Slap Shot (1977)

Paul Newman + Hockey = Awesome.

For those who haven't seen it, the movie is about a struggling minor league hockey team who adopts a new "violence first" strategy to help win games and bring in the fans.

No Country For Old Men

Now that I have this Coen Brothers masterpiece upon DVD, I've watched it quite a few times. Javier Bardem is still every bit as terrifying to me as he was upon my initial viewing, which I think is a true testament to the strength of his performance, but there are other cast members who have made an impression in the meantime upon me too, including Kelly Macdonald - she plays quite a passive and powerless character for much of the film, but by the end she's demonstrated that she has quite a lot of inner strength too.

I'm also really delighted to have picked up the original novel by Cormac McCarthy in a charity shop recently (from which I hear the film was very faithfully translated). I hope to get down to reading it soon, as soon as I'm done with my current reading material. For my thoughts upon that, see the "What are you reading?" thread.

Hancock

I really wish I could have seen the unrated version of this movie because I felt the dark nature with all the mature violence, swearing, and drinking gave this movie a more of a unique edge. While I did enjoy it and loved the musical score of the film's soundtrack, I really felt the "mystery revealed" towards the end was a bit off putting which is weird for me because I love super hero stuff.

I just felt this movie mixed in too many rules and regulations that weren't necessary and I thought more time could have been better spent showing more of Will Smith's character's background or at least some more fowl mouth stuff cause at least I know what i'm getting into with that. On the plus side this movie had a very under appreciated villain and over all I'd say it was a C+ movie.

Tom and Jerry: The Movie

Yeah, I’m aware that this has something of a reputation for being a real steaming train wreck of a movie (and certainly not without some degree of justification) , but for some strange reason I get a huge kick out of watching weird, cheaply-made animated films from the late 80s/early 90s, and this one certainly fits the bill. True, it’s far from a great movie but, sue me, I still find it to be highly entertaining and altogether impossible to dislike. So, observations?

Firstly, the big one, the one which gets stuck in everyone’s craw in regard to this movie – they give Tom and Jerry voice-overs. Not only that, but voiceovers which barely seem to suit the characters at all. Admittedly, it’s hard to envision just what kind of voiceovers actually would have suited Tom and Jerry, but that’s probably because one of their fundamental trademarks is being a SILENT duo. The movie’s defenders will point out that Tom and Jerry spoke perfectly fluently in the comic book adaptations, and nobody seemed to mind too much, but then I think that the lack of any audible voices, along with any actual indication of how they should sound in the first place, makes a huge difference. Maybe it's a double standard, but there you go.

Next, it’s a musical. That itself shouldn’t have to be a bad thing, except that the songs, if you can call them that, are almost universally godawful – for much of the time, they didn’t even bother with tiny little things like tune and melody, opting instead just to have characters intermittently speak in rhyme in a slightly more buoyant tone than the rest of the movie. But hell, it only adds to the comedy value. In the case of Dr. Apple Cheek's elegant little ditty, tenfold.

To its credit, the animation isn’t too bad – a bit Saturday morning cartoonish, perhaps, but it’s still nicer on the eye than most Don Bluth efforts of this era.

The supporting cast are a little odd – there’s a stray dog named Pugsey who seems to have no purpose beyond convincing our cat and mouse protagonists that they should put aside their differences and be friends in the early stages of the movie (this, naturally, was perceived as another kick in the groin to anyone who showed up with any expectations of seeing Tom and Jerry do what they do best – namely, pound the snot out of one another...although frankly, the sheer one-sidedness of much of the violence in the original shorts always left me feeling a little cold. So I care less). Once that’s accomplished, the movie conveniently gets rid of him, then later brings him back, presumably to give his charcter just a little bit of closure, then off he goes again. I mean, yeesh, he doesn’t even offer to be of any assistance with Tom and Jerry’s pivotal quest (though that’s possibly a good thing - to me, he isn't one of the movie's more interesting figureheads). He also travels around with a weird, three-inch tall green creature passing itself off as a flea, but which blatantly isn’t...for starters, what kind of flea would actually sit atop a reasonably healthy looking dog and proclaim to be starving? It makes no sense to me.

