On top of that, there are at least two-dozen horror movie references, all of which are funny. And there’s some body horror for the freaks too. Amazing job done by Aardman here.

But for the previously initiated, BoMB offers a continuation of Shaun’s story from Farmageddon, wherein pushing too many buttons once again makes things difficult for his allies, and this time there just might be consequences.

is that you can jump in anywhere and not miss a beat. Shaun and his friends are mischievous, the dog is meant to be their caretaker but often has to join in their schemes, and the farmer is a kind doofus. That’s all made clear and easy to understand in every installment.

Saw this today and I’m less surprised that it was censored in ‘71 than I am that it got an uncensored theatrical release now. Pretty wild stuff! Dudley Sutton is a new favorite!

Which is not to say it’s easy to ignore the product placement. The flocked textures on the characters is an extremely well-done, and will make children want to run their thumb over the figurines in real life. But if you can stomach that, Peelalalaloo.

the way the story ties together at the Star Festival is sweet and satisfying. Compare this to something like Bebefinn/Pinkfong, which is overstimulating and annoying. This is so gentle. Highly recommend and hope that kids grow up nostalgic for this movie. I instantly imported the UK blu-ray.

and that’s basically true (though you shouldn’t let babies play with Calico Critters, they’re a choking hazard). But compared to most movies for babies, this is Citizen Kane. Freya’s journey to find a birthday gift for her mom is genuinely engaging, the adventures she goes on are fun and funny, and

This project would be perfect for some light genre satire. That said, I do hope Cat-Man gets made.

Honestly, I wish there were more mistakes; the floating convertible at the airfield was funny and just small enough to be an Easter egg. My gripe is that it’s extremely conventional. The villains are generic mobsters, Jim’s transformation is one-dimensional, the female lead is an a Barbie doll.

pulled from it. Nolan’s version is flawed, but the parts he takes work better than this strict retelling of the story. In the comics, there’s plenty of build up to Bane’s Arkham plan. Here, we get an origin story for his character, but none of the Gotham table setting. This needed to be a 4-parter.

as to make him seem either stupid or like he’s reacting to something in a prologue that we haven’t seen. His relationship to Shondra also feels like it’s been joined in progress. This is a rather faithful adaptation of the comic run, which people have been clamoring for since the Dark Knight Rises

That’s not the case here, and the only thing this has in common with the first movie in a trilogy is that there’s a cliffhanger at the end. Robin and Jean-Paul’s storylines are bound to feel thin unless you’re already familiar with the Knightfall comic arc. Similarly, Batman acts in a such a way

dialogue is often groan-inducing. But I’m not over the moon. This is the first part of a trilogy of films, but it’s structured much more like the second episode in a season of television. At the end of Dune, the Fellowship of the Rings, and the Hunger Games, the characters are fully fleshed out.

Bonnie and Clyde