Sunday, 30 July 2017

What Are You Watching (July, 2017)

Perhaps a little more active on the film side this month than last month as it has been an awesome month for brand new films coming at the cinema. I have been taking full advantage of my unlimited card this month with the amount of films I have wanted to see.

 TV
  • Tokyo Ghoul - I may have found another new favourite this month. This anime is beautifully animated and the character progression is immense, although not always good. I can't wait to read the manga next because as much as I enjoyed the series I felt like it was somewhat rushed and it may have fallen into the book into movie issues that a lot of the anime, I have watched, have not had a run in with. But highly recommend to people that enjoy character pieces with an intense narrative. You will need to not mind gore because it tends to be quite bloody. Review is available here if you want more in-depth thoughts: 
  • Natsume Yuujinchou - I've started to take my time on the longer ones so I don't end up hating them after a few weeks of literally only watching them and then needing to put them down for a month. It actually doesn't take too long to finish them this way compared to that way. Anyway, this show was very fun to watch. I loved Natsume and his development throughout the show, not only in himself but also the development of the relationships with everything around him (as it is not only people). There is also a cat as one of the main characters which makes me very happy when watching this show.

 Film
  • Baby Driver - Long story short, I love this film and think that everyone that can should go and see it immediately. If you would like the long story, you can check out my full review here: http://galaxysearcher.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/baby-driver-wright-2017.html 
  • Cars 3 - When I first heard this was coming out I was very disappointed in PIXAR because in my opinion Cars 2 is the worst PIXAR film they have made by a long shot which was very disappointing for me because I really love Cars (the first one in the trilogy). However, when the trailers started to come out I got more and more excited for it as it seemed to be all about Lightning and his racing again. My full review is here if you'd like some more in depth thoughts on this gem: http://galaxysearcher.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/cars-3-fee-2017.html
  • To The Bone - Mental health issues are being put in the limelight more and more often which is good as hopefully it is helping people to understand mental illness if they aren't affected by one. This film was very moving and thoughtful when discussing such a massive issue. The performances where very thoughtful and the narrative was very well done apart from the romance element which I felt like it could have done without. I thought the writing by Marti Noxon was very smart and Lily Collins' performance was very intense and believable. 
  • The Nice Guys - Very funny indeed. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are very funny in this 1970's set detective comedy. Highly recommend, again. Good one liners and killer scenes that will honestly make you laugh out loud. 
  • Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan's new blockbuster is thoughtful and intense in this WWII epic telling the story of the men saved by the people. It was very moving and very worth watching. Although it wasn't my favourite Christopher Nolan film to date I will watch it again and highly recommend it to others. Review shall be coming next week
This has been a good film month, with only one film leaving me a little bit unsure about it but that was mostly because of the subject matter and an unnecessary romance. I have held back a little on the TV, I've got a few currents that are currently being aired like Game of Thrones, My Hero Academia and a few others. I think only one or two aren't currently being aired/I'm not at that point yet. This month I really wanted to watch more films and I think I succeeded in watching at least one film a week, woo! and there actually like brand new, like came out this month apart from one so I am very pleased with myself.
  Ok, thank you very much for reading. If you would like you can leave me any recommendations for what I should watch next month or anything that was really good that you guys watched. See you next week!

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Sunday, 23 July 2017

Cars 3 (Fee, 2017)

