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dreamworks-animation · 1 year

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Dreamworks Animation

Ruby Gillman: Igniting Innovation and Passion in Dreamworks Animation

Introduction

If it involves the art art movement, Fox Pictures is an iconic name. Dreamworks Animation has been at the vanguard of releasing creativity and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the area of animated storytelling, and is known for its pioneering films that inspire and engage viewers worldwide. A key figure in driving this innovation and passion within Dreamworks Animation is the brilliant animator extraordinaire, Ruby Gillman.With this piece, we will look at Ruby Gillman's life and achievements, including her history, role in the movie firm, and the impact they left in both Dreamworks Anime & the animation sector as an entire.

Unleashing Creativity: A Glimpse into Dreamworks Animation

Pixar Cartoon has been widely deemed to be an innovator in the art of cartoon. Dreamworks Animation has become synonymous with awe-inspiring graphics and meaningful themes, thanks to a rich history of making films that push the frontiers of creativity and storytelling. Dreamworks Animation has carved itself a distinct position in the business and continues to attract viewers of all ages because to their dedication to quality.

The Rising Star: Introducing Ruby Gillman

At the heart of Dreamworks Animation's success is the incredible talent and dedication of individuals like Ruby Gillman. Gillman, an upcoming superstar in the video game business, has greatly contributed to the industry with her outstanding skills and undying passion for animation. Take a deeper look at her story and how she became a part of the Shrek Studio group.

Exploring Ruby Gillman's Background

To truly understand Ruby Gillman's creative genius, we must first delve into her early life and fascination with animation. Gillman was charmed by the realm of cartoons from an early age and was pulled to the wonder of bringing static pictures to live. This early fascination paved the way for her future endeavors in the animation industry.

Journey into the World of Dreamworks Animation

Gillman's route to Dreamworks Animation shows her amazing skill and dedication. Gillman gained the attention of industry insiders after years of polishing her animation abilities and was given a position at Pixar Studio. Working alongside some of the industry's greatest minds cemented her drive and fueled the drive to push the limits of what was feasible in cartoon stories.

Ruby Gillman's Role as an Animator Extraordinaire

Within Dreamworks Animation, Ruby Gillman has proven herself to be an animator extraordinaire. Her keen eye for detail, technical expertise, and creative prowess have elevated the quality and impact of the animation produced by the studio. Gillman's ability to breathe life into characters and infuse emotion into every frame has set her apart as a true master in her craft.

Innovation at Dreamworks Animation

Dreamworks Animation's devotion to innovation is one of its defining characteristics.Dreamworks Animation has changed the business by adopting cutting-edge technology and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in animation. Let us explore some of the pioneering technological advancements spearheaded by Dreamworks Animation, with Ruby Gillman playing a crucial role in the process.

Virtual Reality (VR): Transforming the Art of Storytelling

Dreamworks Animation, under the guidance of animators like Ruby Gillman, has embraced the transformative power of virtual reality (VR). VR has opened up a new level in storytelling by immersing viewers in fully realized virtual environments, allowing audiences to experience storylines in unexpected ways. Dreamworks Animation has produced fascinating and immersive experiences that immerse viewers into the heart of the tale by meticulously combining classic animation methods with VR technology.

Cutting-Edge Animation Techniques: Bridging Reality and Fantasy

Innovation in animation goes beyond VR, and Dreamworks Animation understands the importance of staying at the forefront of technological advancements. With Ruby Gillman leading the charge, Dreamworks Animation has pioneered cutting-edge animation techniques that bridge the gap between reality and fantasy. Through the use of advanced rendering methods, motion capture technologies, and intricate character modeling, Dreamworks Animation brings to life fantastical worlds and characters that blur the line between the real and the imagined.

Collaboration and Cross-Disciplinary Approach for Innovation

Creativity does not happen in a vacuum; it flourishes in an atmosphere that encourages cooperation and welcomes diverse perspectives. Dreamworks Animation recognizes the power of bringing together diverse talents from various fields to create groundbreaking animated films. As part of this collaborative effort, Ruby Gillman has played a critical role in developing the studio's approach to innovation and originality.

Fostering a Culture of Collaboration at Dreamworks Animation

Dreamworks Animation places a strong emphasis on fostering a culture of collaboration within the studio. By encouraging open communication and shared ideas, Dreamworks Animation harnesses the collective expertise of its employees to create works of animated art that push the boundaries of storytelling. Ruby Gillman, a staunch advocate for collaboration, has brought her unique perspective and expertise to the table, enriching the creative process and inspiring her fellow artists.

Merging Art and Technology: The Power of Cross-Disciplinary Teams

In today's rapidly evolving animation landscape, the merging of art and technology is essential. Dreamworks Animation recognizes the need for cross-disciplinary teams that bring together artists, programmers, and technicians to create seamless and visually stunning animation. Ruby Gillman, with her vast knowledge of both art and technology, has played a pivotal role in bridging these disciplines within Dreamworks Animation, resulting in groundbreaking innovations and visually captivating animation.

Adapting to Industry Trends and Audience Expectations

In the dynamic world of animation, staying ahead of industry trends and meeting audience expectations is paramount. Dreamworks Animation, with the guidance of animators like Ruby Gillman, has continually adapted to the ever-changing landscape, ensuring that their films captivate audiences and stand the test of time.

Embracing 3D Animation: Revitalizing the Magic of Animation

As technology advances, so too does the animation industry. Dreamworks Animation has embraced the transition to 3D animation, breathing new life into the art form and captivating audiences with visually stunning and immersive experiences. Ruby Gillman has been at the forefront of this transition, utilizing her exceptional 3D animation skills to create breathtaking visuals that enhance the storytelling experience.

Storytelling in the Digital Age: Integrating Interactive Elements

In today's digital age, audiences crave interactive experiences that go beyond the passive act of watching a film. Dreamworks Animation, under the guidance of animators like Ruby Gillman, has integrated interactive elements into their storytelling, creating a more engaging and immersive experience for viewers. By blurring the boundaries between the film and the audience, Dreamworks Animation has redefined the art of storytelling, allowing audiences to become active participants in the narrative.

Embracing Passion in Animation

Passion is the driving force behind every great animator, and Ruby Gillman is no exception. A true visionary, Gillman understands the importance of cultivating passion and channeling it into her work. Let us explore the factors that have fueled Ruby Gillman's unwavering passion for animation and propelled her to new heights of creativity.

Inspirational Creative Influences

Every animator has their creative influences, and Ruby Gillman is no different. Gillman's aesthetic perspective has been molded by a varied spectrum of artists, filmmakers, and storytellers over the course of her career. Drawing from their work, Gillman has developed a unique style that blends technical expertise with a profound understanding of storytelling.

Fueling Imagination: Pursuing Authenticity and Originality

For Ruby Gillman, authenticity and originality are paramount in the world of animation. Drawing from her own personal experiences and embracing her unique perspective, Gillman infuses her work with a sense of genuineness that resonates with audiences. By tapping into her imagination and taking risks in her creative decisions, Gillman pushes the boundaries of what is possible in animated storytelling, creating works that leave a lasting impact on viewers.

Evolving Animation with a Touch of Passion

Passion is not only about personal creative endeavors; it is also about driving positive change and advancing the animation industry as a whole. With her unparalleled passion for animated storytelling, Ruby Gillman has played a vital role in evolving animation and championing inclusivity and diversity within the field.

Bringing Depth and Emotion Through Character Development

Ruby Gillman understands the importance of compelling and relatable characters in animated storytelling. Through meticulous character development, Gillman adds depth and emotion to her creations, allowing audiences to form deep connections with the animated worlds she brings to life. Her dedication to well-rounded and authentic characters has raised the bar for character development in the animation industry.

Empowering Diversity: Amplifying Voices through Animation

In an industry often criticized for its lack of diversity, Ruby Gillman has been at the forefront of advocating for inclusivity and representation in animation. By amplifying diverse voices and showcasing a range of perspectives, Gillman has empowered underrepresented communities and opened up new avenues for storytelling.She is committed to making animated works that represent the reality in which we exist has left an important impact on the animation field.

Inspiring the Next Generation: Ruby Gillman's Mentorship and Advocacy

Ruby Gillman's influence extends beyond her own creative output. Recognizing the importance of nurturing young talent and addressing societal issues through animation, Gillman has become a mentor and advocate for aspiring animators, inspiring the next generation to pursue their creative dreams. Let us delve into the ways in which Gillman has shaped the animation industry through her mentorship and advocacy.

Nurturing Young Talent: Encouraging Exploration and Experimentation

As a mentor, Ruby Gillman understands the importance of creating a nurturing environment that encourages young talent to explore and experiment. Gillman has given prospective animators the tools and support they need to refine their craft and establish their own distinct artistic identities through seminars, internships, and educational projects. Her dedication to nurturing young talent has played a crucial role in shaping the future of animation.

Changing Lives Through Animation: Addressing Social Issues

Animation has the power to change lives and shine a light on important social issues. Ruby Gillman recognizes this transformative potential and has utilized her platform as an animator to address societal concerns and promote positive change. Through her work and advocacy, Gillman has tackled issues such as diversity, mental health, and environmental conservation, using animation as a powerful medium for raising awareness and inciting action.

Achievements and Impact

The accomplishments of Ruby Gillman and her impact on the animation industry are nothing short of remarkable. Let us take a moment to celebrate her success and explore the lasting legacy she leaves behind.

Celebrating Success: Noteworthy Projects and Awards

Throughout her career, Ruby Gillman has been involved in numerous noteworthy projects that have garnered critical acclaim and captured the hearts of audiences. From her early breakthrough collaborations to her most recent endeavors, Gillman's work has left an indelible mark on the animation industry. Her exceptional contributions have been recognized through various awards and accolades, cementing her status as a true luminary in the field.

Ruby Gillman's Influential Impact on the Animation Industry

Ruby Gillman's impact on the animation industry extends far beyond her individual achievements. Through her dedication to pushing the boundaries of animation and advocating for change, Gillman has shaped industry standards and paved the way for future animators. Her innovative spirit and unwavering commitment to excellence have inspired countless animators and left an enduring legacy within the animation community.

Breaking Barriers: Redefining Animation for a Global Audience

One of Ruby Gillman's greatest accomplishments lies in her ability to redefine what animation can be for a global audience. Through her work, Gillman has proven that animation transcends borders and has the power to touch the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life. By crafting stories that resonate with audiences worldwide, Gillman has broken barriers and elevated the medium of animation to new heights of international acclaim.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

No journey is without its challenges, and Ruby Gillman's path to success certainly had its fair share of obstacles. Let us look at some of the difficulties she has encountered and the useful lessons she took away fro it.

Balancing Innovation and Commercial Viability

Innovation can be a double-edged sword in the animation industry. While pushing boundaries and exploring new frontiers is essential, it must be balanced with commercial viability to ensure the success of a project. Ruby Gillman has navigated this delicate balance throughout her career, learning the importance of finding the sweet spot between innovation and audience appeal. Her ability to strike this balance has contributed to the continued success of Dreamworks Animation.

Pushing Boundaries: Embracing Failure as a Path to Growth

Pushing boundaries and taking risks is at the core of Ruby Gillman's creative process. However, with risk comes the potential for failure. Gillman has embraced failure as a crucial stepping stone to growth and has never let setbacks deter her from pursuing her vision. By learning from failures and using them as opportunities for improvement, Gillman has continued to evolve and expand the boundaries of animated storytelling.

Navigating Evolving Technological Landscape: Staying Ahead in the Animation Industry

In the ever-evolving landscape of animation technology, staying ahead is vital. Ruby Gillman understands the importance of adaptability and responsible utilization of technological advancements for the continued success of the animation industry.

Adaptability in a Fast-Paced Industry

The animation industry is a fast-paced environment where new technologies and techniques emerge constantly. Gillman's ability to adapt and stay ahead of industry trends has ensured her continued success. By keeping a finger on the pulse of technological advancements, Gillman remains at the forefront of innovation and is able to push the boundaries of what is possible in animation.

Ethical Considerations: Responsibly Harnessing Technological Advancements

With great technological power comes great responsibility. Ruby Gillman is acutely aware of the ethical considerations that come with harnessing advanced animation technologies. She advocates for responsible and thoughtful utilization of these advancements, ensuring that they enhance storytelling without compromising ethical standards. By actively participating in industry discussions and promoting ethical practices, Gillman helps steer the animation industry towards a brighter and more responsible future.

Summary and Impact

Ruby Gillman's legacy within Dreamworks Animation and the animation industry as a whole is one of innovation, passion, and unwavering dedication. Through her exceptional talent, collaborative spirit, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of animation, she has left an indelible mark on the industry. Ruby Gillman's work continues to inspire future generations of animators and her impact on the animation industry will be felt for years to come.

FAQs

What makes Ruby Gillman a standout animator?

Ruby Gillman's exceptional talent, unwavering passion, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of animation set her apart as a standout animator. Her ability to infuse depth and emotion into her characters, combined with her technical expertise, results in visually stunning and captivating animated works that resonate with audiences worldwide.

How has Ruby Gillman contributed to Dreamworks Animation's success?

Ruby Gillman's contributions to Dreamworks Animation's success are immeasurable. Through her innovative animation techniques, collaborative approach, and unwavering commitment to excellence, Gillman has elevated the quality and impact of the animation produced by the studio. Her exceptional storytelling abilities and dedication to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in animation have helped solidify Dreamworks Animation as a leading player in the industry.

How has Ruby Gillman influenced the animation industry as a whole?

Ruby Gillman has had a profound influence on the animation industry as a whole. Through her groundbreaking animation techniques, dedication to diversity and inclusion, and advocacy for ethical practices, Gillman has reshaped industry standards and opened up new possibilities for animated storytelling. Her unwavering passion and commitment to excellence have inspired animators worldwide and continue to drive the industry forward.

Conclusion:

Ruby Gillman's innovation and passion have ignited a spark of creativity within Dreamworks Animation and the animation industry as a whole. Through her exceptional talent, groundbreaking techniques, and unwavering dedication, Gillman has

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munnasdffgvg · 1 year

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Ruby Gillman: Igniting Innovation and Passion in Dreamworks Animation

Introduction

Unleashing Creativity: A Glimpse into Dreamworks Animation

The Rising Star: Introducing Ruby Gillman

Exploring Ruby Gillman's Background

Journey into the World of Dreamworks Animation

Ruby Gillman's Role as an Animator Extraordinaire

Innovation at Dreamworks Animation

Virtual Reality (VR): Transforming the Art of Storytelling

Cutting-Edge Animation Techniques: Bridging Reality and Fantasy

#Dreamworks Animation

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cowpokezuko · 4 years

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Too many people talkin about Joker (2019), not enough people talking about Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

#it's the anti-militiary and anti-imperialism movie with killer animation we deserve #truly Dreamworks master piece #it's so beautiful and it makes me cry every time I watch it #spirit #spirit stallion of the cimarron #joker #the joker

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grigori77 · 4 years

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2020 in Movies - My Top 30 Fave Movies (Part 3)

10. WOLFWALKERS – eleven years ago, Irish director Tomm Moore exploded onto the animated cinema scene with The Secret of Kells, a spellbinding feature debut which captivated audiences the world over and even garnered an Oscar nomination. Admittedly I didn’t actually even know about it until I discovered his work through his astonishing follow-up, Song of the Sea (another Academy Award nominee), in 2015, so when I finally caught it I was already a fan of Moore’s work. It’s been a similarly long wait for his third feature, but he’s genuinely pulled off a hat-trick, delivering a third flawless film in a row which OF COURSE means that his latest feature is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, my top animated feature of 2020. I could even be tempted to say it’s his best work to date … this is an ASTONISHING film, a work of such breath-taking, spell-binding beauty that I spent its entire hour and three-quarters glued to the screen, simple mesmerised by the wonder and majesty of this latest iteration of the characteristically stylised “Cartoon Saloon” look. It’s also liberally steeped in Moore’s trademark Celtic vibe and atmosphere, once again delving deep into his homeland’s rich and evocative cultural history and mythology while also bringing us something far more original and personal – this time the titular supernatural beings are magical near-human beings whose own subconscious can assume the form of very real wolves. Set in a particularly dark time in Irish history – namely 1650, when Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector – the story follows Robyn (Honor Kneafsey, probably best known for the Christmas Prince films), the impetuous and spirited young daughter of English hunter Bill Goodfellowe (Sean Bean), brought in by the Protectorate to rid the city of Kilkenny of the wolves plaguing the area. One day fate intervenes and Robyn meets Mebh Og MacTire (The Girl at the End of the Garden‘s Eve Whittaker), a wild girl living in the woods, whose accidental bite gives her strange dreams in which she becomes a wolf – turns out Mebh is a wolfwalker, and now so is Robyn … every aspect of this film is an utter triumph for Moore and co, who have crafted a work of living, breathing cinematic art that’s easily the equal to (if not even better than) the best that Disney, Dreamworks or any of the other animation studios could create. Then there’s the excellent voice cast – Bean brings fatherly warmth and compassion to the role that belies his character’s intimidating size, while Kneafsey and Whittaker make for a sweet and sassy pair as they bond in spite of powerful cultural differences, and the masterful Simon McBurney (Harry Potter, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) brings cool, understated menace to the role of Cromwell himself. This is a film with plenty of emotional heft to go with its marvels, and once again displays the welcome dark side which added particular spice to Moore’s previous films, but ultimately this is still a gentle and heartfelt work of wonder that makes for equally suitable viewing for children as for those who are still kids at heart – ultimately, then, this is another triumph for one of the most singularly original filmmakers working in animation today, and if Wolfwalkers doesn’t make it third time lucky come Oscars-time then there’s no justice in the world …

