Astro Boy
Hardly breaking any new ground from an animation or storytelling standpoint, “Astro Boy” still manages to deliver a solid offering and should be an entertaining outing for both parents and their young ones.

Based on the manga series and television show originated in Japan, “Astro Boy” is the story of Toby(Freddie Highmore), a young boy genius whose father is Dr. Tenma(Nicolas Cage), the head of the Ministry of Science in a futuristic world where humans co-habitate with robots. After a saddening event, Dr. Tenma is left alone without his son and decides to re-create him by using the latest and greatest technology. Instilling his son Toby’s DNA, along with a few extra bells and whistles, Tenma brings to life a virtual mechanical duplicate in almost every way, excepts he soon realizes nothing will truly replace his own boy. Frustrated, he rejects his own creation, named Astro by a group of orphans in the film, and what follows are the attempts of the newly designed robot child to find his place in the world and win the love of the father that made him.

While the art does seem spectacular at times, and the voice acting is pulled from a plethora of Hollywood greats, its inconsistencies are the film’s one downfall. The transitional story from Japanese comic to CGI adventure at times seems pieced together from various animated features to have come before(“WALL-E” and “Robots” are a couple that spring to mind), and the art shines in quite a few scenes while seeming rigid and unpolished in others.

The action is easy to follow and has a kinetic feel to it that is engaging for young and old. The pace at which the battle scenes take place is a brisk one, but never too much to lose even the littlest of viewer. My 6 year old brother seemed constantly entertained by what was shown on screen and seemed to have no issue with the film’s darker moments, including the initial departure of the character of Toby.

Parents should know that the PG rating is appropriate and there is little here to really upset the kids or your comfort level while watching it with them. For the most part this is a simple tale of a boy trying to fit in and belong, except this boy happens to have cannons built into his arms.

“Astro Boy” was fun and harmless, but isn’t the greatest animated offering when compared with the likes of Pixar’s list of hits. It’s enjoyable, and if the kids drag you along you won’t be disappointed you went.

GRADE: B

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
While trying to balance the line between twisted dark comedy or straight up horror film, “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” has an identity crisis and that lack of decisiveness is the film’s downfall.

Based on the 12 book series The Saga of Darren Shan, this first film, in what appears to be a proposed franchise, is a culmination of events from the first 3 books detailing the life of a young boy who unwillingly gets wrapped up in an age-old war between two vampire factions.

The story opens with Darren(Chris Massoglia) being every parent’s dream child: Straight A’s in school, well-mannered, on the way to college, a career and then family. Or at least that’s what they hope for him. Darren’s best friend Steve(Josh Hutcherson) however is the anti-thesis of a “good kid”. He skips class, throws rocks at windows, and generally has a dislike for the straight-laced attitude of his best bud Darren. After a flyer literally drops in front of them, the duo head off to a traveling freak show that’s stopped in their town. Among the performers are the enormous Mr. Tall(Ken Watanabe), the bearded lady Madame Truska(Salma Hayek), and the enigmatic Larten Crepsley(John C. Reilly), who Steve believes is actually a vampire parading as a freak..

After a series of odd events that leave Steve hospitalized and Crepsley as the key to his survival, Darren strikes up a deal to become half-vampire in order to save his friend. Entering into this new world of bloodsucking creatures has its own share of problematic events as well though, as the mysterious Mr. Tiny(Michael Cerveris) is looking to recruit both young boys into a game much bigger than either of them can comprehend.

The most frustrating issue I had with the film was its inconsistency. On one hand the jokes are quite cheesy and would be more akin to something on a made for TV Disney film shown around Halloween. Then suddenly the mood would take an odd turn and the otherwise harmless vampire tale would contain some thematic elements more in line with something out of Tim Burton’s twisted psyche. Unfortunately, the humor isn’t laugh-out-loud funny and the darker parts don’t have the intelligence or creativeness of a Burton film.

In the midst of the latest vampire craze, this series may be soon forgettable, at least on film. While powerhouses like the Twilight Saga continue to know exactly how to market to their target audience, “Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant” seems unsure exactly what kind of film it wants to be.

Grade: C

Amelia
It seems like an impossible feat to take an extraordinary life like the one of Amelia Earhart’s, and turn it into a fairly flat and boring tale, yet that is exactly what has happened in this biographical drama directed by Mira Nair and starring Hilary Swank in the leading role.

As a fearless aviatrix and inspiration for a nation during America’s Great Depression, Amelia Earhart’s story is one of passion and triumph. Her rise to fame in the 1930’s and attempts to break records even male pilots hadn’t yet accomplished made her a woman ahead of her time and gave the country a role model unlike any that had come before. It’s unfortunate however that the screenplay by Ronald Bass chose to focus more on her relationship with husband George Putnam, a side of her life that seems to lack the cinematic punch needed to sustain an audience for two hours.

As publisher Putnam, Richard Gere spends the majority of the film trying to work in an awkward accent that comes and goes and struggles to develop even the slightest hint of romantic chemistry between himself and Swank. Their relationship onscreen plays like a disjointed love story with little to no build up or understanding of exactly what drew the two together. Swank’s Earhart comes off as uninterested in the advances of Gere’s G.P., yet still she chooses to marry him, leaving the audience curious if we must have missed some of their courtship with film reels chopped up and left on the cutting room floor.

The scenes of Amelia taking flight are by far the attraction here. Aviators will be dazzled by the classic planes showcased as well as the backdrops for many of Earhart’s travels. It’s the time she spends on the ground that will lose the spectators though. This is truly a biopic without any narrative, and at times seems like a “greatest hits” compilation jumping from one long distance flight to the next, attempting to cash in on the grandeur of the feats accomplished and forgetting to show us why we care when she’s grounded.

There is little to see here for the family as the young ones will surely pass out from boredom in the first 20 minutes and the parents will find themselves struggling to be invested in these grossly underdeveloped characters. It’s a film that putters during takeoff and never truly takes us anywhere.

Grade: D