The Tale of the Princess Kaguya - Isao Takahata

The whole film is in this style, as an example. I think this is just a screengrab they decided would make a good poster. They were right.

From the moment it bursts onto screen, Princess Kaguya has a fairy tale sensibility. The visuals look like they jumped straight out of a story book, and the narration only compounds this. And despite it being visible to these Western eyes, it still felt very Japanese. The art is similar to that of the classic Japanese paintings (does anyone know what that's called?), and it was based on the first written Japanese story (extant, anyway).

Selma (On Historical Inaccuracies and Race)

I haven't yet seen Selma, but I know of the fuss raised by two aides to President Johnson (also the custodians to his library?? Why is that a thing). So obviously, they have no potential bias about this. In basic form, the two aides believe that Selma portrayed President Johnson unfairly (I guess saying that the FBI bugged King, Johnson was more interested in Vietnam than civil rights and the Selma-Montgomery march was King's, not Johnson's, idea-all true, by the by-is unfair now).

Boyhood - Richard Linklater

According to Salon, Boyhood "isn’t quite like anything else in the history of cinema". I disagree. Like, a lot. There was one part of Boyhood that I felt I hadn't seen before (sure, a lot of it in Skins&nbspand teen movies, but what makes them any lesser than Boyhood?), and I'll get onto that in a while.

Oscars Challenge 2K15

I'm trying to watch every Best Picture nominee (and a few others) this year before the Oscars happen on... the 22nd of February. Wish me luck!

My Muppet Show (or, A Fantasy Reboot)

Dear whoever (or should I say whatever? In case you're Gonzo. Or a gonzo journalist),

Obviously, you're rebooting the Muppet Show. How could you not? A vaudevellian-variety-talk-something show full of "frogs and dogs and bears and... whatever" is ripe property for rebooting, even if a movie was only made last year. So, in some sort of order, I have a list of demands for you:

Dreams of Sleeping Past (Midday): On Superhero Movies

Superhero movies bore me. That's not to say they're unworthy of being Art or Culture or whatever the term is today (god knows I don't judge on that-in my pantheon of good stuff, an obscure children's fantasy rubs shoulders with Pale Fire, a dramedy-musical with Wes Anderson): I've just never watched a superhero movie without falling asleep.

Pale Fire - Vladimir Nakobov

Before I start, I'm going to admit it: reviewing Pale Fire makes me feel like a fool. What do my prettied words mean when the whole book was against prettied words?

Rating: six stars