Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Not all animated films are enjoyable for me. I hate to point the finger here but a prime example is Shreck the Third which was an utter torment to sit through. This shows that I am not going to hold back just because this film is animated, if it is rubbish I'll give it a good thrashing. This is why, when I turned onto Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, I was ready to slowly pick it apart bit by bit. This is the bit where I feel embarrassed........................ I quite enjoyed it.

What the joy is with most animated films is the original ideas that no one can really achieve with realistic cinema. This makes every turn in an animated film feel exciting and new, unless it's yet another sequel (I need not name the film I am referring to here). The simple concept of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is that food rains from the sky. Now I never seen a film with that as the core concept, have you?

The main point to throw out there with this film is that it looks good. This is because of the many food delicacies raining from the sky you get a hug assortment of colours that make the image on the screen very balanced and pleasing on the eye. This means that all the film makers have to do is create lovable characters and a good script and hey presto, we have an entertaining film.

I am glad to say that they do this. All of the characters are perfectly balanced and seem to all interact with each other well. They are also well played with James Caan's performance as the father a particular highlight. I even felt some emotion at the end of the film at the ending which is more that can be said for other animated films (....... like Shreck the Third) The script is also quirky and enjoyable excluding the predictable animated slapstick you can see coming like another Shreck sequel (oh, did I do it again?). They do throw in some laugh out loud comedy along the way with my favorite being the contrast with the techno wiz kid of a son with his anti-technology father. Many of the young generation will be able to relate to their parents struggling with concepts like emails.

The only thing that bugs me about this film is the seeming lack of motivation from the film makers not to do more with the film. The plot takes an hour to get going, which is fine because it's all very entertaining, but then only about half an hour to come to a close from their. The moment disaster strikes you are already two thirds of the way through the film. Also because of the fact that the film did contain some really funny jokes I felt that they could have tried harder to make the other jokes that didn't quite work in the film better. It felt as if the writers had thought of 10 very funny jokes and decided that's all they really needed. It could have been so much better than just being good fun.

In conclusion a good fun film to watch with the family but don't blow your budget on it.

Rating: 6.5/10

Format to Buy: DVD

The Prince of Persia

The Prince of Persia is the current adaptation of the popular video game franchise released on DVD and Blue Ray in the last few weeks. I had my first taster of this franchise only last year with one of the new video games on the PS3 which was disappointing so I didn't come to the film with high expectations. However I did hope Mike Newell would take the franchise to new heights because no-one wants to sit through a bad film.

In many ways I wasn't surprised by the film. To the annoyance of my friend Crouchy who was sat next to me, I had worked out the plot of the whole film within 20 minutes of taking my seat. This I accepted was because it was a Disney film. It was full of the predictable cliché's within the plot and with the Prince's own flamboyant set pieces. It was easily guessable where the next threat was going to come from and it sometimes annoyed me that the Price wasn't a little more switched on the situation because otherwise he may have been able to see the threat coming and save the lives of a few bit part characters. It is horrible thought that the Prince may have been able to save the lives of some unimportant henchman if he had been on the ball, he should feel guilty. The script also leaves the actors wanting at some points. There is a poorly written scene right at the end of the film between Gemma and Jake which just seems awkward even though they are trying to tie the whole film up, it did make me cringe a little!

The acting also disappointed me to a certain extent. Although the stunning Gemma Arterton looked fantastic, her lines felt forced. She captured her mysterious persona well and her love for the Prince as well but any other acting seemed to be beyond her grasp. Her humor was the worst because it often felt like even she wasn't comfortable with saying the poorly written unfunny one liner. Sir Ben Kingsley delivered what I would call a solid performance. Most of his lines were not a problem for him and he managed to deliver a certain amount of threat with the way he carried himself and delivered his lines. However sometimes it would seem the lines caught him by surprise and as if he had had no time to practice them which ruined the illusion of a destructive evil uncle. Apart from his dodgy accent, Jake Gyllenhaal delivered a good performance bringing the cheekiness of the Prince to the film well and at times I did even feel some sympathy for his character's predicament which means well done him on the acting front. The worst acting in the film was that of the meant to be comic relief side of the film which was a tax avoiding ostrich racer. He did deliver some of comic lines well enough to make me chuckle but the rest of his many lines all felt forced and painful. But I can't complain, the comic relief guy has always been and always will be a key part of Disney films.

There are many good things to be said about the Prince of Persia. These include the rather impressive acrobatics that are ever present in the film that the video game followers will appreciate, and the stunning scenery. I watched this film on Blue Ray on a very large TV and the look of the whole film took my breath away (I'm not just talking about Gemma Arterton there but she did factor in my opinion). They definitely got the look of the film right because even though it was shot in Spain you felt like you were right there in Persia! I also liked the fact that a few of the lines did make me laugh and generally the film kept me feeling upbeat in a Disney way. I was impressed with the amount I smiled through the film.

I would say that in summery, The Price of Persia is an ok film. It has a lot of flaws but some of these are the sort of flaws you would expect with a big budget disney film like the cliche script and the badly written humor. Put this all aside however and I would say that I did enjoy the film for what it was. I think that if you could get it at a good price then Blue Ray is the way to go just for the scenery.

Rating: 5.5/10

Format to buy: Blue Ray