In recent years, I’ve found that the best way to approach a Disney or Pixar animated film is to keep expectations low – these are more events than they are films, and they are absolutely huge – and sometimes, they can be somewhat overrated. Honestly, in my lifetime, I don’t think I’ve found either a…
Category: Animation
The Red Turtle (2017)
2016 has been an astounding year for animation (UPDATE: as this film only received a US release this year, it has to be considered a 2017 film – doesn’t change the fact that it is a great film and that animation is in a golden age). There have been some truly extraordinary animated films that…
Sausage Party (2016)
I will go ahead and call this the greatest human achievement in history. Better than the pyramids. Better than the Renaissance. Better than Citizen Kane or The Godfather. Sausage Party is undeniably the peak of human creativity, and there has never been a more superb expression of artistic integrity than this film. Who knew that…
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
This is my 300th review. I usually reserve this kind of milestone for a film that has made a big impact on me and is responsible for me becoming the film lover that I am. I juggled several possibilities, some of which I saw almost a decade ago. However, I rather decided to take a…
Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
I may not be the biggest superhero aficionado, but I do consider myself someone who is well-informed on graphic novels as a whole, and despite disliking superhero comic books immensely (a few are great, but most of them are just meandering and lack a lot of substance), one that I did adore was The Killing…
Finding Dory (2016)
The vast majority of Pixar’s films hold very special significance to many people, myself included. While they have one or two failures or films that aren’t as great as their other films, most of their films are innovative, iconic and brilliant. Finding Nemo has perhaps the most important relevance to me, as it is one…
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
To be perfectly honest, I hated Grave of the Fireflies – I hate it for being so emotional. I hate it for making me feel things I have never felt before. I hate it for showing me a different side to war, that I have not encountered. I hate it for making me weep like…
Ratchet & Clank (2016)
Sometimes major critics get it wrong, sometimes they get it right. Sometimes they hit the nail right on the head about whether or not a film is good or bad, and sometimes they are just needlessly mean and just miss the point, and just are simply unfair on a film. A film I feel too…
The Jungle Book (2016)
It is a common complaint from many that Hollywood needs to be original – every year we see a glut of remakes, reboots, sequels and re-imaginings of previously existing movies – and it is a complaint I fully agree with. Hollywood doesn’t seem to be very capable of making many completely original films, and those…
Zootopia (2016)
There isn’t any reason to go into an explanation as to why animated films are brilliant – so I will not. However, I will reiterate that there is not any better experience than a fully-realized, interesting animated film that is unique, original and wonderful. Animated films are artistically ingenious at times, and can very often…
The Postmodern Pelican 