Reviews by PvtCaboose91

"I knew this was gonna be the best Christmas ever."

Talk about beating a dead horse! Though in the case of the Home Alone franchise, the horse is not merely dead but buried and decomposed as well. The first Home Alone was a pleasant, original Christmas comedy which launched the short-lived career of Macaulay Culkin. 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was an unoriginal follow-up which nonetheless retained a degree of charm and provided a few hearty laughs. A few years later, 1997's Home Alone 3 debuted without any of the original cast members or characters, and things began going downhill. To continue milking the ailing franchise, the made-for-TV Home Alone 4 arrived in 2002. Alas, the flame that once burned bright in the first two movies is long gone, and Home Alone 4 is a stale, flavourless, abominable feature which simultaneously resurrected and killed the Home Alone series. In comparison, Home Alone 3 is positively brilliant.

Strangely, this fourth film features the McCallister family as well as one of the two villains from the first two Home Alone films, but none of the original actors returned to reprise their roles. Home Alone 3 introduced a new set of characters, so why couldn't this film have followed suit rather than forcing the old characters upon us and forcing us to accept new faces? It's a useless distraction. Kevin is played by Mike Weinberg here, and the story is set at Christmastime once again. Kevin's parents are separated, with Kevin's father (Beghe) living in a mansion with his very wealthy new girlfriend. Following a typical evening in which Kevin is tormented by his siblings, Kevin wishes he was an only child, and runs off to spend Christmas with his dad. Soon, Kevin's old nemesis Marv (Stewart) and his ditzy wife Vera (Pyle) show up with plans to kidnap the Royal Prince who will be coming to stay in a few days. Naturally, nobody believes Kevin's stories about the criminals (not that Marv would be a fugitive, or anything...), and thus it's up to Kevin to thwart the bad guys. Again. Snore.

The timeline surrounding the Home Alone series seems to have been entirely ignored by those who were responsible for Home Alone 4. Kevin is the main character here, but he's become 9 years old again. Additionally, this is a Home Alone movie, but Kevin is never home alone at any point! Worse, nothing interesting happens in this film at all. Instead of something fresh or at least a Home Alone-style plot, Home Alone 4 wastes its time on a well-worn "other woman" plot. You know how it goes - Kevin's dad is dating some new woman, but she'll inevitably be unmasked (to Kevin and the audience first, and to everyone else last) as a heartless, shallow snob. Kevin's dad, meanwhile, is disillusioned, but he eventually remembers that he loves his ex-wife after all. The problem with this narrative machination is that Kevin's dad has an abrupt change of perspective despite nothing happening to trigger it. These characters are slaves to a plot that they were not meant for.

You may think I'm spending too much time analysing the plot when this is a kid's movie with a primary focus on slapstick comedy. However, the slapstick does not come close to making amends. From start to finish, Home Alone 4 is obnoxiously unfunny and uncreative. Clever traps were kept to an absolute minimum. Kevin had a high tech house at his disposal, but the best he could do was smack the bad guys in the face with a frying pan. You could count the number of Kevin-style incidents without running out of fingers. Additionally, the traps which are included here lack the inventiveness of the original Home Alone, and they're all signposted so blatantly that even the young target audience will see them coming a mile away. Simply put, the gags here are just dire, and the dialogue is unbelievably inane.

The awful acting doesn't help matters. Where Macaulay Culkin was cute and charismatic as Kevin in the previous Home Alone movies, newcomer Michael Weinberg comes off as fake and annoying in the same role. Weinberg is the most awkward, broad-gesturing, overreaching, dumb brat to disgrace the medium of cinema for a long time. He delivered his lines in the most obvious fashion imaginable, and as a result sounds like he's trying to act in a kindergarten drama play. Added to this is French Stewart's continuous overacting, and Missi Pyle's grating performance. Seriously, you'll want to put your head in the sand whenever these guys are on the screen. Daniel Stern was approached to reprise his role of Marv, but quickly declined the offer, calling the film "an insult, total garbage".

Kids might - keyword might - enjoy Home Alone 4, but everyone else should avoid it like the plague. It's boring, it's drastically short on comedy, and the acting is insufferable. If you begin watching the film knowing that it will be total shit, you may not be too dissatisfied. If you watch it in the hopes of it being as good as the original film, though, you'll be enormously disappointed.

0.5/10

"You can run, but you can't hide, Junior!"

Home Alone 3 carries all the hallmarks of an unnecessary sequel. After all, it is the third instalment in a series of declining quality (though 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is still pretty good), neither Chris Columbus nor John Williams chose to return, and the film features a whole new cast of characters because original star Macaulay Culkin retired from acting in the mid-1990s. Plus, the premise does not lend itself to repeat uses. Legendary screenwriter and filmmaker John Hughes returns here after scripting the first two films, though in the interim since Home Alone 2, the filmmaker recycled the same types of villains and situations in other family films (101 Dalmatians, Baby's Day Out). Without the heart or dramatic gravitas of the first two pictures, and with a new director in Raja Gosnell (making his directorial debut), Home Alone 3 is a subpar, at times boring sequel that feels like a slapdash cash grab.

This time around, Culkin's Kevin McCallister has been replaced by the young Alex Pruitt (Alex D. Linz). Alex is not home alone because his family go on a trip and forget about him - instead, he has the chicken pox, so he can't go to school. His dad is away on business and his mum has to run errands, so Alex is by himself during the day for the most part. Through a series of barely acceptable contrivances and coincidences, a top-secret U.S. Air Force microchip comes into Alex's possession. A gang of international terrorists are seeking this chip, and begin searching the neighbourhood for it. Alex witnesses a number of break-ins, but the police are not astute enough to find the crooks after responding to Alex's calls, which are subsequently dismissed as pranks. With nobody able to help as the bad guys start homing in on him, Alex decides to deal with the problem himself. In typical Kevin McCallister tradition, Alex booby traps his house with all sorts of devices designed to humiliate, harm and incapacitate the villains.

Credit where credit is due, Hughes at least learned his lesson after Home Alone 2 and thus penned a script with a few new ideas. Home Alone 3 is, thankfully, not a completely shameful rehash of every plot point from the original Home Alone, though there's nothing too fresh here. The problem, however, is that the narrative is extremely implausible with all of the changes. The idea of four international terrorists against one little 8-year-old kid is absurd. While the concept of a couple of burglars against one child is at least mildly believable, terrorists should be more wise and cunning. But alas, the villains here are even dumber than Harry and Marv. For crying out loud, these incompetent idiots are not even able to retrieve a remote-controlled car. And let's keep in mind that remote-controlled cars cannot possibly outrun a fully grown man... Added to this, it's absurd that Alex is so smart. As a result, it's difficult to feel worried for Alex at any point. In the first two Home Alone movies, one could feel worried for Kevin at times when he made mistakes. Yet, Alex is completely untouchable here, and he's far too smart for his age.

