Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Dir: Chris Columbus
2002
***
As I've stated before in my reviews, I'm not the biggest Harry Potter fan, it's just not my cup of tea but there is much to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that I thought was great. The performance by Kenneth Branagh is terrific, I have no idea if the character returned in the books but I think it's a great shame he didn't return in the films. The opening scene whereby Harry and Ron miss their train and end up flying a light blue Ford Anglia to school is a pretty brilliant (and somehow British) way to start a film. Once again, the cast is a whose who of the best of British film and TV and probably one of the strongest ensembles of all time.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Dir: Chris Columbus
2001
***
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first film adaptation of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series is a family friendly fantasy and I can see how it appealed to kids and adults alike. I'm as big a geek as someone can be but as a child I was never much into Goblins, Witches, Wizards etc, I was more of a Dinosaurs and Astronauts kid, so I do wonder how I'd felt about the film if I had been a child in 2001. The fact of the matter is that in 1997 when the book was released I was an 18 year old and the story of a schoolboy wizard was pretty far from what I was interested in and in 2001 I was 22 years old and working long hours in a job I disliked, the phenomenon pretty much passed me by and neither reading the book or watching the film was high on my priority list. The film is pretty good though, I do admire it, particularly its brilliant cast of British favorites. It got kids reading and helped the British film industry so I'm all for it.
The Polar Express
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
2004
*
The animation looks like one of those dodgy chapter breaks in old computer games and just when you think you're going to hear something important, a life lesson or some good advice, the train turns into a roller coaster. Live-action animation? Isn't that an oxymoron!? It doesn't look good either way. If all I got for Christmas was a false scenes of achievement I'd ask for my money back, I'd much rather have a new bike thanks. Ba humbug to it, especially as I suspect it was written as more of a piece of Christian propaganda, luring children into a ridiculous concept of blind faith. You don't believe in Santa? Get on the train!!! That's what the Nazis did man. Apologies, that was distasteful and unseasonable but really, I don't know who is more ridiculous, Santa or God? I wonder who would win in a fight? Anyway, am I a miserable sod? Yes, yes I am, but I bet I'm disappointed fewer times in my life than most people! Is this really the same man that brought us Back to the Future? Merry Christmas everyone!
Dark Habits
Dir: Pedro Almodóvar
1983
*****
For me, Dark Habits is Pedro Almodóvar's first great film and still stands as one of his best today. It's wickedly funny from the outset and just gets funnier and funnier, I think even the staunchest of Catholics would find it hard not to smirk to at least one joke. Almodóvar is Spanish though, and being brought up in Calzada de Calatrava his upbringing was about as Catholic as it gets, so he very knowingly parades the lives of Nuns but he also does so with just enough affection so as not to be too offensive. The film is never nasty in any way, nor do I think it is anti-catholic, anti-religious or blasphemous. Dark Habits is also noted as being his first commercially produced film. He has distanced himself from the film lately stating that he felt it isn't the film it should have been due to certain commercial obligations. So if he was restrained, or even edited, it makes you wonder what the original was like when producers in a deeply Catholic country allow Nuns to be shown indulging in drug taking and masochism. Viva Espania!
Freeze Frame
Dir: John Simpson
2004
****
Freeze Frame is a great little film. It flew well under the radar and so should be sought out by thriller fans. I thought the idea was very clever and the use of CCTV/Video cams was well balanced and never over done, which I'm sure was a tricky thing to get right. Lee Evans was also really good, I don't know why I doubted his acting skills, after all, he was really good in Funny Bones. My only criticism is that some of the acting is a little shaky, Rachael Stirling is the main offender - I'm still yet to see what is so great about her to be honest. I also felt a little bit sick whenever Ian McNeice's neck got a close up but I digress, Freeze Frame is a great film, seek it out.
La Chinoise
Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
1967
**
Humour should be at the core of all good satire. Jean-Luc Godard has mastered a lot in his lengthy career but I'm afraid Satire isn't one of them. La Chinoise is very clever, beautifully shot and is an important piece of pop art. Inserting various slogans and political pictures of the time was fairly revolutionary editing at the time and La Chinoise is an important historical and political work, it's just dreadfully dull. It's like being told the same joke for 93 minutes that wasn't even funny the first time. Monty Python did it better in a 3 minute sketch. Watch it because you love Jean-Luc Godard, the 60's and bright colours but not because you want political of film making lessons.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Dir: Eric Brevig
2008
**
A pointless and awful adaptation that makes Henry Levin's version (which I did not like) look like a masterpiece. It's tired and badly written, the only thing they got right was to hire Brendan Fraser who is the actor equivalent of a big dumb lovable dog. Why cast the most unlikable boy in the movie business today (Josh Hutcherson) is anyone's guess, does anyone actually like his acting? You'd be better off watching the dozen or so films it rips-off (Temple of Doom, Jurassic Park, etc) or better still, read the book.
