NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BLOOD PRISON, 11/07/20

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BLOOD PRISON

Trailer         

Synopsis

Being convicted of a crime he did not commit, Naruto is sent to an inescapable prison. Whilst planning his escape Naruto has to contend with his chakra being locked away by the prison warden.

Cinema

Streaming (Japanese with English Subtitles) / Netflix

Run Time

One hour, Forty Eight minutes (1h, 48m)

Movie Rating

59%

Age Rating

12 (Action / Animation / Adventure / Comedy)

Cast

Naruto Uzumaki – Junko Takeuchi
Sakura Haruno – Chie Nakamura
Yamato – Rikiya Koyama
Kakashi Hatake  – Kazuhiko Inoue
Tsunade – Masako Katsuki
Shikamaru Nara – Showtaro Morikubo
Choji Akimichi – Kentarō Itō
Kiba Inuzuka – Kōsuke Toriumi
Neji Hyūga – Kōichi Tōchika
Tenten – Yukari Tamura
Might Guy – Masashi Ebara
Sai – Satoshi Hino
Rock Lee – Yoichi Masukawa
Gamabunta – Hiroshi Naka
A / Fourth Raikage – Hideaki Tezuka
Killer Bee – Hisao Egawa
Samui – Hikari Yono
Omoi – Kunihiro Kawamoto
Karui – Yuka Komatsu
Mui – Masaki Terasoma
Ryuūuzetsu – Mie Sonozaki
Muku/Satori – Yūichi Nakamura
Muku/Satori (Child) – Kengo Kawanishi
Kazan – Kōsei Hirota
Maori – Takaya Kamikawa

Movie details

Mid – Credits: No

End – Credits: Yes (Flashback to an earlier event in the movie)

Before the Review: Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and impacting people’s lifestyles, people are still panic buying and unfortunately, the cinema remains closed. Moving on again, Gilead Sciences (A pharmaceutical company) will charge the United States 25% more than the rest of the world for its Coronavirus drug, Remdesivir, Oxford University has moved ahead to lead the vaccine race for COVID-19 and as lock-down easing measures continues, a large truck with a very restless driver decided to overtake at least four vehicles waiting for a van to reverse into a junction with a mini roundabout a few yards away and almost collided with an oncoming... van. Some really bad road transformations makes some drivers really anxious and frustrated?

Review:  A full cast is back, but playing a more limited role than they did in an earlier movie (Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Inheritors of the Will of Fire). The movie is a bit out there with the supernatural element, much like Naruto Shippuden The Movie: the Lost Tower. It felt very much like an Indiana Jones movie, except there is a prison break involved. A few elements at play but the most shocking of all, was Naruto actually thinking outside the box. The trailer above from 1:21 did not occur in the movie.

I really believe that Naruto actually grew in this movie. Although he is “alone” within the confines of the prison, it was somewhat controversial to see him, a 16 year old, thrown in there with grown-ups who are murderers and thieves. But he is a Jinchuriki for the Nine – Tails within him so it is expected of us, the audience, to believe that he can hold his own. A fight scene actually contained some humour, which is quite rare in Naruto Shippuden, unless he is training. Some climatic scenes made for good viewing.

BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT, 28/06/20

BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT

Trailer         

Synopsis

Scouring the dark streets of Gotham City to find the elusive and infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper, this is a Victorian era re-imagining of Batman using his brute strength, wits and steampunk-style gadgets.

Cinema

Streaming

Run Time

One hour, Eighteen minutes (1h, 18m)

Movie Rating

73%

Age Rating

15 (Action / Animation / Adventure / Fantasy /Crime / Horror / Mystery / Thriller)

Cast

Batman / Bruce Wayne – Bruce Greenwood
Selina Kyle – Jennifer Carpenter
Alfred Pennyworth – Anthony Head
Father Callahan – Chris Cox
Police Chief Bullock – John DiMaggio
Cyrus Gold – David Forseth
Sister Leslie Thompkins, Jason Todd and Selina Kyle (Singing Voice) – Grey Griffin
Mayor Tolliver – Bob Joles
Harvey Dent – Yuri Lowenthal
Dickie Grayson – Lincoln Melcher
James Gordon – Scott Patterson
Hugo Strange – William Salyers
Timmy Drake / Marlene Mahoney – Tara Strong
Arkham Radio Man – Bruce Timm
Barbara Eileen Gordon and Pamela “Ivy” Isley – Kari Wuhrer

