Tag: Hugh Grant

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

What a long name for a film. And it’s even got a different one in the US (Pirates! Band of Misfits) just to confuse matters. Anyway, the local Cineworld had a showing for £1 this Saturday morning (although you have to take a child with you to get in) thus demonstrating one definite advantage in having a couple of nippers in the house. I took Little Mister while his big sis, and gestating little sis, were at a guitar lesson.

The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists!

“I HATE PIRATES!”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Crap pirate tries to win Pirate of the Year prize by being less crap, but still while made of Plasticene

See it if you like: the other Aardman films, and very impressive animation

Just a quick review as I’m rushed for time. On the whole, not a bad film. The animation is probably the best I’ve ever seen from Aardman, with some astoundingly details scenery and characters. I gather there is a touch of CGI, mainly for things like water and the sky, but everything else is hand-crafted and absolutely beautiful to behold.

Little Mister didn’t seem to be enjoying the film as it progressed and I can kind of understand why. Kids need a simple, obvious good character in a film to root for and there simply isn’t one in Pirates! Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) is the one who comes good at the end, but he’s not really good. He’s just crap at being a pirate along with the rest of his crew. Throw in the nasty competitors for Pirate of the Year, a backstabbing Charles Darwin (David Tennant) and an insane, scary Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) and I can see why he said on a few occasions that it was “too scary”.

Having said that, by the time the titles were rolling I had to encourage him out of his seat and he was chattering about how much he wanted to tell mummy about it. So like Pirate Captain, I guess it came good for him in the end!

There is a good run of humour through the film from chortlesome slapstick to the typical wonderful visual humour that Aardman seem to just throw around as if anyone can do it. A chief example is Bobo the monkey who “talks” using pre-printed cards. There’s no explanation as to where these cards come from, or how they happen to have the right words on. They’re just there. And they allow a degree of comic timing that any stand-up comedian would kill for.

The story is good and it doesn’t run for too long. There is a wealth of background gags, so it would probably stand up to repeat viewing by adults – and if you get it on DVD for the kids, you just know you’ll be subjected to it multiple times. If I had a problem with it, it was that the volume of the voices seemed a little low at times which made it difficult to pick up some of the quick one-liners. However, there’s always the possibility this was an issue particular to the cinema.

Not bad, and enjoyed by a 4 and a 38 year old today.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Four Film Fursday

I actually managed to squeeze four movies in this week due to some nice scheduling at the CineWorld. I’m somewhat busy right now so the reviews will be brief.

The Road

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Father and son travel across the US post-nuclear holocaust trying to find safety.

Sounds like a good plot and the film looks beautiful. All faded colours to a point where you could almost be watching a black and white film. Viggo Mortensen looks skinny and haggard as the dying father, while the kid who plays his son is just annoying and squeally at times.

Thing is… nothing much happens. Every time they meet some nasties, they hide and/or run away. Until the next ones. It’s just one series of non-episodes after another. Boring, uninteresting and tedious.

It’s the kind of thing that will garner OSCAR nominations – arty and pointless. On the other hand it’s just not entertaining, and not worth your cash.

Did You Hear About The Morgans?

Plot-in-a-nutshell: The Morgans (Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker) are separated yet, due to being forced into protective custody in small-town backwater America, start to rekindle their relationship.

Yes, it sounds awful. Yes, Hugh Grant plays his favourite character – Hugh Grant. Yes, SJP (as well as having confusing football-sounding initials) looks like a miserable horse. But by gum it works.

The dialogue is snappy and witty. Grant’s comic timing is, frankly, superb. None of the situations or slapstick is so over-the-top that it can’t be taken too seriously. The supporting cast are good enough in their own right.

I am amazed to say that I really enjoyed this film. Not a classic, but for a night out at the cinema it’s really good entertainment value.

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Plot-in-a-nutshell: biopic of Ian Dury, polio-suffering lead singer of The Blockheads.

This film is superb. I’m not a huge fan of The Blockheads, though I do know the classics that made the charts when I was a kid. However, the way the story is told held my interest throughout.

While large parts are just “film”, there are some interesting jumps back into Dury’s past as well as some very off-the-wall sequences using animation and bizarre set pieces. It’s unusual, but given Dury’s quirky personality it just works.

What is amazingly clear is that Andy Serkis was by far and away the best choice for the lead role. Looking at him alongside photos of the “real” Dury is staggering. Given that the film’s in Cockney, I reckon it at least stands a shot at Best Foreign Language Film at the OSCARs, though Serkis deserves some kind of award for this performance.

Not exactly family viewing due to the language, violence and drug use but an incredibly captivating film.

It’s Complicated

Plot-in-a-nutshell: A divorced couple start bonking again despite one of them being re-married. Comedy ensues. Or not.

Another film about a separated couple, with an acclaimed cast but this one lacking a major component of a comedy – laughs. Morgans is far better than this dragged-out effort. There are moments, but they’re too far apart and not as funny anything in the other film.

Steve Martin continues his new habit of not being funny, but at least he wasn’t even trying in this. Meryl Streep puts on a good performance and Alec Baldwin is semi-sleezy as the ex. However, they just can’t save a poor, plodding script.

If you fancy a rom-com or a date movie, go and see Morgans.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]