Thomas & Friends TV Series "Edward And Gordon" Review

Thomas is a character that has been coming back into the mainstream alot over recent years be it the announcement of a new animated series or the wonderful Wonders Of Sodor video game. Yet we should all remember that this little franchise first started to gain popularity in the eighties as a little kids show that no one thought nothing of and well since it's been a good while since an episode of this show was last covered it only made sense to cover another classic series episode and so then join me as I review the episode that is the first episode of the show to have the show's trademark catchphrase "and then there was trouble" be said in an episode with the episode in question being called simply just "Edward And Gordon" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when Gordon teases Edward one of the eldest engines on Sodor he makes Edward feel bad but things take a turn when Gordon gets stranded on a hill and the only engine that can save him is Edward. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot thats actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. This episodes plot is one that while yes it is simple its delightfully simple as it doesn't need to have a big incident between the two engines to occur and nor does it need to show us why Gordon is acting all boastful in this episode as all it needs to do is just show us the plot play out and that's that. Would it have helped the episode a little bit if the plot was a tiny bit more complicated yes but we must always remember that these stories are kids stories and therefor you have to take that into account when your judging the plot of a kids TV show and to give this episodes plot some credit it does treat it's kid audience with some respect something which could also be said for alot of the early episode of the show due to the fact that we do get as we do get alot of talk in this episode that the kid audience just wouldn't understand like for example having Gordons crew talking to him when he's on the hill and refusing to move the kids won't know that he is going to cause an accident but the adults will and while the episode doesn't say that there could be an accident if Gordon doesn't move it's easy to see from the context that that is something that might happen with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this episode is Sir Ringo Starr with him being just as delightful in this episode as he is in all of his episodes. With this being due to the fact that he isn't a trained actor and while that might sound like a bad thing in a show like this it can also be a good thing as it allows the shows narrator to sound more natural something which is the case in this episode as while he doesn't give the characters any distinct voices he does give a slight snobbish voice to Gordan which is something that is perfect for his character as he is someone that would sound like that and while he doesn't alter his voice for Edward you could argue that due to Sir Ringo Starr himself being quite old that is something that does make sense. With that being something that adds to the more natural sounding aspect of his performance. As without Edward sounding quite old it would be at odds with his character as he is meant to be one of if not the oldest engine on the show and therefor him having this more mature sounding voice is something that really does work for Edward as a character much like for Gordon sounding more like a snob works for his character as Gordon is someone who does act like a posh snob alot of the time and therefor it does make sense that Ringo would make him sound like one in this episode even tho he didn't really put on a voice for Gordon in the previous episode and yet at the same time the character really didn't need a slightly post and boastful sounding voice in this episode either as we the audience could figure out from the context given that this character is acting boastful with us not really needing a voice to help to hit that point home even more.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting thats actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With Sir Ringo Starrs acting in this episode really improving even tho this is only the show second ever episode with this really hitting home the fact that he really did understand the task at hand as while he might have only have been hired just because of his name alone he did still manage to put on a good performance and while his performance from an acting point of view would of course improve during the shows and his final second series just based of this episode alone you can still see him starting to improve as a performer. With the best actor in this episode of course being Sir Ringo Starr as he does put in alot of effort into giving us a good performance and while he doesn't give the characters different voices that as was just mentioned is something that really does harm the episode at all with his acting being something that makes all the difference due to the fact that when he's acting as Gordon he does act more boastful and posh and when he's Edward he's just himself, it is made clear in this episode that while Sir Ringo wasn't and never will be a classically trained actor he does have alot of love for the franchise with that love for not only the franchise but it's characters and world being something that does make his performance in this episode such a joy to watch with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actor has to do is just say the lines as they are a written and a good performance will come out of him naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.

There is not way to talk about this episode and not talk about Gordon as he is such a big character in this episode. Gordon in this episode was handled really well as he is essentially the main villain of the story and that is where the character gets t act his best as while it is fun to see him acting like the god guy in alot of the episodes its alot more fun t see him acting post and boastful as that's when we get to see him at his best with him here basically refusing to pull a goods train because to him it is something that is beneath him. Whilst of course we know that all manner of trains are asked to do a lot of jobs to Gordon someone who is used to mainly pulling passengers to him pulling a goods train is something that would be beneath him as to hm he is just to posh to do something like that and that is something that we would see carried out in other episodes of this show as it is something that does make him stand out as a character and while it was exploited better in other episodes with his ego always being his downfall here it is something that does still work as Gordon is someone that you can see really getting upset like this to the point where he would refuse to go up a hill that is quite literally named after him and with him being rude to Edward at the start of the episode it is something that does make his downfall all the more fun to see as the episode does give us plenty of reasons to want to see Edward best him and really prove himself and whilst the episode doesn't really give us a reason to like Gordon all that much you could argue that the previous episode where he was the main hero of that story did exactly that and while there might be other better characters in this show Gordon has to be a really good character as when he's a good guy he's OK but when he's the villain of the piece that's when he gets to be the most fun as a character.

