Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

REVIEW: METALLICA – THROUGH THE NEVER / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: NIMROD ANTAL / STARRING: DANE DEHAAN, JAMES HETFIELD, LARS ULRICH, KIRK HAMMET, ROBERT TRUJILLO / RELEASE DATE : OUT NOW

It’s safe to say that Metallica have pretty much taken over the world of rock at this stage. The mega-famous rock band have come a long way from their garage tape days and have now become a global brand, with all the attendant recognition and money that implies. A big budget movie seems inevitable. However, rather than going for a narrative with interwoven songs (similar to Mama Mia) we get a rock concert with some live action scenes between songs.

The main problem is that Through The Never can’t really decide what it is. On the one hand we have some excellently shot and directed footage of a Metallica concert. One the other we have a silly post-apocalyptic fantasy movie that barely makes sense. The two features have been stuck together with gaffer tape, so much so that the viewer can easily see the join.

The rock concert part of the movie is entirely fine. It’s a bunch of sweaty old men who happen to have a lot of skill and talent putting on a rock concert. Metallica are super famous for a very good reason and their stage presence is tangible even through all the gloss. All the songs you’d expect from a greatest hits collection can found here and it’s a thoroughly enjoyable spectacle, provided that you like that sort of thing.

Alas, we have to rate this on its genre credentials and that’s where Through The Never fails. The movie part of this feature is a shaggy dog story about a young courier who has to retrieve something valuable to the band.  They boy then has to fend off mysterious supernatural forces and survive all sorts of horrors in order to deliver his package. It’s well produced with extremely well done special effects but doesn’t really go anywhere. Because the concert doesn’t really tie-in with the action except at the very beginning and very end it feels like we’re watching two unrelated movies.

Rock fans looking for a Metallica fix will find this entertaining, but if you’re after some sort of genre movie with a heavy metal twist then this isn’t for you.

REVIEW: VIOLENT SATURDAY / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: RICHARD FLEISCHER / SCREENPLAY: SYDNEY BOEHM / STARRING: VICTOR MATURE, RICHARD EGAN, STEPHEN MCNALLY, LEE MARVIN, ERNEST BORGNINE / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 28TH

Fleischer’s 1955 effort is a tangled web of wonder with a bank heist at its centre. Set in the small mining town of Bradenville, Violent Saturday is often played up as a heist movie, although there’s a whole lot more going on. Just as important as the three criminals who turn up with the intention of looting the town’s only bank, there’s a quiet clerk who spends his night as a peeping tom, there’s an alcoholic in a troubled marriage, there’s a prim and proper librarian who becomes a thief, there’s an Amish father who’s having to face up to the very real threat of violence, and there’s a father who’s looking to reinstate his son’s faith in him. All of these plot points intertwine to deliver a film that is quite the impressive piece of work.

Given that it’s often cited by Quentin Tarantino as a direct influence on Reservoir Dogs, some may expect this to be full of blood, bad language and even badder attitudes. Remember, this film was made in 1955. There are most definitely some bad attitudes at play in this movie, but don’t expect much in terms of gore and vulgarity, although the violence, when it comes, often catches you unaware. Violent Saturday is just as much a dramatic soap opera as it is a noir heist movie. With cutting dialogue and some wonderful performances holding it together, combined with some lavishly elegant camera work, it’s often a joy to watch.

In terms of the better performances, Richard Egan’s drunk is one of the stars of the show, whilst Victor Mature as a father who has to give reason to his young son as to why he didn’t serve in the war is beautifully delivered with a warm hue that only films of a certain period seem capable of producing. Lee Marvin is at his menacing best as one of the bank robbers, and Ernest Borgnine brings a calming presence as the head of an Amish family, complete with false beard. The rest of the performances generally tick all of the right boxes, although it’s Egan and Mature who really grab the attention.

Violent Saturday is a sharp, rich movie that, whilst very much of its time, still has a lot to offer to new audiences. Part heist, part family drama, part soap opera, the film manages to wear many hats and juggle many plates, with generally pleasing results. There is a sense of a few loose ends by the movie’s close, but none that really alter the overall picture.

When all is said and done, Violent Saturday is a very deliberate, well-constructed movie that was ahead of its time in many ways, with its influence clearly visible in many later efforts across many genres.

