Dvd
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Starring Jason Lee, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney
Directed by Tim Hill ('Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties', 'Max Keeble's Big Move', 'Muppets from Space')
Written by Don Rhymer, Jon Vitti
Comedy, Family | 1hr 30mins | Origin: USA | Official Site »
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The Talk
13 votes / No comments
Flicks review
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1
Glides effortlessly past bad, sashays gleefully through terrible and passes through the other side of awful to emerge as utterly reprehensible.
The titular three malformed, hypersexual, anally-fixated, scatologically-obsessed affronts to God’s creation wreak their havoc across a variety of mortifying set pieces with the aid of poor patsy Jason Lee. A closet Scientologist, Lee now has his own travesty to place on his mantel aside Battlefield Earth and the entire offscreen life of Tom Cruise.
The story is perfectly acceptable, provided that this is the first work of narrative entertainment one has ever encountered; anyone who has ever seen or read or heard anything else in the world, however, will quickly grow tired of the woeful deficiencies in plot, character, internal logic, possibility on this world or any other. (The central conceit – talking chipmunks! - we will allow by virtue of the standard filmic device of the One Implausible Object, or, if you are of a spiritual bent, as proof of the physical presence of evil in the world).
This wide-eyed disbelief will compete with one's groaning disgust at the story itself, which is probably the single most wilfully clichéd thing ever written. Again, if entirely unversed in narrative, one could almost miss this; however, if this were the case, the movie would be utterly incomprehensible, revolving as it does around incredibly lame digs at the music industry circa whenever Alvin and the Chipmunks could last be seen on syndicated television. (Breaking point reached through ethical umbrage at the notion of lipsynching? Seriously??)
Children, who the film addresses as sexually precocious little brand-junkies, deserve better. Adults will invariably feel a subtle, unshakeable malaise. If you, out there in Internet-Land, are contemplating having children, you would do well to bring them into the world, for the specific purpose of forbidding them to witness this monstrosity.
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The people's reviews
11 reviews
Press Reviews
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Empire Magazine [UK]
2
Fun musical numbers and cartoonish humour give way to a bland sermon about the evils of the music industry...
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Los Angeles Times
There is sweetness here. The scene in which Dave and the boys decorate the tree is charming, and the Chipmunks' excited presentation of gifts to their human dad is actually sort of touching. And dang it, the little animated rodents are cute...
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Premiere Magazine [USA]
At times funny, and even occasionally witty, Alvin and the Chipmunks is a lively, entertaining romp that will certainly bring smiles to the young ones this holiday season....
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The Hollywood Reporter
Unfortunately, as rendered here by the average-looking CGI effects, the characters are underwhelming in their appeal, lacking the charm of their previous animated incarnations....
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Total Film Magazine [UK]
2
The under-10s will doubtless succumb to the stuffed-toy cuteness of Alvin (the leader), Simon (the brainy one) and Theodore (the fat, needy one) as they invade the life of loser songwriter Jason Lee. But anyone older, will quickly tire of a pencil-thin plot that leaves Lee looking bemused (read: semi-comatose) when the ‘Munks parlay the success of their first festive hit into crass corporate whore-dom (ahem…)...
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