The level of violence within Home Alone 3 is extreme. In fact, like in prior Home Alone films, many of Alex's traps are nasty enough to kill or induce very serious injuries. But because this is a family film, no one dies or is even injured, despite being electrocuted and getting hit on the head by a barbell. Still, at least director Raja Gosnell (editor of the first two Home Alone films) handled the material well enough. From time to time, there are a few mildly entertaining moments, and the craftsmanship makes it an easy watch. With that said, though, the snowflakes do not look remotely believable. The production values are so shoddy, in fact, that a shining sun is visible during scenes set during a near-blizzard. It's a Wonderful Life featured real-looking snow despite being made in the 1940s, and it is therefore baffling that a '90s production with a larger budget and more advanced technology could look so fake.

Alex D. Linz played the main role here of Alex Pruitt, and the only thing he has going for him is terminal cuteness. He's not half as interesting, engaging, or believable as Macaulay Culkin. Meanwhile, the villains are much less engaging than Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The group of performers who played the terrorists are serviceable enough, but are nonetheless comparatively subpar. Also in the cast is a youthful Scarlett Johansson as Alex's sister, who would have been about 12 or 13 during filming. Literally, the only cast member here who earns a few laughs is the parrot. That's right - a bird was given the funniest lines in the script, and delivered the most convincing performance.

Home Alone 3 demonstrates the dire consequences of what happens when desperate studio executives endeavour to squeeze a few more drops out of a dying cash cow. This sequel substitutes the drama of its predecessors with scenes of embarrassing schmaltz, such as the trademark "something funny happens, so everyone in the room laughs in a cute fashion to signal that everything is okay and everyone is closer" moment. I guess one could assume that the kids will enjoy this movie, even if it's heavily flawed. Heck, this reviewer enjoyed it tremendously as a youngster. Kids don't really care if the same thing is done over and over - the Home Alone movies are about kids getting revenge against big mean grown-ups in the context of a wish fulfilment fantasy. Unfortunately, while kids will enjoy it, there's very little here that will appeal to adults.

4.2/10

"You can mess with a lot of things, but you can't mess with kids on Christmas."

With 1990's Home Alone grossing $476 million at the worldwide box office from an $18 million budget, Twentieth Century Fox immediately pursued a sequel, bringing back screenwriter (and beloved filmmaker) John Hughes to mastermind the follow-up. Sticking with the established formula for success, 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York merely rehashes the original film's story in a new setting, introducing too many coincidences to ignore. Although critics were less enamoured with this follow-up, it remains a cherished Christmas favourite in many households and an entertaining companion piece to the first film. With the sequel arriving a mere two years after its predecessor, Home Alone 2 sees several key creatives returning for the production, including director Chris Columbus, composer John Williams, cinematographer Julio Macat, and much of the original ensemble cast, establishing a strong sense of continuity between the two pictures. Recapturing the first film's winning mix of laughs and heart, Home Alone 2 overcomes the familiar narrative with its robust execution.

One year after Home Alone, the entire McCallister family plans to spend Christmas in Miami, Florida. Before the trip, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) again gets in trouble when his big brother, Buzz (Devin Ratray), humiliates him during a Christmas pageant, and Kevin physically retaliates. After proclaiming that he would rather spend the holiday season alone, Kevin inadvertently boards the wrong plane after losing his family at the airport and ends up alone in New York City. But an ecstatic Kevin takes advantage of the situation, using his father's credit card to scam his way into renting a luxurious suite at the Plaza Hotel while his family collectively frets in Florida. Little does Kevin realise that the Wet Bandits, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), have escaped from prison and made their way to the Big Apple to rob a toy store owned by the kindhearted Mr. Duncan (Eddie Bracken). Harry and Marv capture Kevin, but the shrewd boy slips away and decides to save the prestigious Duncan's Toy Chest by ambushing the burglars with inventive and painful booby traps.

Home Alone 2 is not one of Hughes's best or most creative screenwriting efforts, with the sequel incorporating many familiar elements from the original flick, including the McCallister family making a mad dash to the airport again after oversleeping, Kevin binging on junk food, another fictional black and white gangster picture, the McCallister family watching a foreign-dubbed version of It's a Wonderful Life, and Kevin befriending a mysterious, misunderstood stranger who becomes an ally in his fight against the Wet Bandits. The script introduces further narrative contrivances, with Kevin ending up alone on Christmas again and encountering the same two burglars in New York City's dense expanse when they go to the same toy store on the same day at the same time. It also takes a healthy suspension of disbelief to accept that the nine-year-old Kevin could successfully trick adults with his lies and schemes, allowing him to secure a luxurious NYC hotel room. Then again, this is a film in which a man quickly recovers after being hit in the face with four bricks tossed from the roof of a three-story building. Needless to say, it is a fantasy, and the movie is charming and entertaining enough to make you forget about the logic therein.

Setting the film in New York provides a welcome change of pace and scenery, allowing Kevin to explore the limitless opportunities of NYC. Since Kevin is a child, this includes visiting an enormous toy store. Kevin's creative exploits provide ample laughs, including his resourceful use of a cassette recorder in one of the film's most memorable scenes with Tim Curry as the Plaza Hotel's suspicious concierge. (The recorder, known as a Talkboy, was actually manufactured and sold to tie in with the film's release.) Of course, the script eventually puts Kevin in a position to thwart the Wet Bandits with an array of booby traps in an empty townhouse, leading to a climax in the same vein as the original film. Channelling the energy of the Looney Tunes and the Three Stooges, the antics are more brutal than anything from the first Home Alone - many of the traps here should result in serious injury or death. Columbus again executes the material with honest-to-goodness cinematic style and convincing special effects, ensuring the climax is entertaining and funny instead of mean-spirited. Home Alone 2's soundtrack is another huge asset, with the Oscar-nominated John Williams providing another flavoursome and engaging original score, while the film also features an array of recognisable Christmas songs, including Jingle Bell Rock and Sleigh Ride.

Amidst the enjoyably cartoonish violence, Macaulay Culkin's charm still carries the film, turning in a convincing performance that never feels false or artificial. Also returning from the first film are Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, who mainly exist as human crash test dummies while Kevin puts them through their paces. It is particularly amusing to watch Pesci mumbling family-friendly PG curse words while the wild-eyed, gleefully maniacal Stern remains hilariously incompetent and stupid, often drawing Marv's ire with his behaviour. Home Alone 2 brings back most of the first film's ensemble, with Catherine O'Hara and John Heard returning as Kevin's parents, and even Kieran Culkin (Macaulay's brother) appearing as Kevin's youngest cousin. Whereas the late great John Candy made a delightful cameo appearance in the first film, numerous recognisable performers fill the ensemble here. Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club) briefly appears as a ticket agent, while Donald Trump allowed the crew to film in the real Plaza Hotel in exchange for a brief cameo. Speaking of the Plaza Hotel, the great Tim Curry is a scene-stealer as the concierge, while Rob Schneider also shows up as a bellhop named Cedric. Another addition to the ensemble is Eddie Bracken, whose heartfelt and wholesome performance elevates the movie. Rounding out the main cast is Brenda Fricker, who adds warmth and heart to the production as a friendly pigeon lady. (Fricker might look like English broadcaster Piers Morgan, but it definitely is not him.)

