Reviews by Kyle Ellis

I think too many people compare this to Monsters' Inc and Shrek in terms of animation quality. I also think that this film would have been a lot more successful, had it not been released too soon to Monsters' Inc. I thought it was a well-written film and in some case sweet too. The animation is spot on, and when I saw it at the cinema, the whole room were in hysterics in the first five minutes, because of Scrat, who was one of the funnier characters. The voice work is highly commendable, especially Ray Romano as Manny and Denis Leary as Diego. John Leguizamo has his moments as Sid. The script was well written, very funny, but sometimes especially towards the end, when the humour could have been more focused. I actually liked the sentimentality brought into the story. The baby, is one of those characters you love or hate, I warmed to him, but i never empathised with him. Although, I was really moved by the bit where Manny is seen staring at the drawing with the hunters killing mammoths. Anyway, the music score was perfect. All in all, a funny and sometimes touching picture, that had a tendency to get a bit slow, but overall this is misjudged by people. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Babe is such a charming and enchanting film, that even the fussiest adult can't help finding it easy to like. Babe himself, voiced by Christine Cavanaugh(Darkwing Duck and Dexter's Laboratory) is an adorable character, and one scene in particular when his mother is taken away is a genuine tearjerker. The other animals are also just as engaging, including Ferdinand, and are well voiced by the likes of Miriam Margoyles and Hugo Weaving. The human characters were very warm and likable, and James Cromwell and Magda Szubanski were both wonderful. The film looks lovely, there is a nice story and the music is just superb, with Saint Saens' Organ Symphony and Delibes' Pizzicato. And I loved the singing mice, they were really sweet and funny. All in all, a true classic. 10/10 Bethnay Cox

The Day After Tomorrow is not a bad movie by all means. In fact, it's an uneven but decent film. The film does start off absolutely brilliantly, with a wonderful idea for a story and truly spectacular special effects. As a matter of fact, the whole film is well worth watching for the special effects alone. The acting is not too bad; Jake Gyllanhaal is rather bland, but Dennis Quaid is a superb lead. Plus Emmy Rosum looks positively radiant and Ian Holm is as reliable as ever. The direction from Roland Emmerich was surprisingly good, there have been times when I have found his direction too murky and unfocused, but no it was above decent here.

However, the second half isn't as impressive. Whereas the first half is very like a typical disaster movie, the second half for me as it focused on the rescue mission felt more of a thriller. The screenplay in general could have done with more precision and focus too, there is good interplay sometimes but on the whole I found the screenplay and some of the characters underdeveloped. My main problem though with The Day After Tomorrow was the pace, for my liking it was too leisurely and too stodgy.

All in all, uneven it is but it is a decent disaster movie. The first half I can watch again and again, but the second half for me was a bit of a letdown. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I personally liked The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I wasn't so taken with Prince Caspian, while not a bad movie it could have been much better. I love the books, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was always my personal favourite, but Voyage of the Dawn Treader I loved just as much.

As for this adaptation of Voyage of the Dawn Treader, while not completely perfect it was the best yet for me. It was a little too long however, and there is some wooden dialogue at times with Caspian's dialogue not as well fleshed out as it could have been. That said, there are some improvements over Prince Caspian. One is Ben Barnes, I found him bland and a bit too eager to please in Prince Caspian but here he is much more charismatic and warmer too.

The pace is another improvement, I found it rather lethargic in the previous two entries particularly in Caspian making the story not as engaging as it should have been, but in Voyage of the Dawn Treader the pace is brisker and the story as well as truer in spirit is easier to get into. The direction feels more confident as well.

The strengths of the previous two movies are also in abundance. Once again, Voyage of the Dawn Treader is visually stunning. The scenery is beautiful with a etheral and almost epic feel particularly in the sweeping action sequences, the cinematography is fluid and skillful and the special effects alone are what makes this entry the best of the series so far particularly with Dawn Treader which is gorgeously realised. The score is pleasant to listen to and memorable, it doesn't intrude too much and fits well with each scene.

The acting is pretty much very good. Georgie Henley has improved hugely having grown in so much confidence, although Skandar Keynes isn't quite as enthusiastic this time around though he was decent. Will Poulter is delightfully obnoxious and selfish as Eustace, but his character transformation contrasted beautifully towards the end. Reepicheep comes close to stealing the show voiced very well by Simon Pegg, Tilda Swinton is still quite chilling in her brief appearance as the White Witch and Aslan is majestically voiced by Liam Neeson. The ending is also very well-done and quite moving.

All in all, a surprisingly good film and the best of the series so far. 8/10 Bethany Cox

As a little girl, I adored the Chronicles of Narnia books, and I still do. I also liked the BBC adaptations, done in mini-series format, they weren't amazing, but they were enjoyable and stuck to the books' spirit. As far as these film versions go, I haven't yet seen Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but I enjoyed Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian was not a bad film, but it could have been better.

