Monday 7 April 2008

28 Weeks Later

Criminally under-rated outside the world of media, zombies are one of those incredibly essential aspects to films. There is a formidable quantity of horror films, well-known for their often natural talents in frightening and petrifying the audience, and zombies have played an immense role in the pointless scare entertainment of the world. '28 Weeks Later', the interesting title to the sequel of '28 Days Later', follows in the trend of blending typical horror and zombies. It's not an atmospheric, weirdly-angled horror film, though, with jump moments at every available opportunity. Is it better or worse? It's difficult to say, really.

'28 Weeks Later' shows how the victims of a zombie threat have slowly recovered and rebuilt their lives. There are restricted areas all over the place, but the film focuses not on curious characters venturing out into dangerous locations (although some of the main characters do wander out in search of a picture of their mother). The birds-eye views of the city help give an idea of the setting, as the film is pretty much how that recovered city falls once more to the might of the damned.

'28 Weeks Later' looks awesome in Blu-Ray quality, with the aforementioned birds-eye views really bringing out a tremendous feel, but what of the audio? You can be sure to expect some pretty clear zombie roars and gunshots, but as far as music is concerned, the soundtrack is pretty non-existant. This can be seen as both a good and bad thing. Granted, there is no music in the film which will make you want an audio CD, nothing really memorable and legendary, but there is a good bit of very repetitive music from the guitar and a few other instruments. This repetition lends some atmosphere to the film, helps build tension. The film doesn't really need these aspects, though.

As I've said before, '28 Weeks Later' is not successful for atmosphere. Rather, it's successful for the destruction of a small, recently-revived city. It's typical, though, because just as a potential cure is found, with this cure comes the virus, whose host obliterates the source of the cure and goes on to infect practically every other denizen of the city. Much of '28 Weeks Later' is seen of around six characters trying to escape from the disasters which would kill them if they stayed in the city, two of these characters intent on delivering the final two sources of a potential cure to safety.

This is about as tense and dramatic as it gets. '28 Weeks Later' terrifies its audience with the horrific concept of the virus and its victims' transformations to the vicious, hostile monsters which spell doom out for mankind. Some sections are so bloody and violent, so sadist and vicious, horrifyingly unbelievable, it's difficult to not consider switching the entire film off. You won't switch it off, though. And why? Because it's a damn good film. Despite the blitzes when it comes to soundtrack and a general feel of pointlessness in the antagonism (although terrifying, they don't really show off any intimidation, and aren't otherwise awesome), you'll enjoy nearly everything in the film.

Four Out Of Five.

Friday 7 March 2008

One-Hundred-And-One Dalmatians

Weirdly, I was never a massive fanatic of '101 Dalmatians' when I was younger, despite the film being stereotyped for a younger audience. I wasn't even that bothered about purchasing the DVD, but I couldn't resist upon seeing the Platinum Edition. I got the disc on Monday. It is now Friday. I have seen this film once every day for five days. I don't think that's happened to me with any other film. That's how good this film is.

From the minute Pongo starts narrating, you know it's something special. It begins with such a distinct sense of character, wit and some slight humour, and this is carried on through the first few sections. You see up from the introductions to Pongo and Roger until when Pongo, Roger, Perdita and Anita are going for a walk when the puppies are asleep, the film follows such a happy, carefree motion, rather reminiscent of the likes of 'The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh' and 'My Neighbour Totoro'.
Then this changes to a more sinister motion, but no matter how much you were enjoying the previous motion, you won't mind, because this adds yet more wit and humour to the film, as well as sets an awesome plot for Pongo and Perdita to follow. It introduces action and adventure to the film, and is totally beneficial. This adventure allows us to meet a variety of truly unforgettable characters. I am incredibly overjoyed with the epic Sergeant Tibbs, and the Colonel is pretty cool too.

The antagonists are also awesome. At first you'll think Cruella DeVil is just a side villain, a minor setback, like Kaa from 'The Jungle Book' and Boba Fett from 'Star Wars'. However, certain scenes prove her to be a really epic villain. She is portrayed with such an evil obsession that you can't help but leap back when the camera zooms in on her freaky, unreal eyes. And these scenes are just small examples of the brilliance of others. Every scene here - particularly the ones with Sergeant Tibbs and the Colonel in them - are totally amazing to watch, and evidently, to hear, as well.
Although the soundtrack isn't something you'd want to listen to without an on-screen divertion, it certainly compliments the film extremely well. While some things like 'Cruella DeVil' are awesome songs, you'll likely be more impressed by how well the audio fits in with the on-screen action. There is such distinct attention to detail that you can't help but ponder how much effort has gone into this film.

'101 Dalmatians' treats its viewers in every single aspect, and is something you will be able to watch over and over and over again. Films don't come much better, and with the limited edition (and they really mean limited edition) Platinum Edition just become available, it is something which should be purchased without hesitation.

Five Out Of Five.

3:10 To Yuma

Referring back to my review of 'Ratatouille', I mentioned cowboys as one of those undeniably awesome things which make something amazing. No doubt all that rootin'in' and tootin'in' has gotten me desperate for some wild western action, and while 'Toy Story' is all fine and well, I'd be much more intrigued by something a bit more sophisticated.

'3:10 To Yuma' is exactly what I needed. Forget the fact that there are cowboys in it. This film has such an epic storyline, excellent fight scenes and character development. As in proper character development. It's not like when Nemo's like "I don't hate you dad" or when Hercules wants to stay with Megara all of a sudden. Those happen too quickly to be notable. In '3:10 To Yuma' you can literally see the characters developing every inch between when the film starts and ends.



The most obvious example is the film's main antagonist, Ben Wade. His changed are very blatant, although I won't spoil it. Dan Evans and his son also experience dramatic changes, the latter changing from a stuck-up git to somebody a bit more likable. This impressive character development compliments the excellent storyline. Outlaw Ben Wade manages to get himself captured where he is sentenced to a public hanging, and is accompanied by poverty-strucken rancher Dan Evans and various other associates as he is escorted to the 3:10 train to Yuma.


Tailing Ben Wade's captors are his band of the most rootin'est, tootin'est cowboys in the wild west (excluding Woody). The fierce pursuit multiplies the initial outstanding danger tenfold and certainly increased my overall impressions of the film. As far as cowboy films go, '3:10 To Yuma' is a stunner, not only in the aforementioned storyline and character development, but also in the action. Being a film which is very cruel to its protagonists (arguably, though, it values its antagonists, although this is really just to make one of the best endings ever made), you never know what is going to happen when somebody has immediate access to a gun.




Sadly, '3:10 To Yuma' suffers scenes which one might dub 'tedious'. These sections are few and far between, but they are there, they are annoying and they are problematic. Thanks to a few slip-ups, I see it impossible to award '3:10 To Yuma' anything beyond four stars, something I can only apologise for, as in its own right, '3:10 To Yuma' has enough positive aspects to rival these negatives, just not enough to overshadow...

Four Out Of Five.

Saturday 1 March 2008

Ratatouille


There are some things in life which are too epic to be comared with anything else. These things are, and I'm sure legions of others shall agree with me: pirates, cowboys, ghosts, zombies, monkeys, bunny rabbits, chocolate milk, flying monkeys, giant insects, giant arachnids, dinosaurs, chickens, wizards, bears, penguins, robots, aliens, and a few others besides. 'Ratatouille' doesn't contain any of these, but Pixar have just added another memorable, least-likely member to this list. Rats.

'Ratatouille' is about a Norwegian rat named Remy who has a highly-developed sense of taste and smell, and wishes to become a fine chef. However, him being a rat and all, not many people are interested in allowing a rat into their kitchens. At least not anybody I know (excepting me). Enter Linguini, a French garbage-boy who is accidentally bumped into the concept of cooking for Gusteau's restaurant.

Linguini discovers that Remy, who has very recently lost his family, can cook and understands humans, and so they combine their advantages together (Remy being an excellent cook and Linguini being able to appear human) to become the heart of one of both Pixar's and 2007's best films. 'Ratatouille' is unique and significant and charming and visually-stunning and well-written with an awesome concept and excellent musical score.

With the DVD/BRD of 'Ratatouille' comes two very enjoyable short films, 'Lifted' and 'Your Friend The Rat'. The awesome alien comedy 'Lifted' won't mean much to you if you have the first volume of the 'Pixar Short Films Collection', but the 'Ratatouille' spin-off 'Your Friend The Rat' is just as epic. Not only does it manage to be humourous, but also very educational and interesting and boasts an awesome song at the end titled 'We'll Follow You To Mars', a compilation which is hard to come by these days.

If you're a fanatic of Pixar's feature-length portfolio, 'Ratatouille' is pretty much essential and if you liked the 'Pixar Short Films Collection' then 'Your Friend The Rat' is a satisfactory addition. There's nothing which screams perfection like 'Ratatouille', a tradition which appears to have been realised since 'The Adventures Of Andre & Wally B.' all those years ago. And don't forget to look out for some past (and future) Pixar film references in both the feature-length film and the two short films.
Five Out Of Five.

