'SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL' IN AN INVITING WORLD.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic LIKE A Saturday-morning cartoon by Salvador Dali Noun 1. Salvador Dali - surrealist Spanish painter (1904-1989) Dali , ``The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D'' revels Not to be confused with Revel. A revel is a type of celebration or festival, involving dancing, costumes, and general merrymaking. John Langstaff founded the 'Revels in surreal silliness. The latest children's empowerment fantasy from ``Spy Kids'' auteur auteur (ōtör`), in film criticism, a director who so dominates the film-making process that it is appropriate to call the director the auteur, or author, of the motion picture. Robert Rodriguez, inspired by ideas from his now-8-year-old son, Racer, ``S and L'' is somewhat less disciplined than the family's other family franchise. But it's still brimming brim n. 1. The rim or uppermost edge of a hollow container or natural basin. 2. A projecting rim or edge: the brim of a hat. 3. A border or an edge. See Synonyms at border. with the kind of funky, anything-can- happen creativity that we've come to expect from Rodriguez productions, and this one's extra helpings of childishness and dreaminess possess their own unruly charm. The plot is a fairly simple, ``Wizard of Oz''-ish affair, complete with cyclone. Max (Cayden Boyd) is an unhappy 10-year-old whose parents (David Arquette and Kristin Davis Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis) (born February 23 or February 24,[1] 1965 depending on the source) is an American Golden Globe and Emmy award-nominated actress best known for the role of Charlotte York on HBO's Sex and the City. ) are fighting, whose new teacher Mr. Electricidad (George Lopez
George C. Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He runs and produces his own show called George Lopez. ) is intimidating and who has become the school bully's (Jacob Davich) target of choice. To escape his troubles, Max makes up an alternate world, Planet Drool, where kids like him can have unfettered fun. It's patrolled by Sharkboy (the athletic Taylor Lautner) who was, well, raised by sharks, and the explosive Lavagirl (Taylor Dooley Taylor Marie Dooley (born February 26, 1993[1]) is an American child actress. Biography Early life Dooley was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan of Irish, German, English, and Sioux Native American descent on her father's side and of Belgian, German and ), who wonders worriedly about whether she's a good person. When something dark and dreadful happens to Planet Drool, Sharkboy and Lavagirl suddenly become real, taking Max back to the dimension he created. Once in the computer-animated, 3-D realm, Max must dream it out of the clutches of the evil Mr. Electric (Lopez again, but just a giant face with crackling-current limbs) and his wacky minions. ``Oz''-like again, Max keeps running into weird incarnations of other people he knows back in the real world. Only the stuff encountered here is more psychologically playful, like a brainstorm of real gray matter and a runaway Train of Thought. The upcoming ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' will have a tough time outdoing ``S and L's'' scrumptious Land of Milk and Cookies, too. To be honest, this movie's 3-D gags aren't all that great, and the overall effect of the process is to make the visuals a bit murky. Then again, this gives an otherworldly cast to Planet Drool; whether you find it bothersome or aesthetically pleasing will be a matter of individual taste. Similarly, the movie's peculiar tone of anarchic an·ar·chic or an·ar·chi·cal adj. 1. a. Of, like, or supporting anarchy: anarchic oratory. b. Likely to produce or result in anarchy. 2. sentimentality Sentimentality Checkers dog given as gift to Nixon; used in his defense of political contributions during presidential campaign (1952). [Am. Hist.: Wallechinsky, 126] Dondi comic strip in which sentimentality is the main motif. is something you'll either swing with or you won't. There is no question, though, that whatever planet it's on, Rodriguez World is a unique cinematic space that only truly inspired children, and child-men, could bring to life. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com THE ADVENTURES OF SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL IN 3-D - Three stars (PG: violence, children in jeopardy) Starring: Cayden Boyd, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Dooley, George Lopez, David Arquette, Kristin Davis. Director: Robert Rodriguez. Running time: 1 hr. 33 min. Playing: Citywide. In a nutshell: Surreal kids' adventure doesn't boast the greatest 3-D in our dimension, but that doesn't stop it from being a feast of visual invention akin to the director's ``Spy Kids'' movies. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Sharkboy (Taylor Lautner, left), Max (Cayden Boyd) and Lavagirl (Taylor Dooley) face the unfaceable in ``The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.'' |
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