Nosferatu (2024)

I'm quite happy with it.

Perfectly balancing the silent classic and Bram Stoker's influential novel, Robert Eggers brings a chilling beauty and ample horror in this modern remake that despite me seeing now 3 iterations of the same story I can safely say each was compelling and unique in their own way. Easily the coup de grace of the whole film is Eggert's directing and the superb cinematography that even makes this born and bred texan feel the chill in the midnight air, some may call it artsy, some may call it over the top, but you cannot deny the vision and mastery of it all. But don't let that statement lead you to believe it's just a visual feast with little else, case in point for the acting side of things Lily-Rose Depp could not have brought it harder to this role and in all the Nosferatu adaptations Ellen is truly the hero and alongside Willem Dafoe's Professor Eberhart are a formidable duo for the Count. Speaking of which Bill Skarsgård as Orlok showcases the true power and terror of the vampyre, and bonus brownie points for actually sticking to the Bram Stoker description of Dracula which only one other adaptation has achieved. Nicholas Hoult as Hutter does fine work and even what many would say are ancillary characters like with his friend Friedrich played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson no one feels unimportant and their stories are strong. Far far from filler in my estimation. They know when to hold onto a shot, how to transition, what the set designers and costumers add to the overall ambience is nothing short of award worthy to me, and the score while not entirely complex certainly adds to the tension wonderfully. With such an ecletic director each project is filled with passion and attention to detail so you're in for a ride no doubt! Though I find it funny that the one term that was intangibly sewn onto the word of mouth I was hearing about this film was "horny", and there isn't much in terms of nudity gratuitous or otherwise and indeed only scarce parts of sexual friction, to where I'm wondering if that's my overall asexual sensibilities rearing it's head or if people got swept away in the romantic overtones common to the vampire story to a high extreme here. I will admit I felt like a burden walking into the cinema on Christmas Day because while my disinterest and bordering disdain for the holiday still persists, the employees had better stuff to do. Yet I walked out pretty happy with the movie, it was easily the most packed screening room I've been in since Joker honestly, and what a fantastic way to end the whole year. I'll give it a solid 3 stars, 8.5/10, and I wish to thank all of you for another year of hearing my rambling and average at best reviews and come what may next year I'll see you later.

Nosferatu The Vampyre

Slightly redundant title but that's about as bad as it gets here.

I'm about to say some controversial shit. I like this better than the original, now that's coming from someone who loves the original Nosferatu and has great respect along with vast appreciation for silent cinema, and indeed it's easy with more modern film techniques and different actors for something to be improved upon. But even I was kinda shocked how much I loved this movie! Obviously it takes after the silent film more than the novel Dracula so the plot differs little while still doing it's own thing, and I feel Werner Herzog did a resoundingly succesful job directing this movie! Taking a very naturalist approach with tons of location shooting, handheld camera sequences, and doing everything in camera with little to no post production trickery. The crown jewel of this movie for me is Jonathan's trek to the Carpathian mountains, the music, the so good I'm honestly pissed scenery, the atmosphere and buildup getting to Dracula's castle is nothing but 10/10 for my money's worth! And that is already on top of a stellar film, it never got dull for a second and I was quickly engrossed, Robert you got a high bar to surpass come tomorrow my friend. The cast fully sealed the deal for me on this one, I haven't seen that many Werner Herzog films but I've been around the block enough to know his rocky ass relationship with Klaus Kinski who is an effectively creepy and great Dracula, taking a more tragic lens to the character and his mannerisms and voice differentiate him from Max Schreck but also rises to his level of greatness. Isabelle Adjani who plays Lucy instead of Mina, common trend believe it or not in adaptations of the Bram Stoker novel, is hauntingly beautiful I mean if she isn't some kind of inspiration for goth girls globally what even in the hell?? She has such a look that does nothing but compliment the slightly gothic aesthetic and I greatly appreciate the fact she does not bullshit about and gets stuff done herself, she tells the Count to remove himself from her presence and that's badassery if I've ever seen it! Bruno Ganz is a solid Jonathan Harker and has a pretty interesting role near the end to say the least which I did not see coming, and the fear and hysteria he conveys is very believable. The look of the film alone is a character in and of itself, maybe it's the 70s film stock, maybe it's just how the set designers and costume department did their fine work, but something about this movie is vastly appealing to me and I feel like a complete jackass not watching this sooner in my life. This would have been an excellent introductory horror film for me between the ages of 10 to 13 that would have gotten me so into the genre. It's kinda hard to articulate why I love it as much as I do, I just know that I adore the movie and couldn't recommend it higher to be perfectly clear. Solid story no doubt but all the details of the production beyond that are phenomenal. It most definitely isn't gonna be everyone's cup of tea, but hot damn am I gonna have to watch this again in the future. 4 stars across the board, 8.5/10, and for once in what feels like an eternity I am excited for Christmas Day.

