DVD OF THE WEEK

KUNG FU PANDA ****
Voices: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Ian McShane
Dir: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson

Sometimes you don't need any reason to recommend a movie other than that it's a whole bunch of fun. This is one of those times.
Kung Fu Panda doesn't really do anything new. I'm not aware of it breaking new animation ground (despite looking simply ravishing). There's no amazing underwater environment to create a la Finding Nemo, and panda fur isn't too much different from all that stuff on King Kong.
And it doesn't exactly explore new territory with its story. Po, the titular panda, is a poor (overweight) boy working in his father's noodle shop. He dreams of becoming a warrior like the famous members of the Furious Five. Through accident – or design, as 'there are no accidents” – he becomes the Chosen One and (after training) has to square off against the big bad guy who has fortuitously just escaped from prison.
That's about it really, something that could quite happily have been at home in the Disney canon of yesteryear.
But it's how you tell ‘em that counts and Kung Fu Panda crams in the jokes while going light on the moralising. It helps to have a top flight cast of vocal talents on board and, in addition to the names above, this boats Seth Rogan, Lucy Liu, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jack Black's partner in Tenacious D, Kyle Gass, and others. The only notable stunt casting is a role for Jackie Chan, but that probably helped enormously in the China market.
Kids will love it, but the real coup is that, just like Toy Story and Shrek, adults will be happy to go along for the ride. Expect this to provide a gazillion presents come Christmas.

Is it just me or is The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (***) a bit on the dull side? Sure it has battles galore and fantasy creatures all over the place, but there's just something simplistic and uninvolving about the kids and their adventures. Largely this is down to the kids being a pretty boring bunch, but at least the titular prince is perfect and adds a certain dynamism. The story is just the build-up to a big battle, which duly arrives. The feeling for Kiwi audiences seeing the scenery will still be that this is Lord of the Rings lite, and there is something ultimately disconcerting at seeing these school-age heroes happily lopping off heads and such like, but for all that it ain't exactly bad…

Director Sidney Lumet may be over 80, but he's lost none of his edge or toughness as the taught melodrama/thriller Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (****) proves. It centres on two unpleasant brothers, a venal bully (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a whiny loser (Ethan Hawke). Together they plan to rob their parent's (insured) jewellery store. Things, not unexpectedly, go horribly wrong. With Albert Finney as the father and Marisa Tomei (happily naked frequently) at Hoffman's cheating wife, this unfolds in flashes back and forward as the whole nasty bunch slowly fall apart. Tight mean stuff.

Christian Slater makes an impressive return as the central screw-up in He Was a Quiet Man (***), who in a slightly Taxi-Driverish scenario becomes the unexpected hero of an office rampage, and finds himself the provider for a newly-paraplegic co-worker. Slater is admirably self-effacing in his downbeat turn and the film is imaginative and visually striking. Some might feel it loses it's grip towards the end, but the journey is engaging.

Rats and Cats (**) is a little Aussie independent. In it a reporter tracks down an ex-soap/mini-series TV star for a 'Where are they now?” profile and delves into the indiscretions that led to his fall from grace. He's now living in an isolated community with his 'masseur” girlfriend and various local losers. Jason Gann is rather good as the egocentric actor and there are many blackly funny moments, but ultimately things fail to fire.