, I would argue that he deserves more kudos than Spielberg - creating fewer but more consistently entertaining and polished blockbusters. But let us...

Waterboys (ウォーターボーイズ, 2001)

Although my viewing habits of late have taken me into the territory of more artsy fare, I do occasionally indulge in a few guilty pleasures. For example, I love a good genre film now and then, no matter how predictable the plot. Waterboys (ウォーターボーイズ, Shinobu Yaguchi, 2001) falls into the category of heartfelt screwball comedy with an Esther Williams twist. I’ll bet, dear reader, that you didn’t...

Death By Hanging (絞死刑, 1968)

Nagisa Oshima’s 1968 film Death By Hanging (Koushike/絞死刑) belongs to a very small category of films that deal with the issue of state execution. In the States, it took the vision of Tim Robbins and the acting mettle of Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn to pull it off in Dead Man Walking (1995). While Dead Man Walking delves deep into the spiritual aspects of forgiveness and redemption and the ethicality...

Preview - BEYOND THE POLE

Reviews are getting posted a little less promptly now that the locks are off the alcohol cupboard in Bishopsgate (quite literally) and the European fixed income divergence trade is starting to bear fruit. Which brings me to a preview of a movie that one might think a little at odds with the purported aim of this blog - a review site that loves shameless violence and scorns vegetarianism in all its manifestations. Not that I don't have time for the...

Art Animation DVD Wishlist for 2010

The news that Image Forum is releasing the complete works of experimental artist Takashi Ito (伊藤高志) on DVD (preorder here) later this month has had me very excited. It also got me thinking about other artists whose films I wish Image Forum or Geneon Universal would release on DVD for the edification of us all. Particularly neglected on DVD are early innovators of animation who chose not to make...