Resident Evil: Extinction


I must admit I approached this film with extreme caution. I had heard too many times about the apparent rubbishness of 'Resident Evil: Extinction', with such comments as the fact it is unfaithful to the 'Resident Evil' game series. However, after watching the Blu-Ray version myself, I highly doubt that the director was intending to be faithful. Some games just aren't film material, so it would be common sense to alter a game franchise to benefit a licensed film, and the result in 'Resident Evil: Extinction's case is pretty damn fine.


It would appear that the 'Resident Evil' film franchise is critically doomed for all eternity, yet one can only wonder why. Besides some poor acting when it comes to the sinister Albert Wesker and over-awesomeness of the film's main protagonist, Alice (I know, it's weird), there are no wrongs I detected from the film. In fact, I'd say it was pretty bloody perfect. I thought it would be better than all the idiots abusing it who haven't seen it yet claimed it to be, but not really this good... particularly not for a licensed film.


One other negative point I noticed straight away about the film, and something which may have many Max Brooks obsessives in tears: 'Resident Evil: Extinction's T-virus zombies are not like 'The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From The Living Dead's or 'World War Z's Solanum and Voodoo zombies. However, the standard T-virus zombies are close to Max Brooks' descriptions, I'd say a combination of both species. A T-virus zombie hungers for human flesh, yet does not need it, and can last for several decades, much like the Solanum zombie. However, the rare T-virus zombie can be trained to do as a human instructs but does not need to have its brain destroyed to be killed, much like the Voodoo zombie.


While these flaws may prove disappointing to some fanatics of Mr. Brooks' undead literature, it is unlikely to be of any significance to anybody else. To anybody else, it's an excellent film with a solid storyline, epic action scenes and awesome characters. There are a good few action pieces throughout the film which the protagonists face, and many will be thankful to know that 'Resident Evil: Extinction' is not overly kind to its characters. There are very frequent and bloody deaths, a balanced share between good and evil. The characters are in as much danger as one would expect, but there are no ghosts of resurrection or fountains of youth or anything. These people are dead, and the film benefits highly from its own cruelty. Okay, there is an anti-virus, but goodness knows what happened to that.


In every scene Alice was in, I was extremely impressed. She is by far one of the coolest, epicest characters in the entire history of protagonism. Occasionally she's a little too awesome to prove believable and realistic, but she is still a mighty fine main character. She's not arrogant, but she's not weak. She's not unbeatable, but she's not stupid. She's not a lot of things, mostly negative adjectives.


'Resident Evil: Extinction' is a film worth watching. It's a film you must watch, actually. In fact, if you don't watch it, I will declare you a prejudiced Solanum-whore forever. It's that good. And don't get me started on the cliffhanger...
Five Out Of Five.

Friday 22 February 2008

Monsters Inc.


With this film, Pixar have twisted a deluded concept to make for intelligent and witty plot. I'm sure you have heard on more than one occasion about the monsters in the closet. With 'Monsters Inc.', Pixar focus on making it seem like that is the monsters' job, and they need the power of a child's screams to power their world.


The thing is, the monsters think that human children are the most toxic things possible, so when a child, Boo, escapes into Monstropolis, things get extremely crazy, with the Child Detection Agency (CDA) prowling around everywhere.


In 'Monsters Inc.', top scarer Sulley rivals the second-top scarer Randall to achieve the all-time scare record, but when Boo escapes neither protagonist nor antagonist cares about that most beloved goal any more. They just plan to find Boo. Sulley intends to send Boo back to the human world while Randall plans to test a certain scream-sucking device for his employer.


This feud mixed with the inventive setting and crossing of human and monsters makes for a grand adventure which proves to appease in many aspects. Truth be told, the film isn't exactly perfect. There are some bland sections where you just want the next scene to arrive, quite similar to the likes of 'Hercules' and 'The Lion King', actually. While these annoying factors do make the film less enjoyable, you will be still be thrilled with what's on offer.


I'm impressed by the many references to 'Toy Story'. There are two or three references in Boo's bedroom and three more in the credits, probably even more if you're willing to hunt for them. And since I've mentioned the credits, might I just add that the credits are wonderfully brilliant. The first part to the credits is a series of bloopers, weird additions which makes 'Monsters Inc.' seem like real actors are performing a live-action film. This goes to when Mike and Sulley are pretending to rehearse for a play, and overdo the singing and dancing. Then the next section actually goes through a play highlighting the key details to the release of Boo. And if that's not enough, there's a tremendously funny "NO MONSTERS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS MOTION PICTURE" at the end, something which demonstrates perfectly the hilarity and twisting that takes place in 'Monsters Inc.'


Four Out Of Five.

A Bug's Life


With the possible exception of 'Ratatouille', 'A Bug's Life' is perhaps my favourite Pixar film to date. With excellent characters, awesome visuals and a unique and downright hilarious concept, it totally surpasses its rivals such as 'Antz', perhaps more brilliant than 'Toy Story' and definitely better than its terrific successor 'Monsters Inc.'


Because you see, it all comes down to one epic formula. The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food and the grasshoppers eat the food. 'A Bug's Life' is about a bunch of grasshoppers who are frightened of the ants' sheer size and capabilities and so bully the ants into thinking they are inferior and require the grasshoppers' protection in exchange for the food.


One ant whom everybody hates, Flik, stands up to Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers and believes that they should be treated fairly, and so sets off on a journey to find some warrior bugs to help fight the grasshoppers. He comes across a bunch of circus bugs who are role-playing, pretending to be warriors, and he believes them to be telling the truth. The circus bugs go to Ant Island and are terrified to discover what they are expected to do.


'A Bug's Life's plot is intriguing, but wouldn't be half as awesome if it weren't for the characters. Dot (queen ant), Princess Atta (queen ant), Flik (ant), Hopper (grasshopper), Heimlich (caterpillar), Rosie (black widow), Dim (dung beetle), Tuck (woodlouse), Roll (woodlouse) and Thumper (grasshopper) amongst others help keep the film consistently amusing, humourous and exciting, all at the same time.


In my opinion, 'A Bug's Life' is a perfect film. If I had to choose a problem, it would have to be that the film is simply too perfect. 'A Bug's Life' is substantial enough in length, yet it is so brilliant that you are simply not satisfied by the ending. Pixar only ever make sequels if they can think of a storyline as good as its predecessor's, but I really hope they think of one for 'A Bug's Life' soon, because I am desperate for more insect awesomeness.


Five Out Of Five.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S: The Complete First Series


Excepting perhaps 'Phineas & Ferb' (because I'm that kind of sad git), 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' is probably my favourite television show of all time, and one of the only things which keeps me happy in this bland entertainment era. However, I must admit, the first series is what I am most disappointed in. Not because it's bad, but rather because its successors do it so much better.

You see, the series' first half is undeniably awesome, consistently hilarious and arguably perfect. The epic opener, 'The Pilot', introduces to us some of the most likable characters of all time. It begins in a coffee house, Central Perk, where Joey Tribbiani (the untalented actor), Joey's roommate Chandler Bing (the witty deprivee of his slut mother and gay father), Chandler's best friend Ross Geller (the boring paleantologist), Ross' sister Monica (the boyfriendless chef) and Monica's roommate Phoebe Buffet (the weird vegetarian singer) are discussing the recent discovery of Ross' wife Carol's lesbianism.

At that moment, Monica's best friend in high school, Rachel Green, bursts into the coffee house in a wedding dress, looking for Monica whom she hasn't seen in years. She has just left her fiance standing at the altar because she has realised that she loved her wedding gifts more than she loved her would-be husband.

This is only in the first few minutes of the first episode, and it is already incredibly twisted and daring, and states such legendary lines as "sometimes I wish I was a lesbian... did I say that out loud?" and entices you deeper into the stories of these characters before you have the time to question their existence with prejudice.
Half of the series carries on this traditional humour, yet the final half is nowhere near as awesome. A lot of wit and humour is lost, not enough for you to care, but enough to stand out when watching it. It feels as if it's focusing too much on Ross' undying love for Rachel, and not enough on pure hilarity. This curse is broken in the next season, but that's not really good enough, no matter how brilliant the series' cliffhanger is.
Something I admire about the series is how it has its major key story factors, keeps them consistently amusing throughout the season and then finishes them without disappointing you. Ross loses his monkey, Marcell, Carol gives birth to Ross' baby, Ross gets over his rivalry with Susan and also his love for Rachel while Rachel begins to fall in love with Ross.

If you could only purchase one boxset and then that's it, I definitely wouldn't recommend the first series as it is not as fabulous as its nine successors, but it is definitely an excellent beginning to a much-loved series, and one I would certainly recommend otherwise.

Four Out Of Five.

Saturday 16 February 2008

Toy Story


Pixar's first feature-length film, an improvement over the awesome 'Tin Toy' and the first in a very famous animated trilogy, 'Toy Story' is something I'm sure everybody has seen at some point in their lives.


When the film starts, you are treated to an entertaining introduction where a child, Andy, is playing with his toys, including his favourite toy Woody, a cowboy action figure. It is a very inventive yet realistic entertainment act. But once Andy and his baby sister, Molly, are gone, all this realism is warped into non-existence. Just like the characters in 'Tin Toy', the toys of 'Toy Story' are alive, each with their own distinct and unique personalities.


It is Andy's birthday party and, as always, the toys are frightened that Andy will get some presents which will replace them. The only two peope... toys... who aren't afraid of this supposed threat are Woody and his pard'ner Slinky. However, Andy gets a new favourite toy, a space ranger action figure, Buzz Lightyear, sparking a rivalry with Woody.


