Zootopia Movie Review
The film follows Judy, a carrot farmer's daughter who bucks social norms to engage in a career usually reserved for more robust species such as oxen, rhinos and tigers. When her abilities are underestimated by her chief of police, she teams up with city slicker con-fox, Nick, who is similarly socially pigeon-holed in accordance with his species as a sly character who is always up to no good.
The film is a little heavy handed with its anti-bullying, anti-discrimination, social inclusion, ...
The Good Dinosaur Movie Review
Pixar are renowned for producing films of varied levity from the fun Finding Nemo to the much more serious Inside Out which is capable of reducing adults to a blubbering mess. They're all primarily aimed at kids though, so from a tyke's perspective they're all fun (mum and dad are just wusses).
From the outset (and on the strength of the promotional trailer), The Good Dinosaur looks like one of Pixar's lightweight affairs but upon viewing it quickly becomes apparent that there is a ...
Hotel Transylvania 2 Movie Review
It was littered with mildly funny gags referencing classic horror films, blended with a modern yet ironically timeless grrrl power theme about a grown-up daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), rebelling against her old fashioned father, Dracula (Adam Sandler), for her right to make her own way in the big bad world. Drac also has to learn to accept Mavis' choice of partner; in this case, a normal human, Jonathan (Andy Samberg). Hotel Transylvania 2 goes one step further in this ethos and this turns ...
Inside Out Movie Review
It's no surprise that Disney is promoting Inside Out on the back of Up as (aside from the directorial connection) it is the Pixar film that is most similar to date. Both films employ very adult themes packaged in an easily digestible kiddie format.
The film beautifully visualises the thought processes and memory structures of the human mind, distilling human emotions to five fundamentals - joy, sadness, anger, disgust and fear - and represents these as little people conflicting inside ...
Minions Movie Review
Its timeline starts from the beginning of time and quickly accelerates to the swinging sixties and as such makes for some very funny history lessons. It also rewards those looking for popular culture references with a wide range of improbable moments. The soundtrack is also fantastically period appropriate and the filmmakers spared no expense in securing the original songs by the original artists. The licensing fees must have been through the roof.
The core of the action eventually ...
Cinderella Movie Review
Her step-mother and sisters are evil beyond redemption and the prince is handsome and honourable beyond reproach. None of this is unexpected, of course - Disney is as Disney does and it's perfect little girl fodder, complete with doe-eyed innocence and glittery flouncy dresses. And it's all shot with an impossible beauty that can only be achieved on a perfectly lit studio set.
Nothing is a surprise - the goodies get their fairy tale ending and the baddies get their just desserts. It's ...
What We Did On Our Holiday Competition
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A hilarious journey through an unforgettable family holiday as a couple attempts to keep their impending divorce secret from their extended family.
Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike) and their three children travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug’s father Gordie’s (Billy Connolly) birthday party, where it’s soon clear that when it comes to keeping their secret under wraps their children are their biggest liability.
From nine year old Lottie’s notebook to ...
Big Hero 6 Movie Review
Disney's cinematic adaptation of Marvel's Big Hero 6 markets itself off the back of Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen but it is an inferior film to both of those movies, lacking the intergenerational appeal and depth of those predecessors.
Big Hero 6 is all just a bit ‘kiddie’ and twee compared to its contemporaries. Yes, this is a kid’s movie but after all the intergenerational ‘kids’ movies we've had from Pixar and others, a plain ol' kids movie barely cuts it anymore. The beauty of ...
Wreck-It Ralph Movie Review
One of the core problems with TRON: Legacy was that it completely disregarded the subsequent advances in video gaming since the first film. In an age where the first person shooter is considered de rigueur, TRON: Legacy was still playing with light cycles (Blockade/Surround) and illuminated Frisbees (Pong). Wreck-It Ralph corrects this oversight by internally chronicling the history of video games from the likes of Q*Bert and Tapper to 2D fighters' Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat to the ...
How To Train Your Dragon 2 Movie Review
Hiccup is clearly in a loving relationship with Astrid and Hiccup's dad, Stoick, is talking wedding bells. But there's a darkness that accompanies this maturing of the story elements and it proves to be a double-edged sword.
The unbridled fun of the first film (probably Dreamworks' best animated feature) takes a heavy hit in this one with the story centering around loss, love and loss again. Hiccup's discovery of his long lost mother (voiced by Cate Blanchett impersonating Emma Thompson, ...