Despite its mostly negative critical reception, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is an entertaining and worthwhile sequel with side-splitting comedy and a touch of heart, and it is fun to spend more time in the company of these familiar characters. Like its predecessor, it is easy to see why young viewers find the movie so enamouring and entertaining, particularly since it taps into their fantasies and has a strong moral message at the core of the story about the importance of kindness. Although this (more expensive) sequel earned less money at the box office than the original film, it was still a commercial success, with the studio remaining interested in continuing the Home Alone franchise. Home Alone 3 eventually followed in 1997 with a new cast and no returning characters.

7.2/10

"I made my family disappear..."

A seminal holiday classic written by the late great John Hughes, 1990's Home Alone is a Christmas film in a more superficial sense compared to other Yuletide-themed titles. Although the story occurs during the festive season, it is not a straight-up Christmas film merely about the turbulent holiday (like A Christmas Story) or the mythology of Santa Claus (like Santa Claus: The Movie); instead, it is a family comedy with a splash of action. Nevertheless, many film-watchers consider Home Alone an essential Christmas favourite, often mentioning it in the same breath as other holiday greats like It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. A hugely enjoyable film for adults and children alike, it is easy to see why Home Alone was a smash hit during its theatrical release - every child has dreamed about enjoying freedom from parents and the household rules they enforce with an iron fist. The film taps into the fantasies of virtually every prepubescent boy, with the young protagonist indulging in stairway sledding, raucous bed jumping, ordering pizza, and binging on junk food.

With Christmas rapidly approaching, the McCallisters are in full holiday mode, with the extended family gathering at the Chicago home of Peter (John Heard) and Kate (Catherine O'Hara) before they all fly to Paris. However, on the eve of the family's departure, eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) seems to get in everyone's way and becomes a target for his older siblings. After the family blame Kevin for a dinner disaster, Kate sends her son to sleep in the attic for the night as punishment. Consequently, Kevin has no hesitation in wishing his entire family would disappear. The following morning, the family oversleeps after heavy winds cause a power outage and disable the alarm clocks, and they forget about Kevin in their mad rush to get to the airport on time. By the time Kevin wakes up, the whole family are already on their way to France. The boy initially believes the universe has granted his wish, and he is thrilled at his newfound freedom without any siblings to pick on him. Kate soon realises that they left Kevin behind and desperately tries to make her way back home despite limited travel options over the Christmas period. Meanwhile, house burglars Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) - the "Wet Bandits" - are spending their Christmas robbing vacant houses in the affluent neighbourhood, and the McCallister home is on their hit list.

The real meat-and-potatoes of Home Alone is, of course, the grand finale, during which Kevin thwarts Harry and Marv's attempted home invasion with a string of ingenious booby traps. In reality, Kevin's painful traps would result in serious injury or worse, but in this PG-rated fantasy world, the results are side-splitting, turning the robbers into live-action Wily E. Coyote-esque characters who repeatedly find themselves one step behind the smarter, Roadrunner-like Kevin. Although one must suspend their disbelief because the traps almost always conveniently work in Kevin's favour, this hardly matters. However, Home Alone's opening act is slightly less successful, with the chaotic McCallister household feeling artificial instead of natural or authentic as dozens of family members run around with seemingly no purpose while a policeman (Harry in disguise) and a pizza delivery boy stand around in exasperation. Still, the movie efficiently establishes the family and their individual personalities, and one can feel Kevin's seething frustration as his parents punish him while his siblings face no consequences for their behaviour.

In addition to the on-screen Christmas iconography and decorations, the deeper meaning of Christmas plays a crucial role in establishing Home Alone's tone, heart and soul. The hustle and bustle of the festive season drives the plot, while the Christmas spirit motivates several touching character moments, including polka musicians giving Kate a lift to Chicago and Kevin's eccentric elderly neighbour (Roberts Blossom) managing to reconcile with his family. Despite being produced for a meagre $18 million, the technical contributions across the board are exceptional. Director Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) establishes a captivating atmosphere and keeps the pace breezy, ensuring there are no dull moments during the movie's 100-minute duration. The grand finale benefits from sharp editing and convincing special effects, as Columbus turns the climactic burglary into an involving extended action sequence. Additionally, John Williams's classic score generates a playful holiday atmosphere, leading to his umpteenth Oscar nomination. Recruiting someone of Williams's calibre (Star Wars, Superman: The Movie) for a family comedy might seem like overkill, but his compositions meaningfully elevate the movie, introducing memorable motifs and ensuring the picture feels cinematic instead of cheap or disposable.

Macaulay Culkin's performance as Kevin is another element that makes Home Alone so endearing. He is a likeable boy with a bright screen presence, bringing the right mixture of innocence and mischief to the role. Although not the best or most nuanced child actor in history, he is highly believable, and it is easy to root for him as the Wet Bandits descend on his home. Meanwhile, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are iconic as the incompetent, bumbling Wet Bandits, effortlessly generating humour through amusing interplay and physical comedy. It is interesting to see mobster flick mainstay Pesci in a children's film where he could not let his foul mouth run rampant. Roberts Blossom also makes a terrific impression as a caring older gentleman who becomes one of Kevin's allies, while Catherine O'Hara contributes meaningful heart to the story as Kevin's concerned mother. John Candy even makes a small but memorable cameo appearance as a benevolent polka musician, and he is delightful in every frame. Candy's warmth and kindness shine through here, ensuring the actor makes a lasting impression despite limited screen time. Candy appeared in the film as a favour to Hughes, only receiving a few hundred dollars as payment, and according to Columbus, he went off-script and improvised all his dialogue. As a side note, look out for an extra in the background as Candy's character approaches Kate - legend has it, this extra is Elvis Presley, as they bear a remarkable resemblance to the late rock star.

Frequently funny and infinitely rewatchable, Home Alone deserves its continued reputation as one of the most entertaining and successful family Christmas movies of all time, and its appeal continues to endure with each new generation. In addition to its entertainment value, the film remains a Christmastime tradition due to its well-integrated and touching message about the importance of family, leading to an extremely uplifting finale. Although the narrative is predictable, and the climax includes a few absurdly cartoonish moments, the Hughes stamp of excellence is all over Home Alone, supplementing the terrific comedic set pieces with heart. Numerous sequels of declining quality followed the film, beginning with Home Alone 2: Lost in New York a mere two years later. Although filmmakers continue trying to replicate the picture's success (most recently in 2021's Home Sweet Home Alone), the original Home Alone is an untouchable gem in a league of its own.

7.8/10

"As much fun as I've had on this little journey, I'm sure one day I'll look back on it and laugh."

