Reviews by SJMJ91

In most recent memory, we have seen films either loosely based or are partially connected to a franchise that are set in an earlier time setting but are not directly linked to a first instalment. For example, there was Casino Royale in 2006 and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes in 2011. However, ever since 2003 when Prometheus began development, questions arose of how close or how different the film was going to be in comparison to the Alien franchise, particularly the first film. Whether Ridley Scott served as director or not, the film was bound to be a highly-anticipated motion picture with immense expectations. Nevertheless, Scott makes a film that shows a different style to him that we have not seen from him for a while, but there was still something missing from Prometheus. Therefore, it still had its fair share of flaws.


The science fiction genre is what initially created Ridley Scott and his talent as a film director, which we learned from Alien and Blade Runner. He comes back to the genre after many years and gave us a film that was obviously dazzling to watch, effects-wise, and had slightly similar concepts to James Cameron’s Avatar. However, Prometheus suffered from flaws that unfortunately did not make it become as great as it should have been. First of all, the screenplay was very weak and was at times, very corny. The use of bad language was not necessary because that is what makes some films funny whereas this film is not meant to be humorous in the slightest. In addition, it really lacked the tension, the fright and the terror that was expected and there were some muddled moments within the plot that caused unexpected confusions. Furthermore, despite Prometheus was filmed in 3D, it was not an entirely memorable or dazzling experience in that format either. However, director Ridley Scott was not to blame for these weaknesses as he solidly directed this, like James Cameron did with Avatar, as he embarked us back into the world that he created in 1979. It is just unfortunate that the flaws within the script and plot prevented Scott from giving us the breakthrough that we should have seen.


Swedish actress Noomi Rapace leads the pack as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. Rapace who had risen to fame in the Swedish Millennium trilogy and made her presence known in Hollywood and, therefore, English-language films as she starred in Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows. However, her role in Prometheus was going somewhere a little different. Although this film has a leading female, like Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, and that the audience would examine the comparison between Ripley and Shaw. Both Rapace and Shaw lacked the terrified and scary but courageous and heroic tone that we would expect from a female protagonist in a sci-fi thriller. Nevertheless, Rapace’s performance was not fantastic but she still portrayed a likeable protagonist.


In addition to the cast was Michael Fassbender, who has massively risen to fame over the past 3 years since Inglourious Basterds as he portrayed android David. Like Shaw with Ripley, David has been compared to Ash (acted by Ian Holm) and Bishop (performed by Lance Henriksen). Fassbender gave us another side to acting that he had not done before until now. He gave David that rather eerie and unique tone to his character. Therefore, he gave another memorable performance and he is just getting better and better. Furthermore, in the supporting cast were Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Rafe Spall, Logan Marshall-Green and Idris Elba in their respective roles as members of the team.


Overall, Prometheus is an enjoyable film that is decent enough for the science-fiction genre but it is perhaps not a brilliant Alien prequel. The film perhaps is not complete just yet and we could be in for some more films in the near future. However, it could either lead closer or draw even further away to the Alien franchise. Nevertheless, Prometheus did not necessarily have to be made and was not entirely as mind-blowing or as suspenseful as what was anticipated, but it still managed to be at least a satisfying film for audiences to appreciate and a possible sequel could improvise.

After the disappointments of Flushed Away and Shrek The Third and the decent, but not brilliant, films that were Over The Hedge and Bee Movie, DreamWorks Animations go for a very different style of story that we have not seen them pull off before. Kung Fu Panda still initially appeared as the typical colourful and charming film that DreamWorks Animations have done on a regular basis, but they attract a different and more specific target audience for Kung Fu Panda. This target audience is towards particularly fan-boys and geeks of martial arts and kung fu. In addition, Kung Fu Panda became one of the first animated action-comedies and is perhaps more aimed for the more mature audience than the youngsters. With this in mind, Kung Fu Panda, surprisingly, turned out a hilarious and entertaining success that became the challenge against Pixar that DreamWorks were in need of for a long time.


