Change Your Image
cricketnut2008
Reviews
Faintheart (2008)
A hoot from start to finish
I saw Faintheart on a flight from Hong Kong to Sydney and loved it so much, I watched it three times and wanted the flight to go on longer (and I loathe flying!). It was beautifully scripted, guffaw-out-loud funny and very touching at the same time. There wasn't a weak performance or an extraneous line in the entire screenplay, the hero's character development was believable and the baddies were satisfyingly vanquished. The sub-plot involving male, female (and juvenile) Trekkies was absolutely hysterical. If you liked Brassed Off, you'll love this. (Note to female EastEnders fans - you won't believe how Joe, the schizophrenic teenager whose barmaid mum had an affair with Phil Mitchell, has grown up (Paul Nicholls)!)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
A huge disappointment
I loved the first film and have watched it over and over with my daughter on DVD since we first saw it in the cinema. However, the Prince Caspian screenplay diverged so much from the book they might as well have given this film a different name.
The sickly, contrived love interest between Caspian (a small boy in the book) and Susan was completely incongruous - especially as Ben Barnes (Caspian) is more wooden than a non-talking Narnian tree, however pretty he might be to look at. He wasn't the only poor actor, mind you. The four Pevensie children looked as though they shared my opinion of the script and couldn't get through it fast enough, while the villains were cardboard cutouts. Peter's mumbling in particular was shocking - you could hardly make out a complete sentence of his. The directors were completely high-handed with the plot and played fast and loose with Lewis's character development as well. The only acceptable aspect of the whole thing was the special effects and fight scenes, which were stunning.
I hope they make a better fist of the Dawn Treader, or I will be summoning Aslan to roar their hides off!