Bovie Movie

Inspired by a bedtime story that director M Night Shyamalan created for his children, this muddled fantasy mystery shows every sign of having been made up as it goes along. Paul Giamatti plays the superintendent of an apartment block who discovers a sea nymph of Asian legend (Bryce Dallas Howard) who has become stranded in the communal swimming pool. He aids her return to the Blue World, encountering a daft array of “mythological” creatures — including scrunts (grass-haired werewolves) and the tartutic (twig monkeys) — along the way. This self-indulgent nonsense includes a film critic tenant (Bob Balaban) who comments on fantasy clichés; an appearance from Shyamalan himself as a philosopher of future importance; and a kid who deciphers ancient codes from cereal packets. Giamatti does his best to hold things together and fans of the director’s previous work may find some entertainment in this deeply silly, artificial and hopelessly naive tale. 

When his army unit was ambushed during the first Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw saved his fellow soldiers just as his commanding officer, then-Captain Ben Marco, was knocked unconscious. Brokering the incident for political capital, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, while Marco is haunted by dreams of what happened — or didn’t happen — in Kuwait. As Marco (now a Major) investigates, the story begins to unravel, to the point where he questions if it happened at all. Is it possible the entire unit was kidnapped and brainwashed to believe Shaw is a war hero as part of a plot to seize the White House? Some very powerful people at Manchurian Global corporation appear desperate to stop him from finding out.

This bittersweet comedy takes the first of many strange turns in an uncomfortable opening sequence: the asphyxiation of Susan Sarandon by sons Kieran Culkin and Ryan Philippe. Dark moments such as these permeate this offbeat coming-of-age tale, with acid-tongued Culkin often outshining his more experienced co-stars. It may take a while to tune in to the script’s coldness of heart and the savage cynicism bursting from alienated teen protagonist “Igby” (a childhood nickname), who runs away from military school to hang out in New York. Yet, despite a contemptuous attitude towards familial relationships and romance, the film elicits sympathy via flashbacks to his unhappy childhood (featuring Culkin’s brother Rory as his younger incarnation). Writer/director Burr Steers’s amusing, barbed dialogue is another prime asset, adding bite to fine supporting turns from Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum and Amanda Peet. 

With Steve Martin and Rick Moranis in the leads and a script by Nora Ephron (writer of Heartburn and When Harry Met Sally…, and Sleepless in Seattle’s co-writer and director), this satire on suburban America promises much. Sadly, it delivers very little, largely because the supply of gags runs out too quickly and Martin rather overdoes it as a hood hidden away near San Diego prior to testifying in a Mob murder trial. Moranis’s FBI agent won’t be the only one not to see the funny side as Martin commits a few crimes for old time’s sake. However, the underused Joan Cusack amuses as the humourless DA who’s determined to send Martin to the slammer. 

Dr Seuss’s cult children’s favourite How the Grinch Stole Christmas! gets the big-budget Hollywood treatment in this seasonal spectacular from director Ron Howard. Starring an irrepressible and almost unrecognisable Jim Carrey, it’s the magical and visually splendid tale of a miserable, green-furred mountain-dweller who’s out to wreck the extravagant festive celebrations in the kooky town of Whoville below. A vivacious delight capable of charming the most Scrooge-like viewer, this fantasy frolic is, in the end, such a heart-warmer it deserves to become a genre classic. However, parents should be warned that the often dark humour and Carrey’s madcap excesses may be too much for the very young.