Movie details

Mid – Credits: No

End – Credits: No

Before the Review: Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and impacting people’s lifestyles, people are still panic buying and unfortunately, the cinema remains closed. Moving on again, the beaches were packed out on 24/06/20 – 25/06/20, sparking fears of a second Coronavirus wave, apparently the UK's “game changing” antibody tests are under scrutiny as they only test if you have had the virus but not if you’ve built up an immunity to it and a pickup truck ran a red light on a motorway exit slip roundabout and was followed by a van who joined at the next entrance without stopping whilst another, older people carrier forced its way onto and exited at its first junction. Crazy drivers...

Review: Well, there is definitely a twist on Jack the Ripper’s big identity reveal here. When you feel like you have figured it out, you are thrown a pretty big curve ball, which I feel was very well handled. The lead up to the big reveal seems a bit sinister, but given the aura of reputation surrounding Jack the Ripper, you probably wouldn’t expect anything less.

The movie does well to capture the setting of the Victorian era, where many may feel, by today's standards anyway, that this was a whole different time and in some aspects, still playing catch up. This is reflected in the movie quite well, the twists and turns making for unpredictable sequences throughout the movie. It feels like London, before you realise it is Gotham City.

Although “the Batman” is already established, the movie simply gets going when Batman is introduced to ensure that audiences know what to expect. As a Batman movie, no supporting cast of other heroes are needed, but with Alfred Pennyworth involved, sometimes you feel that he is balancing Bruce Wayne and Batman, which makes you appreciate the character a little bit more. A sequel is possibly teased as well.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: THE LOST TOWER, 20/06/20

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: THE LOST TOWER

Trailer         

Synopsis

Naruto is sent back in time to the city of Rouran, after being caught up in chakra ritual. A chance encounter in the past might send him back to his own timeline and possibly save the future.

Cinema

Streaming (Japanese with English Subtitles) / Netflix

Run Time

One hour, Twenty Five minutes (1h, 25m)

Movie Rating

57%

Age Rating

12 (Action / Animation / Adventure / Fantasy / Moderate Violence)

Cast

Naruto Uzumaki – Junko Takeuchi
Sakura Haruno – Chie Nakamura
Yamato – Rikiya Koyama
Young Kakashi – Mutsumi Tamura
Sai – Satoshi Hino
Minato Namikaze – Toshiyuki Morikawa
Young Guy – Mayuki Makiguchi
Young Asuma – Fujiko Takimoto
Tsunade – Masako Katsuki
Shizune – Keiko Nemoto
Third Hokage / Hiruzen Sarutobi – Hidekatsu Shibata
Jiraiya – Hōchū Ōtsuka
Shibi Aburame – Kenji Hamada
Chōza Akimichi – Nobuaki Fukuda
Sāra – Saori Hayami
Sēramu – Yumi Tōma
Mukade / Anrokuzan – Ryūzaburō Ōtomo
Masako – Yuko Kobayashi
Sarai – Fujiko Takimoto

Movie details

Mid – Credits: Yes (Montage for movie and flashback to the anime series)

End – Credits: No

Before the Review: Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and impacting people’s lifestyles, people are still panic buying, but not to the news worthy levels seen during the beginning of the pandemic and unfortunately, the cinema remains closed. Moving on again, the Coronavirus alert level for the UK has been lowered from four to three (4 à3) and is also considering a downgrade of the two metre gap to a one metre gap, the UK is also using Dexamethasone to treat COVID-19 patients which is being used in the NHS (Exercise caution though, it is not a cure / vaccine), and two joggers appeared to wantonly run across the road which forced the oncoming driver to initiate an emergency stop.

Review: Taking a break from the full cast of the previous movie, a makeshift Team Seven has their hands full. Given an element of the movie concerning some major jutsu’s of certain characters from the anime, I was disappointed to not see them show up in the movie. However, that can be excused due to the surprising maturity of one future Fourth Hokage, a younger Minato Namikaze (Although in Naruto’s timeline, he already occupied the position).

