Thomas Mayfield Uca Rochester

Figure 1: Kubo and The Two Strings This film review will focus on the film 'Kubo and The Two Strings' (2016) , this tale follows the story of a young boy known as Kubo. With no explanation, we see him with a magic shamisen that can control origami, a lucid/ill mother and an missing eye. He embarks on a journey to discover the full potential of his power, as well as avenge what his grandfather the moon king had taken from him and exact his revenge on the family that made him, but also broke him. The film was released in 2016, was directed by Travis Knight and was also produced by Travis Knight, as well as Arianne Sutner. The story was written by Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes, Dario Marianelli composed the music and the animation was done by Laika. Laika is known for doing stop motion animations, they have previously worked on 'Coraline' (2009) , 'Boxtrolls' (2014) and 'Paranorman' (2012) , all generally well received films, but Kubo is one of th...

Figure 1: 'The Secret of The Kells' (2009) This film review will be focusing on the film 'The Secret of the Kells' (2009) , this story follows the story of a bunch of Irish settlers, who are preparing for an attack by the Vikings. However when a man known as Brother Aiden, arrives with the legendary 'Book of Kells', said to be able to turn darkness into light, our main character Brendan begins to take an interest in him. After leaving the safety of the walls on multiple occasions he is finally stopped by his caretaker Abbott Cellach, Brendan is then faced with a choice, to stay home and learn from his mistakes or hit his fears head on and complete the Book of Kells. The film was released in 2009, was directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, produced by Paul young, Tomm Moore also wrote the story, and the music was composed by Bruno Coulais and Kíla. The Secret of the Kells is an interesting film in terms of development, the film is meant to be wholly Irish...

Figure 1: 'Persepolis' (2007) Poster This film review will be focusing on the film 'Persepolis (2007)' , this film follows the story of a young girl known as Satrapi. This story is based on the real events and effects of the time period in which the film is set (70's/80's), whilst all of the government corruption grows and festers this very innocent story of how a girl has to go about living her life is a simple story. However, through an interesting art style and clever animation, this film appears very human. The film was made in 2007, was directed by Marjane Satrapi, was produced by Xavier Rigault and the music for the film was produced by Olivier Bernet. In 2007 this film was nominated for Academy Award for the best-animated feature, however, it lost to Pixars 'Ratatouui' (2007). The theme of the whole film is very similar to waltz with Bashir, as the film is Iranian, but also French. It's interesting to note how deep and personal bot...

Figure 1: Waltz with Bashir Title This film review will be focusing on the film 'Waltz with Bashir' (2008) , this animation is based on the true story of the director of the film Ari Folman. Serving in the 1982 Lebanon War, Ari Folman has trouble remembering his time on the frontlines. He then embarks on a journey, finding old friends/colleagues who served in the same war in order to find answers. The message of the film depicts trying to recover a memory that he has lost, or is choosing to repress. This film was made in 2008, was written and directed by Ari Folman, Max Richter did the music. The thing that makes this film stand is for three major reasons, first being is that is an interpretation of an event in history, the second is that the film is Israelian in production and that this was the first animated feature film in Israel in over fifty years. The films content and message is something that isn't for the faint of heart, very dark topics are spoken about i...

Figure 1:  'Mad Max Fury Road' (2015) Poster This film review will focus on the film 'Mad Max Fury Road' (2015), the story is set in a world where everything has been wiped out, humanity has had to restart with no laws, no rules and nothing to stop anyone doing whatever they want. The story follows a man known as Mad Max, who is captured by the group 'The War Boys'. When he escapes he can see there is an issue with no easy way around except straight through the middle, he must then hit this challenge to liberate the people of the badlands, giving everyone freedom. The Film was released in 2015, was directed by George Miller and produced by Doug Mitchell. the cinematography was done by John Seale and the soundtrack for the film was created by Junkie XL (Tom Holkenborg). So it's time once again to do an 'Actual' film review, feels like forever since the blog last did an official 'Critique' of a film so expect the juicy goodness of a fi...

Figure 1: 'The Wolf Man' (1941) Poster This film review will focus on the film 'The Wolf Man' (1941), the story follows a man by the name of Larry Talbot who recently came back to Talbot Mansion. On one eventful Larry finds himself in a fight with a wolf, however, this is no ordinary wolf, it is a werewolf. As time goes on Larry begins to realize his horrible fate, it all lead up to the town going on a great hunt in order to find the beast before it finds them. The film was released in 1941, was directed by George Waggner and was written by Curt Siodmak and the cinematography was done by Joseph Valentine.  The topic for this film will be about B-Movies, this film was an assigned task for the years group, so we all had to go find a B-Movie from the 1940's or the 1950's. A well-known B-Movie was The Wolf Man, so in this review, there will be a breakdown of The Good, The Bad, and the Hairy Larry. What are B-Movies? B-Movies are films usually made...

Figure 1: 'Up' (2008) Poster This film review will focus on the film 'Up' (2008), a story that follows an old man called Mr. Carl Fredricson, who's lifelong dream has been to go on an adventure to Paradise Falls, located in Venezuela, South America. With his wife passing away and legal authorities threatening to put him in a home, Carl Frederickson attaches thousands of helium-filled balloons to him home to make a makeshift aircraft, accidentally abducting the small scout Russell and stumbling across a talking dog. Together they must work together to save the exotic bird and evade the mad explorer Charles Muntz. The film was released in 2008, was directed by Peter Docter and produced by Jonas Rivera. The story for Up was created by Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy, and the soundtrack was created by Micheal Giacchino. The topic for this film will 'Narrative Structure' and the 'Hollywood Formula'. This is usually how films can be/should b...