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| TS3? The buzz is terrific 11 July, 2010 |
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Over 15 years, Pixar, the revolutionary animation production house, has given us 11 feature films including A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille and Up. These films have been as popular with adults as they are with children. [More] | |
| Too much sugar just can’t be good for you 13 June, 2010 |
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The main image that came to mind for reviewing Sex and the City 2 was that seeing it was like eating a couple of large slices of sponge cake, over-filled with cream and laden with lots of icing – maybe a treat at the start but, full of sugar, and ultimately not healthy for you. The moral unhealthiness for many could be gross envy of these four women from New York City who have no real experience of real life and have the money or the connections for them to be able to avoid it and stay fashionably dressed (with multi changes) while doing it. [More] | |
| It's Your Valentine ... if you like romantic fluff 28 February, 2010 |
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It is really a 2 hour plus movie equivalent of Valentine’s Day cards, posters and romantic gifts, roses and chocolates and dinner dates, in fact, the date movie par excellence. It was made for the romantic audience at the multiplex for a light night out. To that extent, it is critic proof. [More] | |
| Passion and a slice of history 7 February, 2010 |
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Based on John Carlin’s book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Changed a Nation, this movie focuses on Nelson Mandela’s involvement in the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa. The film depicts the unifying effect of the rugby game on a divided people and carries a stirring message. Morgan Freeman plays the part of Nelson Mandela, who brought leadership to his nation, and Matt Damon is the sporting captain, Francois Pienaar, who led his rugby team to an unexpected victory that captured the spirit of a nation. In the film, Clint Eastwood brings a sure touch to deliver a true story with great emotional impact, and he effectively mixes culture with history and deep emotional drama. [More] | |
| Imaginative jewel 13 December, 2009 |
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This film brings to the screen the much loved 1963 book by Maurice Sendak, which tells the story of a little boy called Max (Max Records) in a wolf suit, who gets sent to bed one night without dinner by his mother Connie (Catherine Keener) after she brings her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) home and Max jealously misbehaves. [More] | |
| Picture of a free spirit 22 November, 2009 |
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You would have to be a bit of a grouch (or a cinema buff who liked only more avant garde or experimental film-making) not to enjoy this old-fashioned lavishly produced portrait of aviator, Amelia Earheart, during her 10 years of limelight and flying feats. Especially if you know how it ends, you can sit back and be absorbed by this visit to the US of the 1920s and 1930s. Certainly the production values, sets, costumes, songs help us to immerse ourselves in this era. [More] | |
| Magic of dance and Li’s will to succeed 4 October, 2009 |
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The Australian director, Bruce Beresford, who gave us Breaker Morant (1980), Driving Miss Daisy (voted Best Picture in 1989), and Tender Mercies (1983), brings Li Cunxin’s prize-winning autobiography compellingly to the screen. The film tells an inspirational and true story of the discovery of a prodigious talent in an 11-year-old-boy, Li (played as a child by Huang Wen Bin), destined to become of the great dancers of the world. Almost by chance, and upon a seemingly casual gesture of a sympathetic teacher, Li is selected from a village school in the Shandong Province of China by recruiters from Madame Mao’s ballet academy in Beijing. On the hunt for talent to demonstrate the worth of the Cultural Revolution, they failed to foresee Li’s passion for freedom, as well as for dance, that led him to dramatically defect to the West in 1981, while performing on a short-term cultural scholarship with the Houston Ballet in the US. Li, brilliantly played in the film as an adult by Chi Cao, danced with the Houston Ballet for many years, before joining other ballet companies for a period of time, including the Australian Ballet. [More] | |
| Spoof Dance Flick slick 30 August, 2009 |
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This film is billed as an American parody of popular musical and dance films, which include Save the Last Dance, Hairspray, Flashdance, You Got Served, and High School Musical. A relatively thin plot weaves itself through the parody, and there are throw-away allusions to many other movies such as Singing in the Rain and the Prom night in Twilight. A white, suburban girl, Megan White (Shoshana Bush), loses her mother in a tragic car accident on the way to her ballet audition. After Megan fails the audition, she heads for the inner city, and is helped by worldly-wise Thomas Uncles (Damon Wayans Jr), who assists her with a series of misadventures. The city streets are savage, and Thomas’s help is needed. Thomas is a great street dancer, whose passion for dancing is put to the test in dance battles, as is his attraction to Megan. Thomas and Megan are from different sides of the tracks, and are united by their love of dancing. [More] | |
| Young Victoria sparkles 30 August, 2009 |
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Here is a worthwhile period drama and glance back at English heritage. It has beautiful and regal settings (including the interiors for Buckingham Palace), attractive locations, lots of regency costumes and everything to delight audiences who relish the look of a film. But, it has a lot more for those whose appreciation of detail is more ‘big picture’ and cursory. It takes us back to the late 1830s and someone we have rarely met or even know about, the young Victoria. [More] | |
| Best Potter movie 2 August, 2009 |
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Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, Frank Dillane, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, and Jessie Cave. Directed by David Yates. Rated M (Fantasy violence). 153 min. [More] | |
| Hannah a passing phase? 12 July, 2009 |
Definitely not the target audience for this movie spin-off from the Disney Channel’s popular series about the ‘ordinary’ girl, Miley Cyrus, and her media persona, Hannah Montana, I thought I should see a film which has been enormously popular with young girls and has the approval of many of their parents. [More] | |
| A trip into fantasy 31 May, 2009 |
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This is the film adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel of the same name that preceded his The Da Vinci Code. Liberties have been taken with Dan Brown’s novel which bring a different story to the screen. Key events and scenarios which made the novel very controversial have been omitted from the movie. [More] | |
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