Film Screening 16th May, 2004

Poster for Peter Pan

Peter Pan 

1:30 PM, 16th May, 2004

  • PG
  • 113 mins
  • 2003
  • P.J. Hogan
  • Michael Goldenberg, P.J. Hogan
  • Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Ludivine Sagnier, Richard Briers

Peter Pan is a boy who was so horrified by the idea of growing up that he simply didn't. He found his way to Never-Never Land and spent all his time "having fun" - until he met Wendy, who sparks feelings he doesn't understand. I've always found J.M. Barrie's self-conscious metaphor of a story to have the flavour of an Edwardian boiled lolly, with a nasty aftertaste. It's as though the sugar is there to distract us from the quinine, and the quinine is there to distract us from the sugar. I'm saying this so you'll know where I stand. I could never love this film, but perhaps you will. Barrie's writing has real wit which P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding) delights in transferring to the screen. Jason Isaacs is perfect as Mr. Darling (and decent, if not quite so convincing, as Captain Hook). The film is not just more faithful but also freer and more colourful than the 1953 Disney cartoon; it feels entirely fresh. I won't deny there was a moment of piercing sadness towards the end that made my eyes moisten. A pity someone feels the need to artificially sweeten the ending, and the moment isn't allowed to last.

Henry Fitzgerald

Poster for Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Looney Tunes: Back in Action 

2:30 PM, 16th May, 2004

  • G
  • 92 mins
  • 2003
  • Joe Dante
  • Larry Doyle
  • Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Timothy Dalton, Heather Locklear

After script negotiations on his latest epic break down, Daffy Duck ends up fired from the Warner Brothers lot. Together with also-recently-fired security guard and wannabe-stuntman, D.J. Drake (Fraser), Daffy heads out on a quest to rescue D.J.'s superspy father, Damien (Dalton) and find the elusive Blue Monkey diamond. Much better than the lame, lame (did I mention it was kinda lame?) Space Jam, the most appealing thing about Back in Action is that it understands what works about the classic Warner Brothers shorts (hint: not basketball), and manages to deliver a large percentage of it over a ninety-ish minute running time. The plot's just an excuse to get to the next sequence, while managing to shoe-horn in all of the most popular characters, and some old and new gags. The humans are never in any danger of being a drag on proceedings, and, while you might have to be an old movie buff to get some of the in-jokes (how many five year olds, or even uni students, know who Roger Corman is, or have seen Invasion of the Body Snatchers?), there's enough here to keep most people entertained.

Simon Tolhurst