Extras: 32-page booklet / Interview with William Friedkin / Interview with Nicolas Saada

REVIEW: SON OF BATMAN / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: ETHAN SPAULDING / SCREENPLAY: JOE LANSDALE / STARRING: JASON O’MARA, STUART ALLAN, MORENA BACCARIN, THOMAS GIBSON, GIANCARLO ESPOSITO / RELEASE DATE: MAY 5TH

Yes, as the title suggests, this latest animated fare brings audiences an introduction to Damian Wayne (Allan). The lovechild of Bruce Wayne (O’Mara) and Talia al Ghul (Baccarin), this creation of Grant Morrison’s often split the comic book community. No longer with us in that medium, the expertly trained, slightly psychopathic pre-teen is now getting the small screen treatment.

When Ra’s al Ghul (Esposito) and his League of Shadows are attacked by Deathstroke (Gibson) and his cohorts, Talia makes the decision to send son Damian to Gotham City to be introduced to his father, the Caped Crusader. With Batman unaware that he even has a son at this point, the Dark Knight’s world is flipped on its head. Not only does Bruce Wayne now have a child, said sprog just so happens to have been trained by the League of Shadows from birth. With a penchant for revenge and death, much like grandfather Ra’s, the young Damian is fully prepared to take the life of any who have wronged him – in this case Deathstroke, et al – and it is down to the World’s Greatest Detective to instil a sense of morality and a willingness to do the right thing into his newly discovered offspring. Tangled up in all of this, we also have a subplot involving Kirk Langstrom (Xander Berkeley) and an army of Man-Bats, plus fleeting appearances from Dick Grayson (Sean Maher), aka Nightwing, and a few familiar faces.

For long-time fans of DC’s animated features, it still surprises to not hear Kevin Conroy’s dulcet tones as the Dark Knight. This isn’t helped by the fact that Jason O’Mara’s voice just seems so un-Batman; it lacks the maturity, grit and integrity a Batman should convey. And herein lies one of the biggest problems of Son of Batman: the voice casting and the characterisations of certain folk. O’Mara’s Batman simply lacks any sort of gravitas, whilst Gibson’s Deathstroke is taken from being one of the world’s prime killers to being a whining, pathetic shell of an assassin. The al Ghul’s are fine for what they are needed for, whereas young Stuart Allan does well as the pompous, immature Damian, and David McCallum’s Alfred is perfectly played, stealing all of the film’s best lines.

Impressive anime-lite action is brought to life with a score that’s a poor imitation of a Hans Zimmer effort, and some of the film’s bigger sequences, such as the opening attack on the League of Shadows, are ridiculous even by comic book logic. Son of Batman just ends up feeling like a massive case of style over substance, a movie mishandled in so many ways. Given how mediocre Justice League War was, we were hoping for a return to form here. Sadly, that’s not the case.

Extras: Four featurettes / Sneak peak at Batman – Assault on Arkham / Four bonus cartoon episodes

REVIEW: SCOPERS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: EVAN OPPENHEIMER / SCREENPLAY: EVAN OPPENHEIMER / STARRING: NICK STAHL, MÍA MAESTRO, TARYN MANNING, BLAIR BROWN, WALLACE SHAWN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Released in the US with the more sci-fi title of The Speed of Thought, Scopers is the fourth feature from indie writer/director Evan Oppenheimer.

Scopers are people born with the capability to read minds, an ability which comes with the side effect of developing a neurological disorder by their 30th birthday that first renders them insane and then leaves them comatose. Having just turned 28, Joshua Lazarus knows his time is short, so spends it drinking and womanising, while government agencies hire his ability for shady and highly illegal suspect-monitoring. However, when he encounters the beautiful and enigmatic Anna he realises life might hold a bit more for him, including survival.

This is not the kind of film you might think it is. The premise invokes suggestions of espionage, psychic wars and doomed lovers, but it’s a far more subtle piece of filmmaking than that. While the telepathy is (obviously) an important aspect of the story, the focus is on the characters rather than their abilities, much as the comic book themes of Oppenheimer’s previous film Justice didn’t dominate proceedings. Just as in his other works, black comedy The Auteur Theory and romantic comedy Alchemy, it’s always human interaction that interests him the most.

Joshua’s growing relationship with Anna forms the bulk of proceedings, and since she’s unaware of the scope of her abilities, she acts as a convenient audience surrogate as they are explained to her. Mind reading is shown via CGI (the quality of which is only slightly above that of ’90s RPG gameshow Knightmare) of abstract rooms where spoken thoughts are overheard or two scopers converse telepathically. The latter can also lead to merging, in which each scoper opens their mind to the other and thus knows everything about them, which is implied to have a greater intimacy than sex.

Any story that deals with comic book-style superpowers needs to have rules in order to properly function, like the super-strength and invincibility of Unbreakable, the teleportation of Jumper and the flight and telekinesis of Chronicle rather than, say, the myriad of intriguing but inconsistent powers in Push. While the functionality of the telepathy is straightforward, its potential and limits are never properly explored, leaving the manner of its development somewhat ill-defined.

The real problem with the film is that it seems unsure of what kind of story it’s trying to tell, with much of the first hour mostly involving scene setting and establishing the abilities of the scopers. The actual government work they are hired for is barely seen, leaving questions of morality to be raised rather late in the day, and while final revelations can be predicted, no tangible clues foreshadow them.

Part thriller, part romance, part pseudo-comic book movie, Scopers is a distinct, if slightly muddled experience that makes an effort to do something different but only partially succeeds.

Extras: None

REVIEW: BLOODSUCKING FREAKS / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: JOEL M. REED / SCREENPLAY: JOEL M. REED / STARRING: SEAMUS O’BRIEN, VIJU KREM, LUIS DE JESUS / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 21ST

What’s the old saying – don’t put your daughter on the stage? You definitely wouldn’t want her to have anything to do with Sardu’s Theatre of the Macabre, the subject of Bloodsucking Freaks. Not if you wanted to get her back in one piece, that is.

That’s because this unusual Off-Off-Broadway venue puts on a show with a decided edge – spectacles of torture which purport to be fake but are, gasp, only too real. And because there’s not much money in that kind of thing, it supports itself financially with a sideline in human trafficking (couldn’t they have gotten an Arts Council grant?). The guy running it, a languid, Eric Idle-like character named Sardu (O’Brien), has his heart set on achieving immortality with a theatrical masterpiece that “will combine two art forms, sadism and dance”. To this end, he dispatches his henchman, a grinning, sadistic dwarf (De Jesus), to kidnap a supercilious critic who is a vocal opponent, and he brainwashes a famous ballerina (Krem) into being his star turn.

Plot-wise, that’s about it, leaving bags of time for the film’s raison d’etre, which consists of showing naked girls squirming in agony as various nasty things (thumbscrews, electric shocks, decapitations) happen to them. Direction, acting and script are all blunderingly amateurish – although if it were a technically better film it would probably make an even worse impression, simply because you’d be inclined to take it more seriously. As it is, despite the nudity and scenes of torture, it mostly seems like a harmless piece of S&M dress-up, an anarchic, shabbily psychedelic, countercultural skit dreamed up by a bunch of out of work actors with an axe to grind against New York’s arty-farty circles.

Still, it’s certainly crazy enough to get your attention, it has the occasional barbed line and memorable absurdity, and if ever there was a film that embodies the spirit of grindhouse, this is it. A brief glance at IMDb adds a further layer of the lurid to this walk on the wild side. Leading man Seamus O’Brien was stabbed to death by a burglar shortly after making the film, love interest Viju Krem was accidentally shot and killed on a hunting trip less than a decade later, and Luis De Jesus, the evil dwarf, achieved notoriety in a stag movie and went on to play an Ewok.

The HD transfer is scratchy, with muted, pastel colours and a soft, gauzy picture, but again this is all very much in tune with the grindhouse aesthetic, and the print seems all too nauseatingly free of the censor’s scissors. Apart from a welcome audio commentary by none other than Eli Roth, the extras are short, jokey snippets, quite old, about the film and about Troma studios.