DreamWorks Animations, like Pixar, cast a wide variety of actors in their films, especially when either their physical appearance or personality connects with the characters. Jack Black takes the leading role as he provided the voice of Po, the big, fat panda who has a passion for kung fu. Although one may not entirely love Jack Black as an actor and despite it is voice acting, Black expresses Po entirely as his own character. This is because Po is Jack Black himself in a nutshell. Furthermore, Black’s voice acting performance was excellent! He not only added the humour and sold the slapstick scenes very creatively, but also added quite a thought-provoking role to the big, fat panda. Although Po appears an overweight, lazy, clumsy but well-intentioned panda, DreamWorks gave us a character that made one’s dreams and passions become a reality. Therefore, Po is a strong character mixed with emotion, humour and inspiration.


In the supporting cast are actors who portray a wide range of kung fu expertise animals. First, there was Dustin Hoffman who provided the voice of Master Shifu, a red panda and leader of the group of kung fu warriors known as Furious Five. The appearance and the personality of Shifu is identically similar to Star Wars Jedi master Yoda. Shifu has approximately five protégés in which the majority of the actors are experienced within the action genre or, specifically, the art of kung fu (aka Chinese martial arts). First, there is Tigress, a South China tiger named Tigress, Shifu’s foster-daughter, who was portrayed by Lara Croft star Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan provided the voice of Monkey, a Gee’s golden langur and Lucy Liu as a Green Tree Viper, ironically called Viper. In addition, there are the more experienced comedy actors who mix the exhilirating experience of action and comedy together. Seth Rogen portrayed Mantis - a Chinese mantis and David Cross as a Red-crowned Crane.


Like the majority of DreamWorks animated features, Kung Fu Panda has not one, but two directors. John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne, who had not directed any previous DreamWorks Animation films make this feature together and achieved a breakthrough in their careers. In addition, their work on Kung Fu Panda was also a boost of confidence, so to speak, for DreamWorks against the genius of Pixar and their features. They managed to equally fit in all of the action and all of the jokes on an equal level, which could have jeopardised the film as a whole if it leaned over one way than another. Therefore, Osborn and Stevenson turned Kung Fu Panda into a success that many kung fu fans would love and it aroused the excitement for the sequel that was released in 2011.


Overall, Kung Fu Panda is a film that brilliantly executes the action, the laughs and the drama and becomes a very fresh and entertaining ride. DreamWorks Animations give a run for their money with Kung Fu Panda against Pixar Animation Studios as they provided us with a film that is on a very close level to the charm and humour of other films that Pixar have done. Nevertheless, Kung Fu Panda is undoubtedly one of the best animated films that DreamWorks have produced and has almost everything that a family could experience and simply enjoy.

For the first time in approximately 12 years, we are given another theatrically released film based on The Muppets created by Jim Henson, but this was one of the few that were not based on any particular play or novel like we have seen in the past. The Muppets could have renovating many people’s childhoods from the original The Muppets Movie in 1977. However, making a new version of a classic set of characters was not a wise idea as it could either abolish them completely or totally misuse the story. Nevertheless, The Muppets manages to succeed and, therefore, becomes a fresh and very simple family film that will satisfy all ages and is enjoyable for its audience to just sit down and enjoy.


Any director would have a lot on their shoulders for making new films based on legendary characters from the past. After he already had directed a few short films and episodes from TV shows, James Bobin directs his first ever feature film. Surprisingly, Bobin nailed it and started his directorial feature career well. The strongest aspect of The Muppets in terms of production and development was its originality and just how simple the film as a whole turned out, as opposed to The Smurfs. It successfully manages to grasp the humour and wackiness of the Muppets that we saw many years ago. In addition, like literally every other Muppet film, this latest instalment was not necessarily a film to take seriously. The songs were a delight and this being a Disney film; they made the film even more magical to watch. Therefore, Bobin and screenwriters Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller create a surprisingly interesting and colourful film.


Segel himself took the leading role in The Muppets as Gary, who is an ordinary young man in love with his girlfriend but has been raised beside Walter, a puppet and avid fan of The Muppets. It is perhaps odd seeing a man growing up alongside a puppet but for the film’s target audience (kids), it does not necessarily matter. It is meant to just make children laugh and expand on their imagination, which is what we have with The Muppets and the relationship between Gary and Walter. Furthermore, Amy Adams, who had already starred in Enchanted - a magical, colourful and lively family-musical by Disney, was the icing on the cake when it comes to the casting of the film. Adams takes a break from her recent serious Oscar nominated roles and stars in a film full of delight, colour and pure entertainment. Fellow actors Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones and Jack Black make appearances in The Muppets too.


Unfortunately, Muppets creator Jim Henson died in 1990 and had provided the voices of the majority of the gang, but Steve Whitmire took over the role of Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat and amongst others. Furthermore, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barreta etc, who had provided performances in Muppet feature films after Henson’s death, all return in their respective roles as various characters. Being able to replace what someone else had some so famously is a very difficult task. A bit like recent Disney animated feature Winnie The Pooh and other Muppet features, such as The Muppet Christmas Carol and The Muppet Treasure Island, the substituted actors expressed The Muppets as an entire franchise a success in this new generation.


Overall, The Muppets is a fresh and colourful delight that is enjoyable for kids and adults to enjoy. It is a splendid trip down memory lane and surpasses the majority of Muppet films from the past. Furthermore, it, mysteriously, became neither a reboot nor continues Jim Henson’s franchise of The Muppets, but it was a restoration of how wacky and fun the gang still are after so many years. Thus, the film may have been a risk initially but it became a pleasure to witness them return once again on the big screen.

Immediate impressions of Real Steel were that it seemed like a comparison between Transformers with the Rocky series. However, because it starred Hollywood favourite, Australian actor Hugh Jackman, in the leading role, it added more flavor and excitement to the film. Real Steel is also based on the short story called Steel by Richard Matheson, and was made into an episode from Twilight Zone. Therefore, the film could have gone either way – a complete failure or heaps of fun. Real Steel may have had its occasionally cheesy moments but there is no denying that it is a very enjoyable film that provides everything that it intended to achieve, which is to entertain and thrill its audience.


Hugh Jackman is an actor who usually delivers the most serious performances in some of the most fun and entertaining films you could witness. Therefore, in any film that Jackman takes a role in, it will bound to be heaps of fun. However, with Real Steel, he plays a character where he gives us a corny but still emotional performance. Jackman stars in what is perhaps his first live-action film that is family-friendly for all ages. Nevertheless, with Jackman’s role as former boxer Charlie Kenton and the love-hate relationship between his son, Max Kenton (portrayed by Dakota Goyo), it is a typical protagonist character that is easily likable and will make you smile from start to finish.


Considering that Hugh Jackman practically stole Real Steel as his own film (on-screen, at least), in the supporting roles were Evangeline Lilly as Bailey Tallet, Charlie’s childhood friend and possible love interest. Furthermore, Dakota Goyo, who had made a brief appearance as the young Thor in Thor, played a more important and frequent role in Real Steel. He portrayed Max Kenton, Charlie’s pre-teen son. He has a love-hate relationship with his father but when Atom, the robot, comes along, they work together as a team to win matches. Therefore, it provides how much a father and son can easily connect and how important it is to do so.


As we have encountered many times particularly within the past decade, directors have gone over the top regarding visual effects. When comparing it to Transformers, it has its jaw-dropping effects that does make the film dazzling to observe. However, the difference is that Real Steel adds character to the robots and the humans. Shawn Levy, who gave us a lot of fun from Night At The Museum yet disappointment from the sequel and the remakes of The Pink Panther and Cheaper By The Dozen. He makes this film not only entertaining, but thought-provoking too. For example, because Real Steel is set in a not-too-distant future and has varieties of technologies used by humans, which makes the audience ask: with the uprising of technology nowadays, what if the events of Real Steel could become true? In addition, by mixing the human world with the sci-fi world of robots, it became pure gold for science fiction geeks. Nevertheless, director Levy gives easily his best film to date with jaw-dropping effects, a very fun story with very likeable characters and demonstrates what entertainment is all about.


Overall, Real Steel is a truly exhilarating, exciting and entertaining motion picture that has it all. It has dazzling effects that was well direction and the performances from the actors were splendid. Furthermore, it has solid characters with a very good message. People might initially see this as loosely related to Transformers or the Rocky series, but it is a film on its own. There is no doubt that Real Steel is an emotional and action-packed entertainer from start to finish and good news: we could be in for a potential sequel soon.

