The variation among the kids makes for a much more colourful narrative, and this film ends up being a lot funnier than the first. Whilst the running time is longer, the film felt like it moved a lot quicker than the previous instalment.
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Continue reading Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance
The Sacred Blacksmith actually surprises you when the sincerity kicks in. The usual themes of love, loss and retribution are all here, but when it gets towards the end of the series, you’re well and truly psyched for a massive final battle that has a truly emotive kick to it.
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Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Sacred Blacksmith
It’s this poignancy that makes The Girl Who Leapt Through Time such an impressive film. The beauty of the matte paintings truly complements the touching coming-of-age tale. The animation itself isn’t as flashy as the usual big-time anime that makes it to the big screen here in Australia, but like all good animation, it hits the right expressions at all the critical moments.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
One needn’t worry too much that this is a case of an action film exploiting World War II with little respect. The film does get across the futility of war, and the opening scene, featuring a young Russian soldier asking a psychic how soon before he will die, is a moment that cleverly balances the science fiction with real life tragedy.
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Hoopla Factor: Continue reading First Squad: The Moment of Truth
There are a bunch of aerial dogfights which are incredible – a wonderful blend of CGI and traditional anime – and deserve to be watched on the big screen. Alas, whenever the film gets a chance to really do something thrilling, it takes the arthouse route and skips to the next scene.
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Continue reading The Sky Crawlers
There are a couple of sequences that astonish – one of the ‘angels’ attacking Tokyo is a masterpiece of visual and sound design, but overall this is the sort of animation one would expect on television, not the big screen.
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Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
A lot of the 115 minutes are dull, but it also has the uncanny ability to tug at the heartstrings in the moments that really count. The climax in particular is beautifully handled, which makes the confounding nature of the rest of the script all the more frustrating.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Tales of Earthsea
Every now and then I see a film that stops me in my tracks. A film that has such a profound effect on me that I’m left reeling, still sitting there dumbfounded by the time the credits have rolled. In Continue reading Grave of the Fireflies
Okay so I’ve figured it out. Hayao Miyazaki is a Dairy Cup filmmaker. Let me explain. For many, many years now I have frequented a certain fast food establishment that focuses on chicken (I shall not mention their name for Continue reading The Castle of Cagliostro
The follow-up to the classic anime Ghost in the Shell (Kôkaku kidôtai) has been a long time coming, but it is certainly worth the wait. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is a damn fine sequel. Mamoru Oshii, also director Continue reading Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence