With Hayao Miyazaki emerging from retirement to make one more film, maybe it’s time for James Moar to take a look back towards the origins of Studio Ghibli.
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Dying Laughing
Jim Eaton-Terry looks at Dying Laughing, a new documentary on the life of the stand-up comic
There’s always something odd about an extended conversation with a really great stand up. Inevitably there’s the tension of waiting for a gag that never comes, which often distracts from the conversation. Comics are clearly aware of this, and the weaker ones will defuse the tension with a crowd-pleasing riff or two, but the best conversations strip away the humour and show how the world looks from the stage.
The Show Must Go In
Today, we’re looking at texts within texts; shows within shows; films within films. We’ve got everything from Shakespeare to balls.
Under His Eye
We’re three weeks into the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel in the UK, The Handmaid’s Tale. Kate le Vann ponders if it is really a warning of things to come, or a reflection of the present.
The Red Turtle
When Hayao Miyazaki stepped down as head of Studio Ghibli in 2013 (his sixth retirement* to date), we wondered what now for the Japanese animation powerhouse? Answer: a Robinson Crusoe tale with a giant red turtle.
Kiwizoidberg packs his water wings…
It Is Happening Again
Twin Peaks has returned, but does it meet expectations? theTramp investigates
When Twin Peaks first aired, back in 1990, its impact was monumental. I’m not talking about the impact that it had on television; the realisation that narrative structures could move about a bit, that magic realism could step off the page, that strong characters could lend themselves to unpredictable narrative formats and still be watchable. No I am talking about the impact that it had on me personally.
Monoglot Movie Club: Tales Of Asian Vengeance
Part of an occasional series in which Spank The Monkey travels to foreign countries, watches films in unfamiliar languages, and then complains about not understanding them. This episode: Hong Kong and Japan, May 2017. Additional photography by The Belated Birthday Girl.
Continue reading Monoglot Movie Club: Tales Of Asian Vengeance
We Are X
The MostlyFilm gang would like to send best wishes to X founder and drummer Yoshiki, who is undergoing surgery to treat damage caused by years of frenetic drumming.
Don’t know what we’re talking about? Take a look at Spank The Monkey’s review from earlier this year of the documentary about Japan’s most unGoogleable rock band. Continue reading We Are X
Fight, fight and fight again
While the rest of the UK talks about going back to the 70s, MostlyFilm wants to talk about the 90s. In 2015, following Corbyn’s election to the Labour Party leadership, Viv Wilby revisited The Deal (2003). Confused? Here’s what she said.
So, I watched The Deal again. It felt strange, like a series of stepping stones back through the decades: watching in 2015 a drama from 2003 about events from 1994 that had their roots in the early 1980s.
The Power of Persuasion
In this instalment of our occasional series on cinematic gems hiding out on the Internet, theTramp begs you to consider 2013’s Austenland.
MostlyFilm 