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Film reviews

Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 2 (Film)

by Joshua Blackman | April 11, 2011 15:21 | Edited April 11, 2011 15:22

While it can’t help feeling like a family sitcom, this follow-up is funny, charming and is superior to the first flick.

There's less gross-out, snotty and mouldy humour in this follow-up to last year's adaptation of Jeff Kinney's witty children's novels, and that's a good thing. It's still there - as when eleven-year-old Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) finds a chocolate-coloured tire-mark on the back of his pants at a Sunday church service - but this time it feels secondary to the good-natured family drama and tentative pre-teen romantic hijinks.

 

Shifting the focus away from the school-centric class struggles, Rodrick Rules focuses on Greg's tempestuous relationship with his older brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostick). Like all siblings, they're in constant battle for power and attention, but after throwing an impromptu house party, the two end up forming an uneasy alliance. Both are also preparing for the upcoming school talent show - Greg and his pudgy friend Rowley are planning a magic act, while his brother Rodrick aims to wow on the drums with his band, Loaded Diaper. Meanwhile, Greg is smitten by a pretty, unattainable classmate named Holly Hills (Peyton List).

 

Despite being as generic (and about as complex) as a decent sitcom episode, there is a smattering of truth in Rodrick Rules, and the cast is affable and watchable. Aside from Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass), who has since moved on to bigger and better things, much of the cast of the first film returns. Rachael Harris is excellent as the boys' mother, and Karan Brar is hilarious as Greg's diminutive Indian classmate who thinks that he's The Fonz, but is really a total dork. Fran Kranz is also amusing as a blond rocker who might just steal Rodrick's band away from him.

 

Intermittently funny and charming, this is a smidge better than the first film. There's little appeal here for those outside the film's nine-to-thirteen-year-old target demographic, but parents needn't flee in terror if they're dragged along either.