Song of the Sea – Bravo by Cartoon Saloon

Part animation part art, Song of the Sea is one of the nicest thing’s you’ll ever look at. Kilkenny based Cartoon Saloon follow up 2009’s The Secret of Kells with a film that is every bit as well drawn and beautiful along with brilliant use of sound and music. Films like this don’t come into existence too often, especially in today’s market of now dull 3D animation, so go see and savour.

Growing up in a lighthouse on a small island off the coast of Ireland, Ben (David Rawle) has never been too kind to his sister Saoirse after her birth led to the death of his mother Bronagh (Lisa Hannigan). When an incident leads to their granny taking them to live in the city, Ben soon discovers Saoirse’s magical secret and embarks on a journey to return her to their home.

Full of folklore and fairy-tale every frame of Song of the Sea is smothered in magic. The beautiful drawings realise a story of witches and wonder with memorable sequences made all the stronger by the art supporting it.

The work of director Tomm Moore and his team will have enough amazement for both young and old in a story that is timeless and full of humour. Taking a leaf from Pixar’s UP, Moore makes a mature story that children will enjoy without dumbing it down for their sake.

The pace falls a bit in the middle but for the most part this is as enjoyable as cinema gets. Go to the cinema, sit back and let your eyes enjoy some of the finest animation ever put on film.

4 out of 5

Terminator Genysis – why did we even hope?

Learn from your mistakes lads, you’d think. After the disaster of the last two films in the franchise Terminator returns with the final nail in the coffin, an embarrassingly bad film that shows no respect for what came before and instead seems to be a hate-letter to fans.

Judgement Day has happened and Skynet has unleashed an army of machines to enslave mankind. Luckily John Connor (Jason Clarke) has a wealth of future information to keep the Human Resistance one step ahead in the war. Knowing what has to happen, Connor sends soldier Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to 1984 to protect his mother Sarah (Emilia Clarke), ensuring his own survival, only this time something went wrong, and Reese finds himself in a very different 1984.

The trailer has already revealed every plot twist and turn so I won’t bother. Needless to say we meet Arnie, who now seems to fancy himself as a comedian instead of an action star, with some god-awful jokes put in the script to try give him some likeability. More of that failed likeability could have been tried on Jai Courtney, whose Kyle Reese is one of the worst heroes seen on screen, with zero personality and as much fun to be around as Jar Jar Binks. You can blame the awful script too, but how this qualifies as acting I have no idea.

Emilia Clarke doesn’t fare much better but out of them all probably escapes the least damaged. If there are sequels, which there probably won’t be due to the lacklustre box-office, she’d be wise to jump ship.

Jason Clarke is decent as a new take on John Connor, but the script is just so awful and the direction so poor that it’s lost.

Yes I knew it was never going to be near the quality of the first two, but the things that usually deliver in blockbusters, action, effects, sound, all disappoint. This feels made for TV, a TV you hate.

In case you failed to see it clearly above, yes, this is just that bad. Destroy all copies.

1 out of 5