Some very overdue movie and dvd reviews. In fact, so overdue I’m going to limit myself to a couple of lines on each.

Finding Nemo
Pixar (Toy Story, Monsters Inc - as if I needed to tell you!) stike gold again. Maybe I’m biased because of my diving obsession, but this was great. The excellent animation, wonderful characters and good story all intact and in place. It’s very too and very much humour for the grown ups in some places! Seeing it on a small airplane screen does it no justice though so I shall be seeing it again on the big screen.

The Italian Job
I love the original Michael Caine version. It’s one of my all time faves so you can imagine how horrified I was when I found out they were doing a remake. Except that it’s not. It’s a “re-imagining”. The only similar things are some characters names, a token heist in Italy and, of course, the minis. It’s actually a fun film to watch but isn’t as memorable as the original - no classic quotes, no classic scenes and a far more straightforward story. It confirms my suspicion that Marky Mark has only one type of acting style and that he isn’t really leading man material because his style is “a bit wet really”. Probably worth waiting til it’s on DVD or TV though. Enjoyable trash.

Whale Rider
Another film I’d like to see on the big screen. This is a modern day New Zealand based story about Pai, a young girl who challenges the accepted norms of her community by wanting to become “chief”. This is a visually beautiful film with a superbly written adaptation and some wonderful performances, not least from newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes. I don’t mind admitting that it moved me and I thoroughly recommend it.

City of God (Cicade de Deus)
Missed this at the cinema so got the DVD. What a mistake. A fantastic film and quite possibly the best of the year so far. Think Brazilian Goodfellas but set in the slums of Rio. It’s a story about young boys growing up in the City of God, an actual place in Rio and one of the most depressingly poor places you’ll come across. Some fantastic performances bring this film to life, especially as some of the young actors actually come from the City of God themselves. Also on the DVD is a documentary about the place itself as it is now, including interviews with Police, inhabitants and criminals. It’s fascinating, if depressing that such a place exists. I can’t recommend this film enough.

Y Tu Mama Tambien
This has been out for some time and I’ve owned it for ages but didn’t get around to watching it for a while. Essentially the story of two teenagers who persuade an older lady to go with them on a trip to beach that doesn’t exist. I liked it a lot. Well written and some good direction (by Alfonso Cuaron who’s directing the next Harry Potter film).

Below
This didn’t get a cinematic release here although it’s better than some of the shit that has. It’s basically a ghost story set on a WW2 submarine. After picking up some survivors of a sinking British hospital ship, strange events begin to happen on board an American submarine. Written and directed by David Twohy who did the marvellous Pitch Black, this is a low budget creepy film which doesn’t quite hit the mark. Adequate performances from the (mostly British) cast, including Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng and Dexter Fletcher but let down by some cheap SFX and a script (co-written by Darren “Pi” Aronofsky) which doesn’t really fulfill. Passes the time.

Also managed to see Matrix Reloaded on the plane again. It truly is a dreadfully dull film. Such a disappointment. Not even Monica Belluci in rubber or Carrie Ann Moss in pvc is enough to make me want to own this on DVD (And yes, I’m willing to justify this statement and get into any argument about it. Because I’m right!)