Written and directed by the inimitable John Hughes, 1987's Planes, Trains & Automobiles unquestionably lives up to its hype and reputation; it is one of the funniest and most heartfelt mainstream comedies in cinema history. Possibly Hughes's best movie, this is a heartwarming and endlessly enjoyable comedy about the importance of kindness and tolerance, and it effortlessly stands the test of time over three decades later. Before Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Hughes had only directed teen comedy films, with seminal movies like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off establishing his trademark for mixing the humorous with the heartfelt, and for creating three-dimensional characters that viewers can care about. Easily on par with Hughes's beloved earlier pictures, Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a rare type of comedy for which the drama is an integral part of the story, but the weightier material does not compromise the pacing or the pervasive sense of fun. It's difficult to imagine this film having many detractors since it is impossible to dislike.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Chicago marketing executive Neal Page (Steve Martin) only wants to leave New York City and return home in time to spend the holiday with his family. However, this ostensibly simple goal proves to be tricky, as Neal's plans are summarily derailed when his delayed flight is forced to land in Wichita, Kansas, due to a blizzard in Chicago. To make matters worse, Neal is perpetually stuck with the well-meaning but frustrating Del Griffith (John Candy), a slobby shower curtain ring salesman who never closes his mouth. After Del helps Neal secure a motel room in Wichita for the night, the two wind up stuck together despite Del consistently getting on Neal's nerves. Neal and Del set out to use any mode of transport available to get Neal home before the turkey leaves the oven, all the while facing drawbacks in the form of bad weather, robbers, vehicle breakdowns, and other assorted obstacles.

In the tradition of all the best odd-couple comedies, Planes, Trains & Automobiles forces two mismatched characters together as they navigate a neverending series of obstacles and annoyances beyond their control, forcing them to become dependent on one another. Thanks to Hughes's sharp writing and the two superlative lead actors, there are several standout comedic set pieces throughout the movie, and the pacing is exceptionally astute. The humour partly emerges from the outrageous nature of the many unfortunate situations, but it more directly derives from Neal and Del's reactions to each situation...and to each other. The dialogue is razor-sharp, and there are so many memorably uproarious exchanges throughout the picture. Hughes and editor Paul Hirsch (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back) started with a mammoth three-and-a-half-hour assembly cut before whittling the film down to a more manageable 90 minutes while retaining the best material, ensuring that what remains is pure gold. The finished movie shows evidence of the extensive trimming (for example, Del has an unexplained black eye at the end), but it's not noticeable enough to cause a problem, and the resultant film remains astonishingly coherent and cohesive. Everything fits together perfectly, as Planes, Trains & Automobiles naturally flows from one set piece to the next. If anything, watching the reams of deleted material shows that the movie came dangerously close to not working, which is a testament to Hughes and Hirsch's editorial efforts during post-production.

"Those aren't pillows!"

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is primarily a comedic travel farce demonstrating that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, regardless of the mode of transportation. But it worked so well in 1987 and still works today because Hughes imbues the protagonists with real human emotions and flaws. Although Neal and Del are stereotypical character types, they are endearing and feel like real, three-dimensional people with distinctive personalities. It is possible to care about them and empathise with them despite their innate flaws. Additionally, several bittersweet and dramatic moments effectively tug on the heartstrings, and these scenes feel natural instead of forced, manipulative or contrived. The shifts between anger and compassion are astonishingly smooth, and the dramatic material does not feel perfunctory, nor does it grind the pacing to a halt. Although the movie is mainly concerned with the trials and tribulations of holiday travel, a theme of friendship and tolerance runs throughout Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Neal and Del's friendship is unlikely due to their respective personalities, yet the development of said friendship feels organic in the hands of John Hughes. As a result, the emotional payoff at the end is sensational. Admittedly, not everything works - Ira Newborn's score is repetitive and, at times, utterly grating, and a scene in an eccentric cab is somewhat weak - but Planes, Trains & Automobiles gets far more right than wrong.

Steve Martin is the straight man here, delivering a mostly restrained performance with outbursts of pure annoyance. Martin is very likeable, with his rants managing to avoid crossing over into mean-spiritedness - after all, you can understand why Del annoys him. Furthermore, Martin capably creates a character who tries to maintain his dignity and control his temper in extreme situations, which is very relatable and rings true. Starring opposite Martin, the late great John Candy is a standout, creating a memorable character with spot-on comic timing and a lovable doofus persona. Del drives Neal insane with his disgusting habits and irritating personality traits, but he is decent to his core, and his buffoonery hides hard-hitting loneliness and sadness. Candy manages to convey meaning and depth through mere facial expressions - for example, as Neal unleashes a tirade of insults in their Wichita motel room, you can see the palpable pain and hurt on Del's face that escalates with every point Neal mentions. It is fortunate that these two comedic legends appeared in a film together during their '80s primes, and it is even more fortunate that the material effectively serves both of them. Outside of Martin and Candy, nobody in the supporting cast receives much screen time to make an impact, but look out for Kevin Bacon, Michael McKean and Dylan Baker, who make cameo appearances.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a wonderful cinematic treat, and an annual viewing on Thanksgiving is a tradition for many households. Hughes relies on honest-to-goodness wit to generate the humour, making it a comedy movie in the classical mould, and the material is mostly PG and family-friendly except for Neal's legendary, side-splitting, profanity-ridden diatribe at the car rental agency. Although it does require a slight suspension of disbelief since the endless misfortunes are somewhat outlandish, the movie nevertheless works. With its endless highlights and a touching message about working together and appreciating others, this is a delightful film with infinite replay value. Be sure to keep watching until the end of the credits, where a joke from the film's beginning receives its brilliant punch-line.

9.0/10

"It was not by chance that for generations people have been searching for him, and now you have found him. Your destinies are tied, Zuko."

Coming off back-to-back disappointments with Lady in the Water and The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan has fallen quite far since the day in 2002 when he was declared "The Next Spielberg" by Newsweek. 2010's The Last Airbender seemed like Shyamalan's one last chance to win back his fans and prove that he still has the ability to craft a great movie. Alas, it simply was not to be, as the film instead denotes the continuation of Shyamalan's downward spiral. Working for the first time on a project derived from pre-existing material, the filmmaker was at a total loss of how to revamp the Nickelodeon TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender into a free-standing live-action blockbuster that's suitable for general audiences (guess why the Avatar appendage was removed). The finished product is nothing short of an incomprehensible fiasco; a disjointed, painfully generic, utterly boring special effects extravaganza with awful acting, subpar editing, no heart, and no real purpose. If one replaced Shyamalan's name with "Alan Smithee" in the credits, The Last Airbender would just be another big-budget misfire. Yet, with Shyamalan at the helm, the film also seals the fate of a once-talented filmmaker.