Shadow Of The Vampire

Easily one of the best titles for a vampire movie ever.

You know what's really strange? I saw this movie when I was just starting college, yes I sat down to see this in the infant months of this website and yet I remembered precisely two things about it, jack and shit. I am not typically a dude who forgets movies easily, even the bad ones I hate, so that puzzles me now tremendously. I mean the pure basic idea of what if there was no actor named Max Schreck and director F.W. Murnau got a real vampire to play Count Orlok has been a myth long before this movie came to be made, and to take an iconic piece of film history, horror history, a film that we can now say is over a century old and give it a spin is nothing short of a testament to the power of that film. Now granted the director E. Elias Merhige doesn't go for the Tim Burton way when he was making Ed Wood and be totally faithful to the sets and camera placement, but to view a semi-making of for a movie that premiered almost 80 years before the fact is cool! John Malkovich plays this utter mad scientist, almost akin to Peter Cushing's Frankenstein where he is willing to sacrifice human lives for the creation of this moving picture and hand over my heart in the last scene of the movie is more scary than Orlok! Speaking of which, Willem Dafoe as "Max Schreck" what fascinating and yet effective casting, embellishing the role of cinema's first vampire and giving him a bit of a tragic twist while still being odd and unearthly, and upon hearing because of this particular performance is what got him on the casting call for the Green Goblin makes me all the happier this movie exists. I'll freely admit the credits for this film's opening threw curveball after curveball at me, it has Cary Elwes, Eddie Izzard, and Udo Kier in it as members of the cast and crew along with the little fact that Nicolas Cage had a hand in producing this movie and we're talking post Vampire's Kiss Nic Cage here! You just can't make this shit up. For a movie just a notch past 90 minutes it has a steady pace and the writing isn't grand but has moments of brilliance particularly for Murnau's dialogue, his thesis if you will on the power of cinema and what it truly means to him is both enlightening and provocative regardless of whether the legend himself said it or not. Solid sets and costume reproductions from the 20s classic, very good acting from all involved (even if Cary's accent is iffy at times), decent music score, and you can tell this is definitely more a passion project film than a financially lucrative film for the studio which I applaud all the more and the actors have fun with the material. Sometimes you just need to make a movie for a purpose other than monetary gain, and while I fully believe this is more of a cult film that hasn't really got it's flowers yet it's not bad at all and I can indeed recommend it if you're a vampire completist or just a person who likes some fiction in your historicals. 2.5 stars, 7/10 from me! And I'm knocking another off the list with Werner Herzog's Nosferatu next time.

The Holdovers

Okay that was worth it.

