Daisy Ridley In Studio Ghibli’s Only Yesterday
StudioCanal are thrilled to announce the release of an English re-dub of Studio Ghibli‘s 1991 classic ONLY YESTERDAY, and a brand new clip which features the voices of Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Dev Patel (The Man Who Knew Infinity,Slumdog Millionaire). ONLY YESTERDAY will be in cinemas this Friday 3rd June as part of the STUDIO GHIBLI FOREVER retrospective season, and will be available to own for the first time ever on Blu-Ray from August 15th.
ONLY YESTERDAY follows Taeko (Ridley), unmarried at 27 (much to the chagrin of her friends and family) on her annual visit to see relatives in the countryside, as she reflects on her childhood and memories and forges a relationship with Toshio (Patel), wondering if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self. Re-dubbed in English and showing in UK cinemas for the first time to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, ONLY YESTERDAY is an animated masterpiece of reflection, as relevant today as it ever was.
Warcraft: The Beginning Review
The Plot
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invading orc warriors.
The Good
Director Duncan Jones’ third feature film is his most daring yet. The video game adaptation has never really been done quite right, and while Warcraft has some issues, it’s still a beauty to behold. Jones and co-writer Charles Leavitt’s script does a solid job of introducing newcomers to the rich world, with both sides of the opposing forces of this fantastical war getting just about equal time to be explored.
And then there’s the effects. With Robert Kazinsky as the main orc whom we follow throughout the story, we never get to see his handsome face but instead are treated with an impressive display of visual effects which look and feel as realistic as they can be.
The Bad
While the story is simple enough in the end, at times it can trail off into territories that, if you don’t pay full attention, could make you feel lost quite easily. It doesn’t help either that the character names are all so unmemorable. Whether it’s Kazinsky’s Orgrim, Dominic Cooper’s Llane Wryn or Toby Kebbell’s Durotan, if they’re being discussed while not on screen it can get confusing. It doesn’t help either that the orcs look so alike that you forget which one’s which at times.
Of course with the fantasy element there will always be the comparison with The Lord Of The Rings to which Warcraft cant quite match just yet. This being The Beginning however, it could very well become a worthy opponent to Peter Jackson’s saga. But what is clear from the beginning, is that this is a film for the fans. As someone who has never approached the game from which the film is adapted, it’s not sure whether Warcraft succeeds in pleasing the fans, but perhaps it can be argued that the attempt ultimately affects the general audience at times. It’s a tough thing to balance but oftentimes Warcraft manages to sway easily from one audience to the other.
The pacing too feels much more bloated than it’s 2 hour runtime. The disappointing thing about this is that, while it feels longer, it just feels like the story has been spread out too thin. Perhaps had Jones expanded the world and added another twenty or thirty minutes, we could have had a masterpiece.
The Ugly Truth
At it’s heart, Warcraft is a simple enough storyline but occasionally it can get confusing. The unmemorable character names don’t help when this happens. One thing’s for sure though, the visual effects are pretty faultless and whether the story or indeed the world it presents is for you or not, there’ll undoubtedly be something in here to entertain.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows Review
The Plot
As Shredder (Brian Tee) joins forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and henchmen Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Stephen Farrelly) to take over the world, the Turtles must confront an even greater nemesis: the notorious Krang.
The Good
While Michael Bay’s attempt at a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot was mostly problematic while occasionally fun, director Dave Green, fresh from his feature length debut with Earth To Echo, manages to keep the fun and tell an entertaining story alongside it.
Having saved New York from Shredder, the Turtles are still very much underground and keeping away from the public light while Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) takes all the praise. Arnett is a joyous return in some of the films funniest scenes as he soaks up his new-found fame, receiving a key to the city and selling bags of his air online. But soon enough, Shredder is broken out of prison and teams up with Krang in a plot that will see the destruction of New York and perhaps even the world.
