Rating (out of 5 stars): ****

The story behind the scenes at Santa’s headquarters at the North Pole, provides the backdrop to a charming story of family politics. The current Santa Claus (voiced by Jim Broadbent) distributes presents in a spacecraft that looks like something out of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, while Grandsanta (Bill Nighy giving a hilarious vocal performance) bemoans the use of newfangled gadgetry, insisting that he could do the job just as well back in the good-ole sled-and-reindeer days.

But the focus of our story, of course, is Santa’s younger son, Arthur (James McAvoy). An awkward, if well-meaning, lad, his best intentions invariably fall victim to his clumsiness. He lives in the shadow of his older brother, Steve (Hugh Laurie); an imposing, square-jawed heir apparent who runs Santa’s gift-delivering operations with military precision.

One Christmas eve, after every present has apparently been delivered to children around the globe, Arthur discovers an oversight: a bicycle that should’ve been delivered to a little girl in England has been left behind. Teaming up with Grandsanta, he sets off to right matters, unaware that, in the process, he will unleash his inner hero.

It’s a funny, charming and emotionally stirring family film that never labours its point, and it will, no doubt, speak to kids who feel like also-rans within their family dynamic. The 3-D is beautifully realised, and entire show is a credit to Sony Animation and the British outfit Aardman, who are perhaps best known for their Wallace & Gromit films.

Rating (out of 5 stars): *****

Got a feline you're foolin'... Puss in Boots steps out from Shrek's shadow and struts out in his own comedy.

We’ve been seeing the trailers for months, and I have to tell you that I was left unimpressed and uninspired. This promised to be little more than a self-congratulatory feast of in-jokes and knowing smirks. And, yes; a needless spinoff, riding on the popularity of the Shrek franchise.

And then I saw the press screening. And was utterly blown away.

With this tongue-in-cheek homage to the western genre, crammed with sly jabs at its conventions and clichés, the team at Dreamworks have pulled out all the creative stops. The environments in which we find ourselves are colourful, inviting and utterly immersive. This is 3-D animation at its finest, inviting us back into the story books of our childhood; no matter our ages.

And the gags – both visual and verbal – are laugh-out-loud hilarious; almost ribald at times, though nothing to offend. The story centres around the once-solid friendship between Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) and Humpty Dumpty (vocalised by Zach Galifianakis). They had grown up as childhood friends, it appears, and, although they both appeared set to become petty crooks, Puss ultimately chose the moral high ground, leaving Humpty to turn into… well, a rotten egg. As if this backstory on a famous Mother Goose character wasn’t enough, we’re also exposed to the truth behind Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris), who, it appears, were the nursery rhyme equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde. Just tougher and nastier.

With all the shameless ferocity of a gatling gun, this madcap holiday attraction unloads a relentless barrage of laughs, adventure, and mock melodrama. Furry good indeed!

Mickey Rourke grizzlies it up - again - as King Hyperion in 'Immortals 3-D'.

An Active3D Movie Review

Rating (out of 5 stars): *

Just over a decade ago, Tarsem Singh directed Jennifer Lopez in The Cell, an interesting – and visually striking – film about virtual reality. Next year he’s unleashing a live-action take on the Snow White story, called Mirror Mirror. But rather than reflect on the past or speculate about the future, the task at hand, I’m afraid, is to deal with Singh’s current release, which has just opened on the local circuit.

This is Hollywood’s latest stab at Greek mythology – and for those not in the know, it’s like ancient science fiction, with the only significant difference being that the men wear leather frocks. Our tale begins with Zeus (who was the ‘chief god’ in Greece’s polytheistic universe) not being happy with the bloodythirsty mortal, King Hyperion (played wildly OTT here by Mickey Rourke). The outrageously villainous king is set on destroying humankind, so Zeus tasks a heroic and conveniently good-looking mortal, Theseus (Henry Cavill) with putting Hyperion out of business.

Theseus, in Greek mythology, is the mythical founder-king of Athens, and it’s good thing that he’s both mortal and mythical as, if he were around to witness what PASOK, Greece’s Socialist party, has done to modern-day Greece, he’d be in the mood to swing his sword again! Don’t worry about having to know your Greek mythology, however, as all the necessary bits are laid out quite clearly at the film’s start.

