Review - Alice in Wonderland 3D

Disney takes another stab at the classic Lewis Carroll story with this special effects laden blockbuster directed by Tim Burton. Alice (Mia Wasikowska,) a nineteen year old independent woman, is flung into the mysterious “Wonderland” where a host of oddball characters guide and prepare her for a destined fight with the Red Queen and the monstrous Jabberwocky.

This take on Alice in Wonderland works best if you ignore the script and let the excellent special effects and production design draw you in. The computer generated characters who inhabit Wonderland such as the sly Chesire Cat (Stephen Fry) and Tweedledum and Tweedledee (both voiced by Matt Lucas) are well realised and the voice acting is excellent. The majority of the voice-overs are done by a British cast which also includes Michael Sheen and Alan Rickman who turn in strong performances. As for the live action cast, Mia Wasikowska does a pleasant but unremarkable job as the perpetually baffled Alice. She takes a back seat to the cast of grotesques surrounding her. Helena Bonham-Carter is a hammy but entertainingly vicious Red Queen, and Anna Hathaway is unfortunately a rather boring White Queen, whose attempts at being kooky fall a bit flat. Crispin Glover makes a rare but welcome appearance in a big Hollywood blockbuster as the Red Queens right hand man. It's a one-note character but Glover brings an enjoyable creepiness to the role.

Before the film's release the most hype was for Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, and his performance is the most difficult to judge. It's incredibly uneven, vearing from a perfect mix of weirdness and humanity, to being overplayed and slightly cringy. Overall the performance is a bit of a disappointment, and the character sometimes stops being fun and becomes a bit tedious.

Tim Burton has stated in interviews that he wanted to avoid this version of Alice in Wonderland being a series of fantasy sequences with little linking each set piece. He has tried achieve this by introducing some bookend sequences revolving around Alice being forced into a marriage she has no interest in, and the amnesia aspect where Alice has forgotten she has visited Wonderland before as a young child. The script and story aren't fully developed though, so unfortunately for Tim the film essentially plays as a series of unrelated fantasy sequences.

Alice in Wonderland is glorious to look at, and looks nice in 3D even though there are few scenes that make full use of the 3D effect. But the shortfalls in the script and story, and the occasional hollow feeling which can affect any film burgeoning with computer generated effects, means this film isn't as successful as it should have been. Mostly entertaining, but somewhat of a missed opportunity.

Review - The Princess and the Frog

Five years after the lacklustre “Home on the Range,” Disney return to classic animated features with this charming if slightly by the numbers take on the classic “Frog Prince” tale. Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is a fiesty young girl living in New Orleans, who dreams one day of running a restaurant in honour of her father and his top class gumbo. However her plans are thrown into turmoil when she meets a talking frog who claims to be Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos,) who has fallen victim to a scheme by delightfully evil witch doctor Dr Facilier (Keith David). Naveen has confused Tiana for a princess, and asks her to kiss him to break the curse. After kissing sadly the curse isn't broken and Tiana becomes a frog herself. There's then a mad dash through New Orleans to find a way to change them both back, along the way meeting lovable crocodile Louis (Michael Leon-Wooley) and being chased by Dr Facilier's creepy voodoo goons.

The story is cookie cutter Disney and there are few surprises in the plot. What makes The Princess and the Frog a delight to watch are the colourful characters, excellent animation and pleasant songs. It's great to see some detailed and highly polished animation back on the big screen, which has a certain charm that CGI animation can't quite capture. Perhaps it's the joy of seeing the product of obvious time and effort screen, and there's clearly a lot of love put into the animation. Screenwriters and directors Ron Clements and John Musker (with writing help from Rob Edwards) are Disney veterans and are more than capable of bringing the well crafted cast to life. Tiana is headstrong and independent but never annoying, and the folk Naveen and Tiana meet in the Bayou including jazz loving crocodile Louis (a winner of a character) and elderly firefly Ray (Jim Cummings) are fun to hang around with. Dr Facilier is cerrainly one of the more memorable Disney villains, both camp and creepy, and his henchman may be giving young children nightmares for a few days after seeing the film. The film is a little bit fuzzy on his villainous motives but he's so much fun to watch it's not to much of a problem.