The Last Airbender takes place in a fantasy world that's divided among four tribes, each of which represents one of the fundamental elements: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Within each of these tribes are "benders", who are endowed with the gift of being able to control an element with their minds. It's been 100 years since the four nations have lived in harmony. It has also been 100 years since the disappearance of the Avatar; the only living being able to control, or "bend" all four elements, and thus maintain balance throughout the elemental world. Consequently, the world is on the brink of catastrophe. As fate would have it, two young people - hunter/warrior Sokka (Rathbone) and his water bender sister Katara (Peltz) - stumble upon a mysterious boy named Aang (Ringer), who turns out to be the long-lost Avatar. Soon, Aang begins training in the art of bending all of the elements; honing his skills to fulfil his destiny as the one who can restore balance to the previously harmonious world.

The Last Airbender is something akin to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon meets The Karate Kid meets Star Wars, but it's not nearly as good as the aforementioned films. The otherworldly sights and lands in the movie were brought to life with virtually seamless visual effects, but the script is botched. The picture limps forward at a snail's pace; treating its own mythology as homework and its characters as burdens. It's hard to express how truly off-putting Shyamalan's screenplay is - it's overwrought and undercooked; a whirlwind of plot points and events without an understanding of cohesion or where to focus attention. There's a lot of awkward, clunky exposition as well. Worse, the characters are ineffectually one-note, emotionally-cold ciphers which move like chess pieces throughout the complex narrative machinations. A romance develops out of nowhere between characters we don't care about, too. And a lot of things, such as Aang's ability to drop in a trance and speak with a dragon spirit, are poorly motivated and baffling.

Shyamalan is a master of suggestion and suspense-building, but The Last Airbender demanded the exact opposite: it's a blockbuster for which nothing is left to the imagination. Thus, the director discarded his traditional approach in favour of something bigger, more obvious, and more in-your-face. The best thing which can be said about the filmmaking is that Shyamalan did not fall prey to the current trend of hacking action scenes into a million incoherent flashes. Instead, Shyamalan and cinematography Andrew Lesnie (who shot the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong for Peter Jackson) used elegant long takes to allow for viewers to soak in the imagery. It makes for an interesting twist on routine summer-movie battles, yet there's no sense that anything is at stake. Consequently, the action never rises above its rapidly diminishing "wow" factor; making the film's final stretches feel long and tiresome, rather than compelling and exhilarating. In addition, as was done with Clash of the Titans, Shyamalan's The Last Airbender was hastily, messily and unnecessarily converted to 3-D for the sole purpose of sucking as much money as possible from unsuspecting consumers. The results are absolutely disastrous; soaking the brightness and clarity out of every frame. ILM's digital effects are impressive, but the 3-D effects ruin the CGI work.

Even Al Pacino and Robert De Niro would be unable to overcome Shyamalan's awful writing and inane dialogue, and thus the film is only worsened by a terrible cast. The only word which can be used to describe the acting is embarrassing. Did Shyamalan try to save money by doing his casting at junior high school drama productions? With thousands of child actors available, it's baffling as to why the director didn't choose performers who could display emotions with conviction or recite lines without sounding as if they're reading from a teleprompter. As Aang, newcomer Noah Ringer is wooden and charisma-free. Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz are similarly contrived, and share no distinguishable sibling camaraderie as Sokka and Katara. Only Dev Patel (last seen in Slumdog Millionaire) is somewhat convincing as Prince Zuko.

The Last Airbender at least enjoys excellent production values, an effective score by James Newton Howard, and a general technical competency which meets usual big-budget production standards. Viewed as a series of fantastical snapshots, The Last Airbender is fairly impressive. Nevertheless, this is a movie rather than a Photoshop portfolio, and it's a woefully empty film at that. If Shyamalan aimed to deliver a message behind all of the action, it was lost in translation. And if the filmmaker hoped to bring some feeling to the characters and story, he missed the mark by a country mile. If only there was a semblance of substance to back up the bold aesthetics. The Last Airbender was produced for a mammoth $150 million, but alas not a cent of that went into script polishing or casting. The biggest kicker is the ending, which boldly sets up a sequel. But honestly, who would want to see a sequel if the first film cannot be done right? It was an interesting experiment to let Shyamalan handle a big-budget spectacle, but The Last Airbender shows that the filmmaker should return to territory that better suits his talents.

3.2/10

"Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."

Godzilla may be the King of the Monsters, but 1933's King Kong shall forever remain the king of monster movies with its groundbreaking special effects, involving story and poignant climax. The quintessential precursor to "event" blockbusters and one of the first productions to blur the line between fantasy and reality, the picture is a thrilling filmmaking relic from the Golden Age of Hollywood. With a screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose, King Kong conveys a message amid the spectacle, making it more than a simplistic creature feature. In the decades following King Kong's release, the picture inspired several rip-offs and remakes, while Toho even pitted the titular ape against Godzilla in a 1962 picture, and Warner Bros. incorporated Kong into their MonsterVerse. Due to advances in filmmaking and special effects, aspects of 1933's King Kong have admittedly aged, but the picture remains an awe-inspiring classic and arguably cinema's greatest monster movie. It is easy to understand why King Kong succeeded in 1933 and why many still hail the feature as a timeless masterpiece: it has lost little of its power to astound and astonish.

In New York City during the 1930s, filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) hopes to film his new project in an uncharted part of the world: a mysterious location known as Skull Island, where a ferocious creature, Kong, is rumoured to live. Chartering a ship commanded by Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher), Denham hires a crew but cannot secure a beautiful female lead for the picture due to the production's secrecy. While searching on the streets of New York the night before the voyage, Denham meets the destitute Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) when she tries to steal an apple in desperation. Denham is struck by Ann's beauty, buying her a meal and convincing her to join the film crew as the project's lead actress. During the voyage to Skull Island, Ann falls for the ship's tough-but-likable first mate, Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot). However, after they arrive at the mysterious island, the natives kidnap Ann and sacrifice her to Kong, a giant gorilla. Kong is immediately infatuated with the fragile Ann, and he carries her away to his mountain lair while an armed search party ventures into Skull Island's perilous jungles to rescue her.

The seemingly simple story leads to a succession of set pieces showcasing thrilling conflicts and chases, all set at a breakneck pace by directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. With the movie fleshing out the relationship between Ann and Driscoll before Kong's introduction, tension permeates the various set pieces as prehistoric creatures decimate Denham's crew and threaten the proverbial damsel in distress. Despite stringent 1930s censorship rules, the content throughout King Kong is surprisingly shocking at times, with a sizeable body count. Kong tramples people, chomps on his victims, shakes several of Denham's men into a ravine, and even drops a woman off a tall building. In one scene, a Brontosaurus also brutally kills several members of Denham's crew. Additionally, the directors filmed a sequence involving spider-like creatures attacking the surviving men who fell into the ravine. This scene - known as the legendary "Spider Pit Sequence" - was excised from the final cut because it was deemed too shocking and, according to Cooper, it "stopped the story." In the years following King Kong's release, several violent scenes were trimmed or removed for rereleases, prompting a worldwide search for surviving materials to digitally restore the full version in 2005. However, the Spider Pit Sequence remains lost.