9. WONDER WOMAN 1984 – probably the biggest change for 2020 compared to pretty much all of the past decade is how different the fortunes of superhero cinema turned out to be. A year earlier the Marvel Cinematic Universe had dominated all, but the DC Extended Universe still got a good hit in with big surprise hit Shazam! Fast-forward to now and things are VERY different – DC suddenly came out in the lead, but only because Marvel’s intended heavy-hitters (two MCU movies, the first Venom sequel and potential hot-shit new franchise starter Morbius: the Living Vampire) found themselves continuously pushed back thanks to (back then) unforeseen circumstances which continue to shit all over our theatre-going slate for the immediate future. In the end DC’s only SERIOUS competition turned out to be NETFLIX … never mind, at least we got ONE big established superhero blockbuster into the cinemas before the end of the year that the whole family could enjoy, and who better to headline it than DC’s “newest” big screen megastar, Diana Prince? Back in 2017 Monster’s Ball director Patty Jenkins’ monumental DCEU standalone spectacularly realigned the trajectory of a cinematic franchise that was visibly flagging, redesigning the template for the series’ future which has since led to some (mostly) consistently impressive subsequent offerings. Needless to say it was a damn tough act to follow, but Jenkins and co-writers Geoff Johns (Arrow and The Flash) and David Callaham (The Expendables, Zombieland: Double Tap, future MCU entry Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings) have risen to the challenge in fine style, delivering something which pretty much equals that spectacular franchise debut … as has Gal Gadot, who’s now OFFICIALLY made the role her own thanks to yet another showstopping and definitive performance as the unstoppable Amazonian goddess living amongst us. She’s older and wiser than in the first film, but still hasn’t lost that forthright honesty and wonderfully pure heart we’ve come to love ever since her introduction in Zack Snyder’s troublesome but ultimately underrated Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (yes, that’s right, I said it!), and Gadot’s clear, overwhelming commitment to the role continues to pay off magnificently as she once again proves that Diana is THE VERY BEST superhero in the DCEU cinematic pantheon. Although it takes place several decades after its predecessor, WW84 is, obviously, still very much a period piece, Jenkins and co this time perfectly capturing the sheer opulent and over-the-top tastelessness of the 1980s in all its big-haired, bad-suited, oversized shoulder-padded glory while telling a story that encapsulates the greedy excessiveness of the Reagan era, perfectly embodied in the film’s nominal villain, Max Lord (The Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal), a wishy-washy wannabe oil tycoon conman who chances upon a supercharged wish-rock and unleashes a devastating supernatural “monkey’s paw” upon the world. To say any more would give away a whole raft of spectacular twists and turns that deserve to be enjoyed good and cold, although they did spoil one major surprise in the trailer when they teased the return of Diana’s first love, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) … needless to say this is another big blockbuster bursting with big characters, big action and BIG IDEAS, just what we’ve come to expect after Wonder Woman’s first triumphant big screen adventure. Interestingly, the film starts out feeling like it’s going to be a bubbly, light, frothy affair – after a particularly stunning all-action opening flashback to Diana’s childhood on Themyscira, the film proper kicks off with a bright and breezy atmosphere that feels a bit like the kind of Saturday morning cartoon action the consistently impressive set-pieces take such unfettered joy in parodying, but as the stakes are raised the tone grows darker and more emotionally potent, the storm clouds gathering for a spectacularly epic climax that, for once, doesn’t feel too overblown or weighed down by its visual effects, while the intelligent script has unfathomable hidden depths to it, making us think far more than these kinds of blockbusters usually do. It’s really great to see Chris Pine return since he was one of the best things about the first movie, and his lovably childlike wide-eyed wonder at this brave new world perfectly echoes Diana’s own last time round; Kristen Wiig, meanwhile, is pretty phenomenal throughout as Dr Barbara Minerva, the initially geeky and timid nerd who discovers an impressive inner strength but ultimately turns into a superpowered apex predator as she becomes one of Wonder Woman’s most infamous foes, the Cheetah; Pascal, of course, is clearly having the time of his life hamming it up to the hilt as Lord, playing gloriously against his effortlessly cool, charismatic action hero image to deliver a compellingly troubling examination of the monstrous corrupting influence of absolute power. Once again, though, the film truly belongs to Gadot – she looks amazing, acts her socks off magnificently, and totally rules the movie. After this, a second sequel is a no-brainer, because Wonder Woman remains the one DC superhero who’s truly capable of bearing the weight of this particular cinematic franchise on her powerful shoulders – needless to say, it’s already been greenlit, and with both Jenkins and Gadot onboard, I’m happy to sign up for more too …

8. LOVE & MONSTERS – with the cinemas continuing their frustrating habit of opening for a little while and then closing while the pandemic ebbed and flowed in the months after the summer season, it was starting to look like there might not have been ANY big budget blockbusters to enjoy before year’s end as heavyweights like Black Widow, No Time To Die and Dune pulled back to potentially more certain release slots into 2021 (with only WW84 remaining stubbornly in place for Christmas). Then Paramount decided to throw us a bone, opting to release this post-apocalyptic horror comedy on-demand in October instead, thus giving me the perfect little present to tie me over during the darkening days of autumn. The end result was a stone-cold gem that came out of nowhere to completely blow critics away, a spectacular sleeper hit that ultimately proved one of the year’s biggest and most brilliant surprises. Director Michael Matthews may only have had South African indie thriller Five Fingers for Marseilles under his belt prior to this, but he proves he’s definitely a solid talent to watch in the future, crafting a fun and effective thrill-ride that, like all the best horror comedies, is consistently as funny as it is scary, sharing much of the same DNA as this particular mash-up genre’s classics like Tremors and Zombieland and standing up impressively well to such comparisons. The story, penned by rising star Brian Duffield (who has TWO other entries on this list, Underwater and Spontaneous) and Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying, Dora & the Lost City of Gold), is also pretty ingenious and surprisingly original – a meteorite strike has unleashed weird mutagenic pathogens that warp various creepy crawly critters into gigantic monstrosities that have slaughter most of the world’s human population, leaving only a beleaguered, dwindling few to eke out a precarious living in underground colonies. Living in one such makeshift community is Joel Dawson (The Maze Runner’s Dylan O’Brien), a smart and likeable geek who really isn’t very adventurous, is extremely awkward and uncoordinated, and has a problem with freezing if threatened … which makes it all the more inexplicable when he decides, entirely against the advice of everyone he knows, to venture onto the surface so he can make the incredibly dangerous week-long trek to the neighbouring colony where his girlfriend Aimee (Iron Fist’s Jessica Henwick) has ended up. Joel is, without a doubt, the best role that O’Brien has EVER had, a total dork who’s completely unsuited to this kind of adventure and, in the real world, sure to be eaten alive in the first five minutes, but he’s also such a fantastically believable, fallible everyman that every one of us desperate, pathetic omega-males and females can instantly put ourselves in his place, making it elementarily easy to root for him. He’s also hilariously funny, his winningly self-deprecating sass and pitch perfect talent for physical comedy making it all the more rewarding watching each gloriously anarchic life-and-death encounter mould him into the year’s most unlikely action hero. Henwick, meanwhile, once again impresses in a well-written role where she’s able to make a big impression despite her decidedly short screen time, as do the legendary Michael Rooker and brilliant newcomer Ariana Greenblatt as Clyde and Minnow, the adorably jaded, seen-it-all-before pair of “professional survivors” Joel meets en-route, who teach him to survive on the surface. The action is fast, frenetic and potently visceral, the impressively realistic digital creature effects bringing a motley crew of bloodthirsty beasties to suitably blood-curdling life for the film’s consistently terrifying set-pieces, while the world-building is intricately thought-out and skilfully executed. Altogether, this was an absolute joy from start to finish, and a film I enthusiastically endorsed to everyone I knew was looking for something fun to enjoy during the frustrating lockdown nights-in. One of the cinematic year’s best kept secrets then, and a compelling sign of things to come for its up-and-coming director.

7. PARASITE – I’ve been a fan of master Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho ever since I stumbled across his deeply weird but also thoroughly brilliant breakthrough feature The Host, and it’s a love that’s deepened since thanks to truly magnificent sci-fi actioner Snowpiercer, so I was looking forward to his latest feature as much as any movie geek, but even I wasn’t prepared for just what a runaway juggernaut of a hit this one turned out to be, from the insane box office to all that award-season glory (especially that undeniable clean-sweep at the Oscars). I’ll just come out and say it, this film deserves it all. It’s EASILY Bong’s best film to date (which is really saying something), a masterful social satire and jet black comedy that raises some genuinely intriguing questions before delivering deeply troubling answers. Straddling the ever-widening gulf between a disaffected idle rich upper class and impoverished, struggling lower class in modern-day Seoul, it tells the story of the Kim family – father Ki-taek (Bong’s good luck charm, Song Kang-ho), mother Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin), son Ki-woo (Train to Busan’s Choi Woo-shik) and daughter Ki-jung (The Silenced’s Park So-dam) – a poor family living in a run-down basement apartment who live hand-to-mouth in minimum wage jobs and can barely rub two pennies together, until they’re presented with an intriguing opportunity. Through happy chance, Ki-woon is hired as an English tutor for Park Da-hye (Jung Ji-so), the daughter of a wealthy family, which offers him the chance to recommend Ki-jung as an art tutor to the Parks’ troubled young son, Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun). Soon the rest of the Kims are getting in on the act, the kids contriving opportunities for their father to replace Mr Park’s chauffeur and their mother to oust the family’s long-serving housekeeper, Gook Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun), and before long their situation has improved dramatically. But as they two families become more deeply entwined, cracks begin to show in their supposed blissful harmony as the natural prejudices of their respective classes start to take hold, and as events spiral out of control a terrible confrontation looms on the horizon. This is social commentary at its most scathing, Bong drawing on personal experiences from his youth to inform the razor-sharp script (co-written by his production assistant Han Jin-won), while he weaves a palpable atmosphere of knife-edged tension throughout to add spice to the perfectly observed dark humour of the situation, all the while throwing intriguing twists and turns at us before suddenly dropping such a massive jaw-dropper of a gear-change that the film completely turns on its head to stunning effect. The cast are all thoroughly astounding, Song once again dominating the film with a turn at once sloppy and dishevelled but also poignant and heartfelt, while there are particularly noteworthy turns from Lee Sun-kyun as the Parks’ self-absorbed patriarch Dong-ik and Choi Yeo-jeong (The Concubine) as his flighty, easily-led wife Choi Yeon-gyo, as well as a fantastically weird appearance in the latter half from Park Myung-hoon. This is heady stuff, dangerously seductive even as it becomes increasingly uncomfortable viewing, so that even as the screws tighten and everything goes to hell it’s simply impossible to look away. Bong Joon-ho really has surpassed himself this time, delivering an existential mind-scrambler that lingers long after the credits have rolled and might even have you questioning your place in society once you’ve thought about it some. It deserves every single award and every ounce of praise it’s been lavished with, and looks set to go down as one of the true cinematic greats of this new decade. Trust me, if this was a purely critical best-of list it’d be RIGHT AT THE TOP …

6. THE OLD GUARD – Netflix’ undisputable TOP OFFERING of the summer came damn close to bagging the whole season, and I can’t help thinking that even if some of the stiffer competition had still been present it may well have still finished this high. Gina Prince-Blythewood (Love & Basketball, the Secret Life of Bees) directs comics legend Greg Rucka’s adaptation of his own popular series with uncanny skill and laser-focused visual flair considering there’s nothing on her previous CV to suggest she’d be THIS good at mounting a stomping great ultraviolent action thriller, ushering in a thoroughly engrossing tale of four ancient, invulnerable immortal warriors – Andy AKA Andromache of Scythia (Charlize Theron), Booker AKA Sebastian de Livre (Matthias Schoenaerts), Joe AKA Yusuf Al-Kaysani (Wolf’s Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky AKA Niccolo di Ginova (Trust’s Luca Marinelli) – who’ve been around forever, hiring out their services as mercenaries for righteous causes while jealously guarding their identities for fear of horrific experimentation and exploitation should their true natures ever be discovered. Their anonymity is threatened, however, when they’re uncovered by former CIA operative James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who’s working for the decidedly dodgy pharmaceutical conglomerate run by sociopathic billionaire Steven Merrick (Harry Melling, formerly Dudley in the Harry Potter movies), who want to capture these immortals so they can patent whatever it is that makes them keep on ticking … just as a fifth immortal, US Marine Nile Freeman (If Beale Street Could Talk’s KiKi Layne), awakens after being “killed” on deployment in Afghanistan. The supporting players are excellent, particularly Ejiofor, smart and driven but ultimately principled and deeply conflicted about what he’s doing, even if he does have the best of intentions, and Melling, the kind of loathsome, reptilian scumbag you just love to hate, but the film REALLY DOES belong to the Old Guard themselves – Schoenaerts is a master brooder, spot-on casting as the group’s relative newcomer, only immortal since the Napoleonic Wars but clearly one seriously old soul who’s already VERY tired of the lifestyle, while Joe and Nicky (who met on opposing sides of the Crusades) are simply ADORABLE, an unapologetically matter-of-fact gay couple who are sweet, sassy and incredibly kind, the absolute emotional heart of the film; it’s the ladies, however, that are most memorable here. Layne is exceptional, investing Nile with a steely intensity that puts her in good stead as her new existence threatens to overwhelm her and MORE THAN qualified to bust heads alongside her elders … but it’s ancient Greek warrior Andy who steals the film, Theron building on the astounding work she did in Atomic Blonde to prove, once and for all, that there’s no woman on Earth who looks better kicking arse than her (as Booker puts it, “that woman has forgotten more ways to kill than entire armies will ever learn”); in her hands, Andy truly is a goddess of death, tough as tungsten alloy and unflappable even in the face of hell itself, but underneath it all she hides a heart as big as any of her friends’. They’re an impossibly lovable bunch and you feel you could follow them on another TEN adventures like this one, which is just as well, because Prince-Blythewood and Rucka certainly put them through their paces here – the drama is high (but frequently laced with a gentle, knowing sense of humour, particularly whenever Joe and Nicky are onscreen), as are the stakes, and the frequent action sequences are top-notch, executed with rare skill and bone-crunching zest, but also ALWAYS in service to the story. Altogether this is an astounding film, a genuine victory for its makers and, it seems, for Netflix themselves – it’s become one of the platform’s biggest hits to date, earning well-deserved critical acclaim and great respect and genuine geek love from the fanbase at large. After this, a sequel is not only inevitable, it’s ESSENTIAL …

5. MANK – it’s always nice when David Fincher, one of my TOP FIVE ALL TIME FAVOURITE DIRECTORS, drops a new movie, because it can be GUARANTEED to place good and high in my rundown for that year. The man is a frickin’ GENIUS, a true master of the craft, genuinely one of the auteur’s auteurs. I’ve NEVER seen him deliver a bad film – even a misfiring Fincher (see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Alien 3) is still capable of creating GREAT CINEMA. How? Why? It’s because he genuinely LOVES the art form, it’s been his obsession all his life, and he’s spent every day of it becoming the best possible filmmaker he can be. Who better to tell the story of the creation of one of the ULTIMATE cinematic masterpieces, then? Benjamin Ross’ acclaimed biopic RKO 281 covered similar ground, presenting a compelling look into the making Citizen Kane, the timeless masterpiece of Hollywood’s ULTIMATE auteur, Orson Welles, but Fincher’s film is more interested in the original inspiration for the story, how it was written and, most importantly, the man who wrote it – Herman J. Mankiewicz, known to his friends as Mank. One of my favourite actors of all time, Gary Oldman, delivers yet another of his career best performances in the lead role, once a man of vision and incredible storytelling skill whose talents have largely been squandered through professional difficulties and personal vices, a burned out one-time great fallen on hard times whom Welles picks up out of the trash, dusts off and offers a chance to create something truly great again. The only catch? The subject of their film (albeit dressed up in the guise of fictional newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane) is to be real-life publisher, politico and tycoon William Randolph Hurst (Charles Dance), once Mank’s friend and patron before they had a very public and messy falling out which partly led to his current circumstances. As he toils away in seclusion on what is destined to become his true masterwork, flashbacks reveal to us the fascinating, moving and ultimately tragic tale of his rise and fall from grace in the movie business, set against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. Shooting a script that his own journalist and screenwriter father, Jack, crafted and then failed to bring to the screen himself before his death in 2003, Fincher has been working for almost a quarter century to make this film, and all that passion and drive is writ large on the screen – this is a glorious film ABOUT film, the art of it, the creation of it, and all the dirty little secrets of what the industry itself has always really been like, especially in that most glamorous and illusory of times. The fact that Fincher shot in black and white and intentionally made it look like it was made in the early 1940s (the “golden age of the Silver Screen”, if you will) may seem like a gimmick, but instead it’s a very shrewd choice that expertly captures the gloss and moodiness of the age, almost looking like a contemporary companion piece to Kane itself, and it’s the perfect way to frame all the sharp-witted observation, subtly subversive character development and murky behind-the-scenes machinations that tell the story. Oldman is in every way the star here, holding the screen with all the consummate skill and flair we’ve come to expect from him, but there’s no denying the uniformly excellent supporting cast are equal to the task here – Dance is at his regal, charismatic best as Hearst, while Amanda Seyfried is icily classy on the surface but mischievous and lovably grounded underneath as Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies, who formed the basis for Kane’s most controversial character, Arliss Howard (Full Metal Jacket, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Moneyball) brings nuance and complexity to the role of MGM founder Louis B. Mayer, Tom Pelphrey (Banshee, Ozark) is understated but compelling as Mank’s younger screenwriter brother Joseph, and Lily Collins and Tuppence Middleton exude class and long-suffering stubbornness as the two main women in Mank’s life (his secretary and platonic muse, Rita Alexander, and his wife, Sara), while The Musketeers’ Tom Burke’s periodic but potent appearances as Orson Welles help to drive the story in the “present”. Another Netflix release which I was (thankfully) able to catch on the big screen during one of the brief lulls between British lockdowns, this was a decidedly meta cinematic experience that perfectly encapsulated not only what is truly required for the creation of a screen epic, but also the latest pinnacle in the career of one of the greatest filmmakers working in the business today, powerful, stirring, intriguing and surprising in equal measure. Certainly it’s one of the most important films ABOUT so far film this century, but is it as good as Citizen Kane? Boy, that’s a tough one …

