Le Secret des 7 volcans

First, find a highly original story such as a book by Maurice Gee.

Second, get a named actor (Sam Neill would do and he's a pretty good sport). Some aspiring young amateurs will come cheaply -- and they'd probably like an excuse to get out of school. If the young ones are meant to be sympathetic characters, so much the better if they're good looking.

Third, leave out all the originality of the story, and replace it with your favourite Hollywood formula, particularly ones with truculent teenagers. Keep most of the character names or you might be accused of originality of your own. Keeping the location might be useful, but not necessarily. Maybe not a good idea to change the location to New York because too many people know what it looks like, and it would cost too much to film there.

Fourth, get some nifty special effects. Fire always makes a good spectacle.

Fifth, get some cheap hair-dye to make some of the main characters' hair red, but don't mention what red hair has to do with the story -- maintain a bit of mystery.

And there you have it.

Easy.

The first thing I faced when I heard of this movie were bad critics. Second, divided opinions of people who've watched this movie. I decided I should take a look and see for myself, being a fan of fantasy movies, and I didn't regret it, but I was not charmed either.

The first thing, the actors. Always sceptic about introducing new kids into the movie industry, I tried to keep it objective and on low expectations, and it turned out I didn't have to because Tom Cameron (Theo) and Sophie McBride (Rachel) were really good. They represented their characters on a high level of quality, and for that I congratulate them, since this is their first role in a movie ever. :) Seeing Sam Neill in this movie firstly pleasantly surprised me, and then brought me to the edge of disappointment since he acted like he didn't care of the success of this movie nor his reputation. The rest of the crew was OK.

Now the story. The plot has quite a lack of originality in the base of it, but some specific things are pretty interesting, which I won't reveal here in case you haven't watched the movie. The story is a bit slow at moments, but not too much, though it is kind of in fragments. Its development didn't come out well so the end comes suddenly. Btw, the ending scene is really the best scene in the movie.

The visual effects are well done, though there's a lack of those. The kids didn't use their powers much. The drones are scary, but the Gargantuas are nothing fearsome, and they should've been the scary of the scary since they're monsters ready to destroy Earth. The atmosphere is spooky, though a bit too gray and dull at times. I had a feeling I had to see something colorful and vivid after seeing this movie. I was grossed out a few times by some scenes, which is good since that was the point, so my opinion is that the visuals are very well done.

The music was keeping the tension the story didn't have at moments, so it came out a bit too intensive.

At the end, this movie is not a masterpiece, and definitely not for those who aren't fans of the genre, but it definitely isn't bad and unwatchable. Because of Sophie and Tom, this one has a 6 from me.

I saw Under the Mountain at the cinema and recently purchased the DVD. My teenage sons loved the film as did I. New Zealand is on a roll lately and Under the Mountain shows what can be done with a load of kiwi talent and a cracker story.

Sam Neill is fantastic, as always, but what really stood out for me were the two leads. Gone are the days of stage acting in our movies, a perfectly pitched performance from all. I'm looking forward to seeing what Mr King makes next, he is clearly an incredibly talented man.

The visual effects are amazing, as expected from having WETA involved.

I recommend this movie to anyone who loves to be entertained, suitable for the entire family. The DVD has a great making of as well.

9 out of 10

Remake of the old 80s TV series isn't anywhere as creepy. The Mr Wilberforce of the original TV series cameos as an old man working in his backyard. The fact that it is movie length though, means that a lot of the less interesting scenes from the TV show have been omitted and there is more action.

This movie have some good things and bad things to it.

Let me start with the bad thing. The movie seems much like a movie that would have been spawned in the success of the "Harry Potter" movie. I know this is not the intention of the movie, nor does it have any connection to it. But the characters and the story seems like something taken out of the "Harry Potter" universe.

As for the good things. Well the movie was interesting and fairly entertaining. There were pretty nice effects throughout the movie as well. There was also a somewhat Lovecraftian Cthulhu-feel to the movie. The concept with the Gargantua (Old Ones?) and the servants (much like the 'fishmen' of Innsmouth). That part, however subtle or intentional it was, was not lost on me, and I liked that part.

The cast was good, and they performed well in their roles. Of course, Sam Neill was great, as always.

This movie provides wholesome entertainment for the entire family, young and old alike. I am sure that the young audiences will like the magic and effects in the movie, while a more mature audience (like myself) might take a liking to the dark mood of the movie (and the Lovecraft inspiration).

"Under the Mountain" is definitely worth checking out.