This was a recommendation from a friend and I heard a good fair bit of praise when the movie initially came out so I figured what the hell. Set in 1970 at a religious school over the course of a two week winter break, one of the more hardassed teachers is tasked with watching over 4 students for the duration who for one reason or another couldn't be home for Christmas, sounds pretty simple but the way the story progresses and the characters interact is what makes it as good as it is. Paul Giamatti is an actor in my eyes who has only gotten better with age, and as Mr. Hunham this archetypal asshole of a teacher prevalent in many a high school film be given an arc and a touch of depth does wonders for my enjoyment. Though admittedly even when he was a jerk I was laughing and having a grand time. Dominic Sessa as the main student we focus on Tully has baggage and growth of his own, and the dynamic between the two from enemies to frenemies to friends is lovely and when you have someone like Paul to bounce off of you're going to give a damn good performance. And with the inclusion of Da'Vine Joy Randolph as the cook and a grieving mother Mary, we practically have a makeshift family unit and don't fucking lie to me about this, they are straight up his mom and pop and they act like a married couple, I have spoken! It was easy to get emotionally invested in her own story and almost got me into an emotional breakdown at one point, she did such a marvellous job. All the winter scenery and 70s aesthetics in terms of clothes, music, and pop culture certainly pushed my buttons in all the right ways and though I'm a Grinch at heart it was a sweet and charming setting around the supposed most wonderful time of the year. And it's pretty funny too at times, obviously it's more of a drama but has the right splashes of humor that hit my funny bone many a time. It's not even a super intricate directorial effort but they know when to just let a moment be a moment and maybe some would call it a meandering movie with no real goal but it's about the journey over that two week period and I had a great time with it. Easily the standout film for me this month...so far. I loved it, truly I did and I'll recommend it strongly on top of that. 4 stars, 8.5/10, and next week we're about to get goth and spooky so clutch those crucifixes and pray for daybreak!

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Yeah I was having a good time not confronting the Christmas but this is all for grander purposes next week.

For a special 25 minutes in length and somehow able to effectively condense Charles Dickens' classic tale is no small feat and admittedly it probably helps we have such recognizable characters to fill in the roles. Speaking of which it was actually a fun game to try to guess who would be who, with Mickey being Bob Cratchit, Goofy being Jacob Marley, and Scrooge being well...Scrooge McDuck. Next thing you'll tell me Owl is an owl. Ludicrous. But anywho, the animation while far from theatrical quality is still filled with personality and style with some simple but nice backgrounds along with some imaginative twists with the three ghosts. Pretty solid voice cast too with Alan Young as Uncle Scrooge who actually has quite a fun scottish accent, Wayne Allwine as Mickey who though doesn't speak much does have an impact near the end, and Hal Smith as Goofy somehow kinda had an eerie moment and this is from someone who loves Goofy's laugh so props to him! Thankfully the story doesn't move at a break neck pace and indeed can take it's time to linger on a shot for atmosphere, with expertly crafted dialogue that gets the point perfectly across in such a short runtime and shock of all shocks doesn't feel like three ghosts fearmonger an old man to do what they tell him! It feels like a legit change cause Uncle Scrooge shows plenty regret and undercurrents of kindness to where it feels earned. I know this is probably one of those treasured household traditions for many but I couldn't even tell you the last time I saw it. I personally give it 3 stars, 7.5/10, and I may have a more recent holiday film for you tomorrow.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Best of the series?

I do genuinely think it is the most fun and entertainment I've personally had at one of these movies. They did have me sold full truth here since the end of the last movie on Shadow alone, so I was very much looking forward to this. And if you've seen the trailer you know the gist, Shadow has escaped containment and is battling team Sonic (cute reference) while Robotnik meets his long lost grandpappy as they command a doomsday weapon. Solid plot for a video game movie, and speaking as an individual who has really only played five Sonic games, Sonic 1 & 2, Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, and Sonic Heroes but has beat precisely zero of them I loved seeing all the easter eggs and especially Shadow's backstory seen on the big screen. Since we already know most of the players let's talk about our new arrivals. Keanu Reeves though not my immediate first choice for Shadow conveys everything you need to know and does do a damn fine job juggling the heartbreak, rage, and initial confusion to his origins in the flashback scenes and it was absolutely awesome to see so many nods to his character from the games, motorcycle and guns included! As for Robotnik Sr. I was very surprised to see him as the true threatning villain, sure he has his moments of humor but at the end of the day he is a serious villain and I applaud Jim for being able to bring both sides to the table, plus the guy is a manipulative bastard and it like works too and doesn't feel slapdash in the writing. Commendable! I'll add on a brief opinion of seeing Sonic actually buckle the hell down and get serious even vengeful was a good move and added more to his character. I was hoping and praying they wouldn't do the thing, I didn't say anything cause I didn't want to jinx it, but they can't let a trilogy be a trilogy. Granted it was even I'll admit a great mid credits scene but come on! We went out on a relatively high note, with multiple instances of goosebumps at the climax, it's a solid made film with very good production values, the writing and humor still worked for me, it did what every sequel should do, and I was very happy to see it! We had a pretty healthy attendance at the screening and hearing the kids get so excited seeing stuff like Shadow and the Chao's while also laughing at Jim Carrey put me in a good mood. Thumbs up from me, 3 stars, 7.5/10! And next week is the end and what more of a perfect day to end it on than Christmas, at least it'll be a spooky Christmas...

