Feelgood blockbuster adaptation of the smash-hit stage musical, with Meryl Streep finding love the second time around on the Greek isles. After reading her mother Donna (Streep)'s diary, soon-to-be-wed Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) invites three of her mother's old flames, Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), Sam (Pierce Brosnan), and Harry (Colin Firth) to the wedding, in the hope of finding out who her real father is. Arriving on the sun-drenched Mediterranean island for the first time in 20 years, the now middle-aged hunks soon rekindle long dormant emotions, causing Donna to revisit her past glories, and, with the help of her two oldest friends, Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski), belt out all those Abba hits with the exuberance of a spring chicken.
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The stage show has been entertaining gleeful audiences in the West End for a decade, now it's time for "Mamma ...
The stage show has been entertaining gleeful audiences in the West End for a decade, now it's time for "Mamma Mia!" the movie to hit the big screen and spread the ABBA induced joy across the globe.After much cajoling from producer Judy Craymer, ABBA's bearded musical geniuses Benny and Bjorn agreed to lend their songs to the musical and the film. So just what kind of story could possibly fit with ABBA's hits? Well a story as saccharine and dramatic as the songs themselves. 20-year-old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) lives on an idyllic island in Greece where she runs a bed and breakfast with her mother Donna (Meryl Streep). Soon to be married to Sky (Dominic Cooper), Sophie dreams of finding her father before the wedding and gets her chance when she stumbles on the diary her mother kept during the summer she fell pregnant. Yes, it seems her mother had a busy summer that year, as Sophie has three potential fathers. Impetuous Sophie secretly invites all three of them to her wedding on her mother's behalf. Cue Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard). Donna's best friends wisecracking Rosie (Julie Walters) and twice-divorced Tanya (Christine Baranski) also come along.Donna is teetering on the brink, overwhelmed by ex-boyfriends, the wedding and ABBA songs to boot. Emotional characters are what Streep does best and she's got a good set of pipes too. The most surprising performance though is from Pierce Brosnan, the ex 007 can sing and dance, but sadly Colin Firth doesn't fare as well, and seems at odds with the campness. The other thing at odds at times is the choreography, some of the dance scenes would just look better on stage and in an outdoor setting the frequent emergence of the chorus singers seems intrusive and in places maniacally strange. The catchphrase of the stage show is "let the joy wash over you", here it feels more like the joy is steam-rolling you but it's easier not to resist and just enjoy the sugary music high.
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Press Association
Hip indie director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited) is an odd fit for Roald Dahl's classic children's ...
Hip indie director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited) is an odd fit for Roald Dahl's classic children's story. The film-maker certainly brings his offbeat and distinctly adult sensibilities to bear on Fantastic Mr. Fox, creating another portrait of familial dysfunction and miscommunication. 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, which ran to less than 100 pages with illustrations from Quentin Blake, becomes obscured by rewrites and additions. Unlike his previous films, Anderson chooses stop-motion animation as his medium here and it works a treat. Visually, the months of painstaking effort have been worthwhile, including fast-paced action sequences of the wily vulpine sneaking around farmyards in search of a tasty treat. Mr Fox (voiced by George Clooney) is never content with his life, always looking to move up in the world with his long-suffering wife, Mrs Fox (Meryl Streep). He plots a daring raid on the chicken coop only to get caught in a trap. "If we're still alive tomorrow, I want you to find another line of work," seethes Mrs Fox. Two years later, Mr Fox has followed his wife's dictate and is the bread-winner for his family, including a disgruntled son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) who just wants to win the respect of his old man. Tension between the generations flares when nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson) comes to stay and puts poor Ash in the shade. Mr Fox cannot completely shy away from his animal instincts, and he turns to stealing from farmers Bunce (Hugo Guinness), Bean (Michael Gambon) and Boggis (Brian Cox), ropi, ng in Kristofferson to his hare-brained schemes. Having been humiliated by the fox, the trio lay siege to the trees where the family resides and open fire on Mr Fox, shooting off his bushy tail. Luckily, neighbouring critters including Badger (Bill Murray) rally around Mr Fox in his hour of need to help him elude the pursuers. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a visual triumph, let down slightly 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 like when Mr Fox compliments his wife, "You're practically glowing, maybe it's the lighting", and her head is suddenly illuminated from within. The climactic escape is mind-boggling, leading to another cute gag reminiscent of Wallace and Gromit when Mr Fox races towards Bean's motorcycle and sidecar and drives away in an exact miniature replica hidden behind the hulking machine. The vocal performances from Clooney and Streep lend warmth to their warring couple, with fine support from Schwartzman, Murray and co, who are all regular collaborators on Anderson's films. For its technical ingenuity, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a film you admire and marvel at rather than unreservedly love.
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