The Word on DVDs

Ponyo is the story of a fish-girl who wants to be human. Following a near death experience with a fishing trawler, Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) befriends Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a sensitive little chap with a fierce undercut, an absent fisherman father (Matt Damon), and a mother (Tina Fey) who should have her licence revoked for the way she hugs the sharp bendy roads in the seaside village they all live in.

Ponyo, against the wishes of her father Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), uses her magic power to morph into a sleepy little girl. After which everyone has a jolly good time. I don’t mean to sound flippant – because this is a brilliant film full to the brim with the sort of animation that values craft over technology – but this special two-disc edition is just as much about the special features as it is about the main event. With over four hours of documentary material this is the full Ponyo experience. Fujimoto, Ponyo’s father and regulator of the ocean, who through overbearing efforts to protect his daughter ends up pushing her away, was devised as a proxy for Japanese fatherhood. “Most fathers suppress their emotions. I think that’s how today’s Japanese fathers are,” laughs creator Miyazaki. There’s also the revelation that during production Miyazaki decided that making a film with a children’s nursery wasn’t enough; he wanted to build a nursery. And so he did. It also unravels the creative of making the film and where it all started – halfway up a mountain overlooking the Seto Inland Sea.

Sometimes learning too much about a movie demystifies the experience and clouds the memory, particularly Miyazaki’s elliptical and woozy fantasy films. And for many that sense of magic is usually a function of childlike imagination aligning with visual overload and poetic storytelling. Don’t be afraid though – this spectacular film is not diminished in any way by explanation. If anything the allure is stronger.

Next time you get home exhausted after a tough day working in the factory, bitching at your partner about lasagne for dinner again and complaining about your stupid neighbours, think about James Franco. A few years back James decided he wanted to go back to school. So he enrolled in four post grad classes. He wrote a novel for his literature class thesis. He went to NYU to study Filmmaking; Fiction Writing and Poetry at two other colleges. Next up a PHD in English and another post grad degree at Rhode Island School of Design. He also found time to star in Sean Penn’s well-received Harvey Milk biog Milk and about six other films yet to be released. And then there’s his bizarre meta-turn on the hoary daytime soap General Hospital as Franco – a photographer/artist/serial killer. Quite what one of the most in-demand actors around is doing on a daytime Prozac TV is anyone’s guess, probably just what James Franco wants.

Why is this relevant? Because James Franco is the single best thing about Date Night and he’s only on the screen for about five minutes. His scene with Mila Kunis as the mistaken Tripplehorn couple displays all the manic, eccentric and wanton stupidity that Tina Fey and Steve Carrell fail to achieve during the remaining 85 minutes. It’s not their fault – the script is undercooked and plodding which is slight issue for a period drama, but fatal for a supposed screwball comedy. Phil and Claire Foster are drab suburbia personified – a tax lawyer and real estate agent with two kids who find themselves mistaken for the aforementioned Tripplehorns, and in possession of a flash drive. Except they’re not, on both counts. This in turn sets off a chain of wacky scenes, each crazier than the previous. Except they’re not, on any counts. Throw some crooked cops into the mix and you have one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

So, in conclusion: James Franco.

The Rebound is… nice? It isn’t smart or sexy, though it’s somewhat sweet – the three qualities apparently most attractive in a man. It isn’t funny or particularly interesting. There’s not much suspense, nor drama. It’s not very emotionally satisfying, but not the worst two hours of your life. It is, in other words, a bit like a rebound.

Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a newly single mother, who moves from the suburbs to the city to escape from her scumbag ex-husband. She gets a great new job, finds a cute apartment above a coffee shop, and hires a nanny for her kids in the shape of a good-looking younger man, Aram (Justin Bartha). Things get complicated when their employer/employee relationship takes a decidedly yummy-mummy/boy-toy turn, and become even more complicated when they develop serious feelings for each other.

There are some good things to say about this film, though it would never be worth a serious commitment. It’s surprisingly sensitive, showcasing some fairly solid performances, and doesn’t take the easy option of playing ‘cougar’ for laughs.

The real failing of this film is that where it should be funny, it’s flat. When the script should be witty, it’s weak. This isn’t helped by the fact that – despite the attractiveness of both Zeta-Jones and Bartha – there is not a great deal of chemistry between the two leads. And chemistry, more than anything, is important for a rebound. This DVD doesn’t have any special features, but the benefit of this film being available on DVD at all is that you wouldn’t have to watch it at the cinema. Despite these criticisms, The Rebound is nice. Well, nice enough.