Then the humans – aside from the archetypal waif Robyn and her father, all of them just seem to have a little too much...I don’t know, tension? Yes, I have seen the Nostalgia Critic’s review of this film, and many of his observations are indeed spot-on – notably, that the manner in which Dr. Apple Cheeks sidles up to that ice cream cart toward the movie’s climax is just a little on the creepy side, and that naming an adult character “Captain Kiddie” was kind of asking for trouble (again, extra comedy value). By far the most creative of the original characters is a morbidly obese dachshund named Ferdy who prefers dragging himself around on a skateboard to actual walking, and has a REEEEEEALLY peculiar voice-over - I assume that it was intended to sound kind of reminiscent of Muttley, but he sounds a lot more like Gollum attempting to do a convincing Donald Duck impersonation, and not quite succeeding. Call me pathetic, but I actually think that he’s kind of cool.

In brief, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, didn’t exactly do a great deal to replicate the tone and spirit of the original T&J shorts, and that’s probably why T&J purists the world over decried it upon its release in 1992. If you're in with that crowd, then I'm guessing that you're not going to like it. For everybody else it’s a must-see. I mean that.

Second star to the right, and straight on till morning!
 

Disney's Peter Pan

I couldn't help myself. Being a Tinker Bell fan (Yeah, I admit it. So sue me!), I just had to get this film on DVD.

It's still a wonderful film 56 years after it was made. I really enjoyed it.

That's been my favorite ever since I was itty bitty. :) As a matter of fact, it inspired my own imaginary friends. I'll always be a Peter Pan fan, especially of Disney's.

Hmm, what was the last movie I watched? I think it was a Victorian story on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre a few weeks ago. An intriguing story about an Irish woman who loves one man genuinely, and hates another who has an uncontrollable passion for her. It was a mini series, as many Masterpiece Theatre movies are. I missed the last few. Shame. :bloosad:

Deep Impact

Another "Here comes the asteroid" movie. Unremarkable but enjoyable, and rather low-key compared to the bombastic Armeggedon, which came out around the same time. A bit more realistic than the latter movie as well, insofar as the term "realistic" can ever be applied to Hollywood asteroid movies.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

On the past three occasions I have gone to the movies, all 3 times Paul Blart has been sold out! The first time I didn't care cause i was seeing My Bloody Valentine 3D, the second time i tried to intentionally see Mall cop and it was sold out and today me and my girlfriend were just one ticket away from having that show sold out as well. She and I got 2 of the last 3 tickets for that show.

Luckily we made it to see it today (theater was STILL jam packed and it had been for the past WEEK and a half I might add) and we finally got to sit down and watch it. Truth be told? Its......all right, average, okay. I didn't set my expectations super high or anything but I heard great reviews and hoped the large crowds would indicate this movie is really something worth wild.

Well it is and it isn't. The movie is pure fat guy humor and physical comedy with few swears and no fart or sexual jokes, which works in this case. Kevin James really carries this movie well and manages to be funny and compelling to watch at the same time. There was some pretty impressive and actually intelligent chase scenes and traps Blart sets for the crooks and robbers.

However, I kind of felt the humor fell flat sometimes and had its basic ups and downs plus I wish the movie was a bit longer. At 87 minutes, you could easily find room to wiggle in some more jokes for the film's sake anyway. Overall, average movie not bad but not grand. Glad I saw it though and at least my girlfriend got a whole lot out of it.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection

I catch the 2 hour movie premiere on Spike last night, and after two years, the sequel to the 2007 anime mini-series proves to be worth watching.

The movie was very well-written, with some great action scenes and tragic moments, the voices were well-cast (especially with actors like Lucy Lui and Mark Hamill) and overall, the movie was able to top its predecessor.

