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The Vow
A saccharine and paint-by-numbers slice of romance, which is largely boosted by the appeal of its two leads.
Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (3D)
The under-utilised 3D adds little to this prequel, which only serves as a sore reminder of the brilliance of the original films.
Any Questions For Ben?
The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.
Shame
It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.
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Furry Vengeance (Film)
Rating: PG
Running Time: 91
Country: USA
Director: Roger Kumble
Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Brendan Fraser, Ken Jeong, Brooke Shields
Distributor: Hoyts
Release Date: September 02, 2010 (Hobart) September 16 (Melbourne, Brisbane), September 23 (Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin)
Film Worth: $4.50
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthFull of clunky CGI and uninspired performances, this film is completely devoid of humour and heart.
The filmmakers claim that the critters in this hollow family ‘comedy' are, at least some of the time, real. The computer-animated effects, they reckon, have been minimised. Maybe so, but those effects - and sometimes the animals - look fake. But clunky CGI isn't what ruins this movie. It's the lack of spirit, heart and humour that makes it such an empty experience, plus the way the animals - who try to get their revenge on the humans that are killing their forest home - are treated as cute props rather than real characters.
Brendan Fraser slums it as Dan, a middle management type working for a real estate developer. His boss, Neal Lyman (Ken Jeong, The Hangover's Mr Chow), is a money hungry green pretender and Dan is supervising the destruction of a pristine forest to make way for gated communities. Fraser is better than this, but in a movie loaded with visual gags, he gets very few right. As Dan's teacher wife Tammy, Brooke Shields is as unfunny as the film itself, yet Matt Prokop (High School Musical 3) as teenage son Tyler is convincing. Why Dan and Tammy aren't given younger offspring for the little ones in the audience to relate to is a mystery, and possibly the unwise breaking of a golden rule.
But a film with the lovable face of Wallace Shawn (My Dinner With Andre) can't be totally bad - and Furry Vengeance isn't. It surprises you in the last 20 minutes or so when it shows, just for a couple of poignant moments that it actually has a heart.
Furry Vengeance thinks that having an eco theme will make it meaningful, but the film is much like Neal Lyman - it only pretends to be green. Its real mission is to generate cash.