Zadanian

Variety was absolutely correct when it referred to the movie as "... A Dark Reimagining of Peter Pan." In the end however, a range of factors led the movie to be nothing more than an attempt at breaking the mainstream cycle of "acceptable" films.

The idea of taking the well-known story of Peter Pan and applying it to modern times, in an attempt to display current social problems is respectable and clever. What the audience received however was a movie in which the acting was lacking. Scott Mechlowicz surprising given some of his other works, appears dazed, and as if he is reading his lines off of a queue card. Melany Bell, although decent at times, tends to set the wrong emotions. Rick Sparks is just annoying as hell, and fails to really play slightly neurotic case of the "boy who wouldn't grow up." He comes off as more of the defiant adolescent, who rebels not because of his fear of society, or his fear of his inability, but rather due to his arrogance. Gary Kelley gave an excellent performance as Hook, although I would say that his performance didn't exactly fit in with the story-line, except for the fact that is disturbing, if not outright creepy. The majority of the other minor characters serve as nothing more than mouthpieces for the screenplay.

Transitions in Neverland are painfully slow. In that dull, menacing, and irritating montages continue for minutes at a time, prompting me to fast forward. It almost appears as if they were added to boost the time of the film, due to the fact that they add absolutely nothing other than substandard music, vexing sounds, and shamefully dull images.

The cinematography is by all means nothing special, nothing too innovative. There is one scene in which Hook is lecturing his employees that displays some amount of editing and camera talent. There were at times however, where the audio did not match the images on the screen.

Overall, this film is a decent introductory film for director and screenwriter Damion Dietz. It tried to take a good idea and make a good film, but in my opinion failed. It relied too much upon stereotypical understandings of society's youth, an odd, if not unnecessary overriding homosexuality component, and what appears to be attempt to manipulate every aspect of Peter Pan as much as possible. It did, honestly, try to emulate the book more than say, the Disney version, but the extremes to which it is taken results in something of chaos.

Also, it is interesting to note that a large majority of the highly positive reviews were the first, and only reviews of some IMDb members.

This movie discusses topics that may not be understood by all ages, but are certainly suitable for all ages. The basic question of what is life's purpose is a central theme. The movie brings up the notion that life is not a problem to be solved, but rather something to be experienced; finding paradise and total bliss comes at a price, but must be paid. The movie's theme is something that is rarely touched on by most mainstream films, now dominated by empty action films.

The acting was superb. Armin Mueller-Stahl played the guiding, grandfather very well; and Ryan Kelley is easily identified with his character. The filming location in Oregon was beautiful, and fits the film perfectly. In addition, the soundtrack fits scenes well. The plot however at times seems slow, and there seems to be periods of confusion when the audience has to guess what is happening if they missed a single line.

Overall, this movie presents ideas that an entire family should consider, while at the same time presenting it in a new and innovative way. It definitely will reshape your view on life.

If you are under the age of 30, or at least young at heart, and have always loved movies like European Vacation and Airplane you will enjoy this movie! I have seen it two times since the release. The simple plot is made up for in big laughs. The movie has smooth transitions and has many small but very memorable characters. For example, the very strange and peverted Italian man on the train is something I don't think will ever forget. "Mi scusi!"

Eurotrip, which appears to be disillusioned with how juvenile and teasing American notions of sex can be, celebrates its R-rating like a kid on his 21st birthday. It ups the physical-contact ante enough for you to forget that some of its writers are the nincompoops who loaded "The Cat in the Hat" with sex jokes.

A great advantage of this movie is that it introduces some new but really great actors. I see Scott Mechlowicz doing great roles in the future. Also, the Matt Damon cameo was interesting... I didn't even spot him the first time.

I don't wish to seem melodramatic, but Eurotrip is the most hilarious film I have ever seen. I only wish I could reserve a copy on Amazon right now!

The movie couldn't have lived without the molesting Italian, and it would've been stronger with more than one fully developed female character. It even offers scores of male frontal nudes in a beach scene that turns into a riff on zombie movies. It's in keeping with the movie's cheerful homophobia and its sunny misogyny. Still, Eurotrip is sort of admirable: Unlike its peers, it's tired of talking about sex and is ready to have some.