Director – Matteo Garrone – 2019 – Italy – Cert. PG – 125m ***** In cinemas from Friday, August 14th, on BFI Player rental from Monday, December 14th Impoverished woodcarver Geppetto (Roberto Benigni) decides to make the greatest puppet the world has ever seen, tour the world with it and make his fortune. A wood […]
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Extended Edition) Director – Peter Jackson – 2002 (2001) – New Zealand – Cert. PG – 229m ***** (NB Extended Edition, in cinemas from Monday, July 24th 2020, 227m in cinemas due to extended frame rate = 218m version released on DVD 2004. Original theatrical […]
Director – Peter Jackson – 2003 – New Zealand – Cert. 12a – 201m (263m) ***** (NB Extended Edition, in cinemas from Monday, August 10th 2020, 263m in cinemas due to extended frame rate = 252m version released on DVD 2004.) This review of the 201m theatrical version was originally published in Third Way. A […]
Director – Wan Guchan – 1959 – China – Cert. N/C U – 23m*****A Catholic priest attempts with the help of a local official to steal a magic, wealth-producing bowl from a poor fisherman – available to rent online from Friday, February 12th to Wednesday, May 12th in the UK & Ireland as part of […]
Director – Karel Zeman – 1961 – Czechoslovakia – Cert. U – 85m ***** Available on Blu-ray/DVD and now on BFI Player too. This capsule review originally appeared in Reform in 2017 as part of a wider Watch And Talk review roundup. Using not only live action but also every form of animation you can […]
Director – Karel Zeman – 1958 – Czechoslovakia – Cert. U – 82m ***** Blu-ray/DVD available from Second Run. Review originally written as an entry for the Aurum Film Encyclopedia: War (series editor: Phil Hardy). Sadly, the book was never published. Vynález Zkázy aka Invention For Destruction, The Invention Of Destruction, The Deadly Invention, The […]
Director – Karel Zeman – 1955 – Czechoslovakia – Cert. PG – 86m ***** Blu-ray/DVD available from Second Run. I’ve written about the pioneering Czech director Karel Zeman in these pages before regarding his 1961 film The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (BD/DVD, cert U, 85 mins). The latest of his works to see a release in […]
Director – Peter Jackson – 2003 (2002) – New Zealand – Cert. 12a – 225m ***** (NB Extended Edition, in cinemas from Monday, July 27th 2020, 235m in cinemas due to extended frame rate = 225m version released on DVD 2004. Original theatrical cut: 199m) This always had the problem that it’s the second film […]
Director – Germán Acuña – 2019 – Chile, Brazil – 99m ****1/2 Opening Spotlight in the New York Intl Children’s FF 2021 on Saturday, March 6th at 7pm ET followed by a Q&A with the director. Previously in the Annecy 2020 Online Animation Festival Nahuel is afraid of the water. This is a problem since […]
Director – Ahn Jae-huun – 2020 – South Korea – 85m ***1/2 From the Annecy 2020 Online Animation Festival Rural woman Mohwa has had two children, first a boy Wook-yi then a girl Nang-yi, by two different fathers. She is a woman of contradictions: free spirited in love, more traditional in her everyday beliefs. She […]