This rivalry leads to betrayal, hate, vengeance, loss, danger, danger and more, intense danger and eventually results in friendship. For a concept as basic as toys coming alive, 'Toy Story' is actually a rather complex film, and sporting brilliant visuals and a very suitable soundtrack, should threaten most contenders in a "best films of all time" list.


Pixar have done a lot with 'Toy Story's potential. It's as humourous as possible, as intelligent as possible, as ridiculous as possible and as believable as possible. Pixar have also included all sorts of references (such as books in a bookshelf containing the titles of various Pixar short films like 'Tin Toy', 'Red's Dream' and 'Knick Knack') and used 'Toy Story's trademarks as references in other films (the Pizza Planet van can be seen in both 'Finding Nemo' and 'Ratatouille' while the gas station is seen in 'Cars').


Pixar have done a lot with this film and it owes that we, the audience, return the favour. If you haven't seen it, hunt 'Toy Story' down, watch its successor, 'Toy Story 2', and promise you will see the upcoming 'Toy Story 3'. Another favourable Pixar review, and I can understand if one might presume me to be a biased fanboy, but when a company's entire portfolio is complete awesomeness, you can't blame my praise. 'Toy Story' really is that good.


Five Out Of Five.

Finding Nemo


Pixar. Possibly the greatest animators of all time. 'Finding Nemo'. Definitely an extremely popular film, one which broke sales charts upon its DVD release. Never before have Pixar actually disappointed me (excluding the lacking 'Mater And The Ghostlight' short film) and 'Finding Nemo' is no exception, with its unique and beautiful take on a slowly-tiring genre.


'Finding Nemo' is an action adventure set between the middle of the ocean and Sydney. Two clownfish are having several-thousand babies when they are attacked by a predating fish. Marlin, the father, attempts to protect his wife and children, but is swiftly knocked out. When he regains his conscience, he finds his family utterly destroyed, completely obliterated albeit a single egg, whom he names Nemo.


Fast forward a few years and Nemo is taken by a scuba-diving human to a fish tank in Sydney where he befriends a variety of other fish who have tried many times to escape from this tortorous container. They believe Nemo to be the key to their success and try many more times, intent on freeing Nemo before his captor gives him to his supposedly evil neice, Darla.


Nemo believes that his father won't come to rescue him because Marlin is afraid of the ocean. However, Marlin, who is accompanied by a very forgetful fish named Dory, end up seaching desperately for young Nemo, and encounter many dangers such as a minefield, a trio of herbivorous sharks, a school of jellyfish and a humoungous blue whale.


'Finding Nemo' succeeds in delivering an emotional film with a constant theme of loss without ever losing a sense of humour, such as when some young fish mistake the word "boat" for "butt" and go on to speack some legendary phrases "that's one big butt" and "I'm gonna touch the butt". Pixar make a lot of things in the film even funnier than their potential would suggest, and this is barely an overstatement.


'Finding Nemo' is very constantly commended and recommended, and because of this some people might accuse the film to be over-rated. I'll admit it's not the best film in the world, but this is purely because of a certain unknown quality. Technically speaking, 'Finding Nemo' is a perfect film with plenty of humour and emotional value to satisfy. Two fish looking for a baby fish might not be the most appealing thing in the world, but then again, a lot of brilliant things aren't. Just trust me when I say that 'Finding Nemo' is a rare film which will appease anybody and everybody.


Five Out Of Five.

Sunday 10 February 2008

The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep


This is a very, very different war film. A bunch of arrogant Scottish Allies have gone to stay at Loch Ness, expecting the Nazis plotting to send submarines through Loch Ness. The funny thing is that there are no Nazis; just one, very famous monster. Given the fact this mythical creature is the protagonist of the film, and it would be natural instinct of a man with a gun to shoot a dinosaur-cum-sea-serpent monster, you can imagine how intrigued I am at how 'The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep' manages to portray the apparently-heroic Allied soldiers as the antagonists.


In the film, one of the main characters describes the legend of the water horse. There can only be one water horse in the world at a time. When the monster grows old, it lays a single egg and cares for it, until it dies and the egg hatches into the next water horse. The water horse is both mother and father to the egg. In the film, the water horse of the World War II era grows up to be the much-loved Loch Ness tourist-whore.


Beside Loch Ness, a young boy named Angus who is terrified of water finds a significant rock buried under other rocks. He takes this rock home and it hatches into the baby water horse, growing magnificently with each passing day. The cute noises the Loch Ness monster makes are adorable and humourous, its reactions are similarly lovable and hilarious, and the animation is done perfectly, with the water horse emitting excellent character and charm.


'The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep' has you literally believing in the Loch Ness monster, taking everything which is being said as if it was real, aknowledging the existence of our loch's great celebrity. You'll watch in enthusiasm as the water horse zooms in and out of the various parts to the loch, you will consistently feel the pain of the poor beast and you'll sit back in soothing satisfaction at every gracious leap of the monster. The scenery is fantastic, the numerous events which happen equally commendable. Some things which I love about the film is how carefully the story is told to the audience, how the uniqueness and charm of the Loch Ness monster give 'The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep' a prideful sense of humour, and I absolutely adore the effective beginning and the very touching end of the film.


Honestly, I was anticipating this film for ages, but when I went to see it earlier today I wasn't really in the mood for some water-horsing around, yet I came out of the cinema as impressed as ever after seeing that brilliant piece of work. You are gripped to it from the very beginning, and despite what some critics have said, I actually found the pace to work remarkably well. There's barely anything I have to criticise about 'The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep'. Perhaps we could have been treated to some more underwater action and more overhead views of the water horse swimming the lengths of the entire loch. The film isn't predictable as such, there are many things you definitely wouldn't expect from what some might see as a children's fantasy tale, but at times you will have seen a certain part to the film coming. This isn't enough to deprive the film of my praise, though, and if you were sensible you'd go out to see this film as soon as possible.


Five Out Of Five.

The Simpsons Movie


'The Simpsons Movie' was always going to be very highly-anticipated and fanatics of the famous 'The Simpsons' comedy always had great expectations. After several years of pure hype, we were given the result of those years of work: a decent film, but a bitter disappointment.


The plot is so exaggeratedly impossible it's hilarious, and as soon as it starts, 'The Simpsons Movie' has you laughing to all manner of weird and wonderful jokes and puns. However, while this humour is fresh and funny, it begins to go downhill quite steeply.


There are some very blatant hilarity attempts which don't even work in making you smile, and this frustrating schrapnel in what was initially a humour explosion are probably what you'll despise most about the film.


Unlike such licensed films as 'The Rugrats Movie', 'The Simpsons Movie' is not made more flexible than the television series, thus making it feel like three traditional 'The Simpsons' episodes stringed together one after the other. To add to this unwanted familarity, it's as if these episodes consist of one of the really brilliant, superior episodes, one of the weak, inferior episodes and one of the average good-but-not-great episodes. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely not a fantastic thing either.


There's not really much more to comment about 'The Simpsons Movie'. What we see of Ralph Wiggum is fun, but there is barely enough of him to warrant your purchase, and such classic legends like Mr. Burns are barely as good as they should have been, dumped for less terrific characters such as the Environmental Protection Agency. Lisa's boyfriend seems to have been thrown in just to give Lisa a more significant role in the film, but might instead dampen the thoughts of her fanbase.


'The Simpsons Movie' is a decent film with enough references and minor twists to entertain for the first time around, but it's something you won't want to come back to and simply doesn't boast the flexibility or the humour that it should.


Three Out Of Five.

Wednesday 6 February 2008

Garfield: The Movie


I really have to question 'Garfield: The Movie'. The cartoon is traditionally a wacky series of normal events, and one half of the film is spent with just that, with the other being... exciting. 'Twas inevitable that the different, exciting section is the most entertaining, as ultimately, viewers are generally looking for something a bit different than what they can get on the television for free.


This isn't to say that the traditional part to 'Garfield: The Movie' is tedious. It is entertaining, just not entertaining enough. There are a lot of jokes which lack any of sense of humour whatsoever, but the film can also be immensly funny at times. I suppose this certain quality is similar to the cartoon series in a way.


The story goes that Jon is frequently taking Garfield to the verterinarian because he is attracted to one of the employees. She asks him if he can care for a dog named Odie and he agrees, bewildered. A rivalry forms between Garfield and Odie, and when Jon takes Odie to watch a dog show Garfield desperately sneaks into the car. Garfield attracts a legion of canines participating in a dog show and chase him, leaving their shocked owners, judges, audience and music behind. Hearing the music, Odie jumps down onto the stage and begins dancing as he was influenced by Garfield. One of the judges is so amazed by Odie's talents that he asks Jon if Odie may go into television. Jon denies this offer and the desperate judge manages to kidnap Odie, occurring from a chain of events which involved Garfield letting Odie outside at night. Feeling guilty, Garfield then goes on a mission to venture out his precious culdesac and rescue Odie.


The plot's nothing overly special although there is enough variety and quality to maintain your interest. At certain points the film becomes ridiculously absurd, and this suits the theme of the film perfectly. The direction is commendable, as almost every part of the film is nice to look at, and the acting is also pretty good.