Edward on the other hand is almost the exact opposite as Gordon as while Gordon is meant to be like the older brother who is still at home Edward is the older brother who has moved out of the house for a few years and is more experienced because of it. With him being one the more kinder engines on the show with him being able to make friends with anyone and just being happy to be let out of the shed as that mean that he gets the chance to do something and be a useful engine with this being something that makes it worse when Gordon does tease him for being old and for not being used as much as him with the episode going to great lengths to make sure that we care for Edward as a character. Which to be fair is something that does work really well as by the ed of the episode we are not only happy that Edward got let of the shed in the first place but are also happy that he did kind of get back at Gordon not by pulling a joke on him like say for example Thomas or James might do but just for being kind to him by helping him out when he was in trouble as that is true to Edwards character as while yes he can get mad and he does get mad alot of the time in the later episodes of the show but alot of the time he is just this nice and kind engine that is willing to give others advice based on his own expirences, while Thomas might be the franchises main character Edward is a not a character to slept on as he does all of his work no questions asked and will do it with a smile on his face and while yes he is prone to anger as are we all those times don't happen all that often with this episode showing us just how helpful he is by having him be the one that comes to Gordons rescue without a second thought and without the thought of teasing him about it later where as if this was Thomas or Percy for example the first thing that they would do is tease Gordon for being stuck on the hill in the first place.

Where this episode does somewhat start to faulter is in the fact that while it is good that the episodes plot might be simple it might also be a little bit simple as kids can handle slightly more complex things if we give then the chance to and given the fact that this era of the show is known for having things that are more true to how trans are run in real life it would have been more fun to see that come into play in this very episode as then we could not only get to find out more about how trains are meant to be run but also be entertained by this episode instead of just having one over the other as all that does is make it feel like that the makers of this show aren't willing to teach kids about how trains are meant to be run on a railway. Whilst yes granted this is a small issue in the grand scheme of things and it doesn't really effect the episodes plot all that much it is still something that would have added an extra layer of realism to the episode as you can teach kids things about how other things are meant to be run whilst at the same time still entertaining them with a funny little story about talking trains as kids are capable of understanding these things if you teach it to them in a way that they'll understand it's why kids TV shows of the nineties and eighties were alot more better then the kids shows that we get today as alot of them did teach us things about the real world whilst also being fun to watch and that's something that this episode had permission to do and yet for one reason or another the makers of this episode chose not to do that which might be fair enough as this was only there first series but it is something that would have made be all the more mature because of it.

Whilst it is understandable that the makers of this show did use whatever props that they had lying around to fill up scenes with characters that are yet to be introduced it is something that is in this episode was a little bit distracting. As they straight up have James sleeping next t Edward in one scene when they very easily could have moved Henry or Thomas over into that slot and look granted this show didn't have a huge budget and therefor they couldn't have built new trains just for one shot of a random throwaway episode and while having James make a silent cameo in the episode much like he did in the first episode doesn't really harm the story it is something that does make you wonder where in the time line that this episode is meant to take place. As it can't be before James joins the show as we see Thomas not working on his branchline but at the same time due to James being there it has to be after Thomas gets his branchline in the show and while it doesn't harm the episode as you could always argue that since the show never outright says that it is James in the shed in the episode that it could just be another engine which is something that would be fair a point and it is understandable why they used his model as they wouldn't have had alot of models there that they could have used for the episode it is still something that does make this episode very hard to place in the timeline, heck you could even make the statement that this episode takes place in an alternate world where James joins the team earlier and to be fair to the episode the scene does give a chance to see Edward acting a little bit more boastful which is understandable as he is saying that he and his driver will be going out again tomorrow to do some more work which for Edward would be something to boast about.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly five minuets and thirty two seconds. Which to be fair to this episode is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show at this point and this episode really didn't need to be any longer then that as the episode really only had one new character to set up and introduce and that's really it with the episode being more then capable of being able to do that and still tell a good and somewhat heartwarming story in that amount of running time with the episode also having the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. However tho the episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely due to the fact that it while it does take the time to fully develop it's plot as well as it perhaps could have done with there being alot of scenes in the episode that are all about advancing this episodes plot forward and giving the plot itself alot of focus they do leave some questions unanswered as they never explain why it has to be Edward that has to go and Gordon as it very easily could have been Henry then went to help him out with this being something that does make the episodes feel a little bit more weaker and feel like they had to find a way to get Edward into the conclusion of the plot. The episode also really doesn't take the time to fully develop its characters which is something that is understandable as you could always argue that the characters get all of there character development in other episodes of the show and with this being one of the first episodes of the show it wouldn't make sense for either Gordon or Edward to get there character development in this episode this is despite th fact that the episodes plot does allow for Gordon to get some form of character development but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. While this episode doesn't have any laugh out loud moments in it part of what does make this episodes lets be honest here cute comedy work as well as it  does is the fact that alot of it does feel very character driven and alot of it does feel very true to life with both of those things coming out in full force as they manage to make would could be seen as being very unfunny moments seem slightly funny. With the best joke in the episode being when Edward does help Gordon over the hill Gordon just straight up forgets that Edward is right behind him with Gordon speeding up and carrying on his journey as if he wasn't there all the while poor Edward is left out of breathe which is funny as it does highlight the fact that Gordon can be forget at times something which we do see come back into play in a later episode, it is also something that does feel very true to life as we have all done something but then forgotten the person that helped us do it and just carried on anyway and while yes granted that joke isn't that funny with there being better jokes in other episodes of the show but given the fact that this show was till trying to do slice of life stuff and not lean into it's comedy as much it is still a really funny joke with the makers of the episode putting alot of thought into making the joke work not only for the episode but for the characters as well with the rest of the episodes jokes being just as good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this was decent episode as it does give you a really pretty good idea of just who Edward is a character whilst also showing us Gordon as a heel which is something thats always fun to see but it is an episode that could have been alot more better as the episode really did have the potential to be a great episode of the show in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Scooby-Doo! And WWE Curse Of The Speed Demon Film Review

