Mac's Movies

UK Release Date:  01 April 2022 Certification:  12 Director:  Richard Linklater Cast:  Jack Black, Milo Coy, Lee Eddy, Natalie L'Amoreaux, Zachary Levi, Glen Powell, Josh Wiggins, Bill Wise Rating:   49% Review: Richard Linklater garnered a reputation for crafting delightful coming of age films - Boyhood , Dazed and Confused and School of Rock - as well as completing one of the most acclaimed trilogies with 'The Before' trilogy.  Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood released on Netflix  last year to diminishing buzz and to some became an underrated gem of the 2020s.  For me that wasn't the case. I couldn't connect to the animation style for the life of me. It felt so off and unauthentic compared to the sincere story being told, not fitting the plot whatsoever. From a surface level the backgrounds shine with their unique level of intricacy and detail but the character design looks awful - rather artificial. And if an animated film fails to enti...

UK Release Date:  25 January 1991 Certification:  15 Director:  Katsuhiro Otomo Cast:  Yuriko Fuchizaki, Tessyo Genda, Mitsuo Iwata, Mami Koyama, Takeshi Kusao, Masaaki Okura, Nozomu Sasaki Rating:   85 % Review: Akira is one of Japan's most discussed films. The film put anime on the map amongst the western world. Graphic, violent animation that had yet to be experienced. The neo-noir, sci-fi thriller was a ground-breaking achievement in modern animation. Everything that came after is because of Akira - the rise of Studio Ghibli, Cyberpunk, Ghost in the Shell and many more.  Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke set the precedent for animation for me but Akira goes above and beyond - I have since found out the lead animator for the film also worked on Princess Mononoke .  The hand-drawn animation is indescribable. An exquisite amount of attention to detail from everyone involved. With up to twenty-four drawings on the screen per minute. Staggering wor...

UK Release Date: 23 September 2005 Certification: U Director: Hayao Miyazaki Cast: Chieko Baishô, Tatsuya Gashûin, Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Haruko Kato, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa Rating: 62% A mediocre Studio Ghibli film.  Review: Having to read 'Howl's Moving Castle' by Dianna Wynne Jones a few years ago for a Book Quiz, I despised every second but after my successful viewing of Princess Mononoke I thought I would  give the movie a chance. Whilst the theatrical version of Howl's Moving Castle is a huge improvement, it's still a huge let down compared to other Studio Ghibli films.  As is to be expected with a Ghibli film the animation is out of this world. Every single shot is so sleek, it isn't hyper-realism animation, and yet it feels like it belongs in the world that's been created. That's simply due to the time and care that the animators put in to bringing to life frame after frame. It was revealed recently that every year Studio Ghibli create twel...

UK Release Date: 26 October 2011 Certification: PG Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Toby Jones, Daniel Mays, Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis Rating:   87% I need Red Rackham's Treasure.  Review:  For context I'm a huge fan when it comes to Belgium comic writer Hergé's most famous creation, the young reporter, Tintin. Maybe it's because I could relate to him as someone who looked just like me but I've absolutely loved him since I was about six or seven. I've read every story in the comic series, I've seen the 90's animated series multiple times, I played the Wii game based on this movie when it came out with my brother and my dad. And most notably I teamed up with my dad to dress up as the inseparable duo of Tintin and Captain Haddock for Halloween one year. So although I can't remember I'm almost certain I went with my dad to see The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn at the cinema.  Again, not know...

UK Release Date: 19 October 2001 Certification: PG Director: Hayao Miyazaki Cast: Yuriko Ishida, Kaoru Kobayashi, Yôji Matsuda, Akihiro Miwa, Masahiko Nishimura, Sumi Shimamoto, Yûko Tanaka Rating: 90% "Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed. But still, you find reasons to keep living." Review: Princess Mononoke, released in Japan in 1997, tells the tale of a cursed boy who finds himself entangled in a war between a mining colony and forest spirits. Distributed under the banner of famous Japanese movie studio, Studio Ghibli - whose films include Grave of the Fireflies , My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away - and directed by legendary director, Hayao Miyazaki, it was always going to be a huge success.  It's difficult to talk about the voice cast because I watched the movie in Japanese with subtitles (the way foreign language films should be watched) but I felt they all did an incredible job. I often struggle to connect with characters when I watch fo...