In Retrospect: Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Alright I've made a bit of peace with it.

See this is really why I do these In Retrospects and honestly it's been a hot ass minute since the last one but it was time to watch Sonic 2 again. Yeahhh it still kinda has a tangent issue even if it's a relatively small one, but the plot does keep moving and while the human characters aside from Robotnik could have been written and utilized differently, they don't ruin the movie. The Hawaii stuff no doubt was compared to the Canto Bight scenes from Last Jedi, but like that sequence it isn't terribly long and isn't boring either. The dynamic between Sonic and Tails is really nice, the fragile alliance with Eggman and Knuckles is interesting to watch, the eventual shift with Knuckles makes sense and I like the fact he has the personality of an honorable warrior. Let's just be on the level right here right now, this is a movie for kids and that's exactly what they delivered so I can make a fuss or simply acknowledge that despite my big kid heart it doesn't all work for me and that's fine. I mean yeah, Jim and Idris are still undoubtedly the highlights of the film but that's not a besmirch on Ben and Colleen who still commit fully to the roles! I'll be interested to see if Sonic gets a bit of a character arc in the 3rd movie to go from a fully comedic hero to having a severe sense of seriousness that can be seen progressing film to film. I don't really want to trash talk the effects, because they're not bad at all but it is easy to see the strings as it were, but how else would they have implemented the game's art direction otherwise? We get to see so many nods to the games shown faithfully and with love, so I couldn't possibly give it good grief. Loved seeing the Chaos Emerald and super saiyan Sonic (Try saying that 3 times fast!), the various Robotnik robo-transports, a flat out Sega Genesis instruction manual, that's great stuff! One minor quibble that I just can't let go is, if you take the time and more importantly the money to buy the rights for songs why in the holy love of fuck are we just playing 30 seconds of it?? Just play the damn song! I want Robotnik's world domination playlist you sum'bitch, if frick fraking Walk by Pantera is track #1 you damn well better give me more! And yes I fully headcanon Eggman is a thrash metal kind of guy. Odd thing to bitch about but I go on weird tangents myself, so game recognize game. It's a decent video game movie and that's all I really needed from it. Will Shadow, my favorite Sonic character by the by, elevate this series and could we have a banger of a film hit this Friday? I'd be a happy camper if that was the case! So I'll bump up the score a notch to 2.5 stars, 6.5/10! And apologies in advance for not getting a review out for the Knuckles series, I do not have every streaming platform under the sun and frankly never will so I'll see you later on this week.

The War Of The Rohirrim

Hmm, okay.