  When I first heard about PIXAR releasing another Cars film I was sceptical. Like 'did they really think that Cars 2 was good enough to make this into a trilogy' was my main question. I really wasn't looking forward to it especially as the long awaited Incredibles 2 was coming out after it and I've wanted that for years, I never wanted a second Cars movie let alone a third one especially if it was being put before Incredibles 2. However, I took back some of my scepticism after I saw the first teaser trailer. There were no flying cars, no Mater, just McQueen which is what I want. I love Mater but as a main character you kind of just feel bad for him rather than enjoying him being a silly best
friend comic relief kind of thing. So, after that initial teaser trailer I was intrigued, so I guess trailers work y'know. When the second one came out I was rather excited to see what else they were going to reveal. Second teaser trailer come out and I was ready, I didn't need to watch any other trailers, all I knew was that I needed to watch this film as soon as possible. I then was very upset to realise that as with all PIXAR and Disney animated releases we, in the UK, get them a month after the US (sidetone: so unfair). After all that I have now finally seen this film and I was very happy with it which I guess is a bit of spoiler for how this review is going to go but unlike my last few review it's not like I don't have any complaints about this film. Let's get to it!
  A bit of a synopsis, non spoiler orientated. Cars 3 brings back Lightning McQueen to the spotlight as he continues racing without focusing on the trophy and winning but having fun and enjoying racing no matter what the outcome. However, as the new breed of racing cars start to take over McQueen is the only 'old' racer left on the track but how long he will be there doesn't look to good. In order to continue to race McQueen goes on a journey of self discovery with his new trainer Cruz Ramirez in order to get quicker than the supercar rookies that have taken over the track. Now onto the review.
  Firstly, thank you PIXAR for ditching the Mater the spy thing and acting as though that never happened. Possibly my favourite thing is that PIXAR basically completely ignored that Cars 2 exists throughout Cars 3. I really enjoyed the storyline of this one, I liked how it twists and turns and kept the audience on their feet. In addition to this I really loved the flashbacks of Doc that may have made me cry rather a lot (damn you PIXAR!). This movie, in my mind, completely made up for the wreck that was its predecessor and I really enjoyed enjoyed it. I liked the new characters, I like how it really tugged on my heart strings. It also had Nathan Fillion in it which is always going to give something extra points from me because I adore Mr Fillion in whatever he does.
  On to my very few complaints about this film which aren't like ugh I hate these things, it's more a comparison of what I love about the first one that was just kind of lacking in this one. Firstly, the soundtrack. It was good don't get me wrong it just wasn't as good as the first one which I listen to rather a lot. The soundtrack from Cars just fits so perfectly with the first film and I just felt as though this one was a bit random and didn't always fit as well as it could have done. Secondly, there wasn't enough radiator springs, I missed the original characters whom we do get to see for little bits throughout the film but I just wish that there was a little bit more because I missed them. However, I realise that not all of them could go on his self discovery journey and he needed to go somewhere new in order to connect with racing and Doc in order to discover and realise what he needed to. So I'm cool with it but still like, I missed them.
  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the next instalment to the Cars series and how it completely ignored the one that came before it and went back to what cars do best which is racing. PIXAR have restored my trust in them and that Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2 will be so awesome and probably make me cry (I'm basically 100% sure that Toy Story 4 will make me cry). They have made up for Cars 2 although it was not as good as the first one but they can't do a Toy Story Trilogy with every trilogy they create because let's face it that it probably one of the best trilogies ever made because every single one of them is awesome. I'm getting off topic...basically, I really enjoyed it, can't wait for future PIXAR releases and you should go to the cinema and see this film if you haven't already.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Sunday, 16 July 2017

Tokyo Ghoul (Morita, 2014-2015)

  I adore anime that is no secret on this blog but there are very few anime series over 12 episodes that I have watched in one day. I watched Tokyo Ghoul, a whole 24 episodes in one day. So, I spent one of my days off from work sitting on my butt, inside, just watching this show for about 12 hours. I should probably regret that decision but I do not because this anime series was pretty damn awesome and may have slipped its way into my top ten anime series of all time.
  Let's start off with my favourite thing about this series - the characters. Every single one of the characters I love, even the one that made me feel as though I should have shut my window in fear of my neighbours thinking I was watching French porn. Kaneki Ken, the lead, has such an interesting character arc. His character progression in the series is not always positive but it kind of brings this element of reality into the fantasy/horror world of Tokyo Ghoul. The characters in general are very mixed in terms of protagonist or antagonist because everyone has good things about their character and bad things. It isn't a simple black and white narrative, like these are the good guys you root for them and these are the bad guys you boo them. The characters that the audience are aligned with are the traditional bad guys in most other narratives yet are not bad people. Tokyo Ghoul does a good job of blurring the line between good and evil, it is very realistic in this way. It communicates that bad guys are not all bad and that good guys are not all good.
  To be honest, I don't really have any complaints with this anime. I know quite a few people complain about how much they leave out from the manga but I haven't read them yet although I shall soon. So, the only thing that people complain about I cannot relate to. I'm going to just continue to praise the hell out of this anime because it is so so good. Apart from an amazing set of characters the narrative is gripping and really just reels you in to the world of ghouls, hence why I could watch it in a day. The animation is superb, the colouring and fight scenes are especially interesting in terms of this. Ok, I should probably round this up before I decide to go and watch this series again because I really want to but I have others to finish.
  Overall, this is a very interesting anime series that draws you in with the characters. Definitely for older viewers as this is very violent and gory so won't be for everyone. It is also occasionally sexual in strange ways thanks to 'the gourmet' ghoul who has a thing for Kaneki in a cannibal kinda way.