Stand by for man-to-man battle in its various permutations – and it gets bloodier than a visit to your local abattoir, so if you aren’t fond of seeing heads smashed and body parts being lopped off with boring regularity, then this isn’t for you. I found the imaginative computer-generated environments quite awe-inspiring (and would probably have been even more impressed had the film been shown in focus at our press screening). The characterisation was – as one would expect of such stories – boringly one-dimensional, despite the beautiful 3-D cinematography. I couldn’t really relate to their struggles, however, or to the runaway machismo, and confirmed my suspicion that computer-generated imagery – no matter how dazzling – can’t hold my attention for 110 minutes.

(As published in Johannesburg’s City Press newspaper, November 12th, 2011.)

The other day I saw the trailer of Star Wars Episode One 3-D and I am juiced! Yes, the naysayers have had their bit to say about Episodes 1 to 3, and, whilst they may not have the “classic quality” of the original trilogy (Chapters 4 – 6), if they’re being re-released in 3-D, I’ll be there. Just as I was there when the original trilogy was remixed and re-released in Dolby Digital sound. From what I’ve seen of the trailer, the 3-D conversion is superb. Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised, as it’s taken years to do this stereoptic conversion, and George Lucas was surely not going to subject all those years of love, toil and dedication to a ghastly rush-job, along the lines of last year’s execrable remake of Clash of the Titans.

Underwater, no one can hear you complain about what a bad movie it is...

An Active3D Movie Review

Rating (out of 5 stars): *

OK, so going in I wasn’t expecting anything of the calibre of Spielberg’s Jaws. Honestly. I thought we’d get a tongue-in-cheek vacation/exploitation flick – and hopefully some half-decent 3-D.  The latter two options delivered – the first, not. The plot, such as it is, revolves around a bunch of teens who take a vacation break at a friend’s holiday pad on an island in a lagoon. And then, you guessed it; the sharks strike. That’s about it, in a nutshell. I should also tell about the audience’s credulity being stretched beyond the limit – try this for size: (a) Guy X has just had his arm chomped off by a shark. (b) His friend comes by about ten minutes after the attack, and FINDS the arm in the murky waters. (c) The arm is completely INTACT!  (d) Guy X is on the verge of dying, because of blood loss. Somehow, however, he finds his second wind and leaps up and back into the water to do arm-to-fin combat with the shark – with which he is apparently very angry.

The first 45 minutes or so are entertaining because the underwater 3-D photography is creepy and effective (though a trifle dark), and the story moves along speedily, if predictably. And it’s largely enjoyable because it’s so damn daft. But the scriptwriters see fit to churn human villains into the silly, swirling mess, which only weighs the story down, rather than keep it afloat. And then it simply gets tedious, because we know exactly how the bad guys will meet their comeuppance. I had hopes that this would’ve been risible, tacky fun, along the lines of Piranha 3-D, but the fun runs out long before the risible bits do…

Rating (out of 5 stars): **

The story – in three sentences
Jessica Alba – she of the original Spy Kids – is back, and looking as gorgeous as ever. She’s now married to a guy with a little boy and girl. Said girlie (whose mum had died) hates and resents her new stepmom, although anyone with the vaguest understanding of commercial movies can predict that, as soon as stepmum’s secret vocation (she’s still a spy) is revealed, stepdaughter will suddenly be overawed by the coolness of it all, and unreservedly embrace the new parent in her life…

Preggies and dangerous
A scene early on in the movie is worth at least half the admission price, although it isn’t the easiest scene to witness, and I’d imagine that mothers will watch it gape-jawed. It shows Marissa (the Alba character) downing the bad guys with a startling array of martial arts flips, kicks and swipes – in a pregnant state. And not only is she pregnant, but she’s mere moments away from giving birth. So, while the film may be mired in cliché, these few moments are truly and utterly original. At least, as far as I know… The rest is all paint-by-numbers stuff, but it’s clearly aimed at a very young audience – and only at them – so there’s little point in seriously reviewing this fluff.

But here’s the beef:
In movie circles, the term ”4-D” is generally reserved for theatres which offer 3-D imagery, seat movement, smell, and even tactile elements such as light sprays of water. This film trumpets, as its “fourth dimension”, smell – which is delivered to its audience via rub-and-sniff ‘Aroma-Scope’ cards (in a fashion akin to John Waters’ scratch-and sniff ‘Odorama’ cards that he used in his trash classic, Polyester).