I'll admit when I first heard about this project it certainly had my attention, but sweet Jesus Lord Of The Rings is already a niche, anime even more so a niche, so combining the two is a bold move shall we say. Set roughly 200 years before The War Of The Ring we follow the rule of Helm Hammerhand and more importantly his daughter Hera, who when confronted by the son of a rival clan to claim the throne are pushed beyond both's limits in a quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a few Mumakils along the way. And for a runtime of over 2 hours they don't really rush any part of it, however I can absolutely say that the overall writing in all aspects needed some work. Not that it's bad exactly, but just needed some extra polish. Obviously I'm an easy ass sell for redhaired badasses, and Gaia Wise as Hera is a good lead that is both easy to understand and easy to cheer on but what surprised me was she's not action hero all the time, she gets beat, she gets kidnapped, she has moments of sadness and distress but when push comes to shove she ain't backing down. Brian Cox as Hammerhand does indeed command respect and to see any adaptation of this famed figure of the expanded history of Middle-Earth is damn cool to see and a plot point regarding him once they reach Helm's Deep was easily my favorite part of the film. Luke Pasqualino as Wulf, oh my God this is zero percent the actor's fault but this antagonist is so one note and completely uninteresting, always the relentless warmongering mad dog when I genuinely thought the relationship between him and Hera would have added some much much needed dimension to get better invested in the story, but alas. Also shoutout to Miranda Otto for being our narrator, you still friggin' rock! The animation is...interesting, often combining 3D backgrounds with 2D characters leading to the result being a sometimes janky but serviceable style, that still lends itself to some gorgeous scenery and can lean into more visually striking fights than live action could deliver. The score is decent, and I won't lie hearing the Rohan theme on theater sound systems after 21 years was beautiful. But yeah, the story and characters while decent didn't pack nearly the punch the trilogy did and just to piss off a select few of the fandom, I'd rather watch Rings Of Power again though that is highly unfair comparing a series to a singular film, it is unequivocably true for me. And doing a pinky finger's worth of research to learn this movie was made entirely just so New Line Cinema wouldn't lose the Lord Of The Rings rights really doesn't do this movie any favors in the long run. It absolutely leans into the visual style of those films from the Oliphaunts, to another Watcher in the water, exact copies of Edoras and Helm's Deep in terms of architecture, Orthanc popping up at a point, some lines of dialogue are similar but not exact to quotes from the trilogy, may or may not be a welcome surprise cameo from one of the classics, and that's all cool to see do not get me wrong. I'm a fucking nerd for this stuff and have been since I was 6 or 7 so trust in me when I say I did not walk in to slash and hack this movie. It's decent, it's okay, undoubtedly for megafans of this series to even watch in the first place, and hey man it is entirely feasible for many to walk out of this more happy than I was. I give it 2.5 stars, 7/10! What a week, and thankfully next week will be much easier with just an In Retrospect and new release to a highly anticipated video game series.

10 Years With Hayao Miyazaki

Well we didn't end on a bad note, I'll say that at least.

This is a strange review for me, for the first time in almost a decade of writing these things never have I ever watched something in full on Facebook. Yeah it was kind of a bitch to find this whole 4 part mini-series documentary and to be honest I was having a hard time sitting through it all the way to write this thing. A curious enigma about this is the fact that it comes from NHK basically the japanese version of the BBC, and yet it's narrated in english, it has english subtitles, and there's no evidence to suggest it was created any other way before hand and they just slapped an english dub on top of the narration. I'm not saying it's impossible for japanese audiences to watch something in english but I've never really seen examples of it. Curiosities out of the way, let's get to the review. 4 parts, approximately 50 minutes apeice, chronicle stints of Miyazaki's career with the first two parts alone focusing on the making of Ponyo, then working in tandem with his son Goro on From Up On Poppy Hill, and finally ending with The Wind Rises. I have to get this out of the way right now and then we'll move on to positives but this english narration was terrible, a complete 180° from Never-Ending Man that feels completely unnecessary, slightly biased and putting way too much of an impression on the events rather than simply letting the audience view it, and truthfully has the writing style of a first grader trying to write their first story. It took so much away from it for me that it's easily going to be the lowest score of the week. And that pisses me off because seeing bits of new making of behind the scenes stuff for Ponyo and Poppy Hill was really neat despite it not going in that much detail which is strange considering the run time for each respective episode. Seeing Miyazaki's inspiration for the character of Ponyo, his tribulations with the animation, seeing the relationship with his son, further hammering the point home how hard it truly is to be creative with a deadline, all that stuff adds onto the experience of the previous documentaries I watched this week. Though admittedly if you've seen Never-Ending Man you can flat out skip episode four, I mean there is legit reused shots from that documentary here and everything. It has some interesting stuff at times, the score once again is actually really friggin' good, seeing Goro on his own project was a welcome change of pace, the addressing of the 2011 earthquake that struck Japan and how that affected production on Poppy Hill, it's not all a waste. However whether it's slight fatigue or the overall production and captured footage didn't do that much for me personally, this is an okay documentary that I think I can only recommend to die hard Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli fans. I knew Never-Ending Man wasn't gonna be beaten this week but I didn't expect it to go out on more of a whimper. I give it 2.5 stars, 7/10, and we got a little anime new release coming up very soon so all is not said and done yet.

Never-Ending Man

I know it's a documentary and everything but this is a contender for most inspiring works ever made.