Directors Cooper and Schoedsack and their three credited cinematographers demonstrate an excellent eye for visuals, making Skull Island feel like an actual location instead of a generic studio set. The crew first approaching the eerie island aboard a lifeboat still looks incredibly convincing and impressive, with superb use of shadows, fog, and birds flying across the foreground, all of which give the shot genuine dimension. Indeed, the picture's special effects extend beyond the monsters, as the film features several techniques to generate an authentic sense of scope. In the pre-digital age, intricate matte paintings and miniatures were used to create the vast expanse of Skull Island and New York City, with optical printers combining different elements into a single shot. The directors also used rear-screen projection techniques to place the live actors alongside the animated monsters, including one impressive shot when the characters walk along the body of a Stegosaurus. The compositing remains believable even in the 21st Century, even if the contrast between the rear-projected footage and the live-action footage slightly differs. Further contributing to the film's immense magic is Max Steiner's atmospheric accompanying score, which remains memorable and haunting. Steiner's soundtrack was also highly influential, as King Kong was the first Hollywood production to feature a scene-specific score instead of simple background music. (See, for example, a native descending the stairs with a beat underscoring each footstep.)

The performances admittedly reflect their place in cinema history with grandiose gestures and theatrical expressions, which is unsurprising considering that several actors began their careers starring in stage productions. Nevertheless, the three lead actors remain impressive. Robert Armstrong is strong and authoritative in the role of the excitable Carl Denham. With a booming voice, he actually feels like a film director, making him an ideal choice to play this crucial character. Bruce Cabot is a tad wooden by contemporary standards, but he is nonetheless a convincing Jack Driscoll, and the performer absolutely nails the dashing hero persona. Rounding out the central trio is Fay Wray, the film's longest-surviving principal cast member, who passed away in late 2004 while Peter Jackson was in production for his King Kong remake. Wray shrieked her way into the history books as Ann Darrow, and it is her most recognisable role. Her innate beauty and innocence make her perfect for the character, and her screaming is iconic.

The real star of King Kong is the titular ape. Special effects pioneer Willis H. O'Brien and his assistant, Buzz Gibson, were responsible for the state-of-the-art stop-motion animation on display throughout King Kong, refining the techniques the animator previously used for 1925's The Lost World. Cooper and Schoedsack also use a mechanical model of Kong's head and shoulders for the close-ups, which look noticeably smoother. Although Kong is a special effect and does not speak, O'Brien gives the character an honest-to-goodness personality in his movements to make him seem more lifelike, including playing with the broken jaw of a deceased Tyrannosaurus Rex. Kong's struggles, capture, and eventual death are heart-wrenching, and his love for Ann is so convincing that it is easy to overlook his waxy eyes and puppet fur. During the iconic climactic moments atop the Empire State Building, when Kong sniffs Ann's clothes, touches his own blood in shock, desperately swings at the attacking biplanes and takes one last longing look at his beloved bride, he appears intrinsically human and real. Kong is not a mere maquette but an actual character with tangible emotions. Skull Island's other creatures are equally impressive, with the fight between Kong and a Tyrannosaurus Rex representing one spectacular highlight. Although the Kong vs. Rex battle is a scant three minutes in length, it took seven weeks to animate. The stop-motion effects lack the precise movement of digitally-created monsters, but the painstaking art form deserves respect and admiration, especially considering its influence on contemporary cinema. Furthermore, the astute sound design helps make the creatures seem more authentic, with the audio engineer Murray Spivack creating Kong's roar by combining lions and tigers.

While watching 1933's King Kong in the 21st Century, one question springs to mind: if you put aside the film's reputation in cinematic history and treat it as entertainment, does it still work? In this reviewer's humble opinion, it does, as many of the key set pieces remain incredibly thrilling, and the storytelling is masterful, with the directors maintaining a captivating pace. Viewers who are accustomed to the slick digital effects of modern blockbusters might struggle to adjust to the film's black-and-white photography and primitive special effects, but this does not diminish the astonishing achievement that the picture represents. Cinematic special effects significantly improved over subsequent decades, but filmmakers rarely complement the polished visuals with the emotion or humanity that characterises King Kong. After the film's immense commercial success in 1933, the studio - RKO Radio Pictures - rushed out a hastily assembled sequel, The Son of King, which hit cinemas just nine months after its predecessor.

10/10

"There is a girl out there who might be running for her life from some gigantic turned-on ape."

Almost three decades before Peter Jackson re-imagined 1933's King Kong for a new generation of filmgoers, Italian B-movie producer Dino De Laurentiis had the same idea. Naturally, though, due to the filmmaking technology of the period, 1976's King Kong looks subpar compared to Peter Jackson's technological marvel, and it's also unable to achieve the level of adventure and spectacle which characterised the classic that started it all. In addition, several drastic changes were made for this King Kong which may irk fans - characters names are absent, the ship voyage happens without any build-up, the eventual New York sequences are tragically short, and the finale does not occur atop the Empire State Building. Nonetheless, while the movie is easy to mock and laugh at, it's difficult to genuinely dislike. If viewed from a critical perspective, this is a bad movie. However, the campy, tongue-in-cheek approach is constantly fore-grounded, and King Kong is a lot of fun as a result.

In this version, Kong ("played" by Rick Baker) resides on a mysterious island shrouded in fog. The Denham character here is Fred Wilson (Grodin); a pompous oil executive who travels to Kong's island in search of petroleum deposits to tap (bear in mind that the movie was produced during the mid-'70s oil crisis). Jack Driscoll was replaced here with a long-haired anthropologist named Jack Prescott (Bridges), who stows away on Wilson's ship. Completing the Kong trinity is Dwan (Lange), who fell off a destroyed yacht and subsequently floated around the ocean in a rubber dingy until the ship happened upon her. The crew eventually arrive at Kong's island, where the natives kidnap Dwan and offer her as a sacrifice to the giant ape. Kong instantly takes a liking for Dwan and begins travelling home with his bride while Jack ventures across the island to save her.

Nothing can prepare you for the unmitigated disappointed of Kong's island (which is never even referred to as Skull Island). Apart from Kong, the only other monster to see here is a giant snake which was pulled off with abysmal special effects. Kong wrestles said snake, but the sequence is absurdly unconvincing. The set-pieces in the 1933 King Kong were more exciting. Furthermore, nothing really happens on the island - Dwan just seems to spend a lot of time in Kong's hand while Jack does a lot of trekking. Disappointment is also imminent when the film shifts to New York. Just as the pacing begins to pick up, Dwan stupidly and incomprehensibly decides to persuade Jack to stop so they can drink some alcohol. Increasing the implausibility of this situation, Kong manages to find her in this random bar despite it being one of the thousands of places in New York City. This leads to the eventual finale that's set atop the World Trade Center. This climax has neither the majesty nor the emotional kick of the other incarnations of King Kong.

