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Certificate: 
Director: Danny Boyle
Release Date: 5 April 2007
Tagline: Dark days are coming.
Main Cast:
Cliff Curtis … Searle
Cillian Murphy … Capa
Michelle Yeoh … Corazon
I missed this film when it was on at the cinema and wish I hadn’t. Sunshine is perfect for the big screen. Most films set in space are, but this film has a certain feel to it that makes it especially true. There’s a real sense of isolation and vast expanse that is reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The plot is very simple and feels, for the most part, very plausible. I didn’t find myself having to suspend belief to get anything out of it. The acting is very good, and I liked the characters. Although there are traces of the usual stereotypes, it’s not overbearing and cheesy like so many others before it.
The pace of the film worked well. It’s not a typical space action adventure, so unless you like a slow and steady build up, then you may get a little bored. Again, it’s not unlike 2001 in that respect (although there are few films as painfully slow as that!).
It’s not faultless though. There is an inexplicable horror type twist that is totally out of place. There was a perfectly reasonable option open, but the writer/director chose to go down the crazy route. It ends up in a confusing mass of blurred shots and some rather incomprehensible cuts. The last few minutes are ruined as it is a struggle to understand what is going on. Which is a real shame.
I liked it though, and it’s well worth a look.
Rating: 
Certificate:
Director: Dominic Polcino
Release Date: 21 January 2008 (original TV air date 23 September 2007)
Main Cast: (Voice)
Seth MacFarlane … Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Glen Quagmire, Tom Tucker
Alex Borstein … Lois Griffin
Seth Green … Chris Griffin
Ok, ok, I know. Technically this shouldn’t be here because it’s not a film. But I love Star Wars, so it’s going in!
This is Family Guy’s take on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. And a very funny one it is too! It’s ANH at breakneck speed, and the various little parodies work well. The events run very well with the score – it’s all timed to perfection! The attention to detail is exceptional, and it’s as if you are watching the real ANH.
My favourite moment? Easy! Peter (Han) singing along with the music in the TIE Fighter battle after the escape of the Millennium Falcon from the Death Star. We’ve all sat there and done that too!
Sure, one or two of the jokes fall a little flat, but on the whole it’s very enjoyable. Of course, you have to have seen Family Guy to understand much of the humour. So, if you’re a Star Wars fan and have never seen FG, then watch a few episodes first to familiarise yourself with it.
Oh, and if you’re wondering where ‘Blue Harvest’ fits in, it was the fake production name that was used by Lucasfilm when shooting Return of the Jedi.
It’s hard to rate this. It’s not perfect, but looking at it from the objective of a Star Wars devotee, it’s exceptional in many ways. So, I’m going to do a first for this site, and give it two ratings 
Overall Rating: 
Attention to detail & animation quality Rating:
Certificate: 
Director: Jon Favreau
Release Date: 03 February 2006
Tagline: A new adventure from the world of Jumanji.
Main Cast:
Jonah Bobo … Danny
Josh Hutcherson … Walter
Dax Shepard … Astronaut
Zathura is a fantastic film that deserves a tagline far greater than that above. Jumanji was released in 1995 – a whole eleven years before this – so how on Earth do they expect kids to get excited about the mention of an old film that they’ve probably never heard of before, let alone seen?
Anyway, let the review begin!
The film is very original, and presses all my buttons! It’s sci-fi, it’s about an old board game that has been discovered at the back of a wardrobe (so to speak), and it’s a great adventure.
I loved every minute of of Zathura, and I can’t imagine a child out there who wouldn’t. Unless, that is, they are devoid of imagination. Oh, and if they are very ‘girly’ girls who think that space and rockets and aliens are ‘boring’ and would rather play with their plastic pink princess castles & such tripe. Needless to say, I have nothing in common with these girls, and as such, it is very unlikely that I will ever be reviewing a crappy girlie or ‘teen’ movie.
But I digress (and not for the first time on this site!).
If you possess an imagination, and have the same buttons as I do, then watch Zathura – I don’t care how old you are!
It’s a film that I would happily watch again.
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Kerry Conran
Release Date: 01 October 2004
Tagline: Join the Resistance.
Main Cast:
Gwyneth Paltrow … Polly Perkins
Jude Law … Sky Captain
I’m not sure how to rate this film. Visually, it’s very stunning, and I found myself enjoying it up until about half way through, when I lost interest.
