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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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Mr. Popper's Penguins (Film)

by Annette Basile | June 27, 2011 14:11 | Edited June 27, 2011 14:12

While it’s hardly a classic, this is entertaining and ends up surprisingly engaging thanks to Jim Carrey’s pitch-perfect performance.

Ben Stiller was supposed to be the big star of this kids flick, but he reportedly dropped out of the project. Over to Jim Carrey...

 

Carrey is a dynamic talent and a more than capable dramatic actor, but in regular comic gear he relies on a series of (albeit brilliant) trademark moves. He's been hired here to basically play himself, which he does as well as ever, but he beautifully pitches his performance to the kids in the audience. Likeable and funny, he's completely enjoyable as Mr Tom Popper, a divorced father of two and real estate shark.

 

Popper lives alone in a swanky, sanitised Manhattan apartment, his relationship with his kids could be better, and deep down he's still in love with his ex-wife played by Carla Gugino. His relationship with own father - an adventurer who he greatly admired - was intermittent. When Popper Sr dies, Tom inherits six (partly computer-animated) penguins.

 

The story that follows is predictable but entertaining, with Tom reconnecting with his kids via the TV-watching birds. The CGI seams do show a little but the Manhattanite penguins are too cute for words, the penguin toilet humour is, well, penguin toilet humour, and on the whole the cuteness and the comedy hit the right notes.

 

The performances are enjoyable all round, with Murder, She Wrote snoop Angela Lansbury adding polish, and Ophelia Lovibond (Nowhere Boy) a lot of fun as Popper's assistant, Pippi, who's seemingly unable to say words that don't begin with ‘p'.

 

Based on Richard and Florence Atwater's 1930s children's book of the same name, Mr Popper's Penguins is far more entertaining than a couple of other recent CGI/live action hybrids for kids, like the mercenary G-Force and the hollow Furry Vengeance. Those two were just money-making machines with little heart.

 

Directed by Mark Waters (Freaky Friday), there's actual feeling in Mr Popper's Penguins. Sure, it's not a children's movie classic, but it's sweet and surprisingly engaging. And Carrey's so good that you can't imagine Mr Popper being played by anyone else.