Littlefoot and the gang meet a shy newcomer, Ali, but the pleasantries stop there. There's a dire environmental theme to this third sequel in the series, in which the world's weather changes beyond the Great Valley, and what had been dry land is now a "land of mists". The shift brings new creatures who push out older inhabitants, and Littlefoot sees these radical changes for himself when he has to ...
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UKStarring: John Ingle, Candace Hutson, Heather Hogan, Rob Paulsen, Jeff BennettDirected By: Roy Allen Smith
This direct-to-video sequel (the second) to The Land Before Time suffers from less ambitious animation, but the story is superior to the last film. This time, a meteorite has cut off the water supply to the Great Valley, causing inhabitants to bicker and bully among themselves. By contrast, Littlefoot and his friends are getting along just fine, and they leave the valley to go in search of ...
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UKStarring: Scott McAfee, Candace Hutson, Heather Hogan, Jeff Bennett, Rob PaulsenDirected By: Roy Allen Smith
Much like Richard Adams' wonderful novel this animated tale of wandering rabbits is not meant for small children. It is, however, rich storytelling, populated with very real individuals inhabiting a very real world. The animation is problematic, sometimes appearing out of proportion or just below par; but it seems to stem from an attempt at realism, something distinguishing the film's ...
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UKStarring: John Hurt, Richard Briers, Ralph Richardson, Michael Graham Cox, John BennettDirected By: Martin Rosen
Really good feature films about animals are as rare as hen's teeth. Based on the classic novel by Henry Williamson, Tarka the Otter is one of the very best. This is one of those highly unusual films told almost entirely from an animal's point of view, yet which refrains from Disney-style sentimentality and anthropomorphism. Set in 1920s England, the film simply follows the life of an otter, ...
Manufacturer: Cinema ClubStarring: Peter Ustinov, Peter Bennett, Edward Underdown, Brenda Cavendish, John LeesonDirected By: David Cobham
Opposites attract in Fools Rush In, a conventional but refreshingly unpredictable romantic comedy. New York nightclub designer (Matthew Perry, from television's Friends) is in Las Vegas to supervise the construction of a new project when he meets a fiery Mexican beauty (Salma Hayek). It's lust at first sight, and their one-night stand takes an unexpected turn when she shows up three ...
Manufacturer: 4 Front VideoStarring: Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Jon Tenney, Carlos Gómez, Tomas MilianDirected By: Andy Tennant
Disney scored an unexpected hit with this goofy live-action remake of Jay Ward's Saturday-morning cartoon, a zippy Tarzan parody with topical references and absurd gags. Disney's big-screen version, George of the Jungle starring Brendan Fraser as the sweet, hopelessly inept jungle hero, puts the emphasis on slapstick and silly fun. The klutzy hero, still swinging into trees and stray ...
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home VideoStarring: Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, John Cleese, Richard RoundtreeDirected By: Sam Weisman
Terence Stamp as a drag queen--an Aussie drag queen? Darling, you'd better believe it. In Stephan Elliott's delirious exercise in ultra-camp meets outback macho, Stamp plays an ageing trans-sexual who, with two of his equally high-glossed pals, heads off for a cabaret engagement in Alice Springs. Priscilla is their chosen vehicle, a school bus painted an outrageous purple. The culture-clash ...
Manufacturer: Columbia TristarStarring: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Bill Hunter, Rebel Penfold-RussellDirected By: Stephan Elliott
Though promoted as a "full-length holiday movie", Mickey's Magical Christmas is more of a Christmas special spin-off from Disney's House of Mouse TV series. The premise is something like an animated Muppet Show: Mickey, Goofy and Donald run a nightclub for an audience of Disney characters, with plenty of songs, skits and cartoons. There's not much story to this holiday ...
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home VideoStarring: Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo, Bill Farmer, Russi Taylor, Tress MacNeilleDirected By: Rick Schneider, Roberts Gannaway, Tony Craig
After the lavish, effects-heavy splash of Moonraker, the twelfth Bond film and the seventh with Roger Moore concentrates more on core car-chase-and-crumpet values, evoking an almost retro feel that harks back to the first pressings of the Bond vintage in the 1960s. Starting to look a little wrinkly around the edges by this point, Roger Moore toughens his usually smarmy act up here with a ...
Manufacturer: MGM EntertainmentStarring: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian GloverDirected By: John Glen
A stylish BBC production, Armadillo is mysterious, romantic, funny, mystifying--and hard to categorise. Superficially it's the story of young loss adjuster Lorimer Black (James Frain) who appears to have everything going for him, until he gets pulled into an insurance scam. But William Boyd's screenplay--adapted from his own novel--has many more levels than a simple thriller. In a ...
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain VideoStarring: James Frain, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Rea, Hugh Bonneville, James FoxDirected By: Howard Davies