It’s an odd mix between the 1940s and the future. I’m not sure that the children of today will understand the blend of the past and the future, however, that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be done. On the contrary, I hope that it will make today’s kids want to learn more about the past.
The film starts with a Zeppelin called Hindenburg III docking at New York City. Now, I don’t wish to be pedantic, but there never was a Hindenburg III, and no Zeppelin ever docked in this area. I only mention this really as it, along with a cinema screening of The Wizard of Oz (released in 1939) dates the film in the late 1930s / early 1940s. The original Hindenburg crashed in 1937, so one would assume that the film is indeed set around 1939. Of course, no children will care about this in the slightest, and it does at least open their eyes to the fact that Zeppelins existed, and how far removed they are from today’s technology.
Anyway, like I said, it’s not really a criticism as such, more of a quibble. I like things to be factually correct in films.
Overall, I think that this is a good all round family film and should keep most older children entertained. It’s not one for younger children as there will be nothing here that they would be interested in.
Oh, and the end of the film is very good!
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Release Date: 25 September 1998
Tagline: Fear… Paranoia… Suspicion… Desperation.
Main Cast:
Nicole de Boer … Joan Leaven
Nicky Guadagni … Helen Holloway
David Hewlet … David Worth
Andrew Miller … Kazan
Wayne Robson … Rennes
Maurice Dean Wint … Quentin
This is one of those rare films that I stumbled upon by accident and found myself absolutely loving it. Seven complete strangers of widely varying personality characteristics are involuntarily placed in a seemingly endless maze of cubes, some of which contain deadly traps. We know only as much as the protagonisits do and as the film progresses we learn why all the different characters have been placed there. They have to work as a team but as the fear and desperation builds, the basic human survival instinct begins to take hold. It’s simple yet brilliantly clever, and you get a real sense of building tension and claustrophobia throughout.
Cube will leave you thinking about it for a long time after,and you’ll find yourself with a lasting feeling that you have watched something so unusual and clever that you will want to see it again.
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Release Date: 22 October 2004
Tagline: Whoever wins… We lose.
Main Cast:
Sanaa Lathan … Alexa Woods
Raoul Bova … Sebastian de Rosa
Lance Henriksen … Charles Bishop Weyland
Oh dear. What an absolute pile of drivel this is. AVP is a shameful vehicle made purely to cash in on the fantastic Alien films and the also popular Predator. The acting is poor to say the least, and the characters are totally uninteresing stereotypes. There’s the heroine, the hero, the nerd, the butch female (butch but not gay, as is quickly pointed out to us lest we be horrified and tempted to switch off) etc, etc. You get the picture, I’m sure.
Considering the ancient temple that the film is set in (the very first civilisation, supposedly), the nerd and the hero are experts at translating the script on the temple walls. We need two characters to be ‘experts’, as they get split up and one gets wiped out fairly quickly, otherwise there would be no one to explain the plot to us. There’s even a very complex looking puzzle that Mr. Hero manages to solve in the blink of an eye.
The dialogue is some of the most corny and clichéd that I’ve ever heard, and they sure do pack ‘em in! It’s embarrassing, really.
There is also absolutely no tension whatsoever. It’s just a playground brawl between the two alien species – we don’t care in the slightest who wins. The human characters are so unlikeable that you’ll find yourself relieved when they get killed. And the teaming up of our heroine with one of the predators is ridiculous beyond belief.
There were two elements, however, that I did like. The sacrificial chamber with the alien eggs was a nice idea, and I liked how the temple kept changing to juice up the battlefield (although this reminded me of the excellent Cube).
Truly one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. Be afraid… Be very afraid.
Rating:
Certificate: 
Director: George Lucas
Release Date: 16 July 1999
Tagline: Every generation has a legend. Every journey has a first step. Every saga has a beginning.
Main Cast:
Liam Neeson … Qui-Gon Jinn
Ewan McGregor … Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman … Queen Padme Amidala
Jake Lloyd … Anakin Skywalker
Frank Oz … Yoda (voice)
Ian McDiarmid … Senator Palpatine
WARNING – THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SAGA
First of all, I should mention that I am a Star Wars fan. Actually, that’s an understatement. I am a First Generation fan, and I’m obsessed by it!
