Change Your Image
s-j-james
Reviews
The Return of the Native (1994)
Oo-arr, oo-arrrr......
Remember the wooden, undramatic literary adaptations of the 1970s at their worst? You will when you see this broadly acted, unintentionally hilarious piece of chocolate-box adaptation. Most culpable of all is Catherine Z-J who, while undeniably easy on the eye, substitutes swishing a big dress and looking sultry for actually turning in a performance. Played po-faced like a melodrama, or Cold Comfort Farm without the jokes, this effort is not helped by a scriptwriter with a tin ear for dialogue who misses entirely the novel's sense of irony or tragedy. A shame, given the quality of the acting talent on offer - Joan Plowright, Claire Skinner, Steven Macintosh all deserve better than this.
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
A massively overrated piece of work
An over-mannered and terribly awkward movie - the plot struggles to cohere and the animation is by and large rigid and inexpressive (look at the faces of the witches, for instance). Worst of all, however, is the voice acting. The lead, especially, squawks in the most grating way imaginable; some of the more gifted members of the English-language cast do their best, but struggle with a very limited script and emotional range. There are a few flashes of style in the visuals, but this movie is a clumsy and unfortunate reminder of how far the animated genre still is from mature achievement even as long after 'Akira' - there are less acclaimed animations you would be better off renting instead.