form of animated project is a labour of love but none more so than stop-motion animation. The studio behind classics such as “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings LAIKA”, is the ultimate Hollywood champion of claymation. But despite their 2019 Golden Globe winning feature “Missing Link” being an exemplary addition to their filmography, it, undeservedly, came and went with little fanfare. Continue reading Missing Link Review: Animated April
Even for their comparable centrality to daily life, hands are rarely granted the same artistic fascination as eyes in terms of metaphorical and poetic consideration. Proverbs and clichés alike lean on ideas of sight. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Literature and cinema follow the same path, whether it’s horror stories fixating on visions and illusions or the very idea of voyeurism as a touchpoint for artists from Alfred Hitchcock to Gillian Flynn. Sight dominates sensory storytelling, yet it is eschewed in favor of the tactile significance of hands and touches in “I Lost My Body” (2019). Jérémy Clapin’s film offers the parallel narratives of Naoufel (Hakim Faris) as he yearns for Gabrielle (Victoire du Bois), and Naoufel’s hand which embarks on a perilous journey to reunite with its body. Continue reading I Lost My Body Review: Animated April
Ireland-based studio Cartoon Saloon has produced four feature-length animated films since its inception, and “Wolfwalkers” (2020) is their masterpiece. The third in a sequence of stories rooted in Irish folklore, “Wolfwalkers” builds on the artistry of preceding projects “The Secret of the Kells” (2009) and “Song of the Sea” (2014). Continue reading Wolfwalkers Review: Animated April
Charlotte Salomon can now finally be remembered for her uniquely creative voice that remains defiant Continue reading Animated April Review: Charlotte
“Turning Red” trumpets a fresh, new creative voice among the already impressive Pixar team. Continue reading Review: Turning Red
Year: 2021 Runtime: 99 minutes Director: Ari Folman Writer: Ari Folman Starring: Ruby Stokes, Emily Carey By Calum Cooper Anne Frank is a girl whose story everyone has heard; a Jewish teenager whose life was taken far too soon by the evils of the Holocaust. Yet her diary, published by her father, has ensured that her creative talent and emotional insights have lived on for … Continue reading GFF2022 Review: Where is Anne Frank
“Turning Red” trumpets a fresh, new creative voice among the already impressive Pixar team. Continue reading Review: Turning Red
By Joan Amenn Back when Pixar was still a relatively new up and coming animation studio, the plot of their fourth film being a “buddy movie” didn’t sound all that exciting. After all their first and third films had the same theme. But “Monsters Inc.” (2001) proved to be quite different from the rest and remains one of their best conceived and executed movies. From … Continue reading Retrospective: 20th Anniversary of Monsters, Inc.
Year: 2021 Runtime: 7 minutes Director: Maya Sanbar, Faga Melo, Gustavo Leal Writers: Maya Sanbar, Pedro Paulo de Andrade, Sita Brahmachari, Onjali Q. Rauf Actors: Mariana Chiuso, Danilo Chen, Lara Boldorini, Caua Martins By Joan Amenn “Footsteps on the Wind”(2021) is dedicated to the over forty million children it states have been left to the trauma of homelessness due to war and natural disasters related … Continue reading Footsteps on the Wind: Review
By Joan Amenn Miss Blueberry Beauty Pageant Year: 2019 Runtime: 12 minutes Director/Writer: Sarah Kennedy Actors: Hannah Perry, Joanna Clarke, Jericah Potvin, Thomas Ian Campbell “Miss Blueberry Beauty Pageant” (2019) is such goofy, retro fun with a nice bit (or maybe bite) of horror thrown in to balance out the campiness. The lovely pageant contestants are decked out in their finest from the 1980’s (and … Continue reading Portland Horror Film Festival Review: Short Film Round Up 2
In Their Own League 