What the film really needed was a few more fantastic, original scenes like the ones at the end. The film can get boring, and while this boredom is seldom available, it's still there.


In all, the film is an enjoyable watch and worth watching, although perhaps you might just want to consider renting.
Four Out Of Five.

The Very Best Of The Muppet Show: Volume Two


The most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetational... or so the title theme would suggest. 'The Muppet Show' must be very famous by now. There are tons of feature-length films, including such classics as 'Kermit's Swamp Years', 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' and 'Muppet Treasure Island'. There are also some pretty brilliant characters, like Blind Pew (stolen from 'Treasure Island'), Rizzo the rat, Camilla and Sweetums.


Weirdly, this DVD is neither feature-length nor boasts these brilliant characters, although there is enough of Gonzo the great, Statler, Waldorf, Animal and Beaker to keep viewers amused. The film is essentially a fifty-minute compilation of enticing sketches. For the most part these sketches are enjoyable, but this "very best" collection is badly cut, and you can almost always see exactly where things are cut. Not that this hampers the quality or anything...


Like the first volume before it, 'The Very Best Of The Muppet Show: Volume Two' opens with a very... different song. If you disliked the first volume's opening you'll be pleased to here that the second's is much better. It's titled 'Boogie In Barnyard' and it's far more appeasing than 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm', I'll gaurantee you that.


In general the sketches improve in quality, some being genuinely hilarous, others being amusing in some way or another. There are some really brilliant performances in this compilation and the charm of the Muppet characters enhance the awesomeness of these acts further. Ultimately, the film is too short to gaurantee your purchase, ditto for the first volume. I would recommend the disc just for greats like the Koozebanian act and Gonzo and his reflection singing "Act Naturally," but if you decide against this purchase you're not really missing anything compulsory.


Four Out Of Five.

Sunday 3 February 2008

The Lion King



'The Lion King' is probably one of the most famous, well-known and highly-commended films to date. About a king of beasts, Mufasa, who has a son, Simba, much to the disgust of Mufasa's brother, Scar, who wishes to be king, is a pretty solid tale of trickery, power and despair.




The film boasts everything you'd want. Decent storyline, impressive art style, awesome soundtrack and a whole herd of lovable characters, protagonists and antagonists alike, such as Timone the meerkat, Pumbaa the warthog and Ed the hyena, not to mention a great script and effective sense of humour. That's not to say that 'The Lion King' is the perfect film. Sometimes one could accuse the plot of droning on a bit, and when the final battle is so insignificant, you know there's something wrong.




Still, what's a little lack of action and utter intrigue when the African setting and animal characters offer some sweet adventure elements. These adventures, such as when the hyena chase Simba and Nala through the elephant graveyard, a similar event in the gorge and Simba's new lifestyle of Hakuna Matata are quite honestly my highlights to the film, and you can see that so much effort has gone into the design of these scenes and locations, a quality which is distinct and constant throughout the entire film.




A lot of the time, soundtrack can be painfully annoying, like when songs are inconveniently added and the film suffers from this. 'The Lion King' is a proud exception. Try as you might, it's difficult to deny the excellence of the soundtrack. There aren't so many songs that you could accuse 'The Lion King' of being a mere musical, but there are enough tunes in here to make you want to purchase the soundtrack. As far as I can remember, there are five proper songs, 'The Circle Of Life', 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King', 'Be Prepared', 'Hakuna Matata' and 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight', with a few more minor additions for humourous effect (take Timone's and Pumbaa's distraction plan, for instance).




'The Lion King' can occasionally seem like a tiresome and desperate lust for your attention, although these tedious sections are very few in quantity and very barely affect the quality. An enticing art style, lovable characters and songs and decent adventure scenes, with great script and comedy are surely enough to make up for these minor setbacks.




Four Out Of Five.

Hercules


I really like the Disney classics. Before Walt Disney died we were treated to some brilliant films like 'Sleeping Beauty', 'The Jungle Book', 'The Lion King' and 'The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh'. One of my personal favourites is 'Hercules', something which can be described as a funny and witty parody of Greek mythology.


The storyline isn't really anything special, something a great admirer of Greek mythology would either love or hate, and something your know-not-it-all might describe as pretty average. That's not to say the plot is poor, it's just quite insignificant, that's all. Zeus and Hera have a baby named Hercules, who is loved by (nearly) all of the gods and goddesses who present him with fabulous gifts. Hercules' parents give him a white horse with wings and blue hair called Pegasus. Hades, who is bitter with Zeus for giving him control of the Underworld, gatecrashes the party and immediately despises Hercules.


The future is told to Hades. "In fifteen years precisely, the cosmos will align ever so nicely. The time to act will be at hand, release the Titans, your monstrous band. The once-proud Zeus will finally fall, and you, Hades, will rule all. A word of caution to this tale, if Hercules fights you will fail." So in a desperate attempt to rule over all, Hades orders his henchmen Pain and Panic to kidnap Hercules, turn him mortal and then kill him by forcing him to drink a potion which will drain him of his godlike powers. The henchmen attempt to do this, but while they do manage to turn Hercules mortal, they are prevented from feeding Hercules the last drop, and so he retained his godlike strength. When Pain and Panic tried to kill Hercules, the young baby immediately dispatches of these would-be assassins.


Pain and Panic don't tell Hades that they failed on their mission, so the young mortal grows up to be mocked for his strength and he feels that he belongs somewhere else. He goes to the Temple of Zeus and prays for answers when lighting strikes and the statue of Zeus animates. Hercules is told of the kidnapping and the turning to mortality and that to return to his parents, Hercules must become a true hero on Earth. Zeus re-unites Hercules with the now-grown-up Pegasus and sends them to the residence of Philoctetes, a perverted satyr who trained many brilliant heroes such as Odysseus and Achilles.


When Hades finds out that Hercules is still alive, he gets really mad and throws all manner of mythological minions in the young warrior's path, hoping to kill the flaw of his plan. Thus, a whole host of mythical creatures are present in this film, such as the River Gaurdian, Cerberus, the Erymanthian Boar, the Hydra, Medusa, the Titans and the Nemean Lion, who bears a distinct resemblance to Scar from 'The Lion King'.


'Hercules' is a film which shows the terrific quality of Disney's animation, script and design efforts. The many monsters are essentially brilliant and some of these, specifically the Hydra and the Titans are produced in such an admirable artistic style, one would be pressured to find a film of the same legendary design.


There are a few annoying parts in the film (a torturous plague which infects in many films) but in general 'Hercules' is a film worth watching. I'm a little disappointed that we only saw most of the monsters very briefly and the battle with the Titans wasn't as rich in length as one would expect, but these are minor failings and we see enough of these awesome antagonists to warrant 'Hercules' a pretty decent score.


Four Out Of Five.

The Rugrats Movie


They seem to occur rather often, don't they? The turning of somewhat popular television shows into full-length feature films. One of the more recent attempts at delivering an excellent 'licensed' film is 'The Simpsons Movie', and while it is quite enjoyable, it has been criticised as feeling like three episodes of 'The Simpsons' played one after the other. To aim the same criticism at 'The Rugrats Movie' would most certainly be difficult to justify.

A minority of the film is reminiscent to the traditional episodes, but once the babies go for a ride in the perfect children's toy, all of that changed to become a truly flexible film for the characters. The story goes that Tommy's parents are due to have a girl baby the following week, and a baby shower is present. However, upon the screaming of Angelica, Didi (Tommy's mother) realises that the baby is coming.

Of course, with the young protagonists being babies and therefore somewhat misinformed, they think that the struggling of Tommy's mother is because her daughter hasn't showed up to the party. At the hospital, Tommy, Chuckie, Phil' and Lil' break out of the baby play-area they are contained in and go to a "baby store", looking for a baby Tommy's mother will like. When they are found again, Didi has given birth to a boy baby, named Dil'. They take him home and he ceases to do anything but cry.

Meanwhile, Stu (Tommy's father) is working on the "perfect children's toy" which he wants to send to a Japanese contest and win $500. Once Tommy and Dil' fight for a teddy bear, Stu takes Tommy to the basement and gives him a watch with a picture of Dil' and Tommy in it, and says that Tommy has responsibility, which involves said baby assuming that this clock is called a sponsitility, something he thinks is like the crumpass that Okey-dokey Jones uses when he gets losted.

The perfect children's toy, the Reptar Wagon, is in the hall awaiting the delivery men, and is seen by Chuckie, Phil' and Lil', who put Dil' in the wagon because they want to take Dil' back to the baby hospital and get Tommy's monies back. As Tommy objects to this, the spoilt Angelica enters and kicks the Reptar wagon, which takes the babies through the estate, into a matress delivery van which turns out to be more fun than picking noses or making bubbles in the bathtub, and eventually into the middle of a forest. Now the babies try to get to the lizard's house and have their wish to go back home granted.

What with the characters being babies and all, the script is immensly awesome. Almost everything that is said by the babies is made to sound very stupid and misleading. To have a feature-length film with tons of hilarious speech all the way through is brilliant, and the script rivals that of the witty 'Pirates Of The Caribbean', which is saying something.

