The new Narnia film lacks the magic of the first, while Grow Your Own found to be just another British feel-good drama-comedy.
> The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Director: Andrew Adamson
Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Sergio Castellitto, Peter Dinklage, Eddie Izzard
Rating: (M)
2 ½ stars (out of 5)
Review By Christine Powley
I loved the Narnia books as a child and Prince Caspian is the only one of which I do not have clear memories.
For whatever reason, it was the one I was least fond of and that antipathy is my only lingering memory.
I was hoping to be able to say the movie had turned me around but not so.
Director Andrew Adamson must share my aversion because The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Rialto and Hoyts) is very different from the book.
Harry Potter improved as it became darker and it must have been decided that darkness would be the tonic for Narnia.
It is not so. Most of this film is a dull trudge from pointless battle to hopeless last stand.
There is only one piece of magic in the whole thing, which naturally turns out to be a dream.
By the end I was left wondering why the Pevensie children are so keen on Narnia when they have such a thoroughly grim time there.
After all that fighting, getting back to war-torn Britain seems a respite.
Anyway, the Pevensies are thrilled to be called back to Narnia, only it is 1000 years on since they were high kings and the magical land of Narnia has been overtaken by the Telmarine people, who hate and distrust the old magic.
Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is the rightful king but his uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) has usurped his throne, shades of Hamlet and all that.
To reclaim his kingdom, Caspian throws his lot in with the surviving Narnians, summons the Pevensies and gathers an army.
For whatever reason, Aslan is barely in this movie.
He only appears at the final battle to save the day after Peter (William Moseley) and Caspian prove convincingly that they are hopeless strategists.
This is a movie pitched firmly at teenagers with fighting for the boys and pretty Caspian for the girls.
For the rest of us it is just a loud jumble of special effects too grim to take little children to.
> Grow Your Own
Director: Richard Laxton
Starring: Benedict Wong, Eddie Marsan, Phillip Jackson, Omid Djalili, John Henshaw, Pearce Quigley
Rating: (PG)
2 ½ star (out of 5)
Review by Mark Orton
Sometimes it's just a little difficult to get overly excited about a well-trodden path; unless the scenery is just that little bit special.
Following in the footsteps of British drama-comedies such as Brassed Off, Billy Elliot and East is East, Grow Your Own explores some contemporary social issues via the analogy of an established British institution.
The allotment is one of the last great vestiges of urbanised British life.
You might not be able to enjoy a fag with a pint, or even call it one for that matter, but somehow the allotment lives on.
That is not to say that the institution that began in the 18th century to assist the poor is not under threat.
Under the darkening sky on a Merseyside allotment, a motley collection of enthusiastic gardeners are called together by their elected leader to defend precious plots against the threat of immigrants and commercial encroachment.
Based on an actual project that started in Liverpool to help refugees settle into Britain, Grow Your Own is a gentle examination of cultural diversity.
There is nothing daring about the script, which is slightly surprising given that it is the work of Frank Cottrell Boyce (24 Hour Party People).
However, with such an accomplished cast of actors, all the gems (and there are a few), are polished by some colourful ensemble sequences.
Colour is the key here. Try as they might to be unsocial, the old guard quickly wilt under the myriad of colours introduced by the new arrivals.
From the collection of Hawaiian shirts sported by the painfully impressionable Little John (Eddie Marsan), to the countless tins of bright red paint splashed about the set, there is barely a frame where shades of concrete grey can permeate this evocative location on the edge of town.
With the basis of an appetising story established, Grow Your Own lets itself down by never really nailing any firm message to the threat imposed by the erection of a mobile phone tower.
Benedict Wong is excellent as troubled Chinese exile Kung, just as Philip Jackson (Big John) once again proves how good he is as a condescending bully.
But no amount of talent, and there is a lot, can bloom in this dry soil.
Is it all bad? No.
Grow Your Own is the type of feel-good, nice-cuppa-tea drama that plants just enough jokes to keep you entertained.
It is better suited to Sunday Theatre on the box, although you wouldn't get the exquisite use of colour that only celluloid can replicate.
