Danni Haughan and David Smith from Small Wardour join Flixwatcher remotely to review Danni’s choice Ponyo.

Ponyo is a 2008 Studio Ghibli animation written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Miyazaki’s eighth film for Ghibli). In this film a magical fish called Ponyo escapes from her overprotective father Fujimoto and meets five-year-old Sōsuke. After tasting human blood she gains the ability to change into human form and eats ham. Believing her to have been kidnapped Fujimoto imprisons her. With the help of her fish sisters Ponyo escapes and inadvertently spills magic into the ocean that causes a huge tsunami to flood the town.

Ponyo, as you’d expect from a Studio Ghibli film, is a mixture of everyday life and the utterly bonkers - all captured in stunning animated detail. We recommend you watch it with Japanese audio and subtitles first and second time with the English dub with Liam Neeson!

Ponyo scored highly across all Flixwatcher categories to give an impressive overall rating of 4.11. Currently placing it second in the Flixwatcher rankings of Studio Ghibli films reviewed so far!

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Thanks to Episode #268 Crew of Danni Haughan (@HeDanni) and DaveSmith from Wardour Studios

Find their Websites online at https://t.co/LF1mhCmRiu

And at https://twitter.com/pastpostcard

And at http://wardourstudios.co.uk/

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on Ponyo, you can visit Ponyo IMDb page here or Ponyo Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

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Hana Walker Brown (Broccoli Productions, author A Delicate Game) and Jen Offord (Standard Issue Podcast, author The Year of the Robin) join Flixwatcher remotely to review Hana's choice The Father.

The Father is a 2020 drama directed by Florian Zeller and is based on the stage play of the same name. It stars Anthony Hopkins, in an Oscar-winning performance, as the father, Anthony, Olivia Coleman as his daughter Anne, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, and Olivia Williams Co star.

Anthony is in his 80s and has dementia, his daughter Anne is frustrated as he has rejected several carers and it is putting a strain on her relationship with her partner. Through their interactions we move between Anthony's flat and Anne's flat. We meet Laura, a carer, who bears a likeness to his other daughter Lucy or is she his memory of Lucy? There are two different men in the flat, sometimes Paul and sometimes James.

The Father is a powerful and disorientating experience of how it feels to slowly lose your memory to dementia. Characters and rooms shift and change and the viewer questions what is real and what is imagined.

The Father is a difficult watch but it is also an incredible film with stellar performances. Unsurprisingly the scores for recommendability were very high. Slightly lower scores for repeat viewing give The Father an overall rating of 3.96.

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Thanks to Episode #279 Crew of Hana Walker Brown (@HWalker_Brown) and Jen Offord (@inspireajen)

Find their Websites online at https://twitter.com/broccolicontent

And at https://twitter.com/hodderbooks

And at https://linktr.ee/hana_walker_brown

And at https://linktr.ee/JenOfford

And at https://twitter.com/llmonts

And at https://twitter.com/standardissueUK

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on The Father, you can visit The Father IMDb page here or The Father Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Graham Jones and Ian Harries from The Podcast Nobody Asked For return to Flixwatcher to review Graham’s choice His House.

His House is a 2020 horror film written and directed by Remi Weeks and starring Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu and Matt Smith.

Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) are refugees fleeing from war-torn South Sudan. After surviving the dangerous journey across the English Channel in an overcrowded boat they are granted asylum in England. They find themselves assigned a grotty house on a nondescript housing estate with a sympathetic but firm case worker (Matt Smith) keeping a close eye on them. As Bol and Rial struggle to fit in with their new environment they are visited by a “night-witch” or apeth that torments them at night.

While His House was a hit for Flixwatcher and guests its tough subject made it hard to easily recommend. However, with a tight run time of 93 minutes and excellent performances from both Dirisu and Mosaku His House still scores a respectable 3.98 overall.

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Thanks to Episode #266 Crew of Ian Harries (@lordharries) and Graham Jones from The Podcast Nobody Asked For

Find their Websites online at https://thepodcastnobodyasked4.captivate.fm/

And at https://twitter.com/nobodyasked4pod

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on His House, you can visit His House IMDb page here or His House Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fran and Babs from Over/underrated: a music podcast return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Frans choice The Edge of Seventeen.

The Edge of Seventeen is a 2016 coming-of-age comedy-drama starring Hailee Steinfeld as 17 year-old Nadine who is dealing with recently losing her beloved father, falling out with her best friend, boys and other teenage dramas. Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig is also stars Woody Harrelson as her school teacher, Haley Lu Richardson as Nadine’s (ex) best friend Krista and Kyra Sedgwick as Nadine’s mum.

Despite its slightly gloomy synopsis The Edge of Seventeen swings more towards the comedy elements as Nadine navigates being a teenager in a world that doesn’t understand her while realising the world is not actually as against her as she thinks.

Anchored by a strong performance by Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen is an above average teen film. However, Edge of Seventeen the song sadly does not feature on the soundtrack. Strong recommendability but slightly repeat viewing scores gives The Edge of Seventeen an overall score of 3.75.

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Thanks to Episode #265 Crew of Barbara (@flame_me_up) and Fran (@OUmusicpod) from Over/underrated music podcast

Find their Websites online at 

And at https://t.co/84i7d2rDrA

And at https://linktr.ee/overunderratedmusicpod

For more info on The Edge of Seventeen, you can visit The Edge of Seventeen IMDb page here or The Edge of Seventeen Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amelie Thomas and Matthew Turner from Fatal Attractions podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Amelie’s choice Into the Wild.

Into the Wild is a 2007 drama about the life and adventures of Chris McCandless ("Alexander Supertramp”) directed by Sean Penn. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name written by Jon Krakauer which was based on McCandless’ journal, the film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless, Marcia Gay Harden as his mother, William Hurt as his father, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, and Hal Holbrook.

The film begins in April 1992 as McCandless arrives in Alaska and finds “The Magic Bus”. He is content and is very much living into the wild. The story of how he got to Alaska is told in flash back chapters and begins in May 1990 as he graduates. Disillusioned with modern life and angry that the story of how his parents met and feel in love was a lie makes the conscious decision to drop out of society. He donates his savings to Oxfam, cuts up his ID and hits the road.

Scores for Into the Wild were strong for recommendability from Amelie, Matthew and Helen but lower from Kobi. Lower scores from everyone for engagement gives an overall rating of 3.40.

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Thanks to Episode #264 Crew of Amelie Thomas (@TheOnlyCleoLuna) and Matthew Turner (@FilmFan1971) from Fatal Attractions podcast

Find their Websites online at

And at https://letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/

And at https://twitter.com/wratedpod

And at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/fatal-attractions/id1229261184?mt=2

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on Into The Wild, you can visit Into The Wild IMDb page here or Into The Wild Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

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Helen and Bill from When One Thing Leads to Another podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Helen’s choice The Gray Man.

The Gray Man is a 2022 action thriller directed by Anthony and Joe (Avengers: Endgame) Russo based on the novel of the same name by Mark Greaney.

It stars Ryan Gosling as Six, an assassin in the CIA's Sierra program, Chris Evans as Lloyd Hansen, a sociopathic ex-CIA agent, Billy Bob Thornton as Fitzroy, a senior CIA official and Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick and Regé-Jean Page co star.

After a hit goes wrong in Bangkok Six finds himself on the run with some classified info from Hanson and his gang of take no prisoners extraction teams. There is a ridiculous extended action scene involving a tram and lots of fighting.

With a production budget of $200 million, it is among the most expensive films made by Netflix. It has a limited cinema release and received lukewarm reviews.

The recommendability scores for The Gray Man were mixed, with Helen and Bill scoring highly and Helen and Kobi a bit lower to give an overall rating of 3.60.

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Thanks to Episode #263 Crew of Helen and Bill from When One Thing Leads to Another

Find their Websites online at https://www.whenonethingleadstoanother.com/

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on The Gray Man, you can visit The Gray Man IMDb page here or The Gray Man Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Collins and Kevin Lehane from The Best Bits Podcast return to Flixwatcher to review Will’s choice Labyrinth.

Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy directed by Jim (The Muppets) Henson and written by Terry (Monty Python) Jones. It stars David Bowie (who also wrote the songs) as Jareth the Goblin King and Jennifer Connelly, in her breakout role, as Sarah.

After wishing that the goblins come and take away her baby brother Toby, Sarah has to tackle the labyrinth in 13 hours to rescue him or he will turn into a goblin. Along the way she encounters its unusual inhabitants - friends Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus and foes The Firey’s and the Bog of Eternal Stench.

Hard to believe but Labyrinth was a box office flop and opened to mixed reviews, over the years, due it part to Bowie’s legacy, it has firmly become a cult classic and frequently sells out cinema screenings.

Labyrinth scores very highly across all Flixwatcher categories, only dropping a few points on small screen to score a very respectable 4.65 overall.

Enjoyed this episode? You can listen to Will and Kevin guest on Flixwatcher previously reviewing No Country for Old Men and The Karate Kid.