Visually, the film is very well done. I loved the cinematography, while the scenery and costumes are gorgeous. The effects are also good, and Aslan still looks brilliant. The music is beautiful too, with lovely melodies. The end credits song was nice, but I think it should have stayed as an end credits song, it didn't seem right placing it in the final scene to me. The direction is decent too, while the battle sequences are riveting, and the film did begin well.

As far as the acting goes, it wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing either. The best are Eddie Izzard who is spot on, Peter Dinklage who comes close to stealing the film with his eyes alone and Liam Neeson who lends his majestic voice to Aslan, and while her appearance is very brief Tilda Swinton is quite chilling. The four leads are good enough, and in Georgie Henley's case improved. Edmund also has potential. I had mixed feelings on Miraz though, more to how he was written than how he was acted. Sergio Castellitto does make an effort to make Miraz dark and charismatic for the villain of the piece, but the way Miraz is written and developed makes him come across as insipid. The weak link is Ben Barnes. He is handsome and has his moments, but he is rather bland on the whole.

My real problems with Prince Caspian are in the storytelling and pace mainly. The story has a tendency to become too unengaging, the more involving scenes are well done but the slower scenes are close to ponderous. The pace is rather lethargic this time round, while I don't think the film really needed to be as long as it was and the characters come across as shallow. Also particularly with Caspian and Miraz, some of the dialogue is stilted.

All in all, Prince Caspian is not a bad film, but it lacked something. I also forgot to say as an adaptation of the book it is not great, granted the book was not my favourite of the series but I felt sometimes there was a bit too much padding that could have been excised slightly. A disappointment, but on its own terms and for the visuals and music it is worth a look. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I was interested in seeing 300. After seeing it, did I like it? Sort of. Starting with the good things, it is visually, technically and stylistically amazing with wonderful costumes and sets. The battle sequences are superbly shot and quite realistic, and the music and acting(the protagonist played by Gerard Butler is very charismatic) are decent, as is the direction. Plus there are some compelling parts in the story, and the script has its moments. However, 300 is not very well paced, in fact for me it was quite slow and pedestrian in places, while there are one two many clichés and stereotypes, one or two them I agree bordered on offensive. Overall, it was an okay film but it didn't wow me. 6/10 Bethany Cox

The first Shrek was funny and original, and one of my favourites of its year. The first sequel was just as delightful and as charming, and while the third film wasn't as bad as I thought it would be it did suffer from being too tired and contrived. Shrek Forever After is an improvement on Shrek the Third while lacking the charm, heart and magic that was there clearly in the first two.

Thankfully, the story is not as contrived as it was in the third film. I loved the idea and it did start off well, the "what would life be like if Shrek had never existed?" reminded me of one of my all-time favourites, It's a Wonderful Life. However, in the middle act it did have its predictable parts. The pace sags a bit too in the middle act particularly when there are parts that don't have as much humour as I would have liked. Also, while the animation was very good on the whole, I did feel that Rumplestiltskin's facial expressions were occasionally overdone and forced.

Criticisms aside, the animation is very good, very colourful and lively with some nice backgrounds. The soundtrack is also great, while the jokes are fresher and wittier than the last one, Donkey getting the best of them. The characters are still likable, the pace is in general snappy and the writing is amusing. The voice acting is also top notch, not only from Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz who are rock-solid but especially from Eddie Murphy who seamlessly comes very close to stealing the film while Antonio Banderas makes a welcome return as Puss.

Overall, not a classic but an improvement and an entertaining film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I can't fault this movie at all, other than to say the video I have is a bit grainy. The film is undeniably charming, based on the books by Margery Sharp, which I haven't read.

The animation was just wonderful, right from minute one. It was dark and fluid, and reminded me of the masterpieces of Don Bluth like American Tail and Secret of NIMH. It matched the music perfectly, and none of the characters were drawn stereotypically. I loved the fact they made the protagonists mice, which shows a lot of originality. I was laughing so much at the swamp animals scene, as it looked so ridiculous. Another funny scene was the one with the crocs playing the pipe organ, and then Medussa starts shooting the place down.

The songs were outstanding, and beautifully sung by Shelby Flint. I've heard criticisms that the songs were lifeless and slow, but I strongly disagree. The song at the beginning "The Journey" was beautiful beyond words, as was "Someone's Waiting For You", the one with Penny crying on the boat deck. They were truly emotional and haunting, and often misunderstood by people.

The characters were really funny and engaging, especially the two crocodiles, and Orville(especially when he cries "Mayday, Mayday!")Bernard was brilliantly voiced by Bob Newhart, likewise Bianca by beautiful Hungarian actress Eva Gabor. Penny was really sweet, but the scene-stealer was Geraldine Page as Madam Medussa, who was such a convincing villainess, very sinister yet absolutely hilarious. She reminds me of Ursula from the Little Mermaid.

The script was both touching and funny, with the dialogue between Madame Medussa and Snoops sparkling like bubbles on top of a champagne glass and the story is compelling and beautifully told. All in all, I recommend this and the sequel (which isn't quite as good). 10/10.Bethany Cox