Well, here we are again as the eccentric film director Tim Burton works alongside close friend Johnny Depp for the 8th consecutive time. Yet, we were in for a special treat in 2012 seeing as Dark Shadows is a vampire film and with Burton as director and Depp in the leading role, it could have turned out a dream come true! However, upon the release of the official theatrical trailer, it became almost a totally different film as it became more like a comedy and did not appear any serious vampire film at all. In addition, Tim and Johnny slightly lost their touch with Alice In Wonderland in 2010, there was the hope that they would make up for that. Nevertheless, Dark Shadows became a huge disappointment that has sunk Tim and Johnny to an even lower level.


Just like Lewis Carroll’s world of Wonderland, the eccentric and blood-thirsting nature of vampires is absolutely typical of Tim Burton. Dan Curtis’s original soap opera was the inspiration led to Tim making a film adaptation seeing as he was a fan of the show as a youngster. However, from a story by Seth Grahame-Smith and John August, Tim creates a film that differs to the source. How Tim handled it was that Dark Shadows jumbled many genres together: horror, comedy, drama and romance and yet, none of them successfully worked in this film. For starters, the film was not all that scary as it massively lacked the terror, the fright and the suspense that we have seen before. In addition, the humour was literally the poison within the film and the dialogue was an almost complete muddle. Finally, there is almost no emotional connection between any of the characters and the acting is not entirely convincing either. This made Dark Shadows a very forced, corny and dry motion picture.


Any film starring Johnny Depp by Tim Burton is going to be an immediate attraction, but the fact that Depp is portraying a vampire; it is the jackpot for its target audience (teenagers and young people). On the other hand, because Depp continues to portray eccentric and unorthodox characters with identically the same tone of approach and style of character that we have seen from him before, anxieties arose for his portrayal of vampire Barnabas Collins. Although Depp, like Burton, was a fan of the original soap opera in his teenage years, his performance as Barnabas was nothing major at all. Admittedly, he looked good with the make-up and costume design but it was practically Captain Jack Sparrow dressed as a vampire. If there is anything that Depp has shown in Dark Shadows, it is that he is overkilling what he is best known for, which is by playing these unorthodox and wacky characters. Thus, Johnny Depp does not deliver the absolute worst performance of his career but his role as Barnabas Collins expresses that it is time to take a break from these characters and from working with Tim Burton.


Aside from Depp, there is usually a mixture of new additions to Burton’s regularly selected cast. Michelle Pfeiffer returned to her second film with Tim Burton as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the family matriarch, and made her presence known with an exceptional performance. Helena Bonham Carter doesn’t play as much of a vital role in Dark Shadows like she did previously in Alice In Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street and Corpse Bride, but the role of Dr. Julia Hoffman suited her. Bonham Carter’s style of appearance and character selection is usually rather odd, much like her partner Tim, but only she could have played that character. Christopher Lee made his fifth collaboration with Tim Burton as he made an appearance too.


On the other hand, there were a group of newbies into the cast. This included Eva Green who portrayed antagonist Angelique Bouchard, a heartbroken witch who curses Barnabas Collins and the rest of his family out of rage and jealousy. What the audience had with Green as Angelique was that she appeared as a very seductive and sexy woman that was certainly easy on the eyes. However, what she lacked was that she was not as dangerously disturbing as her character was made out to be. Chloë Grace Moretz makes another rebellious performance as Carolyn Stoddard. Furthermore, Bella Heathcote played an underused role as Victoria Winters. Victoria was not only developed enough as a character but she perhaps was not very relevant to the story very much at all. Heathcote also portrayed Barnabas Collins’s former lover Josette Du Pres. Finally, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Gulliver McCrath and Alice Cooper made appearances in Dark Shadows too.


Overall, Dark Shadows is a hugely disappointing film from Tim Burton that could and should have been better. He is slowly beginning to lose his reputation nowadays and his films are suffering massively from repetition. It is the same old every time. Dark Shadows is one of those films that looks great with fantastic visuals, make-up, background design etc but never captures the imagination or the attention of the audience watching. It is just an empty and lifeless film that is simply not funny, not dramatic and not scary. Nevertheless, Burton has his next stop-motion animated feature Frankenweenie, a remake of his own creation, due for release in October. Hopefully that will make up for the disappointment of Dark Shadows and will give us hope that Burton is not losing his touch.

