Tag Archives: Adventure

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D  (2013)    43/100

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Rating :   43/100                                                                       87 Min        U

A big budget animation based on the BBC documentary series ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ which aired in the late nineties. This was financed by both the BBC and independent investors in the states and so all the main characters have American accents, with Justin Long being the biggest name to lend his talents to the voiceover work. We follow the adventures of two young brother dinosaurs, two Pachyrhinosaurus to be exact, as they mature from following the herd to leading it. The animated work is very good and everything looks slick and realistic enough, with Alaska and New Zealand providing visually splendorous backdrops (in fact the same mountain that can be seen in the Desolation of Smaug review also features here), but the story is simply terrible. Early on the two bros witness their father being torn to shreds, and then an instant later they’ve forgotten about it and they continue on regardless – in fact they assume their mother has met a similar fate, they don’t actually bother to try and find out.

They become part of a particularly lame love triangle which attempts to be both part of the animal kingdom and also relate to human relationships, with the potential conclusion being that the alpha male will get the woman who will bow down to him even though she thinks he’s a moron, and the way to counter this is to attempt to beat him to a pulp – and if that fails wait until hopefully someone else does it for you. It does tell you the name of each of the species that they encounter and what the name means which is nice – the bad guys are the gorgosaurus, which translates as ‘fierce lizard’, and also lends more depth to Lena Headey’s sexy queen Gorgo in ‘300’ (06).

Outlander  (2008)    59/100

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Rating :   59/100                                                                     115 Min        15

Sci-fi that sees Jim Caviezel’s soldier from another humanoid race (who seem to be exactly the same as us, something never touched on – nor is their relationship with Earth explained) crash land in Norway in the year 709 AD, releasing his deadly cargo onto the harsh and beautiful Norwegian landscape (although it was mostly filmed in Canada). Encountering a local tribe led by John Hurt, he must help the natives defend themselves against the extra terrestrial beastie he has forced upon them, and will inadvertently garner the lusty attentions of the king’s daughter, played by Sophia Myles (who is essentially recreating her character from ‘Tristan + Isolde’ 06), but how will the local churls react to potentially losing one of the two attractive women we see in the village? Well, they are about to get eaten anyway, markedly improving our hero’s chances.

A reasonably interesting story with convincing sets and average-decent swordplay, but one that is sadly let down by having an all too traditional resolution and increasingly improbable action sequences.

The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug  (2013)    73/100

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Rating :   73/100                                                                     161 Min        12A

Lots to like and lament in this, rather like last year’s first instalment ‘An Unexpected Journey’, including the realisation that Smaug is not pronounced ‘Smawg’, which sounds great, but rather should be uttered as ‘Smowg’, which sounds crap. At least, if we are to believe Martin Freeman’s Bilbo, who finally meets the great red dragon in person (voiced by man of the hour Benedict Cumberbatch, and yes dragons can talk, as well as type). Having a particular vested interest in seeing how well the animated creature bears up, I have to say I am impressed – even if he does seem to be a little easy to give the run around, certainly the hubris of Bilbo and his dwarves to rob him of his rightful home and treasure is deserving of some toasty punishment.

Like part one, for the 3D releases (not for the 2D ones I believe – check with your cinema) this was filmed with a double frame rate (48 frames per second instead of the normal 24 that pretty much every other film in history has been made with) and director Peter Jackson has stated that he listened to criticism of the technology before and endeavoured to ensure the film had a more ‘cinematic’ look this time. Well, for large chunks of footage MISSION FAILED – the negative aspects of this high speed rate largely disappear as the film progresses, but initially there are several scenes where things are happening laughably quickly. A scene with Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen gives another fantastic performance as everyone’s favourite wizard) and Thorin in a Bree tavern (The Prancing Pony one presumes) sees sharp clear images that would be more at home in a made for TV episode of something, with the patrons zipping ludicrously about in the background. Surely someone working on it noticed it looked daft? Some of the effects (look out for the giant bumblebees that appear around Bilbo) also simply look fake, whilst others are fantastic: like most of the last third, and there is a scene featuring a captured orc at one point – the makeup and prosthetics would have us believe we’re looking at a real humanoid that once inhabited the Eurasian plate. In terms of the decision to even attempt a high speed frame rate – the cinematography from the original Lord of the Rings films was amazing, there really was no need at all to change it, and here, as well as the aforementioned misgivings, more could have been made of the natural beauty of Middle-earth/New Zealand in this instalment.