Some characters, although they made the cast, feature pretty much as extras to help push the story forward. It is sort of inspiring to see how one particular character, although a huge part of Naruto (including Shippuden) was more or less shaped by his past, which led to his development throughout the series as someone interesting in the series for audiences to enjoy their presence, even though I was more intrigued with Minato Namikaze’s on screen presence.

As expected, some humour at certain parts of the movie. There did also appear to be a possible plot-hole where Minato Namikaze speaks but it is muted and I guess we’ll have to wait and see whether this is resolved in future movies or not. This takes place during an emotional scene where once again, Minato Namikaze’s maturity but more importantly, his intelligence and skill are brought to light.

BATMAN VS TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, 13/06/20

BATMAN VS TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Trailer         

Synopsis

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles team up with Batman and some members of the Bat family to do battle with Shredder, Ra’s Al Ghul and The League of Assassins.

Cinema

Streaming (Japanese with English Subtitles)

Run Time

One hour, Twenty Seven minutes (1h, 27m)

Movie Rating

100%

Age Rating

12 (Action / Animation / Violence)

Cast

Batman / Joker – Troy Baker
Leonardo – Eric Bauza
Raphael – Darren Criss
Donatello – Baron Vaughn
Michelangelo – Kyle Mooney
Damian Wayne / Robin – Ben Giroux
Barbara Gordon / Batgirl – Rachel Bloom
Alfred Pennyworth – Brian George
Commissioner Gordon and Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow – Jim Meskimen
Shredder / Oroku Saki – Andrew Kishino
Ra’s Al Ghul – Cas Anvar
Harvey Dent / Two – Face and Dr. Baxter Stockman – Keith Ferguson
Penguin / Oswald Cobblepot – Tom Kenny
Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy / Dr. Pamela Isley and Pizza Delivery Girl – Tara Strong
Mr Freeze / Dr. Victor Fries – John DiMaggio
Bane – Carlos Alazraqui

Movie details

Mid – Credits: No

End – Credits: Yes (Possible sequel teaser)

Before the Review: Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and impacting people’s lifestyles, people are still panic buying and unfortunately, the cinema remains closed. Moving on again, with the easing of lock-down, you can now have people in your gardens (not inside your houses / flats / accommodation), single people can now, allegedly, stay the night with loved ones and as some popular restaurants begin to open (Drive – Thru’s only), ill tempered people are still showing how much the pandemic has not changed them for the better, at least not for the camera’s rolling... yet.

Review: So, Batman is teaming up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or is he battling them? The title seems to contradict the synopsis. But anyway, the age rating is rightfully 12 and should not be watched with young children as there is violence involved. Nickelodeon may be attached to the movie, but this is a Batman movie as well, so expect some dark scenes not suitable for young children.

It’s not a dark movie, Michelangelo has seen to that there are lots of comedic moments, including some from Batman himself. I used to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a child and was rather sceptical about them appearing alongside Batman. On paper, it seems like a complete mismatch, as the humorous Michelangelo, scientist Donatello, body builder / always seemingly angry Raphael and leader Leonardo all work in tandem because they are brothers, on a children’s show.

But when you consider Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello are similar to Batman (It’s like watching aspects of Batman being rolled into one, minus Michelangelo for the humour), it does make for good viewing. Should there be a sequel, I believe the end – credits will play a part or maybe in possible future crossovers between Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: INHERITORS OF THE WILL OF FIRE, 09/06/20

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: INHERITORS OF THE WILL OF FIRE

Trailer         

Synopsis

Four ninjas from the Hidden Villages of Sunagakure (Sand), Kumogakure (Cloud), Kirigakure (Mist) and Iwagakure (Stone), all possessing Kekkei Genkai (Unique Bloodline Limit abilities) suddenly go missing, sparking fears of another ninja (Shinobi) war if they are not found

Cinema

Streaming (Japanese with English Subtitles) / Netflix

Run Time

One hour, Thirty six minutes (1h, 36m)

Movie Rating

44%

Age Rating

12 (Action / Animation / Fantasy)

