SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE (2015)
★★★★★
Shaun the Sheep is tired of the same mundane routine he has to go through everyday and he wants to take a day off, so Shaun and the other sheep form a plan to send the farmer to sleep so he can do this, but things go wrong and the farmer ends up in the big city with memory loss, so Shaun goes into the big city to save him but the other sheep follow him, and they have to try to get the farmer back whilst steering clear of the animal container.
I loved this film. I feel it's important to mention that Shaun the Sheep is a big deal in my house, my Mum and my brother love it and so we've ended up watching a lot of it and a lot of its spin-off Timmy Time (we have the whole Timmy Time box set and most of the Shaun the Sheep series on DVD, it's pretty deep) but we didn't get round to watching the film in the cinema, but then my brother got it for his birthday (his 15th birthday, I feel I should add) and we decided to watch it at long last. If you don't like Shaun the Sheep, you probably won't like this film, but I don't think I've come across a person who doesn't enjoy Shaun the Sheep. It's a lot of fun but there's the odd innuendo in there, and there was even a reference to Doge!! I'm being serious, there was comic sans and Doge references in one part of the film which made my lil heart beam with joy (I'm not sure if that's a thing, but if it is that's what it did). Even my Dad liked it and he's not so big on animated films, there were several laugh out loud moments and it's just a lot of fun - to summarise: it was very good.
PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997)
★★★★
Princess Mononoke is the story of a prince of a disappearing tribe called Ashitaka who's cursed by a boar, so he has to go travelling to the West to try and find a cure, in this world there is an ongoing conflict between the animal kingdom and the human race. He meets someone called San along the way who is a young woman (who grew up with wolves so she denies her own humanity) trying to protect the forest and the animals, and he also meets someone called Lady Eboshi who's trying to destroy the forest and the animals, and Ashitaka aims to resolve this conflict.
I've wanted to watch this film for quite a while given that I'm a massive Studio Ghibli film and this is one of their most popular films. It was definitely enjoyable and I thought San was a good character. Unfortunately, I watched the English dub of this because I recorded a bunch of the Studio Ghibli films during Ghibli season on e4 ages ago but they show the English dub 99% of the time. Don't get me wrong, this was a good dub (nowhere near as bad as the dub for Arrietty or Spirited Away, don't get me started on them) but I do just feel like English dubs ruin Japanese films. Probably not one of my favourite Ghibli films but it was enjoyable and I think it's one that would down well with a lot of people, and it's probably not as much as insane as Spirited Away (I love Spirited Away for its insanity but I know a lot of people just don't get it)
WHITE TEETH (2002)
★★★★
White Teeth is about different families growing up in England spanning from the 70s to the 90s, it focuses on different sectors of society in terms of race and religion. For example, you have Clara who's Jamaican and her Mother is a Jehovah's Witness, Archie and Samad were both in the army during World War II so they're old friends but Archie is British whereas Samad is a Bengalian Muslim, and these families all interlink and the story follows their children.
I quite liked the first few parts of this four parter, this was actually a series but Letterboxd counts it as a film on there hence why I'm including it, plus I did really enjoy it so I wanted to talk about it anyway. The first two parts were really good, I liked how they focused on Clara, Archie and Samad. I feel like when it became more focused on the children, it got a little bit mad and rushed. I liked the characterisation of the children, I liked Irie (purely because she reminded me of myself at times) and Millat was a good character although perhaps not a particularly nice one (I felt bad because he was really attractive but definitely not the type of guy I'd want to be with), and there's also a young James McAvoy in the children's episodes (very nice indeed). Also, in the first episode there's a young Russell Brand which is one of the reasons I wanted to watch this. This to me was a bit like Small Island meets Anita and Me, although I feel like Small Island covered each individual character story better whereas this one did rush it towards the end. I still really liked it though and I have recommended it to a bunch of my friends.
KICK-ASS (2010)
★★★★
Kick-Ass is the story of a stereotypical high school comic book nerd who wonders what would happen if a regular guy tried to become a superhero. He buys a costume and names himself Kick-Ass, but then he comes into contact with crime fighting duo Big Daddy and Hit Girl, and he gets involved with their dramas.
I really liked this film, it sort of made fun of the whole cliche superhero film (don't get me wrong, I love those but this made fun of the super unrealistic aspects of it and the cringey catchphrases). A favourite quote of mine from the film was 'with no power comes no responsibility'. I quite liked Aaron Johnson in this, partly because I used to have a major crush on him (okay, I still do, especially when I watch Nowhere Boy - Aaron Johnson playing John Lennon is a massive yes in my books). Something I simultaneously hated and loved was Nicholas Cage playing Big Daddy, as someone who's been on the internet for a long time I remember the Nicholas Cage meme and the second I saw him come on screen I literally started screaming (leaving my family in a bit of confusion) and the fact that he referred to himself as Big Daddy the whole time just made it worse. The acting in this film wasn't moving or epic or anything, and I'm not sure if that's because the actors were mediocre or if the people making the film made sure they acted that way to capture some of the mediocre, stereotypical acting you get in superhero films - either way, I quite liked it and I felt in mocked superhero films without being offensive necessarily. Something I need to point out - there is a fair bit of swearing and a hell of a lot of blood and violence and all that jazz, something I really wasn't expecting. That sort of thing doesn't bother me but I know it would bother a lot of people, it's sort of on the Sweeney Todd level of blood and violence so y'know beware. Overall, I really enjoyed this film and I can imagine it being one I return to again.
SPICE WORLD (1997)
★★★
Spice World is a mockumentary about the Spice Girls who are enjoying fame but becoming dissatisfied with the burdens of it. Meanwhile, newspaper owner Kevin McMaxford is trying to ruin their career to get a good story. The film follows the Spice Girls and the filming of their documentary.
First of, I know I'm nearly 20 years too late for this film - in all fairness, the Spice Girls were a bit before my time given that they formed in the year I was born and whilst I love them, I never thought to watch this film until I found the full film on YouTube (I'm so darn thrifty). This was basically an updated version of The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night which I love so I really enjoyed that, I do think A Hard Day's Night is better like I think the Spice Girls were a little bit unnatural on camera at times but it was a lot of fun and it has a great soundtrack, so it's a bit of fun but unless you like the Spice Girls I don't think you'd like this.
What films have you watched recently?