But what took me by surprise near the end of the film is:

Spoiler Below

In general, this is a must-see, and on time as well, since it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray next week. :bloogrin:

Slumdog Millionaire

So currently Danny Boyle's newest film is the frontrunner for Oscar gold, and today I found out why. For anyone thinking this is your usual manipulative and dry Oscar bait, you cannot be more wrong. What we have here is a fable the way fables were meant to be told. It's a shame that this movie got saddled with the truly unwarranted rating of R by the MPAA. It truly deserves to be seen by a wider audience.

The movie follows Jamal Malik, a young uneducated man who finds himself on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? While being interrogated for possibly cheating at the game, for how can an unedecated man from the slums know any of the answers, the film shows how each answer had been permanently etched into his mind by life itself. The movie is both bittersweet and beautiful. Run, don't walk to see this movie.

Excuse my disjointed thoughts.

Tinker Bell

Go ahead and laugh, I don't care. :(

I've been wanting to rent this out for some time, and I finally got the chance. I really enjoyed this movie, even if it was a bit short. Still, Tink will always remain a young, VERY pretty fairy to me.

Okay, you can stop laughing now.

The Great Mouse Detective

I love watching Rattigan on the screen! He's so...liquid-like with his movements. Basil is great too...

The Muppets Take Manhattan

and

Waltz with Bashir


I watched these flicks pretty much back-to-back on Monday and, wow, there could hardly have been a greater contrast between the two. One film is amusing, light-hearted and loveable, the other is bleak, brutal and harrowing. Actually, the latter, despite its grim subject matter, in which a former Israel Defence soldier attempts to get to the bottom of his experiences in the 1982 Lebanon War, was beautifully rendered, using rotoscope animation techniques - not too unlike the visuals in Richard Linklater's Waking Life, only whereas the rotoscoping in that film provided a gleefully giddy sense of surreality, in Waltz it gives the film a stark, often nightmarish quality. For fans of animation (or indeed cinema in general), this is certainly something quite rare and different.

Muppets Take Manhattan is an enjoyable flick with lots of amusing gags, though admittedly the plot doesn't have a great deal of teeth.

Okay if anyone of you are still laughing about me seeing Tinker Bell, you can now stop laughing because earlier today I went to see Frank Miller's first solo film as a director...

The Spirit

Gabriel Macht is a rookie cop who is shot dead, and reborn again as The Spirit, who protects Central City, whilst hunting down The Octopus (Samuel L Jackson in a kick-ass performance!) and meeting various women who either want to love, seduce or kill the hero.

But I have to say.. the Octopus' henchmen... they are what you can truly call dumb henchmen! They were as dumb as any other henchmen I've ever seen! 8D

Overall, a really fun movie, if you can forget the fact that it's another all green screen film (like 300 and Speed Racer). I really enjoyed it. :frankiesmile:

I, for one, am not laughing at you FF. :) I'm a big Disney fan as it is, and have been wanting to see it myself. But I'll also admit I've seen a number of the Barbie movies. And although the earlier ones are cheesy, some of the later ones are actually pretty good. I wouldn't recommend them to a guy, as they are indeed very girly. But the stories, the art, and usually even the voice acting is pretty good.

I'm kind of planning on watching one of the DVDs I got for Christmas tonight, Elizabeth- The Golden Age with Cate Blanchett. My mother knows my love for history, especially Medieval and Renaissance times, so she knew I'd like it. And I'm sure I will. :D

Super Mario Bros.

As far as the people I know goes, I am probably the only person on the planet who actually liked this movie, enjoyed it thoroughly, and actually bought it (my dad is the only other person who likes it). With a video game as utterly ridiculous and bizarre as Mario Bros, its not hard to believe that a director would have to take drastic creative differences with the material and try to make some kind of sense or story out of it.