An hour and ten minutes, you really cannot lose much over that as this extremely candid documentary chronicles the musings and work of Hayao Miyazaki after he officially retired from making animated feature films in an attempt to utilize CGI for a short film idea he had. I cannot explain the vast appeal this had for me and yet it completely reaffirms why not only art is made but why people commit to projects entirely out of passion alone. I may go on several tangents here but it's just the goddamn truth of the matter, animators are some of the most passionate and hardworking people on the face of this earth, you just HAVE to be if you step into this line of work! And I know it's kind of a meme in anime circles that Miyazaki is this depressed, exhausted, grumpy man but really look at this and there is a reason for it. He's an older man and coming to terms with it seeing friends and coworkers he's known for years passing away, he overworks and overthinks because he gives a damn about his work and wants it to be as good as it can be, he might seem stern and uncaring but that couldn't be farther from the case showcasing a love and passion for life as well as just the act of creating. I love love love how this documentary is presented, beautiful music, simple yet sometimes gorgeous shots, no voice over work, it doesn't even really have any kind of satisfactory ending but I don't give a shit. Documentaries are supposed to be brief looks into a certain figure or period of history, nothing more nothing less and that's what I get here. I've seen actually a good fair bit of behind the scenes footage and the process of animators in Japan and there's something so calming and enjoyable about it to me, I don't know if other people feel the same way but it has this style of production and ambience to it that strikes me in a certain way. Frankly that's just me and Japan as a country but it's just as present here. I will be real here, I can't draw even semi-competently so to see many people's craft in the works whether 2D or 3D is so damn cool to see! And to hear Miyazaki muse on his age, his work, and hilariously his reaction to AI art has so many nuggets of wisdom that can't be denied. And just for the hell of it I'll throw out one of mine as well, when longtime producer and friend of Miyazaki's Toshio Suzuki talks about the decline of 2D animation and CG taking the forefront my only response was, "Just because something new comes along doesn't mean you have to give up on what you're working on now.". And this documentary isn't just motivation for art people either, everyone has a passion for a field of work that could be anything and it gives you that little boost of energy and positive frame of mind. There are instances where this feels like a job instead of a passion project for me but I never lose sight of the reality of it all and I don't want anyone to be discouraged with their own work. I couldn't stress seeing this more if I tried, and I know it's probably just me but I adored this documentary to the moon and back. It's simple, it's short, it's sweet, I give it 4 stars and a sterling 10/10!

The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness

Damn, that was good.

Yeah I can't explain what hit me this month but I wanted to watch some Studio Ghibli documentaries. Taking place in late 2012 this documentary focuses on Miyazaki taking up the production for The Wind Rises, a film I haven't seen yet but hopefully there will be time in the future to do so, while also showcasing a bit of history for the studio, a concurrent release for The Tale Of Princess Kaguya (also a film I haven't seen), and the tantum work of the animators. It's a leisurely paced documentary clocking in at 2 hours but if animation is your bag and even more so seeing how animation is made, it's worth watching! It's not entirely the main focus, it centers on Miyazaki and longtime business partner Toshio Suzuki working on the art side of the studio and the business side of the studio respectively just keeping up with the tasks at hand. That's kind of the beauty of a documentary there's no real drama or story to it, you can just view it and catch a glimpse of another time, another place, another life and some may say it's boring but it all comes down to what are you looking for. I just wanted to see the behind the scenes stuff at Studio Ghibli and witness Miyazaki in his element, and I got that but I also got more. I got some truly superb instances of cinematography, a beautiful score, a true sense of community and hard work from the talented as hell animators, and even some insight into Miyazaki's past during war time. The Wind Rises is all about a young man with a great love of airplanes who is conscripted to design a new fighter plane for the second world war, and that's not only a conflicted story but also a conflicted movie to make from a japanese point of view that's endlessly fascinating to see, and on top of all of that whether the influence of the Fukushima disaster that occured just a year before this documentary takes place had any conscious or unconscious effect on the story bears some insight from far more intelligent minds than my own. And just as the cherry on top of all of that hearing Miyazaki himself say this was the only film of his he cried at is kind of a testament to art in any medium and how deeply you can get attached to something even if you're the one who made it. I was sold already on seeing the movie but it's bumped up a bit on the Ghibli watchlist at this point. Hell seeing the animation team having an emotional breakdown finally seeing all that hard work up on the big screen got me in an emotional tizzy like you wouldn't believe, and further hammers that nail that is already embedded in the coffin of the fact that animation is a gruelling industry and that you have to have patience and love for what you do if you are in that field. Even somewhat innocuous details like Miyazaki's daily routine or peppered footage throughout of basically the studio's office cat doing cat stuff has great charm and certainly held my interest, but then again I'm the biggest goddamn mark for a cat you will ever meet in your life so I'm an easy sell. I don't know if it's just the cadence or the overall sort of style for lack of a better term about how people from Japan talk but it does something for me, there's actually quite a few lines from Miyazaki that struck me even in small ways, I mean Japan has had an indelible impression on my life since I was very very young but the appeal has never waned even after all this time. I very much enjoyed this brief look into a much loved studio that deserves the accolades it has, and I give it 3 stars, 8/10! And I'll see you tomorrow friends.

