"It mocks us with its... house-ness..."

Gil Kenan's Monster House is one of the more satisfying surprises of the year. Plucked from nowhere by executive producers Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, Kenan was probably just as shocked as anyone when he was put at the reins of a $75 million animation blockbuster; but he manages to do almost everything right. First of all, he makes good use of the technology: like The Incredibles (and unlike The Polar Express, a disastorous experiment) Monster House doesn't try and make its many human characters look entirely lifelike, instead relying on the script and the work of the voice actors to fill in the gaps. Also, Kenan overcomes the problem of a film set in a potentially dull location (typical suburban street, typical suburban house) by allowing himself free rein with the 'camera', photographing the film's various scenes and set-pieces from all variety of odd angles, and with a fluidity of movement matched only by the characters themselves.

The film opens with a beautiful continuous take, following a single leaf as it drifts from a tree branch and makes its way down the road, coming across a singing, tricycle-riding little girl on its travels. Things soon take a turn for the not quite so heavenly, though, when the little lady rides her bike onto the lawn of the scariest house in the neighbourhood - that of Mr. Nebbercracker (wonderfully voiced by Steve Buscemi). He comes running out, and soon the little girl's tricycle has been torn in half, and she (I suspect) has been scarred for life. Then, in one of the many impressive shots of the film, Nebbercracker turns and throws a hateful glare at someone we can't see, and wham the camera flies across the street, straight through a telescope and right into the face of a shocked D.J..

From here, the film becomes exactly the kind of film I was hoping to see. Building on the familar urban legend of 'that one house in every neighbourhood' that all the kids stay away from (although lets face it, no film can ever rival To Kill A Mockingbird in its use of this device, even if you turn the house into a raging monster), D.J. is joined by friends Chowder and Jenny as they face their ultimate fears and try to solve the mystery of the Nebbercracker house.



The film is surprisingly dark and has a few moments some children might find pretty frghtening. However, the thing that most interested me was that the children at my screening seemed pretty bored. One was walking up and down the aisle, searching desperately for something of interest, while two others would likely have talked through the whole thing if their parents hadn't shushed them. This (admittedly limited) evidence led me to the conclusion that Kenan and/or the screenwriters may have lost sight of their target audience during production. Monster House has several aspects that appealed to me, but perhaps Kenan was overtaken by his desire to take advantage of the wonderful premise and make an intense, almost horror-like genre piece, and as a result the kids were left behind. I'm not complaining, merely observing. From my perspective this is almost a positive.

The script also makes references to puberty and growing up, with D.J. covering for a bout of weirdness at one point by simply saying "It's, uh, puberty. I'm just having some puberty." Although the topic is used in a humourus context, it reflects the ideas of facing up to new challenges and taking on new responsibilities which make the emotional core of the film. Inevitably these ideas fade into the background once the house starts eating people. Still, it's a pleasent metaphor that never becomes overbearing.

The last half-hour of the movie is given a welcome injection of energy by the return of the film's best character. When the mystery is eventually uncovered, the result is surprisingly touching (although again, it's pretty grim stuff). Unfortunately we only see glimpses of the many ways this idea could have been explored emotionally before the action-heavy finale kicks in. Nontheless, the final act is satisfying and loads of fun.

In my eyes, the real strength of the film lies in the characters. Although you could never call them complex (most of the film's ensemble is made up of one-dimensional caricatures), they are very, very easy to like. D.J. especially is the kind of hero I enjoyed following and rooting for. Credit for this also lies in the three central voice actors, who bring a youthful enthusiasm and exuberance to their roles. Despite some sagging in pace around the middle act, Monster House is very easy to recommend.

The Ultimate Pairing: Pride & Prejudice & Mean Creek

Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice is a very impressive achievment. The story easily puts every other romantic comedy out there to shame, no doubt about that, but Wright's classy, exciting and consistently fascinating hanlding makes this a great movie in its own right. I found myself completely drawn into every aspect of the film's plot, especially Lizzie and Darcy's turbulent relationship, which really comes to life in one mid-way confrontation scene that should be remembered as one of the best of the year so far.

Keira Kinghtley, to my upmost surprise (she was the aspect I was most sceptical about in the movie), completely pulls off Elizabeth, despite being a little too glamorous for the role. This movie marks her graduation from un-demanding, unimpressive roles to something meatier. Matthew McFayden (a personal Brit favorite of mine) delivers a quite different take on Mr. Darcy, choosing to show him as a conflicted and emotionally damaged human being. McFayden's portrayel is effective and really got under my skin.

The cinematography, orchestrated here by Roman Osin, involved me in the film in a way that I wouldn't have been otherwise. The tracking shots were a great way of immersing the audience and fitting all the characters and conversations of the ball scenes in, without those scenes feeling messy and overpacked. Wright and Osin made an attempt at putting the audience right in the middle of the action, and it completely works.

So, while I'm no P&P nut, I am quietly impressed with Wright's achievment. There are narrative problems - for example, the implication of Lydia's running away and the impact it would have had cannot be appreciated by anyone who isn't already aware of it, because this film rushes through it - and certain characters, such as Judi Dench's Lady Catherine de Bourg, are given so little screen-time they are reducd to stereotypes. But it's an enchanting film nonetheless.


Mean Creek could not be a much more different movie. The romance in this film is stony to the point that you have to look hard to find the affection between the couple (Rory Culin and Carly Schroeder). The cinematography is beautiful, but in a sombre, haunting way. Parts of it even come from the view of one character's video camera, making for an up-close-and-personal experience of the highest order. Estes (the director) is actually extremely clever in his use of the video camera, because not only does it give you an up-close perspective of the all the characters in the boat, it simultaneously tells you everything you need to know about the character operating it.

The character in question is George (played by Josh Peck), who as the film opens, appears to be little more than the 'school bully' character of the story. He redeems himself in a predictable way and gains the understanding of one who he has bullied. As a teenager myself, this plot strand instantly shunts the film in the direction of 'fantasy' in my eyes. Although I appreciated what I was watching, I never bought into the idea that it could actually happen.

But - yes, there's a 'but' to calling this film fantasy - if there's one thing you could say about Mean Creek, it's that it really, really tries. On paper, the film should not work. An ensemble of child/teenage actors, a far-fetched plot and a perfect set up for cliched and overly dramatic confrontations does not a great movie make. Estes tries to subvert the expectations, and while he is not entirely succesful, I was still emotionally engaged with the film and found myself quite devestated by the emotional final scenes. Most of Estes' actors make their characters work - Rory Culkin, Trevor Morgan, Carly Schroeder - although some stick too close to stereotpyes - Scott Mechlowicz, Ryan Kelley - so while their performances are by no means bad, we've seen their kinds of characters many times before (hard man with a good heart, quiet kid who is easy to get to) and thus they weaken the film's dramatic weight.

The best performance though, surprisingly, is that of Josh Peck. Mostly known for playing the tubby sidekick in Nickelodeon's (actually quite good) Drake & Josh, here Peck is both scary and sympathetic. His monologue over the final shots of the film is heartbreaking.