Director – Travis Knight – 2016 – US – Cert. PG – 101m ***** The following review originally appeared in Funimation UK; republished to coincide with the LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition which shows at BFI Southbank from Monday, 12th August to Tuesday 1st October 2024 (free to visit, but booking essential – click here) […]
Director – Henry Selick – 2009 – US – Cert. PG – 100m UK release date 08/05/2009 Originally reviewed for Third Way in 2009; republished to coincide with not only the 15th anniversary cinema reissue of the film on Thursday, 15th August 2024, but also the LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition which shows at BFI […]
Director – Peter Jackson – 1989 – New Zealand – Cert. 18 – 97m ** Offbeat special effects puppet movie proves a let-down despite inventive filmmaking – review originally published in What’s On in London, March 1992. Walrus producer Bletch (voice: Peter Vere Jones) wants to take his crummy stage show Meet the Feebles onto […]
Directors – Oskar Lehemaa, Mikk Mägi – 2019 – Estonia – Cert. 15 – 88m *** A farmer and his grandchildren must recapture his unmilked cow before its udders burst into lactopalypse – stop-frame epic is out in UK cinemas on Friday, June 2nd and currently screening in previews Estonia’s answer to Britain’s Shaun The […]
Directors – Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson – 2022 – US – Cert. PG – 114m ***** Created as a puppet by a bereaved, religious woodcarver father, a little wooden boy must make his way in a world of ruthless show business, Fascism and war – stop-frame puppet movie is out on Netflix on Friday, […]
Director – Phil Tippett – 1987-2021 – US – 83m ***** A man in a gas mask descends into a dark, dangerous world on a mysterious mission, encountering strange creatures, humanoids and societal constructs along the way – stop-frame epic 34 years in the making – as of Tuesday, June 28th, has become the most […]
Director – Leos Carax – 2021 – France, US – Cert. 15 – 141m ****1/2 Musical conceived and composed by Sparks plays out as a very dark opera ending in tragedy – on MUBI from Friday, November 26th Although billed as a musical, this may actually be closer to opera given that even though it […]
Director – Johannes Nyholm – 2019 – Sweden, Denmark – Cert. 18 – 86m *** Streaming exclusively on BFI Player (extended free trial offer here) and released on Blu-ray from Monday, September 7th A bizarre procession through the woods. A man in a light summer suit, spats and a boater (Peter Belli) cheerfully and enthusiastically […]
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 […]
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. 13 May – 1 October 2017. ***** On my Must See list for a while: finally managed a visit last week. Thoroughly enjoyed as someone who grew up when everyone but everyone owned a copy of Dark Side Of The Moon and subsequently discovered the whole back catalogue only […]