Crossovers are a thing that happen all the time in the world of pro wrestling sometimes there good and sometimes there bad heck just look at the lame "crossover" WWE did with Stranger Things from this past January. Yet not not alot of people remember the fact that they did two crossover films with another beloved franchise with it being the second film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today as this film doesn't get that much attention from both Scooby-Doo fans and WWE fans and so then join me as I review the film that really should have been a Wacky Races film with the film in question being called simply just "Scooby-Doo! And WWE Curse Of The Speed Demon" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when the WRESTLING company WWE starts doing extreme races with there stars it's up to Mystery Inc to stop this mystery demon and find out who they are while Shaggy and Scooby are drafted to help The Undertaker win the competition. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty OK at best. There are things about the plot that don't make sense like why would a wrestling company want to get involved with racing as while yes WWE have put a car themed game in WWE: Crush Hour it was exactly that a game where as here it's a film and therefor there does need to be some reason given as to why they want to get involved with racing in the first place and yet the film doesn't give us any. Yet the films plot can at times be fun as it is fun seeing all of the wrestlers have cars that are uniquely tied to there wrestling characters but at the same time tho the film does nothing with it's plot making the plot seem more like an afterthought when it comes to racing so much so that you do forget what the main plot of the film is even meant to be alot of the time due to the fact that the film doesn't focus on it all that often and yet when it does that's when we see the few brief glimpses of just how much fun that this films plot really could have been with the plot of this film not really being really rather entertaining and as well as not really being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Starring in this film is Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo and Fred Jones and Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers. Also starring in this film is Grey DeLisle as Daphne Blake , Kate Micucci as Velma Dinkley, Mark Calaway as The Undertaker , Paul Levesque as Triple H , Stephanie McMahon as Herself , Dustin Runnels as Goldust , Stephen Farrelly as Sheamus , Cody Runnels as Stardust , Virgil Runnels Jr. as Dusty Rhodes , Mike Mizanin as The Miz , Saraya Bevis as Paige , Edwin Coates as Diego , Mascarita Sagrada as El Torito , Orlando Nieves as Fernando , CJ Perry as Lana , Miroslav Petrov Barnyashev as Rusev . Sean Coulthard as Michael Cole , Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah as Kofi Kingston , Vince McMahon as Himself , Eric Bauza as Big Earl , Steve Blum as Inferno and Phil Morris as Walter Qualls.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty OK at best. To be frank the acting in this film is alot more better then what it really had any right to be as due to the fact that alot of the actors in this films aren't trained actors it would have been very easy for the acting from them to be really bad and yet alot of them do turn in some really good performances granted there never going to win awards for acting but people like Saraya and Mark Calaway among a few more do turn in some really good performances with the rest of the acting from the WWE people being just flat out bad which is what you would expect from them in the first place. With the best actor in the whole entire film being Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers as he does manage t get his character down perfectly with this being something that does make sense as he would have bee voicing the character for close to ten years when this film was being made and therefor he would of course know how best to perform the character with him and Frank Welker having some great chemistry together with there scenes together being some of the best acted scenes in the whole entire film with the acting thats in this very film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films absolutely anything to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the greats that really are currently over at Digital eMation. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty OK at best. This films animation much like it's acting and plot are at best lackluster as while there is indeed clear effort and thought put into this films animation with the film even mixing hand drawn 2D animation with 3D CGI really well but where the films animation take a huge step down interms of quality is quite literally in every single other aspects as the backgrounds just look flat and uninteresting and the films character animation whilst it's not that bad does still look really cheap. With that being the best word to describe this films animation as even tho Warner Bros had a huge company in WWE helping them produce this film the whole thing just looks like it was made cheaply with alot of the scenes not having that many people in them and when they do there in backgrounds that don't have that much detail in them both of which are things that do make the film appear to be more cheap to make then what it might have been. However to be fair tho when this film does ant t have some good looking animation like for example in Inferno's car the stinger used on the car does look really good and the designs for all of the characters including the WWE characters do look really good with the WWE stars looking as close to there real life counterparts as is humanly possible however the rest of the films animation is clearly a huge step down interms of quality when compared to the animation in Wrestlemania Mystery.

Look it's clear as day that Stephanie McMahon even in real life does have a huge ego as they even gave her a whopping sixty minuets all to herself at this years Hall Of Fame. Therefor making her one of the villains with the other person that is known for having a huge ego Triple H is something that does make sense as does the fact that there characters on TV at the time were also heels yet at the same time tho it doesn't really help the case that Stephanie McMahon herself is trying to build that she has no ego as if that was the case then she wouldn't have been one of the main villains in this film and while her and her husband being the villains is something that does indeed make sense from a character point of view when you take into account that she never allow herself or her to be arrested due to her last name then it does make you wonder why the makers of this film chose to have them be the villains of the film. Heck much like in the previous team up film Daphne even has a bond with one of the superstars in this case it's Stephanie McMahon herself which unlike the bond she had with John Cena in the previous film where it did somewhat tie into the main plot of the film here it has no impact on the film at all with it's sole purpose for being in the film being to stop the gang from actually trying to solve the mystery when something like this could have been used to explore Daphne's friendship with Velma something which they do hint at in this film but for one reason or another they don't go all the way with it with them only bringing it up near the end of the film when it doesn't feel earned and while it does make sense for Stephanie to try and befriend Daphne as they are close to being the same character it would have worked all the more better if the film went all the way with that idea and not just leave it feeling half baked and underdeveloped.

