Review: "Inkheart"

Seen on: January 24, 2009

The players: Director: Iain Softley, Writer: David Lindsay-Abaire, Cast: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett.

Facts of interest: Based on the book by German author Cornelia Funke.

The plot: Fraser plays a man who has the ability to bring characters out of books by reading them aloud.

Our thoughts: Iain Softley’s “Inkheart” is a painful bore and one of the most slow-moving family adventures I’ve seen in a long time. The main story line is convoluted and mostly illogical, the characters lack depth, and the plot features only a couple of mediocre action sequences that are simply too short to impress.

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'Inkheart' web reviews

Ever wanted to have the ability to bring characters from books to life? Brendan Fraser can do just that in Iain Softley's family adventure "Inkheart," which also stars Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis and Helen Mirren. But what to the Web's critics have to say about the film?

• Scott Gwin at CinemaBlend: "Despite a solid cast, impressive production values and an intriguing fantasy concept, Inkheart ends up as cinematic mediocrity."

• Nick Schager at Cinematical: "'Inkheart' is a scattered collection of ideas, most of them cavalierly mixed together and barely fleshed out."

• Ron Henriques at LatinoReview: "How the hell could such an intriguing premise be wasted on a boring picture that even had a pair of eight year olds complaining in the men's room after the screening I attended?"

• Brad Brevet at RopeOfSilicon: "Yup, 'Inkheart' is another January release for the kids, but make sure they aren't too young or you are going to be shushing away the characters from your bedtime stories for months to come."

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This week's new movie releases - Jan. 23, 2009

Here's a brief look at what's on the movie menu this Friday: Iain Softley's "Inkheart" and Patrick Tatopoulos' "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" open wide, while "Frost/Nixon," "Revolutionary Road" and "The Wrestler" are set to expand.

INKHEART

Synopsis: Mo Folchart possesses a secret ability to bring characters from books to life when he reads them aloud. But when Mo accidentally brings a power-hungry villain from a rare children's fable to life, the villain kidnaps Mo's daughter and demands Mo bring other evil fictional characters to life.

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