When Marnie Was There

When Marnie Was There is a 2014 Japanese anime drama film written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ghibli and based on Joan G. Robinson’s novel of the same name, although it transposes the setting from Norfolk, England from the original novel to Sapporo.

The film follows Anna Sasaki living with her relatives in the seaside town. Anna comes across a nearby abandoned mansion, where she meets Marnie, a mysterious girl who asks her to promise to keep their secrets from everyone. As the summer progresses, Anna spends more time with Marnie, and eventually Anna learns the truth about her family and foster care.

A strange and sensitive tale of a 12 year old girl coming to terms with growing up and relating to others. It soon becomes apparent that Marnie is not real, but what is she; a memory, imagination or a ghost. In the end it doesn’t really matter, as it’s more about the emotional journey Anna takes over the summer.

A very emotional film that everyone should enjoy.

War for the Planet of the Apes is a 2017 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Mark Bomback and Reeves. A sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), it is the third installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot series. The film stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Amiah Miller, Karin Konoval, Judy Greer and Terry Notary, and follows the confrontation between the apes, led by Caesar, and the humans for control of Earth.

Firstly, this isn’t a “war” movie. Instead it concentrates on Ceasar and his journey. Visual effects are top notch and the action scenes (when they finally turn up) are good. But it is  2:20 hours and at times it feels just too slow. It could have been edited to 2 hours.

We know where the movie must end at the 1968 original movie. And it does provide some interesting unexpected turns. Unfortunately it just isn’t as good as the previous movies.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It stars Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell and Kodi Smit-McPhee. It is the sequel to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which began 20th Century Fox’s reboot of the original Planet of the Apes series. Dawn is set ten years after the events of Rise, and follows a group of people in San Francisco who struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.

It’s not surprising this movie got great reviews. It depicts two sides of a conflict where neither side is shown as good or evil. These exist on both sides and the way in which the narrative draws out the story is Shakespearean in it’s grandeur.

Tomorrowland (subtitled A World Beyond in some regions) is a 2015 American science-fiction mystery adventure film .

The film stars George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn and Keegan-Michael Key.

In the film, a disillusioned genius inventor and a teenage science enthusiast embark to an ambiguous alternate dimension known as “Tomorrowland” where their actions directly affect the world and themselves.

This $190 million dollar budget film made a box office of $209 million. But not enough to recoup it’s total  costs of $330, suggesting $140 was spent on marketing.

It deserves better. The film was written and directed by Brad Bird, responsible for ‘The Iron Giant”, Incredibles, Ratatouille and the upcoming Incredibles 2.

The visual effects are spectacular, great action scenes and George Clooney playing a grumpy old man. And it’s a REAL science fiction story, with proper Sci-Fi themes and ideas.

The only real problem is Hugh Laurie’s character, is he a villain, leader, architect ? It’s not until the end that his real motives are revealed.