DVD Reviews (From Droitwich Advertiser)

DVD Reviews

7:00am Saturday 6th March 2010

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A weekly round-up of the latest DVD releases.

By Damon Smith.

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray Fantastic Mr Fox (Cert PG, 87 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Comedy, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £28.99) Featuring the voices of: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Anderson, Hugo Guinness, Michael Gambon, Brian Cox, Bill Murray.

Mr Fox (voiced by Clooney) is always looking to move up in the world with his long-suffering wife, Mrs Fox (Streep). He plots a raid on the chicken coop, only to get caught in a trap, and makes a promise to his spouse to give up his larcenous ways. Two years later, Mr Fox has followed his wife's dictate and is the bread-winner for his family, including a disgruntled son Ash (Schwartzman) and a golden boy nephew, Kristofferson (Anderson). However, Mr Fox cannot completely shy away from his animal instincts, and he turns to stealing from farmers Bunce (Guinness), Bean (Gambon) and Boggis (Cox), roping in Kristofferson to his hare-brained schemes. Having been humiliated by the fox, the trio lays siege to the trees where the family resides and opens fire on Mr Fox, shooting off his bushy tail. Luckily, neighbouring critters including Badger (Murray) rally around Mr Fox in his hour of need to help him elude the pursuers. Created painstakingly through stop-motion animation, Fantastic Mr Fox is a visual triumph, let down by a screenplay that doesn't know to which audience it is trying to appeal. The articulated characters have plenty of personality, and there are some neat flourishes. The climactic escape is mind-boggling, leading to a cute gag reminiscent of Wallace and Gromit. Hip indie director Wes Anderson imprints his personality so indelibly on the script, co-written by Noah Baumbach, that it's hard to see children enjoying the film. The simplicity and sweetness of the original story, with illustrations from Quentin Blake, is almost entirely lost.

DVD Extras: "The Making Of Fantastic Mr Fox" featurettes ("The Look Of Fantastic Mr Fox", "The Cast"), A Beginner's Guide To Whack-Bat; Blu-ray: "The Making Of Fantastic Mr Fox" featurettes ("The Look Of Fantastic Mr Fox", "From Script To Screen", "The Puppet Makers", "Still Life (Puppet Animation)", "Puppet Animation", "Bill And His Badger"), A Beginner's Guide To Whack-Bat, "Fantastic Mr Fox: The World Of Roald Dahl" featurette, free digital copy of the film.

Rating: *** Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (Cert 12, 104 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Fantasy, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99) Starring: Chris Massoglia, John C Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Ken Watanabe, Patrick Fugit, Jessica Carlson, Michael Cerveris, Ray Stevenson, Salma Hayek, Don McManus, Colleen Camp.

High-achieving teenager Darren (Massoglia) has devoted most of his time to his schoolwork, scoring straight As to the delight of his parents (McManus, Camp). Slacker best friend Steve (Hutcherson) leads Darren astray by encouraging him to visit a freak show run by the aptly named Mr Tall (Watanabe). Loner Steve recognises one of the acts, magician Larten Crepsley (Reilly), as a vampire. When the rebellious student is subsequently injured from a spider bite, Darren agrees to become a member of the undead in exchange for saving his buddy's life. The teen fakes his own death, then moves to the freak's compound, where he shares a tent with Evra The Snake Boy (Fugit) and falls under the spell of monkey girl Rebecca (Carlson). Little does Darren know that Mr Tiny (Cerveris) and his underling Murlaugh (Stevenson) have recruited Steve to the deadly vampaneze group, and they intend to manipulate the youngster to shatter the 200-year-old truce between rival vampire factions. Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is a spooky fantasy based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, which begins in style with an eerie animated credits sequence. The screenwriters appropriate plot threads from Shan's opening trilogy without due care, hurriedly shoe-horning protagonists into a narrative that unfolds in fits and spurts. Massoglia's (fittingly) lifeless performance leaves Paul Weitz's film without an emotional heart, and we remain outsiders to the world of the so-called freaks. Reilly is poorly served by the script, and he struggles to find a rhythm in brief exchanges with his co-star.

DVD Extras: "Guide To Becoming A Vampire" featurette, "Tour Du Freak" featurette, deleted scenes; Blu-ray: "Guide To Becoming A Vampire" featurette, "Tour Du Freak" featurette, deleted scenes, Picture-in-Picture option.

Rating: **

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