With The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure topping the box office, the '70s was the decade for disaster movies, and King Kong was produced with this mindset. The film merely boils down to a big guy in a gorilla suit destroying miniature sets. Surprisingly, the first hour or so of the movie is genuinely good, with director Guillermin having generated an atmosphere of mystique and with composer John Barry having provided one of his most effective scores. Yet, this effectiveness dissipates once Kong is introduced. After Kong enters the picture, an awkward love story begins developing which feels forced and unearned. Furthermore, this version lacks the original film's magic. The same level of craftsmanship is not apparent here, too - rather than stop-motion animation, Kong is just a man in a monkey suit, and it's blatantly obvious. Interestingly, the special effects are wildly uneven; ranging from decent to downright awful. Most appalling is the life-size mechanical representation of Kong which is on-screen for all of 10 seconds and looks as stiff and ridiculous as any failed special effect can. The FX may have won an Academy Award, but they are not impressive. Academy members even resigned in protest of the decision.

To the credit of screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr., the script contains a number of witty, hilarious lines - more than one would expect from this type of movie. (As a good example of this, Grodin at one stage exclaims that Kong was going to rape Dwan...) The performers, meanwhile, happily hammed it up and clearly had great fun with their respective roles. As the hippie anthropologist hero, Jeff Bridges is incredibly goofy, and he managed to maintain a sense of humour from beginning to end. Also in tune with this adamantly campy approach is Charles Grodin as the requisite bastard and villain, so to speak. Grodin chewed the scenery with glee, and it's a fun performance to watch. Jessica Lange (a little-known actress when she appeared here) is effectively flighty and ditzy as Dwan, though the material is heavily flawed (she gets over the deaths of many individuals really fast, for instance). Kudos to Lange for executing this badly-written character while maintaining a straight face.

Perhaps the most fatal flaw of King Kong is that - despite containing dumb fun elements to keep us laughing from time to time - the film far outstays its welcome with a 130-minute runtime. It may be filled with a lot of screaming, yelling and crashing, yet the pacing is at times interminably slow, and the film is occasionally boring. Still, at least King Kong is not offensive in the way that most remakes are, even if it isn't close to matching the brilliance of the other versions of the story. Yet it's perhaps a tad unfair to compare the three King Kong movies since they were all made in different periods with different filmmaking technology and with different aims in mind. Still, the 1933 and the 2005 versions are masterpieces, and this 1976 version is simply lacking in terms of majesty, spectacle and emotion. It's almost as if the trio represent a sandwich, with the bread (i.e. the 1933 and 2005 versions) being more appetising than the filling in the middle (i.e. the 1976 version). You can only watch this King Kong for what it is: a campy 1970s disaster movie.

5.3/10

"Ladies and Gentlemen... I give you... KONG! THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD!"

Due to his work on the much-acclaimed live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson's name has become synonymous with the word "epic". Following his sojourn into Middle Earth, the question on everyone's mind was simple: where could Mr. Jackson go next? His decision to helm a reimagining of King Kong may have seemed like a strange choice for the filmmaker, yet it was a match made in cinematic heaven - Jackson's treatment of the classic story is an epic, entertaining and moving blockbuster. Jackson and his team have expanded upon the original 1933 movie to add welcome depth to the characters and present a whole new interpretation of the source material. While it clocks at a mammoth three hours - nearly two times the runtime of the 1933 film - Jackson's soulful, entertaining epic stays afloat for the entire show. Along with James Cameron and Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson is one of a select few Hollywood directors capable of understanding how to successfully marry emotion and spectacle.

Set in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression, stage actress Ann Darrow (Watts) is struggling to earn a wage. But a chance meeting with filmmaker Carl Denham (Black) permanently changes the trajectory of Ann's life. Carl also has his problems, though - his financiers have pulled the rug out from beneath him, and Carl is struggling to both finish his latest movie and find a leading lady to appear in it. After some arm-twisting, Ann accepts the job as Carl's leading actress, while Carl also cons his way into hiring a cast & crew and chartering a ship. However, Carl's people are oblivious to the fact that the filmmaker has set his sights on the mysterious Skull Island. During the voyage, screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Brody) takes a liking for Ann, and a romance begins blossoming between the two. Unfortunately, their fortunes take a turn for the worst upon arrival at Skull Island. The island natives kidnap Ann and offer her as a sacrifice to Kong; a massive ape who immediately becomes smitten with the blonde actress. Thus, the crew venture into the dense jungles of Skull Island on a mission to rescue Ann.

King Kong is a lavish, high-octane, epic action-adventure. The film was produced for a gargantuan $200 million, and every cent of it shows up on the screen. For Jackson, making this film was not just following up The Lord of the Rings, but also accomplishing a lifelong dream. Since childhood, Jackson has been enraptured with 1933's King Kong, and he attempted to make his own version when he first came to Hollywood in the mid-1990s. Flush with money and awards after the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Universal Pictures allowed Jackson to remake King Kong on his own terms. Like all personal projects, this particular flick ran the risk of not working, but Jackson's passion for the material fortunately did not dim his creative senses. Jackson opted to use the 1933 King Kong as his blueprint, and has greatly expanded upon it. The basic premise is similar, but the experience of Jackson's King Kong is wholly different. In fact, Jackson has produced what could be considered the definitive King Kong, as virtually every narrative possibility was explored here. People have complained about the three-hour runtime, yet no moment feels inessential. Granted, by the end of King Kong you feel like you've experienced a long motion picture, but that's the same with all epics, from Lawrence of Arabia to Gone with the Wind to Seven Samurai.

Instead of transplanting the story of King Kong into a contemporary setting, Jackson recreated the early 1930s backdrop of the original film. To the credit of the production team, the recreation of '30s-era New York is stunning, as are the lavish jungles of Skull Island, both of which were excellently rendered using a mixture of digital effects and intricate sets. Fortunately, the rest of the CGI effects are equally impressive; believably conveying a world of fantastic creatures and astonishing sights. With this film, Jackson set a new standard for visual effects advancements, as Kong and the dinosaurs were rendered using amazingly detailed, borderline photorealistic effects. If you're seeking pure eye candy, King Kong is the world's biggest candy store. Jackson's directorial efforts are similarly impressive - the extended action sequences on Skull Island are rousing and exhilarating, while the quiet moments are affecting. Some action beats do push the boundaries a little too much, but the set-pieces are always enjoyable nonetheless. Topping this off is James Newton Howard's powerful score. Despite having only seven weeks to compile the music, Howard managed to deliver several marvellous compositions that augment the epic feeling of the material.

The cornerstone of Peter Jackson's King Kong is not the action-adventure material, but instead the relationship between Kong and Ann. This is where the heart and soul of the movie is derived from, and where the film emerges as something more than a visual extravaganza. In the 1933 King Kong, Ann is terrified of the giant ape - he treats her like a plaything, and she both hates and fears him. In the 1976 version, a forced romance develops between the ape and the female protagonist, but it feels unearned. However, for Jackson's version, a tender, two-way relationship between Ann and Kong is meticulously developed over the course of the movie. Additionally, for all of the action and exhilarating destruction on display, the final section of the movie is essentially an affecting portrait of how cruel humans can be towards those we do not understand. It certainly helps that Kong was brought to life using phenomenal digital effects - his range of motion is superb, and his facial expressions are so sincere that it's hard to believe he is not real when you look into his eyes. Andy Serkis, who "played" Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, lent his motion capture skills to Kong, and Serkis' performance is stunning.