You can't have anything to do with Scooby-Doo and not have a mystery with the mystery element in this film not being the weakest the Scooby-Doo franchise has every had the Daphne & Velma film has that covered but its a very close second. As this film barely focuses on it's mystery at all due to the fact that we only get ONE scene in the whole entire film where the gang actively go out looking for clues with the rest of the film having the clues come in around them which isn't as fun to see and it does therefor mean that we the audience are never given the chance to work out who did it for ourselfs with the film having to spell out who did it and when it does that it makes no sense as the only clues that they find don't point to Triple H and Stephanie as they could point to quite literally anyone of the films characters as the only two clues that they find are brimstone from Inferno's explosions and talcum powder and that's it. If the film really wanted to make Triple H and Stephanie the bad guys of the film then there should have been more clues for the gang to find as while there is something to do with electronics found later on in the film that is also something that does come out of left field and yet if the makers of this film did put there time and effort into giving us a genuinely good mystery complete with showing the gang finding lots of clues like they did in Wrestlemania Mystery then it would have been more of a better film as the one thing that you want a Scooby-Doo piece of media to have is a good mystery yet thats something that this film just don't give us, with the thing that would have made it better and be some fun easter eggs for wrestling fans being if some of the clues were ties directly to Triple H's and Stephanie's past as on screen characters as then we the audience would have been able to work out just who the demon is in the first place.

To give this film some form of credit whilst it is a direct sequel to Wrestlemania Mystery you don't have to have seen that film to fully understand what's goin on in this film as apart from one or two references there's nothing that connects the two films. With the film even finding more of a balance between trying to appease the Scooby-Doo fand and the WWE as we do get plenty of action with the WWE stars heck you could even make the case that The Undertaker is the main character of the film as it's him that Inferno attacks first and it's him that does try to fight Inferno at several points in the film with the pair even having a third act fight fight whilst the rest of Mystery Inc are just trying to survive the race. That is something that could be seen as being both a bad thing and a good thing it's a good thing in that it's giving the WWE fans more of a reason to stick around and watch the film but at the same time it's a bad thing as it's Scooby-Doo that's the title character and not The Undertaker therefor wouldn't have made more sense for the Mystery Inc gang to team up with The Undertaker during the fight with The Undertaker using his muscle to keep Inferno distracted while the Mystery Inc gang use there brains to build a trap as that way both sets of fans would go home happy with the film instead of choosing one over the other and while it is cool seeing The Undertaker do both The Last Ride and the Tombstone in this film it would have worked just as fine if we saw him team up with Scooby-Doo and it's something that would have worked as we did see Scooby-Doo team up with several wrestlers in the last team up film to take on that films villain so why not do it again and have both sets of fans go home happy, however having The Undertake be the one to deliver the final blow is also something that does work well for his character in this film.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and twenty minuets and thirty two seconds. Which again to be fair to this film is pretty much the exact same bogstandard running time for alot if not all of these direct to DVD Scooby-Doo movies and therefor this film having the running time is something that des make sense and with this film having a very thinly drawn out plot it doesn't need to have that long of a running time in the first place even tho it could have benefitted from it was while the film does indeed have more then enough plot there to cover that amount of running time. As the film doesn't really use it's running all that wisely due to the fact that it doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot when it had more then  enough screen time to do exactly that heck alot of the direct to DVD Scooby-Doo movies that have similar running times to this film do it and yet this film just doesn't as it's alot more focused on giving the WWE wrestlers alot of action scenes instead of giving time to develop both it's plot and mystery both of which are things that would have made the film be alot more better as if the film did devote more time to its mystery then it could have given the film some reply value and it the film devoted some time to its plot then it would made the film alot more stronger. This is also something that does effect the films character development as well as none of the characters get any kind of character development which is fine for the Scooby-Do characters as they have countless films and TV shows to get there character development but for these versions of the WWE stars they should have gotten something in the way of character development and yet all of them are the exact same people coming out of the film then they are coming into the film but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have t actually talk about the actual comedy thats actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty OK at best. The film does have some decent jokes with alot of the stuff that Scooby and Shaggy get up to both prior and during the race being a good example but at the same time tho alot more of the film comedy is just weak like for example El Torito rides Scooby like a bull while saying Scooby's name which yes is a cute moment but it's not as funny as the film seems to think it is and the film has a recurring jokes with both Goldust and Stardust disappear at will just annoy Sheamus which is a good idea for a joke but the film does nothing funny with it. Look to be frank it would be hard to say just what the best joke of the film is but at a stretch the best joke of the film is during the third act final race when Inferno lands on a tricked out Mystery Machine to avoid The Undertaker but instead of cowering and doing nothing both Scooby hits the button that controls the windscreen wipers with then hitting Inferno in the face which is a cute little joke and it is something that they would do yet even that joke feels weak with the film not even taking full advantage of the fact that it's guest characters are all these fairly well known wrestlers as they could have got some humor out of playing this whole racing contest as if it was a wrestling storyline complete with both face and heel turns but they don't heck they don't even play it safe with it's jokes they just do nothing with not only the films best joke but none of the rest of the films jokes as the rest of the films jokes are just as bad in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this is a film that would have been more at home with being a Wacky Races film then being a Scooby-Doo film as that would then explain why the WWE are having it's wrestlers race cars with this film being something that would have made for an entertaining Wacky Races film but makes for a dull Scooby-Doo film in my freaking anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and and well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 2006 Film Review