I actually thought the parallel world where dinosaurs evolved and built their whole society around using electricity instead of gasoline and fossil fuels (for obvious reasons) was an ingenious concept even if it didn't have anything to do with Mario. Plus, say what you will about the movie, I've rarely seen a movie mention so MUCH reference material about a game/show before so constantly.

Above all else, I loved the actors and the special effects with the Goombas and the devo guns (super scopes actually). Brilliant performances from one of my favorite actors, Bob Hoskins, and of course Dennis Hopper as Koopa who was a blast as the head villain. I actually would prefer watching this movie over half the over ego inflated artistically pompous films most critics shove into award shows.

Yeah that probably makes me sound crazy but I'm usually into more of the unknown or lesser appreciated movies and TV shows anyway.

You're not crazy; I've seen the movie several times and thoroughly enjoyed it each time. :bloogrin:

I watched Repo! The Genetic Opera a couple of days ago.

Man, that was fun! It was gory, but in a campy way, and I found myself really wrapped up in the story. Grave Robber and Blind Mag rule!

I have been looking forward to this film for a while, so it was nice to finally get to see it (the road tour never came anywhere near me. It's really too bad because I would've LOVED to see it in a theater :P).

And really? I never took any of the bad reviews seriously because all they ever did was focus on Paris Hilton, and how oh so horrible the movie was because Paris Hilton's in it. Mm-hmm. Paris has about 10 minutes total screen time. They're gonna base a whole review on someone who is in a movie for 10 minutes? Okay. Besides, Spoiler Below , so Paris haters should enjoy that.:P

Well then that makes you the 3rd only other person I have ever found who loved that movie :) which is just fine and dandy by me.

I think I saw it differently than most other people because I never played the videogame. I knew who Mario was, and a couple other characters too, but that was the extent of my knowledge, so I didn't expect to see anything in particular (other than a couple of colorfully dressed plumbers, anyway). Hard to say what kind of difference that may or may not have made.

Surf's Up on my iPod

(I think it's better than Happy Feet - I suggest it if you're bored and want a good laugh :))

Oh snap! I ended up watching The Great Mouse Detective again today. I fear that I might be becoming addicted to it. It's just...I reeeeeeeeaally enjoy the characters. (I'll admit it, not the world's greatest plot but still enjoyable.) Is it evil that I enjoy Basil's mood swings? He goes from depressed, to excited, to contemplative so easily! (Actually, my main rat Ratigan does that too...)

Also took out my Nightmare Before Christmas movie too. (I watch this film at least once a week. Why?....It's my favorite movie of all time.)

batman beyond: return of the joker

that was some epic stuff right there. Did not see the ending coming at all.

Bebe's Kids

Yet another obscure animated film from the early 90s. This one was derived from a stand-up comedy routine by Robin Harris (who sadly died prior to the film's production - previously, this had been slated to be a live action picture), and was probably most notable for being the first animated flick to feature an all-black main cast. For those unfamiliar with the film or the original routine, it deals with Robin's attempts to impress his newly-acquired girlfriend by treating her and her young son to a day out at a theme park (in the routine, Disneyland, in the film, the all-round generic Fun Land, owing to obvious copyright restrictions) - the catch being that she also insists upon bringing the ghastly offspring of her mysterious friend Bebe, and general chaos ensues.

I can't speak for the original routine, which I imagine is pretty funny, but a definite problem with the film is that Bebe's kids, who should by all rights be the juiciest part of the story, are actually the most off-putting. They’re not particularly pleasant characters, and nor are they intended to be, though sadly they’re not all that interesting here either. I actually greatly preferred the segments of the film which centre more around Robin himself – indeed, the film starts out fairly promisingly with him as the primary focus, but pretty much the instant that Bebe’s kids show up on the scene and take the helm the story starts to trail off into a rather aimless plethora of anarchy, silliness and obnoxiousness (in which only the rather banal subplot involving Robin’s ex-wife adds any kind of ground or structure). It’s only in the final stages of the film, when we’ve retreated from the disarray of Fun Land and back into the more human drama of the outside world that things start to pick up again.