So, to call this film “4-D” is a stretch, but I was prepared to overlook that conceit for a couple of hours of juvenile fun, fully aware that Aroma-Scope was not about to revolutionise our cinemagoing habits.

But the damn card didn’t work! I desperately rubbed it and scratched it… and all but grated it and snorted it – but to no avail. All the numbers – in fact, the entire card – smelt like one flavour of bubble-gum – or was it scented loo spray? Oh yeah; there was one exception, which gave off a vague smell of onions, though I can’t remember whether it was even the appropriate odour.

I learnt to live with the disappointment, being the vaguely mature adult that I am, but what if I’d been a parent with child in tow, who’d hyped up the fact that said young ‘un was about to smell the movie? I would’ve probably been a lot less forgiving. Unless the local distributor, Ster-Kinekor, has  functioning Aroma-Scope cards up its sleeve, it had better install security gates at its cinema manager’s doors, to shield the poor devils from the wrath of disgruntled mums and sprogs.

Rating (out of 5 stars): ****

I was hardly champing at the bit to see The Lion King again; no matter what format. I’ve seen the 35mm theatrical version, the IMAX version, the DVD version and – twice – the stage show. South African musician Lebo M, who had a minor part to play in the show’s creation, also cast a shadow of disrepute over the stage production when it opened locally… So you could comfortably say that The Lion King was both overplayed and tainted in my eyes.

Then there were my low expectations of the 3-D version. Firstly, its characters existed in 2-D animation format, which presents a largely insurmountable problem, dealt with further down. It’s a lot easier to do a stereoscopic conversion on a movie that was created in a computer graphic environment (such as, say, the Toy Story movies). The reason for this is the characters are already created in 3-D, within a 3-D environment. All that needs to be done (give or take a tweak or two) is to set up a virtual ‘second camera’ alongside the original viewpoint, in order to simulate binocular (or stereoscopic) human vision.

2-D animated characters have hard, cleanly-defined and outlined edges – like cardboard cut-outs – unlike the rounded edges of 3-D-animations. This means that, try as you might, the edges of the characters will always have that cardboard feel about them, and the best that the 3-D conversion team can do is “pull out” certain features such as noses, etc. This visual extrusion, or telescoping, of character’s faces, was a distracting – if expected – element of this revamped rerelease, though I learnt to live with it, in the final analysis… My reservations in that respect were largely overcome by the splendid work that the stereoscopic conversion team has done on the foregrounds and backgrounds, pulling us right into the action.

I remembered anew that this is not a shabby film to start with, and I’ve finally come to appreciate the sweep of its Shakespearian drama. And it’s a good-looking film that looks all the more striking in 3-D splendour. And to think that I had been looking forward to being disappointed!

An Active3D Movie Review: Glee: The 3-D Concert Movie

Rating (out of 5 stars): **** [Rating for 'Gleeks' only!]

What is it about  ‘Glee’ that has captured the hearts and minds of the U.S. – and, indeed, the world? Firstly, it’s more about emotion than intellect. The storylines are contrived and predictable, with characters displaying all the subtlety of metre-high graffiti… So why does it work? For one, the casting is pitch-perfect; to the degree that some characters were even written with a specific performer in mind, rather than the other way around. Its overriding virtue, however, is its ethos; that there’s room for everyone to blossom on this planet, regardless of size, looks, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or any other ‘otherness’.

In case you hadn’t picked up on this powerful – and less-than-underplayed –  motif, the filmmakers have slotted in, between the live performance sequences (shot during the recent international Glee concert tour) little vignettes about young people whose lives have been changed by the Glee phenomenon. From the shy girl with Aperger’s Syndrome to the midget high school cheerleader, these are real American kids who’ve been empowered by the show’s gospel of acceptance; not only of one another, but of one’s self. These are presented largely in 2-D, apart from some float-out titling.

And yes; I’ve foolishly neglected thus far to mention the series’ other big plus – a choice of some of Western civilisation’s most popular songs, zestfully interpreted by a collection of immensely talented young performers.