Staged: Season 3

Well that was more different than I expected.

So we're back to 6 episodes again but the strangest part is there's only 2 episodes of the actual show, and the rest of the season is actually all about behind the scenes stuff and gearing up for actually filming the third season. Never have I ever seen a television show that potrays the actual show, the aftermath of the show, and the preproduction of the show. It does feel like a true peek behind the curtain with Georgia playing executive producer/sociopath, Michael and David doing a tiny bit of press and having rehearsals before filming, Simon actually isn't a spineless worm and actually directs will wonders never cease? So it's undoubtedly the black sheep of the entire run and as far as I know they had no intention to go beyond a third season so this is it for all intents and purposes, but it's still interesting to watch! It certainly posed many questions in my mind of how do you produce a television series with a skeleton crew of camera operators, audio engineers, and the director himself? It sounds almost an impossible task but they pull it off and pull it off well! I guess I was just thoroughly thrown off course because the first two episodes are business as usual for the most part and then it's all backstage stuff for the vast majority of the season, so I don't hate it by any stretch but I also certainly don't love it as much as the other two seasons. David and Michael still have moments to shine and show their humor scripted or otherwise, Georgia practically gets the same if not even slightly more screen time than our boys and she really is a ball busting producer...maybe goes a bit off the fucking deep end and crafts a Jigsaw level situation for David and Michael to get over some writing hurdles to be perfectly honest but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. Handful of cameos present including one of my all time favorite british actors, and while they aren't as prevalent because of the shorter episode count it was still nice to see them. It certainly has appeal seeing the crafting of a show even if it's not super in depth and indeed I can see many normal people who just enjoyed the first two seasons kinda get a introductory look at behind the scenes production material that people like me AKA insane cinephiles are aware of. Admittedly I would just stick to the first two seasons but there's still interesting stuff here, and I can at least recommend it halfway. 3 stars from me, 8/10, and I guess more behind the scenes stuff will come up next week with an animation company and animator legend known globally.

Staged: Season 2

Or Staged squared if you're mathematically inclined.