As for the cast, all of the actors are impressive. Naomi Watts is a joy to behold as Ann Darrow; she's frequently ravishing, and she embodied the spirit of Fay Wray while also presenting her own interpretation of the role. Watts had the difficult job of convincing viewers that she's in love with a CGI creation, but she pulled it off with aplomb through sincere facial expressions. Meanwhile, as Carl Denham, Jack Black has received a lot of criticism, yet his performance works - he played it straight when the material called for it, and he was able to convey Carl's insanity with supreme effectiveness. And as Jack Driscoll, Adrien Brody is perfectly fine. While he's not an actor that one would typically think of to portray an action hero, Brody put in a solid effort. In the supporting cast, Thomas Kretschmann is a particular stand-out - he's a show-stealer whenever he's on-screen as Captain Englehorn.

As an epic action-adventure, King Kong excels tremendously. All of the technical aspects are top-drawer: the cinematography, James Newton Howard's score, the digital effects, the pacing, the action sequences, and the direction. And as an emotional journey, King Kong is still a success. It's a terrific piece of entertainment, but it also has a soul. King Kong is 2005's biggest and best blockbuster, and - in the shadow of Roland Emmerich's Godzilla - Jackson's film proves that it is possible for a classic monster to make a triumphant re-appearance. And what of the extended edition of the film, I hear you think? It adds a bit of interesting footage, but nothing feels truly essential. Plus, the swamp scene is marred by atrocious underwater effects. The extended cut is only for established fans.

9.2/10

"My name is Alice. I had worked for the Umbrella Corporation. Five years ago, the T-Virus escaped, and everybody died. Trouble was... they didn't stay dead."

The notion of a fourth Resident Evil flick will almost certainly induce heart-scratching, especially considering that the preceding films in the series were panned by viewers and critics alike, and the franchise has been spluttering on life support for years. However, the first three Resident Evil flicks were successful from a commercial standpoint, which is all that matters in Hollywood. Thus, 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife was produced in an attempt to recharge the franchise, with Paul W.S. Anderson returning to direct and with the movie being captured in 3-D to bring the blood-soaked zombie mayhem into your lap. It's a polished, slick effort for sure, but it's deathly dull and joyless. Worse, writer-director Anderson was so concerned with handling the technically advanced cameras (the same cameras used for Avatar, in fact) and servicing the 3-D format that he gave absolutely no thought to such essentials as story, character and suspense.

In the first Resident Evil movie, the Umbrella Corporation unleashed a rampaging virus that decimated the planet by turning most of the population into flesh-eating zombies. At the end of the third movie, Alice (Jovovich) created an army consisting of clones of herself. Thus, Afterlife opens with Alice and her army attacking the Umbrella Corporation Headquarters in Tokyo, which ends with the clones going up in flames along with the building and the employees. Afterwards, Umbrella boss Albert Wesker (Roberts) injects the real Alice with a serum that revokes her super powers and makes her human again. After a subsequent plane crash from which Alice magically walks away unscathed, she heads to Alaska in the hope of finding the promised safe haven from the world's zombie takeover. Alas, no such haven exists. And it's here when Alice reteams with Claire Redfield (Larter) who's mysteriously stricken with amnesia. In searching for more signs of life, Alice and Claire end up in Los Angeles where they encounter a group of survivors - including Claire's brother Chris (Miller) - who are holed up in a prison facility and are seeking rescue.

The only true upside of Afterlife is the 3-D visuals, which are crisp and clear; emphasising the fact that all of the action was in fact captured in 3-D rather than shoddily converted in post-production. Clearly, Anderson embraced the dimensional possibilities while staging a plethora of Matrix-style action sequences, with the mayhem being frequently slowed down to allow for a viewer to study every last flip and weapon discharge in glorious detail. Additionally, to the writer-director's credit, Anderson hired the excellent "Tomandandy" to score the zombie mayhem, and the music adds an energetic backdrop for all the action. Yet, while the visuals are striking, the film seems like more of a special effects demo reel than anything more substantive. Alas, Anderson clearly had no clue about how to build tension, create an atmosphere of menace, or generate thrills. No interest in the horror genre is displayed here, as Anderson instead favoured decade-old action movie conventions to see the film through. Unfortunately, too, slow motion effects were overused to the point of nausea. Indeed, if the slow motion techniques were excised, it's doubtful that the film would've been longer than an hour.

Striking visuals are pretty much all there is to the Resident Evil: Afterlife experience, which suffers from some of Anderson's most inane scripting to date. In addition to the often woeful dialogue, Anderson opted to forgo atmosphere-building or any intriguing exploration of the zombie-crawling city in favour of dreary expositional scenes set indoors, with the forgettable ensemble of characters going through the dull paces on dull soundstages. The narrative momentum of Afterlife is akin to a car that's spluttering on petrol fumes. The pacing is even sluggish during the action scenes, and narrative surprises are non-existent. And, on top of the fact that nothing of note actually occurs in the film, the material is rather incoherent. Take, for instance, a battle between Claire and a hulking, hooded monster wielding a massive hammer. Who or what is this unstoppable beast? Does it work for the Umbrella Corporation? If it's a zombie, then why, unlike other zombies, is it able to use weapons? None of this stuff is addressed, since the giant was only introduced to show off more special effects and 3-D showmanship.

Added to this, it doesn't help that Milla Jovovich (Anderson's wife) is hopelessly bland in the central role of Alice. Jovovich seems unaware that it's possible to be badass and have a personality at the same time, and thus her delivery of various quips ring hollow. She's capable of handling the physical demands of the role, but everything else is lacking. (As a side note, since Jovovich is scrumptious eye-candy and is married to Paul W.S. Anderson, the Resident Evil flicks should simply be subtitled Check Out My Ridiculously Hot Wife.) Ali Larter and Wentworth Miller are serviceable as the Redfield siblings, but they were denied the chance to spend much screen-time together or do much bonding - as a matter of fact, it's the film's biggest missed opportunity. The weakest link of the cast is Shawn Roberts as Wesker, whose line delivery is both appalling and perpetually contrived.

Perhaps all of these criticisms should not come as much of a shock to anyone who's familiar with the Resident Evil films so far. Ever since the second instalment, the films have been concerned with providing constant action sequences in locations reminiscent of the video game landscapes. While Afterlife provides a few worthwhile moments and is impressive from a visual standpoint, it's nonetheless a groaning bore that only rarely comes to life. This film is a mess. It's action for the sake of action, but there's hardly any fun in it.

4.3/10