There are some films that just capture you right away like films like Your Name and Ghost In The Shell for example and then there are films that despite there best efforts are just forgettable films. Such is the point of the film that i'm going to be reviewing for you all today as despite the film having a great use of time travel it is a bland film that offers nothing new and so then join me as I review the film that is technically a sequel to the book that it's based off of with the film in question being called simply just "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when student Makoto Konno suddenly gains the ability to leap backwards through time she is at first pleased with this idea but she soon realises that with this power does come with great responsibility. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty OK at best. With this films plot trying to tell a good story and be this all important film but in doing that it does forget to tell a good story as alot of the time this films plot does feel very much like the original Saved By The Bell with it being far more interested in the characters love lives then it is in anything else and while this fine for the films more dramatic moments as that's when it would make sense to do that here in this film tho they do it all the time. Yet un saying this tho the films plot does have one interesting aspect to it that being it's time travel element which whilst it is as well developed as it was ever going to be in a film like this it is also something that does feel like it got alot less attention from the makers of this film with it feeling like that the makers of this film were alot more interested in the characters relationships then they were anything else as the idea of time travel is one that does feel underbaked in this film this is despite the fact that the film does show both the upsides and downsides to it with both of them effecting the plot of the film in both major and small ways which is something that they didn't have to do and yet they went and they did it anyway with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Starring in this film is Emily Hirst as Makoto Konno , Andrew Francis as Chiaki Mamiya and Alex Zahara as Kōsuke Tsuda. Also starring in this film is Kristie Marsden as Yuri Hayakawa , Natalie Walters as Kaho Fujitani , Shannon Chan-Kent as Miyuki Konno , My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic star Cathy Weseluck as The Old Lady , David Hurwitz as Sojiro Takase and Saffron Henderson as Kazuko Yoshiyama.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty average at best. The fact that this films acting is as average as it is is of no fault of the films actors as they are some really good actors and have been good here in other things but whoever was doing the voice directing for this film didn't cast the right people in the right parts as all of this films actors do feel horribly miscast in the film with this resulting in the films despite them doing there best in the film just can't go that extra mile to be as good as we all know that they can be. With the films best actor being Emily Hirst as she does get alot of the films more dramatic moments and she does pull them really well with it being clear that she did have a really bright future as an actor as she is that good in the film with her being able to make you laugh and then make you cry all in the same scene which is something that is hard for alot of good actors to do and yet it is something that she does pull off with relative ease and yet she doesn't go to far over the top with her character as Makoto Konno very easily could have been seen as being a really annoying character in the films second act and yet Emily does always find a way to keep the character not only grounded but also likable which is something that is key in making the films third act work. With the acting that's in this very film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise to the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the greats that really are currently over at Madhouse. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. While yes the films animation isn't as good as that in Summer Wars for example it was still really nice to look at with all of the films backgrounds having so much detail and love put into them that the could be seen as being life like with the thing that does let this films animation down is that even tho the film does mainly use hand drawn 2D animation the film really doesn't have any standout scenes that show off it's animation which granted is a small nitpick at best but at the same time tho it would have shown of just how great that this films animation could have been. With the thing that really did standout by a huge mile in this viewing of the film being just how simple that the films character designs are with all of the films characters not having alot of detail put into things like there faces are clothes for example with this being something that does make it feel like that anyone could draw these characters and that is something that does work for this film as it does show that the makers of this film had a certain style when it came to the design of the characters with it being made clear that they wanted to have characters that the everyday person could draw freely in there spare time and that is something that does work with the films characters designs oddly enough coming of a being all the more memorable because of it.

The rules of time travel in this film are kind of hard to explain as while it does appear as if they are taking The Time Machine and Back To The Future approach where the place you land in time is the exact same place where you departed which is simple and easy to follow. The film would then have Motoko start appearing in different places even tho she had time travelled in other areas with this being something that does make it look like that the makers of this film are trying to have it both ways when it comes to there rules regarding time travel when really what they should have done is stuck to the approach used in both Back To The Future and The Time Machine as Motoko is only able to travel backwards in time she is not able to travel backwards in both time and space with this being something that the film does point out. Yet due to them not really establishing what there rules are in regards to time travel outside of how many times she can travel back in time it does also allow the makers of this film alot more freedom to do whatever they want to in this regard and it's something that would work, however by doing so it does mean that the film can loose all dramatic tension to it as Motoko could and sometimes even does appear out of nowhere to fix the situation which is great for a laugh but at the same time if the makers of this film aren't willing to take there own very limited rules of time travel seriously then why should we the audience do the exact same thing and heck we barely get to understand just how she is able to time travel in the first place as it has something to do with her running and jumping from a high place so maybe it's the fact that she almost dies that triggers it every time but that just makes it far to complicated when having something that's more simple and easy to follow would have worked just as better.

