Mashup from Earthsea

Tales from Earthsea (2006)

Directed by Goro Miyazaki this film inspired by the Earthsea series has English voice acting from Timothy Dalton, Matt Levin, Blaire Restaneo, Mariksa Hargitay and Willem Defoe. A prince kills his father the king, takes his sword and meets a wizard.

This is no a direct adaptation of any specific novel from the Earthsea series but rather a mash up of several stories and characters to create something new. While the story is an entertaining hero's journey there are a lot of times when it feels like things are never properly explained or left hanging. Mostly the film is well made but at some points it feels like the music drowns out the dialogue which is a little annoying as it mostly happens in high drama moments.

2/5

The countryside, periods and baseball

Only Yesterday (1991)

Directed by Isao Takahata this film based on the manga of the same name has voice acting from Miki Imai, Toshiro Yanagiba and Yoko Honna. An office worker heads to a farm in the country for her holiday and reminisces about when she was a 10 year old school girl.

This is a fairly slow moving but enjoyable film about two different points in a woman's life. The plot is a down to earth slice of life story that never gets melodramatic but keeps you entertained through out. Some of the scenes involving the younger protagonist devolve into excessive blushing but otherwise there are very few genre clichés here.

3/5

Cities in the sky and death from above

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki this film has English voice acting from Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman and Mark Hamill. An orphan boy in a mining town finds a girl that has fallen from the sky and is on the run, they go in search of a flying castle.

A lot of this film harks to similar themes you will find in many Japanese films with hints at doomsday weapons in the sky and post apocalyptic settings. The story is an enjoyable adventure that has plenty of action to entertain along the way. There are some slightly annoying changes made in the dubbed version I saw but the animation is good and of the standard you expect from Studio Ghibli.

4/5

No cat, just your friendly neighbourhood Satanist

The Black Cat (1934)

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer this film stars Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners and Julie Bishop. An American couple travelling in Europe share a bus ride with a local doctor and end up at the castle of a sinister man.

Despite boasting two genre heavy weights in the cast I found this to be a pretty dated film not really comparable to some of the other Universal horror pictures of the time. At times the plot meanders around and gets a little confusing/unbelievable even though the film is barely longer than an hour. For the reputation this film has I found it to be a let down but all things considered it is a fairly average genre piece.

3/5

That's so cute!

The Bling Ring (2013)

Directed by Sofia Coppola this film based on real events stars Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Emma Watson and Leslie Mann. A group of teenagers in LA fund the hedonistic life they aspire to by robbing those they are obsessed with.

There is some fictionalisation of the events involved here but this film is a really interesting look in to celebrity culture. Our protagonists are portrayed as just wanting to be “close” to the big stars and thanks to the internet and burglary it often seems their behaviour is just an extension of the media's. I found this film to be surprisingly interesting, it is well made and in a vaguely similar vein to Spring Breakers (2012) even if not as good.

4/5

Gap year wankers

The Inbetweeners 2 (2014)

Directed by writers Damon Beesley & Iain Morris this film stars Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas. Three of our heroes travel out to Australia to visit the fourth member of the gang who is allegedly living the good life there.

After taking aim at the lads holiday in the first film this sequel points the finger of ridicule at certain types of gap year travellers on an up themselves voyage of faux self discovery. Neither the plot of the satire is very deep but there are a few really disgusting but hysterical moments. I actually thought this was a slight improvement on the previous film in the series and did a better job of putting the characters on the big screen.

3/5

Shockingly not shocking

Blonde Cobra (1963)

Directed by Ken Jacobs this experimental short film stars Jack Smith. A man gets high and rants to the camera.

It seems that this film is purely constructed to shock and while it might have had an impact in 1963 there is nothing especially shocking to the modern viewer. There is not really a plot or any depth here which left me scratching my head as to why this film is so highly regarded. Maybe this film is of historical value but as a viewer I found it hard to find much of worth here.

2/5