Speaking of pirates, there's a nice scene in here where the Reptar Wagon falls into a river and begins propelling away with the babies. Thus, these miniature characters dress up as pirates and begin singing "A Pirate's Life Is A Life For Me, Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Yum." 'The Rugrats Movie' benefits highly from its inventive soundtrack. From Angelica's and Suzy's descriptions of babies, to the singing of the little organisms in the baby store, to the "I Am Reptar, Hear Me Roar" theme, to Angelica's and Spike's search for the stolen Cynthia (which is in the possession of 'Dil) to the singing of a bunch of circus monkies whose train has crashed into the same forest, 'The Rugrats Movie' is full of some catchy and ultimately brilliant songs.

There may be times where you aren't so impressed by the film, but there are certainly times where you will be. With a witty script and an awesome soundtrack, added to the complete breakthrough of the traditional 'Rugrats' formula, 'The Rugrats Movie' is a film one simply needs to see.

Four Out Of Five.

Wednesday 30 January 2008

F.R.I.E.N.D.S: The Complete Third Series


'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' is an excellent comedy, one of the very best television shows, and I'm sure many, many people will agree with me. I just cannot understand how anybody can bring themselves to deny its brilliance. Okay, the first season might only deserve 4/5, but every other series almost gaurantees a perfect five. The third season is a very memorable selection of scenes from 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S'.


'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' bears the same awesome strategy which Disney and Pixar are famous for: their likable characters. The characters in the show vary greatly from each other and the hilarity benefits from this factor. Ross is the over-obsessive, extremely-scientific paleantologist who's had a crush on Rachel for several years. Rachel is the under-experienced coffee waitress who became involved in the fashion industry and was a massive slut in high school. Monica was literally massive in high school, and although she has slimmed considerably, her past weakness is made fun of at various points of the programme. Joey is the idiotic Italian actor with no talent who has had sexual intercourse with nearly every woman in New York. When she was young, Phoebe's father abandoned her, her identical twin sister and her mother, with her mother subsequently committing suicide. Thus, Phoebe and Ursula were left living on the street, and the third season sees Phoebe take a very interesting step towards finding out about her family. Phoebe is not unintelligent as such, although she is drastically weird. Chandler's parents got divorced when he was nine, and since then he has used humour as a defence mechanism. His mother is seen as a very poor role model and his father is homosexual. Sometimes people think that Chandler is also gay.


Whilst on paper the characters might seem rather pointless, they're brilliance is constantly proven on screen. A vast majority of season three is spent looking at the relationships of Rachel and Ross, Monica and Richard and Monica and Pete. Joey builds up a crush for a fellow actress Kate and Chandler and Janice are also looked at. Phoebe is caught two-timing between a fireman and a teacher. Relationships may seem slightly generic, but the appearance of these relationships are significantly positive in the third series and help the characters 'mature'.

The script is amazingly amazing, with even the simplest of concepts made really funny. It's really hard to find an appropriate example because almost every single part of every single episode is worth watching. For instance, Monica and Richard have decided not to see each other because Monica desperately wants children, but Richard clearly does not. However, upon a random meeting, they begin to form another sexual relationship and imply it is just what they do "as friends." Eventually, Monica states that she thinks they should be "friends who don't see anybody" or who "maybe one day go up in front of our other friends and vow to be friends forever." Perhaps that's not the most humourous extract, but it's definitely a witty section and only a soft remnant of all the hilarity which goes on.


The third series boasts an impressive quantity of brilliant episodes. These range from the ridiculous to the less abnormal, more often than not being immensly funny and vastly enjoyable. My personal favourites include "The One With The Jam", "The One With All The Jealousy", "The One With A Chick And A Duck" and "The One With The Screamer". You can imagine the sorts of bizarre things which happen in these legendary episodes merely by looking at the titles, and the writers and actors certainly live up to any hype the intriguing titles may cause.

Basically, 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' is one of those rare treats which can be commended in nearly every single aspect, and the third series is testament to that. I urge anyone and everyone who is even remotely interested in entertainment to seriously consider this truly brilliant TV series. Even if you're not totally fanatical about comedies, your chances of adoring this are still considerably high.

Five Out Of Five.

Tuesday 29 January 2008

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest


'Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' is the middle chapter of the 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' trilogy and ironically also in between 'At World's End' and 'The Curse Of The Black Pearl' in terms of quality for many people. I'm certainly not going to imply that 'Dead Man's Chest' is any better than its predecessor nor any worse than its successor. While the storyline, characters and stage direction have improved drastically when compared to 'The Curse Of The Black Pearl', there's no denying that 'Dead Man's Chest' is vastly inferior when it comes to keeping the audience constantly entertained.

This isn't to say that 'Dead Man's Chest' is tedious. For the most part, the second of Disney's famous saga is immensly enjoyable, and with the appearances of William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, the brilliant antagonist Davy Jones, the awesome Flying Dutchman ship and the absolutely incredible Kraken, added with the witty plot, 'Dead Man's Chest' is pretty fantastic. The story involves Captain Davy Jones sending William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner to give the Black Spot to Captain Jack Sparrow, a mark whose owner greatly entices the hunger of the near-invincible Kraken (and also sees Jack Sparrow attempting to use his mysterious magical compass to find the heart of Davy Jones). This indestructible fiend, while not offering as piratey a theme as 'The Curse Of The Black Pearl' and 'At World's End' when it comes to battles, is most certainly the bringer of many memorable scenes.

Another factor I admire about 'Dead Man's Chest' is how consistent it is with witty references to Sparrow's previous adventure. Whether it be the obvious, such as the intriguing cliffhanger at the end, or the subtle, like when Elizabeth Swann declares she wants to join Jack Sparrow's crew, where Jack answers by telling Mr. Gibbs to "hide the rum", a statement which refers to Elizabeth's burning of the rum on the deserted island in 'The Curse Of The Black Pearl' to attract the attention of the Royal Navy, these references certainly add more fun to the film.

Although the scenes between the Black Pearl's escape from the cannibal-inhabited Pelegosto and the arrival on Isla Cruces are interesting enough to keep your attention, they still aren't very exciting, and initially gave me the impression that 'Dead Man's Chest' was merely a three-star film. However, from the arrival on Isla Cruces onwards, I gave in to the temptation of offering 'Dead Man's Chest' an additional star, although perhaps 3.5/5 would have been slightly more accurate.

In all honesty, 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' is a perfectly decent film, but its few blitzes prevent it from claiming the respect its potential deserved.

Four Out Of Five.

Monday 28 January 2008

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers


Ah, Gollum, how I missed thee so. Despite playing a very small role, your distinct lack of appearance in 'The Fellowship Of The Ring' is what I hated most about Peter Jackson's film. I guess that's not saying much, since the first chapter in the 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy was pretty fantastic, but 'The Two Towers' still manages to better it, not least because of Smeagle's major role.

'The Two Towers' is quite a bit different from its predecessor and this is mainly because of how determined it is to destroy any hint of boredom, and it pulls off this feat by introducing three different plots. At the end of 'The Fellowship Of The Ring', the fellowship was split up. Merry and Pippin were captured by Orcs who think they have the Ring of Power, and are being escorted to Isengard to be taken to Saruman. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas are attempting to catch up with these Orcs and save the two hobbits. Meanwhile, Frodo and Samwise continue the journey to Mount Doom to destroy the one Ring, and are accompanied by Smeagle, the previous owner of the 'precious' before Bilbo Baggins.

These plots all seem to focus on a certain aspect of the film. When the film focuses on the dwarf, elf, man and the inevitable white wizard, action and warfare seems to be the most significant aspect. With the two captured hobbits, a more comedic stance is taken. With Frodo and Samwise, mystery, darkness and adventure are taken into account.

At the climax of the film, three exciting battles are assumed, each with their own symbol to mark their significance. These fights only tempt me to commend the film further, if possible. These battles involve some very impressive scenes and strategies, and with some pretty brilliant characters such as Treebeard, the Nazgul and the aforementioned Smeagle, you'd be hard pushed to find a superior action adventure film.

By the end of the film you'll have experienced a truly awesome cliffhanger. Two of the battles have ended, and the third (which involved the presence of Frodo, Gollum and Samwise) has seen the Ring Bearer and his two companions escaping to head back to Mordor. While Aragorn and his mates banter about the wrath of Sauron, and Merry and Pippin stuff their unworthy git-like faces with some hidden food, Gollum has returned to Smeagle and the two plot to kill both Frodo and Samwise. "It's too risky, it's too risky. We could let Her do it. Yes. She could do it. Yes, Precious, She could. And then we take it once they're dead." I haven't seen 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King' and therefore do not know who Gollum and Smeagle are discussing, but this cliffhanger meant a lot to me and intrigued me vastly. The perfect ending to the perfect film.

Five Out Of Five.

Sunday 27 January 2008

Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi


To many, the last brilliant 'Star Wars' film, 'Return Of The Jedi' is a film which boasts the excitement of 'The Phantom Menace's conclusion and the quality of 'The Empire Strikes Back.' 'Return Of The Jedi' is the final chapter in the 'Star Wars' saga and initially sees the arrivals of R2-D2 and C-3PO on the sandy planet Tatooine, sending a holographic message and apparently a gift from Luke Skywalker, to be sent to Jabba the Hutt to bargain for the life of the previously carbonite-incased Han Solo.