Basically, it’s an interesting concept which never really comes close to being half as fun as it could’ve been, though it is bookended nicely enough.

Taken

This my second time watching it and just like the first time, I still find the movie to be a truly unique and surprisingly powerful film vehicle for Liam Neeson. It feels like a Jason Bourne thing, with enough martial arts ass kickery and taking a seemingly non action hero suited actor (Neeson) to feel like they are doing the same thing here but its not. Its actually a much more emotional movie then I thought and manages to mix enough bad ass spy action and great performances.

Neeson plays a father who used to be a bad ass spy for the government, and gets back into the game when his daughter is kidnapped. The movie really makes you feel strongly for Neeson's father figure and you can truly feel the sorrow and severity in his words from his dark and dramatic performance. On top of that, nothing in here is over the top, too action packed or too crazy.

Its all played out on a very serious and very realistic setting and doesn't stretch out into any super global terrorist organizations either. I especially felt the dialog was excellently crafted to go along with the action scenes and there's a particular scene involving a chair, two nails, and a light switch that is worth seeing on its own merit. All in all, this is an excellent and surprisingly effective dramatic movie that has everything going in its favor.

Frost/Nixon

In a word, brilliant. Frank Langella and Michael Sheen were both amazing as the two leads...there's nothing that I could say here which could possibly do justice to Langella's performance in particular.

Taken. Interesting premise, but the clunky dialogue (particularly the line Neeson delivers to his daughter's kidnappers on the cell phone) and set pieces (where did he get the IV unit for that drugged-up girl? And the pompous pop starlet made me want to retch) made me feel like this was an attempt to mimic Die Hard. Not a god-awful movie but curiously unimportant.

Tales from Earthsea

The directorial debut of Goro Miyazaki, this garnered a somewhat more mixed reaction than the Ghibli crowd are generally used to, but being such a huge fan of their output, and a completist, I’ve still been very eager to see it. And having done so, I can’t say that I was too disappointed. It certainly doesn’t rank up there with the best of Ghibli’s work – just don’t expect anything in the league of Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle – but it’s still a perfectly respectable addition to the studio’s canon. Embedded in a lot of the more negative whisper about the film was the rather damning judgement that Goro does not appear to have inherited his father’s talent, but I personally feel that, with a bit more polishing, he might prove a worthy successor yet.

Visually, Tales from Earthsea contains a great deal to admire. Some commentators felt that the design and animation wasn’t up to quite the same par as a lot of Ghibli’s previous efforts, but I can’t recall any moments when I actually detected this – indeed, the sheer amount of detail which went into every frame at points made me want to salivate. The story and characters, meanwhile, have come under fire for failing to deliver the same degree of magic, charm and imagination we’d come to expect from Hayao’s output – this criticism I would agree with, but what it did deliver still managed to hold my interest for the complete two hour running time. It might help, of course, that I’ve never actually read any of the original novels by Ursula K Le Guin, of which I hear this is a rather meagre adaptation (and indeed, one feels that it barely scratches the surface of the fantastical world in which it is based), but, judged upon its own merits, it's a wholly competent, if not exactly remarkable mystical adventure story, and, for Ghibli fans, it's more than worth the watch.

As for Miyazaki Jr, all I can say is, give the man time.

Hercules

Push

I have heard so many people knock Push off right off the bat by being some sort of Heroes rip off or something like that. Needless to say that is far from the truth but its also far from popular belief that this is some kind of mindless action flick. Yes, its very fast paced but there is also an extremely COMPLICATED and constantly moving storyline that never lets or gives up.

Push has a lot going on at once and for those of you looking to go see it, I highly recommend looking at the movie's official website and checking out their handy "super power classification" list because it's going to be a bit tricky trying to catch all of those titles and listings instantly. I admit, I'm usually very good at keeping up with fast paced films but even this was a little bit much.

Having said that, I give this movie lots of credit for having an extremely smart and crafty edge with their super powers. They use lots of clever tricks and ways to use it and the screaming Japanese guys (Bleeders they're called) are by far the most interesting and amusing to watch. Also another treat with this movie was fantastic performances by villain Dijmon Hisou and Dakota Fanning.

Fanning was just excellent in her dark, punker, grim psychic watcher role. She's really expanded as an actor and if this film is any indication of what she can really do then I hope to see MUCH more of her work. The psychic battles were totally bad ass, watching guys mentally bounce bullets and people back and forth like pin balls is just awesome to watch.

Push is a movie you cannot see half tired or half at all, this movie needs your undivided attention if you want to fully understand it. Its not a movie where you can walk in and mindlessly drift in and out of focus, if you wanna know what's going on then pay attention. Other then that, this was quite a damn good movie with excellent performances and sweet super psychic battles. I don't know if I'd buy it but its definitely worth a second looking at.

You know it, I know it, we all know it.
 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

One of the few movies I can watch again and again and again (Repeat 20000 more times or until dragged away which ever comes first.) and never ever be bored with.

Coraline

Four words.

Go....See...This...Movie!

I mean that literally, stop reading this post and go out and see this film right now. (Unless of course you've already seen it, or unable to for reasons beyond your control.)

This is easily an early contender for animated film of the year, simply breathtaking from start to finish with great writing and fantastic cast, And not to mention the impressive amount of detail that went into the stop motion work was just astounding.

Truly a triumph on a technical and emotional level.

Coraline.

I'd summarize it, but taranchula said all that needs to be said.

One of the best movie's I've seen. That's all i really have that I can say right now.

Frost/Nixon

I just came back from the cinema and it was very interesting. I very rarely see a drama film, because I'm more into comedy films like Airplane and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but this was a surprise for me.

Frank and Michael really portrayed their roles really well and to see the interviews themselves was interesting to watch. I do hope that it wins the Best Picture Oscar.

In the spirit of Spill.com, I'd give Frost/Nixon a Full Price. I really enjoyed it.

Lately, my friends and I will occasionally watch really bad, low-budget horror films after our game night sometimes, which include such classic films as Prehistoric Bimbos from Armageddon City and Goblin. They're hysterical, though whether or not they're meant to be is up for debate.

I would watch that based solely on the name; it sounds like a scream. 8D

It is fantastically hysterical, and they make it fairly well known that they honestly aren't taking themselves very seriously. Highlights include a villain who sounds like Krusty the Clown, several ambigously-oriented characters, another villain who doesn't understand the concept of a come-back, a male protagonist named Pringle, and the single greatest chase scene ever filmed.

I got it with one of those cheap rinky-dink "50 films for $20" collections. It has several movies by the guy who made Prehistoric Bimbos, who's named Todd Sheets, and all his films are riot.

The others in the collection, however......

Leaving Las Vegas

A very well-acted drama concerning two social outsiders (played by Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, in an Oscar winning and Oscar nominated role, respectively) who find mutual sympathy in the titular location. It works well, not only due to the strength of the two leading performances (though obviously that is a major contributing factor), but also the strikingly unassuming nature of its narrative - at its heart, it has no particular moral agenda or any especially profound or inspiring observations which it wishes to register about life. Rather, it's a remarkably pure - and all the more touching for it - story about a lost and self-destructive man simply not wanting to be alone in the final, darkest hours of his being.

Friday the 13th

If you're not a fan of this film series, then you'll hate this movie because it is by no means a brilliant, sophisticated relaunching like Batman or Bond. This movie is made for fans of Friday and fans alone. Having said that, being an avid fan of Friday I really enjoyed this movie. Everything that made the series fun, entertaining, and popular is all here in spades and they spare no expense (or people for that matter).