Rating: 5 out of 5 (I should probably increase my scale to ten to give my reviews more of a range)

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Sunday, 9 July 2017

Baby Driver (Wright, 2017)

  If I'm right in thinking that this is the film that Edgar Wright left Ant-Man for I'm so happy that he did as much as I was disappointed at the time. Baby Driver is so much better than Ant-Man ever could have been even with Wright in the directors chair. I really enjoyed this film, it was funny and had the cinematography and editing that Wright is known for, although not as much as I would have liked. However, the writing is very him throughout the film by taking a very American genre and putting this British spin on it which in the case of Baby Driver he does by making it not very serious and over  the top. When I first heard of this movie I thought it would be a Drive knock-off until I found out that Edgar Wright was behind it.
  The acting is great by all, I loved Ansel Elgort in this, it honestly makes up for things like Divergent. Kevin Spacey was also very good, being given quite a serious character with some awesome one-liner comebacks when people questioned Baby (Elgort's character). But the thing that really made it for me (apart from the Edgar Wright-ness of it all) was the music. This film has such an awesome soundtrack that fits so well. The editors of this film must have worked the freakin' socks off trying to get every cut in time with the music playing over it during the driving/getaway scenes. It was a masterpiece of editing to watch on the big screen.
  Ok, so overall do I have any complaints over this film apart from it wasn't Edgar Wright enough for me? No, no I do not. This film was beautiful to watch and oh so funny to hear. I'm so glad that I have another Edgar Wright film to add to my DVD collection in a few months time. If you haven't seen it, go and see it, if you already have seen it maybe go see it again just to see it on the big screen one more time (I know I will be). Honestly, this is such a great film from such an amazingly talented writer and director. Edgar Wright is in my top three filmmakers of all time, ever since I watched Scott Pilgrim for the first time he has been one of my favourites and this film did not disappoint.

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Sunday, 2 July 2017

What Are You Watching? (June, 2017)

What are you watching instalment two is here!

TV
  • The Devil is a Part-Timer - It's fun, silly and has many a love triangle. A fun, short (so far) and easily accessible anime to people that are new to the fold. The characters are learning about Japanese culture as they are not from this world but have ended up there after losing a battle, so is probably quite a good first anime to watch! highly recommend for a few laughs and cute characters.
  • The Pet girl of Sakurasou - This is certainly a strange one but horrendously funny and entertaining. The relationships are frustrating because you just want them to get together but it's so conflicting because there are conflicting relationships that you, as a viewer, want to happen. A strange show about a boy living in a dorm filled with weirdos, and all he wants to do is escape but not for long as along comes his new pet, a girl that can't do very much for herself apart from paint and draw manga. It's about self-discovery and accepting others talents and not letting their greatness think that you are any less than they are just because they have found success earlier than you. It's such a real show, based in reality completely, only the characters are weird and wonderful but also relatable because they're just people. 
  • Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun - Perhaps the most unsatisfying shojo anime I have ever watched but it was still very good. From a romance/shojo point-of-view I was kinda disappointed by the ending but after thinking about it for a minute it wasn't very surprising based on the type of guy the love interest is. Very funny and cute with lots of high school mayhem which will keep you entertained no matter what you're age. 
  • Blue Spring Ride - This is quite a cute shojo anime based on a manga of the same title. It is quite comparable to Orange which is honestly one of my absolute favourites when it comes to romance anime/manga. It is very cute, with relatable characters and storyline (somewhat). I would quite happily recommend this anime to anyone new to anime that enjoys the teen romance genre, especially girls/women/ladies (whatever you wish to be called) 
  • Maid-Sama - A very funny anime with a very tsundere female lead. The lead has worked her butt off to become student body president but also has to work at a maid cafe in order to keep her family afloat. This anime is a shojo/romance anime again (sensing a theme yet?) with a powerhouse female character that is tsundere and fights for what she believes and wants. A very good anime, with old style anime character designs and honestly some of the funniest moments. It's strange yet delightful. 
  • Attack on Titan season 2 - I know there is another season coming next year apparently so I'm ok with season 2 being so short...kind of. I had so many questions after the first season, some of which got answered but now I have even more questions plus the ones that didn't get answered in the first place. Never the less this was an amazing continuation on the first season which I adored.
  • Eromanga sensei - This was a weird one although I do want another season I'm not quite sure whether it will happen or not to be honest. A lot of people hated on this anime series even though it wasn't very serious about its themes. The key to this one was really just not taking it serious, I wrote a blog post on it at the beginning of last month that I have linked below for you guys to read if you are interested or want more info. 
  • Akashic Records of a Bastard Magical Instructor - A very intense anime right off the bat pretty much. It didn't take very long for this anime to go insanely serious, whereas most anime series will hold off on this until the second or third season this one did it in season one. However, that doesn't make it any less enjoyable as it still has its episodes of calm and fun but also with a very snarky main character, Glenn Sensei, it does continue to be funny throughout even when it gets serious. The character chemistry is very good, the shipping is handed to you on a plate, but even when you don't want them to date the characters have strong friendships with one another. 
Film
  • What The Health (2017) - This a documentary (yes, that counts as a film) about what the current diet of humans is doing to humans and the planet. It is pretty much a documentary trying to convince people to go vegan for the good of themselves rather than the animals which is normally the take of documentaries similar to this. I enjoyed it and actually learned quite a bit about health that I didn't know before, it made me even happier to be vegan. I think that everyone should watch it, even if it doesn't make you go full out vegan (which you should) I think it would at least convince people to cut down the amount of meat they eat on the daily which is a start. Available on Netflix and YouTube.
  • The Circle (2017) - A very strange movie and I'm not entirely sure what it was trying to tell me about privacy and technology to be honest. An interesting and captivating watch, with stars Emma Watson and Tom Hanks in staring roles, (although I don't think I'll ever understand why Hollywood keeps casting Emma Watson as an American). There performances are good and the narrative is intriguing and very relevant in this technology driven world. Worth a watch, available on Netflix. 
I feel bad about the basic nothingness that is my film section this month, I feel ashamed to call myself a film student. It's not like I haven't been watching films, I just haven't watched anything new. Been watching a lot of Joss Whedon (who y'all know is my fave if you've been around a while) and PIXAR in anticipation for Cars 3 to come out (only like two weeks!) I also just want to add that the last three shows that I watched were being aired over the past few months so I didn't binge watch all those shows. Anyway, thank you very much for reading. It would be majorly helpful if you could maybe share this post or maybe leave a comment if you've watched any of these or if you have some recommendations for me to watch in July. 