Obviously, Jabba being the sick git he is, when Leia and Luke show up he makes the former wear a golden bikini and feeds the latter to a powerful monster under Jabba's main audience chamber. Unsurprisingly the six Rebel scums (including Chewbacca and Lando) manage to overcome the uncomfortable situations on this desert island of the stars, otherwise it would have ended without Vader or Palpatine appearing once, which would have definitely pissed the art designers off a little, having to produce that montage poster without their characters even being used. The film would be short, too, very short, and George Lucas might have died from the hardcore idiot Vader fanboys.

Within the battle on Tatooine and the ceremony at the end of the film, a variety of things happen, and, like 'The Empire Strikes Back' before it, a lot of the antagonists are seen in this film. So while you'll be subject to every last detail of the Rebels' plans, you'll also notice the situation from the perspectives of Lord Vader and Emperor Palpatine.

Everything you'd want from a film is included here, with brilliant acting and stage direction, amusing script and some rather nostalgic moments. The storyline and substantial string of events boosts the performance tenfold. Another duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader is present here, as is a second attack against the Death Star. Also, as you might have guessed, the Emperor plays a very significant role in the film, and this gives 'Return Of The Jedi' a sort of importance and difference.

Since I was watching the super awesome DVD edition of 'Return Of The Jedi', there are a lot of additions to the original film. You may recall how disgusted some people were at this, but I personally adore these new sections. Some add more humour to the film, some nostalgia (the end scene is reminiscent of 'Revenge Of The Sith'), and the final product is still pretty brilliant. If you had any sense you would at least rent the film.

Five Out Of Five.

Wednesday 23 January 2008

Star Wars Clone Wars: Volume One


You may not notice it, but a lot of things happen between the films of the 'Star Wars' saga. A lot of the time these events boast no significance to the series, but the Clone War is so very important. Thus, in the era between 'Attack Of The Clones' and 'Revenge Of The Sith', two volumes of a cartoon series titled 'Clone Wars' have been released. Each short episode tells a story of the Clone War, and because said episodes are so short, you won't be bored easily.

Admittedly, there are some episodes here which prove tedious and this makes me very thankful they are so short. I honestly couldn't care less about the underwater battle, and the wars Masters Windu and Yoda assumed weren't as exciting as scenes involving Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku and General Grievious.

The action in 'Clone Wars' is considerably enjoyable, with some decent animation effects. The character models are very unfaithful to the true films, and while some might argue this adds comedy effect, said comedy is certainly inadequate. The proper sagas are serious films, and so should their filler stories be.

Some might imply that the film is too short to warrant a purchase, and in a way I suppose they are correct. 'Star Wars Clone Wars' boasts a mere twenty episodes, which adds up to around one hour and five minutes. However, the episodes occasionally get repetitive (like in the Jedi fighting styles and animations) so it's great to see it end before the novelty runs out, and often you are left with the infamous wishing that you were in the film now, tempting you to pull out the second volume or play a similar game such as 'Star Wars Battlefront' or 'Resistance: Fall Of Man'.

Despite few tedious scenes, dislikable character design and occasional repetition, 'Star Wars Clone Wars' is a very decent film, definitely worth my recommendation. You might just be better renting it because of the length, but at an inexpensive price, the film is definitely worth it.

Four Out Of Five.

Tuesday 22 January 2008

Mickey's House Of Villains


Being a two-dimensional animated Disney film which involves nearly all of the Disney heroes and villains before it, you'd expect 'Mickey's House of Villains' to boast a lot of potential. In truth, there is potential, but Disney really ruined their chance to produce a stunning nostalgia-fest. 'Mickey's House Of Villains' is bitterly disappointing.

It's All Hallow's Eve and every Disney protagonist and antagonist has been invited to Mickey's House Of Mouse to watch a string of short films. In all honesty, these short films are rather poor and a waste of the writers' and excited audience's times. As the short films go on, it all gets rather repetitive, and when Jafar and the other villains decide to overthrow Mickey Mouse, nothing even close to exciting happens. By the end, there's a very rushed and tedious battle betwen Jafar and Mickey, but that's it.

The most commendable aspect of 'Mickey's House Of Villains' is the impressive attention to detail. I often find that detail is an aspect a lot of writers and animators need to focus on, but on top of that, the music artists are concentrating on it, too. You'll instantly notice how suitable the soundtrack is. Every small action in the film is accompanied by a scarily appropriate and mightily impressive burst of music, and this audio consistently fits the theme of the film.

As a show of Disney's attention to detail, 'Mickey's House Of Villains' is a significant performance, but the scenes get too repetitive for anybody's liking and the plot could be considered a missed opportunity. If 'Mickey's House Of Villains' were a short television series, or had it been more dedicated to the clashes between good and evil, I would have praised it more highly, but for what it essentially is, 'Mickey's House Of Villains' is quite poor. Perhaps worth a rent, but there's nothing essential in here.

Two Out Of Five.

Sunday 20 January 2008

Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones


This was always my least-favourite episode in the 'Star Wars' saga, although I can't really recall why. I've just watched it there and it's certainly an improvement over 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.' The visuals and special effects are consistently impressive, and the acting is vastly superior to the under-enthusiastic attempts in 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.'

To be honest, it seems evident that the Clone Wars trilogy is merely the backstory to the original trilogy (hence its blatant inferiority). 'The Phantom Menace' introduces the main characters to the final trilogy (Darth Vader, Ben Kenobi, the Emperor, R2-D2, C-3PO... you know the lot) but apart from that the storyline seemed awfully separate to that of the original plot. Well, 'Attack Of The Clones' is full of references which are significant to the original trilogy. 'Attack Of The Clones' shows us the beginning of Anakin Skywalker's convertion to the dark side, the creation of the hundreds of thousands of Stormtroopers, the unique power of Jedi Master Yoda, introduces the audience to the awesome Boba Fett and, briefly, the designers of the Death Star. And if you analyse carefully, you'll notice a hint at the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

'Attack Of The Clones' is consistent with intrigue. Honestly, I never witnessed an uninteresting moment in the film. Battles are less frequent than in 'The Phantom Menace', with only very brief podracing for additional excitement (disregarding the really enjoyable speeder chase through Coruscant). However, like such films as the aforementioned 'The Phantom Menace' and 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End', 'Attack Of The Clones' concludes with an epic battle. This chapter in the 'Star Wars' saga indicates the Clone War, mentioned briefly in 'Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.'

My main dislike of the film is that Count Dooku isn't as brilliant a villain as the predecessor Darth Maul and successors General Grievious, Darth Vader and Emperor Sidious are, which is a shame, because Yoda's abilities are displayed against an unworthy foe. Thankfully, Jango Fett, the Reek, Acklay, Nexu and the legions of Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids and Destroyer Droids make up for this lack of quality, but still, what's a 'Star Wars' film without an epic battle between Jedi and Sith?

'Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones' is a decent film in its own right, and a vast improvement over 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace' in many respects, particularly acting, storyline and excitement consistency, none of which were particularly strong in this film's predecessor. However, 'Attack Of The Clones' lacks that special substance to make it truly grand. Namely, an appropriate Sith and while the script is mostly intelligence, there are still parts which I can't help but pass on my disappointment to.

Four Out Of Five.

Saturday 19 January 2008

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl


I love pirates. They're so awesome. I wish my life were more like one of Captain Bones' adventures. Sailing the high seas, searching for buried treasure. Yeah, discovering lost islands and weird civilisations. Navigating with my father's old compass to wherever the wind may take us. Off to Zanzibar, to meet the Zanzibarbarians. To the southwest, pirate galleons! To the southeast, multi-armed Zanzibanian shark women, and their exploding wigs of death. To the northwest, dirty dishes! References ftw.

I first reviewed 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End' and gave it a not-so-impressive "three out of five". I had commented on 'At World's End's inferiority to its predecessors, and 'The Curse Of The Black Pearl' is the real stunner of the trilogy. Watching it again just now, I can still make that claim.

'Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl' is an exciting, well-written, well-acted tale about one pirate and his many, many enemies. The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow had been left on an island with nothing but his name, a pistol and a single bullet. It is inevitable that he escaped from this alternative Tartarus, as otherwise he wouldn't be the main character, would he? Captain Jack Sparrow is a very likable character. He's absolutely mad, and this makes his many schemes all the more entertaining. He befriends the pirate-blooded blacksmith William Turner and rescues the Governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann at various points in the film, and is hunted by Commodore Norrington and his entire Royal Navy. Sparrow is on a quest to kill the evil and cursed Captain Hector Barbossa and claim his dearest Black Pearl pirate ship.

Captain Hector Barbossa and his crew of undead scallywags - after dumping Captain Jack Sparrow in the island - had travelled to the Isla de Muerta and stolen some Aztec gold. They were put under a curse to live forever as skeletons, shown by the moonlight. They cannot eat, drink, feel... they are basically put under ultimate torture. One of their crew, William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, objected to the mutiny against Captain Jack Sparrow and sent a piece of the Aztec gold to his son, William. He had a cannonball attached to his bootstraps and fired overboard by Captain Hector Barbossa. Following this, the crew realised they needed Bootstrap's blood to break the curse, and so were excited to find Elizabeth Turner and the final piece of Aztec gold compiled together.

