Pete's Dragon

A heartwarming tale of a boy and his pet, Pete's Dragon remakes an eccentric piece of Disney canon into a fresh and modern live-action family flick. Despite the story being somewhat predictable and relying on classic tropes from similar stories, Pete's Dragon amplifies the connections felt between humans and their pets into the realm of fantasy, while also staying somewhat grounded with a realistic, modern complication.

Young boy Pete (Oakes Fegley) finds himself orphaned and alone in the forest after a tragic motor accident kills his parents, until he finds and befriends a fluffy green dragon, whom he names Elliott. Years later, forest ranger Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) discovers Pete as she looks to protect the forest's animals and their habitats from deforestation. Soon after, Grace and her future daughter-in-law Natalie (Oona Laurence) discover Pete's secret companion, and look to protect him after locals discover his existence and look to hunt him down.

Pete's Dragon starts surprisingly dark, displaying the car accident which kills Pete's mother and father and leaves him stranded and alone deep in the forest. Through this scene setting, audiences instantly grow deeply sympathetic and compassionate for Pete, and his amiable bond with his dragon buddy becomes justified. Though this quickly peters into a somewhat trademark story of the hunting and protection of an actually harmless beast, this ingrained value of a boy's connection with his pet carries the story forwards and tugs at the heartstrings.

The CGI design of Elliott is stunning, with realistic and believable movement and detailed body design. Oakes Fegley's surprisingly solid acting in cohesion with the CGI dragon lets us closely understand the supposed bond between the two and easily forget that it's simply a child actor interacting with what is probably just a guy in a motion capture suit. Bryce Dallas Howard fits the classic lead of a young, beautiful woman with a unique job perfectly, using her inherent skill in showing emotion to identifiably connect with the deeper themes of love apparent between Pete and his dragon.

Overall, Pete's Dragon is a great example of one of those "Come for the CGI, stay for the story" flicks, with a strong amount of family enjoyment to be had. Adults and children alike can understand Pete's bond with his dragon, just as many people connect with their own pets, and this integral love and affection becomes the driving force for the film's complications. Despite the use of perhaps one too many cinematic tropes, Pete's Dragon is sure to pleasantly satisfy audiences of all ages.

A Walk in the Woods

"Intimidate the bears? They're f*cking bears!"

Following on the heels of the astoundingly good All is Lost from a couple years back, the latest 'Robert Redford in nature' film A Walk in the Woods - directed by Ken Kwapis - acts as a biopic for travel author Bill Bryson. In essence, it's a roadtrip movie, just without the road...or the car.

Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) is a travel author whose recently moved back to the States. After a television host asks him why he hasn't written about his home country America, Bryson decides to hike the Appalachian trail, a 2,200 mile stretch of wilderness that not many people manage to complete. His wife Catherine (Emma Thompson) thinks it's a terrible idea and insists that he doesn't go alone. After calling just about everybody he can think of, he gets a call from an old yet distant friend, Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte) who wants to hike the trail with him. After Stephen arrives, it's clear that he's in no shape to hike the trail, but they go anyway. Bryson is determined to finish the trail, even if that means dragging Stephen along behind him.  

To be honest, comparing this to All is Lost is unnecessary and unfair. Where the aforementioned ponders subtle philosophical questions about existence as its timid character struggles to survive, A Walk in the Woods presents a lighthearted story about rekindling friendship and enjoying the scenery. 'Robert Redford in nature' is as far as the comparison stretches. If you approach this in the right mindset, Kwapis has created a sometimes cheesy but regularly funny film that sheds light on the mind of a travel writer and offers a solid plot arc for the relationship between Bryson and Katz, a basic story that's been told countless times before, especially in the road-trip format, but still works well. Unfortunately, A Walk in the Woods often feels rushed and lacks nuance. I rarely argue for adding to a running time but at 105 mins, there's not much room for the characters to indulge in the experience of walking the Appalachian trail and as such, much of the film becomes a montage of bite-sized moments.

The story is driven by the relationship between Bryson and Katz, which is fairly well portrayed by the two leads. Redford is not at his strongest here but still brings life to what is essentially the straight-man in the comedy duo. Nolte portrays Katz as an enthusiastic but easily whiny out-of-shape alcoholic with the trademark raspy voice, and does so convincingly. Whilst character development is limited, that's more to do with material than the performances.

Kristen Schaal succeeds at creating another funny yet annoying character with the clingy hiker Mary Ellen, and Emma Thompson's small role is still decently well rounded. Overall though A Walk in the Woods has a very small cast, which is dominated by Redford and Nolte. However I did find the interactions between Bryson and motel owner Jeannie awkwardly timed. Mary Steenburgen is an undoubtedly talented actress and I think the scene was designed to be awkward in this way but it still felt surprisingly jarring. Not much to complain about though. John Bailey adds to his fine filmography with some stunning cinematography. The sweeping landscape shots are beautifully composed, and the natural environment encapsulated well. I think Bailey could have stretched his creativity more and mixed it up a bit but it's still a joy to watch.

A Walk in the Woods is at times rushed and is not going to take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, however those looking for a lighthearted, funny film that takes you into nature need look no further.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I've always been a huge fan of World War II movies, especially those that strive for an accurate portrayal of warfare in the 1940s, Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan being a stand out example. And then sometimes I want to see a what if scenario of the same period, Tarantino did a great job of that too. But then you might get a movie that walks a line between the two, a movie where history occurs as it did, but you supplant a fictional character, a superhero* no less, into the mix. That's why I appreciated the first Captain America movie so much.

The Winter Soldier poses an interesting question. What if you took that same soldier, with all his values and beliefs, and put him in the present day. After the events of The Avengers, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is trying to acclimatise to modern life in Washington DC. He is still an agent for SHIELD, a government espionage agency run by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

Rogers' partner on these missions is Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) also known as the Black Widow. After an attempt on Nick Fury's life, Rogers and Black Widow uncover a corruption plot that permeates throughout the SHIELD organisation.

There is a prevailing notion that is brought up throughout the film and that is that humanity would willingly give up its freedoms in exchange for security. This is an interesting nod to our own society, with things like surveillance of the population being conducted by most Western powers.

Chris Evans had a different challenge in this film. In the last movie, his character had to cope with a physical transformation and his performance was great. Now as a modern actor, he has to portray a man from the past dealing with things from the present for the first time. One of these things he has to deal with is dating, having not gotten over his "best girl" Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

For an extremely physical movie, Johansson does an excellent job to keep up with the rest of the guys. In truth, I enjoyed her fighting scenes more than the guys because it is always great to see a girl kick a guys arse.

There was also the inclusion of a new hero from the comics who I have always liked. Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) plays Sam Wilson AKA The Falcon. The Falcon is famous for being the world's first black superhero with his own comic series. Sam Wilson is a veteran who helps soldiers who suffer from PTSD and is only too glad to help Rogers when he asks.

Verdict: An enjoyable Marvel movie that will get superhero junkies through to the next Avengers film.

*Superhero is a trademark term owned by both Marvel and DC. I just wanted to cover myself, you know.