Spirited Away (2001)
First published by Movie Gazette Here’s a recipe for an enchanting spell: carefully distil The Odyssey and Alice in Wonderland, add a dollop of Grimms’ fairy tales, a soupçon of The … Continue reading
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
First published by LWLies “Once upon a time, long long ago, there lived an old bamboo woodcutter…” Along with the exquisitely layered and painted parchments that we see at the … Continue reading
The Boxtrolls (2014)
Review first published by Film4 Synopsis: In this stop-motion steampunk fairytale from the production company behind Coraline (2009) and ParaNorman (2012), a young foundling and his adoptive monsters resist scapegoating … Continue reading
The Harvest (2014)
Review first published by Grolsch FilmWorks What greater signifier could there be of all-American normality than a baseball game? The Harvest opens with a Little League match in the weekend … Continue reading
Hansel and Gretel (2007)
Review first published by EyeforFilm. “In this world, in an unimaginably strange place, a deep forest that we could suddenly fall into exists somewhere out there,” states Lee Eun-soo (Chun … Continue reading
Jack The Giant Slayer (2013)
Review first appeared in Sight & Sound, May 2013 (in a shorter version) Synopsis: Cloister, Albion. The boy Jack was reared on bedtime stories of man-eating giants banished to the … Continue reading
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Review first published in S&S Jul 2012 Synopsis: Shortly after young Snow White’s mother dies, Ravenna enchants Snow’s father King Magnus and murders him on their wedding night. Snow’s playmate … Continue reading
Jack The Giant Slayer (2013)
My review for Film4. Synopsis: Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) retells Jack And The Beanstalk as a live-action/CGI/3D extravaganza. Review: “Well that went down better than I expected,” declares farmboy … Continue reading