Cast

Naruto Uzumaki – Junko Takeuchi
Sakura Haruno – Chie Nakamura
Kakashi Hatake – Kazuhiko Inoue
Sai – Satoshi Hino
Neji Hyuga – Kōchi Tōchika
Shino Aburame – Shinji Kawada
Hinata Hyuga – Nana Mizuki
Shikamaru Nara – Showtaro Morikubo
Choji Akimichi – Kentarō Itō
Ino Yamanaka – Ryōka Yuzuki
Kiba Inuzuka – Kōsuke Toriumi
Rock Lee – Yōichi Masukawa
Tenten – Yukari Tamura
Gaara – Akira Ishida
Kankuro – Yasuyuki Kase
Temari – Romi Park
Tsunade – Masako Katsuki
Shizune – Keiko Nemoto
Jiraiya – Hōchū Ōtsuka
Sasuke Uchiha – Noriaki Sugiyama
Kotetsu Hagane – Tomoyuki Kōno
Izumo Kamizuki – Tomohiro Tsuboi
Teuchi – Eisuke Asakura
Hiruzen Sarutobi – Hidekatsu Shibata
Asuma Sarutobi – Jūrōta Kosugi
Obito Uchiha – Sōsuke Komori
Rin – Haruhi Terada
Taiseki – Kanji Suzumori
Hiruko – Sōichirō Hoshi
Ichi – Yoshimitsu Shimoyama
Ni – Junko Minagawa
San – Hideo Watanabe

Movie details

Mid – Credits: No

End – Credits: Not really (A message from Naruto creator, Masashi Kishimoto)

Before the Review: Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and impacting people’s lifestyles, people are still panic buying and unfortunately, the cinema remains closed. Moving on again, AstraZeneca is proposing a possible mass production of a COVID-19 vaccine, mass protests broke out over the death of George Floyd after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his throat for eight minutes, and for the first time COVID-19 fatalities in the UK dropped to pre lock-down levels, although how long that will last given the situations taking place where people are not social distancing is anyone’s guess.

Review:

This movie was quite action packed and it’s broad cast being given a chance on the big screen was quite pleasing to see. This also is the first movie to link back to the anime series, making references to earlier points, even if they were filler episodes. Bizarrely, this felt more like a cinema worthy movie compared to most previous ones. The references made between the movie and anime help to drive the story forward.

As someone who has been watching the original serious (Shippuden), it was nice to see that finally the movies are linking back to the anime and not being standalone. It feels like I am watching a shared universe (Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe) but between the anime and movie. But as a precaution, even though the segments stand on their own, should people want to explore them more, and then perhaps refer to the filler episodes where they are located in the anime.

There is a point in the movie that perhaps inspires Orochimaru’s experimentation nature in the anime / manga. Team 7 (Consisting of Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Kakashi) are once again heavily involved, although the other teams (8, 9 and 10) also lend some support. As usual, Naruto and Sakura provide the humour. As battle lines are being drawn in the movie, you have to wonder where suddenly all those siege weapons came from?

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BONDS, 24/05/20

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BONDS

Trailer  

Synopsis

A group of mysterious ninja from the Land of the Sky suddenly make a surprise attack on Konoha, owing to the latter nearly destroying them during the last Shinobi World War. The country survived and is now targeting Konaha and their ally, the Fire Country, for revenge.

Cinema

Streaming (Japanese with English Subtitles) / Netflix

Run Time

One hour, Thirty three minutes (1h, 33m)

Movie Rating

77%

Age Rating

12 (Action / Animation / Fantasy)

Cast

Naruto Uzumaki – Junko Takeuchi
Sakura Haruno – Chie Nakamura
Sasuke Uchiha – Noriaki Sugiyama
 Kakashi Hatake – Kazuhiko Inoue
Sai – Satoshi Hino
Neji Hyuga – Kōchi Tōchika
Shino Aburame – Shinji Kawada
Hinata Hyuga – Nana Mizuki
Shikamaru Nara – Showtaro Morikubo
Choji Akimichi – Kentarō Itō
Tsunade – Masako Katsuki
Shizune – Keiko Nemoto
Jiraiya – Hōchū Ōtsuka
Orochimaru – Kujira
Kabuto Yakushi – Nobutoshi Canna
Yamato – Rikiya Koyama
Amaru – Motoko Kumai
Shinno – Unshō Ishizuka

Movie details

Mid – Credits: Not really

End – Credits: Yes (Non sequel related)

