Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I’ll start with a confession…I, Neil Gardner enjoyed the Tim Burton remake of the original film. OK, the ending was silly, but the ape affects were good, the storyline faithful (ish) and Helena Bonham-Carter made for one curiously attractive simian (which mirrored, somewhat, the original book’s almost-relationship [...]

X Men First Class DVD Cover – Click to order with AMAZON.CO.UK
To date we have had four instalments in the X-Men franchise, the three X movies and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine film. With all that on-screen history in place, can First Class fit it to the continuity? Vaughn’s movie side-steps these problems by [...]

The Thing – Prequel comes to Blu Ray and DVD.
Usually I try not to judge a film by pre-release internet gossip and hate, but in the case of “The Thing” there is a serious case of ‘the elephant in the room’. In this instance, the elephant is 30 years old and has flailing tentacles [...]

War Of The Arrows Blu Ray
Released on the 30th April via Cine-Asia, this is billed as Korea’s first epic archery action movie. Directed by Kim Han and winner of numerous international film awards “War of the Arrows” certainly features some epic archery. But first, the plot:
“Orphaned as a child, Nam Yi overcame tragic loss [...]

Go To Blazes DVDIt had been a bad day, no, make that a BAD day. I had been caught in terrible traffic and ended up late for an important meeting (with a lawyer, even worse!) which then made me late for a studio recording session, and then I was caught in some more terrible [...]

Arrietty Blu-ray2012 is looking like a bumper year for fans of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki. We have already had the BD release of the superb Whisper of the Heart, and now we have their latest masterpiece, Arrietty, available on the shiny (not really) blue discs.
Based on the popular children’s story “The Borrowers” by Mary [...]

Whisper of the Heart stands up to the more famous films, and can sit alongside them in the pantheon of ‘great animated movies’.
2012 is already proving to be an exciting year for Miyazaki/Ghibli fans, with their latest movie, Arrietty just released on BD, and several older titles slated for release later in the year. [...]

Arrietty – Another Success for Studio Ghibli
Based on the classic kid’s fantasy story “The Borrowers”, Studio Ghibli’s lastest animated masterpiece tells the story of Arrietty, a tiny girl, living with her family underneath an old cottage in the country. Arrietty and her family survive by ‘borrowing’ things from the humans who live in the [...]

Bluray Review by Neil Gardner
My Neighbours The Yamadas – Double Play (Blu-ray + DVD)We’ve been spoiled a little this month with not one but two Studio Ghibli bluray releases. First was the sublime fantasy Laputa: Castle In The Sky, and now comes the less well known, and in my opinion much overlooked, My Neighbors The [...]

Available for the first time in high definition on Blu-ray Double Play courtesy of Studio Ghibli and master animator Hayao Miyazaki Laputa: Castle In the Sky is an imaginative tale full of mystery and adventure. Bluray review by Neil Gardner
Let me confess at the very start of this review, that I am an unashamed Studio [...]