4. ENOLA HOLMES – ultimately, my top film for the autumn/winter movie season was also the film which finally topped my Netflix Original features list, as well as beating all other streaming offerings for the entire year (which is saying something, as you should know by now). Had things been different, this would have been one of Warner Bros’ BIGGEST releases for the year in the cinema, of that I have no doubt, a surprise sleeper hit which would have taken the world by storm – as it is it’s STILL become a sensation, albeit in a much more mid-pandemic, lockdown home-viewing kind of way. Before you start crying oh God no, not another Sherlock Holmes adaptation, this is a very different beast from either the Guy Ritchie take or the modernized BBC show, instead side-lining the great literary sleuth in favour of a delicious new AU version, based on The Case of the Missing Marquess, the first novel in the Enola Holmes Mysteries literary series from American YA author Nancy Springer. Positing that Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) and his elder brother Mycroft (Sam Claflin) had an equally ingenious and precocious baby sister, the film introduces us to Enola (Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown), who’s been raised at home by their strong-willed mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) to be just as intelligent, well-read and intellectually skilled as her far more advantageously masculine elder siblings. Then, on the morning of her sixteenth birthday, Enola awakens to find her mother has vanished, putting her in a pretty pickle since this leaves her a ward of Mycroft, a self-absorbed social peacock who finds her to be wilfully free-spirited and completely ill equipped to face the world, concluding that the only solution is sending her to boarding school where she’ll learn to become a proper lady. Needless to say she’s horrified by the prospect, deciding to run away and search for her mother instead … this is about as perfect a family adventure film as you could wish for, following a vital, capable and compelling teen detective-in-the-making as she embarks on her very first investigation, as well as winding up tangled in a second to boot involving a young runaway noble, Viscount Tewkesbury, the Marquess of Basilwether (Medici’s Louis Partridge), and the film is a breezy, swift-paced and rewardingly entertaining romp that feels like a welcome breath of fresh air for a literary property which, beloved as it may be, has been adapted to death over the years. Enola Holmes a brilliant young hero who’s perfectly crafted to carry the franchise forward in fresh new directions, and Brown brings her to life with effervescent charm, boisterous energy and mischievous irreverence that are entirely irresistible; Cavill and Claflin, meanwhile, are perfectly cast as the two very different brothers – this Sherlock is much less louche and world-weary than most previous versions, still razor sharp and intellectually restless but with a comfortable ease and a youthful spring in his step that perfectly suits the actor, while Mycroft is as superior and arrogant as ever, a preening arse we derive huge enjoyment watching Enola consistently get the best of; Bonham Carter doesn’t get a lot of screen-time but as we’d expect she does a lot with what she has to make the practical, eccentric and unapologetically modern Eudoria thoroughly memorable, while Partridge is carefree and likeable as the naïve but irresistible Tewkesbury, and there are strong supporting turns from Frances de la Tour as his stately grandmother, the Dowager, Susie Wokoma (Crazyhead, Truth Seekers) as Emily, a feisty suffragette who runs a jujitsu studio, Burn Gorman as dastardly thug-for-hire Linthorn, and Four Lions’ Adeel Akhtar as a particularly scuzzy Inspector Lestrade. Seasoned TV director Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag, Killing Eve) makes his feature debut with an impressive splash, unfolding the action at a brisk pace while keeping the narrative firmly focused on an intricate mystery plot that throws in plenty of ingenious twists and turns before a suitably atmospheric climax and pleasing denouement which nonetheless artfully sets up more to come in the future, while screenwriter Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, The Scouting Book for Boys, Wonder) delivers strong character work and liberally peppers the dialogue with a veritable cavalcade of witty zingers. Boisterous, compelling, amusing, affecting and exciting in equal measure, this is a spirited and appealing slice of cinematic escapism that flatters its viewers and never talks down to them, a perfect little period adventure for a cosy Sunday afternoon. Obviously there’s plenty of potential for more, and with further books to adapt there’s more than enough material for a pile of sequels – Neflix would be barmy indeed to turn their nose up at this opportunity …

3. 1917 – it’s a rare thing for a film to leave me truly shell-shocked by its sheer awesomeness, for me to walk out of a cinema in a genuine daze, unable to talk or even really think about much of anything for a few hours because I’m simply marvelling at what I’ve just witnessed. Needless to say, when I do find a film like that (Fight Club, Inception, Mad Max: Fury Road) it usually earns a place very close to my heart indeed. The latest tour-de-force from Sam Mendes is one of those films – an epic World War I thriller that plays out ENTIRELY in one shot, which doesn’t simply feel like a glorified gimmick or stunt but instead is a genuine MASTERPIECE of film, a mesmerising journey of emotion and imagination in a shockingly real environment that’s impossible to tear your eyes away from. Sure, Mendes has impressed us before – his first film, American Beauty, is a GREAT movie, one of the most impressive feature debuts of the 2000s, while Skyfall is, in my opinion, quite simply THE BEST BOND FILM EVER MADE – but this is in a whole other league. It’s an astounding achievement, made all the more impressive when you realise that there’s very little trickery at play here, no clever digital magic (just some augmentation here and there), it’s all real locations and sets, filmed in long, elaborately choreographed takes blended together with clever edits to make it as seamless as possible – it’s not the first film to try to do this (remember Birdman? Bushwick?), but I’ve never seen it done better, or with greater skill. But it’s not just a clever cinematic exercise, there’s a genuine story here, told with guts and urgency, and populated by real flesh and blood characters – the heart of the film is True History of the Kelly Gang’s George MacKay and Dean Chapman (probably best known as Tommen Baratheon in Game of Thrones) as Lance Corporals Will Schofield and Tom Blake, the two young tommies sent out across enemy territory on a desperate mission to stop a British regiment from rushing headlong into a German trap (Tom himself has a personal stake in this because his brother is an officer in the attack). They’re a likeable pair, very human and relatable throughout, brave and true but never so overtly heroic that they stretch credibility, so when tragedy strikes along the way it’s particularly devastating; both deliver exceptional performances that effortlessly carry us through the film, and they’re given sterling support from a selection of top-drawer British talent, from Sherlock stars Andrew Scott and Benedict Cumberbatch to Mark Strong and Colin Firth, each delivering magnificently in small but potent cameos. That said, the cinematography and art department are the BIGGEST stars here, masterful veteran DOP Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption, Blade Runner 2049 and pretty much the Coen Brothers’ entire back catalogue among MANY others) making every frame sing with beauty, horror, tension or tragedy as the need arises, and the environments are SO REAL it feels less like production design than that someone simply sent the cast and crew back in time to film in the real Northern France circa 1917 – from a nightmarish trek across No Man’s Land to a desperate chase through a ruined French village lit only by dancing flare-light in the darkness before dawn, every scene is utterly immersive and simply STUNNING. I don’t think it’s possible for Mendes to make a film better than this, but I sure hope he gives it a go all the same. Either way, this was the most incredible, exhausting, truly AWESOME experience I had at the cinema all year – it’s a film that DESERVES to be seen on the big screen, and I feel truly sorry for those who missed the chance …

2. BIRDS OF PREY & THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN – the only reason 1917 isn’t at number two is because Warner Bros.’ cinematic DC Extended Universe project FINALLY got round to bringing my favourite DC Comics title to the big screen. It was been the biggest pleasure of my cinematic year getting to see my top DC superheroines brought to life on the big screen, and it was done in high style, in my opinion THE BEST of the DCEU films to date (yup, I loved it EVEN MORE than the Wonder Woman movies). It was also great seeing Harley Quinn return after her show-stealing turn in David Ayer’s clunky but ultimately still hugely enjoyable Suicide Squad, better still that they got her SPOT ON this time – this is the Harley I’ve always loved in the comics, unpredictable, irreverent and entirely without regard for what anyone else thinks of her, as well as one talented psychiatrist. Margot Robbie once more excels in the role she was basically BORN to play, clearly relishing the chance to finally do Harley TRUE justice, and she’s a total riot from start to finish, infectiously lovable no matter what crazy, sometimes downright REPRIHENSIBLE antics she gets up to. Needless to say she’s the nominal star here, her latest ill-advised adventure driving the story – finally done with the Joker and itching to make her emancipation official, Harley publicly announces their breakup by blowing up Ace Chemicals (their love spot, basically), inadvertently painting a target on her back in the process since she’s no longer under the assumed protection of Gotham’s feared Clown Prince of Crime – but that doesn’t mean she eclipses the other main players the movie’s REALLY supposed to be about. Each member of the Birds of Prey is beautifully written and brought to vivid, arse-kicking life by what had to be 2020’s most exciting cast – Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress, is the perfect character for Mary Elizabeth Winstead to finally pay off on that action hero potential she showed in Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, but this is a MUCH more enjoyable role outside of the fight choreography because while Helena may be a world-class dark avenger, socially she’s a total dork, which just makes her thoroughly adorable; Rosie Perez is similarly perfect casting as Renee Montoya, the uncompromising pint-sized Gotham PD detective who kicks against the corrupt system no matter what kind of trouble it gets her into, and just gets angrier all the time, paradoxically making us like her even more; and then there’s the film’s major controversy, at least as far as the fans are concerned, namely one Cassandra Cain. Sure, this take is VERY different from the comics’ version (a nearly mute master assassin who went on to become the second woman to wear the mask of Batgirl before assuming her own crime-fighting mantle as Black Bat and now Orphan), but personally I like to think this is simply Cass at THE VERY START of her origin story, leaving plenty of time for her to discover her warrior origins when the DCEU finally gets around to introducing her mum, Lady Shiva (personally I want Michelle Yeoh to play her, but that’s just me) – anyways, here she’s a skilled child pickpocket whose latest theft inadvertently sets off the larger central plot, and newcomer Ella Jay Basco brings a fantastic pre-teen irreverence and spiky charm to the role, beautifully playing against Robbie’s mercurial energy. My favourite here BY FAR, however, is Dinah Lance, aka the Black Canary (not only my favourite Bird of Prey but my very favourite DC superheroine PERIOD), the choice of up-and-comer Jurnee Smollet-Bell (Friday Night Lights, Underground) proving to be the film’s most inspired casting – a club singer with the metahuman ability to emit piercing supersonic screams, she’s also a ferocious martial artist (in the comics she’s one of the very best fighters IN THE WORLD), as well as a wonderfully pure soul you just can’t help loving, and it made me SO UNBELIEVABLY HAPPY that they got my Canary EXACTLY RIGHT. Altogether they’re a fantastic bunch of badass ladies, basically my perfect superhero team, and the way they’re all brought together (along with Harley, of course) is beautifully thought out and perfectly executed … they’ve also got one hell of a threat to overcome, namely Gotham crime boss Roman Sionis, the Black Mask, one of the Joker’s chief rivals – Ewan McGregor brings his A-game in a frustratingly rare villainous turn (my number one bad guy for the movie year), a monstrously narcissistic, woman-hating control freak with a penchant for peeling off the faces of those who displease him, sharing some exquisitely creepy chemistry with Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) as Sionis’ nihilistic lieutenant Victor Zsasz. This is about as good as superhero cinema gets, a perfect example of the sheer brilliance you get when you switch up the formula to create something new, an ultra-violent, unapologetically R-rated middle finger to the classic tropes, a fantastic black comedy thrill ride that’s got to be the most full-on feminist blockbuster ever made – it’s helmed by a woman (Dead Pigs director Cathy Yan), written by a woman (Bumblebee’s Christina Hodson), produced by more women and ABOUT a bunch of badass women magnificently triumphing over toxic masculinity in all its forms. It’s also simply BRILLIANT – the cast are all clearly having a blast, the action sequences are first rate (the spectacular GCPD evidence room fight in which Harley gets to REALLY cut loose is the undisputable highlight), it has a gleefully anarchic sense of humour and is simply BURSTING with phenomenal homages, references and in-jokes for the fans (Bruce the hyena! Stuffed beaver! Roller derby!). It’s also got a killer soundtrack, populated almost exclusively by numbers from female artists. Altogether, then, this is the VERY BEST the DCEU has to offer to date, and VERY NEARLY my absolute FAVOURITE film of 2020. Give it all the love you can, it sure as hell deserves it.

1. TENET – granted, the streaming platforms (particularly Netflix and Amazon) certainly saved our cinematic summer, but I’m still IMMEASURABLY glad that my ultimate top-spot winner FOR THE WHOLE YEAR was one I got to experience on THE BIG SCREEN. You gotta hand it to Christopher Nolan, he sure hung in there, stubbornly determined that his latest cinematic masterpiece WOULD be released in cinemas in the summer (albeit ultimately landing JUST inside the line in the final week of August and ultimately taking the bite at the box office because of the still shaky atmosphere), and it was worth all the fuss because, for me, this was THE PERFECT MOVIE for me to get return to cinemas with. I mean, okay, in the end it WASN’T the FIRST new movie I saw after the first reopening, that honour went to Unhinged, but THIS was my first real Saturday night-out big screen EXPERIENCE since March. Needless to say, Nolan didn’t disappoint this time any more than he has on any of his consistently spectacular previous releases, delivering another twisted, mind-boggling headfuck of a full-blooded experiential sensory overload that comes perilously close to toppling his long-standing auteur-peak, Inception (itself second only by fractions to The Dark Knight as far as I’m concerned). To say much at all about the plot would give away major spoilers – personally I’d recommend just going in as cold as possible, indeed you really should just stop reading this right now and just GO SEE IT. Still with us? Okay … the VERY abridged version is that it’s about a secret war being waged between the present and the future by people capable of “inverting” time in substances, objects, people, whatever, into which the Protagonist (BlacKkKlansman’s John David Washington), an unnamed CIA agent, has been dispatched in order to prevent a potential coming apocalypse. Washington is once again on top form, crafting a robust and compelling morally complex heroic lead who’s just as comfortable negotiating the minefields of black market intrigue as he is breaking into places or dispatching heavies, Kenneth Branagh delivers one of his most interesting and memorable performances in years as brutal Russian oligarch Andrei Sator, a genuinely nasty piece of work who was ALMOST the year’s very best screen villain, Elizabeth Debicki (The Night Manager, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Widows) brings strength, poise and wounded integrity to the role of Sator’s estranged wife, Kat, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gets to use his own accent for once as tough-as-nails British Intelligence officer Ives, while there are brief but consistently notable supporting turns and cameos from Martin Donovan, Yesterday’s Himesh Patel, Dirk Gently’s Fiona Dourif and, of course, Nolan’s good luck charm, Michael Caine. The cast’s biggest surprise, however, is Robert Pattinson, truly a revelation in what has to be, HANDS DOWN, his best role to date, Neil, the Protagonist’s mysterious handler – he’s by turns cheeky, slick, duplicitous and thoroughly badass, delivering an enjoyably multi-layered, chameleonic performance which proves what I’ve long maintained, that the former Twilight star is actually a fucking amazing actor, and on the basis of this, even if that amazing new teaser trailer wasn’t making the rounds, I think the debate about whether or not he’s the right choice for the new Batman is now academic. As we’ve come to expect from Nolan, this is a TRUE tour-de-force experience, a visual triumph and an endlessly engrossing head-scratcher, Nolan’s screenplay bringing in seriously big ideas and throwing us some major narrative knots and loopholes, constantly wrong-footing the viewer while also setting up truly revelatory payoffs from seemingly low-key, unimportant beginnings – this is a film you need to be awake and attentive for or you could miss something pretty vital. The action sequences are, as ever, second to none, some of the year’s very best set-pieces coming thick and fast and executed with some of the most accomplished skill in the business, while Nolan-regular cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar and Dunkirk, as well as the heady likes of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, SPECTRE and Ad Astra) once again shows he’s one of the best camera-wizards in the business today by delivering some absolutely mesmerising visuals. Notably, Nolan’s other regular collaborator, composer Hans Zimmer, is absent here (although he had good reason, since he was working on his dream project at the time, the fast-approaching screen adaptation of Dune), but Ludwig Göransson (best known for his collaborations with Ryan Coogler Fruitvale Station, Creed and Black Panther, as well as career-best work on The Mandalorian) is a fine replacement, crafting an intriguingly internalised, post-modern musical landscape that thrums and pulses in time with the story and emotions of the characters rather than the action itself. Interestingly it’s on the subject of sound that some of the film’s rare detractions have been levelled, and I can see some of the points – the soundtrack mix is an all-encompassing thing, and there are times when the dialogue can be overwhelmed, but in Nolan’s defence this film is a heady, immersive experience, something you really need to concentrate on, so these potential flaws are easily forgiven. As a work of filmmaking art, this is another flawless wonder from one of the true masters of the craft working in cinema today, but it’s art with palpable substance, a rewarding whole that proved truly unbeatable in 2020 …

#wolfwalkers #wonder woman 1984 #ww84 #love and monsters #parasite #parasite movie #the old guard #mank #enola holmes #1917 #1917 movie #Birds of Prey #birds of prey the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn #tenet #tenet movie #2020 in movies

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a34trgv2 · 4 years

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Why It Worked: Kung Fu Panda

Introduction: Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 animated film staring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, James Hong, Jackie Chan and Ian McShane. Directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, the film was released on June 6, 2008 after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15 of that same year. The film went on to receive critical acclaim from critics and audiences (Rotton Tomatoes collected 183 reviews and 87% of them gave and average score of 7.2/10) and grossed $631.7 million on a budget of $130 million. It spawned 2 sequels, 5 shorts, 2 TV shows and 5 video games. It was DreamWorks Animation’s highest grossing non-Shrek film domestically until it was surpassed by How To Train Your Dragon 2 years later (KFP made $215 million in the U.S. and Canada while HTTYD made $217 million domestically). I’ve always enjoyed this movie and as the years went by I’ve come to love it more as an adult. In this post I’d like to explain why this film defied the odds and became one of the best movies from DreamWorks Animation’s filmography.

The Plot: Kung Fu Panda has a rather bizarre premise even by animation standards. A panda is chosen to be the protector of ancient China (this China has anthropomorphic animals living in it) and must learn to master kung fu before an evil snow leopard comes to his village to reek havoc. To make things even stranger, the leading panda is played by Jack Black, 1 half of the raunchy rock duo Tenacious D and at the time was mostly known for playing the eccentric rock star in School of Rock, the bumbling lucha dore Nacho Libre and Lenny the shark from the polarizing animated film Shark Tale. This sounds like it couldn’t work, and yet the filmmakers pulled it off by making a genuine story about a guy who loves kung fu but feels he’s not good enough to master it even after he’s dubbed the Dragon Warrior. The film goes to great lengths to show Po’s struggle to learn how to be a kung fu master in the most hilarious ways possible. From him losing a tooth to a practice dummy to him being pumbled by the Furious 5 and Shifu during training, Po takes several beatings during the film and the visual gags always land. Speaking of visuals, the animation in this film is some of the best work from DreamWorks Animation and still holds up to this day. The Valley of Peace looks so authentic to ancient Chinese cities and the character animation is so fluid and lively. This is especially true during the fight scenes, which are all nothing short of dope. One scene in particular that stands as one of the best action set pieces in cinema (yes, cinema) is Tai Lung’s prison escape. The tension rises the higher he climbs, the cinematography follows his every movie, he perfectly makes mince meat out of all the rhino guards and just when you think they got him, he turns the tables and annihilates them with their own dynamite. One of the greatest lessons this film teaches is towards the end when Po is given the dragon scroll and he finds that it’s just his reflection. He then learns that his father, Ping the goose, didn’t put any secret ingredient in his Secret Ingredient Soup. Po learns that there’s no secret ingredient not just to the soup but to who he is as a person. He’s already special because Shifu, Oogway and most importantly he himself believed he was special.

