Certificate:

Director: Tim Burton

Release Date: 5 March 2010

Tagline: You’re invited to a very important date.

Main Cast:

Johnny Depp … Mad Hatter

Mia Wasikowska … Alice

Helena Bonham Carter … Red Queen

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are a marriage made in heaven. With Tim Burton you are sure to get a visual delight and a cinematic experience that is unique to him. It would also be rather remiss of me to neglect to mention Danny Elfman, whose talent makes up  a fantastic trio.

It’s magical, fantastical, and utterly delightful! I also really enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter’s performance, although it’s rather disconcerting to see her head on a small body!

I never really liked AIW as a child (I didn’t like the Chronicles of Narnia either), so, for me, this was not as enjoyable as Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I love Roald Dahl). In that respect, I can’t really do a total review as I do not know the books. Perhaps an AIW devotee may not like this.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Henry Selick

Release Date: 8 May 2009

Tagline: Be careful what you wish for.

Main Cast: (voice)

Dakota Fanning … Coraline Jones

Teri Hatcher … Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam

Jennifer Saunders … Miss April Spink / Other Spink

Dawn French … Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible

I really liked this. A beautifully crafted stop-motion animated tale about a bored girl whose explorations give her more than she bargained for. This is the first 3D stop-motion film to be made, although I can’t comment on if was a success or not as I watched the 2D version.

Coraline is rather an unlikeable character. Her family have just moved in to a rather peculiar house that has been divided in to apartments, and the other residents are all oddballs. Neither of her parents have much time for her so she’s left to find her own entertainment. She’s sullen and rude, and I kind of liked it when she realised how much trouble she’d got herself in.

She comes across a small door which leads her to a parallel universe where her parents are attentive and her every whim is catered for. She is offered a chance to stay with these ‘other parents’, but she must first replace her eyes with black buttons (all of the characters in the other world beyond the door have buttons for eyes). This doesn’t appeal to Coraline, and the true nature of her predicament becomes evident.

Coraline is a dark fairytale like story with some really creepy moments and a sinister undertone and is definitely not for small children. In fact, I can see this giving more than one or two a few nightmares.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Directors: Matthew O’Callaghan and Todd Wilderman (co-director)

Release Date: 27 January 2009

Tagline: This time it’s pets against wilds. Weiner takes all!

Main Cast: (voice)

Joel McHale … Elliot

Mike Epps … Boog

If you haven’t seen the original you might wonder what on earth is going on, so I recommend you watch Open Season first.  You’ll get more out of it if you do. Of course, being a kid’s film it’s not essential, but I like to watch films in the correct order and you’ll get a better feel for the main characters if you do.

Whilst not in the same league as Pixar (but then again, who is?) I found this to be a really funny sequel and not in the least bit disappointing. There is plenty to amuse kids and adults alike (it had my husband laughing out loud!)

The poor old bunnies get a bit of a raw deal, but they are scene stealers! Their expressions are priceless!

Good, solid entertainment and I would happily watch it again.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Directors: John Lasseter and Joe Ranft (co-director)

Release Date: 28 July 2006

Tagline: Ahhh… It’s got that new movie smell.

Main Cast: (voice)

Owen Wilson … Lightning McQueen

Paul Newman … Doc Hudson

Bonnie Hunt … Sally Carrera

Larry The Cable Guy … Mater

I have no clue why this received lukewarm reviews on release as it’s a very charming, funny and engaging film. How the animators managed to get so much character into cars I’ll never know. Humans and animals are easy to inject with emotion, but Pixar are proving to be exceptional at showing emotions on just about anything that they can put eyes on!

The film opens with a thundering race scene and the high octane thrills are fantastic, but its real joy is in the gentle and close knit town in which Lightning McQueen finds himself.

My favourite character has to be Mater, and my favourite scene is when he takes Lightning ‘cow’ tipping. Pure genius!

Cars is a visually stunning gem of a film. What more could you ask for?

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Tim Burton

Release Date: 29 July 2005

Tagline: Oompa-Loompas are crazy for cocoa beans.

Main Cast:

Johnny Depp … Willy Wonka

Freddie Highmore … Charlie Bucket

David Kelly … Grandpa Joe

Another visually wonderful treat from Tim Burton. He’s the perfect director for this quirky and slightly twisted work of art by Roald Dahl. All the usual Burton elements are there; great visuals, Johhny Depp and Danny Elfman (score) and as usual, they all work perfectly together.

The casting is fantastic. Charlie is humble and dignified and the other four kids are crass and ghastly and all play their roles perfectly. Not one of them is over the top and annoying.  And, of course, Depp is simply perfect.

Totally engaging from the start, CatCF is a superb journey that remains loyal to Dahl’s book. Mind you, it’s no surprise as you can’t improve on perfection!

A joy from start to finish.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Release Date: 10 July 2008

Tagline: Take a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget.

Main Cast:

Meryl Streep … Donna Sheridan

Pierce Brosnan … Sam Carmichael

Plus many others including Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski

OK, all you’ve heard about Mamma Mia! is true. It’s a delight for ABBA fans, a chick flick and a gay man’s dream. However, if you are none of the above then please don’t rule it out, because it’s an absolute riot!

I loved the West End production, and, I have to say, had my reservations about a film version. I should never have doubted them. Yes the singing is at times somewhat ropey, but it’s the very fact that it is totally honest is what makes it so right.

Mamma Mia! is an unadulterated feel good film. Probably the best ever. Carling don’t do feel good movies, but if they did…  ;-p

Heterosexual males – abandon your machismo for 108 minutes and just enjoy yourselves (only with your wives or girlfriends, of course… Just to preserve your image). After all, neither you or your mates are ever going to admit it to each other!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

P.S. Look out for a fleeting cameo from Benny Andersson. I didn’t know he was in it so I had to do a double take!

