Monster Trucks

This film gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘monster truck’, mainly because in this case it is literally referring to monsters who reside within trucks.

Admittedly not the best premise on which to build a film upon, but given the fact that the director responsible for Ice Age, Chris Wedge, was behind this cinematic marvel, it was only right to give it a chance.

What a mistake that was. It is as you may expect, directed at a younger and less critically discerning audience. Which at the very least explains the cataclysmic disaster of the plot, that essentially revolves around a teenage boys angst for being unable to drive, and what better way to solve such resolute teenage unfairness than to use a giant oil eating octopus-like creature as a mode of transportation?!

As, apparently, this is every adolescent boys dream film, the creators clearly decided that just using trucks and monsters wasn’t enough, so decided to entice their target audience even more by throwing in some attractive teenage girls, just for extra measure.

Just when you thought this film couldn’t possibly get any more ridiculous, then along come the actors; a term to be used very loosely indeed.  There truly is zero acting talent throughout the entirety of the 104 minutes of onscreen‘entertainment’ that must be endured. The only relief comes when we are introduced to the monsters themselves, which quite frankly are the best thing about the whole film, even if they are CGI generated.

 

Ballerina

The likelihood of your childhood dream turning into a reality is a very slim possibility for most, but not for Felicie; a little girl with a very determined goal.

As an orphan, you could say that Felicie didn’t have the best of starts in life. But despite her seemingly unfortunate beginning, she has an unforgiving talent for determination, which often tends to get her in trouble; a simple fact that she has come to accept and relish.  But even with a full tank of determination and enough tenacity to fuel a small army, Felicie must, herself, admit that her ultimate goal of becoming a ballerina for the Royal Opera House in Paris is quite a far-fetched one.

Failure, however, is not a word in Felicie’s vocabulary. With this relentless optimism in mind, Felicie and her best-friend Victor make the executive decision to escape the orphanage and travel across the country to Paris where they hope their dreams will become a reality.

Though this film may not have had the backing of a big animation studio, or had any a-rated actors on the casting list, the overall finished production is surprisingly well-polished. Admittedly, as 3D animations go, it is not in the same league as Pixar, but it is, given the circumstances, nothing short of a miracle that flows with eerie seamlessness.

With this being the first international directorial pursuit for Directors, Erin Warin and Eric Summer, it only goes without saying that we can expect to see nothing but greatness from this directorial duo in the future.