Film reviews: Dr Seuss’ The Lorax | The Fairy | The King Of Devil’s Island | The Man Inside
Siobhan Synnot on the rest of this week’s new cinema releases...
Dr Seuss’ The Lorax (U) **
The wonderful thing about Dr Seuss’ books / is that they tell simple stories in just a few looks.
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Hide AdThis isn’t the case with the movies they make; / they stretch them out longer, and liberties take.
Now the movie making folk behind Despicable Me / have made a cartoon about two kids and a tree.
Truffula trees used to grow just like weeds / but the Once-ler destroyed them for clothes known as thneeds.
Zac Efron’s the boy, Taylor Swift is his chum. / Plus Ed Helms does the voice of the tree-hating bum.
And the Lorax is played by Danny DeVito; / he’s a sort of environmentalist, the colour of Cheetos.
Perhaps the noise and the colour will engage younger viewers / but what of the book and the big business it skewers?
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Hide AdWe’ve been stuck with a musical that feels kind of sappy / (and the original ending really wasn’t that happy).
On general release from Friday
The Fairy (12A) ***
Comedy trio Dominque Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy do their best Jacques Tati impersonations in a frothy absurdity involving three wishes, pratfalls, romance and madcap chases. If your wish is for a very gentle piece of Belgian whimsy, consider it granted.
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Hide AdDundee Contemporary Arts, tonight; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Friday until 30 July; Glasgow Film Theatre, Friday until 29 July
The King Of Devil’s Island (12A) ***
In a film based on a true story, Stellan Skarsgård is the governor of a boys’ reformatory on an otherwise deserted island. Benjamin Helstad is his juvenile Cool Hand Luke.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Film Theatre, from Friday
The Man Inside (15) **
Ashley Thomas stars in this underwhelming drama as a boxer trying to KO a violent past. Peter Mullan is his trainer, Michelle Ryan (Zoe Slater from EastEnders) is the girl who falls for him. Plodding and predictable, it feels like a fixed fight from the start.
Selected release from Friday