Certificate:

Director: Chris Weitz

Release Date: 5 December 2007

Tagline: “It is the Alethiometer. It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you’ll have to learn by yourself.”

Main Cast:

Nicole Kidman … Mrs Coulter

Daniel Craig … Lord Asriel

Dakota Blue Richards … Lyla

I generally like fantasy films and I was hoping for a slick film with adventure and a sturdy plot. Unfortunately, The Golden Compass is tedious, clichéd, confusing and poorly acted. I nearly switched it off on more than one occasion, but decided to stick with it.

There seems to be a worrying trend growing where some of our finest actors are becoming no more than bit parts in this genre (particularly Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen). As for the children, the obligatory ’street urchins’ were too much for me to bear, and the children’s accents seemed to switch from slightly plummy to (embarrassingly bad) cockney with alarming regularity. Nicole Kidman’s talent is wasted in such rubbish and I wondered what she was doing in it. Her role was so undemanding that it could have been played by anyone with a modicum of talent.

Because it is flawed in almost every area it is very hard for me to come up with any redeeming features. However, I do like talking animals and it had a few of them in it Having said that though, they were neither engaging nor amusing and Iorek was too much like Aslan (of the Narnia Chronicles) for me.

Perhaps children in the age range of seven to twelve might enjoy this (mostly girls), but there are other films of this genre that are far superior (Stardust being one of them). I was glad when it ended and will not be watching any future sequels. Very disappointing.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Andrew Adamson

Release Date: 26 June 2008

Tagline: A new age has begun.

Main Cast:

Ben Barnes … Prince Caspian

Georgie Henley … Lucy Pevensie

Skandar Keynes … Edmund Pevensie

William Moseley … Peter Pevensie

Anna Popplewell … Susan Pevensie

Whilst I enjoyed TCoN: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I was not a huge fan of it. It looked very pretty, but seemed a bit bland to me. I must confess though, that I dislike ‘precious’ English children in films. They always simper a lot, and invariably can’t act. The actors that play the Pevensie children are no exception and I had an equally tough time watching them in this too.  I did like Ben Barnes though as he’s not at all like the others. My dislike of English children aside though, I can’t say that I liked this any more than the first. I thought that at 150 minutes it was rather too long and I found myself losing interest. I seemed to ponder on how the Telmarine men (and possibly the women too) liked having beards. Even their masks had beards. Needless to say, Prince Caspian was handsomely clean shaven. I also never cease to be amazed at how quivers in the movies are magical – archers never, ever run out of arrows.

I should imagine that children from the age of about seven would really enjoy this, but the run time would almost certainly be too much for younger children to sit through. However, as I am reviewing this from an adult’s point of view, I shall rate it accordingly. I watch many children’s films, and I generally enjoy them (as you can see by my other reviews), so I don’t think I’m being unfair.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Edmund Goulding

Release Date: 22 April 1939

Main Cast:

Bette Davis … Judith Traherne

George Brent … Dr. Frederick Steele

Humphrey Bogart … Michael O’Leary

Geraldine Fitzgerald … Ann King

Ah… Bette Davis. There is none finer. An absolute gem of Hollywood’s golden years actors and, arguably, the finest of them all.

Bette Davis was one of a kind. She took on the studios and fought for better roles and was more than worth her weight in gold to Warner Bros.

Dark Victory is not only one of her more well known roles but is also one of her finest. I prefer the grittier characters that she played (such as her marvellous portrayals of Julie Morrison in Jezebel and Margo Channing in All About Eve), but she is still magnificent in this. She turns the sentimental and somewhat average storyline into something worthwhile.

Quite why we had to endure so much of the maid in the closing scene is beyond me though. Why waste such time with an absolute nobody in the script when they could have been showing us the wonderful Bette is beyond me.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Dave Filoni

Release Date: 15 August 2008

Tagline: Star Wars like you’ve never seen it before.

Main Cast: (voice)

Matt Lanter … Anakin Skywalker

James Arnold Taylor … Obi-Wan Kenobi / 4-A7 / Medical Droid

Ashley Eckstein … Ahsoka Tano

Christopher Lee … Count Dooku

Ian Abercrombie … Senator Palpatine / Darth Sidious

Tom Kane  …  Yoda / Narrator / Admiral Yularen

I am so sick of the Star Wars prequels whiners, and even more sick of those who hated them so much that they are seemingly willing to trash all present and future ventures. Why can’t these people get it into their heads that they have grown up (at least physically) and therefore must accept that there are going to be elements that seem pretty childish.

This is aimed at children but there is also plenty for us older fans to like. The battle scenes are pretty exciting, and the lightsaber duels are very good.

I really liked this and can’t understand the terrible reviews it had. One critic panned the animation, but I thought it was superb. The Clone Wars has a look and feel all its own and works well not only as a lead up to the new series, but also as a companion to the original Clone Wars animation shorts. I also can’t understand the same critic’s view that the actors were poor. I thought that James Arnold Taylor, Ian Abercrombie and Tom Kane were very convincing as Obi-Wan, Palpatine and Yoda respectively. Matt Lanter also made a credible Anakin.

I did find the character of Ahsoka quite annoying. I can understand that they needed to give Anakin someone to converse with, but they could have come up with a better character. I hated the nickname “Sky Guy” and I also didn’t like Jabba the Hutt calling his son “Punky Muffin”. That’s just plainly unacceptable and cheapens Jabba (whose voice actor was also very convincing).

Overall, it’s not perfect but if you can get over the “Sky Guy” and “Punky Muffin” atrocities then you’ll have a good time.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars