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Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
(Neo, Uncooked Media) Grimgar does something unusual and impressive. It tells a fantasy adventure story that’s a small story of everyday, mundane, universal life and death. It’s about kids in a world of magic and monsters, one of the mos… -
Ajin: Demi-Human
(Neo, Uncooked Media) Ajin is Tokyo Ghoul meets 24. That’s not a subtle analysis, but then this horror-action-thriller isn’t in it for the subtlety. It’s about grabbing the viewer early and propelling you through chases, story rug-pulls,… -
Empire of Corpses and Steam-Powered History
(Neo, Uncooked Media) As the film Empire of Corpses opens, a steam train chuffs before Saint Paul’s Cathedral. A caption reads, “London, 1878.” Then we’re in a Frankenstein-style laboratory where a young man forces a metal helmet over th…
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The Darkest Hour (2011)
(Sight & Sound, BFI) Despite receiving many scathing reviews, the sci-fi thriller The Darkest Hour is a capable, sometimes suspenseful, alien-invasion th… -
Black Mirror Bandersnatch
My article on the multi-choice Black Mirror film “Bandersnatch”, and its potential implications for anime, is on the AllTheAnime website. [amazon_link asins=… -
Chronicle
(Judge Dredd Megazine, Rebellion) Chronicle, a debut film by director John Trank, retells the Steven King Carrie story but with a male outsider. Andrew (Dane…
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Up
(Judge Dredd Megazine, Rebellion) Up is a 3D CGI Pixar animation by Pete Docter, who previously helmed the studio’s Monsters Inc. (2001). There’s an obvious … -
I Lost My Body
My interview with the director of the outstanding French adult animation I Lost My Body is available on the Animation For Adults website here, while my artic… -
A Monster in Paris
(Sight & Sound, BFI) Paris, sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. Friends Raoul and Emile make a delivery to the greenhouse/workplace of a…
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My Neighbor Andrew Turned Out to Be the Real Totoro—A Trek Through the Sayama Woods
You have been doing a lot of research recently about Hayao Miyazaki’s film ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’ That’s right. Are you interested in where Director Miyazaki … -
I Boarded the Galaxy Express with a British Friend and Ended Up Debating the Soul of Leiji Matsumoto world.
We’ve been to the Leiji Matsumoto 50th anniversary exhibition in Roppongi, which Andrew wrote up as a report for Animation World Network, illustrated by Carl… -
From Heidi to Kaguya: Our Visit to the Takahata Exhibit
We recently went to the Isao Takahata Exhibition in Tokyo to report on it for Animation World Network (our report is here). As fans of Takahata’s work, we ha…