Before the Review: The trailer is in English as the Japanese one contained Chinese subtitles. More to the point, Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and impacting people’s lifestyles, people are still panic buying and unfortunately, the cinema remains closed. Moving on again, Moderna, an American biotech company, has successfully completed “Phase 1” of human trials, whereby people developed antibodies against COVID-19, however another pharmaceutical company, Astrazeneca, is looking to “upstage” them, pending successful phases, to begin shipping the vaccine in September. Lock-down is being eased but with some governments being wary of a second wave and a burglar was caught and arrested after breaking wind from his hiding place... *Eye-roll*

Review:

This time, Sasuke Uchiha is on the cast credits because he does, in fact, appear in the movie, and does play a substantial role. He reminds me of Vegeta (of Dragonball Z / Super fame) in that he continually pushes the main character to become stronger, and even though they may be rivals, it is healthy and the endgame usually serves both interests, in a positive manner.

Shino Aburame is another character I can sometimes relate to (minus being a bug user), in terms of his over thinking personality, which given the current global situation, quite a bit of people could be doing a lot of as well. Although Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi have been around since the first Naruto series, this movie marks their first appearances, although how the events of the movie tie in to their future appearances remains to be seen.

Like you see on some television shows and movies, some characters are created exclusively for them (for example, Chloe Sullivan from Smallville), so their continuity is usually short lived and unique in itself. Quite a few characters again are reduced to "extra" status. The movie was quite confusing at times and at one point, I thought it would develop a plot hole, but this was cleared up in the end – credits. 

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: THE MOVIE, 17/05/20

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: THE MOVIE

Trailer         

Synopsis

Whilst trying to escape a prediction relating to his own death, Naruto must protect Shion, a priestess, and help her fulfil a mission to defeat an evil demon and save the world, whilst also having to contend with a mysterious group of ninja with assassination plans.

Cinema

Streaming (with English Subtitles)

Run Time

One hour, Thirty five minutes (1h, 35m)

Movie Rating

84%

Age Rating

12 (Action / Adventure / Animation / Anime  / Family / Fantasy)

Cast

Naruto Uzumaki – Junko Takeuchi
Sakura Haruno – Chie Nakamura
 Kakashi Hatake – Kazuhiko Inoue
Rock Lee – Yōichi Masukawa
Neji Hyuga – Kōchi Tōchika
Tsunade – Masako Katsuki
Shizune – Keiko Nemoto
Might Guy – Masashi Ebara
Shikamaru Nara – Showtaro Morikubo
Temari – Romi Park
Shion – Ayumi Fujimura
Miroku – Fumiko Orikasa
Taruho – Yoshinori Fujita
Moryo – Seizō Katō
Yomi – Hidetoshi Nakamura
Gitai – Kishō Taniyama
Setsuna – Katsuyuki Konishi
Susuki – Daisuke Kishio
Kusuna – Tetsuya Kakihara
Shizuku – Miyuki Sawashiro

Movie details

Mid – Credits: No

End – Credits: Yes

Before the Review: Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and impacting people’s lifestyles, people are still panic buying (One customer in Lidl bulk bought UHT milk) and unfortunately, the cinema remains closed. Moving on again, a Swiss pharmaceutical company (Roche Group) has developed a 100% accuracy antibody test to see who has developed immunity against Coronavirus, lockdown measures are easing in the UK (although if it is safe to do so, only time will tell), protests seem to be breaking out against the lockdown, Brexit talks seem to have stalled, again and The Sun (Star seen in the sky, not the newspaper) is currently in a phase of solar minimum, according to NASA...

Review: The third Naruto movie swaps Sasuke Uchiha with Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee, to round off Team 7. Contrary to other sources, Sasuke Uchiha does not make an appearance in the movie. Aside from Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga and Sakura Haruno, the other characters from Konoha who round off a much larger cast have roles akin to extras in the movie. Rock Lee's fight scene is one to watch out for.

The first movie entry in the Naruto Shippuden series starts with a bang and continues throughout. Similar themes are used in which Naruto takes issue with some characters decision making within the movie and this is then used to uplift the individual(s) to influence an outcome. There were moments which felt like Sasuke Uchiha may have made an appearance, but ultimately, he did not.

By Shippuden’s beginning, Sasuke Uchiha had already left Konoha. It is good to see other characters from Konoha finally getting some screen time. The up-tempo feel of the movie somehow manages to draw you in with some twists and turns along the way. The end credit scene seems to also hint at Naruto’s cluelessness at certain requests, much to the annoyance of others, albeit quite humorously.