Following a trilogy of hilarious and wild teenage-comedies and then a number of disastrous spin-offs, the release of American Reunion could result in reviving the entire American Pie series. In addition, we were in for a huge treat seeing as the whole original cast from the first American Pie in 1999 were returning. With this in mind, there were all the laughs, the catastrophes and vulgar sexual references that were expected, which made the American Pie series so popular over the years. For this reason, there was not anything majorly new to expect from this new instalment. Nevertheless, American Reunion literally sweeps away the previous spin-offs and becomes a fun and entertaining addition, or re-awakening, of the original films that will make you laugh until it hurts from start to finish.


Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg are not only the latest additions in the directing seats of American Reunion but they take over original American Pie creator and screenwriter Adam Herz as they also wrote the script for the latest instalment together. Each of the directors from all of the theatrical films always aims to bring repetition to the screen that will not have any serious alterations. So, considering that it all involves a series of young men who still acting like teenagers, there is not anything to change. Considering that this film did not even have to be made at all after how American Wedding ended, Hurwitz and Schlossberg successfully manage to make American Reunion heaps of fun for teenagers of this generation and of young men and women who grew up with the series.


Every young member of the original cast returned for this fourth theatrically-released American Pie film. In the predecessors, Jason Biggs excellently portrayed a socially awkward and accident prone but well-intentioned young man who precisely defined the attitude of a male youngster. However, now he returns as Jim Levenstein as a married, family man but still has the mind of a teenager. Biggs led the cast once again and gave us another hilarious performance to remember. Seann William Scott returns as the foul-mouthed, ladies’ man Steve Stifler whose character is not overkilled and was full of laughs. In addition, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Chris Klein return in their respective roles as Kevin Myers, Paul Finch and Chris Ostreicher. The only actor who has appeared in all eight films - Eugene Levy, comes back and is as great as ever as Noah Levenstein.


As for the ladies, Alyson Hannigan reprised her role as Michelle Levenstein (Flaherty). Out of all of the characters within the film, Michelle is perhaps the only one who has truly changed. She is a young woman who takes her personal life very seriously and is not as eccentric and unusual as she was in the previous films. Furthermore, Tara Reid and Mena Suvari return as Vicky and Heather. Seeing all of these actors return again after 9 years (or in some actors’ case – 11 years) was literally to reboot, or update if you will, how much adulthood changes one’s life. Therefore, in that sense, American Reunion has a surprisingly interesting and personal message that is aimed directly towards people of their own age and to teenagers of this generation.


Overall, American Reunion is another hilarious and wacky addition to the American Pie genre that is fresh and successfully manages to not underuse any of the characters. In addition, like the original American Pie films, this new instalment never runs out of laughs. Therefore, it is perhaps the true fourth instalment in the franchise and although it was not entirely a wise idea to make it to begin with, it proves itself to be a film that was worth making.

After many years of waiting and witnessing the five installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which lead to The Avengers, Marvel Studios have finally unleashed what is perhaps their biggest film thus far. As comic books, The Avengers is pure gold for avid fans of comics and the science-fiction genre. With this in mind, there were the typical expectations of how intense, explosive and exciting the film was going to be and how firm the storyline will be able to use each character involved equally. However, not every Avenger in the comic books is in the feature film, but just the majority. Nevertheless, The Avengers delivers exactly what one could possibly expect as it is a mind-blowing, intense and explosive thrill-ride that will make your jaws drop and leave you off the edge of your seat.


Anybody who is selected as either the director or as screenwriter will have plenty on their shoulders with making film like The Avengers due to its overwhelmingly popular comic books and the extremely high build-up from Iron Man, its sequel, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Joss Whedon, the creator of various science fiction TV shows, takes the duty of penning and directing The Avengers. To be able to pull off a single story but featuring all of those characters is a very difficult task, but Whedon succeeds magnificently. He made the audience feel so close to the screen and, therefore, manages to avoid the mindless, boring and unrealistic action that we have seen time and time again. It was also the creative use of technology that made it dazzling to see too. Furthermore, The Avengers involved a tremendous amount of jokes and gags that would give the audience a few laughs.


