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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Rio (Film)
Rating: G
Running Time: 96
Country: USA
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann
Distributor: Fox
Release Date: April 07, 2011
Film Worth: $16.50
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthFeaturing a top-notch voice cast led by Jesse Eisenberg, this feel-good animation bursts with colour and life.
From its slums to the massive, mountain-top statue of Jesus, the city of Rio is a vivid backdrop for a 3D computer-animated film. With the Brazilian rainforest, bird life and musical rhythms also an integral part of the CGI picture, the basic building materials here are so full of splendour, that it would be hard to get this wrong. But not only does Carlos Saldanha, the Rio-born director of the Ice Age movies, get it right, he gets it spectacularly right. Rio is a sensual feast.
Stolen from his native Brazilian habitat, Blu (voiced by The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg) is a rare blue macaw that never figured out how to fly. Living in domestic Minnesota bliss with his human guardian and rescuer Linda (Leslie Mann, Knocked Up), his feathers are ruffled when he's taken to Rio to be match-made with free-spirited Jewel (Anne Hathaway). Accompanied by Linda and biologist Túlio (Rodrigo Santoro), Blu's mission to mate with Jewel and revive his dying species is interrupted by wicked bird smugglers, aided and abetted by the deliciously nasty Nigel - an Aussie-accented cockatoo that local audiences will especially appreciate. Voiced with Geoffrey Rush-like aplomb by New Zealander Jemaine Clement (Flight Of The Conchords), this is just an example of the brilliant vocal work here.
Hathaway, who does a spot of singing, is excellent, but Eisenberg is the star. Divorced from his physical presence, his voice is inherently cute and comical - perfect for this medium. Tracy Morgan of 30 Rock fame is also tremendously funny as a drooling bulldog.
Saldanha has proven himself with the Ice Age trio of films, and the animal characterisations here are just as strong. Rio is also visually superior. Full of colour, life and humour, it's a story about freedom and love - and it soars.
