Bovie Movie

Despite lacking the wit that distinguished Stuart’s first film outing, this amusing sequel will still appeal to those who were delighted by the original. In this adventure, Stuart (expertly voiced by Michael J Fox) falls for a flighty little bird, Margalo (Melanie Griffith), but doesn’t realise that she’s under the control of a villainous falcon (James Woods) and is actually after Mrs Little’s wedding ring. Directed by Rob Minkoff (who co-directed The Lion King), this blend of live action and animation is technically superb — the scenes of Stuart whizzing through New York on a skateboard or in a tiny bi-plane are both exciting and convincing — but its real charm lies in the balance it maintains between enchantment and the everyday. 

This irresistible combination of dazzling effects and sly comedy propelled Michael J Fox to stardom and Robert Zemeckis to the front rank of Hollywood directors. And time has not robbed it of any of its vitality. Fox plays the young student who travels back in time to the 1950s and acts as matchmaker for his future parents, who are showing no sign of falling in love. It’s beautifully played by the cast (honourable mentions to Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover), and makes the most of an ingenious script from Bob Gale and Zemeckis that finds time to poke fun at 50s icons and lifestyles between the bouts of time travelling. Zemeckis’s direction is equally adroit and he never lets the effects swamp the film. 

At the beginning of Interstate 60, Neal Oliver (James Mardsen) has more questions about his future than answers. Though he would rather pursue a career in art, Neal debates whether or not he should set his goals towards a law degree, as his father would greatly prefer. He has a girlfriend, but he wonders if he should search for the mysterious woman (Amy Smart) who visits his nightly dreams and inspires his artwork. By the time his 23rd birthday roles around, Neal is no closer to choosing his life’s path. He feels empty and unsatisfied, despite lavish birthday gifts, and wishes only for clarity as he blows out the candles on his cake. Rather than instant answers, Neal is given the opportunity to take a journey on a highway that doesn’t exist on any map; a highway where the past, present, and future converge. Alongside him is One Wish Grant (Gary Oldman), the immortal offspring of a leprechaun and Cheyenne Indian, who has the unique ability to grant wishes to those he believes deserve them. Thus begins Neal’s surreal road trip through the uncharted territories of his own potential destiny. Interstate 60 features a stellar cast with supporting performances and cameos from Kurt Russell, Michael J. Fox, Liv Tyler, and Christopher Lloyd. Bob Gale, co-writer/producer of Used Cars, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, and, most notably, the Back to the Future trilogy, directs.

Director Robert Zemeckis’s blockbusting trilogy went slightly off the rails with the second segment, but it got right back on track (literally) with this concluding instalment. Shot back-to-back with Part II, the film is set predominantly in the Old West and offers Michael J Fox the chance to indulge in all the sharpshooting situations that made Saturday matinée western serials such a treat for millions of children (including, one suspects, Zemeckis and screenwriter Bob Gale). As before, the plot revolves around the need to tinker with time and the problem of how to power the trusty DeLorean car so that Fox can get back to the present. And once more Gale and Zemeckis have come up with an ingenious plot and a clutch of in-jokes, including the casting of western favourites Dub Taylor, Harry Carey Jr and Pat Buttram as a trio of old timers in the saloon. The inimitable Fox is again on cracking form as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd’s romance with Mary Steenburgen is surprisingly touching. Using the special effects intelligently, Zemeckis stages a spectacular steam-train finale and neatly ties up the trilogy’s loose ends. Look out for a cameo appearance from ZZ Top. 

Based on the much-loved novel by EB White, this charming part-animated fantasy adventure owes more to the mouse-mat maestros than the word processors. For while the animation is pixel-perfect, the narrative is short on inspiration and awash with sentiment. Both Stuart the orphan mouse and Snowbell, his feline nemesis, are expertly realised and superbly voiced by Michael J Fox and Nathan Lane respectively. But the human characters are awkward interlopers, with Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie overeager and Jonathan Lipnicki lacking his Jerry Maguire cuteness. Visually it’s vibrant, inventive and inviting, but overall it’s less adorable than Babe. 

Little green men from the angry red planet launch a flying-saucer attack on Earth in director Tim Burton’s slow-starting space oddity, based on a bubble-gum card storyline from the 1960s. In both a tribute to and a spoof of 1950s B-movies, Burton stumbles as many times as he succeeds in playing with the back catalogue of lurid pulp sci-fi references. But once the computer-generated bug-eyed Martians arrive and strut their evil stuff, this daffy Independence Day lampoon comes alive. Among an amazing roster of stars, Pierce Brosnan is hilarious as a presidential adviser and Lisa Marie is weirdly creepy as a disguised alien temptress.