Saying goodbye is never easy. Some artists leave behind a legacy of fantastic films with one final swansong fully intended as their magnum opus. For others, they may unfortunately just… stop one day. The mind of Hayao Miyazaki has never been one to back down from the industry of animated film, each and every film of his feeling distinct and yet unmistakably a work of his own. No one else could have made The Boy and the Heron, a film which truly feels like Miyazaki is saying goodbye to a world of cinema and, in a way, Studio Ghibli. However, the director has since returned to the studio with ideas for a new film, as shown in an interview with veteran Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki.
Talks of Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement go as far back as 2005-2006, during the production of Tales from Earthsea, directed by his son Goro Miyazaki. The director has never succumbed to retirement since, and his return to the studio this time probably won’t be the last time we witness his “retirement”.
The Boy and the Heron tells a profound story about a boy named Mahito growing up in war-torn Tokyo, moving to a more rural area once his mother perishes in a hospital fire and his father remarries his late wife’s sister Natsuko. From here, the film seems to take cues from multiple different Ghibli films, namely Spirited Away, which it resembles the most. However, that’s not to say the film copies or insists upon the previous work of Miyazaki consciously or obnoxiously. Miyazaki is as Miyazaki’s been, creating heartfelt films about a lost character finding themselves in a strange new land, discovering more about themselves that they didn’t know they’d needed all this time.
The first half of the movie is incredibly captivating and tragic; Miyazaki hooks the viewer with the melancholy eccentricities displayed by Mahito and the tragedy he faces, as well as keeping alive the mystery of the blue heron bird that lingers throughout the countryside, taunting him and luring him to the eerie tower over the river. The audience can really connect with his struggles, really rooting for him and hoping he’ll find solace in something in this new land, but it’s clear he’s never truly been the same since his mother passed away in that fire.
The second half of the movie relies upon Miyazaki’s tactic of an open-ended adventure, wherein Mahito finally answers the call of the blue heron and explores this new world within the tower. The characters he meets and the locations he travels to all feel distinct and dynamic, intrinsic to each others’ existences. They’re tied together really well, and it really does feel like the inherent stability of this strange land insists upon the fact that these characters exist right where they exist–something explored in the later scenes of the film. It’s a powerful mode of storytelling, though Miyazaki’s tactic does play down some of the important elements of the film a bit as a result. It’s common for Ghibli films to be open-ended and vague, and sometimes the viewer can easily derive meaning from what a scene’s purpose is. However, with a film as packed as The Boy and the Heron, employing so many of Miyazaki’s methods of direction, it almost feels too vague at times in this new world. As the first half of the film is grounded in reality, it’s easier to tell what a character is feeling or what they’re planning on doing based on their body language and actions. However, this new world requires a bit more exposition and directness to fully understand what some of its components really mean.
The Boy and the Heron is now playing in theaters worldwide.
Every single detail regarding the adaptation Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was a rollercoaster from reveal to release. The idea for a Scott Pilgrim anime series wasn’t bad, if a bit jarring given the graphic novel’s Western origin. However, once the opening credits were revealed by Netflix ahead of the series’ release, everyone seemed to agree that Science Saru Inc. was nailing the style and flair the series is known for.
With the entire cast from the 2010 film adaptation reprising their roles in voice form, Anamanaguchi on the score—who composed the soundtrack for the acclaimed tie-in arcade game, as well as original author Bryan Lee O’Malley co-writing the script, this seemed to be too good to be true. There were a few odd details, however. How would an adaptation presumably sticking to the same plot beats expand this universe as O’Malley claimed it would? Why was the title Scott Pilgrim Takes Off instead of the clear Scott Pilgrim vs. The World route a one-to-one adaptation would’ve typically taken?
Viewers are taken down a vastly different route in the first episode of the series. Most of the episode follows the same general plot beats as the source material, though this facade is broken when Scott actually LOSES the first fight against Matthew Patel. From this point onward, the series becomes a completely original work within the Scott Pilgrim universe, expanding its lore as O’Malley claimed while keeping the core of every character intact.
