It Thursday again but this week it’s school holiday season (shudder).Yes, that means every time you go to the movies in the next two weeks little brats are going to be throwing popcorn at the back of your head while you try to enjoy a movie. Regardless, school holiday Thursday usually means more movies are released to take advantage of school-aged audiences and such is the case this week. Here’s a quick run down on today’s releases:
Wall-E
This has been hailed a masterpiece by pretty much every critic who has seen it and needless to say box office takings have been blockbuster ($220million in the US to date). With no human voices until the second third of the film Wall-E seems to draw from the great silent films of our time such as A Trip to the Moon and The Great Train Robbery. Once again, Pixar 3D animation studios have outdone themselves smashing previous animation benchmarks. Directed by Andrew Stanton of Finding Nemo fame, people are pipping this to be the first animated film to win a best picture Oscar since 1989. FYI this baby scored a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Son of a Lion
A complete change of pace from breathtaking animation, this art house film is made by young Aussie director Ben Gilmour. Shot in the depths of Pakistan it’s about an Islamic boy who wants to go to school instead of becoming a weapon maker like his father. Subtitles ensue.
Space Chimps
Shoty 3d animation from Dreamworks who have clearly tried to throw together another movie to roll off the success of Kung Fu Panda. My thoughts? The title tells you everything you need to know: there are chimps and they’re in space.
Wild Child
Julia Roberts’ niece proves she certainly won’t be following in the footsteps of her Oscar winning auntie in this tween comedy about a spoilt American girl (yes, another one) sent to an English school to get her act together. You know what would be better? If Emma Roberts’ got her shit acting skills together.
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Another film aimed directly at the tween market but unlike Wild Child, this British offering seems do have some substance. Touted as a Bridget Jones for teenage girls it will be interesting to see if it can find an Australian market.
Step Brothers
Wahoo. Another decent looking comedy from the Frat Pack. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly team up again to play two unemployed, middle-aged men who end up as stepbrothers when their parents marry. Unlikely to be as good as Pineapple Express or Tropic Thunder, but from the gags shown in the trailer this still looks highly amusing.