#1: The Simpsons Movie (2007) January 1, 2008
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Comedy, 2000s, 4 stars, 2008 , add a comment2007 | David Silverman | 83 mins | DVD | PG / PG-13
And so 2008 begins with one of last summer’s biggest hits: the long-awaited big screen debut of America’s most well-known family. I’m not a big Simpsons fan, unlike many film critics it would seem — I like the show, undoubtedly, but I’ve never watched it regularly and haven’t sat through a whole episode for years (not even the recent-ish Ricky Gervais or Kiefer Sutherland ones).
This might explain why the movie didn’t feel tired to me, as some have described it. It might not be laugh-a-minute, and there are some sections where the plot has taken precedence (not always with good reason), but the gag count is nonetheless high and some are genuinely excellent. The plot is suitably epic, mostly justifying the need to be on a big screen at feature length. Some of the subplots feel like episodes of the show, but that’s fairly inevitable when converting a format such as this. Everything looks bigger; the quality of the animation is high; and while I’m sure the events will have no lasting impact on the characters, it does feel like a simple TV episode or two wouldn’t do it justice.
It may be that The Simpsons Movie wasn’t the ground-breaking best-comedy-ever that it needed to be to impress some. But it made me laugh, and often; at least as much as any other recent comedy, if not more so. That makes it a success in my book.
#107: Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997) October 22, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Anime, Sci-fi, 3 stars, 1990s, world cinema, 2007, remakes , add a comment1997 | Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki | 92 mins | DVD | 15
Eight weeks and sixteen films later than I’d've liked, I can finally complete the Evangelion story! (See here for my review of the first film.)
First off, don’t even attempt this if you haven’t seen all of the (excellent) TV series — it won’t even vaguelly make sense. Sadly, if you have seen the series, it’s a disappointing climax. Promising a clearer ending than the original arty philosophical one, it winds up delivering something that’s almost as bad. It’s somewhat redeemed by what leads up to this final confusing half hour: some proper story, resolutions for some outstanding plot threads, and a few instances of decent action too. As a conclusion it’s far from satisfying though.
One can only hope the new four-film remake of the whole story (the first of which was recently released in Japan), which promises another fresh conclusion, can come up with something more comprehensible. I wouldn’t count on it though.
#97: A Study in Scarlet (1983) September 4, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, adaptations, 2 stars, 1980s, Mystery, 2007, Sherlock Holmes , add a comment1983 | Ian Mackenzie & Alex Nicholas | 49 mins | DVD | U
Peter O’Toole is again the voice of the famous sleuth in this disappointing animated adaptation of the first Sherlock Holmes mystery. The adaptation is faithful to the original novel’s structure (sadly, as its a somewhat bizarre one, and ripe for a more interesting interpretation), but loses any elements pertaining to Holmes and Watson’s first meeting. The animation seems more basic than the other entry in this particular series that I’ve seen, and O’Toole’s performance is flatter; the rest of the cast don’t fair any better. The story itself isn’t a bad one, but after being pleasantly surprised by The Sign of Four I just found this to be disappointing.
#91: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997) August 23, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Anime, Sci-fi, 2 stars, 1990s, world cinema, 2007, remakes , add a comment1997 | Hideaki Anno, Masayuki & Tsurumaki Kazuya | 111 mins | DVD | 15 / NC-17
The genesis of this film is a long story (at least, longer than I’d like for this review!) The anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion ends with bizarre theme-centric episodes that fail to conclude the story; a film was produced to re-tell the end from a story-centric position and/or to provide an alternate ending (depending who you believe). This is not that film, but something that was released a bit before that.
The first 69 minutes (titled Death) are an intriguing reorganisation/summary of the series in a somewhat impressionistic way, including a few new scenes. It’s either quite clever or just a jumble. The final 27 minutes (titled Rebirth) are an all-new continuation of the story. There are answers, revelations, some great sequences, and a great cliffhanger! Unfortunately this section is also the start of the concluding film, which ultimately renders this as just one thing: a fan-only curio. Its main value, in my opinion, is the neat cliffhanger, which makes for a tantalising ending (instead of the first act plot point it must be in the next film).
If you’re curious about Evangelion and think a filmic summary sounds a good idea, don’t watch! Get hold of the series, it’s worth the time. (I’ll undoubtedly share my thoughts on the conclusion, The End of Evangelion, as soon as Play.com get it back in stock!)
#83: The Sign of Four (1983) August 20, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, adaptations, 3 stars, 1980s, Mystery, 2007, Sherlock Holmes , add a comment1983 | Ian Mackenzie & Alex Nicholas | 49 mins | DVD | U
A slightly unusual one to review, this — it’s a 49-minute animated Sherlock Holmes adaptation from the ’80s, one of four in this particular series. But, as best I can tell from IMDb, it’s not specifically TV-based, and it does feature the voice of Peter O’Toole. Vocally he makes for a good Holmes, though the character design could be a little better. I can’t recall the original story well enough to comment on this as an adaptation, but it’s a decent mystery that’s well explained. The animation is not bad; certainly no worse than most kids’ TV animation from the ’80s and ’90s, and better than the flat Flash-animated stuff of today. A solid production.
#52a: four short films May 21, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Comedy, Romance, 2000s, 4 stars, 3 stars, 2 stars, British films, Short, 2007 , add a commentI’ve decided to collate these four short reviews, as posting them individually seemed… wasteful…
The End
2002 | Tim Clayton & Rob Crowther | download
A very brief film with a slightly silly, slightly amusing idea at its core. It doesn’t outstay its welcome, but it does lose something in that you can see the end coming almost from the start.
Bus Stop
2004 | Matt Abbiss | download
An animated, somewhat bizarre short about two people waiting at a bus stop. Done in a very simple style with sparse sound, but it’s competently executed and often effective. It has some amusing moments. Not bad, but mainly for people who like this kind of thing anyway.
Park
2005 | Andy Pearson | download
“Some humans in a park act like dogs” is essentially the premise of this film. It’s a decent enough concept for a short really, and is well executed with some nice little moments. Prettily shot in the Autumn, too.
Nine 1/2 Minutes
2002 | Josh Appignanesi & Misha Manson-Smith | download
David Tennant (yes, David Tennant!) and Zoe Telford (she’s been in a variety of TV stuff) star in this comedic short about two people on an uncomfortable blind date that lasts just about as long as you might suspect. Genuinely funny for the most part, and easily the most professionally executed of these four shorts, but it does have a somewhat confounding conclusion.
All of these shorts are currently available for free at LOVEFiLM.
#51: Over the Hedge (2006)
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Comedy, 2000s, 3 stars, Adventure, 2007 , add a comment2006 | Tim Johnson & Karey Kirkpatrick | 80 mins | DVD | U / PG
CGI movies are far too common these days, meaning that the quality is dropping (demonstrated by the fact that the number produced has increased massively but the number of Oscar nominations in that category has remained at three). Over the Hedge is certainly derivative — its character arc is almost directly lifted from Toy Story, for example — but it is beautifully animated and does have some laugh-worthy moments, even if they are almost entirely in the last half hour. There are better examples of the genre, but it passes the time entertainingly enough. (Stay with it til the end of the credits for a little bit more, although if you bother you may agree with Hammy’s assessment of things.)