Long-time fans of the story are understandably split on how they feel about the anime. Some feel betrayed and burned by the series’ deceptive marketing, while others open this expansion of the Scott Pilgrim universe with open arms. Some even enjoy the anime but wish there was indeed a faithful adaptation regardless. The overall reception to the series seems to be largely positive however, with its polished visuals, stunning performances by mainstay and guest cast members and enthralling soundtrack being hard to deny.
The series seems to leave off on a cliffhanger, which—given the anime’s different direction from the start—seems to imply a continuation of sorts is in order. Whether that’s through a second season or a new graphic novel serialization is yet to be confirmed.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now streaming on Netflix.
Whether you noticed it in passing as an adult or watched its rise on YouTube during the 2010s, it’s been hard to ignore the mark Five Nights at Freddy’s left on horror gaming as well as indie games as a whole. Since its inception as a last-ditch effort by the creator Scott Cawthon, the game has evolved into a multimedia franchise with multiple video games, novels, and now a feature film directed by Emma Tammi. Long-time fans know all too well the development hell this film has been stuck in, so it’s no secret why diehards the world over are going so far as to dress up for the film in theaters. I didn’t have much to dress up with myself during my viewing, but my friends and I chose outfits that generally adhered to… I guess, the palette of the characters? Regardless of our lack of fitting attire, trust me when I say we were dying to see this.
Blumhouse Productions has had a bit of a renaissance lately. Though some of their recent films have been a bit underwhelming to some, such as the recent Halloween revival trilogy and the recent sequel to The Exorcist, some of their other productions like M3GAN and The Black Phone were critical and commercial successes. The studio allows the freedom for directors to bring stories to life, which bodes well for fans of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series. This movie elaborates on both core and blink-and-you-miss-it points from the first game to bring the game to life on screen, while also throwing in plotpoints, foreshadowing, and allusion to other games in the series. At the end of the day, however, the story of the film does mainly focus on the first game.
As other reviews have definitely implied (or even just outright SAID), this film is far from perfect. However, what is Five Nights at Freddy’s if not perfect? Every fan of the series knows that the series has been full of plot holes, imperfections, and retcons from the start. At the end of the day, it’s a very simple game that’s brought to life by the passion both the fans and the creator pour into the culture of the franchise. In that same sense, the film having this low-budget practical horror B-movie feel is the PERFECT way to adapt it. There’s only so much terror that can be derived from a haunted animatronic party pizzeria establishment, but the potential for a grounded story focusing on WHY things have gotten that way is through the roof. Though the two aspects have a bit of trouble finding their footing early on, they eventually balance each other out and make for a compelling story that horror fans will… tolerate, and Five Nights at Freddy’s fans will absolutely love.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is now playing in theaters worldwide, and streaming on Peacock.
From the moment we first saw Margot Robbie’s Barbie float down from her dream house to meet Ryan Gosling’s Ken, we knew Barbie would be this year’s big summer blockbuster and one of the biggest movies of 2023.
The character of Barbie first appeared in Toy Story 2, acting both as product placement and expansion of the series’ universe. This role was expanded upon greatly in the movie’s sequel, with said follow up entry introducing the character of Ken to the big screen. News of the brand having its very own movie, however, has had a rocky history of development hell dating back to 2009. After many changes in management, cast, and crew, more news on the film’s active development finally broke in 2021. Director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women) was first announced to be working on the project with her partner and frequent collaborator, Noah Baumbach.
Gerwig and Baumbach come together to tell a story in Barbie that is equal parts empowering and heartbreaking while paying massive respects to the brand upon which the film is based. Almost all Barbies get representation, so there’s no need to worry whether or not your favorite made the cut. There’s even lesser known characters such as Michael Cera’s Alan, as well as deep cuts like the Barbies and Kens who reside with Kate McKinnon’s “Weird Barbie” (no spoilers here, but they all do an amazing job and their costume design nails it!)
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s performances as Barbie and Ken are stellar throughout the film, achieving a near perfect balance of emotional revelations and comedic relief in their scenes. The script is written from a place of love for the Barbie name, while also being a bit more mature and existential than you’d expect from a film about the dolls. This is far from being a deficit to the film—it’s definitely a movie made for those who’ve grown up with or knowing Barbie, so expect some more adult themes to peek in every so often.
Barbie is now playing in theaters worldwide.
by J Nagle
One of the more recent drops on Netflix is Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, released in late 2016. The plot may seem similar to those who viewed Chazelle’s more recent film, Babylon, from 2022. The films are two sides of the same coin, La La Land having a more positive perspective on the experience of stardom while Babylon focuses on some of the darker aspects that come with it, as well as the entertainment industry as a whole. While some of Babylon‘s horrors stretch themselves out during the film’s 3 hour runtime, La La Land‘s brisk pacing and dynamic, immersive scenes make for one of the quickest 2 hour films to watch.
Ryan Gosling, currently in the spotlight for his performance as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, plays Seb Wilder, an ambitious pianist down on his luck who’s moved to Los Angeles to fulfill his dreams. He stars alongside Emma Watson who plays Mia Dolan, an equally ambitious actress who craves some of the same stardom Gosling’s character does. As the two are shown in their own separate storylines fighting for their lives in the industry, the two are also shown alone together, fighting with each other for what stardom really means to them. Damien Chazelle’s emphasis on location as character in these moments is crucial to making each line, motion, and expression feel so integral to its respective scene.
The supporting cast includes names such as John Legend as well as J. K. Simmons, the latter of whom some may recognize from his performance in Chazelle’s first feature film, Whiplash, both of whom play key roles in Seb’s story early on.
La La Land is now streaming on Netflix.
Some movies this summer can’t be as fortunate as Barbie and Oppenheimer, having constant aspects teased and marketed that keeps hype going and growing consistently towards its release. One of these movies is Dreamworks Animation’s Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken, released right at the end of June. The film set a new record for the lowest grossing opening weekend out of any Dreamworks film ever, with its current total cementing its status as a box-office bomb—only around $35 million on a $70 million budget.
Again, most Dreamworks fans know this is a result of the film’s poor marketing. Dreamworks has had some notoriously bad marketing recently, with another example being December’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The film was hardly marketed, with even some Shrek fans being unaware of its release. Being launched alongside a myriad of other box office hits such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water, it was looking likely that the film would flop. However, out of nowhere, word of mouth both in real life and on the internet led to the realization that the film was an instant classic and was deserving of a trip to the theater. Ruby Gillman suffered from the same marketing, though did not see the return that Puss in Boots did. A few more of these factors can be attributed to its mixed reception upon release and its introduction of an original story—whereas Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a sequel to a Shrek spinoff.
Stylistically, the film is very fast-paced and flashy at times, credited to its dazzling underwater scenes and obvious satire on the “high school movie” genre. Ruby Gillman finds itself subverting some of the tropes typically found in high school movies, however plays some of them straight as well which doesn’t exactly mix the best with the subversion Dreamworks is known for in their films. Once a predictable element enters the plot, the viewer is left wondering when it’s going to subvert itself just like most of the other tropes in the movie. But the moment never comes and the viewer already knows how said plotpoint will end up about an hour before it does resolve in some way.
Ruby’s family tree, while small, is somehow convoluted whenever the spotlight is on them. Miscommunication and falling outs between family members is something that can be relatable for many, and would have been great when expanded upon earlier on rather than showing up. However, miscommunication between the film and its audience occurs instead, making it feel, at times, like another “then this happened” movie. This is something Turning Red handles better, and while Ruby Gillman does hit some of the same plot beats that Turning Red does, the two movies are not the same by any means. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, their pushes and pulls, and when put into perspective are obviously independent of each other.
Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is now out on Digital, as well as in theaters.
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