Extras: Audio commentary by Eli Roth / Introduction by Lloyd Kaufman / Tour of Troma / Aroma Da Troma / Radiation March / Autobiography promotional video / Trailers

REVIEW: ORCA – THE KILLER WHALE / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: MICHAEL ANDERSON / SCREENPLAY: LUCIANO VINCENZONI, SERGIO DONATI / STARRING: RICHARD HARRIS, CHARLOTTE RAMPLING, BO DEREK / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

From a time long before sharktopuses swam the oceans comes this brooding, big budget, Dino De Laurentiis-produced cash-in on the Jaws bandwagon. Richard Harris plays Nolan, a thick-skulled fisherman who hatches a foolhardy get-rich-quick scheme to catch a killer whale and sell it to a sea life aquarium by shooting it with a harpoon. (You might think that any self-respecting aquarium would prefer its creatures not to be full of holes that would let the water in, but never mind.) Unsurprisingly, the plan goes badly awry. He fatally mutilates a pregnant female orca, and her big, ferocious hubby is not happy. Nolan is instantly consumed with remorse, but by then it’s too late: the rancorous cetacean is after blood, and there’s no way to avoid a showdown with it… err, apart from, you know, by keeping away from the water.

To be fair, the script does a good job of handling the tricky issue of why Nolan doesn’t just stay safely on land far away from the six tonne vigilante. Following him back to port, the whale busts up boats and causes all kinds of mayhem, tormenting the fishing village that Nolan calls home, with the result that the irked villagers pressure him into going back to sea to face the monster he has created. But you’re also asked to swallow some decidedly far-fetched moments, as when the whale (they’re highly intelligent, you know) cooks up a plan to blow up the oil refinery on the hill by starting a fire in the docks, all with a few pokes of its nose to wobbly timbers.

Still, the widescreen location cinematography of the Newfoundland coastline is breathtaking, the SFX stand up well, and the footage of killer whales is plentiful (filming them seems to have been much easier than filming great whites, real or mechanical). And there’s Richard Harris. If you’ve only ever seen him warbling faintly from beneath Professor Dumbledore’s headmasterly regalia in the first couple of Harry Potter films, then you’re in for quite a shock. Flapping about manically and glowering from under the hood of his duffel coat, what he does isn’t exactly acting the way we know it today, but there’s never a dull moment, and in the end he’s quite touching as the doomed and bewildered sea dog.

Throw in a florid Ennio Morricone score, and the whole thing is weirdly impressive in a histrionic, overblown way, if only because, in these days of cheap and cheerful SyFy channel monster flicks, it makes a refreshing change to come across one that’s very expensive and very gloomy. Like so many of De Laurentiis’s films, Orca now seems like a bit of a Dino-saur, but it’s still fun and worth having in your sights.

Extras: None

REVIEW: TOURIST TRAP / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: DAVID SCHMOELLER / SCREENPLAY: DAVID SCHMOELLE, J. LARRY CARROLL / STARRING: CHUCK CONNORS, TANYA ROBERTS, JOCELYN JONES / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 21st

Since its release in 1979, this film has garnered a small but devoted cult following, with none other than Stephen King himself as number one fan, and it’s easy to see why. For starters, there’s the glorious unlikelihood of the casting, which sees granite-jawed Western legend Chuck Connors (The Big Country) and Bond girl Tanya Roberts gathered together under one rickety roof.

Then there’s the story. Admittedly, this might, at first glance, seem a little humdrum. When a group of kids on a road trip suffer a mysterious mechanical failure, kindly old Mr Slausen (Connors) is on hand to invite them back to his dusty roadside museum in a right neighbourly fashion. But before he can break out the Dr Pepper, their numbers are being thinned by a mysterious villain who wants to turn them into waxworks. Well, now that you mention it, Mr Slausen does happen to have a crazy brother – maybe he’s got something to do with it…

So far, so ordinary. But this is to reckon without the aforementioned villain, who has to rank as one of the most bizarre in what was a very good decade for cinematic monsters. Massive, masked, but also nattily suited and elaborately coiffed, with a sideline in crossdressing, he’s like a camp, Liberace-ish version of Leatherface. Like Leatherface, he’s superhumanly strong, but he also has telekinetic powers which he uses to control (and have long, whimsical tea parties with) the waxworks he creates.

Although delivering a relatively restrained movie by the standards of co-producer Charles Band, director David Schmoeller makes the most of this weird baddie’s constantly jarring presence to create a sense of mounting insanity. The mannequins, some with glowing eyes, some with clacking jaws, are very creepy too. Chuck Connors – always a very endearing character throughout his long career – gets plenty of screen time and gives a tour de force performance. As for Tanya Roberts, she trots around gracefully in a tube top and cut off jeans which look spray-painted on, and that’s about all there is to be said about her.