The film is full of wit and amusing dialogue, entertaining scenes and humourous characters. 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl' is a very enjoyable film, and a really superb tribute to pirates everywhere. The action does get quite repetitive, which can get boring, and the camera views aren't brilliant, but while these points might negate some praise you'd give the film, they're not enough to ruin a terrific film like this. Of all their most recent performances, 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl' is probably Disney's best.

Four Out Of Five.

Friday 18 January 2008

The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh


I feel sorry for Edward Bear. This terrific film is constantly ridiculed by post-pubescent teenagers whose adolescence can't let them think of anything but a certain rabbit and his pesky mansion. In all honesty, 'The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh' is pretty damn fabulous, and the only reason it is frowned upon is because it involves a cast of child-friendly characters.

'The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh', like an awful lot of other films, is one of those charming, laid-back classics which you can keep coming back to. It isn't very serious and most of the chapters in this film prove immensly entertaining. Pooh Bear manages to turn even the most simplest things into amazing charm-fests, just like in 'My Neighbour Totoro'.

'The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh' has all of Walt Disney's trademarks. Beautiful animation, decent soundtrack, affective, simple events and characters you actually care about. This is easily one of the finest film performances of Disney's life, perhaps even of all time.

One gripe I have with 'The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh' is that it is over so quickly. Surely they could have spared just a few more chapters? What we've been given is brilliant enough to warrant any purchase, but it could have been a lot longer. While I usually wouldn't let this get in the way of my enjoyment, 'The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh' is one of those films which needs to be quite substantial in length.

I also found Christopher Robin's accent to be far too annoying. I love you English folk as much as any other noob but the accent felt very out of place. While Pooh's lack of wit and frequent spelling errors ("hunny", "rnig", "thotful") provide awesome humour, Christopher Robin's accent made me laugh in a way I shouldn't.

Four Out Of Five.

Grave Of The Fireflies


'Grave Of The Fireflies' was initially released alongside 'My Neighbour Totoro', intended to be watched after said film (which I gave five out of five). Well, let me warn you now. While 'My Neighbour Totoro' is one of the happiest films in the world, 'Grave Of The Fireflies' is its exact opposite. When I was reviewing 'Princess Mononoke' I commended Studio Ghibli for not being too over-protective of their characters, but, well... now they've gone too far.

I hate 'Grave Of The Fireflies'. I hate it like paranoia hates infernal cemeteries. I don't just hate it: I'm frightened of it. I can't take the suspense, the misfortune, the terror of it all... and to think that probably happened in real life at some point. I cannot contain my fear of this.

I don't hate it because it's bad. In reality, 'Grave Of The Fireflies' is an amazing film. There are literally no bad points. It's just that it's so damn depressing. 'Grave Of The Fireflies' is the saddest film in the world, I can almost gaurantee it. Hell, I had the film spoiled for me before I got the chance to watch it, yet I still almost cried. This is clear testament to how affective Isao Takahata's touching story can be.

I'd love to spoil the film for you now. Tell you what happens, how it ends, all the sad sections and tell you why I want every copy of this film set on fire and sent flying into a grave, but not only would I be here forever, but it still wouldn't save you from the horror which you are about to experience (presuming you're going to watch the film). Some of you may think you like a sad film. Go and watch 'Grave Of The Fireflies', come back and make that claim again. Without hesitating.

'Grave Of The Fireflies' is easily a perfect film, as there is simply nothing wrong with it. You may not want to purchase the DVD, because as soon as you've seen it you will absolutely refuse to watch it again, regardless of how much some sadist chap pays you. Because let's face it, money's no good to you when you're dead.

I'd recommend this film, but I'd merely be fuelling a powerful fire and sending more curious flies to their graves. Now excuse me while I go and kill myself.

Five Out Of Five.

My Neighbour Totoro


Fabulous. Mighty entertainment. Extremely, well-imagined, commendable, intelligently-thought characters. Some more 'serious' scenes which still succeed in emitting fun and charm. Excellent animation, with intriguing attention to detail and a happy soundtrack. One of the happiest films ever made. Forgive me for my insane ramblings, but 'My Neighbour Totoro' has provided me with the most magical eighty-six minutes of my life.

The main plot is irrelevant to this review. What basically happens is a man and his two daughters move to a new house, while their mother is sick in hospital. Both children are very sensitive, but they find this removal very exciting. 'My Neighbour Totoro' focuses on a very quiet charm, turning cleaning the house and looking for the door leading upstairs into very happy, relaxing moments.

This is ironic because relaxation is present in the giant Totoro, a vastly fun character whom we meet later on in the film. There are three Totoro in the film, troll-like creatures of interesting fiction which make well-anticipated appearances alongside the cute Soot Sprites, organisms representing dust bunnies. The three Totoro differ in size. There is a tiny white one, a small blue one and a giant grey one. Apparently, the largest Totoro is the gaurdian of the forest. These Totoro are very bizarre-yet-fun creatures. They go around dropping magical nuts and seeds all over the place, and the largest Totoro calls upon what is probably the most magnificent, legendary vehicle in the history of existence: the mythical cat-bus.

To be honest, to bring this review any further would involve me spending paragraphs praising the film for its relaxing and amusing stance. There are far too many serious films around, and 'My Neighbour Totoro' is a lovely break. The climax isn't as good as one would expect, and there's so much that the writers could conjure up, so many ordinary activities which could be made extremely charming with the awesome Totoro creatures, but besides these minor disappointments, 'My Neighbour Totoro' is pretty much the perfect anime.

Five Out Of Five.

Thursday 17 January 2008

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back


My viewing of this film may be questioned, as I've practically skipped three entire episodes of the 'Star Wars' saga (not including the cartoon 'Clone Wars' series, which I attempted to watch but couldn't because I'd dropped liquid in my eyes). There's really no significance to my choice in watching 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Yesterday I was in the mood to watch a really good film, but couldn't think of it. So before I pulled out 'The Curse Of The Black Pearl', I thought "to Hell with it, what better than to review what is potentially the most famous film to date" and stuck the 'The Empire Strikes Back' into my PlayStation 3.

Despite being released several blue moons ago, 'The Empire Strikes Back' is still a fabulous film by today's standards. The only thing which shows its age is that some of the smaller creatures (the tiny inhabitants of the Dagobah system, for example) don't look very convincing. The rest is still as awesome now as it was twenty-eight years ago. The characters tell many stories with their emotions and personalities, and the consistent firefights are generally plausible, with such scenes as the battle of Hoth and the duel on Bespin proving immensly entertaining.

'The Empire Strikes Back' boasts great presence of the dark side. In many other films you'll find the director has focused more on the protagonists, with their villains seldom appearing. In 'The Empire Strikes Back', while still orbitting appropriately to Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca, a lot of scenes are taken inside the Star Destroyers (and, briefly, the All-Terrain Armoured Transports). Darth Vader is frequently seen, his lackies commonly express brief and quiet opinions on Lord Vader's new strategies, Bounty Hunters are employed and Vader and Emperor Palpatine converse with the audience's unclouded attention, and no hint of any protagonists (although at many points the Star Destroyer in question is searching for the Millenium Falcon, housing Leia, Han, C-3PO and Chewbacca).

Because 'The Empire Strikes Back' is set in the middle of the original 'Star Wars' trilogy, there is neither a proper beginning nor an end. Some people might find this a risky technique, but I think it's actually very intelligent. There are no slow starts and no terrible conclusion attempts. The film starts by diving straight into the action and ends with you thirsting for more, and subsequently clawing your way through your DVD collection to get 'Return Of The Jedi' into your player as soon as possible.

While outside space has its fair share of moments here, there is a variety of fictitious planets which make well-appreciated appearances in the film. One such planet is the luscious Hoth, entering at the very beginning of the film. Hoth is the bringer of some exciting scenes and also shows off a satisfying war between some admirable and well-imagined vessels. Such systems as the swampy Dagobah and the cloudy Bespin also make appearances, and not to mention the interiors of a massive asteroid.

With excellent script, brilliant set pieces and an enjoyable soundtrack, 'The Empire Strikes Back' is an amazing remnant of the last century's classic film era, and shows the audience enough imperfection to warrant utter perfection.

Five Out Of Five.

Tuesday 15 January 2008

Muppet Treasure Island


I'm afraid I'm going to have to admit that I haven't watched all of 'Muppet Treasure Island'; I've had the video for many, many years and it's beginning to show its age by throwing a lot of fuzzy sounds in there, particularly terrible since the film is a musical. I've seen the entire film numerous times throughout my life and have developed a rough opinion on the film, but if my review proves somewhat inaccurate, I can assure you it's not entirely my fault.

'Muppet Treasure Island' is of a very under-represented genre - the pirate musical genre. As a result, the film boasts a very praisable soundtrack, not just for the songs but also for the background music which is quite reminiscent to 'Pirates Of The Caribbean'. Most of the songs are of tremendous quality, and the bizarre 'Cabin Fever' is welcome, despite being totally out of place.

With this being a muppet film, a funny script was inevitable. It might be because I've tired the video out over the years, but I didn't really laugh that much. Gonzo, Rizzo, Fozzie, Blind Pew and Billy Bones all posed many elements of humour, but I didn't find them as humourous as had when I watched it some years ago. The role call still keeps me happy, and some statements (particularly 'this is supposed to be a kids' movie' and 'I think I smell somethin' burnin' here') were genuinely hilarious.