Due to the number of characters in The Avengers and they are all introduced very similarly, there is not a particular leading actor or protagonist. In addition, a few original Avengers are not part of this film at all. Nevertheless, that didn’t jeapodise the film as a whole. Robert Downey Jr. already achieved his re-booting breakthrough as Tony Stark in Iron Man and its sequel with his charismatic, smug but comical performance. The same can be said yet again for The Avengers and possibly for Iron Man 3 too in 2013. Chris Evans reprises his role as Captain America/Steve Rogers. Evans had already been part of Marvel films Fantastic Four, but he has found his place in Marvel Studios as he gives another grand performance. In addition, Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk has been portrayed by two different actors in two film adaptations. Mark Ruffalo is now the third candidate to take on the role. Although, he gives a slightly different approach to the character than Edward Norton and Eric Bana, Ruffalo adds a higher sense of reality to Banner/Hulk as he illustrated the nerdy scientist approach better than his predecessors. In addition, The Hulk is portrayed by Ruffalo himself through use of motion-capture effects when previously using full CGI. He displays the monstrous transformation and the violence brilliantly and doesn’t have the constantly angry or frustrated look, which made him a victim to The Hulk. Thus, Ruffalo’s Hulk has become the closest representation of the character compared to the comics.


Elsewhere among the cast is Scarlett Johansson, the only key female character in The Avengers, who reprises her bad girl but dazzlingly beautiful role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. She does not become just the piece of eye-candy like she was in Iron Man 2, but she flies around and becomes a badass woman to be reckoned with. In addition, Chris Hemsworth stars in his second role as the manliest of the group - Thor, whose background story is the essential key of The Avengers plot, and gives another good performance. After a cameo appearance in Thor, Jeremy Renner introduced his unbelievably badass role as Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Samuel L. Jackson gives his most badass and coolest performance as a character in a long time as group director Nick Fury! Furthermore, Tom Hiddleston gives the strongest performance in The Avengers as antagonist and Thor’s adoptive brother, Loki. Hiddleston expresses a very sinister, evil but well-spoken approach to Loki like we saw in Thor and should hope to see again in the sequel. Finally, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård and Gwyneth Paltrow reprise their roles from previous films.


Overall, The Avengers is literally everything that one could possibly expect from it. It is not only Marvel’s biggest film to date but it is perhaps their strongest too in terms of character development and the connection it has with the audience. It is a very colourful, exciting and intense thrill-ride that does not under-use any of the characters and amazingly manages to stick close to the original comics. Therefore, every comic book nerd will get the utmost enjoyment out of this and will lead to more excitement for Thor 2, Captain America 2, Iron Man 3 and a possible Avengers sequel.

Following Aardman Animations’ most notable triumphs, such as Wallace And Gromit, Chicken Run and most recently Arthur Christmas, they make their latest motion picture in their second consecutive collaboration with Sony Pictures Animations, but first stop-motion film in seven years. After the hilarious trailer and appearing to bring forth the charm, the jokes and the breath-taking stop-motion pieces that we’ve seen so often from Aardman in the past, expectations were exceedingly high. However, although The Pirates! Band Of Misfits (aka The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists), delivers with a fun story, great effects and voice portrayals from its stars, there was the vital lack of humorous jokes and emotional attachments between the characters and audience that became vital pieces missing from the film. Therefore, it became a minor disappointment.


Aardman Animations make their first film that isn’t of their own creation as The Pirates! Band Of Misfits/The Pirates! An Adventure With Scientists is based on the first two of a series of novels by Gideon Dafoe. Aardman co-founder Peter Lord co-directs his second feature film in 12 years, after Chicken Run and successfully embarks us on another wacky adventure. However, it was that the film as a whole did not appear as funny nor make the audience feel as emotionally connected as what we have experienced before. Nevertheless, Aardman still provide jaw-dropping stop-motion effects, successfully capturing the accuracy of voice roles with the clay-animated characters and the stunning background designs. Gideon Dafoe writes the script based on his own novels, which gives the film a fair advantage regarding dialogue.