True, Tourist Trap is rather rough around the edges, and the storyline has a bad habit of tying itself – or rather its young cast – in near-inextricable knots. But it’s engaging, unexpected and memorable. This is risky, seat-of-the-pants filmmaking the way they used to do it back in the ’70s, and you’d be a dummy to miss it. The HD transfer is a little soft and grainy, but shows some improvement in vividness and clarity over the DVD release. Extras include a glossy new 25-minute interview with the director packed full of interesting trivia about the movie.

Extras: Audio commentary / The Making of Tourist Trap / Stills trailer

 

Review: The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug / Cert: 12A / Director: Peter Jackson / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch / Release Date: Out Now

For a lot of people, the second of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a dull, repetitive entry of that particular series. With the arrival of Jackson’s second Hobbit film, some fans had concern. Fear not, though, for The Desolation of Smaug delivers quite the impressive spectacle.

Here we pick things up with the thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage). Along with Gandalf (McKellen) and Bilbo Baggins (Freeman), the dwarves are on a journey to reclaim the dwarf kingdom of Erebor. As their journey takes them across lands inhabited by elves, orcs, giant spiders and much more, the target is to reach the Lonely Mountain. The thing is, that is where the Dragon Smaug resides.

After a slow, raspy first 20 minutes, plus a large role for Orlando Bloom’s Legolas (not a good thing), this film had us a little uneasy. Luckily, from here on in, the action, character development and overall journey really picks up. Newcomers like Evangeline Lilly’s Tauriel and Luke Evans’ Bard are great additions, bringing a freshness and likeability with them. Then there are the dwarves. Here we’re given aggressive, clinical dwarves on the rampage to reclaim their homeland. And, of course, we have Bilbo and his slow descent into succumbing to the charms of ‘the ring.’ If that wasn’t enough, the dastardly Smaug has the dulcet tones of one Benedict Cumberbatch.

The film itself is beautiful to watch, with the Blu-ray transfer a true joy, although there’s also a whole lot of brutal action scenes. The film is only a 12A, yet orcs and other such nasty creatures are disposed of with a clinical elegance. From the water escape, to the highest rock faces, to the battle with Smaug himself, The Desolation of Smaug looks fantastically crisp.

As we’ve become accustomed to, this 3D Blu-ray set is overflowing with extensive special features and bonus material. Amongst the production featurettes, on-set diaries, cast interviews, trailers, etc, a particular highlight is seeing the thirteen dwarves conducting dance numbers and workout routines that would make Olivia Newton-John proud.

Going into The Desolation of Smaug, we had some major concerns, not least Jackson’s splitting of The Hobbit into a trilogy. We were wrong. Even Bloom’s Legolas comes out of this with a likeability. Some of the movie will seem maybe a tad too familiar, but overall Jackson has delivered a movie that has you itching with anticipation for its follow-up. For that, we happily eat some humble pie.

Extras: Seven Featurettes / Music Videos / Five Trailers

Review: The Ealing Studios Collection Vol 1 / Cert: U / Director: Various / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Alec Guinness, Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood / Release Date: Out Now

This gem of a Blu-ray box set gathers together three of the very finest Ealing comedies – The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949). They’re films that need no introduction, but hell, let’s introduce them anyway.

From a Starburst reader’s point of view, perhaps the most interesting is The Man in the White Suit. Cinemas historians tend not to write about it as such, but what is it if not an early British sci-fi movie? Set in the industrial North, this acidly witty “what if” tale is about what happens when an obsessive chemist invents a form of textile so strong you have to cut it with a blow torch. Answer, he has to reckon with powerful vested interests in the shape of repressive mill owners and bolshy labour forces.

Graced with a perfectly turned script by T.E.B. “Tibby” Clarke, The Lavender Hill Mob is a heist caper wherein a meek bank clerk dreams up a scheme to steal gold bullion from the Bank of England; it’s Ealing at its most whimsical and charming. Best of all, though, is Robert Hamer’s masterpiece, Kind Hearts and Coronets. The darkest and most brilliant of Ealing’s creations, this is a comedy of revenge in which a family of prideful toffs, the D’Ascoygnes (all played by Alec Guinness), are picked off by a jilted relation (the underrated Dennis Price). It’s one of those rare films that you just know is going to last and last.