I can’t let this review pass without mentioning a few things and finally being able to get it off my chest, so to speak.
There are many fans out there who did nothing but moan about TPM from the very beginning. First they hated the title, then they hated the film because “there is not enough action”, and it was “made for children”.
The title is perfect. Anakin is the phantom menace. In this chapter, they are unaware of the terrible fate of that awaits both him and the galaxy. Only Yoda has a foreboding about it.
How much action did they expect at the beginning of the saga? Palpatine’s rise to power was a cleverly crafted one that took years to come to fruition. At this point in the timeline, the Jedi are still the peacekeepers of the galaxy, and though everything appears to be right, they recognise that the Republic is beginning to show signs of disorder. TPM is a perfect scene setter for what is to come. It also brings the characters together very credibly. Nothing seems forced (no pun intended!) at all.
Yes, it is a family film with a U certificate. What those fans appeared to miss was the fact that all three films in the original trilogy were also U certificates. The original fans were children themselves when watching the films for the first time. This point seemed to pass them by completely.
And then there’s Jar Jar. In the original trilogy, the humour was provided by the great double act that was C-3PO and R2-D2. In this chapter they have not yet teamed up. Granted, Jar Jar was annoying at times, and perhaps George Lucas could have toned him down a little. But the not very bright Jar Jar will provide a very important moment in the next episode (Attack of the Clones).
As a stand alone film, TPM is not going to make much sense, and if this is your first ever Star Wars film, you will probably wonder what all the fuss is about. But they are not meant to be stand alone films. They are part of a saga and, as such, they must be seen as a whole. That was Lucas’s plan from the very beginning, and that is why they are episodes. In fact, to get the most out of them, you really should see them in the original order i.e. IV, V and VI and then I, II and III. If seen in chronological order, your opinion of Anakin is already formed, and you will view Darth Vader in a very different light.
Ok. That’s much better. Now on to the review!
The acting, in general, was very good. I thought that Ewan McGregor was well cast as Obi-Wan, but he seemed to be so concerned with being like Alec Guinness that he forgot to be Obi-Wan. That’s only a small thing though, because he does nail the speech pattern, and we can recognise the old Obi-Wan in the young.
Anakin is protrayed perfectly. He is a precocious child who has an unnatural and powerful ability. He has a kind of untamed energy about him, and we, the viewer, know that ultimately the Jedi will fail with him, and he’ll become the most ruthless and feared man in the galaxy. The Jedi think that Anakin is the one spoken of in the prophecy; the one who will restore peace and balance to the galaxy. And though it seems that they are badly mistaken, in the end the prophecy is right, as it is Darth Vader/Anakin who destroys the Emperor.
The pod racing scene is stunning and the rivalry between Anakin and Sebulba shows how competitive Anakin is, and the final fight between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul is absolutely fantastic.
Darth Maul’s double ended lightsabre is a real ‘wow’ moment, and overall he’s a very good villain. He’s a very striking character, and is one of the enduring images of the film.
We can see how Palpatine is very slyly manipulative, and it’s great to watch him ingratiate himself, knowing what we know.
The scene where Anakin’s mother encourages him to leave with Qui-Gon is very touching. She knows that Anakin has a special gift, and even though it breaks her heart to lose him, she wants him to realise the potential he so obviously has.
George Lucas with his ILM crew have been at the forefront of ground breaking technical advancements in film making, and we have much to thank them for. My only (slight) disappointment with the film was the fact that the special effects looked like special effects. However, this was because the technology was brand new, and they had yet to get it down to a fine art. I enjoyed the battle of Naboo (it had elements of the Ewok battle on Endor), and provided a nice touch that we obsessed fans appreciated (I hope). In the original trilogy, the Empire mistrusts droids, and there are very few in service. Palpatine discards the use of them because they are fundamentally flawed – as demonstrated in this battle. The entire army of STAP droids were rendered useless when the command ship was taken out.
But I digress (slightly).
Finally, I loved the slight smirk on Palpatine’s face when the Jedi realise that with a Sith apprentice, there is always a master. And he is out there, unknown…
I loved TPM because it sets the scene perfectly. To me, that was the single most important thing.
It may not have been a perfect film, but it was perfect to me.
Rating: