family

IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD

Cert 12A 130mins Stars 3

Find a quiet place in the corner of your heart for this gentle Japanese animation.

Melancholy and reflective in tone, the script encourages us to consider the effect of conflict on the least privileged in society and is full of stealthy anti-war rhetoric.

With the war kept at arms length for much of the time, there is an emphasis on the wonder of the natural world and the simple pleasures of drawing and cooking.

Naive, uneducated and impoverished, young Suzo is married off in haste at the outbreak of the Second World War.

She leaves her family in Hiroshima and moves to a farm above a military port, where her husband works as a lowly clerk.

The filmmakers respect our knowledge of the horrors which lie in Suzo’s future, and by focussing on the details of her day by day drudgery, they create a heavy cloud of tension which looms over the film.

 

GIFTED

Cert 12A 101mins Stars 3

A high tolerance for sugary sentiment is essential to enjoy this syrupy custody battle.

The precocious, cute and extremely funny Mckenna Grace comprehensively upstages her far adult co-stars as seven year old, Mary.

On her first day at a new school, Mary is identified as being intellectually gifted at mathematics. But her guardian, Uncle Frank, just wants her to have an ordinary life. The pair have a winningly convincing chemistry.

Mary’s teacher unsurprisingly have the hots for Frank, who’s played by Chris Evans and best known for being Marvel’s Captain America. He probably gets turned down for Diet Coke adverts for being too ridiculously good looking. The git.

Waiting in court is Lindsay Duncan as Mary’s magnificently mean grandmother. She wants to send Mary to a special school so the child can achieve her full potential.

The script pounds your heartstrings, a famous maths theorem lurks uncompleted and the increasingly preposterous plot doesn’t add up.

 

THE SHACK

Cert 12A 132mins Stars 1

Sam Worthington finds god but loses any credibility in this toe curlingly cloying drama.

The UK born, Australia raised Hollywood actor has worked consistently since starring in sci-fi epic Avatar, without ever being in danger of offering an interesting performance.

Here he’s a hoarse whispering devoted father of three who has lost his belief in god after a difficult upbringing, committing a cardinal sin and suffering a family tragedy.

Receiving a letter in the post from the big guy upstairs, he travels to the frostbitten mountain shack where he has a divine experience. At least someones having a good time.

Faith based films are big box office in the US due to the preponderance of flag waving Christians, but are received less warmly in the UK by audiences who prefer to keep their religion for Sunday best.

An overlong sermon of the importance of blind faith in god, represented here by a gender swapping, multi-ethnic holy trinity.

This made me fearful of the possibility of an afterlife.

MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE

Cert PG 66mins Stars 4

Plant yourself in front of this charmingly original fable, which was Oscar nominated for the best animated film.

This complex, gentle and often sad delight has the social commentary and sentimentality of the work of Charles Dickens.

Hero is an orphan with a clown-like face. Though creative and kind, he has little to laugh about after being placed in a care home. We see how his kindness of spirit has an empowering effect on his fellow inmates.

The skilful storytelling is deceptively simple and technically complex. Small gestures carry great meaning and the use of traditional stop motion animation allows for some dark material to be smuggled in.

Inmates behaviour stems from their experiences. These are communicated with sufficient vagueness so children won’t be scared, but adults will fully comprehend the horrors implied.

The filmmakers tend to their characters with care, and as they bloom we’re given a feast of emotion to tuck into.

 

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL

Cert U 91mins Stars 1

I thought the recent reboot of National Lampoon’s Vacation set the all time low in family road trip comedies, but this car crash goes the extra mile.

Stockport-born director David Bowers has entirely recast his own franchise from 2012’s last instalment, and it’s poor Alicia Silverstone who suffers the most.

Her career may never to have recaptured the heights of 1996’s teen comedy Clueless, but it’s extremely upsetting to see it sink this far.

She plays the mother to wimpy boy Greg, who decides to take her husband and three sons on a road trip for their grandmother’s 90th birthday.

However the social media-addicted boys conspire to attend a video game convention instead.

Along the way they suffer cockroaches, a farting pig and projectile vomit. There’s an-in car karaoke scene featuring Wannabe by the Spice Girls, which is gnaw-your-own-leg-off painful.

It’s all as desperate as needing the toilet and knowing the next motorway services are 37 miles away.

 

 

 

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: SALAZAR’S REVENGE

Cert 12A 129mins Stars 3

The supernatural swashbuckling franchise returns to chart a course through familiar waters, but there’s a new star to light the way.

After 2011’s ponderous adventure On Stranger Tides, this adventure moves at a fair clip along its formulaic route of spectacular CGI sea battles and big scale stunts.

The special effects, costumes, sets and locations are a treasure dazzle us, but outshining them all is newcomer Kaya Scodelario. The Brit actress brings fresh life to the regular skeleton crew as a feisty astronomer turned treasure hunter.

Carina is the only woman of note in an ocean of men, and it’s a pity she’s saddled with Brenton Thwaites as a romantic interest. As Henry, he’s a suitably bland son and heir to Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner.

They team up with Johnny Depp’s hapless pirate, Captain jack Sparrow. Though Depp’s pantomime performance becomes more tiresome with every appearance, the troubled actor needs this film to rescue his badly listing career. 

