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Isle of Dogs (DVD Review)

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Starring: Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Kotu Rankin, Scarlett Johansson
Directed by: Wes Anderson
BBFC Certificate: PG
Running time: 102 mins
UK Release Date: Out Now

Our Score

Wes Anderson can be an infuriating director sometimes – far too arch and quirky for the sake of it. However here, in this stop motion tale, he decides to use his imagination but reign in the gaucheness. The result is a film that radiates warmth, charm and a gentle humour, without trying too hard.

It’s an intriguing set up. In a corporate, greedy Japan of the future, the country has decided to get rid of its garbage on a tiny island. There too they put their dogs, after they discover the mutts all have dog flu and snout disease. The poor mutts scrape out a miserable existence, feeding on scraps and trying to stay alive.

However, the adopted son of the emperor finds his own pooch has been shipped onto the island, and so flies out to try and find Spots. He crash lands and befriends a gang of dogs, including stray Cranston, Norton, Murray, Goldblum and Johansson, who all join in a doggie version of Saving Private Ryan.

And what an adventure they have. There are all sorts of visual gags as the gang make their way across the polluted, ruined island which was inhabited by humans before a tsunami emptied it. My own favourite moment was the old golf course and country club, which now has “no members”. The attention to detail is fantastic, the dog shelter is made of recycled sake bottles, and the boy’s plane is a knackered piece of wonder.

There is clearly a message here about recycling and cleaning up our fragile planet, as well as the love of humans for dogs – say the title of the film quickly and you’ll see what I mean – but it’s never heavy handed.

Half of the fun is trying to place the voices to the actors, and Cranston is particularly good as the stray who has never felt the love of a human, or even the joy of a doggie snack.

Overall verdict: If you don’t go out and get a dog immediately after watching this joy you’re not, well, human. Wes Anderson has produced a gem. It’s one of his best films ever. Or the best, even?

Reviewer: Mike Martin

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Isle Of Dogs (Cinema Review)

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Starring: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton
Directed By: Wes Anderson
Running Time: 101 Minutes
UK Release Date: 30 March 2018
BBFC Certificate: PG

Our Score

Feature length stop-motion films are a rarity these days, partly because CGI movies are quicker to produce and are seen as better box office propositions – as well as it being easier to amend a scene or use an alternative camera angle if it’s been generated on a computer.

However, there is a certain charm that you get with stop motion that CGI will never have.  It’s the same way that CGI monsters in horror films are never as scary as animatronic ones because the audience is enticed by something real and physical presented on screen. The films of Ray Harryhausen are prime examples of how effective stop-motion can still be. Many of us in the UK grew up with Morph, Wallace and Gromit and several other stop motion animated character, and the meticulous work of the animators comes across on the screen, for which I respect and admire their level of dedication. [Read more…]

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Last Flag Flying (Cinema Review)

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Starring: Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, Laurence Fishburne, J. Quinton Johnson, Deanna Reed-Foster
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Running time: 125 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: January 26th 2018

Our Score

Several films have taken Hollywood by surprise in recent years by finding an older audience than the male teen dudes the City of Angels believe are the only people who go to the pictures any more. From Wild Hogs to A Late Quartet and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, films with older characters having a crisis have actually found an audience – and a big one. Obviously, the quality is always going to be patchy. Wild Hogs, about three middle-aged men getting back on their Harleys, was juvenile and dull in the extreme, but it did prove not every Hollywood film needs to have nubile bodies in bikinis running around a beach.

Which brings us to Last Flag Flying. Like Wild Hogs it features three men who have seen better days, and features them hitting the road for one last adventure. However, the tone here is far more serious. Steve Carell’s son has been killed in action in the Iraq war in 2003, and, as his wife has died of breast cancer. With no one else to turn to, he looks up his two old buddies, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne. They are much changed however. Cranston is an alcoholic running a grubby bar, while Fishburne is a preacher. Both are trying to forget their past. The marines want to bury Carell’s son in Arlington cemetery “like a true hero”, but he wants to take him back to New Hampshire and bury him in his graduation gown, not his uniform. So the three of them set off on an unlikely road trip. [Read more…]

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New Power Rangers Trailer – The Mighty Morphers return to fight Elizabeth Banks

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Shiny lycra, men in monster suits, stunningly cheap looking special effects – that’s what Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is all about, right? Well, not any more, as for its movie reboot it’s been given a bigger budget and some far better production values.

Now the new trailer has arrived to give us a fresh look at the new Rangers, as well as Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, and Bryan Cranston as Zordon. You can take a look below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late.’

The movie will be in cinemas in late March. [Read more…]

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The Infiltrator (Blu-ray Review)

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Starring: Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt
Directed By: Brad Furman
Running Time: 127 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: January 23rd 2017 (UK)

Our Score

Bryan Cranston is US Customs Official Bob Mazur, who specialises in going undercover to take down the bad guys. Following a successful sting where he gets injured, he’s told he’s eligible to retire. Instead he takes on a new job, going back undercover as shady business Robert Musella.

While his partner, Emir (John Leguizamo), infiltrates the lower ranks of the drug world, Bob works his way into the trust of those higher up the narcotics chain, posing as a man capable of laundering millions of dollars for Pablo Escobar’s Medellin drug cartel. The further into this world he goes the more dangerous it gets, necessitating the need for a fake fiancée (Diane Kruger), and having to pretend his wife is his secretary to help ensure his real family is kept safe, all while knowing that if he’s found out he’ll get a bullet in the brain. [Read more…]

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Power Rangers Trailer – The Mighty Morphers are back, along with Elizabeth Banks & Bryan Cranston

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Shiny lycra, men in monster suits, stunningly cheap looking special effects – that’s what Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is all about, right? Well, not any more, as for its movie reboot it’s been given a bigger budget and some far better production values.

Now the first full trailer has arrived, which gives us our best look yet at the new Rangers, as well as Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, and our first view of Bryan Cranston as Zordon. You can take a look below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late.’

The movie will be in cinemas in late March. [Read more…]

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