Along the way there are plenty of laughs and drama, punctuated with some decent if not very memorable songs by Randy Newman. The finale is pure Disney schmaltz and a scene towards the end will either have you cringing or bawling like a baby (I teared up a little.) The Princess and the Frog is not going to win any awards for originality but this is Disney on good form and there's plenty to entertain both the young and big kids at heart. Recommended.

Review - Ponyo (English dub)

Originally released in 2008 in Japan, Studio Ghibli's Ponyo finally makes it to the UK. This animated treat, although lacking some of the depth of Ghibli's previous efforts, is an enjoyable caper that both kids and adults will enjoy. Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) is a goldfish who dreams of living on the surface, and uses magic to change herself into a five year old girl and makes her way to dry land. Once there she meets five year old Sosuke (Frankie Jonas,) who lives with his mother (voiced by Tina Fey.) The two strike a friendship, but unfortunately Ponyo's magic has wreaked havoc and the moon is threatening to crash into the Earth. Also Ponyo's father (Liam Neeson) is desperate to bring her back, and is not afraid to use unorthodox tactics to do this.

The story, based on the Little Mermaid, is rather simple but it's fast paced and manages to keep some tension going. What works much better is the characterisation of Sosuke and his mother and Ponyo and her father. These are fleshed out characters and are very likeable and engaging. This helps make the sometimes slight story very enjoyable. The scenes where Ponyo is first bought to Sosuke's house in particular are funny and charming. There's plenty of humour throughout and a colourful supporting cast including some elderly care home residents who are impossible not to love. Overall the entire film is incredibly charming, and there's rarely a dull moment. The English dub of the film is rather good and well acted, especially from the young leads and Tina Fey.

The animation is excellent, and is clearly a labour of love which shows on the screen. The detail is great and director Hayao Miyazaki even manages to give waves and fishes engaging characterisation. Although the ending feels a little bit rushed, overall Ponyo is a delightful little feature and well worth a watch. Try to catch it in the cinema if you can to see the wonderful care and attention that has gone into the animation.

Review - Let the Right One In

This strange, enchanting film from Sweden is a refreshing take on the now well worn vampire genre. Kåre Hedebrant plays twelve year old Oskar, a lonely boy who is having trouble at school with bullies and has a strained relationship with his mother at home. He meets Eli (Lina Leandersson) a similarly distant and slightly weird twelve year old girl, and we follow the development of their sometimes awkward friendship. We also learn that Eli is hiding a dark secret: she is a vampire, and her “father” (Per Ragnar) who she lives with is actually a serial killer who kills his victims to provide blood for her.

Let the Right One In successfully combines two very different genres, coming of age and vampire horror, into a thoughtful and entertaining film. Oskar and Eli's story is subtly handled and draws the viewer in with a slow burning tension that works well. The screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist, based on his book, is excellent and although it moves at a slow pace it does not affect the viewer's enjoyment. The story is quite happy to take its time and allow the audience to enjoy a deeper understanding of Oskar and Eli. The horror elements are handled extremely well, with the film unafraid to enter darker and gorier territory. Due to the way the main bulk of the story is sensitively handled and feels realistic, when the horror does punctuate the story it allows director Tomas Alfredson to provide some memorable shocks and scenes which will remain in your memory. The film also makes good use of Sweden's snowy landscape and is beautifully shot. The scenery sometimes giving the film an otherworldly feel.

This is an accomplished film and is the work of people highly skilled and confident in their craft. Performance wise the young actors are particularly good, making this supernatural story seem like something that could actually happen in real life. The film rightly won a number of awards at the time of its release and no doubt a Hollywood remake is on the cards, although I doubt it could match the quality of the original.

Review - Anvil!: The Story of Anvil

In the 1980's Canadian metal group Anvil were, apparently, rock Gods. Sharing the stage with Whitesnake and Bon Jovi, they were headliner acts at the “Super Rock” festival of 1984, footage of which opens this charming little documentary. Their star soon faded however, and while Bon Jovi and co went on to bigger and better things, Anvil disappeared from the limelight. This documentary joins Anvil in the present day were they are a far cry from their 80's glory days.