The humor from the characters was pretty damn good, unusually comedic for a Friday movie and brought some great new kill methods along. I actually like seeing Jason walking faster and using more creative methods to kill his victims, its a departure from his classic routines and I have to say it works for him. This movie actually is more of a remake of "Friday the 13th part 2" then the first one.

I've always favored Jason over Freddy and this was definitely a fun, enjoyable return to the hockey masked killer's butchering ways. Anyone looking for a good time, good laughs and good gore should see this movie right away. Its a good tribute to the old series and contains every trick and cliche from the old movies as well, making this a must see for Friday fans.

Bolt

Hmm, well, there's no mistaking this one for a Pixar movie, that's for darn certain, but it was nonetheless quite a nice little animated outing; cute, genial and enjoyable. Considering that no less than three short years ago, this very studio was offering up such computer-generated disasters as Chicken Little (I'm going to be totally honest and confess that I never actually saw that one, but it struck me as one of those flicks which I didn't really have to in order to get the picture...the trailer was just one big succession of godawful joke after godawful joke - I shudder to think what the rest of the movie was like), Bolt definitely seems like quite a gratifying step in the right direction, if not exactly a mammoth leap.

In all honesty, Bolt doesn't really have very many original ideas to call its own - just about everything seems to have been borrowed from somewhere or other. Bolt's voyage of personal discovery isn't terribly different from the one which Buzz Lightyear was making more than fourteen years ago (in fact, it's very much the same), while the initial set-up of the show's producers struggling to conceal the fictionality of Bolt's world from him put me very much in mind of a certain Jim Carrey movie which we've all seen (I did have to snigger when I realised that the head producer was essentially a Jerry Katzenberg look-a-like without the glasses, but then didn't Disney already do that joke with Hades in Hercules?). Squit, Bobby and Pesto from Animaniacs put in a cameo appearence (of sorts), and there are also elements of Lassie Come Home,The Incredible Journey, the Here Comes Garfield TV special, Rita and Runt, and just about every other dog or cat orientated film or cartoon you care to mention. This distinct lack of innovation doesn't appear to concern Bolt too much - you never really get the sense that they were going for anything particularly grand or ground-breaking here, just a simple and unassuming story for the family audiences which moves along at its own pace. Actually, it is kind of refreshing to see a 3D-animated feature which isn't losing too much visible sweat over attempting to mimic the respective Pixar or Dreamworks formulas - I'm relieved to report that there's none of the glaring pop culture references or vulgar flatulence gags that we've come to associate with the latter's offerings, and that while John Travolta is fully recognisable as the voice of Bolt, he suits the character rather than detracting from it.

What we have here is a perfectly pleasant story with likeable enough characters, good animation and some genuine warmth at the centre. It never really comes close to replicating the same degree of wit or charm of the Pixar catalogue, nor does it try to - problem is that it equally never comes close to finding its own character or feeling, and this is one area which could perhaps have done with a bit more effort. It settles for being strictly a movie of the moment, lightweight and forgettable, borrowing just a little too much from other sources without really giving back enough of its own, and for that reason I rather suspect that, following the Disney Store's next big stock rotation, it will cease to have any major kind of household name recognition. Bolt does demonstrate that Disney still have a fair way to go before they start rivalling their buddies in the Pixar Studio, but at the same time, it's also a reason to feel positive that the fallen animation giants are in the process of picking themselves up and will be moving onto bigger and better things soon.

Groundhog Day

Yes, well, talk of whistling belly buttons aside (I'm not even going to ponder how that works), it's pretty hard to top this one in the delight department. It takes what has to be one of the simplest plot gimmicks imaginable and generates so much wit, warmth and endearment from it, while Bill Murray, needless to say, is absolutely perfect as the sardonic protagonist. A great one for repeat viewings.

(Yeah, I suppose I could've worked a lot harder on getting a joke out of that final statement, but I'm feeling much too lazy right now. Anyway, it's the truth.)