FILM: Ice Age: Continental Drift (5/10)

Why did I watch it?

I've watched all the films of the Ice Age franchise over the years so there wasn't any reason not to give Continental Drift a go and see what Sid, Manny and co were up to this time around.

What's it all about?

As the continents begin to break up (caused believe it or not by Scrat chasing his acorn), the film's group of regular characters are separated and Manny, Sid and Diego find themselves on a floating piece of ice where they meet Captain Gutt's motley crew of pirates.

Should you watch it?
If you have watched the previous three you might as well watch Continental Drift, though you will know exactly what to expect. Producing a third sequel is an indicator of how successful the franchise has been but also underlines how dependent studios can be to roll-out another sequel, devoid of too much development, for a guaranteed return. Anyway that's not Continental Drift's fault.

As with Dawn of the Dinosaurs there are additional characters this time around, a whole heap of them in fact. Sid's Grandma arrives, Diego has a love interest, Manny's daughter's gang, the film's villain and his posse of pirates to name a few. The producers clearly made a decision to make Continental Drift more teeny than the previous films, perhaps to match the age of the audience that has grown up with the franchise and the casting of the likes of Nicki Minaj, Drake and Jennifer Lopez underlines this, while the writing for Minaj's and Drake's characters does not so much underline it as write in capital letters, LOOK AT US COOL WRITERS, THIS IS WHAT TEENAGERS SOUND LIKE. Anyway, it's a kids film, who can get mad.

Thankfully the troublesome teens are kept on the side of the plot which serves just to occupy the half of the cast which aren't cut adrift and captured by Captain Gutt, brilliantly voiced by Peter Dinklage (Tyrion from GoT). Nick Frost voices Flynn, an effeminate seal in Gutt's employ, and his lines were the stand-out moments for me. Scrat's acorn hunt is still going and is always an enjoyable distraction from the central storyline.


As ever the film looks great, kids will enjoy the action and fun but for the rest of us the franchise feels tired, in the sense of characters and plots. However, with Continental Drift making over $800M it may be that Sid and co. are not on the verge of extinction just yet.  

FILM: Monsters, Inc. (7/10)

Why did I watch it?

This was a pick by Mrs Media Worm, most likely with an ulterior motive of priming me to go and see Monsters, Inc..

What's it all about?

The monster inhabited city of Monstropolis is powered by children's screams and it's up to 'Scarers' and their assistants, like Sully and Mike, to keep the city running by scaring human children and collecting their screams. The monsters believe that children are dangerous and havoc begins when Sully accidentally releases a child into Monstropolis.   

Should you watch it?
When you stop and consider the subject matter, you realise how gifted Pixar actually are in being able to turn a story about monsters hiding in children's closets to scare them into a funny and warm children's animation. Imagine if Tim Burton has got his hands onto the story!

Monsters, Inc. looks great and tells a hugely original story, however I did find that the film largely relies heavily on slapstick jokes, for the younger audience, and lacks more subtle jokes for adult appreciation that some other children's animations do successfully integrate.

John Goodman is perfectly cast as the gentle Scarer Sully while Billy Crystal, voicing Mike, does become frustratingly annoying as the irritatingly talkative one of the pair.

FILM: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (7/10)

Why did I watch it?
What was the worst that could happen?

What's it all about?
I forget the plot of the franchise's second film Escape to Africa, but here the gang leave Africa and head to Europe (on board the monkey piloted plane). After arriving in Monte Carlo and making a scene at a casino, Marty, Alex, Melman, Gloria, King Julien and the penguins stowaway on-board a circus train.

Should you watch it?
Madagascar 3 is probably the most colourful, bright and energetic film you will see this year. Freshened up with additional characters, the writing is funny for both children and adults, although slightly uneven throughout the film.

Most of the laughs come from Stefano the sea lion, King Julien or the penguins rather than the main characters, the voices of which can become borderline irritating after hearing them in three films. The writing makes homages to plenty of other films, my favourite being the banana gun fired from the plane, which shot in slow-motion as with many stylish action sequences, had banana skins flying out and building up rather than shell casings. The nationalities represented by the new characters of the circus, specifically Eastern Europe, France and Italy, are shamelessly stereotyped. Although I don't take issue with it, on the contrary the Italian sea lion (voiced by Martin Short)  was the funniest character in my view, it is lazy writing to rely on these stereotypes so heavily.

The sequence from the film's start to the end of the chase through Monte Carlo, along parts of the F1 circuit no less, was a brilliant and the highlight of the film. It's unfortunate that this was the first twenty minutes.

Colourful, energetic and often funny third outing for the popular franchise.

FILM: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (6/10)

Why did I watch it?
I had never watched an anime film before and a friend recommended Spirited Away to me. After I missed that one, they also recommended I watch Nausicaa, which the channel was showing the following week as part of an anime season. 

What's it all about?
I tried to keep up with things so here goes..., sometime in the future, civilisation has been destroyed by an apocalyptic war and toxic jungles inhabited by giant insects spread a poison known as the Fukai across the world. Princess Nausicaa lives in the Valley of the Wind, a settlement protected from the poison by the wind. Her life changes when an airship carrying a long extinct powerful warrior, that the Tolmekian nation plan to unleash on the jungles, crashes into the valley.

Should you watch it?
The fact that I had not seen an anime film prior to this was not just coincidence, I was never a fan of it when it started to appear on children's TV when I was younger. Who knows if this was the best anime film to start with. In any case, I probably didn't start watching Nausicaa from the most neutral standpoint, try as I might.

Nausicaa's plot is certainly something I expected from an anime film, pretty abstract and warped but certainly original, although the environmental responsibility undertones that the film hammers home were not, though perhaps they were back in 1984. This might seem daft but the film's setting reminded me of a Star Wars movie, different nations, obscure looking creatures, monsters and a desolate planet that in some places definitely reminded my of Tatooine.

The animation doesnt look all that dated and some of the killer insects created, in particular the swarm of Ohmu, were pretty cool to look at. I found the way that the film's score completely switched up to a loud and frantic number when a battle scene occurred very reminiscent of video games from my childhood! Not surprising considering the majority were probably developed in Japan.

Being my first anime film I've nothing to compare Nausicaa against and while I found it quite interesting and eye-opening I wouldn't go as far as saying I particulary enjoyed it. I really do need to watch Spirited Away to see how it compares.

FILM: Up (8/10)

Disney-Pixar have almost consistently produced films to a superb standard in recent years and Up does not just meet this standard but raise it further. As with its predecessors, the animation is great and the story is amusing and rich in sentiment but what makes Up stand out above the rest is the combination of unusual characters, odd story and superb Oscar winning score. 


With the exception of The Incredibles, Pixar have traditionally stayed away from humans as central characters. However, in Up the main characters are Mr. Fredricksen, a lonely, grumpy old man and Russell, a plump young explorer scout. An unlikely pair who are unintentionally thrown together as Mr. Fredricksen transports his house to South America using helium filled balloons to escape moving from his home. There they meet a group of talking dogs, an endangered bird and Mr. Fredricksen's childhood hero as the adventure and fun continues.


As plots go it is one of the most bizarre yet from Pixar but it's a fun journey and the writers actually cover the pretty serious themes of ageing and missed opportunities, loneliness and friendship along the way. The montage at the beginning of the film displaying the life Mr. Fredricksen shared with his wife, from their childhood to her death, is beautifully made and, supported by the superb score, is an incredibly emotive piece of film making.


If you are looking for an enjoyable, funny film for the family then you can not do much better than Up.