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Thanks to Episode #262 Crew of Will Collins (@WillumsFillum) and Kevin Lehane (@KevinLehane) from The Best Bits Podcast

Find their Websites online at https://t.co/vCWc79ISYv

And at https://www.kevinlehane.com/

And at https://www.casarotto.co.uk/clients/collins-will

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on Labyrinth, you can visit Labyrinth IMDb page here or Labyrinth Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midsommar is the 2019 second feature film from writer and director Ari Aster. Starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor

William Jackson Harper and Will Poulter as a group a friends invited to visit Sweden to experience an exclusive midsummer festival. After a family tragedy, the tensions in the relationship between Dani and her boyfriend Christian are out in the open. Despite her obvious fragile mental state she agrees to come along and it is not long before strange things start happening and the lines between reality and hallucinations become blurred.

Midsommar is an extremely vivid and imaginative folk horror than manages to move between the disturbing and the amusing with ease. Anchored by a phenomenal performance by Florence Pugh helps the two hour and 27 minute run time feel light.

The Podcast Nobody Asked For has to date recommended Midsommar 146 times - therefore it was not a surprise that their scores for recommendabilty were the full five. Slightly lower scores for small screen - this is film best viewed with an audience on a big screen - gives an overall rating of 4.15.

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Thanks to Episode #261 Crew of Ian Harries (@lordharries) and Graham Jones from The Podcast Nobody Asked For

Find their Websites online at https://thepodcastnobodyasked4.captivate.fm/

And at https://twitter.com/nobodyasked4pod

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on Midsommar, you can visit Midsommar IMDb page here or Midsommar Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karen Gabay (TV producer, award-winning film maker, exhibition curator and radio presenter) and Lissi Simpson (development assistant, script writer and director) return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Karen’s choice The Black Godfather.

The Black Godfather is a 2019 documentary about Clarence Avant, known as “the godfather of black music”, directed Reginald Hudlin and distributed by Netflix.

Clarence is a man who knows everyone and yet no one outside of the industry knows him. He helped launch the career of Bill Withers, promoted Michael Jackson’s Bad tour and gave Sean (Puff Daddy) Combs a safe passage out of LA the weekend Biggie Smalls was killed.

It has no shortage of celebrities chipping in on their memories of Clarence with Bill Clinton,Bill Withers, Jam and Lewis, Quincy Jones, Barack Obama, David Geffen, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Snoop Dogg, Kamala Harris, Jamie Foxx, Jim Brown and Lionel Richie all appearing. Heavy on guest appearances but light on digging deeper into the man himself despite the close to two hours run time.

With high scores across all categories, especially in recommendability The Black Godfather scores a very impressive 4.29 overall.

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Thanks to Episode #260 Crew of Karen Gabay (@KazGabay) and Lissi Simpson (@lissi_SW)

Find their Websites online at https://www.karengabay.co.uk/

And at http://lissisimpson.co.uk/

Please make sure you give them some love

For more info on The Black Godfather, you can visit The Black Godfather IMDb page here or The Black Godfather Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liam H Dempsey (Spocklight podcast) and Chris Johnston (Easy Riders Raging Podcast, The Spielberg pod) return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Liam’s choice Jack Reacher.

Jack Reacher is the 2012 action thriller based on Lee Child’s novel One Shot starring Tom Cruise as Reacher and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Jai Courtney, Robert Duvall and Werner Herzog also star.

A former US Army sniper James Barr is accused of killing five seemingly random people in broad daylight. Evidence would indicate a clear cut case but under interrogation Barr writes "Get Jack Reacher" and it becomes apparent all is not what it would seem.

Highlights of Jack Reacher are undoubtedly Werner Herzog’s Zek, who manages to steal every scene he is in and has the best lines “I chewed these fingers off before the frostbite could turn to gangrene.” The action is fairly solid but doesn’t quite hit the same as the Cruise - McQuarrie Mission Impossibles.

Scores for Jack Reacher were firmly in the threes, not great but not bad, regardless of whether Cruise was too short to play Reacher and it scores a very solid 3.25 overall.

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Thanks to Episode #259 Crew of Liam H Dempsey​ (@LiamHDempsey) and Chris Johnston (@spocklightpod)

Find their Websites online at https://twitter.com/ERRPodcast

And at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/spocklight-a-star-trek-podcast/id1150816497?mt=2

And at https://twitter.com/BBCSussex

And at https://twitter.com/BBCSurrey

For more info on Jack Reacher, you can visit Jack Reacher IMDb page here or Jack Reacher Rotten Tomatoes page here.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flixwatcher Podcast you probably know other people who will like it too! Please share it with your friends and family, review us, and join us across ALL of the Social Media links below.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices