Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
STRONGER (15)
SINCE his critically acclaimed debut feature Bottle Rocket, writer-director Wes Anderson has skipped merrily down the path less travelled with offbeat ensemble comedies including the Oscar-winning magnum ludicrous, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
In 2009, he dipped his big toe into stop-motion animation with a quirky adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox.
The auteur returns to the painstaking art form for this self-consciously offbeat buddy comedy on two and four legs.
Isle Of Dogs reunites the film-maker with longtime collaborators behind and in front of the camera including cinematographer Tristan Oliver and composer Alexandre Desplat.
Anderson employs an episodic ★★★★★
UPLIFTING drama, which chronicles events before and after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) splits from on-off girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany) because he is never there for her. When she turns up at a bar seeking donations for a marathon run in aid of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Jeff pledges to be there for her at the finish line. Jeff stands behind the barriers, close to the spot where two explosives detonate, killing three people and injuring hundreds of others. He wakes in hospital surrounded by family and friends.
■ Download/stream from April 2 and available from April 9 on DVD/Blu-ray. unique vision at the expense of collaring our emotions for a satisfying walk.
Set on the Japanese Archipelago 20 years into the future, the film’s chief villain is self-serving politician Mayor Kobayashi (voiced by Kunichi Nomura), who is responsible for the wellbeing of the gullible citizens of Megasaki.
As an ardent cat lover, Kobayashi decrees that the only way to eradicate an outbreak of virulent snout fever is to exile canines to a remote island, where Megasaki dumps its residential waste.
Voters comply and the Mayor’s 12-year-old ward Atari (Koyu Rankin) is forced to bid farewell to his shaggy companion, Spots.
The resourceful tyke defies the Mayor and menacing henchman Major Domo (Akira Takayama) to steal a plane and fly to the island to be reunited with his pet.
Atari crash-lands and befriends a disparate pack of mangy mutts including Chief (Bryan Cranston), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), Rex