Reviews in a nutshell
Every girl dreams of Prom and fantasises about the hunk they’ll go with. Who better to deliver the fairy tale than Disney with its credit sheet that includes the mighty Glee and High School Musical? Even though this is another ‘paint-by-numbers’ coming-of-age tale, Prom is sweet natured and likable enough with a band of vanilla …
Kids films come and go, and some (shamelessly) rely on big 3D promises to get the younger audience into cinema seats. So, it’s nice to see a good old-fashioned kids film – minus 3D – with bundles of straightforward, playful fun that all generations can enjoy. Sequels are tricky nuts to crack, especially with so …
Continue reading “Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules ****”
There’s an undeniable buzz of excitement at the thought of Captain Jack Sparrow returning for yet another swashbuckling adventure, simultaneously mixed with a feeling of intrepidation that the Sparrow charm might fail to translate this time around, especially after a four-year break. Sparrow is still a character with a lot of mileage, and thankfully, Johnny …
Continue reading “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ***”
From bunnies to birds, this Easter feels like a nature zone of full of cuddly cuteness. It’s the battle of the studio giants for your kids’ attention, with Universal’s Hop (out last week) verses 20th Century’s new holiday offering, Rio. What the latter has to offer, though, is all the spirit of Rio for weary …
Admittedly, Russell Brand is an acquired taste, and if that taste is slowly turning sour in the mouth after endless media reports about the Brand marriage and rising Brand transatlantic stardom, you would be forgiven for releasing a disparaging groan at the mere mention of Hop – a film voiced by Brand. Much as this …
Pirates of the Caribbean colleagues, director Gore Verbinski and actor Johnny Depp are the headliners on this new animation’s poster. But in all honesty, you really wouldn’t recognise Depp’s vocals, were you not in the know. Depp is like a voice chameleon himself as the optimistic lizard lead, Rango, the latest bestial hero sent to …
It’s absolutely true that you need to be of the Twilight teen generation to engage with Gough and co’s screen adaptation of ‘Pittacus Lore’s youth sci-fi novel of the same name. It’s also true that you need to appreciate the ‘crash-bang-wallop’ nature of producer Michael Bay’s films – as in carnage of the metallic kind, …
How do you review a Justin Bieber film? If you’re a fan, it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference what critics write – you’ve got the screening time, the date and the cinema ticket already. So, this is aimed at the non-fan, the curious, and those yet unaffected by ‘Bieber fever’. Is it worth …
Shakespeare never got cuter, it seems. Kelly Asbury and co. bring the famous bard’s tale to the big screen in 3D in one of the most charming and child-friendly ways possible, whilst educating the little darlings in the process. Yes, garden gnomes are used to retell the tale of forbidden love across the divide – …