Another reason why Aardman Animations have been so successful is that throughout their five feature films thus far, they have collaborated and worked with a wide range of talented actors, who have been particularly British. Hugh Grant stars in his very first animated feature role as the Pirate Captain with an eccentric but remarkable performance, like Johnny Depp as ‘Captain’ Jack Sparrow in the Pirates Of The Caribbean series. However, the Pirate Captain expresses an occasionally cowardly and rather clumsy nature like Jack, but he is actually a well-intentioned and rather kind character who respects his crew, which isn’t really what we see from pirates in any film. In addition, none of these pirates have official names. To the audience, their known names are either how they’re described or their profession.


Martin Freeman portrays the Pirate Captain’s right-hand-man The Pirate With The Scarf in his very first animated feature role too as he gives another good performance. Due to the well-established connection between Grant and Freeman as their characters, their voice-role debuts have gone off to a flying start and we need to hear them again in other upcoming projects. Alongside Grant and Freeman is a group of supporting actors portraying notable historical figures from the 19th century, aka the Victorian Era. Firstly, David Tennant portrays English naturalist Charles Darwin. Considering that Tennant’s voice acting was decent, Aardman and Dafoe did toy around a little bit with Darwin’s character about where his true loyalties lie. Nevertheless, it is an accurately animated representation of the late Darwin. Furthermore, there’s the Queen Victoria herself, portrayed by Imelda Staunton. Victoria doesn’t surpass the sinister and scheming nature of Miranda Richardson’s role as Mrs. Tweedy in Chicken Run, but the character of Queen Victoria expresses the greed of the power given to her. It was the unorthodox idea of these historical figures being transformed into comical and rather unrealistic characters that both made them successful but lame at the same time.


Overall, The Pirates! Band Of Misfits aka The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists is another successful film from Aardman Animations but due to the lack of humour, it does not quite show precisely what they are capable of achieving at their highest level. It is not like Wallace And Gromit or Chicken Run, but it is a solid enough return to stop-motion features for Aardman that is still a fun and exciting film with dazzling effects and will charm its audience in both 3D and 2D.

The Hunger Games became an instant hit after its unexpectedly huge critical and box office triumph, but has been known by many as “the new Twilight” and the American remake of 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale. Therefore, expectations were rather mixed due to the rating it received following dialogue that involves the sickening way of teenagers being forced to kill each other in the wilderness by use of weapons for entertainment. On the other hand, this story had pretty much all aspects of where it could become the ultimate fun thrill-ride. So, with this in mind, The Hunger Games manages to avoid becoming a corny, mishandled catastrophe and becomes an intense, emotional and occasionally funny experience that adds hype and pure excitement to the upcoming sequels.


Gary Ross directs not only his first feature since Seabiscuit in 2003 but only his third feature film throughout his directorial career. The Hunger Games really could have been seriously mishandled like the Twilight saga by transforming a dark story into something a lot easier on the eyes that just didn’t work. Miraculously, The Hunger Games amazingly balances as a film that is intense and rather psychologically disturbing to endure, but is worthy of the attention of families and youngsters too. It doesn’t have the vintage characteristics of an action film, but it almost like a sub-genre. Gary Ross collaborates with Billy Ray and the writer of the novel – Suzanne Collins as the trio pen the script and write it very creatively achieving a wide target audience and mixes the genres of drama, thriller and romance into one.


After Jennifer Lawrence’s Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2010 film Winter’s Bone and appearing as Raven Darkholme/Mystique in X-Men: The First Class the following year, Lawrence stars in the female leading role as Katniss Everdeen. Whilst we are watching The Hunger Games, we are there alongside Katniss and the other contenders who are feeling corrupted by the government to kill each other on television for entertainment. So, although Lawrence illustrates her beauty in a sense of innocence, she revolutionizes her toughness as she gradually starts to change into someone different. Alongside, Lawrence is popular, former child-actor Josh Hutcherson. He has delivered some very impressive performances in his young career and has starred beside some great actors. Now that he is at that age, Hutcherson’s portrayal of Peeta Mellark perfectly demonstrates the transformation from boy into man. Thus, due to the reception that The Hunger Games has been receiving and the eager anticipation for the sequels, Lawrence and Hutchinson’s role could turn out to be both or best-known individual roles for all time.


