The thinly plotted but generally fun and family friendly fantasy Harold and the Purple Crayon is based on the 1955 children’s book by Crockett Johnson. The slightly meta story has the character Harold (Zachary Levi) living in the two-dimensional book world created by Crockett Johnson. There, Harold can use a magical purple crayon to create any object he needs including
Read moreTim Burton has forged a unique sub-genre in Hollywood, comical goth horror with films often celebrating mercurial outsiders such as Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Willy Wonka and of course the title character from the film that arguably put him on the map, the 1988 horror/comedy hit Beetlejuice. That anarchic, inventively odd, if occasionally irritating film introduced us to the mischievous
Read moreSometimes a film misfires so inexplicably badly that we start to suspect it must be some sort of elaborate practical joke. Jocelyn Moorhouse’s latest film, The Fabulous Four creates that suspicion but sadly this is no joke, it was apparently meant to turn out the way it did. Despite a cast that features one of the best in the business,
Read moreBefore the Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons, Garfield the cat became an unlikely cultural icon. The droll, gluttonous, lasagna gobbling, pathologically lazy feline who hates Mondays, first appeared in the late 70’s and has been a beloved character for both children and adults ever since. Garfield’s misadventures have been adapted for various animated films, most notably in 2004’s Garfield: The
Read moreThe low-budget 80’s action-comedy TV series The Fall Guy, which starred former Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors as stuntman/ bounty hunter Colt Seavers, isn’t a show that seemed to be crying out for a cinema adaptation. It was amiable, undemanding TV, typical of mystery/crime/action shows of the late 70’s and early 80’s where everyone but the actual police solved
Read moreTennis themed romantic comedy/ drama Challengers is the latest film for Call Me By Your Name director Luca Gaudagnino. Like that film, it’s a slow burn exploration of passionate but fractured relationships. Also, as with that languid and literate film, some will be utterly seduced by it while others may find it overlong and unfocused. The film concerns a love
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