Reviews

REVIEW: Sony Pictures Animation “Goat”
Despite very odd character designs, the animation is wonderful. The film's action sequences are an animated equivalent of jazz fusion translated to the screen. Layout, perspective, and movement are so fluid that the film flows, rather than projects, on the audience's eyes.
REVIEW: Dreamworks “The Bad Guys 2”

REVIEW: Dreamworks “The Bad Guys 2”

Avatar photoMartin Goodman|
August 4th, 2025
“It’s not the action, it’s the distraction.” Animated movie buffs will find a joyful surfeit of both in the new DreamWorks flick The Bad Guys 2, a sequel to the 2002 hit that surpasses it in almost every way. Every primary and a few secondary characters return in a snappy heist film that has enough […]
BOOK REVIEW: “The Art of The Boy and the Heron”

BOOK REVIEW: “The Art of The Boy and the Heron”

Avatar photoCharles Solomon|
July 7th, 2025
“The Art of The Boy and the Heron” opens with director Hayao Miyazaki’s self-deprecating Project Memo: “Isn’t it proof that you are aging when you imagine you’re still capable, but in fact you have memory loss due to senility? I would say yes.” Audiences who saw the Oscar-winning film would say “no.” The Japanese title […]

Latest in Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

This is a difficult film to review because, while it is undoubtedly an animated feature, it is also a remake of a live-action comedy. Therefore, how one feels about the film will directly correlate to how one thinks about the original movie. The predecessor to Paws of Fury is the beloved 1974 film Blazing Saddles, […]
Avatar photoMartin Goodman|August 22, 2022
REVIEW: Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

REVIEW: Pixar’s “Lightyear”

We all remember that 27 years ago, a boy named Andy received a futuristic spaceman action figure as a gift. As he was known, Buzz Lightyear joined a coterie of toys, completing the main cast of Pixar’s Toy Story franchise. Although Buzz seemed to come complete with a background story as a stalwart Space Ranger, […]
Avatar photoMartin Goodman|July 6, 2022
REVIEW: Pixar’s “Lightyear”

REVIEW: Dreamworks “The Bad Guys”

While DreamWorks may not be able to summon the financial and technical resources that you-know-who possesses, that does not mean that they cannot produce a good film, and with their latest effort, The Bad Guys, they mostly succeed. Though the world-building is weird, and some character reversals are rather facile, this is one entertaining flick […]
Avatar photoMartin Goodman|May 13, 2022
REVIEW: Dreamworks “The Bad Guys”

REVIEW: “DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms” – More Questions Than Answers. So Far

When it comes to dragons, there’s no stopping DreamWorks Animation. Based on the best-selling How to Train Your Dragon novels by Cressida Cowell, the franchise has so far spawned three feature films with a combined box-office take of $1.6 billion worldwide, five short films, a “Snoggletog Log” video and a 118-episode TV series collectively titled […]
Avatar photoW.R. Miller|December 22, 2021
REVIEW: “DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms” – More Questions Than Answers. So Far

ANIME REVIEW: “Neon Genesis Evangelion”

Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), which ranks among the most popular, influential and controversial series in anime history, is finally appearing on Blu-ray in two multi-disc sets from GKIDS and Shout Factory! featuring a new dub and script. A complex, compelling saga that juxtaposes mecha battles with apocalyptic Christian symbolism, Jewish mysticism and teenage […]
Avatar photoCharles Solomon|December 21, 2021
ANIME REVIEW: “Neon Genesis Evangelion”

MANGA REVIEW: “Blue Flag” Books 1-8

Although many graphic novels and manga focus on LGBTQ kids, the complex characters and exceptional draftsmanship set Kaito’s “Blue Flag” above the tepid Western fantasies and run-of-the-mill BL (“Boy’s Love”) manga. (It was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel.) Sadly, the publication of Volume #8 marks the end of Blue […]
Avatar photoCharles Solomon|June 14, 2021
MANGA REVIEW: “Blue Flag”  Books 1-8

REVIEW: Netflix “The Magician’s Elephant”

Fairy tales have been genuinely magical of late. First, we got the charm, humor, and animation brilliance of Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, an overwhelming critical and box office success. Then, in early 2023 we are treated to The Magician’s Elephant, helmed by first-time director Wendy Rogers. Rogers has been involved with animation and […]