This film despite it borrowing the title of the book is actually a sequel to the 1965 book of the same name. With the main protagonist of the book Kazuko Yoshiyama being the aunt of Motoko this is something that is a good idea as it does mean that now we the audience won't be able to tell just what happens next due to the fact that he film is mostly telling a new story with new and original characters thus keeping us on our toes altho at the same time one does have to wonder why they named it after the book if there not going to be following the premise of the book as while you could argue that that was done for marketing reasons which would make sense you could also argue that that would trick the fans of the book into thinking that there going to be seeing a straight forward adaptation of the book when that is further from  the case. This is a case where you don't need to have read the book to understand the film as outside of the the name this film has nothing to do with the book whatsoever as while there plots are vaguely similar there's nothing that makes this film be a true representation of the book with this being something that could be seen as being a good thing as it does now mean that the makers of this film are now free to tell whatever story that they choose to tell and not be bound by what happens to the characters in the book and while yes it would have been nice to have seen a more book accurate version of the story there's no way that they could have made the fact that in the book Kazuko Yoshiyama is able to time travel because of lavender scented flowers work well for the film as for a film you do want something that's more cinematic and that's what we get in this film with Motoko being able to time travel after finding a mysterious device in the school's science lab.

This film is a romance comedy drama film with the film giving us some sweet comedy moments between Motoko , Chiaki and Kōsuke. Alot of which doo work as we do get to see just how close as friends that these three really are with them practically spending every single day together and when there not with each ither they miss each other with us getting alot of good jokes out of the times when Motoko is typically late for class which yes is an anime trope but it is one that does work and it does allow us to see that both she and Kōsuke have more of a brother and sister type of bond where as Motoko and Chiaki have more of best friends type of bond. Yet even so the film doesn't really focus that much on its comedy outside of a few scenes all throughout the film with the best example being these girls that follow Kōsuke around just because one of them ha a crush on him and the other two are trying to work out if there perfect for each other or not which is a good set up for a joke and to be fair the film does do the best that it can with that idea but there's no pay off to that joke with it being obvious that the makers of this film did put alot more thought into the films romance that they did the comedy aspect of the film as that is where the film does get to shine a little bit better but in saying that tho that's also where the film begins to feel like a teen drama as it's all things that we've seen done before in other shows and movies with the only difference being that one of the characters can time travel and thats it which is a good thing to have in the film but at the at same time outside of quite literally two scenes the film doesn't have the time travel element interact with the romance of the film in any meaningful way, however to be fair the film does give us some genuinely sweet romantic moments with it being clear as day that the people that do get into a relationship do genuinely love each other.

Now then this film has / had an exact gran total running time of exactly one hour and thirty eight minuets and fifty seven seconds. Which to be fair is pretty much the exact same time that you would expect an anime film regardless of its genre to have in the first place with the film really needing that amount of running time in order to tell it's story as there is no way that you could tell this story in anything under that as you do have so much things to set up and you do still need tell a good story and to that in anything under this amount of running time would risk doing alot of harm to the film plot with the film having the right amount of plot to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. Yet even so this film really does use its running time all that wisely as this film doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot something which granted was always going to be hard to do but at the same time it wouldn't have been impossible as all they would have to have to have done is cut out alot of the pointless teen drama stuff in the middle on the film as alot of it doesn't add anything to the plot of the film is purely there just for filler like for example we don't need several scenes with Kōsuke and Kaho talking with each other with Kaho either failing to tell him or getting to shy to tell hm how she feels about him as just the once would have done that but the film devotes a goo chink of its second act to just those two talking and it's not needed in the film as that is time that would have been better spent of developing the films plot. Thus is something that does somewhat effect the films character development as well as while the films main two characters of Motoko and Chiaki do get some character development which is something that dies make sense as they are the films main characters none of the fims other characters get any kind of character development whatso ever but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a drama that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With the thing that des make this films drama work as well as it does being the fact that whilst it does very much feel like the kind of drama you'd see on a bad teen drama show it is also very character driven with all of the films going through something that is unique to them and to there character and while all of it does go back to the fact that Motoko has the power to time travel alot of it does come to the characters as people. With the best but of drama in the whole film being when Kaho and Kōsuke take Motoko's bike not realising that the breaks on it don't work and when Motoko realises what's happened and where there going she runs to this steep hill hoping to catch them before they get into a nasty accident and yet when she thinks that there not there she uses her last time travel skill to avoid an awkward call with Chiaki only to then spot the duo riding past her and into the danger that she was trying to get them to avoid with her not able to not only catch up to them and stop them by hand but also able to time travel any more and while there is someone who does the save the day it doesn't change the fact that everything including them being saved and quite literally everything that happens after that works so well and it works because of the fact ta the film has given the chance to get to know these characters with the rest of the films drama being just as good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall whilst Summer Wats is easily the better film between the two of them this film still does have alot of things going for it like its animation and its drama both of which do work really well in this film and while yes they were both done better in Summer Wars the bottom line is this film walked so that that film could run in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i;='ve talked about all of the good and as well a all of the bad things tat are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Worzel Gummidge "Worzel's Birthday" Review

