Film Screening 25th October, 2008

Poster for WALL((middot))E

WALL((middot))E 

6:00 PM, 25th October, 2008
No Guests

  • G
  • 98 mins
  • Unknown
  • Andrew Stanton
  • Andrew Stanton, Jim Capobianco
  • Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Sigourney Weaver

What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn off the last robot? WALL((middot))E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) just kept working, doing what he was built to do. The only problem is that he's been working for a few hundred years when after everybody else has left. It's a lonely job, but he does find all kinds of knick-knacks which keep him pleasantly entertained. One day EVE, a sleek white robot, comes to investigate Earth for us humans and thinks that WALL((middot))E has stumbled onto something. She races back to report her findings, but WALL((middot))E isn't going to let the first new robot he's seen in hundreds of years just leave, so he follows. Thus their comedic adventure across the galaxy begins as WALL((middot))E chases EVE, all the way to AXIOM.

This is a wonderful film. It's sweet and cute, but never sickly so. WALL((middot))E grabs your heart in his first appearance on screen and never lets go. The sidekicks and crazy collection of supporting robots and cockroaches make the time spent in the theatre fly by. WALL((middot))E does a great job of presenting the far distant future, while bringing home truths constant through history. And WALL((middot))E gives a superb, if a bit robotic performance.

Steven Cain

Poster for The Lion King (8pm)

The Lion King (8pm) 

8:00 PM, 25th October, 2008

  • G
  • 87 mins
  • Unknown
  • Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
  • Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton
  • Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Rowan Atkinson

When naïve lion cub Simba is tricked by his scheming uncle into believing he accidentally killed his own father by his scheming uncle, he flees into exile and gives up his position as heir to the kingdom. Years later, Simba is forced to return home to save his fellow lions from tyranny by overthrowing his uncle and reclaiming his rightful place as King.

It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when animated films consisted of more than pop culture in-jokes and the voice talents of marquee movie stars. Despite being released in 1994, The Lion King remains the most successful non-computer animated film of all time, and it's not hard to see why.

The animation is simply breathtaking, with every frame a nostalgic reminder of the days when animation was painstakingly hand-drawn. The story was Disney's first attempt at an original one, with elements drawn from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Even the voice talent involved was criminally underrated. Did you know that Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Rowan Atkinson and James Earl Jones were part of the cast? What's more, its musical numbers (a seemingly extinct staple of animated features nowadays) are fun, catchy and even managed to net the film two Oscars.

Chances are, many of you will have only ever seen this animated classic on the small screen. Take this opportunity to come and view The Lion King in all its glory in the way it was meant to be seen - on the big screen.

Adrian Ma