Burnham-On-Sea film enthusiast Molly Harding, who was last year nominated for the national award ‘Young Film Critic of the Year’, reviews the latest crop of films showing at Burnham’s Ritz Cinema in Victoria Street this week…
Winnie the Pooh (U)
Pooh Bear and familiar friends are back for a new adventure in the Hundred Acre Wood as they try to save Christopher Robin from the clutches of the monstrous Backson.
Disney has gone back to basics with this film, no CGI or 3D glasses just good old hand drawn animation. A decision which I feel has paid off, to change the way in which such a long running cartoon is made would have been an awful one and taken away from the warm nostalgia this film will bring both parents and older children alike whilst still appealing to the new generation.
Along the way Pooh must also try and find a new tail for the ever depressed and loveable Eeyore to collect the “hunny” reward and feed his growling stuffed interior. All of the original characters are back to help also including Tiger, Piglet, Owl and Kanga.
What makes this Winnie the Pooh film so special though is not only is it brilliant for children it is also great for animation fans alike. Not just because of its style but because of how the book is brung to life as the characters walk across the sentences and having letters displaced from the pages as tools or toys makes it a joy for animation loving parents or older siblings. It’s not exactly edgy but it’s a nice quirky touch that makes it all the more enjoyable for everyone.
Short and sweet – 4/5
Source Code (12A)
Captain Colter-Stevens (Jake Gyllenhall) has a time loop of eight minutes where he has to find the bomber of a train which has already gone off to prevent a second, much more serious attack using the new “Source Code” technology. Whilst doing this he also is trying to figure out what has happened to his real self and what the difference between reality and the parallel situation he has been put in is.
Confused? There’s no need to be, it’s one of those films that you only need to be able to understand the basic plot outline to keep up with the action. All it is is; soldier put in someone else’s body to try and find bomber and stop another attack but he doesn’t know what has happened to his real self. When you think about this plot it is actually using a very loose similar formula to “Avatar” with the injured man in pod situation but for completely different purposes and the outcome of completely different films.
“Source Code” is pure entertainment, a proper popcorn munching film that keeps you guessing until the satisfying end. Also as always there’s the romance thrown in but considering he has only meant to have know this woman for a matter of minutes you can still sense the chemistry but aren’t sure what the outcome of it will be
.
I think this is the definition of a good hearty film, it’s one that although isn’t going to be “the best film you’ve ever seen” or knock on the door of the Academy but you will be happy you’ve seen it and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone I know.
My favourite film of the week – 4/5
Hop (U)
Reluctant heir to the Easter bunny throne E.B. (Russell Brand) runs/ hops away to Hollywood to follow his dreams of becoming a drummer, there he meets slacker Fred and together they must dodge bunny agents, “The Pink Berets,” and turn Fred into the perfect human Easter bunny.
If I were to pick a film to go and see with a friend it would not be a U rated film about bunnies, but in the same breath this film is not aimed at me so therefore my personal opinion is invalid. So “Hop,” it’s basically the Christmas formula applied to Easter. There is lots of slapstick fun and a colourful part Easter treat factory backdrop that will really set young minds racing and bring all the magic of Christmas to Easter for the toddler to tween generation. But be warned parents, if you let your children watch this then you had better stock up on some Easter baskets, oh the disappointment on their faces if you don’t!
There is absolutely nothing to offend anyone in this film, it’s squeaky clean slapstick fun and even a great first film. Also it’s the perfect cinema trip for the Easter holidays, as for the parents, lets just say its, at the least, bearable.
Perhaps that’s unfair as Russell Brand does make the most of his floppy eared character and as shameful as it is to admit it, I did laugh a couple of times as did my friend. Bizarrely David Hasslehoff cameos which was rather amusing, his response to the talking rabbit was “Well my best friend is a talking car,” yes Hoff, that does make sense.
In all “Hop” is a colourful, clean and cute cinema trip for the Easter Holidays, bound to make the kids laugh and you smile – 2.5/5 stars
Rio (U) 3D
Nerdy Macaw Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) is whisked away from his comfy life in Minnesota to Brazil where he and exotic macaw Jewel (Anne Hathaway) are faced with the task of saving their race from extinction, but many troubles arise when they are stolen by a scheming gang.
From the makers of “Ice Age” (which I walked out on around the age of eight due to my hatred of cartoons and ice) “Rio” is a bright Brazilian boogie! After previously seeing “Hop” the prospect of another U rated animation was not appealing for me but within the first few minutes, seconds even, of the kaleidoscopic opening number I was in!
There is nothing out of the storyline norm in “Rio” but because of the voices behind the birds and the summery samba setting this is definitely a very credible and crazy cartoon.
The best animation I’ve seen in a while – 4/5
Your Highness (15)
Brave and noble Prince Fabious (James Franco) must go on a quest to rescue his love Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) from the hands of evil plotting Lesaar. Along for the ride however is his rude, underachieving black-sheep brother Thadeous (Danny McBride).
The trailer says it all. If you go and see this I think you probably know what you’re in for and this will only appeal to fans of this particular humour. But this is not a spoof film like the dreadful “Meet the Spartans” or “Vampires Suck” it’s from completely different writers and also is set in an alternate medieval fantasy world and is maybe slightly better.
As I was you may be surprised to see the likes of James Franco and Natalie Portman putting on terrible British accents in such a puerile film after their award successes but on the other hand it does show they don’t take themselves too seriously and understand the nature of the film: it is what it is and doesn’t claim to be anything else other than a ridiculous and silly film which is just a bit of harmless fun.
2.5/5
Limitless (15)
Illegal and unsafe drug NZT opens the large percentage of your brain that usually does not perform and makes you a genius with limitless possibilities. When struggling writer Eddie is offered it by corrupt a former acquaintance he cannot resist the temptation and is soon an entirely new and successful person, but nothing runs smoothly in film land and he soon finds himself in some serious trouble.
This is completely bonkers but also very intriguing. It’s unique and the special effects were like nothing I’d ever seen before. It’s not the pill to everyone’s idea of a good film but there is plenty of action and a fast moving plotline to keep you entertained anyway, sometimes though some of the plot feels as rushed as Eddie’s mind and it could be easy to get lost along the way.
There is excitement every time a clear pill is taken and it’s one of those that you really don’t know what the outcome will be.
A brilliant idea very well carried off – 3.5/5
Read more of Molly’s regular film reviews on Burnham-On-Sea.com
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