Interestingly (and wisely, I thought) both the concert and film keep the performers locked into their Glee personas. Only their character names are used, and even the backstage tomfoolery happens between these fictional members of McKinley High, as opposed to the actors playing them.

Let-downs? A couple of minor grumbles. For one, I would’ve enjoyed more Broadway-style songs and less pop, but then I suppose if you’re performing for an audience of thousands you need to keep the energy levels up there – even if it means leaning toward the more banal. I was also saddened to see that ‘Coach Sylvester’ ended up on the cutting-room floor, despite the fact that she’s in the official trailers – in a party frock with a tracksuit stripe, yet. But these are petty gripes, relative to the show’s overall uplift factor.

Stereoscopy-wise, I haven’t a single complaint: the 3-D rocked. From the close-up-and-personal shots to the crowd shots, it was immersive, present, and easy on the eye. We have a winner!

Rating (out of 5 stars): ***½

Steve Rogers is a young bloke living in the US at the time that the country has just entered the Second World War. He is passionately patriotic, and wants to fight the Nazis, but is not considered physically up to the task. An interesting bit of CGI here: the filmmakers have taken the head – not of Alfredo Garcia – but of the movie’s star, Chris Evans, and digitally grafted it onto a body that is so skinny, so horrendously ectomorphic, that one expects him to implode at any moment.

I understand, of course, that the effects guys wanted to create a contrast to the muscled, looming figure that was to come, but this is as unsubtle as they could possibly be; one can’t help wondering how such a scrawny specimen even managed to make it past his first birthday, let alone attain adulthood…

The technology used is probably of the motion-capture variety (as was employed in ‘Lord of the Rings’ to create Gollum). Essentially, what happens is that the actor is covered with hundreds of sensors that convey his body movements to a computer, and this, in turn, informs the movements of the digitally-created body.

Poor Steve is turned down by military assessors, who – quite understandably – don’t believe that he’ll last a day in a combat environment. And you must remember that this is a good 70 years ago, when young Americans wanted to fight (unlike the 60s, when many guys would even self-mutilate rather than be called upon to face the atrocities of the Viet Nam war).

Dr Abraham Erskine (played by the marvellous Stanley Tucci), is a mysterious but warm-hearted academic who has helped the industrialist Howard Stark to develop a special serum… (dramatic chords, please!). Erskine has noted the young fellow’s courage and resolve – and offers him the opportunity of a lifetime. It involves being strapped to a laboratory chair and injected with the above-mentioned power-juice. And the result, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, is a new Steve Rogers; towering, masterful, and with chiselled torso all a-glisten.

But this is only the first phase in the development of our soon-to-be avenger, as the US Army starts using him in ridiculous musical cavalcades which tour America’s military camps in foreign lands. Their intention is to build morale – but the only thing they inspire soldiers to do is taunt him for his silly outfit. However, when Steve learns one day of a friend who has been captured – and possibly killed – in enemy territory, he springs into action – and a hero is born!

Much as I’m not, generally speaking, a fan of movies that have been based upon superhero comics, this film is blessed with a strong cast and an engrossing and believable script – which is quite a feat when you consider the amount of disbelief that needs to be suspended…

Most importantly, the film’s a visual treat – and they keep the best for last, with a closing title sequence that parades a rapid succession of classic US WWII iconography. “Your country needs YOU”, Rosie the Riveter – all those familiar images pop up in colourful montage; all beautifully converted into super-immersive 3-D.

The film was post-converted into 3-D, but here’s the thing: (a) it was shot with the 3-D conversion in mind, and (b) the conversion was skilfully and carefully executed, unlike some of the awful rush-jobs of which Warner Bros has been guilty. (Can anyone say ‘The Last Airbender’?) My only beef with the conversion is that people’s faces suffer from front-to-back elongation. Evans’s face, in particular, frequently looks as if it’s been squashed between two aggressive elevator doors… And whilst we’re talking about Mr Evans’s face, perhaps he isn’t the ideal guy to play a superhero, as he lacks the square, granite jaw that I would’ve imagined to have been necessary for the role. But he’s not unbearable, and there’s enough whizz-bang going on around him to keep us entertained.

This is upbeat, old-style entertainment, and one would almost expect little American flags to be handed out to audiences, so that they’d have something appropriate to wave about at exciting moments!