60-second cinema

9 out of 10 Despite having seen plenty of clips from this Pixar animation in the past 5 years, it didn’t spoil the film for me. While I knew the 3 main characters, there’s a whole story here that I wasn’t aware of, but I’ll leave the details of it for you to discover (assuming you’re even slower to it than me). Details aside, Monsters, Inc. is another funny, heart-warming, yet unsentimental, Pixar tale told with their traditional flair. In the character of Boo (the little girl), they’ve perfectly captured the innocence of a small child and the trust in which they’ll unflinchingly place you as guardians. And, consequently, of the moral responsibilities you hold in the role. Likewise, it captures the wonder and magic of the world as soon through a young child’s eyes pretty damned well. In that respect, it reminded me a little of My Neighbour, Totoro , which is no small compliment. Now, I’ve just got The Incredibles to see and that’s my Pixar viewing up to date. :)

6 out of 10 (revised) A zombie flick with a difference: they’re not dead and they don’t shamble. In fact, they’re bloody quick on their feet and a real terror instead of the comedy threat of your traditional zombies. The story follows one man’s fight for survival from the moment when he wakes up in hospital, unaware he’s alone in the middle of an apocalypse. Along the way, there’s the usual crop of allies and enemies as well as the compulsory love interest, but the film really stands up on two points: The scenes of an abandoned London near the start brilliantly set the scene for the entire film The menacing, rolling crescendoes of the final battle scene’s music, since featured in some car advert* or other Both of these contribute a vast amount towards setting the film’s almost paranoid atmosphere. The ending, sadly, felt a little weak to me, but overall it was a pretty decent horror flick. * Actually, the music was an ad for the Peugeot 206 GTI 180 . While the car itself m

8 out of 10 For sheer replay value, I’ve decided to up my rating on this. I’ve probably seen it 4 times now and I still laugh out loud. And, like any good cult comedy, it’s just so damned quotable. Good stuff.

9 out of 10 Pan’s Labyrinth follows the story of a young girl caught in the middle of the Spanish Civil War and her escape from it into a fantasy world. This is no children’s fairy tale, however. Both the depictions of the war — notably, of the girl’s step-father, a captain in Franco’s army — and of characters in the parallel world are, at times, pretty horrific. I was staggered the film got a 15 certificate. Regardless, the quality of the acting, the story-telling and the realisation of the characters is up there with anything I’ve seen. I think the only reason I didn’t give it top marks is that, until very close to the end, I was distracted by my indecision over what was meant to be real and what wasn’t (if anything). I guess I’m a rather simplistic viewer in that sense. However, once I’d made my decision and reflected on the whole film, it became clear I’d seen something really rather special. Maybe one day I’ll bump it up to a 10. For now, though, I can simply recommend that y

1 out of 10 DISCLAIMER: I didn’t watch the entire film, so bear that in mind for the rating. Anyhoo... There’s a user comment on IMDB’s page for this film that says “Excellent movie, great script, dialogue and acting”. I’d like to refute every part of that statement. It was shit . It’s not often I’ll give up on a film completely, but it took less than half an hour for me to turn this one off. How Neil Marshall could produce this crap when he went on to make The Descent is beyond me.

6 out of 10 What is it that defines a Bond movie? If it’s the cheesy one-liners, Q’s ridiculous gadgets, and the overt Britishness, then this latest Bond is missing two thirds of its very essence. Were it not for Daniel Craig and Judi Dench , this could easily have been mistaken for another installment in the Mission Impossible series. In that sense, it was a little disappointing. On the up-side, it’s nice to get a sense of the character’s background, despite the obvious timeline inconsistencies. Development of Bond’s character could have been handled better, mind – not all of the transitions were entirely believable. But these are minor points. As much as anything, Casino Royale gave Daniel Craig and the film’s makers an opportunity to present their own interpretation of 007. And, pleasingly, the changes were reinforced by a theme tune that suits the film’s demeanour as well as any I can remember. It’s left me keen to see how things develop from here.