"We underdogs have to look out for each other, right?"

In the pantheon of unique and inspired Pixar stories Luca stands out as particularly underwhelming, however it shines in how excellently that story is told.

Luca is incredibly similar in general premise and character motivation to the likes of core Disney movies such as The Little Mermaid (1989) and Moana (2016), wherein the crux of the story is that the protagonist feels discontent with being stuck at home and wants…

"The world is broken, you can't trust anyone"

Not too compelling. There are moments of really captivating cinematography, in particular the action was framed quite well, and the usage of music made otherwise uninteresting scenes feel gripping, but broadly there are quite severe issues with storytelling.

The pacing during the first half was absolutely brutal, Raya and the Last Dragon felt like a recap movie for three or four major arcs of a TV show during its opening act. Multiple…

The Red Turtle could have been named amongst some of the greatest animated movies ever made had it ended approximately 40 minutes in. What was at one point an intensely emotional and profound exploration of human resilience and our conflict with nature, almost at once completely goes to trash at the introduction of a second character.

(As it happens midway through the film this could be considered a spoiler however what I am going to discuss as the downfall of…

Film Club May 24th - May 26th

"but in a world of peace there is no hope"

Simply excellent doesn't begin to cover how magnificent Harakiri is. Nearly flawless in both story telling and visuals, Masaki Kobayashi 1962 classic deserves no less than to be called a masterpiece.

An ex-warrior, Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) seeks admittance into a house in order to commit Harakiri (the act of committing suicide by self-inflicted disembowelment). While waiting to commit the act, he tells…