Cast and Characters: Jack Black was not just the best man to voice Po; he was the ONLY man to do this character justice. Everything from Po’s mannerisms, his eccentric attitude and his happy-go-lucky attitude are all because of Jack Black. It’s clear Jack loves voicing the character and it even shows during his most emotional moments. Po feels like such a relatable guy as he has his self doubts but never truly gives up. Dustin Hoffman plays an excellent Master Shifu, making him sound old and grumpy, yet also quirky and funny in parts. The Furious 5 are all integral to the development of Po and stand very strong on their own. It also helps that they’re all played by great actors in their own right. Angelina Jolie brings the perfect amount of sternness to Tigress, Jackie Chan was perfectly comical as Monkey, David Cross was funny and relatable as Crane, Lucy Liu sounded so sweet as Viper, and Seth Rogan brought his best family friendly humor to the role of Mantis. Randall Duk Kim sounded so wise and quirky as Oogway, James Hong was funny and relatable as Ping and the late great Michael Clarke Duncan was especially entertaining as Commander Vachir. Then there’s Tai Lung, who’s most certainly among one of DreamWorks Animation’s best villains. He’s so fierce, intimidating, powerful and also empathetic. His backstory is excellently handled and he’s hyped up brilliantly as this fearsome foe and he does not disappoint. Ian McShane was brilliant as the film’s main baddie, bringing such gravitas and pride to this character.

Where It Falters: I only have one gripe with the film as a whole: GIVE ME MORE FURIOUS 5!!! I cannot be the only one who thinks these characters could easily hold their own movie. The Secrets of the Furious 5 shorts were good, don’t get me wrong, but I want to see their first mission together, how they learn to be a team and become the masters they are now. I recognize that a spin-off to Kung Fu Panda isn’t going to happen immediately (considering where DreamWorks Animation’s focus is these days) but I’d definitely pay money to see a Furious 5 film.

Conclusion: Kung Fu Panda is very much one of the prime examples of “don’t judge a book by its cover” personified as a feature film. Despite its odd premise, it makes for a funny, action packed, emotionally resonate and wonderfully written film with great cinematography, amazing animation and stellar voice acting. It very much stands on par with DreamWorks Animation’s best films and is more than worth of its cult status. Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you soon. Skadoosh! ;)

#kung fu panda #jack black #dreamworks animation #action #po #why it worked #like #share #reblog #follow #skadoosh

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spooner-the-trinity · 4 years

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How Infinity Train pulled from Infinity War’s Playbook for Doctor Who’s final curtain

Funding for Shaffrilas is provided by: Skillshare, the sponsor of today’s video. Stay tuned for a train ride to discountkosh at the end of the video.

O hai, Tetsuya Nomura. That’s a nice hole you’re digging with your Kingdom Hearts, what do you wanna do with it? Keep digging? Why thou? O for a production company? That’s great, whacha gonna do with it? Name and develop the town the Toy Story flicks take place in? Yeah, alright. Add the goofy jock from Glee as a best friend for Andy that the Triceratops assumes is just a Dinosaur Toy down the street? What a funny joke idea! Nix the final playtime they’ve hoped to cap off the film with and save it for a later project? A tad disappointing, but alright. Make Sora a vessel for Xehanort? Whoa, that sounds hella har- A sexy Genie of the Rose who grants a wish for every petal on that collar-mounted rose of hers? Unique concept, but I smell some Hans Christian Anderson shi- The genie’s life force is bound to the Rose so she croaks when the last petal falls ala Beauty and the Beast? And there it is, Color me unsurpri- The Genie finds Andy and drags him into a sex scene to the tune of Aladdin’s Friend Like Me? I don’t think the parents would be okay with their kids watchi- Toonami’s airing this show? Wait, isn’t it on a competing networ- Lewis from Meet the Robinsons is Deleted by DOR-15 Ala the Nanobots from Jimmy Neutron? Mister Enter would be insulted on how you did his favorite Disney flick dirty like thi- Andy is shot into a wormhole and is mutated into a photosensitive Beast? Guys, It’s starting to look like a bad ide- The Genie is an aged-up Bonnie and she’s pregnant with Shantae!? Get me off this crazy tr-

Infinity Train Productions is one of the boldest associates Disney has in its corner right now, from wrestling away ownership of three Gainax originals to collaborating with competing animation company Dreamworks, the IT guys are pretty renowned for their kooky crossovers and kookier cinematic universe. And they’ve made sure to make their acquired goods count towards that universe instead of burn it to the ground LUCASFILM. Starting off by stating this is a universe where Second Impact prevented the assassination of JFK by means of tanging up 13% of the world’s population and weaved a few stitches of train tracks across the globe, naturally the space race escalates exponentially and they begin to develop new technologies and elect Walt Disney himself to be the President of the United States with Nixon as his running mate. That alone resulted in a Sequel Show to Brigadoon where a 24-year-old Marin Asagi boards the Challenger and ends up cast into the future with Melan, a retelling of the first arc of Gurren Lagann that featured Yui Ikari as a supporting character that saves Kamina from death, a twenty-six episode miniseries featuring Andy from the Toy Story gaining a magical genie bound to an enchanted rose, and that’s just the first half of its initial decade. I could go on about its repertoire of shows both original and acquired: Twelve Forever, Evangelion, both Arcadia trilogies with the elder of the two being started by the aformentioned show with that genie of the rose titled, erm… Genie of the Rose, but the one I’m aiming my sights on is the latest acquisition, one that they made in secret. Doctor Who and how they pulled from the playbook of Infinity War to bring the story to its last stop.

Now, quick recap on how Infinity War makes a powerfully heartfelt mass market appeal joyride out of a thoroughly depressing story about failure. Where most Marvel Villains are merely obstacles for the characters to overcome, Thanos acts and reacts as a real person. Where most conflict have certain factors that tip the scales in the favor of who’s tipping them, the conflict is one where either side could come out victorious, where the Comedy of the Last Farcebender ended with the good guys laughing off their failure, Infinity War ended with a content smile from Thanos and our heroes dead silent save for a minor peep of: “Oh, god.” Where the bad decisions in Farcebender are made from genuine stupidity, Infinity War’s stem from worrying whether or not certain sacrifices are worth it. With that crash course out of the way, let’s dig in.

First thing’s first, is the villain a compelling character? Well, although Sacha Dhawan has the same unhinged energy expected out of any incarnation of longtime enemy, the Master, complete with moments of geniuine affection to his former best beff, he’s ultimately not the main baddie of this piece, that honor goes to Alrick. Believed to be dead after a dirtbike accident, it turns out that he had been picked up by the train and has spent a good three decades or so fucking with the systems to construct an empire starting with the crazy world of Elmore all the way to the Lanes Between and yes, he has shown himself to be a caring father figure to Grace and Simon throughout the second half of Cracked Reflections which leads into the episode, he’s concerned for his future as he’s clearly not as lively as he was when he first climbed aboard and even expresses hope for Jesse returning to the train after taking the exit and getting seperated from MT. And oh, look! He returns after the big moment, that’s nice.

So yeah, compelling villain, that’s one tick. Is there equal opportunity for either side to win? Well, MT and early on Jesse before his aformentioned exit have the additional assistance of the Watterson family, Banana Joe, and seemingly Penny for a scene only to reveal her in a new shell complete with mind-control and reflective surface to sick the Po-Po on MT. But despite being the protagonist of his show of origin, she’s not the opposing side to Alrick this time around, it’s the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey biatch herself and man, does it set up a curious comparison. Alrick is focusing his will into projecting his consciousness into the Doctor’s heart, an alien with countless eons worth of memories under her belt compared to Alrick’s measly sixtysomeodd laps around the sun. Not only that, but the Doctor is able to expel regeneration energy to fry the shit out of him if he feels the need to get a little messy. But with her locked up in the Time Lord Matrix which the Master has already skimmed through, there’s nowhere for the Doctor to run or even hide from Alrick. Throw in the Master’s ability to have his mind occupy two hearts at the same time whilst he’s chatting it up with the Lone Cyberman and the Doctor’s pretty pinned but still has a chance to outfox Alrick at the end of it all.

Bad decisions, the Doctor doesn’t trade lives so she keeps asking about the Timeless Child, what it’s supposed to be and why it drove the Master into absolutely butchering Galifrey after all the hard work each incarnation of the Doctor had. It turns out that this Timeless Child was a Pheonix Denizen created by Alrick to create a perfect world but One-One cast it out in hard-light beam form, striking Takeru and Ryou from This Ugly Yet Beautiful World from 2018. From the clipped wings came Hikari and Akari respectively whilst the main body crashed out of a wormhole into the sights of Tecteun who adopted the kid in time for a spaceship of highly-evolved snake people to crash land due to Kate and Leopold rules of time travel causing their machinery to get mucked up by Time Police in an episode of Rick and Morty of all shows, causing the child to fall to its doom and promptly regenerate, making her the first to do so in Galifreyan history. One of the survivors offers the gift of Time Travel in exchange for the power of Regeneration and Tecteun, scientist and explorer, jumps at the chance by means of tearing out the child’s soul for every three days that elapse. Obviously, she’s a fucking monster and she eventually does crack the code and test it on herself and the results allow the gift of time travel to bestowed upon the newly minted Timelords by Omega. Wow, all of this from a formally great show, (Doofenshmertz: what are the odds.) The Doctor is obviously unsurprised that Omega dangled the keys to time travel over the heads of the Shobagan race, but what horrifies her is that the very thing she and every other Time Lord we’ve seen had taken for granted was pilfered from a denizen that she learns after the life of abuse was created by some dude who hijacked some Train Car manufacturing equipment to build a perfect world. And it’s here where we see the main lynchpin of Alrick’s character: Perfection.

Those of you who’ve seen the whole series of Cracked Reflections will know that Alrick is an obsessive perfectionist first and foremost hence the plan to transform every Denizen of Elmore into full-blooded humans with leftover energy from this same Timeless Child. But not many of us recognize that this is only part of Alrick’s shtick. A simple man with complicated motives, a futurist in the trade of nostalgia, a conservative obsessed with progress, a gentle mentor with an impatient temper. These are just a handful of the ways to describe Walt Disney that were used by Ben Bouqulet, Mic Graves, and Owen Dennis to depict Alrick over the course of the last two seasons of Gumball leading into Cracked Reflections and Garrick Hagon truly gives his all portraying all the various shades of this man especially here when he is sharing his story of how he created a literal god only for One-One to cast it aside upon regaining control of the train from the very woman he spent the past 33 years building a perfect world for, a woman he cherishes like his older sister cherished his girlhood friend, a woman that even now still believes him to be ‘One-One: Gone forever?’ That is some next level tragic shit right there.

Of course, the Doctor is still concerned for this child and it’s here where a familiar face crashes the party to let the cat out of the bag, Morbius from the Fourth Doctor Adventure Brain of Morbius outing himself as the infamous Timeless Child as well as harboring his disembodied heart in the Doctor after his ill-fated Mindbending Battle. This swerve may have served to provide added tension towards his motives, is he really wanting to go back to his home and views traveling with the Doctor as his only way there, or is he biding his time, waiting for his chance to overwhelm the Doctor when she’s not looking. As we see more of Morby’s checkered past in excruciating detail, slavery to the Division with everything down to his personality programmed and dictated into a mind-melded Morby by an enigmatic cult dubbed ‘The Master Writers’ An organization build solely and specifically for Infinity Train Productions to use in their portfolio of works. And when they were done with their enslaved progenetor, the Division in which they served lined him up for an execution from the Fugitive Doctor, during the 2nd Doctor’s orientation. Then they promptly merc poor Ruthie to regenerate her into the 3rd Doctor, closing the gap between Troughton and Pertwee. So yeah, The Division, they’re run by total assholes and Numero Dos only agrees to work there if his first assistant is longtime companion Jamie McCrimmon. But look at his face, does this look like the face of concent and tolerance to you? ‘Joe (Help, I’m a Fish!): Of course not!’ Props to Sam the Man with a Plan Troughton for filling his father’s shoes in this emotionally tense scene. And this ain’t the chilling twist that shocked the fandom.

Alrick: “Whoever harbors the heart of the child is the child in of itself.“

Doctor: “Wot?”

Alrick: “It means that I will have my prize whether you like it or not!” (Punches through the Doctor’s Chest, crushes the Smash Ball within, causing the Doctor to turn into a pheonix before dissipating into Alrick’s body with the Smash Ball. Alrick’s Number skyrockets as his body regresses to his prime, the man laughing maniacally as the Timeless Child’s ultimate power rushes into him)

So yeah, Morby’s been reconstituting his powers over the centuries the Doctor had lived hence the golden energy during the later regenerations. How we find this out is by the titular character of the BBC’s last remaining reason towards that sweet TV Licence Money getting outright merced by Alrick in front of a guy that deep down still admires his childhood friend. This closes out An Untimely Caviat, the final episode in Doctor Who’s revived series, and leads us right into the finale of Cracked Reflection where he goes full on Disney Villain. Mercing the Master to make him a conduit to gijinkafy the entirety of Elmore, Co-Opting his Cybermaster drones as a mechanical army, ludiccrous speed incubating a pocket-dimension frog to house the Train Cars his empire had conquered via that same energy he channeled through the aformentioned Master, yeah, this does not sound like the man Amelia planned to marry if not had already married outright. Well, that’s the point. He’s drunk with power, it’s more likely that this is his ambition talking. No doubt he’s relishing in his own arrogance much to Marnie’s horror. Oh, yeah, Old Marnie’s doing her astral projection thing to react to her younger brother’s madness and watches on as MT gets roughed up by Super Alrick in front of an audience of his adopted children.

Of course, MT does find some santuary in the Number Car and re-unites with Jesse, resulting in the now sempailess Agent Sieve phasing through the glass screen whilst the train is figuring out how to solve Jesse’s seemingly unsolvable problem of getting a denizen off the train. But that just gives the Fleck some time to witness the madness of this rumored Apex fella as he ankleholds MT and gijinkafies Gumball and Darwin to demonstrate his final offer, her response is to break out a Denizen Ex Machina by prompting Alan Dracula to slice the monkeyfigher in half, causing him to regenerate into a pair of innocent, mindless little babies that will never bother anyone ever again… The Crown grieve for their master, Sieve calls off the manhunt for the rouge slither, the companions go their seperate ways with Graham staying on Earth to deliver the bad news the two youngest raising the two babies up to the Doctor’s standard… or at least one of them due to Yaz getting arrested by a Judoon Platoon before she could legally adopt Zarc. The expression of the companions are grim, and rightfully so, the one guy-or-gal that has kept the 21st century from falling into tyranny is no longer around to do the job they enjoyed doing whenever there was a sitch to see through. But after the wide shot of Yaz getting locked up in Shada we cut to MT, off the train and safe with Jesse in Arizona. Jesse’s brother Nate comes up to find his older brother with the very Chrome Girl he met on a magical train, Nate asks for the girl’s name and her answer?

Jesse: Dracula 2?

MT: (looks to the Lake, concerned that the Flecks would come after her but eases up when its clear that there are no Flecks coming.) I’m Lake.

We get a nice little callback to close out the series as the song Kibō plays in the credits, indicating that Hope is still out there in the cosmos, Doctor or No Doctor. And that is a powerful message to send to the audience and I have a pretty good feeling that whether or not the Doctor ends up getting revived in Kingdom Hearts III alongside all the absent heroes that Infinity Train productions had raked in over the years doesn’t quite matter, the studio does not need Doctor Who and its universe does not need the Doctor. And I have a pretty good feeling that the Doc may end up giving up their ticket back into the land of the living, leaving the universe to all the other champions of the cosmos that Toonami has flaunted over the decades. The Doctor has overcome many frightening, haunting, tyrannical, violent and downright Orwellian things in life and man, oh, man have we got a whole plate of them to overcome even now. Would I go back to this expansive world for further analysis, sure, if the views get gud. But the impact of the Doctor’s Death is a pretty big deal that actually caught a bunch of us by surprise despite the minor hints scattered throughout. (One-One: All aboard for emotional maturation on the finest freighter in all of Trenzalore) The Destiny of the Doctor News heard around the world, and the outpour of memories and grief rivalling even Mr. Peanut but unlike the legendary legume, our favorite timelord will probably be gone for a lot longer than just a couple of weeks and the time it takes will show how deep the rabbit hole goes. It will also show who’s willing to step up and find ways to make a difference in the lives of others, and they’re going to need to learn a thing or two to do so. (Cletus from the Simpsons Movie with the Skillshare Logo slapped onto his face in post: My time to shine.)

#schaffrillas productions #Doctor Who #Infinity Train #The Amazing World of Gumball #Timeless Child #Alrick #submission

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anyathebox · 4 years

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The 30 Best Movies for Kids on Hulu

This post is refreshed routinely to mirror the most recent films to leave and enter Hulu, which you can pursue here. *New increments are demonstrated with a bullet.

You're stuck at home, pushing the controller through such a large number of choices on your shrewd TV, searching for something, anything, that you can use to divert the children and not cause you to feel liable. Allow us to help.

In all actuality none of the web-based features are especially extraordinary at family alternatives now that Disney+ has cornered that advertise, however that doesn't mean there aren't some incredible decisions on Hulu. Here are 30 commendable movies to divert the little ones or timetable a whole family film night around (in the event that you have the vitality subsequent to self-teaching).

It might have some natural story components, yet this 2019 film has the absolute most exquisite visuals in any ongoing energized film, including an influx of blossoms and the plan of its adorable primary character, a Yeti who needs the assistance of a young lady and her companion to return to his home at Mount Everest.

The most unusual energized story of the beginning of the CGI structure was the opposition between DreamWorks with Antz and Pixar with A Bug's Life — two movies that the detail lives of the Earth's littlest animals in astute manners. Pixar appears to have won the more extended fight, yet there's a whole other world to like here than you included, a solid voice cast and fun visuals.

Nancy Meyers co-composed this cunning family satire about an effective lady who gets herself the sudden mother of a 14-month-old infant young lady when her tragically missing cousin leaves her the kid after her passing. This might be for the somewhat more seasoned children, and a portion of its sex legislative issues are dated, yet Diane Keaton keeps it moving with her expert planning.

Precisely which titles Disney permits to bounce from its web-based feature to others doesn't bode well, however here's the undertakings of a sweet trick canine named Bolt, the main puppy of this pleasant film from 2008. John Travolta voices the canine who accepts he really has superpowers, which permit him to take off on a crosscountry excursion to spare his proprietor, Penny.

Travis Knight of Laika notoriety (Kubo and the Two Strings) coordinated the best Transformers film in this suddenly glad side project of the monstrous Hasbro arrangement of movies. It's a film with a similar sort of family-experience soul as '80s works of art of the class, floated by fun exhibitions from Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena.

Recall when motion pictures were as basic as setting cats and canines in opposition to each other? This 2001 family flick has been practically overlooked by history, however it was really a truly success at that point. Perhaps you're mature enough to have some wistfulness for it or need to acquaint it with your little ones at this point. Which side will they pick?

We don't merit Aardman. The masters behind Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and others made their greatest true to life sprinkle with this 2000 hit. A cunning riff on jail break motion pictures like Escape From Alcatraz (however with chickens!), this is really the most noteworthy netting stop-movement enlivened film ever, a title it's held for right around 20 years now.

Who doesn't cherish the Man in the Yellow Hat and his adorable primate? This is the 2006 dramatically delivered adaptation of the book arrangement by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey that have been mainstream around the globe for ages. With voice work by Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, Eugene Levy, and some more, it's a sweet experience story for the entire family.

This true to life transformation of the Nickelodeon animation has no option to be as interesting and astute as it may be. It helps that newcomer Isabela Moner is a wonderful lead as Dora, but at the same time there's a superbly mindful offhanded tone to this film, one that is interesting without each paying attention to itself as well. It's a sweet family experience film that works similarly for guardians and minimal ones.

Possibly trust that the genuine minimal ones will hit the hay first, yet there are unquestionably a few families that can deal with this story about growing up from the ace Steven Spielberg. Christian Bale stars in the account of a little youngster whose life is changed always when he turns into a captive in a Japanese internment camp.

It became something of a climax, yet this family film was gigantic when it was first in quite a while. Who can't identify with the narrative of attempting to free a ravishing creature like the orca that gives this film a name? It made over $150 million on a $20 million spending plan and propelled an establishment. Willy was liberated to run all over mainstream society.

From the overseer of Mad Max: Fury Road! The family movie producer side of George Miller coordinated this melodic satire about penguins who fundamentally need to stop the end of the world with their moving and singing. It's not on a par with the first, yet it has some smart visuals, amazing voice work, and some great tunes for sure.

Individuals frequently highlight the Toy Story films as the model for an incredible energized arrangement, yet credit ought to be given to the set of three of motion pictures about a kid named Hiccup and his winged serpent Toothless. The third and last film in this blockbuster arrangement is as of now on Hulu, and it's a ravishing, ardent, moving last section to perhaps the best establishment of the 2010s, energized or surprisingly realistic.

The LEGO Movie is one of the most innovative and pleasant vivified movies of the 2010s. The spin-off may feel a piece excessively jumbled now and again, yet it holds enough of that vitality to make it worth a look on Hulu, particularly as the entirety of our innovative resources have been decreased by the craziness of 2020.

This isn't the Danny DeVito–voiced late form however the 1972 short unique that disclosed on TV around a thousand times when you were youthful. One of Dr. Seuss' most adored books gets a caring variation in this work of art, an account of duty and natural thought that will never develop old, and should start a few recollections for guardians of the correct age.

See, a narrative! Truly, true to life movies can be family ones as well. Indeed, it was that cross-segment request to the account of the yearly excursion of sovereign penguins in Antarctica to locate their favorable places that made this such an astounding achievement, winning Best Documentary at the Oscars subsequent to making over $120 million around the world. Having Morgan Freeman describe consistently helps as well.

Will Ferrell voices the title character, the supervillain who needs to get a portion of the credit and worship of his hero partners. After really slaughtering his superhuman enemy, Megamind discovers that life does not merit living for a miscreant without a legend and winds up making a scoundrel far and away more terrible for him to overcome. A sharp parody of the hero kind that would rule the following decade of blockbusters, this film plays far superior now than in 2010.

We don't give Laika enough credit. They don't get close to as much cash-flow with films like Paranorman and Kubo and the Two Strings as organizations like DreamWorks and Pixar. Their most recent is as of now on Hulu, dropping not exactly a year after its dramatic delivery. It may not be their best, yet it's dazzling to take a gander at, uncovering the organization that made it as ostensibly the most outwardly intriguing enlivened studio around.

My Dog Skip

This family dramedy from 2000 adjusts the personal book of a similar name by Willie Morris. It's the narrative of a 9-year-old who is given a delightful Jack Russell terrier on his birthday, whom he names Skip, and some developmental parts of his life that he imparts to his puppy. It's a sweet transitioning film with included enthusiasm for canine darlings.

Tune in, this film is somewhat of a fiasco, yet it's consistently an entrancing debacle. Joe Wright coordinates this prequel recounting another cause story for Peter Pan and Captain Hook, played by Garrett Hedlund. Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, and Levi Miller co-star in this certainly abnormal blockbuster that is by all accounts increasing a reappraised following throughout the years. Why are individuals despite everything discussing Pan? Look at it on Hulu and report back.

The Pink Panther 2

We should just considerately call this one a passage to better things. The spin-off of the Steve Martin–drove reboot of the Pink Panther arrangement isn't impartially "acceptable," however it might interest your children enough to watch the splendid Peter Sellers motion pictures or even a portion of the first kid's shows. What's more, hell, regardless of whether it makes them need to see a greater amount of Steve Martin, that is likely something worth being thankful for as well.

This was the first DreamWorks highlight to be generally enlivened in 1998 and was a greater hit than you likely recollect. It's the tale of the Book of Exodus and how Moses went from being only the title character to driving the youngsters out of Israel. It's a pretty film outwardly and includes some great music too, yet history appears to have overlooked it in the wake of the amount Disney commanded the '90s.

Carnage Verbinski guided a standout amongst other energized films on Hulu, this Oscar-winning highlighting voice work by Johnny Depp ahead of the pack job and probably the most propelled visuals in any vivified film this decade. Rango is a chameleon who discovered a town considered Dirt in this creative riff on the Western kind that plays similarly to youngsters and grown-ups.

Smallfoot

Channing Tatum magnificently voices the lead character in this melodic satire from 2018. He plays a Yeti who plunges from his overcast mountain town and experiences a human — both understanding that different species thought them a legendary animal. The visuals are connecting with and the jokes are sufficiently astute to work for all ages.

Disney+ has taken practically all the superhuman motion pictures however Sam Raimi's unique adaptation of the webslinger is still on Hulu. Featuring Tobey Maguire, this blockbuster doesn't get enough acknowledgment for reviving the whole hero kind such that plays to the two guardians an

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zombriekid · 5 years

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Exposure Therapy [Alucard/Gender Neutral Reader]

Series: Hellsing

Summary: the “long awaited” sequel to inhuman; “... this pseudo exposure therapy meant to suture the scabbed rift that severs the burgeoning bond between you and Him. Because you weren’t the only one afflicted that day...”

Warning: body horror; mentions of a developing panic attack

In the dark space behind closed eyes is where you dwell, drawing in slow, deliberate breaths through your nose until your lungs expand to max capacity, and then gradually pushing them back out through pursed lips. It’s an exercise in composure, done in the hopes of barring your heart from its incessant lofty flutters and reigning in your mind before it runs off with itself- and oh how it wants to run.

As stubborn as the skull it occupies and twice as thick, your brain is relentless in its pursuit of diving headfirst into the depths of your psyche where a veil of writhing black shadows and glistening fangs patiently wait for a mere glimpse, the smallest window of opportunity to present itself so the trauma can swallow your anxiety whole and gnaw and chew until you’re nothing but a raw, mangled mess left for an endless audience of red eyes.

But in this moment, contained within the dark walls of sir Integra’s study with said employer standing in as something of a mediator, you can’t allow your abysmal memories and hellish imaginations to roam amok. You need to do this.

So you roll your shoulders back and lift your chin with eyes sealed shut still; when next your vision clears you want Alucard to be the first thing you see. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”

“’You think?’” A familiar baritone questions, tone clipped and pronunciation short. Something in your gut tells you that He’s just as perturbed as you right now.

Which brings to mind the precise reason why you’re enduring this psychological torture- this pseudo exposure therapy meant to suture the scabbed rift that severs the burgeoning bond between you and Him. Because you weren’t the only one afflicted that day, when a squadron of very human and very panicky soldiers mistook you for a shambling corpse and in your moment of hesitation- they weren’t monsters, after all- this unit of bullet proof vests and combat rifles perceived you a threat. A barrage of deadly, metallic projectiles fired your way, poised to shred your body into grisly confetti were it not for Alucard and His impeccable timing. That was lucky for you. However, the method of which He saved your skin rained pure hell on your simple mortal understanding.

“Are you absolutely sure, Murray?” You hear sir Integra ask, it being the first she deems her intervention appropriate since opening her office door to you tonight. “You must be certain that you’re truly ready.”

Because this isn’t just for your sake, is the unspoken line and you don’t dare to outwardly acknowledge it. The air in the room is already volatile enough, there’s no need to strike a match by dragging His vulnerability further into the light when He’s allowing you this favor. After all, He doesn’t have to forgive you or your rejection.

“I understand,” you say with a quiet voice that’s quickly succeeded by a single firm nod, “and I’m ready.”

What follows next is a moment of silence, a heavy one, the tension pulled taut like an elastic band ready to sever and snap. But when the moment trickles into two, then three, and the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the corner of the study becomes too loud, it’s only now that you have clarity of the situation.

Alucard isn’t ready.

You’ve seen this side of Him before; He’s revealed Himself to you once in all of His abominable glory, and though it was under less than favorable conditions He still posed no threat to you then, and yet you... you couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t take it. And when you fully recovered from that episode, cleared to go out on missions and be a productive Hellsing employee again, you went back on your bullshit and withdrew from Him once more- entirely far too reminiscent of when you first worked together.

The intent was to allow your mental health to sort of grow metaphorical callouses, become accustomed and then desensitized to the fact that you came face to face with the physical embodiment of His monstrous and so very negative energy- that a large group of people were killed because of your incompetence. Be jaded enough so that you wouldn’t be reduced to a puddle of anxiety and panic attacks whenever He came near.

But you never conveyed any of this to Him.

An educated guess on your end, He likely interpreted your deliberate absence as you shunning Him; you can accept Him when He’s subdued and complacent and obediently following the orders of His master, but underneath the pretty facade? When His emotions overwhelm Him and all of His terrible power outgrows His vessel and literally tears Him asunder? That you can’t accept. Again, it’s all your own unconfirmed speculation, but from His perspective you rejected the real Him.

And by scorning Him you had hurt Alucard, and that’s why He’s apprehensive to reveal this part of Himself again.

And truth be told you did reject Him, as unintentional as it was, and you should’ve found a way to tell Him that you were working past this before the silence gave an answer for you. But you didn’t and now you’re dealing with the consequence.

You have one shot at this so don’t fuck it up or you’ll lose Him forever.

Hands curl into fists until the nails dig into the meat of your palms, you feel your spine straighten out and harden and both of your eyes peel open to the sight of fear.

Alucard’s fear, complete with a furrowed brow and rigid frown and red eyes scanning the scene before Him, and judging by the way His shoulders are glued to His chair you note that He’s bracing Himself.

There’s an ache in your sternum.

You look Him in the eye and tell Him that you’re ready, and if He notices the tension of the skin around your knuckles then He doesn’t say anything.

His energy shifts.

You draw a full breath into your lungs.

The air crackles.

You feel queezy.

His body splits open like a plastic bag melting from fire.

****

Breathe.

Repeat this mantra.

Inhale through your nose, one, two, three; exhale through your mouth, five, six, seven.

A whirlwind of noise entangles all around you, of screechy scurrying vermin and disembodied howling and inhuman whining; hundreds of voices topple over each other in a cacophony of horror and discord, all vying for your recognition yet never enough to make your ear drums bleed. Still you feel your own body trying to rob you of oxygen.

Look for Him, find Him. Ground yourself. You’re in no danger here.

No.

Your eyes widen with the dawning realization in your head.

No, you’re not seeking Him out. You match the attention of a particularly large eye towards your right side and you know that He’s here. The coils of rolling impenetrable shadows, the rows upon rows of jagged teeth snapping and snarling at the air, the congregation of numerous red eyes- unblinking, ever searching- solely focused on your every move... is Him. This assembly of chaotic entropy is Alucard- no matter how much your human psyche tries to, you cannot separate the monster from the man.

Your chin quivers; and you either accept all of Him, everything of who and/or what He is, or nothing at all and you forgo the bond between you two.

Swallowing around a hard knot lodged in the middle of your throat, willing yourself to just fucking breathe despite the fact that your skin is prickling with the tell tale signs of a mounting panic attack, you gently reach out into the darkness with an open palm until your fingertips breach a smoky, far too cold plume.

To your surprise, it solidifies into cool flesh.

_______________________________________________________________________

a/u: i don’t think you guys realize how genuinely proud of this i am; like it’s probably arrogance on my part but i don’t think anyone’s tried to tackle something like this with alucard/reader-insert fanfic before? or at least from the angle i’m comin in at? i dunno, like i don’t think this is the absolute best thing i’ve ever written but this development just feels freakin organic and unique to me y’all and i’m so happy/proud that i did it! teamwork makes the dreamwork so if you guys liked it then please hit the heart button, leave a comment about what you personally liked- or if there’s something that doesn’t sound right to you then lemme know- and reblog this fic so other people can see it! and i’ll catch you gorgeous people on the next piece <3

#hellsing #hellsing alucard #hellsing alucard x reader #hellsing alucard x you #alucard x reader #alucard x you #alucard #integra fairbrook wingates hellsing #hellsing ultimate #hellsing fanfic #hellsing fanfiction #writing #hunter murray

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zak-animation · 6 years

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An Introduction to ‘Mystery Box’

In this post, I’m breaking down and responding to our new project brief, ‘Mystery Box’. This assignment will be building on my understanding of the processes involved within either stop motion or 3D Digital animation and allows us to develop our understanding of character performance and fundamental animation skills.

Over the next four weeks, we will be creating a short animated sequence with a predefined digital 3D rig within Maya or a pre-built armature for stop motion. This will be an opportunity for us to showcase our understanding of the animation principles in a set scenario, and focus on character performance. Our character will enter from off-screen, look into the mystery box and react to its contents.

These are the main narrative beats that our sequence has to hit: but we can be as creative as we want within those guidelines. The focus of the piece will be our ability to clearly communicate a performance with a clear change of emotion described through full body acting. We will be using strong posing, considered movement and staging to create a single scene with a narrative arc (beginning - middle - end). Whilst we ultimately have to decide what is in the mystery box, the character will be reacting to an unseen object within that box: we cannot move it, and the audience must not know the contents.

Given the fact that a key part of this assignment is an understanding of character performance, we will be taking part in an ‘acting for animation’ workshop, in which we will be filming some initial live-action reference in order to translate the footage into authentic character movement. In my own time, I’ve been able to see how important and helpful this process of recording live-action reference can be to my animations.

For this brief, we are given a choice of mediums to specialise in: either stop motion or CG animation. Whilst I have a passion for stop motion, this is a medium that I can work on independently: it’s a fairly intuitive process, and the only way to improve is through iterative development. Comparatively, CG animation offers a whole new approach to the craft and opens new, exciting opportunities for me as an animator, that I haven’t been able to explore yet. In the previous project, Introduction to CG, I was able to get a glimpse of how CG animation worked and I’m interested to continue this.

If we choose to specialise in CG, I will be provided with a rigged character to animate with: learning the iterative process of CG animation. This is a medium that I’ve only explored fleetingly: however, I do find inspiration in Pixar, Dreamworks and the like. To me, CG animation represents an entirely new world of opportunities and challenges within animation - and I feel like this is likely going to be the route for me.

Despite this, I’m ultimately torn between the two mediums as I don’t want to simply leave stop motion behind: it was my initial interest in animation. My plan is to discuss these concerns with my tutor in the upcoming mid-project review.

As always, we are expected to build on our own researching skills by sustaining independent research into the processes introduced in taught sessions: taking our time to further develop our own learning and understanding on this blog.

Here’s One I Made Earlier For the purpose of this introductory blog post breaking down the assignment, I’ve presented a series of past year students’ approaches to this project. As a preliminary visualisation of this task, I feel like these evidence a successful understanding of character performance and present the steps and ideas I will be exploring throughout the upcoming weeks in a visually engaging manner.

Weekly Breakdown

Week 9: Initial Responses The first week of this project will be an opportunity for us to explore our initial ideas and responses to the briefing. After being introduced to the project, we will take part in a performance workshop working with movement director Sarah Perry as a way to explore and pre-visualise the acting and movements our character will take in the sequence. Whilst this is the only time-tabled opportunity to film live-action reference, I’m purely taking this first week as a time to experiment with different ideas. Its natural for an idea to develop and change after several iterations, and as such I’m not expecting to find my final idea in this first week.

Additionally to this, we will be creating a first rough pass on our storyboards: translating the live-action reference into a six-panel storyboard that dictates the main narrative beats of our sequence. Finally, the week will end with a Storyboarding Master Class by industry professional Helen Schroder, a storyboard artist and animator who’s worked on such well-known features as Arthur Christmas and the latest Watership Down animated mini-series from the BBC.

The primary purpose of this first week is an opportunity for us to explore our own initial responses to the brief, before deciding on a solid idea to animate. It’s important to consider a range of ideas before settling on one, evidencing a breadth of experimentation.

Week 10: Idea Development In this second week, we will be refining our ideas to a more concrete plan for our animated sequence. My plan for this week is to refine my own live-action reference to clearly mark out the key poses and timing of my sequence and create a refined, second pass of my storyboard in preparation for the Animatic Masterclass led by Helen. In this, we will be introduced to the idea of an animatic, and how it is used within the industry to pre-visualise the motion to directors.

By the end of the week, I should have a refined concept for my animated sequence. Having produced a clear storyboard, live-action reference, and animatic, I should be at a point where I’m ready to translate my ideas into animation.

Week 11: Translation to Animation Working in either the stop motion studio or within Maya, the third week will be my opportunity to begin developing my ideas into animation. Having decided on a medium to explore further, I will be inducted into the relevant specialism through taught workshops and continue to develop the sequence in my own time, as a way to ensure a quality that I’m happy with.

Week 12: Final Touches The final week will be centered around finalising my animation: completing the piece, and adding any potential finishing touches to the sequence. In CG, we will be exploring the potential of exporting and rendering our digital sequence.

Overview As a whole, I’m eager to begin work on this new project brief. The largest single piece of animation on the entire first year of the course, this represents the largest challenge and animation project I’ve faced so far. Whilst I’m yet to make a decision on what specialism to explore, something I find refreshing and appealing about this latest project brief is the singular nature of the assignment: as we would whilst working in the industry, we are given a single project brief and tasked with putting all of our time and effort into completing this specific assignment. I believe this allows me not only to be more focused on the project at hand but allows me to produce more exciting practical work in response as I will no longer be juggling several practical projects at once. With this upcoming mystery box brief, I am focusing on a singular assignment and thus can truly spend time developing my work and understanding of the project at hand.

Having broken down the brief’s requirements and weekly objectives, my next move is to begin researching animators and artists that may influence my development over this project. In particular, our project briefing explored the work of mime artists and modern applications of similar ideas through Rowan Atkinson and Bo Burnham - and I feel like exploring the art of exaggerated performance would be an interesting start to this project.

References

‘Mystery Box’. (2018). Swilby Animation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e8rEkAnbw8

‘Mystery Box’. (2018). Liv Thomas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAAYPoTI6-A

‘Mystery Box Animation Reel. (2018). Rebecca Lucy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsYlrbdcLpc

#ba1b:mysterybox

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jenicapujols · 8 years

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The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

There is nothing more important than a good story. If a viewer is transported to another universe as the movie carries on, that’s what makes it successful. In Dreamwork’s Kung Fu Panda 2, the masterminds behind the film achieved just that. As the viewers follow Dragon Warrior Po and his friends, they don’t think about the world around them; they think about the one that is in front of them. Although the story is set in China, this alternate universe has different ways in which physics works. In this action-packed kung fu world, physics is altered to match the variety of characters and the “awesome” power that they possess.

To begin, one major subject that stands out is that characters often defy gravity, that is, they seem weightless. Of course, this adds to elements of strength and grace when characters are fighting, but the amount seen in the film is not possible in our less kung fu-y world. Many examples can be seen through out the film, such as in the beginning of the movie when Po and the Furious Five rush into action after hearing the Valley is under attack. Po jumps high and Crane catches him in his claws, flying away with him. In the real world, we don’t really see cranes flying away with full grown pandas because it’s just not possible. Crane wings simply are not big enough to hold up all those hundreds of pounds, unfortunately. Further into the movie, the group heads to Gongmen City, where a peacock named Shen has reclaimed his throne and threatens to end all kung fu. As Po and the Furious Five go on the attack, Shen’s weapon, a fully metal cannon that spits balls of steel and fire, is smashed several feet into the air by Tigress. Obviously this would take thousands of pounds of force to have that happen, but in the film it’s effective in showing that Tigress is incredibly strong. This weightlessness is seen again and again all through out the movie, such as various flips by Tigress and even one by Master Croc, who in the beginning of the film is practicing with Masters Ox and Rhino when he jumps into the air with ease and lands a back flip. Physics is altered in that gravity is less effective on these characters as they flip, fly, and jump into the air. However, without the weightlessness sprinkled in, the fighting styles would not be as effective. It’s not true to physics, but it does add to the story really nicely.

Another element that is quite exaggerated in Kung Fu Panda 2 is a common effect in animation known as squash and stretch. Squashing and stretching happens often in real life, however it is emphasized in the film thanks to Po. Po, as everyone knows him to be, is physically bigger than his ferocious friends thanks to his large belly and facial features. While his enemies taunt him, his chubbiness actually makes for interesting physics in animation that may not happen in the real world. For instance, Po gets heavily punched in the face by the Wolf Boss as he recognizes the symbol painted on the wolf’s shoulder. As the wolf’s fist connects with Po’s soft, squishy face, his lips and his cheeks fly backward in a comical fashion. Another example is when Po and the Five are giving chase to the Wolf Boss. The Dragon Warrior lagged behind as the wolf was getting away, and called for help. Tigress, being the strong martial artist that she is, lounges forward to shove Po speeding through the city streets. This causes his body to stretch immensely as his midsection flies forward, leaving his head behind for a slow-mo second or two to catch up to the rest of his body. All through out the film we see Po’s massive body defy physics with it’s impressive elastic behavior, not only with stretch, but with squash as well. Many times Po lands on the ground squishing his entire weight to the floor, such as during his fight scene with Shen. He lands belly down on the conveyor, and for a split second his entire body flattens from the force. Because every object contains its volume as it squashes and stretches, it’s clear that the exaggeration in Po’s ability to do so is far from the physics of our world.

To continue, while the abilities the characters possess in the film are pretty cool and great for story development, they simply do not happen in the physical world. One great example is Shifu’s inner peace rain drop ability, which includes him moving with fluid-like motions as he transfers a rain drop to a leaf. If one were attempting to do that in real life, the drop wouldn’t move that effortlessly across fur or even human skin because of the friction and uneven surfaces most animals have. At the climax of the film, the viewers also see that Shifu somehow has the power to know something was wrong with the Dragon Warrior even though he was miles away from Gongmen City. This simply is impossible for someone to detect a disturbance from that great of a distance in real life. Other than Master Shifu, Crane demonstrated his impressive ability to shove two massive boats together with a single flap of his wings. While this showcases his strength, it would take much more force to move not one, but two boats at the same time. And finally, at the end of the film, Po was able to connect with his own inner peace by redirecting cannonballs from Shen’s weapon with his bear hands (no pun intended). The flaming balls of metal were shot straight at Po, who caught each one before shooting it right back with the same exact energy. Of course, there’s no way someone could keep the same energy by simply redirecting cannonballs, let alone catch and throw them in the first place. Po and his friends have incredible abilities that aid them in their quest for justice and saving kung fu, however, these abilities are impossible in the real world with normal physics.

Lastly, while physics is often heavily altered in the Kung Fu Panda universe, it’s worth mentioning that Dreamworks did a great job in putting correct physics where it really counts; that is, specifically in the arcs and paths of action of characters and objects. We see all through the film as characters jump from one building to the next and the animation is quite believable as each character slows in and out of an arc. More examples are found when Shen’s cannonballs are fired. Each ball has similar arcs to the characters where they correctly slow in as each reaches an apex, then speed up afterwards. The cannonballs specifically create a feeling of realism and the seriousness of the events taking place, contributing effectively to the plot at hand. Then, at the end of the film, Po returns to Gongmen City after being shot away by one of the said cannonballs and attempts to throw his straw hat at the chains binding the Furious Five. Comically, the hat acts more like a leaf or a piece of paper as it flutters lifelessly to the ground. The path of action the hat took resembled one of those things because of the sporadic back and forth movements, and for a moment, the audience could imagine that actually happening in real life. The animators sprinkled these believable arcs and physics on purpose to connect the viewers back to reality where it really counted.

Kung Fu Panda 2 as a film has a great story line, wonderful characters, and beautiful animation. The break from normal physics in our universe makes the movie compelling and pushes the boundaries of physics to showcase great fighting scenes and characters. The obvious absurd abilities is balanced out nicely with a touch of realism, which is used effectively all through out the film. Po and the gang as well as their story transports the viewer to somewhere where physics is altered and the world is completely different from our own. Nonetheless, story is truly king. Kung Fu Panda 2 is a film millions will love for years to come.

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jeramymobley · 7 years

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A New Era Of Brand Storytelling

The idea of a branching narrative isn’t new in entertainment. Choose Your Own Adventure books of the 1980s put readers in the hero’s seat and in game-like fashion, allowed them to select from multiple, unique story lines. When the movie Clue went to theatres, it was distributed with multiple endings. But with Netflix’s Puss in Book series from Dreamworks animation, interactive storytelling is taking on new potential by way of the platform.

The storyline finds Puss stuck in a book of fairy tales. To escape, he must master several challenges — and viewers have a say about which ones. Should Puss venture into the world of Sinbad, or Snow White? Should Goldilocks’ bears be friendly, or grumpy?

“I have a six-year-old daughter who talks to these shows all the time,” said Netflix director of product innovation Carla Engelbrecht Fisher during a recent interview with Variety. But while shows like Dora the Explorer or Blue’s Clues encourage viewers to shout out answers, they don’t actually give kids a chance to interact. “It’s a faux two-way conversation,” Fisher said. That’s why she jumped at the chance to build truly interactive TV shows with branched narratives. “We are putting viewers in the driver’s seat,” she said.

In a Rolling Stone interview, Fisher further adds, “Creators have been telling stories in non-linear ways for a long time. If they’re telling stories in different ways, what we’re asking is what kind of stories can Netflix do that no one else can do? We’re not tied to the formats of cable networks; our ecosystem is built entirely for interactive devices.”

Netflix is the first major platform to enable this sort of two-way conversation between audiences and the media they consume. And while it will almost certainly facilitate deeper emotional engagement with a show and its characters, there are also questions and reservations: Will it work with adults? Does a loss of control take away from what the storyteller intended? Will the shared experience of a show be changed when individuals direct outcomes? Obviously, there is not a ‘one size fits all’ answer, which is as it should be.

But there’s also a deeper conversation about ethics we should expect to see more. Branding Strategy Insider’s very own Geoff Colon debated the issue of screen time and touched on the various tricks and game strategy that’s applied to hook us all a bit more. Tom Goodwin just wrote a smart piece and how our Smartphones are 2017’s version of a Tamagochi. Then, of course, there’s the brilliant TED talk from Google Insider Tristan Harris on the manipulative tricks tech companies use to capture attention. Interactive storytelling is only possible when the audience is hooked. What’s the right amount of hook?

One tech company is diving even deeper into ethical considerations, specializing in ‘emotional AI’ called Affectiva that uses the concept of “reactive narratives” to change storylines based on facial recognition. If the system senses a viewer is interested, it keeps going with the default storyline, if not, it changes the course.

While much of this is still fringe and experimental, we should expect to see some brands take creative approaches to using platforms in new ways. Just as Netflix is innovating with the concept of a show because they aren’t tied to formats of cable networks, how might a brand look to the platform to leverage some degree of interactive story? What kind of brand partnerships might be available between platform (Google, Hulu, etc.) and product? And what kind of partnership makes the most sense given the platform and its unique audience?

As with all innovation, it’s easy to get blinded by the most spectacular attributes and potential, but it’s also possible to start small by incorporating some fundamentals.

Here are some important takeaways for brands:

Expect to see more resistance to the endless competition for attention as we become more aware of the tricks being used to keep us captive to our small screens. While simple self-discipline can allow anyone to reclaim their time, for some, self-discipline is not in great supply. Brands should look to balance a mix of purposeful engagement (don’t just monopolize a customer’s time, link activities to lead them to a specific action) and real-life connection through events, experiences, in-store happenings.

B2B brands, what if your content did more asking than telling? Instead of (or in addition to) the expected White Paper or eBook, imagine how interactivity could guide critical influencers and decision-makers down pathways through scenarios that made them feel as if the story was changing for them; reacting to their individual needs and circumstances. By threading key variables along a timeline, you may be able to create an experience that shows how their decisions contribute to helping their organization compete to win.

There’s great potential for non-profits and social good initiatives to leverage reactive narrative to call attention to important and sometimes controversial issues. By using branched storylines, you may be able to gently guide audiences that might be resistant to a particular point of view, to seeing a new possibility.

The Blake Project Can Help: The Strategic Brand Storytelling Workshop

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popmusicu · 4 years

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The Megamind Soundtrack is a MASTERPIECE

If we are talking about cinematic masterpiece in the animation industry there is no doubt that Megamind is one of them, it’s not a masterpiece in the sense of Studios Ghibli or anything, but it’s probably one of the best movies to come from the western side of animation.

It has all the ingredients of an excellent film: characters, animation, a complicated story discussing the dilemma of nurture versus nature versus destiny and the crushing effects of expectations can have on one person… now we don’t have the time to unpack all of that so let’s focus on the other grand ingredient that makes this movie a master piece: THE SOUNDTRACK.

Normally when a studio creates the soundtrack of a film (especially in animation), they compose the songs and score specifically for it, but rarely you see an animated movie use pre-existing songs on their soundtrack because it tends to be harder, you have to understand the scene and character and then find the perfect song for it when normally you would get the song composed specifically for the scene and then animate it around it.

Megamind did that, they found the perfect song for every scene they need it making it easier for us to get the characters and what are their struggles, not only they found the perfect song for the scene, but they used widely known songs for the most part so it would be easier for the viewer to empathize and understand the characters.

In the very beginning of the movie we are shown the origins of Megamind and why he chose to be a villain, as he creates his very first attack against his nemesis Metroman we hear “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorgood & The Destroyers and as the scene progresses we hear his reasoning to be a villain. The song serves two purposes in this case: first is to play a parallel to his reasoning to be the bad guy, Megamind convinces himself that being a villain is his only purpose and nature, secondly as the song advances so does the scene showing the career of Megamind and his fights with Metroman, the song here introduces us to the aesthetic of Megamind.

This last is important, all the songs used in the movie fi perfectly with the aesthetic of not only the rock-star villain persona of Megamind, but with the themes of the movie and other characters.

Then the song repeats itself when now a fully adult Megamind escapes prison to go back to play the villain, this to show us how in all this time he hasn’t changed his motivations and reasonings behind his career.

Finally, the movie present us the hero of the story with “A little less conversation” by Elvis Presley, the song has only one purpose in the scene: present the aesthetic of Metroman based on Elvis Presley and set the mood reflecting the carefree and light personality behind the character.

Afterwards the movie progresses and we get to the part where Megamind finally manages to defeat Metroman and conquers the city, as he walks to the previous spot that used Metroman and give his victory speech “Highway to Hell “ by ACDC plays as a reference to what is going to happen to the city now that Megamind has the power and obviously to match Megamind villain persona.

Like said before the city falls into chaos with Megamind as a ruler and the audience gets a fun montage of Megamind wrecking chaos with “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne in the background in contrast we jump immediately to a more serious and sad Megamind with “Alone Again” by Gilbert O´Sullivan as an empty city is shown while Megamind reflects on how empty he feels now that he’s won.

“Alone again” set the mood for a more deep look into Megamind psyche while the song plays a parallel on an empty city and the emptiness that Megamind feels at realizing that winning as the bad guy didn’t fulfil him as he thought it would be. It’s the perfect song to communicate that feeling of realization.

But, obviously is going to take more than one song for Megamind to realize this, and denial hits with a new plan: replace Metroman so Megamind has a new hero to play villain, at the very same time Megamind starts to date Roxanne, a journalist who misses Metroman as much as he does. And as he trains this new superhero of his own making and dates Roxanne we hear “Mr. BlueSky” by Electric Light Orchestra.

Arguably the most feel happy song of the world play as we see this blue alien lie to two different persons, we get this cute montage of Roxanne genuinely inspiring Megamind to be a better person while this new superhero is formed and trained. This is the typical montage of the main character making a huge mistake thinking he’s doing the right think.

Once Megamind thinks the new superhero is ready, he goes to prepare to play the villain again, as he puts his costume again, we hear “back in black” by ACDAC. The song is a wink to Megamind being back in his villain persona as the song matches this aesthetic once again.

Funnily enough after this epic montage we cut immediately to “Loving You” by Minnie Riper town while Megamind waits for the hero to show up. Spoiler alert: he doesn’t, the song is a funny way for the movie to explain how heartbroken feels without a hero to fight.

Because this is the message the songs try to tell the audience, how Megamind convinced himself that he was born to be a villain with “bad to the bone” and how he based his whole life around this villain persona, every song that plays while he immerses on this role fits this rock-star villain aesthetic, but in the moment s we see a more real and authentic Megamind a complete different song plays like “Mr blue sky” or “alone again”.

And this is the conclusion that Megamind does when he realizes that the new hero, he created was a villain. When Metroman refuses to be the hero again and tells Megamind that he could be it, and as a Megamind realizes that is time to say the final goodbye to his villain persona he decides to do it in the most extra way with “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns n Roses.

The song is used to reference the wildness of the battle between Megamind and the new villain to come but is the last song we hear that completely fits the villain persona of Megamind, is truly his goodbye to villainy.

Once the battle is done and the dust settles the city accepts Megamind as their new hero and we skip to the last scene. Where once stood Metroman as the hero, now we see Megamind and as he accepts his title of protector of the city we hear “Bad” by Michael Jackson.

While the song is a reference to villain ideas, we see the characters dancing to it, celebrating Megamind’s origins and the song even though is played in reference to Megamind , it’s aesthetic is different to the previous ones, is happier, marking the new beginnings of Megan mind as a happier person who found his true calling, following what the wants and not what society told him and to seal it all, we see him wearing white, to mark how he got rid of his previous aesthetic and persona,

Megamind is a fantastic story of self-discovery which is not only told through its writing, but with music in a different way to Pixar’s stories, while Pixar tells stories with more orchestral sounds that we discover with the movie, Dreamworks opts to do it with association. We associate the songs they use to previous ideas and Dreamworks uses that to their favour and tell the story with them.

Dreamworks is capable to do the same that Pixar does with their soundtrack, because they did it with How to Train your Dragon, but never once has Pixar done what Dreamworks did with Megamind.

What I’m trying to say is that this shows the level of passion and dedication Dreamworks put to their stories, to take the time and find the perfect song to transmit a message and a story with only the music is truly impressive and telling of the quality this movie ends up having.

And finally, I think more people should take the time and watch this movie and give it the praise it deserved but didn’t get in its time and only now it’s getting. But, hey! Better later than never, after all what Megamind tells us it’s that it might get some time and mistakes along the way, but one day we all get our happy endings and redemptions.

Claudia Escobar.

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framefreakstudio · 7 years

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Interview with Armand Baltazar: Master Artist & Storyteller

Armand Baltazar is a master artist and story teller who has worked in DreamWorks, Disney and now in Pixar as a Senior Designer. He has worked in The Prince of Egypt, The Road to Eldorado, Spirit Stallion of the Cimmaron, Sinbad, Shark Tale, Flushed Away, The Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, A Christmas Carol, and Cars 2.He works in both film and fine art, exhibiting in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco. He occasionally teaches and speaks at universities around the country. (Be sure to watch the video interview below!)

We found Armand Baltazar work in CTNX last year, as he’s been going to that event for years, he also has many tips on networking, getting jobs at big studios, making a great portfolio and also as a teacher, he also has great advice on how to put everything you know into a single piece of art.

You can check his work here: His Website His Fan Page His Twitter His Instagram Click to view slideshow.

Interview with Armand Baltazar:

youtube

(Click the play button to watch the video interview above)

Click here to watch in a new Tab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqrC4bdfwXo

In this Episode, You Will Learn:

JArmand Baltazar’s Story

How to view art as problem solving

How to get jobs at studios

How to do great portfolios

How to create great art pieces that tell stories

Actionable Steps

Don’t get stuck with what you see on the internet, focus on developing yourself as a good artist by learning the fundamentals.

When you’re animator designer, your #1 objective is to make your design come t

When working on a team, what you care about that you think makes something good, might be different to what other people think is good, making good art is a first step, making art that is understood by other people and helps them make good art is a whole different skillset.

This is a hard career, heart breaking, there’s friction, there’s a lot of problems, if you can’t love it through all that, then you have a hobby, not a career.

Telling a story through your art is something that only happens through a lot of practice and experience for many years.