Jackson does seem to have listened to other criticisms and made better adjustments though – here the bad guys are nowhere near as squishy as before, although they remain pretty hopeless. We meet some new elves in the guise of Thranduil, played by Lee Pace, and Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly who was the absolute perfect choice for the part and seems to love every moment of her role, and the return of Orlando Bloom as a supposed to be younger but not really pulling it off Legolas. Those with a keen memory of ‘An Unexpected Journey’ will no doubt be puzzled as to why the eagles which saved the adventuring troupe did not take them all the way to The Lonely Mountain, and instead part two opens with them being chased by the same pesky wargs that the eagles purported to take them away from. This should really have been explained in the film, but the reason is either that the eagles believe in the balance of nature and don’t want to interfere too heavily on one side of any conflict, as Tolkien would ascribe to, or that they have a sense of humour, or indeed that they would also not really like a nearby, enormous sleeping dragon be woken up any time soon if it can be avoided.

The adventure is continued in a pleasingly convincing way, although I would probably suggest that seeing it in 2D is going to be by far the best way to enjoy it. It still feels like Lord of the Rings ‘lite’, a more palatable version for a younger audience which is in keeping with the novel but will still slightly annoy adult viewers. Nevertheless, the final part is set up to be the best of the bunch, and delving back into Middle-earth still feels suitably exciting.

Alas, there is no extra scene at the end of the credits. I certainly know what I would like to have seen a little sneak preview of ….

Frozen  (2013)    85/100

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Rating :   85/100                       Treasure Chest                     108 Min        PG

A dazzling, emotional and thoroughly entertaining Disney animated musical that takes the studio back to the work of Hans Christian Andersen with a tale loosely based on his ‘The Snow Queen’, and this is every bit as good as their previous reworking of his ‘The Little Mermaid’ back in 1989. Two new princesses get added to the canon of Disney hotties as we are introduced to Anna (Kristen Bell), a playful redhead full of energy, and Elsa (Idina Menzel), the elder of the two but who, as she ages, sees her mysterious powers to shape ice grow, effectively becoming a Nordic version of Doctor Manhattan and a danger to everyone she loves. But will she turn to the Disney dark side and kill everyone whilst laughing maniacally? That is, indeed, the question.

Actually, a number of tropes are wisely turned on their head here, and the company have made sure to fill the movie with their trademark wit and intelligence to allow all members of the family to enjoy it. The contrasting voices of the two sisters, with both lead actresses doing all their own singing, works really well, and a number of the songs are delivered with memorable gusto and power. The animation is simply terrific, making the snowy landscape look wonderfully crystalline and at the same time inviting with their choices of rich, decorative and intrinsically beautiful colour schemes. One of the main scenes doesn’t work quite as well as intended, but this slight hiccup doesn’t prevent the film from being great from start to finish. It’s simply the perfect Christmas film.

There is a small post credits scene – the wait is a long one, but if you stay, look out for the brief note regarding one of the characters right at the end.

Quotes

“I want you to take me up the North Mountain…. I’ll rephrase that. Take me up the North Mountain!.” Kristen Bell/Anna

Free Birds  (2013)    20/100

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Rating :   20/100                                                                       91 Min        U

Slapstick animated comedy about turkeys = listening to Owen Wilson squawk pointlessly for ninety one minutes as his stupid blue Turkey is smacked in the face by every person and object he encounters. Don’t watch this.

