Studio Ghibli has done it again. Arrietty, inspired by the Borrowers novels of Mary Norton, is an incomparably beautiful story which effortlessly draws the viewer into a rarified world where a bay leaf makes a decent raincoat and cockroaches are the size of (shiny, aggressive and antennaed) Shetland ponies. Delicate, thoughtful and visually unmatched by almost anything we can think of, this is a very special film indeed.
DC obviously think that Ryan Reynolds’ muscles are enough on their own to deliver a bruising punch to Marvel; but the rest of Green Lantern isn’t as finely toned. It’s everything you expect from a superhero movie, but absolutely nothing more. And it nicked its colour scheme from The Mask!
It was about time Sherlock Holmes got the Hollywood treatment – audiences have been continually fascinated with Arthur Conan Doyle’s series of short detective stories through the years, yet they undoubtedly needed a little sexing up to succeed with a modern audience. Enter Guy Ritchie, whose new action-packed adaptation is certainly a departure from the original series, but nonetheless entertaining in its own right. The screenplay has enough intelligence not to completely insult fans of Conan Doyle’s stories, and it’s perfectly complemented by Downey Jr’s sarcastic, slightly camp take on Sherlock. This adaptation won’t set the world on fire, but it’s a fine two hours entertainment for a dreary winter’s night.
Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming adaptation of the Mark Millar comic Kick-Ass has been picked up for UK distribution by Universal – which is damn good news as far as we’re cocerned. Vaughn, who previously produced Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and directed 2004’s well-received Layer Cake, has been plagued with difficulties in finding a UK distributor for the film.
Snipe London
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