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Sunday, 18 June 2017

Disney Favourites: Villains

Everybody loves a good villain, and by that I mean you love to hate them which means they are simply doing their job. A good villain shouldn't be liked by an audience, they should annoy the audience because they are getting in their heroes way but not be annoying simply because they're just annoying as a character. So, here I have my top five Disney Villains. Yep, throwing it back to my Disney favourites series because there has been a lot of anime chat on here recently. Ok, let's go!

5. The horned King - Starting this list off with a villain that way too many do not know about. In
1985 Disney released an animated feature with honestly one of the most nightmare material villains one will ever see in a Disney Film, or any family friendly feature. The Horned King is terrifying, sends shivers right down my spine and is the reason I don't watch his film very much (because I actually really like it, the film itself is so underrated). And so is this Villain, that certainly needs a shout out as he is probably responsible for this film being one of the least profitable films Walt Disney Animation studios has ever made because he is freakin' terrifying.

4. Ursula - Here we have a villain that is very scary for my almost three year old niece, she's cool with her until she becomes a giant at the end. Ursula is sassy, and conniving, she knows what she wants and how to trick others into getting it for her. Honesty, Ursula is such a fun villain to watch and I look forward to her being played by a drag queen in the upcoming live-action film because c'mon how could she not be?!

3. Captain Hook - Perhaps one of the most pathetic (I'm sorry) villains on this list. I mean c'mon no matter how hard he tries he can't catch a prankster that never grows up. Peter Pan is like what 10 maybe? and Hook cannot catch him. The man is also terrified of a ticking crocodile and jumps onto his righthand man whenever he hears that clock going. I love you Captain Hook simply because you are one of the most fun Disney Villains.

2. Hades - And here is the most fun Disney Villain. Hades is so sassy, it probably helps that James Woods is quite sassy but hey whatcha gonna do? (If you didn't say that as Hades I may be slightly judging you just a little bit) Hades' plan is pretty good, if only he had better sidekicks that could actually do their job and not wear the heroes merchandise. A solid plan, a great script matched with a great voice actor, and in one of the best Disney films, of course Hades had to make it onto this list.

