[squarejawhero]

Wow. I've been feeling unwell, which is crap whilst on holiday, so I stuck Mirrormask, a film I'd been waiting to see for ages, on the box and sat back to take it in.

What a freakin' masterpiece.

I haven't felt so... blasted away by a childrens fantasy movie for years. Hell, I haven't been this blasted away since the days when I read Terry Jones books and watched The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth incessently. This film is one of the best kids movies I've seen since then... and that's saying something.

It's purely magical. It's dark, twisted... its imagery might not be for some... but it's got warmth and humanity. So much more than I could've wanted. It really digs into emotion without being particularly deep, more so than Labyrinth ever did... in fact, I'd say it's the better film!

Some great performances, coupled with a witty and inventive Neil Gaiman script are dolloped onto achingly gorgeous Dave McKean designed/directed reels of utterly fantastic effects work and cinematography. It's a completely rich visual feast which gets away with the CGI work by being outrageously inventive... and just when you think it's wierd for the sake of it, it takes you around another bend and shows you that everything has a reason.

Some brilliant cameos from Robert Llewellyn as a confused Sphinx and Stephen Fry as a librarian, amongst others, really lift this beyond the initially made-for-TV feel. The effects work by the Jim Henson company is consistently superb and always brilliantly acted too... its such a shame it didn't do so well in cinemas... but the trailers really didn't do it any kind of justice. Look out for Stephanie Leonidas in the future too, she's gonna be big.

Catch it on DVD in the States. Superb.

Anyhow, in Japan I also came across The Great Spirit War by Takashi Miike of Audition fame... unfortunately Japanese only so I didn't buy it. A Region 3 release is available soon and it looks well worth picking up from what I've seen of it. The Japanese spirits drag a little kid into their crazy world and it looks like a visual treat. Don't know if the film's any good like Mirrormask though.

For more on Mirrormask it's best to visit Yahoo movies for clips here -

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/mirrormask.html

[Lucien21]

As a HUGE Neil Gaiman fan i've been desperate to see this film.

It was on at the Edinburgh Festival, but I missed out on tickets and now the distribution company seems to be screwing around with the release date (03/03/06 I think)

Can't wait.

[squarejawhero]

Just go "f*ck it" and order it from PlayUSA. If you don't have a region free player, sell your old one, get one of the great, cheap Pioneers from Amazon.co.uk. Then get ready for films from around the world from websites that sell imports for a third of what you pay for Region 2 in the UK on new films. Often with better features and free gifts.

[Lucien21]

I've had a multi-region dvd for years.

Have loads of region 1 discs.

I wanted to see it on the big screen first. Then I'll get it on DVD.

[squarejawhero]

Well, if you wanna wait... then go ahead...

[jjacob]

I totally agree, this movie is f*cking brilliant! The style is so radically different from what I've gotten used to seeing (esp. in "fantasy") in films, it totally caught me off-guard. Stephanie Leonidas is definately a star in the making too, she blows away other so called children actors (not even in thesame league as say, the actors in Harry Potter flicks). Rob Brydon is also brilliant is his brief role as her father. If you get the chance to see this movie or get in on DVD, don't hesitate for a second!

[squarejawhero]

*bows* Thankyou. It's a beaut, aint it?

[MoriartyL]

Maybe one of you can explain the ending to me? I mean, it all made perfect sense up to the waiter scene, and from that point until the end of the movie I hadn't a clue what was going on. I'll probably figure it out on repeat viewings, but still...

[colpet]

It was just released on DVD this week. I'm hoping to rent it this weekend.

[Phantom]

Looks fantastic! I never heard of this movie before, but I'm intrigued. I have a knack for off-beat fantasy in an original setting. But apparently it's never been released in western Europe, what a shame. It's getting a release in the UK on the 3rd of March though, so there is still hope. I'm not one for buying a dvd without having watched the movie first, so if they never release it here I'll probably never see it.

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by Phantom

Looks fantastic! I never heard of this movie before, but I'm intrigued. I have a knack for off-beat fantasy in an original setting. But apparently it's never been released in western Europe, what a shame. It's getting a release in the UK on the 3rd of March though, so there is still hope. I'm not one for buying a dvd without having watched the movie first, so if they never release it here I'll probably never see it.

That's a strange attitude. Better not to see a movie at all? Anyway, interviews on the web make it quite clear that it was originally made for DVD, so it's not like you're losing the creators' intended medium or anything like that.

[Phantom]

No, it's more a matter of avoiding spending money on something I might not like. If I have doubt on a game, I usually test it someplace, and I usually only buy a CD when I'm pretty sure I like it. Sometimes, I have to admit, I check this by downloading it illegally, but there are also plenty of other ways (friends) to get an idea. 3 fantastic looking clips of 50 seconds just don't convince me .

[Melanie68]

Can you rent it first?

[squarejawhero]

afaik it's only available in the US right now. I can't find any uk details on amazon, which is odd.

[Lucien21]

Due out in the UK cinema 3rd March.

[squarejawhero]

I really can't fathom why it's taken so long.