NEVERLAND (syfy channel movie)(2011) (a review) *** RENTAL ***

NEVERLAND (syfy channel original movie) (2011)( a review)

The latest in the Syfy channels series of reinventing classic fairy tales (following TIN MAN, their take on Wizard of Oz and ALICE, a sci-fi retelling of Alice in Wonderland). All of the movies have been written and directed by Nick Willing. This movie is a prequel to the classic story, telling how Peter and Captain Hook can to be in Neverland. This movie stars: Anna Friel, Rhys Ifans and more.

The story: 1906 London. Peter is a thief and part of a gang run by James Hook. During a heist, they find a magic orb that transports them (and several other boys) to Neverland. Peter is found by the indians, incluidng Tiger Lily. Hook and the other boys are found by pirates, including the beautiful lead pirate Elizabeth Bonnie. Now the pirates, led by Bonnie and Hook, will try to find the magic orb and the secret of the indians while Peter tries to decide who he should be loyal to.

Was it good?

In parts. It was interesting enough that if you are a fan of Peter Pan then it will make for an interesting watch. The beginning in London isn't interesting and goes on for WAY too long. However once they get transported to Leverland things get interesting. What makes this section work is the way peopel seperate into two sides. Peter and Hook used to be allies, but now Hook with with the pirates and Peter is with the indians, and no one really is a villain yet. They both have goals that make sense (finding the others, getting home), but because of how each side operates they are set against each other. The best part of this is the relationship between Bonnie and Hook, the two pirate captains (Anna Friel and Charlie Rowe), which at times is manipulation and at times genuine attraction. Unfortuantely, as the show goes on the dynamics become less interesting. It becomes about chasing people and burning things. And the goals that people have keep changing. At one point they want to go home, then Hook wants the fairy magic (that allows Peter to fly), and then they want to go home but come back...I don't know. For the 2nd quarter had a wonderful feel to it, a sense of fun you'd expect from a Peter Pan story, but as it went on it seemed to lose that becoming darker and less engaging. (The beginnign is pretty dark too, but I was okay with it starting like that.) Eventually all the things come to pass -- Peter gets to fly, Hook loses his hand, but by then it just didn't feel like a prequel...I just didn't believe that these characters would turn into the Peter Pan and Captain Hook we know. Which wouldn't be bad if this was meant to be a different interpretation, but when it is set-up as a prequel it makes for a disappointing last hour.


Still, if you skim the first half hour, the second hour especially has a lot of great things in it and the relationship between Bonnie and Hook is worth watching too. Of course, it's the Syfy channel, so it's done on the cheap and there are definitely scenes that get hurt by that. It's not a story I would watch again or give as a gift, but it was good to watch and I'd recommend it for free or a cheap rental.


*** RENTAL ***

FLU BIRDS (a review)

A made for SyFy Channel movie...which is the same as all the other made for s-f movies. Stars Sarah Butler (of the I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE remake, also reviewed on this blog).

The story: a group of kids are out in the woods when they are attacked by giant mutant birds. The kids flee to a local town/military base and the birds follow killing and infecting the town.

Was it good?

Not really. But like most of the made-for-SyFy movies it is oddly watchable. It reminds me of the old Creature Feature saturday afternoon horror movies I used to watch. They were these cheesy B&W things, but were still more interesting than most of the generically good stuff on the other channels.

The giant mutant birds are fun, and there's a nice twist in that the kids are at a truancy camp and when the birds kill their chaperone and they run off into the woods they become horribly lost, which adds a nice element. However, the rest is lame. From the dialog to the acting to the nonesense plot...it's a mess best for MST3King than for actual viewing pleasure.

It's one of the things I've never understood. The cheapest thing in the world is to get a writer to punch up the dialog a little. Grab some guy who made the Q's of some comp like Nichols and pay him a grand or two to do a dialog polish. They don't need to spend more production money, but a little more on the script would go a long, long way.

Oh well. While this wasn't horribly painful (if you are fond of Saturday afternoon monster movies) it's also not good enough for me to recommend.

**** AVOID ***