As the old saying goes all great things must come to an end with this being especially true when it comes to our favorite movies and TV shows. With the episode that i'm going to be talking to you all today officially marking the end of the British Worzel Gummidge series as while the series would get another two series years later those series were filmed in New Zealand and only have two actors from the British series back as there characters and so then join me as I review the episode that sees Worzel celebrating his bestest birthday with the episode in question being called simply just "Worzel's Birthday" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is on the day of Worzel's bestest birthday which is the birthday for his head he goes missing after Aunt Sally refuses to come to his party therefor it's up to John and Sue to not only find him but throw a part of there own for him. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the thing that makes the episodes plot be as good as it is being the fact that it is delightfully simple and while that is something that might be seen as being a bad thing by today's standards by the standards of the olden days it is something that does work really well as this show was afterall made or the whole family to sit down and enjoy and a apart of that does entail having these more simple and easy to follow plots which is something that this episode does have in spades. While yes it would have helped the episode out quite a bit if the episode did have a more stronger plot as even for this show the plot does feel a bit to simple by making the plot more complex it would take away from the more carming and easy going nature of the show as this is a show that people can sit down and just relax to and to be fair this episodes plot does give you exactly that and while it would have been better if the plot did feel more like the final episode of a TV show as the makers of the show would have known that the station they were airing on was closing down and therefor would have had the time to give the show a more proper finale this episodes plot does give you all of the greatest hits from a show with the plot itself being a really fun plot with the episodes plot being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this episode is Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge , Jeremy Austin as John Peters and Charlotte Coleman ax Sue Peters. Also starring in this episode is Norman Bird as Mr. Braithwaite , Mike Berry as Mr. Peters , Michael Ripper as Mr. Shepherd , Sarah Thomas as Miss Maple , Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally , Laurence Harrington as The Landlord , Geoffrey Bayldon as The Crowman , Wally Thomas as An Elderly Gentleman and Frank Marlborough as Saggy Tatersack.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With all of the episodes actors being just as good as they are in the rest of the show which is something by this point in the shows run was to be completely expected due to the fact that all of this episodes shows even the more weaker episodes did always have some really good acting in them with this being down to two things the first of which being the fact that they got a feature film director in James Hill to direct the series and the second of which is the fact that they surrounded the kid actors with these more established character actors and comedy legends. With the best actor in this whole entire episode being Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally as while she is always deliciously evil as the character here it feels like that she takes it not quite one step above what she normally would do as the character but up enough to the point where you both laugh at her antics and yet at the same time boo her due to how badly that she's treating Worzel himself with Una being the right person to play this version of the character as anyone else would either play her to far evil to be likable or to likable to be evil and yet Una even in this episode does manage to find the perfect sweet spot that a character like Aunt Sally should always have with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode. 

If there is one word to describe this episode it would be magical as that's exactly what this episode is in every single sense of the word. This is also something that could be said for alot of the episodes in this show but here for whatever reason it feels more true as we do get a scene where both John and Sue find out when Worzel's bestest birthday is when they come to his pole one day and find it surrounded by flowers with the whole thing just being filled to the brim with both magic and whimsy and while yes that is only scene it is one scene that does make the whole episode feel magical as it does give us some insight into how this world work from the point of view of a scarecrow. This is was something that other episodes of both this show and it's sequel show didn't do and yet it is something that they did in the more recent adaptation of the books and while that more recent version over did it here in this episode it was done in the right way as it is something that the episode doesn't spend that much time on with the episode really only giving it two scenes with the first one being set up and the other being the pay off but that's all it needed as the show is at it's best when it does focus on the characters and not the magic that is quite clearly in this world and yet even with that in mind, it is something that does also work in this episode due the fact that it is part of the episodes main plot and isn't just a quick throwaway scene like it very easily could have been with the scene in question being so beautifully shot that you'd be mistaken for thinking that it's a scene from feature length film due to the fact that everything about that scene from the writing to the directing does scream feature length film.

While this version of Aunt Sally is always really cruel to everyone who isn't her here it feels like that she's even more cruel and selfish then usual. Which is something that is fairly common place for the final episodes of this show as that's where they just let Aunt Sally be as cruel as she can be and while she doesn't make Worzel cry and break his heart like she has done in the past as here she not only refuses to go to his party when she thinks that it'll just be the two of them there when she finds out that John and Sue are buying Worzel this really big cake for there party she then follows them back to the barn and even tries to eat the cake herself when she thinks that Worzel is running late. Yet when the kids go looking for Worzel and take Aunt Sally with them the first thing she does is run away back to the barn and do exactly that as she eats his while birthday cake herself which even for her is a bit low as she knew full well that Worzel was excited about the idea of having a party and yet she goes and ruins it for him, this is something that is also fairly in character for her with her being the kind of character that always wants to be the centre of attention and can't handle it when someone else has more attention then her therefor it does make sense that she would try and ruin Worzel's birthday party for him weather or not she wanted to ruin his birthday is something that is up for debate as while she did know that his birthday was coming up and the kids to tell her plenty of times that it's for his birthday she doesn't seem like the kind of character that would go out of their way to ruin someone else's birthday, due to the fact that she might not even know what a birthday is to begin with and yet the saddest thing about this is the fact that even tho Worzel catches her after eating his cake deep down down he does still love her and would do anything for her.