The HD transfers are all immaculate, with scarcely a blemish. The Lavender Hill Mob is especially sharp and clean. The Man in the White Suit is just a touch grainier but again very nice, with both the grit and delicate fantasy of Alexander Mackendrick’s direction emerging more forcefully than ever before. But it’s undoubted Kind Hearts and Coronets, with its thickly encrusted Gothic décor and dazzling costumes, that benefits most from the shift to Blu-ray. You can now count every feather and flower in the extraordinary confections that Joan Greenwood wears on her head, and you can see a subtle watery reflection bouncing off Dennis Price’s face as, submerged up to his neck in the Thames, he sends Ascoygne D’Ascoygne tumbling fatally over a weir.

Each of the films comes with welcome extras. There’s a vintage 25-minute interview with T.E.B. Clarke in which he paints an idyllic picture of what it was like to work at Ealing. The rather sad career of Dennis Price is covered in an elderly but thorough documentary. A brisk, more recent 13-minute featurette looks at the background and themes of The Man in the White Suit. Ten stars seems inadequate. How about three cheers and a V for Victory sign?

Extras: Introductions by Martin Scorsese and John Landis / Dennis Price – Those British Faces / Alternative American Ending / Restoration comparisons / Audio interview with director Charles Crichton / Audio commentary / Mavis interviews T.E.B. Clarke / Revisiting The Man in the White Suit / Stills gallery

REVIEW: MOSHI MONSTERS – THE MOVIE / CERT: U / DIRECTOR: WIP VERNOOIJ, MORGAN FRANCIS / SCREENPLAY: STEVE CLEVERLEY, JOCELYN STEVENSON / STARRING: PHILLIPA ALEXANDER, STEVE CLEVERLEY, RAJESH DAVID, BORIS HIESTAND, TOM CLARKE HILL / RELEASED: OUT NOW

Following a Raiders-esque opening, during which Buster Bumblechops manages to infiltrate an ancient temple in order to get his white fluffy mitts on the ‘Great Moshling Egg’, the insidious Doctor Strangeglove renews his plans to take over the world. Standing in his way are a menagerie of Moshis including Furi, Luvli, Diavlo, Zommer, Poppet and wannabe gooperstar Katsuma who will do their best to save the day (as long as Blinkie shoots them at all the right angles). Adorable adventures ensue, along with song, dance and a fair amount of kerfuffle.

If you have no idea what any of this means, then the chances are you won’t have a child under the age of 8.

To those who are blessed with these diminutive consumer vacuums, there’s a good possibility that Moshi Monsters will have graced your consciousnesses at some point or other. Beginning life as a groundbreaking website where kids could create cute (or occasionally gross) mini monster avatars to socialise with friends old and new online, the Moshi phenomenon soon grew exponentially. In no time at all, shops (and homes) were flooded with collectable mini figures, magazines, books, CDs and music videos. The only thing missing was a TV series or a movie. Until now.

It goes without saying that kids who love Moshi will love Moshi Monsters: The Movie. Why wouldn’t they? It is the culmination of the franchise’s escalation, taking everything that the children love about the medium and cramming it into 81 minutes of vibrant multi-colour fun. The streets of Monstro City are there, the shop owners they know so well from the online virtual world are in evidence and just about every Moshi that exists is seen somewhere in frame. There’s adventure, humour, danger and even morals! So why do the end credits leave the adult viewer cold?

It’s no surprise that parents are made to sit through a large degree of tosh during their time, but for the most part creators of children’s films know that pleasing the adult who is paying for the viewing experience is almost as important as keeping the kids glued to the screen. After all, they’re the ones who will ultimately decide whether to cough up to watch it again. And that’s where this Moshi movie falls slightly flat.

There is very little here for anyone old enough to vote to enjoy. Yes, there are the monster puns (Scare Force One, Jollywood, Mount Sillymanjaro etc) but while Katsuma and his pals join the dots from A to B in textbook style, save for sitting and watching the wonderment in the eyes of your children, there’s not much to enjoy. Sure, this was never going to be a film that adults would choose to watch alone, but cinematic history is peppered with kids films that embraced adult humour (the LEGO movie being an outstanding – see we didn’t say ‘awesome’ – example). Sadly, this just isn’t one of them.

After watching it, my son gave this a nine out of ten. Yet I don’t think that’s a fair representation of the overall family experience, so his score slips a couple of places in my view. Moshi Monsters: The Movie does what it says on the shiny collectors tin, but it could have tried harder and been a little bit more.