Wreck-It Ralph
John C. Reilly voices a bullish video game villain unhappy with his lot in Disney’s latest attempt to regain top dog status in the animated film game.
He wanders off to be a hero, dealing with the fallout he leaves in his wake. Decent tale elevated by a real love for nostalgic gaming, animation and design that flows beautifully.
This is a real tongue in cheek reference/homage fest, the animation is wonderful, and the voices are perfect.
At the heart is a great character, full of warmth and empathy thanks to love in his creation, and the presence and humanity of Reilly. Slight, but definitely enjoyable.
Hitchcock
The opposite of enjoyable, tawdry tosh that manages to render a pivotal moment in the career of the most singularly cinematic mainstream film-maker of all time as an embarrassing dud.
The infamous circumstances that brought Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest hit and most notorious work Psycho to the screen are the focus of this film, which makes movie history as engaging as an old soap opera.
There is no mystery, no sense of daring, no suspense and the casting is right off the mark – all mistakes which Hitchcock never made.
There is the potential for a fantastic yarn and treatise on the creative process, but instead it’s a mawkish, black and white marriage and madness fable. Hopkins is poor in the lead role, and indeed only Scarlett Johansson, wonderful as the muse of the day, Janet Leigh, comes away with any real credit.
Warm Bodies
Curious and loveable take on the seemingly undead zombie subgenre. Nicholas Hoult, who first hit the screen in About A Boy but grew up in TV’s Skins, is a zombie. He gets by, just, and has little to look forward to, when he falls in love.
Yep, zombies fall in love, but alas, he doesn’t fall for his ‘own kind’ but a real life breathing flesh and blood still human girl.
played by Teresa Palmer. Directed by Jonathan Levine, who brings the same juggling of genre and tone he managed so successfully in his previous film 50/50 to bear here.