Review of Push first published in a March 2009 issue Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.

Director: Paul McGuigan
Starring: Chris Evans, Camilla Belle, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou
Running Time: 111 mins

The title of Paul McGuigan’s sci-fi thriller Push refers to a super power, of ‘pushing’ thoughts into the minds of others, which ‘Pushers’ Djimon Hounsou and Camilla Belle achieve throughout the film with often devastating results – Kira (Belle) uses her ‘Pusher’ mind tricks to force one of her captors into believing that his partner murdered his brother, when he in fact had no brother. ‘Watchers’ (Dakota Fanning being the prime example) can predict the future, ‘Sniffers’ (you guessed it) have a highly developed sense of smell. All of these super abilities are very well dealt with in the film, with the ‘Bleeders’ being the most visually arresting – the chase through Hong Kong market streets with tank after tank exploding with the pressure of the fish inside bleeding to death is an excellent touch. However, although the end result of the Bleeders’ abilities is effortlessly cool, the fact that the powers emanate from mad-eyed screaming men is embarrassingly contrived and laughable.

Chris Evans as Nick is as well-toned and handsome as ever, as is Djimon Hounsou (in a departure from the high-brow fare such as Blood Diamond and Gladiator). However, for arguably talented actors (Hounsou especially) both aren’t really given enough to do. The character of Nick lacks the depth and sympathy needed from a leading role, while Housou’s villain is only just saved from being two-dimensional. Camilla Belle is surprisingly good, perhaps atoning for the drivel that was 10,000 BC, presenting Kira as a strong woman dangerously caught up in a tangled mess of her own making (to say anymore would give away a plot twist at film’s climax). As Cassie the 13-year-old Watcher and unlikely sidekick to Nick, Dakota Fanning gets more and more irritating as the film goes on, apparently possessing the ability to cry whilst maintaining the same bored facial expression but never to look at all pained or sad.

Visually, the film excels, cutting between slick and grainy camerawork, making for an interesting and original visual style that seems more reminiscent of a gritty British drama than a Hollywood superhero movie. The effects are equally good, making clever and cool use of standard computer generated trickery (the two handguns that Nick manipulates into floating mid-air and following him is excellent) and more traditional effects such as different powders exploding in bursts of colour. McGuigan’s use of music is also very slick, using both contemporary and retro tunes to great effect. However, as is the worrying trend among many recent silver-screen outings (and in this case is more disappointing seeing as the premise and other aspects of the film are so promising), Push is let down by a poor and dull script and a rather messy third act that leaves the audience in little else than confusion. This aside, Push makes solid ground on which to hopefully build a better sequel (the end of the film suggests that a sequel must be on the cards, although in a deliciously ambiguous way).

Rating: MMM

Review of Bolt first published in a February 2009 issue Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.

Director: Byron Howard, Chris Williams
Starring: (voices) John Travolta, Miley Cyrus
Running Time: 96mins

If there is one undisputable fact about Bolt, it is the level of cuteness of its eponymous hero, the ‘super’ dog Bolt. But sadly, for all his sweet fuzziness (and when I say he’s cute, I mean CUTE), Bolt never really pulls the heartstrings the way that Wall.E did. And this is mainly because he is totally outshone by Rhino the hamster, the “master of stealth”, who by his own words, is “awesome!!!”. As stories go, the premise of the film isn’t half bad, in fact its quite original. Performing ‘actor’ dog is the star of a primetime television show in which he routinely saves his beloved ‘person’ Penny from the clutches of the evil ‘Green-Eyed Man’. Bolt however, does not realise that in reality he doesn’t have special powers like his famous ‘Super Bark’, and begins on a painful journey of self-discovery, learning how to be a ‘normal’ dog in the process.

In terms of characterisation, Bolt (voiced by John Travolta), and his feline friend Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman) are both characters who maintain a tension between being mildly sympathetic and fairly irritating in equal measure. Penny, Bolt’s on and off screen owner, (voiced by Miley Cyrus) only just manages to hold the audience’s sympathy, partly due to her genuine concern and love for her dog, conveyed in the photos of the pair of them that she collects (pictures highly reminiscent of the travelling gnome in Amelie).

Rhino, as previously mentioned, is the best character in the whole film, injecting into the last 45minutes some much needed laughs. And it is this, aside from the essential charm, that is what really lets the film down. All the pacy and defty handled action sequences and set pieces (and these are in abundance) just cannot make up for good dialogue. The repartee between dog and cat is laboured and clichéd, with their in-fighting and grumbling becoming grating after only 20 minutes.

The film does have its moments of charm, with the introduction of some peculiar Italian American pigeons, a fleeting glimpse of the hamster-obsessed little old lady who Rhino manages to escape from and the sweet series of montages that chart Bolt’s progress in learning about the things that normal dogs do. However, these vignettes and sequences do not make up for the overriding sense of banality which pervades the film. The jokes fall flat, the banter is poor, and if you don’t like the dog after the first act, it will certainly hamper your enjoyment of the film. Solid family half-term fare, just don’t expect anything amazing.

Rating: MM