Band members Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner may not be rocking stadiums anymore but they are still entertainers. Both have day jobs but they are far happier playing at local bars. Having tasted fame in the 80's they are always trying to find ways to hit the big time again. We follow the band on a ultimately disaster prone tour of Europe and the recording of a new comeback album which doesn't always go to plan. Rock and roll is never straight forward and this film proves that point – while Kudlow and Reiner are clearly great friends there are plenty of tantrums, fighting and tears along the way. This film could have easily become a grotesque Spinal Tap-esque parody of the rock industry, but the strong characters of Reiner and particularly Kudlow transform the film into a eye opening and thoroughly entertaining look at the world of a struggling rock band. These guys try incredibly hard to succeed and when it sometimes get to much they are not afraid to show their sometimes explosive emotions on camera. Although the touring and concert sequences are interesting and engaging some of the best parts of the film are set away from the rock antics, such as a lovely and occasionally hilarious sequence where Reiner shows his talent for painting.

Director Sacha Gervasi, a former roadie for Anvil in his teenager days, is quite happy to just point the camera and shoot what's happening with little intervention. Kudlow and Reiner are so entertaining to watch there's really not much more that can be done to spice things up. There's plenty of good humour here but also very personal drama as well. When the film was first released there were rumours that it was all a spoof, but watching the film there's no doubt that although these characters are sometimes larger than life, they are firmly rooted in reality. They share problems members of the audience are probably going through as well – second mortgages, debts, making them engaging to the audience and easy to relate to. Anvil is a very enjoyable documentary and well worth a watch. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets an Oscar nod this year.

Review: Avatar 3D

After a twelve year absence following 1997's "Titanic", director James Cameron makes a return to the big screen with this overblown but largely enjoyable fable. The action takes place in the future on a planet called Pandora, which contains a rich source of a rare mineral called "unobtainium" (one of the cringier moments of the script.) However the the inhabitants of the planet, the Na'vi, are unwilling to let humans take this mineral and a war is raging. Sam Worthington plays Jake, a paraplegic army man called up to replace his recently deceased brother in a project on the planet called "Avatar." The project allows humans to take control of a Na'vi body, hoping to blend in and learn more about their culture. As the story progresses Jake must decide if he's on the side of the humans or the Na'vi.

The story is mainly an excuse for a seemingly endless parade of special effects which do look rather impressive on the big screen. Pandora is a fantastic looking planet, especially during the night time scenes, where it takes on a strange ultraviolet look which looks great. The Na'vi race are also an amazing special effects achievement, with a depth and characterization rarely seen in CGI creations (apart from in Pixar films.) There really is no faulting the special effects and production design which is superb throughout. As for the human actors, who include Sigourney Weaver as the leader of the Avatar project, there's not much to say other than they get the job done. They definitely take a back seat to the effects. Sam Worthington is a likeable enough hero but there's nothing special about his performance.

Unfortunately the script and story don't nearly reach the same heights as the eye popping effects. The story is a predictable, pedestrian affair, with few surprises. The story has similar themes to Cameron's previous efforts "Aliens" and "The Abyss" but doesn't share the formers excitement or the latter's mystique. The script is also a bit of a dud, with little charm or wit. Its primary concern is to move the story from one elaborate special effect sequence to the next. Although the script and story are not very interesting, the spectacle on screen managed to keep my attention for most of the time. There are moments, especially just before the enjoyable finale, where the film threatens to sag under its own weight, but it manages to keep the entertainment going.

The 3D presentation makes the special effects look even more impressive, and adds a greater sense of realism. Unfortunately the tinted 3D glasses do dull the colours on the screen, but it doesn't impact the film too much. Overall I recommend giving Avatar a watch, although it is definitely a film to catch in the cinema, and in 3D format if possible. On DVD the special effects will lose some of their sparkle and the flaws in the script and story will be more noticeable.