Every Sunday, Gill delves into his archive of over 800 movie reviews and randomly selects three for your enjoyment! Here are this week’s…
Brendan and the Secret of Kells
A beautiful, sweet fable of a film, The Secret of Kells features one of the most gorgeous visual styles I have ever seen in an animated movie. The character designs, scenery, even the framing of what is happening on-screen is lush and marvellously rendered. While the story may be a bit simple, and not delve too deeply into the elements it introduces, the writers aren’t afraid to touch upon dark and creepy material that would no doubt frighten the younger viewers a bit. I can’t say enough good things about the look of the movie, though, and it is worth at least two viewings just to soak in the amazing artistry that has gone into this picture. After seeing how inspired and original The Secret of Kells is, I was genuinely disappointed that Pixar’s sweet yet slightly generic Up took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, as Kells sports far more wonder in a single scene than Up does in its entirety.
4 out of 5
Solomon Kane
Solomon Kane is a waste of a budget, which is a real shame, because a lot of it LOOKS terrific. The outdoor locations (which might be digitally enhanced – it’s tough to tell) are gorgeous, and the cinematography is quite good, particularly the framing of many shots. Unfortunately, this all goes to waste as the result of a terrible script. Just about every single line is a cliche, and that’s no exaggeration. James Purefoy comes off as a poor man’s Hugh Jackman, and his character, whose pulp novel origins predate Wolverine by many years, is written as basically a combination of Wolverine and Van Helsing. Add to this the fact that the monsters often look like leftovers from Xena: Warrior Princess and you’ve got a pretty but dull film. And what the heck is Max Von Sydow doing in this? Max, you were in The Seventh Seal! You’re so much better than this movie!
2 out of 5
Planet of the Apes (2001)
APE LINCOLN?!?!?!
.5 out of 5
See you next Sunday for three more thrilling short reviews!