Maya The Bee ***
A nice, safe, simplistic cinematic homage to Bonsels’ character. While Maya might be remembered for her sunny-yellow, can-do attitude, the rest can’t necessarily be said about the particulars of the film.
Category: Animation
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water 3D ****
Trying to explain why a talking yellow sponge is a hilarious concept to the uninitiated is quite impossible (speaking from experience here). That’s why it’s best to just expose them to the insanity that is Spongebob SquarePants and let the chips fall. It’s not to everyone’s taste – and certainly implies the makers are on …
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Penguins of Madagascar ****
If you ever thought the quartet of zoo penguins in Madagascar deserved their own film, this is it. Skipper (Tom McGrath), Rico (John DiMaggio), Kowalski (Jeff Bennett), and Private (James Patrick Stuart) regroup in a Bond-style adventure that starts off with a comical March of the Penguins spoof. This sets the sharp-witted tone ahead with …
LFF 2013: The Congress ***
Waltz With Bashir animator Ari Folman takes on the advancing techno nature of the Hollywood film industry in his hybrid (live action/animation), political sci-fi The Congress. It’s hard to distinguish whether the film itself or the myriad of ideas it boldly flags deserve the true credit. Debate aside, Folman uses animation to illustrate the ‘death …
Earth To Echo ***
Each generation needs its own ‘E.T.’ to believe in, to feed little dreams of friendly alien life out there. Cameraman-come-debut-feature-director Dave Green’s PG-friendly flick introduces us to Echo, a more mechanical but still very organic being that also channels today’s youngsters’ gadget obsession. A neighbourhood is being phased out to make way for a highway, …
Tarzan 3D **
‘The King of the Jungle’ and his man-ape antics are not deemed enough to keep the 2014 kid engaged, it seems. Well, that appears to be the case, with German company Constantin Films’ new take of Tarzan – all in 3D. For those who know the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character, this animated Tarzan becomes emerged …
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 *****
Food alive! It’s the much-awaited sequel to the 2009 film that includes marauding cheeseburgers, shrimpanzees and a feast full of colourful silliness on the menu. The relief is it’s as funny, if not zanier than the first – complete with some of the worse puns this century (check out the trailer), thanks to some new …
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Jack The Giant Slayer ***
It’s fairy-tale time, another favourite ideas pot that Hollywood likes to dip into around the holidays to produce a film in time for family viewing. This time it’s the turn of Jack and the Beanstalk, a tale of man verses giant that should whet the appetite of any potential cinemagoer with a longing for some …
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ***
From one book to three separate features, Peter Jackson’s transformation of the classic Tolkien children’s novel has been a labour of love indeed for the LOTR director. The argument that will rage after viewing it on the big screen is just how necessary was it to create three films – regardless of how great the …