04
May
The director of The Mitchells vs. The Machines talks animation technology, the Spider-Man cameo the film almost had, and more. “To make Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony had to invent new types of animation technology. The result was a stunning, Oscar-winning film that blurred the line between cartoon and comic book. But at the same time, Sony was making another animated film that took the same tech from Spider-Verse and used it to do something very… weird.” Read more at Inverse. Shrek is a masterpiece that couldn’t have existed as it does if the stars hadn’t aligned. Let’s take a…
30
Apr
While watching The Mitchells vs. the Machines, I was reminded of a recent trend in animated movies, which is the growing need to make environments look realistic. Technology has increased to the point that animation can almost appear photorealistic. Even if an animated film has characters with exaggerated features, the “realness” of the rest of the film’s production design is often touted as a selling point. Both Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Raya and the Last Dragon and Pixar’s Toy Story 4 leaned into a grounded aesthetic, and many others wear “realism” as a badge of pride in their animation. It…
30
Apr
The Mitchells vs. the Machines, now available to stream on Netflix, is a one-of-a-kind animated movie. “If Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse established Sony Pictures Animation as one of the most exciting studios making animated movies right now, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, now streaming exclusively on Netflix, solidifies that reputation. Like Spider-Verse, the movie is produced by The Lego Movie impresarios Phil Lord and Chris Miller…” Read more at Thrillist. Ewan McGregor talks the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ and what sets it apart from the Star Wars prequels. “Ewan McGregor got a bit more candid about the prequels…
28
Apr
It all starts when creative outsider Katie Mitchell is accepted into the film school of her dreams and is eager to leave home and find “her people,” when her nature-loving dad insists on having the whole family drive her to school and bond during one last totally-not-awkward-or-forced road trip. But just when the trip can’t get any worse, the family suddenly finds itself in the middle of the robot uprising! Everything from smart phones, to roombas, to evil Furbys are employed to capture every human on the planet. Now it’s up to the Mitchells, including upbeat mom Linda, quirky little…
01
Apr
The headline news for fantasy fans on Netflix UK this month is the arrival of eight-part adaptation Shadow and Bone, based on Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy. It’s the story of Alina, a girl who discovers she wields a mighty power that sees her targeted by a covetous foe. You can read more about the cast here. For families, at the end of the month there’s Sony’s latest animated feature The Mitchells Vs the Machines, which is made by the creators of excellent animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Comedy-wise, Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer co-star in regular-Joan-gets-superpowers movie Thunder Force.…
08
Sep
The reveal of the Xbox Series S is about so much more than the console itself. As the first next-gen console with a confirmed price point and release date, the Xbox Series S’ has provided a practical idea of the costs of next-gen gaming as well as a definitive date for when we can expect to buy (or at least try to buy) next-gen hardware. At a time when many were wondering if the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 would even be released by the end of the year, its reveal essentially helps set the stage for the next…
24
Sep
Marrying stunning visuals with social advocacy, Rahul Jain?s debut documentary ? winner of the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival ? takes audiences into the labyrinthine passages of an enormous textile factory in Gujarat, India. Jain?s camera wanders freely between pulsating machines and bubbling vats of dye to create a moving portrait of the human laborers who toil away there for 12 hours a day to eke out a meager living for their families back home. Interviews with these workers and the factory owners who employ them reveal the stark inequality and dangerous working conditions…
