DVD reviews
Youth In Revolt
While ocasionally a little too clever for its own good, this witty and ambitious comedy comes out on top.
Visioneers
A peculiarly compelling little film which admirably demonstrates restraint and well-paced comedic timing.
Beneath Hill 60
Devoid of overblown heroism and boosted by fine performances, this is a powerfully affecting war tale.
A Prophet
This sprawling ultra-realistic prison drama is a near-masterpiece and further complemented by a clutch of impressive special features.
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Wild Child (DVD)
Year: 2008
Rating: PG
Director: Nick Moore
Cast: Lexi Ainsworth
Release Date: January 15, 2009
Distributor: Universal
The Film: 2.0
Wild Child doesn’t go nearly far enough to make it as outrageous as St. Trinians
Following in the footsteps of many, many films which tell the tale of bad girl makes good, Wild Child doesn't go nearly far enough to make it as outrageous as St. Trinians nor is it remotely as witty as Mean Girls, two recent examples of the well-worn genre.
Poppy (Emma Roberts) is a Malibu barbie in miniature whose misadventures cause her father (Aidan Quinn) to send her to boarding school in England to eradicate her aggressive impulses (he obviously hasn't seen Ladette to Lady). In England, beyond complaining constantly about her mobile phone reception and the lack of mani-pedis, she encounters the school bitch Harriet (Georgia King) but makes four bosom buddy friends and falls for the headmistress' son Freddie. After a series of mishaps and wacky coincidences, she becomes captain of the Lacrosse team and ends up as an angel that was hidden inside all along.
While obviously aimed at the tween audience, there is better fair out there for them to sink their teeth into than Wild Child; films like Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, even Sydney White had clever lines. With nary a character having any depth, the film races to the inevitable conclusions without any real lessons learnt.