The city’s largest winter attractions opened in Centenary Square on 1 November – thanks to Ice Skate Birmingham’s giant Ice Rink, the 40-metre Big Wheel, 55-metre Star Flyer and mind-boggling Air Ride.
Exactly a week later, the biggest family film for Christmas – Paddington in Peru – opens at our two 12-screen multiplex cinemas Cineworld Broad Street and Odeon Luxe Broadway Plaza, sparking another ‘fur-enzy’ of activity across wonderful Westside!
Paddington In Peru (PG, 106 mins). Everyone’s favourite bear is back in a third, fabulous big screen adventure. This time, Paddington and the Browns travel to Peru to search for his missing Aunt and are directed by Dougal Wilson (various John Lewis adverts) instead of Paul King, who turned to Wonka (2023) instead.
Verdict: ☆☆☆☆
Paul King’s two films – Paddington (2014) and the peerless Paddington 2 (2017) – both delighted audiences of all ages who had grown up with Michael Bond’s marmalade-loving refugee. It was impossible not to be charmed by such a heartwarming, comedic blend of bear-faced humanity, live action and animation set in London.
Taking the bear back to Peru is a good way of showcasing his wild side. But reimagining silent movie star Buster Keaton’s falling house scene and Raiders Of the Lost Ark-era Harrison Ford suggest that inspiration is wearing a touch thin. And casting Antonio Banderas as Hunter Cabot is a distracting reminder of his peerless voice work as Puss In Boots.
But for a viewer-friendly pre-Christmas treat for all the family, Paddington is a must see treat before the kids get too old to care – even eight-year-olds in 2014 will now be old enough to vote!
Red One (12A, 123 mins). The title is a codename for kidnapped Santa Claus (JK Simmons). Can the North Pole’s head of security Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock) and leading bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) save Christmas?
The verdict: ☆☆
The beginning of this film tells you that MGM is now an Amazon company, but the result suggests its revolution of the delivery business is way ahead of its movie-making credentials. Handicapped by crawling to more than two hours, Red One badly needs to be ‘Redone’ to 100 minutes max.
Even IMAX screenings at Cineworld Broad Street or in fabulous Dolby at Odeon Luxe Broadway Plaza won’t generate any chemistry between the three leads. With no pace to proceedings, the plot shoots off in tangents and scarcely-memorable set pieces are introduced at random.
Resembling a festive alternative to JK Rowling’s effects-heavy Fantastic Beasts, this feels overly violent for a film presumably aiming at the family market like Will Ferrell’s Elf (2003). David Harbour’s Violent Night did that side of things properly for adults last year.
Dwayne Johnson is a reliable big screen performer, but looks drained by his endless search for the kind of defining roles which made Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career, including The Terminator for action and Twins for comedy.
By constantly aiming for the middle ground, he’s in a weird kind of no man’s land, back to square one alongside the equally tortuous saga of The Tooth Fairy (2010). It’s The Rock who needs saving, not Christmas.
Piece By Piece (PG, 94 mins). The story of music star Pharrell Williams, reimagined as a Lego Movie for fans, not children who want to see another Lego Movie.
The verdict: ☆☆☆☆
Director Morgan Neville has previously made biographical films about the likes of Sidney Poitier, Brian Wilson, Gloria Swanson, Keith Richards, Johnny Cash and Sam Phillips – aka ‘The man who invented rock ’n’ roll’.
But he must have got bored with depicting high achievers and has opted for Lego instead to explore Pharrell Williams’ genius as a musician, record producer and fashion designer. The visual effect is mesmerising, not least because most Pixar / Dreamworks’ animations tend to give us the same kind of eyeballs.
Here, the ‘eyes’ are much more nuanced. Add in Williams’ phenomenal musical talents and the result is like something you’ve never seen – or heard – before. As for the genius of the song ‘Happy’ not necessarily making its creator happy, Piece by Piece is worth seeing for that revelation alone if it encourages you to look deeper behind the smiles of friends, family and strangers alike.
The only disappointment is that visionary multimedia artists The Beatles didn’t have these tools to play with themselves in the ‘60s.
Your reviewer: Graham Young has been reviewing films for the media in Birmingham for the last 35 years, serving the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham Post, Sunday Mercury, BirminghamLive and BBC WM. He was the 1996 Regional Film Journalist of the Year, and runner-up 1997-99.
Picture credits: Paddington in Peru, Studiocanal; Red One, Warner Bros; Piece by Piece, Universal.
ENDS