“WHEN YOU’RE A ANIMATOR DESIGNER, YOUR #1 OBJECTIVE IS TO MAKE YOUR DESGIN COME TO LIFE”

Did You Enjoy This Interview? Let Us Know On Twitter!

If you enjoyed this interview, please let Armand and I know on Twitter by clicking on the link below:

Click here to let us know you loved the show!

Now it’s Your Turn!

Got questions or any advice or thoughts you want to share about this interview or anything you learned that helped you on your way to freedom? What’s one thing you can take from Armand Baltazar’s Journey? Please feel free to share in the comments section below!

Thanks so much for watching the interview with Armand Baltazar, I truly appreciate YOU!

Until Next Time!

Rodrigo

The post Interview with Armand Baltazar: Master Artist & Storyteller appeared first on Frame Freak Studio.

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joejstrickl · 7 years

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A New Era Of Brand Storytelling

As with all innovation, it’s easy to get blinded by the most spectacular attributes and potential, but it’s also possible to start small by incorporating some fundamentals.

Here are some important takeaways for brands:

The Blake Project Can Help: The Strategic Brand Storytelling Workshop

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

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grigori77 · 5 years

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2019 in Movies - My Top 30 Fave Movies (Part 3)

10. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD – while I love Disney and Pixar as much as the next movie nut, since the Millennium my loyalty has been slowly but effectively usurped by the consistently impressive (but sometimes frustratingly underappreciated) output of Dreamworks Animation Studios, and in recent years in particular they really have come to rival the House of Mouse in both the astounding quality of their work and their increasing box office reliability. But none of their own franchises (not even Shrek or Kung Fu Panda) have come CLOSE to equalling the sheer, unbridled AWESOMENESS of How to Train Your Dragon, which started off as a fairly loose adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s popular series of children’s stories but quickly developed a very sharp mind of its own – the first two films were undisputable MASTERPIECES, and this third and definitively FINAL chapter in the trilogy matches them to perfection, as well as capping the story off with all the style, flair and raw emotional power we’ve come to expect. The time has come to say goodbye to diminutive Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel, as effortlessly endearing as ever) and his adorable Night Fury mount/best friend Toothless, fiancée Astrid (America Ferrera, still tough, sassy and WAY too good for him), mother Valka (Cate Blanchett, classy, wise and still sporting a pretty flawless Scottish accent) and all the other Dragon Riders of the tiny, inhospitable island kingdom of Berk – their home has become overpopulated with scaly, fire-breathing denizens, while a trapper fleet led by the fiendish Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham delivering a wonderfully soft-spoken, subtly chilling master villain) is beginning to draw close, prompting Hiccup to take up his late father Stoick (Gerard Butler returning with a gentle turn that EASILY prompts tears and throat-lumps) the Vast’s dream of finding the fabled “Hidden World”, a mysterious safe haven for dragon-kind where they can be safe from those who seek to do them harm. But there’s a wrinkle – Grimmel has a new piece of bait, a female Night Fury (or rather, a “Light Fury”), a major distraction that gets Toothless all hot and bothered … returning writer-director Dean DeBlois has rounded things off beautifully with this closer, giving loyal fans everything they could ever want while also introducing fresh elements such as intriguing new environments, characters and species of dragons to further enrich what is already a powerful, intoxicating world for viewers young and old (I particularly love Craig Ferguson’s ever-reliable comic relief veteran Viking Gobber’s brilliant overreactions to a certain adorably grotesque little new arrival), and like its predecessors this film is just as full of wry, broad and sometimes slightly (or not so slightly) absurd humour and deep down gut-twisting FEELS as it is of stirring, pulse-quickening action sequences and sheer, jaw-dropping WONDER, so it’s as nourishing to our soul as it is to our senses. From the perfectly-pitched, cheekily irreverent opening to the truly devastating, heartbreaking close, this is EXACTLY the final chapter we’ve always dreamed of, even if it does hurt to see this most beloved of screen franchises go. It’s been a wild ride, and one that I think really does CEMENT Dreamworks’ status as one of the true giants of the genre …

9. TERMINATOR: DARK FATE – back in 1984, James Cameron burst onto the scene with a stone-cold PHENOMENON, a pitch-perfect adrenaline-fuelled science fiction survival horror that spawned a million imitators but has never truly been equalled. Less than a decade later, he revisited that universe with a much bigger and far bolder vision, creating an epic action adventure that truly changed blockbuster cinema for the better (or perhaps worse, depending on how you want to look at it), but, with its decidedly final, full-stop climax, also effectively rendered itself sequel-proof. Except that Hollywood had other ideas, the unstoppable money machine smelling potential profit and deciding to milk this particular cash cow for all it was worth – on the small screen, it was the impressive but ultimately intrinsically limited Sarah Connor Chronicles, while on the big screen they cranked out THREE MORE sequels, Sony Pictures starting with straightforward retread Rise of the Machines and following with post-apocalyptic marmite movie Salvation, while Twentieth Century Fox then tried a sort-of soft reboot follow-up to T2 in Genisys. These were all interesting in their own way (personally, I like them all, particularly Salvation), but ultimately suffered from diminishing returns and whiffed strongly of trying too hard without quite getting the point. Cameron himself had long since washed his hands of the whole affair, and it looked like that might well be it … but then Skydance Productions founder David Ellison thought up a new take to breathe much needed new life into the franchise, and enlisted Cameron’s help to usher it in properly, with Deadpool director Tim Miller the intriguing but ultimately inspired choice to helm the project. The end result wisely chooses to paint right over all the pretenders, kicking off right where Judgement Day left off, and as well as Cameron being heavily involved in the story itself, draws another ace with the long-awaited ON-SCREEN return of Linda Hamilton in the role that’s pretty much defined her career, hardboiled survivor Sarah Connor. I’ll leave the details of her return for newcomers to discover, suffice to say she gets caught up in the chase when a new, MUCH more advanced terminator is sent back in time to kill unassuming young Mexican factory worker Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes). Of course, the future resistance has once again sent a protector back to watch her back, Grace (Blade Runner 2049’s Mackenzie Davis), a cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier specifically outfitted to combat terminators, who reluctantly agrees to team up with the highly experienced Sarah in order to keep Dani alive. Arnold Schwarzenegger once again returns to the role that truly made him a star (of course, how could he not?), and he for one has clearly not lost ANY of his old love or enthusiasm for playing the old T-800, but revealing exactly HOW he comes into the story this time would give away too much; the new terminator, meanwhile, is brilliantly portrayed by Gabriel Luna (probably best known for playing Ghost Rider in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD), who brings predatory menace and an interesting edge of subtle, entitled arrogance to the role of Rev-9. Ultimately though, this is very much the ladies’ film, the three leads dominating the action and drama both as they kick-ass and verbally spar in equal measure, their chemistry palpably strong throughout – Hamilton is as badass as ever, making Sarah even more of a take-no-shit survivalist burnout than she ever was in T2, and she’s utterly mesmerising in what’s EASILY her best turn in YEARS, while Reyes goes through an incredible transformative character arc as she’s forced to evolve from terrified salary-girl to proto she-warrior through several pleasingly organic steps … my greatest pleasure, however, definitely comes from watching Mackenzie Davis OWN the role of Grace, investing her with an irresistible mixture of icy military precision, downright feral mother lion ferocity and a surprisingly sweet innocence buried underneath all the bravado, thus creating one of my favourite ass-kicking heroines not just for the year but this past decade entirely. Unsurprisingly, in the hands of old hand Tim Miller (working from a screenplay headlined by Blade and Batman Begins scribe David Goyer) this is a pulse-pounding thrill ride that rarely lets its foot up off the pedal, but thankfully the action is ALWAYS in service to the story, each precision-crafted set piece engineered to perfection as we power through high speed chases, explosive shootouts and a succession of bruising heavy metal smackdowns, but thankfully there’s just as much attention paid to the characters and the story – given the familiarity of the tale there’s inevitably a certain predictability to events, but Miller and co. still pull off a few deftly handled surprise twists, while character development always feels organic. Best of all, this genuinely feels like a legitimate part of the original Terminator franchise, Cameron and Hamilton’s returns having finally brought back the old magic that’s been missing for so long. I’d definitely be willing to sign up for more of this – such a shame then that, thanks to the film’s frustrating underperformance at the box office, it looks like this is gonna be it after all. Damn it …

8. DOCTOR SLEEP – first up, before I say anything else about this latest Stephen King screen adaptation, I HAVE NOT yet got round to reading the original novel yet, so I can’t speak to how it compares. That said, I HAVE read The Shining, to which the book is a direct sequel, so I DO know about at least one of the major, KEY changes, and besides, this is actually a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s MOVIE of The Shining, which differed significantly from its own source material anyway, so there’s that … yeah, this is a complicated kettle of fish even BEFORE we get down to the details. Suffice to say, you don’t have to have read the book to get this movie, but a working knowledge of Kubrick’s horror classic may at least help you get some context before watching this … anyways, enough with the confusion, on to the meat of the matter – this is a CRACKING horror movie by any stretch, and, for me, one of the strongest King horrors to make it to the big screen in quite some time. Of course it helps no end to have a filmmaker of MAJOR calibre at the helm, and there are few working in horror at the moment with whom I am quite so impressed as Mike Flanagan, writer-director of two of this past decade’s definitive horrors (at least for me), Oculus and Hush, as well as a BLINDING TV series adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House for Netflix – the man is an absolute master of the craft, incredibly skilled with all the tricks of this particular genre’s trade, and, as it turns out, a perfect fit with King’s material. Following on from The Shining, then, we learn what happened to the kid, Danny Torrance, after he and his mother left the Overlook Hotel in the wake of his father’s psychotic break driven by monstrous apparitions “living” in the cursed halls, following him from childhood as he initially shuns the psychic gifts (or “shine”) he was taught to use by the hotel’s late caretaker, Dick Halloran. It’s only in later years, as he fights to overcome his alcoholism and self-destructive lifestyle, that he reconnects with that power, just in time to discover psychic “pen-pal” Abra Stone, an immensely powerful young psychic. Which leads us to the present day, when Abra, now a teenager, becomes the target of the True Knot, a group of psychic vampires who travel America hunting and killing young people with psychic abilities in order to consume their “smoke” (basically the stuff of their “shines”), thus expanding their already unnatural lifespans – they’re tracking Abra, and they’re getting close, and only her “Uncle Dan” can save her from them. Ewan McGregor is PERFECT as the grown-up Dan, delivering one of his career-best turns as he captures the world-weary seriousness of someone who’s seen, felt and had to do things no-one should, especially when he was so very young, the kinds of things that colour a soul for their entire life, and he’s clearly DESPERATE not to become his father; newcomer Kyleigh Curran, meanwhile, is an absolute revelation as Abra, bringing depth and weight far beyond her years to the role, but never losing sight of the fact that, under all the power, she’s ultimately still just a child; there are also excellent supporting turns from the likes of Cliff Curtis as Dan’s best friend and AA sponsor Billy Freeman, Zahn McClarnon (Longmire, Fargo season 2) and Emily Lind (Revenge, Code Black) as True Knot members Crow Daddy and Snakebite Annie, and Carl Lumbly (Cagney & Lacey, TV’s Supergirl), who beautifully replaces deceased original actor Scatman Crothers in the role of Dick. The film’s tour-de-force performance, however, comes from Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat, leader of the True Knot – they’re an intriguing bunch of villains, very well written and fleshed out, and it’s clear they have genuine love for one another, like a real family, which makes it hard not to sympathise with them a little bit, and this is none more true than in Rose, whom Ferguson invests with so much light and warmth and intriguing, complex character, as well as a fantastic streak of playful mischief that makes her all the more riveting in those times when they then turn around and do some truly heinous, unforgivable things … as horror movies go this is the cream of the crop, but Flanagan has purposefully kept away from jump scares and the more flashy stuff, preferring, like Kubrick in The Shining, to let the insidious darkness bubble up underneath good and slow, drawing out the creepiness and those most unsettling, twisted little touches the author himself is always so very good at. Intent can be such a scary thing, and Flanagan gets it, so that’s just what he uses here. As a result this is a fantastic slow-burn creep-fest that constantly works its way deeper under your skin, building to a phenomenal climax that, (perversely) thanks in no small part to the differences between both novels and films, pays as much loving tribute to Kubrick’s visionary landmark as the original novel of The Shining. For me, this is Flanagan’s best film to date, and as far as Stephen King adaptations go I consider this to be right up there with the likes of The Mist and The Green Mile. Best of all, I think he’d be proud of it too …

7. SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME – summer 20019 was something of a decompression period for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many of us recovering from the sheer emotional DEVASTATION of the grand finale of Phase 3, Avengers: Endgame, so the main Blockbuster Season’s entry really needed to be light and breezy, a blessed relief after all that angst and loss, much like Ant-Man & the Wasp was last year as it followed Infinity War. And it is, by and large – this is as light-hearted and irreverent as its predecessor, following much the same goofy teen comedy template as Homecoming, but there’s no denying that there’s a definite emotional through-line from Endgame that looms large here, a sense of loss the film fearlessly addresses right from the start, sometimes with a bittersweet sense of humour, sometimes straight. But whichever path the narrative chooses, the film stays true to this underlying truth – there have been great and painful changes in this world, and we can’t go back to how it was before, no matter how hard we try, but then perhaps we shouldn’t. This is certainly central to our young hero’s central arc – Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is in mourning, and not even the prospect of a trip around Europe with his newly returned classmates, together with the chance to finally get close to M.J. (Zendaya), maybe even start a relationship, can entirely distract him from the gaping hole in his life. Still, he’s gonna give it his best shot, but it looks like fate has other plans for our erstwhile Spider-Man as superspy extraordinaire Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) comes calling, basically hijacking his vacation with an Avengers-level threat to deal with, aided by enigmatic inter-dimensional superhero Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has a personal stake in the mission, but as he’s drawn deeper into the fray Peter discovers that things may not be quite as they seem. Of course, giving anything more away would of course dumps HEINOUS spoilers on the precious few who haven’t yet seen the film – suffice to say that the narrative drops a MAJOR sea-change twist at the midpoint that’s EVERY BIT as fiendish as the one Shane Black gave us in Iron Man 3 (although the more knowledgeable fans of the comics will likely see it coming), and also provides Peter with JUST the push he needs to get his priorities straight and just GET OVER IT once and for all. Tom Holland again proves his character is the most endearing teenage geek in cinematic history, his spectacular super-powered abilities and winning underdog perseverance in the face of impossible odds still paradoxically tempered by the fact he’s as loveably hopeless as ever outside his suit; Mysterio himself, meanwhile, frequently steals the film out from under him, the strong bromance they develop certainly mirroring what Peter had with Tony Stark, and it’s a major credit to Gyllenhaal that he so perfectly captures the essential dualities of the character, investing Beck with a roguish but subtly self-deprecating charm that makes him EXTREMELY easy to like, but ultimately belying something much more complex hidden beneath it; it’s also nice to see so many beloved familiar faces returning, particularly the fantastically snarky and self-assured Zendaya, Jacob Batalon (once again pure comedy gold as Peter’s adorably nerdy best friend Ned), Tony Revolori (as his self-important class rival Flash Thompson) and, of course, Marisa Tomei as the ever-pivotal Aunt May, as well as Jackson and Cobie Smoulders as dynamite SHIELD duo Fury and his faithful lieutenant Maria Hill, and best of all Jon Favreau gets a MUCH bigger role this time round as Happy Hogan. Altogether this is very much business as usual for the MCU, the well-oiled machine unsurprisingly turning out another near-perfect gem of a superhero flick that ticks all the required boxes, but a big part of the film’s success should be attributed to returning director Jon Watts, effectively building on the granite-strong foundations of Homecoming with the help of fellow alumni Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers on screenplay duty, for a picture that feels both comfortingly familiar and rewardingly fresh, delivering on all the required counts with thrilling action and eye candy spectacle, endearingly quirky character-based charm and a typically winning sense of humour, and plenty of understandably powerful emotional heft. And, like always, there are plenty of fan-pleasing winks and nods and revelations, and the pre-requisite mid- and post-credit teasers too, both proving to be some proper game-changing corkers. Another winner from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then, but was there really ever any doubt?

