Somehow, they’ve avoided doing this the way you would expect Hollywood to do it: instead of a ridiculous Jim-Carrey/Dr-Seuss style farce, this film has the guts to try to do something meaningful. It doesn’t shy away from exploring a slightly darker side of the story, and I wasn’t surprised to hear a couple of the littler children in the audience crying from fear at a couple of points.

The film does a great job of capturing what it feels like to be a 9 year-old boy, taking you into his real world at first, and then bridging into the fantasy world without any winks or nods: the fantasy world is portrayed as just as real; it’s more melancholy than fantastic. It’s the kind of movie that would do well to have a child psychologist as one of the bonus disc commentary tracks; there’s a lot of unspoken depth to some of Max’s interactions with the wild things… which represent aspects of his own troubles and emotions. The film’s tagline suits it well: “There’s one in all of us.”

There are a lot of poignant moments, the only problem is that these were sometimes far between — the film did feel a little bit long at times, and probably could have been tightened up a bit more with some judicious edits.

Really, this is the game that should have been released on Xbox Live in the first place — the first Xbox 360 Worms game was just too stripped down and simplified; I don’t think I had ever played a Worms game with less weaponry, backgrounds, and soundbanks. Worms 2: Armageddon adds back some of the classics, such as the Holy Hand Grenade and Super Sheep, while keeping the options simplified to ensure more fair on-line competition. If you want to relive the glory days of 90s gaming, or are looking for a fun game for the whole family that isn’t about twitchy reflexes, this game is easy to recommend at just 800 Microsoft points.

Back in the day, Team 17 was exciting and innovative, but how long can they go on just remaking and releasing Worms 2? Hopefully the rumours about an upcoming Xbox 360 version of Alien Breed are true…

Starting with the old man’s backstory was an interesting decision; I kept thinking it might have played better if we didn’t know him at all at first, with his backstory coming out as flashbacks later in the film…

A fine family adventure film — particularly enjoyed Ronan’s performance. Alas, the plot was just a tad shallower than I would have hoped.

4 stars (out of 5)

3 stars (out of 5)

4 and a half stars (out of 5)

4 and a half stars (out of 5)

4 and a half stars (out of 5)

4 and a half stars (out of 5)

Part of me always wondered if the title was supposed to be “The Princeless Bride”.

5 stars (out of 5)

But alas, no. It just didn’t capture my imagination at all, and frankly, I don’t really understand the hype and craze. I found this book to be very dull — in fact, I had to force myself to finish it, to give it a “fair chance.” I was definitely not inspired enough to read any more of the series.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, because I know absolutely everyone loves this series — but I’m sorry, I just have to be honest. I’m glad, though, that it has enjoyed popularity and brought fantasy novels back into the spotlight; because I am sure it has spurred sales of many books I do like. (And if not for Harry Potter, would we have such great Narnia films in production right now? Probably not.)