Category: Country: US
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Togo. Dir. Ericson Core. Walt Disney Studios. 2019
What does he bring to the breed? The heart of a survivor. [1] The relationship between men and dogs is often explored within film. The contrast between rambunctious, troublesome animals and dominant, controlling men is a source of comedy, drama and widely popular with audiences. Seen in the likes of Beethoven[2] and Marley and Me[3],…
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Bolt. Dir. Chris Williams, Byron Howard. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2008.
Disney’s 2008 feature, Bolt, follows the television star pup who believes that, through the meticulous production of the show, he has super-powers and faces an archvillain, the green-eyed man. When the plotline demands that he be separated from his owner and co-star, Penny, due to her being kidnapped on the show, Bolt escapes the set…
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Corpse Bride. Tim Burton. Warner Brothers. 2005.
‘In the act of othering, what is projected onto the other is all that must be refused in constructing the identity of the self’[1]. Consequently, establishing a human/animal binary often leads to a hierarchical relationship, highlighting the difference between human and non-human ‘other’. Such binary differences are reminiscent of common tropes in gothic literature, with…
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Ant-Man. Dir. Peyton Reed. Marvel Studios. 2015.
‘You’ve yet to learn about your greatest allies: the ants. Loyal, brave, and your partners on this job.’ As you’ve undoubtedly predicted from the title, ants play a huge role in Marvel’s Ant-Man[1] (2015). Master burglar Scott Lang, recently released from prison, is determined to cease his criminal ways so he can become a proper…
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Children of Men. Dir. by Alfonso Cuarón. Universal Pictures. 2006.
Children of Men (2006) dir. by Alfonso Cuarón is a science-fiction action drama that takes place in a Britain in 2027. The world for around 18 years has been infertile, unable to produce children. This dystopian scenario has caused all the worlds countries to collapse with the only surviving nation-state being Britain. Britain has remained…
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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures. 1982
Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), despite its tearful conclusion in which 10-year-old Elliott is parted from his extra-terrestrial friend aptly named ‘E.T.’, is revered for its thematic sentimentality (popularised by its iconic John Williams score) and stood him in contrast to his contemporary auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who adopted…
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See Spot Run. Dir. John Whitesell. Village Roadshow Pictures. 2001.
Agent 11 is one of the most decorated agents in the FBI, but he doesn’t always play by the rules. This time, his vicious attack on mob boss Sonny Talia (Paul Sorvino) has made him the target of a hit. When internal corruption leads to his Witness Protection being compromised, he must…
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Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. Dir. Tom Ellery and Bradley Raymond. Walt Disney Home Video. 1998.
In Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, Pocahontas voyages to England with John Rolfe, an English diplomat. She must stop the villainous Governor Ratcliffe’s manipulation of King James and prevent the King from declaring war on the Native Americans. As expected in a Disney film, she just happens to fall in love with Rolfe…
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Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Dir. Michael Dougherty. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2019.
“Good thing he’s on our side” … “For now” How do we define the term ‘Monster’? Or perhaps, how should we define it? Is there ever a possibility that the monster we feared can end up being the hero we never knew we needed? This is the question posed within Michael Dougherty’s 2019 Action film…