How Television Saved My Life

Laika studio made Coraline , an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel about a young girl finding her 'other mother' who wants to give her buttons for eyes. In Kubo , we follow, of course Kubo who lacks one eye, and who tells stories of a great hero called Hansu in his village. More I can't really say, for fear of revealing too much. The thing that is truly remarkable of this stop-motion film is how extremely beautiful and well-done it is, every sequence is remarkable and beyond beautiful. From the colours, to the scenery, to the character design and the details on their clothes. Despite this, the story does lack some of the refinement it could have had, like, Coraline, but it's a wonderful tale nonetheless. A story worth seeing.

Director John Carney of the film Once  and Begin Again fame, returns with another charming film, focusing on a bunch of teenagers in 1980's. We follow Conor who's parents are going through a rough time in Dublin, financially and emotionally. One of the consequences financially is that he's sent off to a different school, a lower class all-boy school called Synge Street.  Conor doesn't start off so well, being different, but everything sort of takes a different turn when he finds another like-minded soul who in turn leads him to a girl  - possibly the  girl. It's like every 80's flick you've ever known, the sort of familiar trail of "boy sees beautiful girl whom he's desperate to impress". Conor confidently asks her to star in his bands music video, except, he's not got a band. It's effortlessly charming, besides being hilarious, as you see the band change their style, especially Conor. He's repeatedly changing throughout t...

Last time Nick Hornby wrote a screenplay was for An Education , which was good, except for the fact that the ending didn't seem to know where it was going. The fact that Brooklyn is based on  Colm Tóibín 's novel probably helps, besides Saoirse Ronan being downright amazing in the role as Ellis. Living in a small town in Ireland with her sister and mum, her sister encourages her to leave for America, putting her up with a job and a place to stay, as there's nothing available for her in Ireland. To begin with Ellis is deeply home-sick until she meets Tony, a young Italian man who begins to make her feel like Brooklyn might be home to her. The film isn't revolutionary perhaps, but it's wonderfully done by director John Crowley. The acting is also splendid and you understand the dilemma's and worries that go through Ellis' head as she tries to adapt to change, besides trying to understand where she truly belongs. It's nice to see such a story from ...

Ricky played by Julian Dennison is a foster kid, sent to live by the bush in New Zealand with Bella and Hec, the former more enthusiastic about Ricky, than both her husband and Ricky are themselves. He's had a troubled past - known for loitering, kicking things, breaking things, burning things etc, you name it, and winds up in some more trouble - getting lost in the bush, with his foster Uncle Hec played by Sam Neill. The fact that they also wind up being hunted by the government/child services because of a misunderstanding complicates things. Directed by Taika Waititi who also directed What we do in the shadows , it's a brilliant comedy-drama/adventure film, and I highly recommend it!