6. US – back in 2017, Jordan Peele made the transition from racially-charged TV and stand-up comedy to astounding cinemagoers with stunning ease through his writer-director feature debut Get Out, a sharply observed jet black comedy horror with SERIOUS themes that was INSANELY well-received by audiences and horror fans alike. Peele instantly became ONE TO WATCH in the genre, so his follow-up feature had A LOT riding on it, but this equally biting, deeply satirical existential mind-bender is EASILY the equal of its predecessor, possibly even its better … giving away too much plot detail would do great disservice to the many intriguing, shocking twists on offer as middle class parents Adelaide and Gabe Wilson (Black Panther alumni Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) take their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), to Santa Cruz on vacation, only to step into a nightmare as a night-time visitation by a family of murderous doppelgangers signals the start of a terrifying supernatural revolution with potential nationwide consequences. The idea at the heart of this film is ASTOUNDINGLY original, quite an achievement in a genre where just about everything has been tried at least once, but it’s also DEEPLY subversive, as challenging and thought-provoking as the themes visited in Get Out, but also potentially even more wide-reaching. It’s also THOROUGHLY fascinating and absolutely TERRIFYING, a peerless exercise in slow-burn tension and acid-drip discomfort, liberally soaked in an oppressive atmosphere so thick you could choke on it if you’re not careful, such a perfect horror master-class it’s amazing that this is only Peele’s second FEATURE, never mind his sophomore offering IN THE GENRE. The incredibly game cast really help, too – the four leads are all EXCEPTIONAL, each delivering fascinatingly nuanced performances in startlingly oppositional dual roles as both the besieged family AND their monstrous doubles, a feat brilliantly mimicked by Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale-star Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker and teen twins Cali and Noelle Sheldon as the Wilsons’ friends, the Tylers, and their similarly psychotic mimics. The film is DOMINATED, however, by Oscar-troubler Nyong’o, effortlessly holding our attention throughout the film with yet another raw, intense, masterful turn that keeps up glued to the screen from start to finish, even as the twists get weirder and more full-on brain-mashy. Of course, while this really is scary as hell, it’s also often HILARIOUSLY funny, Peele again poking HUGE fun at both his intended audience AND his allegorical targets, proving that scares often work best when twinned with humour. BY FAR the best thing in horror in 2019, Us shows just what a master of the genre Jordan Peele is, and it looks like he’s here to stay …

5. KNIVES OUT – with The Last Jedi, writer-director Rian Johnson divided audiences so completely that he seemed to have come perilously close to ruining his career. Thankfully, he’s a thick-skinned auteur with an almost ridiculous amount of talent, and he’s come bouncing back as strong as ever, doing what he does best. His big break feature debut was with Brick, a cult classic murder mystery that was, surprisingly, set in and around a high school, and his latest has some of that same DNA as Johnson crafts a fantastic sleuthy whodunit cast in the classic mould of Agatha Christie, albeit shot through with his own wonderfully eclectic verve, wit and slyly subversive streak. Daniel Craig holds court magnificently as quirky and flamboyant Deep South private detective Benoit Blanc, summoned to the home of newly-deceased star crime author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) to investigate his possible murder and faced with a veritable web of lies, deceit and twisting knives as he meets the maybe-victim’s extensive and INCREDIBLY dysfunctional family, all of whom are potential suspects. Craig is thoroughly mesmerising throughout, clearly having the time of his life in one of his career-best roles, while the narrative focus is actually, interestingly, given largely to Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049 and soon to be seen with Craig again in the latest Bond-flick No Time To Die), who proves equally adept at driving the film as Harlan’s sweet but steely and impressively resourceful nurse Marta Cabrera, whose own involvement in the case it would do the film a massive disservice to reveal. The rest of the Thrombey clan are an equally intriguing bunch, all played to the hilt by an amazing selection of heavyweight talent that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and It’s Jaeden Martell, but the film is, undeniably, DOMINATED by Chris Evans as Harlan’s black sheep grandson Ransom, the now former Captain America clearly enjoying his first major post-MCU role as he roundly steals every scene he’s in, effortlessly bringing back the kind of snarky, sarcastic underhanded arrogance we haven’t seen him play since his early career and entertaining us thoroughly. Johnson has very nearly outdone himself this time, weaving a gleefully twisty web of intrigue that viewers will take great pleasure in watching Blanc untangle, even if we’re actually already privy to (most of) the truth of the deed, and he pulls off some diabolical twists and turns as we rattle towards an inspired final reveal which genuinely surprises. He’s also generously smothered the film with oodles of his characteristically dry, acerbic wit, wonderfully tweaking many of the classic tropes of this familiar little sub-genre so this is at once a loving homage to the classics but also a sly, skilful deconstruction. Intriguing, compelling, enrapturing and often thoroughly hilarious, this is VERY NEARLY the best film he’s ever made. Only the mighty Looper remains unbeaten …

4. CAPTAIN MARVEL – before the first real main event of not only the year’s blockbusters but also, more importantly, 2019’s big screen MCU roster, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co dropped a powerful opening salvo with what, it turns out, was the TRUE inception point of the Avengers Initiative and all its accompanying baggage (not Captain America: the First Avenger, as we were originally led to believe). For me, this is simply the MCU film I have MOST been looking forward to essentially since the beginning – the onscreen introduction of my favourite Avenger, former US Air Force Captain Carol Danvers, the TRUE Captain Marvel (no matter what the DC purists might say), who was hinted at in the post credits sting of Avengers: Infinity War but never actually seen. Not only is she the most powerful Avenger (sorry Thor, but it’s true), but for me she’s also the most badass – she’s an unstoppable force of (cosmically enhanced) nature, with near GODLIKE powers (she can even fly through space without needing a suit!), but the thing that REALLY makes her so full-on EPIC is her sheer, unbreakable WILL, the fact that no matter what’s thrown at her, no matter how often or how hard she gets knocked down, she KEEPS GETTING BACK UP. She is, without a doubt, the MOST AWESOME woman in the entire Marvel Universe, both on the comic page AND up on the big screen. Needless to say, such a special character needs an equally special actor to portray her, and we’re thoroughly blessed in the inspired casting choice of Brie Larson, who might as well have been purpose-engineered exclusively for this very role – she’s Carol Danvers stepped right out of the primary-coloured panels, as steely cool, unswervingly determined and strikingly statuesque as she’s always been drawn and scripted, with just the right amount of twinkle-eyed, knowing smirk and sassy humour to complete the package. Needless to say she’s the heart and soul of the film, a pure joy to watch throughout, but there’s so much more to enjoy here that this is VERY NEARLY the most enjoyable cinematic experience I had all year … writer-director double-act Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck may only be known for smart, humble indies like Half Nelson and Mississippi Grind, but they’ve taken to the big budget, all-action blockbuster game like ducks to water, co-scripting with Geneva Robertson-Dworet (writer of the Tomb Raider reboot movie and the long-gestating third Sherlock Holmes movie) to craft yet another pitch-perfect MCU origin story, playing a sneakily multilayered, misleading game of perception-versus-truth as we’re told how Carol got her powers and became the unstoppable badass supposedly destined to turn the tide in a certain Endgame … slyly rolling the clock back to the mid-90s, we’re presented with a skilfully realised mid-90s period culture clash adventure as Carol, a super-powered warrior fighting for the Kree Empire against the encroaching threat of the shape-shifting Skrulls, crash-lands in California and winds up uncovering the hidden truth behind her origins, with the help of a particular SHIELD agent, before he wound up with an eye-patch and a more cynical point-of-view – yup, it’s a younger, fresher Nick Fury (the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson, digitally de-aged with such skill it’s really just a pure, flesh-and-blood performance). There’s action, thrills, spectacle and (as always with the MCU) pure, skilfully observed, wry humour by the bucket-load, but one of the biggest strengths of the film is the perfectly natural chemistry between the two leads, Larson and Jackson playing off each other BEAUTIFULLY, no hint of romantic tension, just a playfully prickly, banter-rich odd couple vibe that belies a deep, honest respect building between both the characters and, clearly, the actors themselves. There’s also sterling support from Jude Law as Kree warrior Yon-Rogg, Carol’s commander and mentor, Ben Mendelsohn, slick, sly and surprisingly seductive (despite a whole lot of make-up) as Skrull leader Talos, returning MCU-faces Clark Gregg and Lee Pace as rookie SHIELD agent Phil Coulson (another wildly successful de-aging job) and Kree Accuser Ronan, Annette Bening as a mysterious face from Carol’s past and, in particular, Lashana Lynch (Still Star-Crossed, soon to be seen in No Time To Die) as Carol’s one-time best friend and fellow Air Force pilot Maria Rambeau, along with the impossibly adorable Akira Akbar as her precocious daughter Monica … that said, the film is frequently stolen by a quartet of ginger tabbies who perfectly capture fan-favourite Goose the “cat” (better known to comics fans as Chewie). This is about as great as the MCU standalone films get – for me it’s up there with the Russo’s Captain America films and Black Panther, perfectly pitched and SO MUCH FUN, but with a multilayered, monofilament-sharp intelligence that makes it a more cerebrally satisfying ride than most blockbusters, throwing us a slew of skilfully choreographed twists and narrative curveballs we almost never see coming, and finishing it off with a bucket-load of swaggering style and pure, raw emotional power (the film kicks right off with an incredibly touching, heartfelt tear-jerking tribute to Marvel master Stan Lee). Forget Steve Rogers – THIS is the Captain MCU fans need AND deserve, and I am SO CHUFFED they got my favourite Avenger so totally, perfectly RIGHT. I can die happy now, I guess …

3. JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3 – needless to say, those who know me should be in no doubt why THIS was at the top of my list for summer 2019 – this has EVERYTHING I love in movies and more. Keanu Reeves is back in the very best role he’s ever played, unstoppable, unbeatable, un-killable hitman John Wick, who, when we rejoin him mere moments after the end of 2017’s phenomenal Chapter 2, is in some SERIOUSLY deep shit, having been declared Incommunicado by the High Table (the all-powerful ruling elite who run this dark and deadly shadowy underworld) after circumstances forced him to gun down an enemy on the grounds of the New York Continental Hotel (the inviolable sanctuary safe-house for all denizens of the underworld), as his last remaining moments of peace tick away and he desperately tries to find somewhere safe to weather the initial storm. Needless to say the opening act of the film is ONE LONG ACTION SEQUENCE as John careers through the rain-slick streets of New York, fighting off attackers left and right with his signature brutal efficiency and unerring skill, perfectly setting up what’s to come – namely a head-spinning, exhausting parade of spectacular set pieces that each put EVERY OTHER offering in every other film this past year to shame. Returning director Chad Stahelski again proves that he’s one of the very best helmsmen around for this kind of stuff, delivering FAR beyond the call on every count as he creates a third entry to a series that continues to go from strength to strength, while Keanu once again demonstrates what a phenomenal screen action GOD he is, gliding through each scenario with poise, precision and just the right balance of brooding charm and so-very-done-with-this-shit intensity and a thoroughly enviable athletic physicality that really does put him on the same genre footing as Tom Cruise. As with the first two chapters, what plot there is is largely an afterthought, a facility to fuel the endless wave of stylish, wince-inducing, thoroughly exhilarating violent bloodshed, as John cuts another bloody swathe through the underworld searching for a way to remove the lethal bounty from his head while an Adjudicator from the High Table (Orange Is the New Black’s Asia Kate Dillon) arrives in New York to settle affairs with Winston (Ian McShane), the manager of the New York Continental, and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) for helping John create this mess in the first place. McShane and Fishburne are both HUGE entertainment in their fantastically nuanced large-than-life roles, effortlessly stealing each of their scenes, while the ever-brilliant Lance Reddick also makes a welcome return as Winston’s faithful right-hand Charon, the concierge of the Continental, who finally gets to show off his own hardcore action chops when trouble arrives at their doorstep, and there are plenty of franchise newcomers who make strong impressions here – Dillon is the epitome of icy imperiousness, perfectly capturing the haughty superiority you’d expect from a direct representative of the High Table, Halle Berry gets a frustratingly rare opportunity to show just how seriously badass she can be as former assassin Sofia, the manager of the Casablanca branch of the Continental and one of John’s only remaining allies, Game of Thrones’ Jerome Flynn is smarmy and entitled as her boss Berrada, and Anjelica Houston is typically classy as the Director, the ruthless head of New York’s Ruska Roma (John’s former “alma mater”, basically). The one that REALLY sticks in the memory, though, is Mark Dacascos, finally returning to the big time after frustrating years languishing in lurid straight-to-video action dreck and lowbrow TV hosting duties thanks to a BLISTERING turn as Zero, a truly brilliant semi-comic creation who routinely runs away with the film – he’s the Japanese master ninja the Adjudicator tasks with dispensing her will, a thoroughly lethal killer who may well be as skilled as our hero, but his deadliness is amusingly tempered by the fact that he’s also a total nerd who HERO WORSHIPS John Wick, adorably geeking out whenever their paths cross. Their long-gestating showdown provides a suitably magnificent climax to the action, but there’s plenty to enjoy in the meantime, as former stuntman Stahelski and co keep things interestingly fluid as they constantly change up the dynamics and add new elements, from John using kicking horses in a stable and knives torn out of display cases in a weaponry museum to dispatch foes on the fly, through Sofia’s use of attack dogs to make the Moroccan portion particularly nasty and a SPECTACULAR high octane sequence in which John fights katana-wielding assailants on speeding motorcycles, to the film’s UNDISPUTABLE highlight, an astounding fight in which John takes on Zero’s disciples (including two of the most impressive guys from The Raid movies, Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian) in (and through) an expansive chamber made up entirely of glass walls and floors. Altogether then, this is business as usual for a franchise that’s consistently set the bar for the genre as a whole, an intensely bruising, blissfully blood-drenched epic that cranks its action up to eleven, shot with delicious neon-drenched flair and glossy graphic novel visual excess, a consistently inspired exercise in fascinating world-building that genuinely makes you want to live among its deadly denizens (even though you probably wouldn’t live very long). The denouement sets things up for an inevitable sequel, and I’m not at all surprised – right from the first film I knew the concept had legs, and it’s just too good to quit yet. Which is just how I like it …

2. AVENGERS: ENDGAME – the stars have aligned and everything is right with the world – the second half of the ridiculously vast, epic, nerve-shredding and gut-punching MCU saga that began with 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War has FINALLY arrived and it’s JUST AS GOOD as its predecessor … maybe even a little bit better, simply by virtue of the fact that (just about) all the soul-crushing loss and upheaval of the first film is resolved here. Opening shortly after the universally cataclysmic repercussions of “the Snap”, the world at large and the surviving Avengers in particular are VERY MUCH on the back foot as they desperately search for a means to reverse the damage wrought by brutally single-minded cosmic megalomaniac Thanos and his Infinity Stone-powered gauntlet – revealing much more dumps so many spoilers it’s criminal to continue, so I’ll simply say that their immediate plan really DOESN’T work out, leaving them worse off than ever. Fast-forward five years and the universe is a very different place, mourning what it’s lost and torn apart by grief-fuelled outbursts, while our heroes in particular are in various, sometimes better, but often much worse places – Bruce Banner/the Hulk (Mark Ruffallo) has found a kind of peace that’s always eluded him before, but Thor (Chris Hemsworth) really is a MESS, while Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has gone to a VERY dark place indeed. Then Ant-Man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) finds a way back from his forced sojourn in the Quantum Realm, and brings with him a potential solution of a very temporal nature … star directors the Russo Brothers, along with returning screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, have once again crafted a stunning cinematic masterpiece, taking what could have been a bloated, overloaded and simply RIDICULOUS narrative mess and weaving it into a compelling, rich and thoroughly rewarding ride that, despite its THREE HOURS PLUS RUNNING TIME, stays fresh and interesting from start to finish, building on the solid foundations of Infinity War while also forging new ground (narratively speaking, at least) incorporating a wonderfully fresh take on time-travel that pokes gleeful fun at the decidedly clichéd tropes inherent in this particular little sub-genre. In fact this is frequently a simply HILARIOUS film in its own right, largely pulling away from the darker tone of its predecessor by injecting a very strong vein of chaotic humour into proceedings, perfectly tempering the more dramatic turns and epic feels that inevitably crop up, particularly as the stakes continue to rise. Needless to say the entire cast get to shine throughout, particularly those veterans whose own tours of duty in the franchise are coming to a close, and as with Infinity War even the minor characters get at least a few choice moments in the spotlight, especially in the vast, operatic climax where pretty much the ENTIRE MCU cast return for the inevitable final showdown. It’s a masterful affair, handled with skill and deep, earnest respect but also enough irreverence to keep it fun, although in the end it really comes down to those big, fat, heart-crushing emotional FEELS, as we say goodbye to some favourites and see others reach crossroads in their own arcs that send them off in new, interesting directions. Seriously guys, keep a lot of tissues handy, you really will need them. If this were the very last MCU film ever, I’d say it’s a PERFECT piece to go out on – thankfully it’s not, and while it is the end of an era the franchise looks set to go on as strong as ever, safe in the knowledge that there’s plenty more cracking movies on the way so long as Kevin Feige and co continue to employ top-notch talent like this to make their films. Eleven years and twenty-two films down, then – here’s to eleven and twenty-two more, I say …

1. THE IRISHMAN (aka I HEARD YOU PAINT HOUSES) – beating smash-hit superhero movies and unstoppable assassin action-fests to the top spot is no mean feat, but so completely blowing me away that I had NO OTHER CHOICE than to put this at NUMBER ONE is something else entirely. Not only is this the best thing I saw at the cinema this past year, but I’d be happy to say it’s guaranteed to go down as one of my all-time greats of the entire decade. I’ve been an ardent fan of the filmmaking of Martin Scorsese ever since I first properly got into cinema in my early adolescence, when I was first shown Taxi Driver and was completely and irrevocably changed forever as a movie junkie. He’s a director who impresses me like a select few others, one of the true, undisputable masters of the craft, and I find it incredibly pleasing that I’m not alone in this assertion. Goodfellas and The Departed are both numbered among my all-time favourite crime movies, while I regard the latter as one of the greatest films of the current cinematic century. I’ve learned more about the art and craft of filmmaking and big-screen storytelling from watching Scorsese’s work than from any other director out there (with the notable exception of my OTHER filmmaking hero, Ridley Scott), and I continue to discover more about his films every time I watch them, so I never stop. Anyways … enough with the gushing, time to get on with talking about his latest offering, a Netflix Original true-life gangster thriller of truly epic proportions chronicling the career and times of Frank Sheeran, a Philadelphia truck driver who became the most trusted assassin of the Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family and, in particular, its boss (and Sheeran’s best friend) Russell Bufalino, particularly focusing on his rise to power within the Philly Mob and his significant association with controversial and ultimately ill-fated Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa. It’s a sprawling epic in the tradition of Scorsese’s previously most expansive film, Casino, but in terms of scope this easily eclipses the 1995 classic, taking in SIX DECADES of genuinely world-changing events largely seen through Sheeran’s eyes, but as always the director is in total control throughout, never losing sight of the true focus – one man’s fall from grace as he loses his soul to the terrible events he takes part in. Then again, the screenplay is by Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Moneyball, Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), one of the true masters of the art form, with whom Scorsese previously worked with on Gangs of New York, so it’s pure gold – tight as a drum, razor sharp and impossibly rich and rewarding, the perfect vehicle for the director to just prep his cast and run with it. And WHAT A CAST we have here – this is a three-way lead master-class of titanic proportions, as Scorsese-regular Robert De Niro and his Goodfellas co-star Joe Pesci are finally reteamed as, respectively, Sheeran and Bufalino, while Al Pacino gets to work with the master for the first time as Hoffa; all three are INCREDIBLE, EXTRAORDINARY, on absolute tip-top form as they bring everything they have to their roles, De Niro and Pesci underplaying magnificently while Pacino just lets rip with his full, thunderous fury in a seemingly larger-than-life turn which simply does one of history’s biggest crooks perfect justice; the supporting cast, meanwhile, is one of the strongest seen in cinema all year, with Ray Romano, Bobby Canavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Harvey Keitel, Stephanie Kurtzuba (The Wolf of Wall Street), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) and Jesse Plemmons among MANY others all making MAJOR impressions throughout, all holding their own even when up against the combined star power of the headlining trio. This is filmmaking as high art, Scorsese bringing every trick at his considerable, monumentally experienced disposal to bear to craft a crime thriller that strongly compares not only to the director’s own best but many of the genre’s own other masterpieces such as The Godfather and Chinatown. It may clock in at a potentially insane THREE HOURS AND TWENTY-NINE MINUTES but it NEVER feels overlong, every moment crafted for maximum impact with a story that unfolds so busily and with such mesmerising power it’s impossible to get bored with it. The film may have received a limited theatrical release, obviously reaching MOST of its audience when unleashed on Netflix nearly a month later, but I was one of the lucky few who got to see it on the big screen, and BELIEVE ME, it was totally worth it. Best thing I saw in 2019, ONE OF the best things I saw this past decade, and DEFINITELY one of Scorsese’s best films EVER. See it, any way you can. You won’t be disappointed.

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