Okay definitely a shift from last season, picking up roughly a year later when we were oh so slowly crawling out of the pit itself this season more or less deals with the impact of the first season. If you thought it was meta before you ain't seen nothing yet! We bump up to 8 episodes now still at 22 minutes each as we follow David and Michael who are made aware of the show making a leap to the States but...without them starring. So it's this mad scramble for them to learn all the details of a production they have nothing to do with combined with actually a pretty normal thing in actor's lives: atrophy and waiting for the next part. I say this with love and enjoyment in my heart, there is somehow even less going on plot wise this time around. No really, it's mostly Michael and David getting into a bit of a rut while also trying to integrate themselves back into the show, and don't think about that too hard or you will quickly learn that time is a flat circle and that this rabbit hole is a reflection of a reflection. I mean you always hear stories about actors just kinda waiting for the phone to ring and I truthfully feel they did a brilliant job potraying that, David almost turns into a recluse and falls out a bit with Michael because of it. And you cannot tell me otherwise at this point they're basically married, I had every expectation to see a kiss or an embrace before the end! I wouldn't quite say the performances got better they more expanded for lack of a better term, filling out more of the depictions of themselves and giving new angles for us the viewer to see them, which is still great stuff! They have such a school friend energy about them at times and whether this season is improv to hell and back or not you can feel the joy they have being around each other. I also appreciate seeing more of Georgia, Anna, and Lucy kinda have their own brief little storyline as well, that was nice. Good few celebrity cameos as the first go around, don't want to spoil any of them because some were a genuine shock. The humor is still as strong also, David had me losing it a good few times mainly because I've never seen him angry or upset before so those were gold for me but the absolute biggest laugh I got wasn't even a line, but a look from Georgia in the last episode of the series literally made it to where I couldn't breathe. I don't know why, it just killed me. This was way more like what I imagined the show to be like in my head, very few instances of any kind of camera shot beyond webcam stuff and the five layer cake depths of art imitating life imitating art was almost mind boggling. It's such an interesting little show and I think that's why I love it, don't get me wrong it's great to see David and Michael kinda bounce off each other and have fun mucking about, not to get off topic but the scene where they're just doing the newspaper crossword puzzle...if that's scripted I will literally castrate myself, cook it, and eat it because that was just them being them! Not a shred of acting found in that brief moment. But anyway, it's just this oddball show that clearly is not meant for everyone but holy hot damn is it entertaining to me and clearly many more people if it got not one but a two-hoo extra seasons, and whether or not tomorrow's review will be the last for Staged it was great fun while it lasted. I give it 4 stars, 9/10!

Staged: Season 1

I knew I had to get around to this eventually one day.

How to describe the plot of Staged? Well you see, back a few years in the dark ages when the most boneheaded fucking move in health and safety where no one was supposed to be outside occured, tumulting the entertainment sector into a septic tank both in cinemas and theatrically, we follow one such particular case of Six Characters In Search Of An Author being crafted and rehearsed almost entirely through webcams. Starring Michael/David Tennant/Sheen! For as dirt simple as a premise like watching two great actors just lolligag about and converse on a Zoom call, barely even rehearsing for a play, it's fantastic entertainment! I was almost hacking up my lungs from laughing so damn hard throughout the shockingly short first series, only six episodes at 22 minutes a piece! It's about as experimental a show as I've ever seen in certainly the most unprecedented time I've encountered in my life, to the point where I desperately need to know exactly how much of this was scripted because aside from a few normal camera shots it's beyond candid and effortlessly real. Obviously the comedy is played up with David and Michael acting like the most bickering married couple you've ever seen in all your days, but it all just seems too real. Nary a drop of escapism found here and yet still is fun to watch. I can't say that about...any other show honestly. Though I'll be up front and say when I heard the premise and caught brief glimpses of clips, I thought the whole programme was going to be viewed through a computer screen just seeing the director and the actors on their video conference doing whatever and I'm almost disappointed it wasn't. They have very simple camera set ups where you see everybody, except for now that I think about it Michael, in their kitchen or dining room chitchatting. I don't at all hate it but I thought wow, what a fascinating television production and would almost be fourth wall breaking if you were streaming this on your laptop or home computer. So obviously most production details I cover are almost obsolete for lack of a better term, it's hard to get a Goodfellas type shot with a webcam, so all I can work with are the actors. I wholeheartedly adore Michael and David so I was pretty much sold on this series and it was just as grand as I thought it was going to be, and I love seeing Georgia and Anna in the fray as well, they really have a sweet relationship and I'll admit even I'm slightly jealous of them, even the less than effectual director Simon isn't a total wet blanket on the proceedings though I personally was almost entirely locked in on Lucy Eaton who plays his sister she was absolutely class! There's even some surprise guest stars which I shall not give away, cause where's the fun in that? Go watch it! It's no masterclass of TV but for me it was firmly in my wheelhouse and I loved every second of it. If regular televised productions are getting old for you this is different enough, if you want a good laugh sign up immediately, even if you just wanted almost this time capsule of a severely shit situation that humanity got shoved into without knowledge or consent (no idea why anyone would want that but hey history is history) then yeah sure go for it. 4 stars from me, 9/10, take from that what you will and I'm gonna have to see the further misadventures of this cast of characters.