Beside these two talented youngsters are a wide range of Hollywood stars. Elizabeth Banks portrays eccentric Effie Trinket, the escort of the District 12 tributes, Donald Sutherland plays President Snow, who although appears laid-back, holds back a sadistic and psychopathic personality. In addition, American Beauty and Ghost Rider actor Wes Bentley portrays Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker of 74th Annual Games, Stanley Tucci’s portrayal of Hunger Games television host Caesar Flickerman and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, the alcoholic, former Hunger Games winner who becomes Katniss and Peeta’s mentor.


Overall, The Hunger Games is surprisingly a very entertaining, non-stop ride that proves itself as appealing for all audiences. There is an emotional mix of beauty and horror behind it and whilst first experiencing The Hunger Games and entering the Capitol is identically similar to arriving in the extraordinary but magical and colourful worlds, such as the Harry Potter Wizarding World, Narnia, Wonderland and Oz. Now that we have been introduced to the characters, the settings and have experienced the thrills and excitement of Suzanne Collins’ film-adapted novels for the first time, the anticipation will be even higher for upcoming sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

First off, We Bought A Zoo features Matt Damon as a father in a heartwarming film purely for families, which is something that doesn’t appear very often. Nevertheless, the title We Bought A Zoo already reveals that it is going to be genuinely cute and dazzling to watch, and does already have a target audience. In addition, the film is an American adaptation from a British novel that’s originally based on a true story about real British zoo Dartmoore Zoological Park. Quite frankly, what you see in We Bought A Zoo is exactly what you get as it’s a film with pure beauty behind it with cute characters and takes you on a great family adventure.


We Bought A Zoo has become director Cameron Crowe’s ninth feature film and has perhaps been his biggest hit since Vanilla Sky in 2001 or even Almost Famous in 2000. Crowe whisks us into a journey that is genuinely entering from the normal suburban American life into the enchanting and magical world of natural wildlife. We, the viewers, are there in the film experiencing the heartwarming but emotional chemistry between the animals and the humans. So, considering that Crowe has given us mixtures of drama, comedy and romance in his films over the years, he successfully prevails providing all of those emotional aspects within We Bought A Zoo. In addition, he adds the warmth and heart-melting family genre to his filmography.


Although he is notably known as Jason Bourne and has starred in some action hits over the years, Matt Damon’s performance doesn’t only show exactly how good he still in dramas but also exposes a new style of acting that we don’t usually see from Damon. Considering that Damon is a total miscast for Benjamin Mee in terms of physical appearance, he provides a very heartfelt and genuine performance. We usually see the emotional and soft nature of a single mother, so we see a tender and struggling father trying the best for his children. So, seeing Damon in this role may be an inaccurate portrayal regarding appearance, he emotionally defines how an emotionally confused parent behaves and interprets the struggles to move on.


Scarlett Johansson has always been easy on the eyes throughout every film that she has been part of, and she successfully pulls off another great performance as head keeper Kelly, Mee’s new love interest. Johansson’s beauty mixes gracefully with the innocence of animals and the bloom of the countryside. Thomas Haden Church portrays his best supporting role since his Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Sideways, as Benjamin’s older brother Duncan. After her breakthrough role in J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 Elle Fanning makes a crucial appearance in the film too as Lily Miska. In We Bought A Zoo, Fanning illustrates the normal behaviour of someone at her age: a teenager whose experiencing her first love. In addition, Colin Ford delivers a great performance as Benjamin’s troublesome son, Dylan, who represents the opposing nature of a teenager. Lastly, stuck in the middle is little Maggie Elizabeth Jones who perfectly defines the emotional connection with animals!


Overall, We Bought A Zoo is a genuinely heartfelt motion picture that is easily verified as the feel-good film of 2011. You might not have to be a fan of Matt Damon to enjoy this but it slightly renovates the warmth and inspiration that we saw from It’s A Wonderful Life many years ago. So, We Bought A Zoo really is a film that one just needs to watch and appreciate for what it is – a family heartwarmer that’ll make you smile and maybe even lead you to a few tears.