Sparrow features heavily, but through judicious editing, stunt work and stand-ins, there’s a lot less Depp than we’re supposed to believe. 

Bloom and Keira Knightley briefly reprise their roles and Paul McCartney continues the series’ rum tradition of rock star cameos.

A ruddy faced Geoffrey Rush does a spot of acting as Captain Barbossa and gives his one legged pirate some real welly. And one time James Bond villain, Javier Bardem harries everyone amidships as the revenge seeking Salazar, the matador of the sea.

The scattershot script pays lip service to its own plot which involves the Trident of Poseidon. The reappearance of pirate galleon The Black Pearl, brings closure to a major character.

This week Depp was confirmed as the Invisible Man in Universal Studio’s new ‘Dark Universe’ franchise. If his career continues its downward spiral, he won’t need special effects to play the part.

 

 

THE RED TURTLE

Cert PG 81mins Stars 5

Be swept away on waves of imagination by this remarkable animated fable.

Many familiar elements are borrowed from sources such as Robinson Crusoe, and the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. But Dutch writer/directer Michael Dudok de Wit crafts something fresh and uniquely wonderful.

It’s visually inspired by Japanese and Chinese art and uses traditional ink and watercolour in an elegant hand drawn style.

Deep currents of love and loss stir beneath the surface of what begins as a traditional adventure story and evolves into a rich exploration of the circle of life.

When an unnamed man is stranded on a tropical island, his attempts to escape on a raft are thwarted by a giant red turtle.

Without a word of dialogue, but with many an exclamatory grunt and cry, their relationship moves from antagonism to understanding.

Beaten to the best animated Oscar by Disney’s more obvious offering, Zootropolis, this is a breathtakingly beautiful, magical and moving experience.

A DOG’S PURPOSE

Cert PG 100mins Stars 2

Time seems to pass in dog years watching this fluffy-minded fable featuring a mutt which ponders the meaning of life while repeatedly reincarnating.

This sun kissed sentimental soap opera is directed in typically treacly style by Lasse Hallstrom, who last made a sentimental meal of Helen Mirren’s The Hundred Foot Journey.

Josh Gad voices Bailey the dog with puppyish enthusiasm. Each time it’s born again, the pooch changes breed, gender, and owners.

This allows this mongrel of a film to move from it’s setting from suburban drama to Chicago cop show. There’s also a Sex and the City style interlude where Bailey experiences some doggy style puppy love.

There are Lassie type heroics involving burning buildings and arresting wrong-uns. He also chases his tail, rolls in the mud and chases chickens.

Dog lovers may enjoy it, but for cat people such as myself it will raise your hackles and make you want to hiss.

 

MOLLY MONSTER

Cert U 72mins Stars 3

Wrap yourself up in this warm comfort blanket of a cartoon, aimed with gentle accuracy at the CBeebies crowd.

It’s inventive, charming, and has some sweet songs to jolly the slight story along. There’s a vaguely Sergeant a Pepper vibe to the animation, but lacks the potent menace of the magnificent Blue Meanies.

A green and yellow dragon type of monster, Molly is friendly, brave, kind, and clever.

Left at home when her parents set off to egg island, she decides to follow them, taking only her blue clockwork pet, Edison, for company.

The delightfully absurdist landscape is populated with various quirky creatures to assist along the way. Plus there are mechanical contraptions which would delight Heath-Robinson.

Based on the whimsical books of Swiss illustrator, Ted Sieger, this children’s animation is a quirky affair which tootles along at a soft and pleasant pace.

There’s nothing here to frighten your little monsters.

 

THE BOSS BABY

Cert U 97mins Stars 3

Escape your job and embrace your family with this energetic and colourful animation.

It’s a bold choice to make a kids’ movie whose main plot is a corporate conspiracy and has jokes about ‘yes men’, memos and meetings.

But by throwing in a top drawer cast alongside pirates, dinosaurs, spaceships and an aeroplane load of Elvis impersonators, this romp makes the balance sheet add up.

With the arrival of a baby brother, the perfect world of seven year old Tim Templeton is thrown into disarray.

Tim discovers the suit wearing, memo writing interloper can secretly talk, and describes himself as The Boss Baby.

The script suggests all CEO’s are uncaring career obsessives because they never received enough love as a children. I’m sure those loveable scamps Alan Sugar or Richard Branson could not agree less.

Tim’s parents work for Puppy Co., a global manufacturer of pets toys. The company have hatched a plan to replace children with puppies in the affections of every family around the world.

So the squabbling siblings join forces to restore harmony to the home.

Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Tobey Maguire and Lisa Kudrow bring their considerable experience to the pint sized cast.

It’s never dull and is a reasonable family diversion during the Easter break. There’s lots of corporate jokes for the adults and there are enough bare bums on show plus vomit and snot, to amuse the little ones.

Tim’s over active imagination is given full flight in a series of fabulous fantasy sequences. Presented in a variety of animation styles, they’re the highlights of the film and as a result, this is best seen in 3D.

I’m surprised to find I enjoyed The Boss Baby as much as I did, mostly because I’m not such a great fan of puppies or babies. Or to be honest, bosses.