"The Bad Mother's Handbook" is an off-beat BBC TV adaption of the bestselling book by Kate Long about self-discovery and the strained relationships among three generations of women in the Cooper family.
Despite boasting a pre-"Twilight" Robert Pattinson on its DVD cover, the British vamp is not the main character. The story does start with Pattinson's Daniel moving to a new school and meeting Charlotte (an engagingly realistic and relatable Holliday Grainger). But after quickly forming a crush on her, he soon finds out that she is pregnant.
Daniel stays by Charlotte's side during her pregnancy, and in doing so, enters a strange journey with Charlotte, her disapproving mother Karen (portrayed with perhaps too much moxy by the always powerfully funny Catherine Tate), and her ailing grandmother (Anne Reid).
For the most part, the writing and characterizations are witty and engaing. They're crisp, funny and heartfelt. Aside from some overacted moments from Tate that makes Karen's desperation seem shrill, the film's only drawback is poor cinamatography. The camera shots are amatuerish and sometimes exceedingly distracting. Thankfully, clever writing as well as strong performances from Pattinson and Grainger hold the film up.
Final Grade: B (3 out of 4 stars)
"The Bad Mother's Handbook" is available on DVD. To view the theaterical trailer, click play below:
Since Disney/Pixar pioneered full-length animated films with its 1995 release of "Toy Story," other studios have tried to repeat the on-screen magic captured in the computer-animated faces of toys, monsters and animals.
Dreamworks has tried to cash in on the trend and has succeeded to varying degrees of success with "Shrek," "Over The Hedge," and "Monsters vs. Aliens," among others. 20th Century Films released its "Ice Age" series and "Robots." Sony gave it a valiant effort with "Surf's Up" and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Warner Bros. offered audiences "Happy Feet" and "The Polar Express."
Despite all these efforts, Pixar seems to have won the race for the hearts of audiences. The studio has also won almost all the coveted golden statuettes for "Best Animated Feature" at the Academy Awards (five out of seven Pixar films have taken home the Oscar).
Out of the many attempts, very few of those films have come close to exhibiting Pixar's level of artistic or creative mastery until Dreamworks' surprise smash "How To Your Dragon."
Released in theaters March 26, 2010 in 2-D and 3-D, "How To Train Your Dragon" immediately earned rave reviews from critics and audiences for its story about a young viking-in-training trying to fit in. The film features an all-star cast of voices, including Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera and Jonah Hill. By July 2010, the acclaimed film had gone on to earn a domestic gross of over $217 million.
The movie tells the story of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a gangly teenage viking that is supposed to follow in his father's footsteps to become a dragon slayer. But when Hiccup faces his first opportunity to slay a real dragon, he finds out that he doesn't want to follow the rules.
On Rottentomatoes.com, "Dragon" has received 153 positive reviews (out of 156) for a 98 percent fresh rating. Critics praised the film, calling it Dreamworks Animation's "best entry to date" that "manages to give Pixar a run for its money."
As the site's Tomatometer summarizes:
"Boasting dazzling animation, a script with surprising dramatic depth, and thrilling 3-D sequences, 'How to Train Your Dragon' soars."
"Dragon" stands out from its predecessors because it is an engaging and joyful romp of a film with snappy dialogue, interesting characters and colorful animation. More importantly, the story doesn't get stuck in the mire of a preachy, underneath-it-all moral lesson. Instead, it celebrates imagination, forgiveness and kindess without shoving a message down your throat (a la' Pixar's "Wall-E" and Warner Bros. "Happy Feet"). The result is a fun and family-friendly flick with clever dialogue and characterizations that are sure to captivate audiences of all ages.
Grade:A (4 out of 4 stars)
To view the trailer, click play below. "How To Train Your Dragon" is now available on DVD.