UK Release Date: 7 October 1994 Certification: U Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Matthew Broderick, Robert Guillaume, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella Rating: 89 % In the jungle... Review: The Lion King is one of my favourite animated movies of all time.  The animation , the music and the cast is brilliant. W ith one exception. Matthew Broderick feels off as Simba. I think the main character is unlikeable, but Matthew Broderick manages to make the character even more dislikeable through affected, off-putting dialogue and brash, impulsive actions. However this didn't spoil the movie for me too much because the rest of the characters are entertaining. In particular, Jeremy Irons excels as Scar . Scar is manipulative, ruthless and vicious - he brought so much harm to the Pride Lands. I really enjoyed the supporting cast with actors like Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella all ...

UK Release Date: 21 June 2019 Certification: U Director: Josh Cooley Cast: Tim Allen, Tony Hale, Tom Hanks, Christina Hendricks, Keegan-Michael Key, Madeleine McGraw, Jordan Peele, Annie Potts, Keanu Reeves Rating: 83% "You can't teach this toy new tricks." R eview: Originally I didn't intend to watch Toy Story 4 in the cinema but it was my friend's birthday so I went to see it with him. I am glad I did! Toy Story 4 is my second favourite movie of the year so far. The cast is brilliant, it is emotionally satisfying and is an entertaining continuation of the 'toy's story'. The one aspect of this movie that annoyed me was the limited screen time of old favourites like Jessie and Rex. Even Buzz Lightyear only enters the story half-way through the movie and doesn't really contribute anything of importance.  However t he new cast and characters are amazing. Old favourites like Woody and Buzz are still interesting and funny, and th...

UK Release Date: 2 January 1942 Certification: U Director: Samuel Armstrong, John Elliotte, Norman Ferguson, Jack Kinney, Wilfred Jackson, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen  Cast: James Baskett, Herman Bing, Mel Blanc, Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Sterling Holloway, Margaret Wright Rating: 40 % Mum, I'd be lost without you! Review: Dumbo is one of the all-time Disney classics that is loved by many people, both young and old. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. Dumbo is perhaps the oldest (released in 1941) and shortest (running time of one hour and two minutes) movie I have ever seen. I feel Dumbo isn't really a complete story, it is more a series of events that are put together to make a movie. Because of this Dumbo doesn't hold my full attention. The movie was released nearly eighty years ago - Dumbo was Disney's fourth animated movie - not long after the demise of the silent movies, so there is little dialogue apart from Timothy Q. ...

UK Release Date: 30 March 2018 Certification: PG Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bob Balaban, Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Tilda Swinton Rating: 65% Toby Dogge enjoyed Isle of Dogs too. Review: For an animated movie Isle of Dogs boasts an incredible cast, with acting legends like Jeff Goldblum and Bill Murray, to up and coming stars like Koyu Rankin and Greta Gerwig.  In Isle of Dogs , Wes Anderson relies upon a stop-motion animation technique that he first used in Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) to create a story that is both sombre and heart-warming at the same time. The movie is about a Japanese boy called Atari, who’s parents pass away in an accident. He goes to live with his uncle who is the mayor of the fictional city, Megasaki. The mayor banishes all dogs to Trash Island and the remainder of the movie tells of Atari's daring rescue mission to save his dog,...

UK Release Date: 12 December 2018  Certification: PG  Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman  Cast: Nicolas Cage, Kimiko Glenn, Jake Johnson, Zoe Kravitz, Shameik Moore, John Mulaney, Chris Pine, Liev Schreiber, Hailee Steinfeld  Rating:   94 % I'm also a huge fan of Spider-Man on the PS4. Review: One of the greatest strengths of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse is the animation. The style means the movie is the closest thing to a comic book. All the Spider people have different animation styles - Spider-Ham looks like something from Looney Tunes, Peni Parker looks like Anime, Spider-Noir is black and white and Miles looks like he was lifted straight out of a Marvel comic. The only thing I didn't like about the animation was the way  Kingpin was portrayed - he was very wide. I don't mind the animators sticking to his comic book appearance, but really, he didn't have to be that huge! There have been a ...