Akira, The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Sheep Detectives

 

I think I chose the wrong cinema to see Akira. Cineworld at Hemel Hempstead has the big IMAX screen where we were advised to see this restoration. Because this Japanese "classic" has subtitles, it was difficult to keep up with them on such a huge screen. Also, the incredible animation was too fast and furious to enjoy. The extremely detailed "hand-drawn, high frame rate" made everything a blur. There is so much detail; it obviously took a large number of animators to make this movie. It actually looks like it was computer-drawn instead of by hand. (The list of animators in the credits at the end is amazing). Not only that, but the "complex plot detail" has your mind spinning.

There were only half a dozen in the audience in this huge two hundred-plus screen. Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian tells us the "strangeness is very startling and sometimes bewildering". That's exactly right. However, it was worth seeing this as more of an event. Just a smaller screen would have been better. Roger Luckhurst, in May's Sight and Sound magazine's six page spread says "Akira marked peak animation in booming 80s Japan". See my notes on that month's edition.

A poor plot is saved by good dialogue in The Devil Wears Prada 2. What used to be a posh magazine is now just a website. How things have changed. And even the website is under threat; the story about a possible new owner went down like a lead balloon. With me, anyway. The best scenes featured the four main members of the cast. Stanley Tucci, I thought, was outstanding, closely followed by Anne Hathaway. Meryl Streep suffered due to her obnoxious character. Emily Blunt had much less to do. Then I was amazed to see Kenneth Branagh as Meryl's partner. They could have given him a bigger role. 

There were plenty of fashion shows, all shot at speed. Fortunately, there were good scenes of New York and especially Italy in the second half. I didn't like the soundtrack, with the exception being that big number performed by Lady Gaga. Wendy Ide in The Observer was pretty unenthusiastic but admitted, "It did look the part." I cannot even remember how it ended, and I'm not interested enough to find out.

The trailer and the poster for The Sheep Detectives are all about Hugh Jackman as shepherd George Hardy. Unfortunately, he is the victim in this cosy whodunnit. It's his flock who has to solve the mystery, of course. I was glad that the sheep only talk to themselves; with humans it's all ba ba ba. The great thing about the film is that the sheep all have their own distinct personalities. Lily, voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is the one who is adamant that they have to get involved. Bryan Cranston is the voice for Sebastian, an ageing old boy who comes to help. Patrick Stewart, Chris O'Dowd and Bella Ramsey are other voices. But funniest of all are Reggie and Ronnie (no guesses about their personalities), both voiced by Brett Goldstein.

The human cast are far less interesting. At least the one policeman played by Nicholas Braun shrugs off his stupidity to help solve the crime. The location is typical of Midsummer Murders. This time the perfect English village was actually Hambledon in Buckinghamshire, between Marlow and Henley. The film is based on the book Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann and is produced, of course, by the wonderful people at Working Title, headed by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. And weren't they clever in capturing Craig Mazin to write the script? Just look at his screenplays.

The exit music is equally brilliant. The Proclaimers' I'm going to be (500 Miles). Or, as I prefer, I Would Walk 500 Miles also featured at the end of the film Sunshine on Leith. See posts of 12th November 2013 and 9th February 2018. Critic Mark Kermode was equally impressed. He called it "cute and charming". Dead right.