Returning as headstrong reporter April O’Neil, Megan Fox gets a new team mate in the form of Stephen Amell’s charismatic hockey masked vigilante Casey Jones who, disgraced after letting Shredder slip from his hands, teams up with April and the Turtles to take him down once and for all. On the villain’s side meanwhile, we get the reboot of fan favourites Bebop and Rocksteady, the Rhino/Warthog duo who bumble about as the hapless henchmen to the straight Shredder and bring some great comic relief with them.
The Bad
The final act of Out Of The Shadows is certainly nothing new and brings clear references to Avengers with it’s magical porthole in the sky that ultimately feels unoriginal. And while Michael Bay may not be in the directors chair, it seems his mark is hard to rub off, with some ridiculously gratuitous shots of Megan Fox again returning to the frame. For a film that is advertised heavily towards children, this feels fairly ill-advised. Still, at least we don’t get a re-hash of Will Arnett ogling at her posterior as we did in the previous installment.
The Ugly Truth
Out Of The Shadows is ultimately a fun action romp that gives us some fantastic new characters as well as bringing back the favourites. While the third act falls into familiar territory, it’s certainly a step up from the first installment.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Alice Through The Looking Glass Review
The Plot
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
The Good
It’s been 6 long years since Tim Burton first gave us his re imagined version of Alice In Wonderland and while he doesn’t return to the directors seat for this belated sequel, the look he set out still shines through. Set after the dark and dismal reign of Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen, Iracebeth, the world of Underland shines a bit brighter this time under new director James Bobin.
Actually, to say that Through The Looking Glass is set entirely after the events of its predecessor isn’t strictly true. After rediscovering the world of Underland on the other side of a mirror, Alice soon goes on a journey through time as she tries to find the Mad Hatter’s parents in order to save his life. To do this, Alice must meet Time himself, here portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen in a fantastically pantomime-esque villainous role.
This time travelling element is the main part of what makes Through The Looking Glass a success. While Burton managed to set the world up in the beautifully dark way only he could do, the only task left for Bobin is to pick up where Burton left off and expand the world out a bit more. With the time travel element, the back stories of the Red and White Queens (Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway respectively) and the Mad Hatter are fleshed out. Exploring their origins in a way which ties in nicely with the story it tells.
Pulling off time travel is always a difficult thing to do but Linda Woolverton’s script respects the laws of the genre. At no point does the idea become too big for its boots or trail off in any way. As Time himself says, you can’t change the past, but you can learn from it…
The Bad
There really isn’t too much to be disappointed with in this sequel which is refreshing. However it has to be said that 6 years is too long a wait between Alice movies for any real care for the characters to stick around. Especially after the first film in the unlikely franchise was more entertaining for it’s special effects than for it’s characters or story. While Through The Looking Glass is much more interesting, it is somewhat of a struggle to gain interest for characters who had already failed to gain our interest 6 years earlier.
The Ugly Truth
James Bobin brings a colourful and interesting story to the screen with the return of the first installment’s cast as well as the introduction of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Time. Ironically, time is the main issue and perhaps had this been released sooner after Tim Burton’s 2010 adaptation the interest in the characters could have gained a bit more momentum. In a way, the six year gap diminishes what is otherwise an entertaining and ultimately better sequel.
Review by Johnny Ellis
Dominic Cooper Hopes for Agent Carter Return
Agent Carter star Dominic Cooper has given new hope for further adventures of the hit Marvel show. Speaking at MCM Comic Con this weekend, Cooper was asked by a fan if he would ‘like to see Agent Carter moving to something like Amazon’ and gave fans hope for a possible return for the show which was recently cancelled by ABC studios.
Cooper, who played Howard Stark on the show said, ’As long as there’s more story to tell… and Amazon would be excited’ he would ‘be well up for doing more’. The actor also praised the way in which streaming sites such as Amazon mean that ‘there’s hope that it might not be [the end]’ for the show despite the cancellation.
While nothing has been officially announced yet, a move to a Netflix could be a possibility, with the studio already working with Marvel on shows such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones. More news as we hear it, but in the meantime, you can check out Dominic Cooper in the first episode of his new series, Preacher on Amazon Prime, with new episodes every Monday from June 6th. Our review of the pilot is here and you can watch the full panel with Cooper discussing the show as well as Agent Carter below: