Archive for category Films
Review: Tolkien (2019)
For many, at least of my generation, Tolkien is a name associated with fond memories of childhood battles, acted out with sticks and imaginations, reminiscent of the great war scenes in the Lord of the Rings. It is this audience – and perhaps those few among us that have actually read the admittedly long-and-very-detailed books […]
Review: In This Corner of the World
There is something surreal about the use of watercolours in animation. In This Corner of the World is a beautiful example of how they can bring a heart-wrenching story to life using soft edges and gentle colours. Following the life of a young Japanese woman from Hiroshima, In This Corner of the World captures the […]
Review: Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?
Posted by H. J. Stephens in Anime, Films, Japan, Reviews on November 4, 2017
In my experience, Japanese animation rarely features simplicity as one of its main assets. Japanese animation is traditionally complex, detailed, and at times, very dark in it’s subthemes. Nobuyuki Takeuchi and Genki Kawamura’s most recent film, ‘Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?’ challenges these norms, and does so magnificently. Based […]
Review: Dunkirk
Posted by H. J. Stephens in Films, History, Reviews, War on August 16, 2017
Christopher Nolan’s war epic Dunkirk is a film that has been long anticipated by a wide audience. I first saw the trailer at Oz Comic-con in March, and the buzz surrounding it even back then was intense. I’m going to be brutally honest here though; I wasn’t one of those excited people, the trailer didn’t […]
Review: Their Finest
Posted by H. J. Stephens in Films, History, Reviews, War on April 30, 2017
It’s the year 1940 and British citizens are facing the harrowing realisation that they may not be winning the fight to which they have lost thousands of lives, homes, and years. Based on the book Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans, directed by Lone Scherfig and starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, and […]
H. J. Stephens 