As was stated earlier on in this review this episode doesn't feel like a finale episode even tho the makers of the show knew full well that the TV station that the were airing on was closing down. The reason for this being the fact that Southern which was the station that aired and made this show had lost it's broadcasting rights and was forced to close down yet even so this episode does feel loke a typical episode of the show with there being nothing about this episode that makes it feel special or like a finale episode this is something that could be because of the fact that the episode was written to be apart of the third series but was held off until this series with the only major difference being the fact that Mrs. Braithwaite was in the original version of the episode and yet alot of her lines where given to Mr. Peters with the character not even appearing in this final series at all. This is something that would explain why the series felt like a typical episode of the show but something that could help with that is the fact that maybe Jon Pertwee was hoping to sell the show to another network which would have been a very easy thing to do as the show was a massive hit yet for one reason or another it took them several years to get Worzel Gummidge Down Under made with even the final episode of that show not feeling like a finale episode but back to this episode there could be any number of reasons as to why this episode feels more like a typical episode of the show and not like a finale episode and they all would be completely valid and while the episode isn't harmed by this at all with the added benefit of hindsight it would have made the episode be alot more better if the episode was treated loke a proper finale due to the fact that this is the last time that we see all of the characters apart from Worzel and Aunt Sally as those are the only two characters that get brought over for Worzel Gummidge Down Under.

This episode does give us all of the greatest hits for Worzel as not only do we have a really big cake but we also have alot of the side characters coming back for a few scenes ad we also have Worzel getting some lessons from The Crowman and the episode even ends with big dance number with alot of the main characters. These are all things that do help to make this episode feel like a series final episode but not the show's final episode as alot of those characters would also appear in the other final episodes of the show and not just this one and while it is helped by the fact that we do have both Sarah Thomas and Frank Marlborough back as different characters it would have meant more if they were reprising there original characters of Dafthead and Enid respectively. Where this episode does shine the best is when we do get to see them play the greatest hits if you will as that's when we get to be reminded of just how this special that this show not only was but still is to a degree as we do get to the characters be there lovable but also goofy and charming selves which is something that they always where when this show was at it's best and while it is possible that they would have to ended the show after the fifth series as you can tell that the kids are growing up and are no longer ten years old the fact that we managed to get an episode with them and the side characters as well we do get to say goodbye to them on our own terms and not have it be something that was forced upon us is something that does work with this episode. This show was never one for saying goodbye to it's characters and the few times that they did it was mostly played for laughs and therefor to expect them to do the same here wouldn't be wise and it is something that would get in the way of them reminding us of why this show not only was but to a much more lesser extent still is loved by people young and old to this very day.

Now then this episode really has / had an exact grand total running time of really exactly twenty six minuets. With this being the bogstandard running time for the other episodes as well and to be fair t this episode this episode again much like the rest of the show really doesn't need to be that long as it is telling a simple story and it does do it really efficiently with alot of the episodes scenes being about advancing the plot of the episode, with the episode even having the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place as it does feel like that there isn't a single scene wasted in this episode due to the fact that alot of the scenes in this episodes are either cute comedy moments with the characters or are moments that remind you of why we loved these characters so much in the first place. Heck this episode even does use its running time very wisely as the plot of the episode is as well developed as its ever going to be due to the fact that the episode does have all of its scenes be about advancing its plot forward and it does take the time to add things to it's plot be it Aunt Sally first refusing to go to and then demanding that she come to Worzels birthday or the fact that we get to both John and Sue organizing a surprise party for Worzel they are all things that do play apart in the episodes plot in major ways. Even the episodes characters do feel as well developed as they are even going to be for a kids TV show as while they don't get any of that development in this episode you could make the argument that that's the point as both John and Sue are kids and therefor there not going to be that well developed anyway and Worzel is just a big kid at heart and is very forgetful yet we do find out more not only about him but about scarecrow kind as a whole which is something that the makers of this episode really didn't have to do but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 

So now then as this a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented t us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With there being alot of painfully moments in this episode all of which do feel true to who these characters are as a people as while it would be hard to say that this episodes jokes are character driven due to the fact that there s a fair amount of slapstick jokes as well when this episode does tell a joke that feels true to whom these characters are that is when we do get some really good jokes in this episode. Yet none of those types of jokes are the best jokes in the episode as the best joke of the whole entire being when Aunt Sally eats Worzels entire cake as she acts like she's drunk which is something that little kids won't understand but it is something that once you notice it you can't unsee it and yet at the same time it is something that does work as of course Aunt Sally would have an entire cake to herself with the fact that she acts drunk being something that does make this cruel moment seem funny as it does give us a chance to see a side to her character that we've never been given the chance o see before now, this episode doesn't force Aunt Sally into it like alot of the other series four episodes did as here she is there to be the episodes main villain and to get some laughs out of us the audience and she does both of those things beautifully with Una Stubbs even acting like she's drunk as skunk on cake which is just a good idea in its own right and it is something that does tell you just how clever the writing on this show really was as yes there jokes in this episode that little kids will find funny but then there are jokes that you will get on two different levels as when your kid you'll see them for that you think they are and it'll be funny and then again as an adult when you see them as they truly are and it's still funny with the rest of the episodes jokes being just as funny in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Overall whilst this version of Worzel Gummidge would continue on in Worzel Gummidge Down Under it was sad to this classic British series come to an end as it is something that does make you think of similar times in the UK with the episode on the whole being one of the more better episodes of this final series but is still a fairly weaker episode when compared to the shows other episodes in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all o the images that I personally used in his very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.