This might have been down to the awesome characters. Most characters from 'The Muppet Show' are here in all their piracy glory, and they manage to emit a sense of charm out of what would otherwise be a dark, serious film. It's soothing to see some light-hearted piracy, and 'Muppet Treasure Island' joins in the ranks of 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' and 'OnePiece' as a really brilliant pirate film.

I wish I could give 'Muppet Treasure Island' a five out of five, but if I did, that would just be me being a fanboy. 'Muppet Treasure Island' is not perfect (regardless of how highly I would recommend it). Some more zoomed-out views seem suspiciously fake, and while the few "big-blue-wet-thing" views are impressive, nothing about these views are particularly terrific. The film also seems to go on at a pace too swift to digest. There are barely any pauses in the entire film, and this decreases tension in certain scenes which need it. Before we see Blind Pew, anticipation builds up, but had Billy Bones not heard the door knock until a while after he'd finished ranting on, it would have been more exciting.

Apart from these gripes, I can't really criticise 'Muppet Treasure Island' any further, to be honest. It's not an essential film, but it's entertaining enough to warrant your pleasure, and does pirates everywhere justice, however abnormal such justice may be.

Four Out Of Five.

Monday 14 January 2008

Princess Mononoke


It's rather ironic that I write this review, one day after seeing 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring'. Contrary to some other films I've reviewed, tonight was the first time I've ever watched 'Princess Mononoke'. It's made by, in my opinion, one of the finest companies there is - the legendary Studio Ghibli. This studio is responsible for some of my all-time favourite films, including 'The Cat Returns' and 'Pom Poko', which probably rank as my two favourites. 'Princess Mononoke' is quite similar to 'The Lord Of The Rings' in some respects. Okay, so it doesn't involve orcs, urukhai, ringwraiths, wizards, hobbits or giant eyes wreathed in fire, but it does offer a war between species, a stunningly beautiful selection of landscapes (despite being animated) and a lovely soundtrack reminiscent of Peter Jackson's licensed children.

I gave 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring' a very respectable five out of five, and the film is still fresh in my mind. Taking this into account, one would assume that such a similar film would prove underwhelming. However, I didn't regard Studio Ghibli as one of my favourite companies for nothing. I'm no stranger to the magic Ghibli's employees are capable of working, and Hayao Miyazaki has produced a very adequate chapter in animation (not that we see much of it).

Studio Ghibli has a range of extraordinarily talented people working for it, and this is evident at all times in 'Princess Mononoke'. A blend of hand-drawn and computer animation is incorporated in this film, and these different styles compliment each other greatly. For example, Ashitaka (the main protagonist) is hand-drawn, while the demon snakes which possess him are created with three-dimensional rendering. They are composited together and are very admirable.

Animation is not the only perfection hiding inside the studio. The voice-actors in 'Princess Mononoke' portray their characters very impressively, and they suit these characters well. Music and sound effects are affective and add to the film's quality. The storyline is particularly complex, but you'd understand it if you watched the film. It is clearly very imaginative in places, what with demonic serpents and other fictitious creatures making grand appearances.

Hayao Miyazaki is not like some directors, and allows his characters to feel pain, to come to harm and to generally just feel like suicidal emos. One has to admire how he captures this feeling of war - it's not 'good guys beat bad guys', because there are three sides here, and none are specifically good or bad (except perhaps the daimyos, who are, of course, bad). However, while Miyazaki is willing to hurt his characters, it it pitiful that these characters don't have the same loving charm you'll find in Pixar or older Disney films. You won't feel emotional towards the characters. They're likable roles, but they don't really touch you like the animals of 'The Jungle Book', or the many sub-organisms present in the 'Pixar Short Films Collection'.

'Princess Mononoke' is the very description of an action adventure, minus the emotional characters. From the moment you enter the digital video disc, Ashitaka is seen riding on his red elk Yakul, galloping towards what will be the very first (and a very important) battle in the film. When this encounter is concluded, and after a very brief pause, Ashitaka takes off again, to a more distant and dangerous fight. He meets mystery, curiosity and gore, mostly with hate. Action adventure is consistent in this film, and on the rare occasion it is stopped, the conversation is interesting enough to hold your interest.

'Princess Mononoke' is a grand film, and this isn't just me being a Ghibli fanboy. 'Princess Mononoke' not only ranks as one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films, but also one of my favourite films of all time. If you can bring yourself to admit you haven't witnessed perfection in one of its finest incarnations, then you clearly haven't watched 'Princess Mononoke', and therefore haven't lived.

Five Out Of Five.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring


I remember disliking this when I was little. It was very boring and too scary. In fact, I wasn't very excited about watching this again, but I got 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition' for Christmas (a film I always liked) and decided I should refamiliarise myself with the story.

I guess it really goes to show that you should never watch films at a young age, because I watched 'The Fellowship Of The Ring' yesterday night and I was amazed. There were a lot of things to adore about the film, whether it be the many interesting scenes, the gorgeous soundtrack or the mysterious stalking of Gollum, but one thing I seriously have to commend Peter Jackson for is his decision to film in his native New Zealand. The overhead landscaping is simply beautiful, even better than that of 'Lassie', which, in my opinion, is really saying something.

From the charming, timid Shire to the brutal depths of Mordor, it is difficult to find a negative aspect to Peter Jackson's choice of location. Accompanied by a sweet soundtrack which fits the theme of the film very well indeed, a host of lovable characters played by a suitable selection of actors and a string of intriguing and awesome scenes, 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring' is an immensly worthy translation of J.R.R Tolkien's original classic novel.

From the tense chases with the Nazgûl to the various plot twists to the exciting fights with Orcs, to purchase and witness this fantastic contribution to the action-adventure franchise would be a very sensible idea indeed, and with the knowledge that 'The Fellowship Of The Ring' and its two successors will be making the transition to the almighty Blu-Ray format, it's great to know that we can watch this highly-recommended film in ultimate high-definition quality.

Five Out Of Five.

Sunday 13 January 2008

Enchanted


Disney are really confusing me now. To quote a certain American jackalope from Pixar's 'Boundin' "some times you're up, and some times you're down", and this statement is intensly accurate with Disney, as their performances seem to rise and fall in terms of quality consistently. Since Walt Disney died, his company have been distinct entries on numerous death lists, what with the realisations of the 'High School Musical' trilogy, and their numerous (and poor) television comedies. That said, they are responsible for the excellent 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' saga, and their inclusion in the 'Kingdom Hearts' games are enough to be thankful for them.

Disney have a band of amazing actors at their fingertips, especially significant in 'Pirates Of The Caribbean', 'The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody' and 'Wizards Of Waverly Place'. There are also a few hatable actors present in the likes of the aforementioned 'High School Musical' and 'Hannah Montana', but in general, Disney's recognisation of decent actors is very good. It's the script-writers they need to watch out for. I mentioned Disney's television comedies, but to be honest, the only potentially-funny ones are 'That's So Raven' and 'Cory In The House', while these are seldom humourous.

So is 'Enchanted' one of Disney's silent stunners or infamous crapcakes? To be honest, it's a little of both. Disney seem to have gotten their good actors, their bad actors, their good script-writers and their bad script-writers and blended them together. This is ironic, because the film does involve a lot of blending (figuratively, of course - no luck, all you blender fans). The plot is that a variety of fairytale cartoon characters find themselves in the real-life New York. You'd expect such a strange concept to be funny as hell, but my sides didn't split a single degree. I'll admit the film was very amusing and entertaining, but at times I could see the film trying to be funny, and failing.

As far as acting goes, 'Enchanted's interesting concept is met with much effort. 'Enchanted' shows off some very stereotypical fairytale characters, as gullible and confused as you'd expect. Amy Adams and James Marsden act in a very convincing way and are very good at showing how a fairytale character would act in the real world. Sadly, Susan Sarandon and Timothy Spall are not so convincing, although this can be justified as they are the villainous characters, and you'd hardly expect them to be unintelligent, would you? The real-life characters are also portrayed well by their actors. I was particularly impressed by Rachel Covey, although Indina Menzel wasn't fantastic, in my opinion (although she was satisfactory).

The film has a great soundtrack, and a nice turn of events takes place. It is also very satisfying to watch Giselle slowly by slowly get used to the real world, and you understand just how much she's matured nearing the end of the film. The motion picture is not unbearably littered with unnecessary songs, but there are two or three in there, and are all excellently composed and vastly enjoyable.

There is a section which involves a dragon climbing on the Empire State Building with its masculine damsel-in-distress in hand, which you might see as an amusing mix of 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'King Kong' parodies, but, although Gizelle's actions in this particular scene are admirable, it seems like a rushed-out attempt to stick a dragon in there. If the monster put up more of a fight, I'd be more satisfied.

'Enchanted' is by no means perfect, but if I had to choose from the two descriptions I mentioned in my earlier paragraphs, I'd give it the positive one. 'Enchanted' is immensly enjoyable, something you can just sit down and watch, and love. I'll be snapping this film up as soon as it is released on its inevitable Blu-Ray disc.

Four Out Of Five.