The Hunger Games : Catching Fire  (2013)    71/100

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Rating :   71/100                                                                     146 Min        12A

The sequel to last year’s first instalment in The Hunger Games trilogy (well, they are stretching the original three novels by Suzanne Collins into four films) sees the return of new best actress Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark respectively, ready to face the repercussions and responsibilities expected of them by the domineering force of The Capitol after successfully surviving the annual Hunger Games in the last film – a brutal last man standing, kill or be killed contest designed to both entertain and control the partially enslaved populace in this dystopian vision of the world’s future.

Those consequences are predictable enough – indeed the very names of the novels and films are kind of spoilers in their own right. Not that there is much in the way of originality in this teen fantasy series – the Japanese film ‘Battle Royale’ (2000) which predates all of the novels is one of many examples telling essentially the same story. However, the production value here is enormous, with a great spectrum of committed creative talent behind it. All of which ensures that the films are visually engrossing and perfect just to escape from reality for a few hours with.

Aside from an underwhelmingly abrupt ending, this is just as fun as the first one, compellingly acted and with a number of nice flourishes – like Cinna’s (Lenny Kravitz) indulgence with Katniss’s dresses …

The Cave  (2005)    55/100

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Rating :   55/100                                                                       97 Min        12A

The premise to this is a now familiar set up within scenario based horror films – a bunch of explorers and scientists explore a virgin cave system in Romania, and then it all goes to pot. In this instance the kicker is that stories of legend place titanic battles of knights versus satanic forces there – could there be any truth in this ancient legend as one by one the young adventurers fall foul of the labyrinthine tunnels?

The core problem with this particular outing is simply that it fails to create any real sense of tension, which combined with poor special effects and, for some of the cast, less than award winning acting (significantly less) results in a horror film which is conceptually fine but one that’s all too relaxing to watch. Lena Headey is the biggest name to feature here (with Piper Perabo and Morris Chestnut the two next most recognisable faces), and the screenplay makes sure to find reason to get her into a wetsuit and then unzip it to reveal her cleavage which is both a little groan worthy and at the same time I’m glad they did it (because otherwise her character would have died in that scene, obviously). Watching a film purely because you really fancy one of the main cast members doesn’t always pay dividends, but I still kind of enjoyed this on some level – although there are certainly better out there with a similar story – Neil Marshall’s ‘The Descent’ (05) and ‘Sanctum’ (11) for example. If you do see this, look out for the character (played by Perabo) who does the lion’s share of heroics but gets completely minced anyway, whilst everyone else just watches.

Thor : The Dark World  (2013)    73/100

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Rating :   73/100                                                                     120 Min        12A

The latest Marvel adventure and the second solo film for the heir to the throne of Asgard, just over a year after his Mjolnir wielding antics in New York with ‘Avengers Assemble’. The graphic work is rich and colourful with the continued glamour of the home of the Norse gods of legend featuring heavily, as an ancient and forgotten evil, the dark Elves, reawakens and threatens to cover all of the nine realms (which includes ours incidentally) in eternal darkness, and only Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Natalie Portman (Thor’s astrophysicist lover when he isn’t busy thumping things with his hammer) can stop them pesky Elves. But at what cost to Earth, Asgard and Thor’s sex life?

All the cast from the previous adventure return to reprise their roles – including Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the likeable supervillain predominantly equipped with one-liners, and Anthony Hopkins as Odin himself (I’m sure he has a line ‘Odin be praised’ in ‘Beowulf’ coincidentally). Initially, the film exhibits a lot of action and proceeds at a decent pace, but there is the distinct air of having seen such fare many times over in Marvel and other recent films and some of the characters, namely the scientists, are decidedly carefree upon discovering an inter dimensional portal (though I must admit, The Red Dragon does find the idea of Natalie Portman solving differential equations somewhat … exciting) but it isn’t too long before the story becomes more engaging, and Marvel once again display their trademark of visually remarkable set pieces with a solid helping of good comedy.

