DVD Reviews - October 20th

HORTON HEARS A WHO

The team who crafted the 'Ice Age' films have this time turned their hand to the Dr. Seuss story in which Horton the elephant (Jim Carrey) discovers that there are tiny people living on a spec. Horton takes it upon himself to put the spec in a safe place and save the little Whos of Who-ville. Unfortunately for Horton and the Whos he faces trouble from a domineering kangaroo who claims that Horton is 'encouraging the children to have an imagination'. With a strong supporting voice cast including Seth Rogen and Steve Carell, and cameos from the likes of Amy Poehler, Jonah Hill, Jaime Pressly and Isla Fisher, it's certainly a star-studded event.

The vibrant animation creates a perfect blend of CG magic whilst staying true to the book's original illustrations, and though it may not be the best around in a market dominated by Dreamworks and Pixar, it hits all the right notes for a Dr. Seuss adaptation. It's pretty solid throughout and is bound to please the kids with a high laugh count and there's also the odd chuckle to be raised for the older viewer (Will Arnett's Vlad is a particular treat). Although the plot may be slightly contrived there's a moral behind it which is bound to speak to the younger viewer, maybe not as strongly however as in the original story. The ad hoc narration is weak and proves (as with 'The Grinch' and 'The Cat in the Hat') that Dr. Seuss works better on the page than it does on the screen, but regardless, it's twee and fun and a pleasng experience all round.

Verdict: Perfect for the small folk and bearable for anyone older and taller.



Also out on DVD this week is WANTED The review can be accessed on the main page by clicking here.

DVD Reviews - October 13th

SUPERHERO MOVIE

It's got to the stage with the so-called 'spoof' movies where it's simply a case of how bad they're going to be, and if one isn't truly terrible it's actually a pleasant surprise. 'Superhero Movie' is possibly one of the best spoofs I've seen in recent years, but that's not saying an awful lot. Don't be fooled by the title, this is not a spoof of the superhero genre, more accurately it's a direct parody of the original Spiderman. There's a single jab at X-Men, Batman Begins and Fantastic Four respectively, but other targets are few and far between. Not that the Spiderman observations are too sharp either, most are just memorable scenes recreated with a bit of slapstick thrown in.

One thing must be made very clear, David Zucker makes a far better spoof than his main competitors (Freidberg and Seltzer), but even so, it's hard to make much worse. Zucker at least largely steers clear of the offensive, save a horrendously inappropriate series of gags at the expense of Stephen Hawking. Unbelievably, some twenty years ago Zucker was teaming up with Leslie Nielsen to make the likes of Airplane and The Naked Gun, and perhaps that's what makes the pairings' latest output all the more depressing. It's as if Hollywood has lost the page in their dictionary where the word 'spoof' is described, and on occasions the phrase 'good taste'.

Verdict: Better than the other spoofs out there, but still terrible in it's own right.

THE RUINS

Some horrors rely heavily on gore and shock tactics to fill the scare quota whilst others depend more on escalating the tension and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seats. With 'The Ruins', relatively unknown director Carter Smith blends a bit of both in this years second most 'it was the plants what dunnit' talked about film. Thankfully this is nowhere near as bad as Shayamalan's 'The Happening', in fact, it's not too shabby at all. Initially things look bleak, four holiday-making (good-looking) teens make their way into the wilderness to look for someone who has gone missing and predictably things start to go a bit wrong. No marks for originality then, but as they say, it's all in the execution.

Save a few gory moments, 'The Ruins' rarely goes for the easy scare, as events slowly unfold the threat surrounding the surprisingly likable foursome escalates and the sense of desperation becomes all too clear. A fantastic central location works well as an arena in which to the effectively quarantine the group whilst despite some dodgy (at times unintentionally amusing) SFX, the plant-life growing throughout the temple provides a genuinely formidable threat. The end, admittedly, is a bit of a let down, but a darker and much improved alternate ending is available on the DVD.

Verdict: Don't be put off by the man-eating plants premise, all that sounds ridiculous is remedied by some smart and capable film-making.

Also out on DVD this week is THE INCREDIBLE HULK. The review can be accessed on the main page by clicking here.