Homer’s epic tale The Odyssey, which describes Odysseus’ tumultuous journey home to his family and his Kingdom of Ithaca following the Trojan War presents not only a thrilling adventure but a psychological landscape of human struggle against the forces besieging us in life. Its influence on literature, storytelling and culture is immeasurable having inspired countless works including James Joyce’s Ulysses,
Read moreDisney’s Moana was a justifiable smash hit. A cute, charming and extremely visually inventive animated adventure that drew on the familiar Disney trope of the feisty but sensitive young woman going on a journey of self-discovery. It was distinguished, however, by its South Pacific island setting (the fictitious island of Motonui) and its references to Polynesian history, culture and mythology.
Read moreWicked is the hotly anticipated cinema adaptation of the hugely successful musical theatre production of the same name. I haven’t seen the stage version and all I knew was that it was a prequel of sorts to The Wizard Of Oz that involved origin stories for the good witch Glinda and the wicked witch Elphaba. The filmmakers certainly believe in
Read moreThe thinly plotted but generally fun and family friendly fantasy Harold and the Purple Crayon is based on the 1955 children’s book by Crockett Johnson. The slightly meta story has the character Harold (Zachary Levi) living in the two-dimensional book world created by Crockett Johnson. There, Harold can use a magical purple crayon to create any object he needs including
Read moreLike David Lynch in the 1990s and 2000s, Yorgos Lanthimos has brought dark humour and surreal artistry at least a little closer to mainstream cinema. He’s skewered relationships and social conformity in The Lobster, elitist power structures in The Favourite and the suburban family in The Killing Of a Sacred Deer. Now, he turns his darkly comic gaze to sexism
Read moreWish, which has been released as part of Disney studios 100th birthday is a cute, occasionally charming but underwhelming animated musical fantasy that attempts to pay homage to Disney classics. Like many Disney and other animated features of the last few years, it’s about a feisty but uncertain young woman empowering herself through a fight with a nasty authority figure.
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