Another comic book adaptation to potentially enjoy more than once – be sure to stay for not just the first post credits scene, but also the second post credits scene which appears right at the very end (the wait is not terribly long for it though). Helmed by veteran TV director Alan Taylor (‘Game of Thrones’, ‘The Sopranos’ – also due to take charge of the Terminator reboot in 2015) watch out for the mention of Asgard Productions in the rolling credits too  …

Press interview with the cast followed by one of the B rolls showing off the location shots in London, Surrey and Iceland:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2  (2013)    73/100

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Rating :   73/100                                                                       95 Min        U

The sequel to 2009’s ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ which despite very much flying under the radar was a really great film, making it onto several lists of the ‘top 50 animations of all time’ I’ve seen published since (like this one). The next instalment begins with the clean up operation of central character Flint Lockwood’s home island, after the inventor last time around peppered the area with super sized food dripping from the heavens courtesy of one of his more bananas, and yet genius, schemes (thus the title, and his pearing up with saucy meteorologist Sam Sparks). Enter traditional bad guy and cereal capitalist Chester V who intends to use Flint’s invention to steak a claim on his own evil food bar empire – all via the Foodbar 8.0, the only problem is he was Flint’s childhood inventing idol when he was growing up, will that boyish admiration be left in tatters?

Chester and his company Live Corp are a not too subtle parody of Apple (and the latte Steve Jobs, who also co-founded animation giant Pixar {Cloudy is from Sony Pictures Animation}) – which not only fits thematically but is arguably comedic with shadier undertones for a company currantly sandwiched between tax avoidance scandals and a price rigging pickle, not to mention their support for SOPA and PIPA… All satire aside though, Chester is one of the weaker ingredients in the film, and he comes across as fairly creepy – more akin to something out of South Park than the loveable creatures Cloudy normally serves up. Indeed, the visual richness and appeal of the animation, and the filmmakers sense of humour, is really where these films stand out – the creation at Live Corp of a zero emission car that runs on ‘cute’, for example, and the shot of the tank being opened up to uncover a cuddly sort of kitten squashed into it – but full of beans and happily purring away, its huge eyes gazing lovingly up at the driver. Nice.

Despite Chester V, Flint becoming a little too weak for a central character, and an over reliance on monkey jokes via his close friend Steve (who is indeed a monkey) eventually the film comes into its own with a wonderful story arc that sees all the food from the previous film literally come to life Jurassic Park style, allowing the animators to really put their creativity to the test – generating a visual feast for the eyes. Flint returns to the island to get to the root of the problem, along with several of the characters from the first film – his father, Sam Sparks, Manny, Brent and of course Steve, but on their adventure they encounter a new companion, Barry, the next stage in culinary evolution (pictured above, with their first meeting below) who turns out to be one of the best helpings of the series, and I think I speak for all the adults in the audience when I say – I WANT A MOTHER FUCKING TALKING STRAWBERRY THAT HIDES IN MY BACKPACK AND SAYS ‘MOOOOOOO?’!!!

Despite the film’s early weaknesses and the slight leekage of interest, I’d still fallen in love with it come the end, and judging by all the young sprouts in the audience running around dancing at the end credits, they relished it even more than I did. Bill Hader stars as Flint, with Anna Farris (who sizzles perfectly in the role) as Sparks, and James Caan, Will Forte, Andy Samberg, Ben jam in Bratt, Terry Crews (replacing Mr Tea) and Neil Patrick Harris rounding out the rest of the support. There is a brief post credits scene too. Mooooooooo?

Ender’s Game  (2013)    75/100

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Rating :   75/100                                                                     114 Min        12A

I loved this film. The premise seemed somewhat airy fairy – a young kid is selected as humanity’s best hope against an invading alien species that almost wiped us out the last time they dropped by to say hello, but actually it is delivered to us in quite a believable and entertaining way. Something anchored very strongly by Harrison Ford’s performance as the sort of grand training colonel, lending the necessary gravitas to the set up. Asa Butterfield as Ender is good, as are all the supporting young actors. There’s a decent amount of philosophy to chew on throughout the film, and the only real complaint to raise is the slight hiccup with a few minor editing choices for the last minute or two of the film – these overall don’t really matter, but it is a shame as they sort of define the feeling you walk away from the film with. Similar in essence to ‘The Hunger Games’ (12) and just as good.