1. Maleficent - This probably comes at no surprise if you have read my first Disney favourites but Maleficent is my most favourite Disney Villain and has been for years. For starters she is gorgeous, like seriously look at her (those cheekbones could cut glass). She is also so badass, living alone in a castle, millions of minions at her service, wearing all black, being the most feared creature across the land. Maleficent is a badass and honestly probably has the most understandable reason for her wicked deeds. She was pissed because she was the only person not invited to Aurora's christening or Birth party, what person wouldn't be pissed. I mean she takes it to the extreme of being pissed, but as priorly mentioned she is a badass.


Thank you for taking your time to read my Disney ramble, I am very happy to have you. Make sure to come back next week as I put up blog posts every Sunday at 7 o'clock UK time. And if you think others should take a read of my ramble why don't you share this with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.

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Sunday, 11 June 2017

Animes for First Timers

Are you interested in starting to watch the weird and wonderfulness that is anime but don't know when to start? If you said yes, then this is the blog post for you! I have put together my top five anime shows for new comers. When you first start to consider watching anime it can be quite daunting because there is just so many to choose from across so many different genres. My number one tip would be to pick a show that is categorised within your favourite genre, whether that be horror or romance or whatever else takes your fancy. However, even when you do that there are Japanese culture things that might pop up that you don't quite get, you will probably get used to it over a few series or even episodes but for this list I've tried to suggest shows that are quite western, so should be good for people that don't know very much about Japanese culture.
  1. Cowboy Bebob - This one is a space western mixed with film noir. It is set in space, on a spaceship and is quite firefly-esque in design. If you like firefly then you will most likely enjoy this show too. It is funny, with interesting characters, but also has a darker storyline that is weaved throughout the series (this is the noir part of the series). For the most part it is bounty hunters in space having hilarious adventures whilst catching criminals. Great for first timers because it is quite a short series and doesn't have too much Japanese culture incorporated into the show past their food to be honest.
  2. My Hero Academia - This series is relatively new but has already gathered quite the following, although the fanbase isn't very intimidating like some other shows. It follows the genre of superhero/comic book, and is very western in its style because of this genre. It is very funny and the characters have been created so well. Also, if your an animation dork (like me) you will appreciate the phenomenal animation, it's so smooth and colourful and beautiful. It is set in Japan but because it is based around superheroes it doesn't focus very much on regular Japanese life so the different culture won't be hard to understand to someone that doesn't know much about Japan. 
  3. Attack On Titan - Harrowing, teenagers fighting giant human-like creatures that eat people for the fun of eating people. It is definitely in the horror/mystery genre and is so intriguing to watch. the animation style is quite unique and the story is so out there and gripping. Every episode is a cliffhanger that makes you click the next episode before the five second countdown on Netflix finishes (It's also on CrunchyRoll for non-netflix subscribers). Again it is reasonably short coming to around 30 episodes as I write this post as the long awaited season two has finally come out after I think three or four years. This isn't set in Japan as it is a dystopian world where all humans are gathered within gigantic walls in order to prevent Titan attacks so again not much Japanese culture to confuse unknowing viewers. You could watch it dubbed and probably wouldn't realise that it was Japanese until you googled it to be honest. 
  4. Kill La Kill - This is honestly one of the most absurd and hilarious anime shows I have ever
    watched, and probably will ever watch. This show is so unique in its style and narrative. It's quirky, and stands out against all the others in this list. It's so strange and absurd but still strangely believable and able to suck you into its world so easily. The series is about a girl that wants to find her fathers killer by attending a school that wants to take over the world with their super power giving clothing. It's weird and wonderful, it's overt the top and satirical of other things one would find in anime. As much as it's a great first anime its a great one to re-watch once you've seen a few more series as you'll then understand these satirical references. 
  5. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - It's set in another world where alchemy takes place. Alchemy is a kind of science based magic where whatever you make takes from something else. The series is about two brothers who have had to pay their own ultimate prices for their alchemy. They go on adventures and try to find out more about their world and the science of alchemy. This is the longest anime on this list, hence why it is last, at 60 episodes and a film. However, it is very western and the dubbed version is actually really good (so good my friend didn't think it was anime but some old nickelodeon show). Highly recommend to new anime watchers but even someone that is just looking for a new animated show to watch, or even just TV series in general. 

I hope you have found something that tickles your fancy. All of these Anime shows are available on CrunchyRoll and/or Netflix (apart from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood). Thank you for taking your time to read my Anime ramble and I am very happy to have you. Make sure to come back next week as I put up blog posts every Sunday at 7 o'clock UK time. And if you think others should take a read of my ramble why don't you share this with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.

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