Inkheart - La leggenda di Cuore d'inchiostro

Cornelia Funke is my favourite author and so I was nervous about the transfer to the screen. I knew there would be inevitable cuts and changes, which could take the heart out of the story. The actors (with the exception of Helen Mirren) didn't match what I had in my head. Could they capture the in depth personalities?

As it turned out, my casting concerns were unfounded, although there was an annoying line from Capricorn. (In the trailer, unfortunately.) The cuts are noticeable, but acceptable. Same goes for the majority of changes. I enjoyed the first two sections, but then came the ending. I won't say how it's changed, but it was WRONG. In fact it was so WRONG, that there will be difficulties sequel-wise.

The best way to enjoy Inkheart is to lose yourself in the book. I hope this film encourages viewers to do just that.

7/10

Mo (Brendan Fraser) is good father, happily married who has a special talent to bring personages out of books. But his wife named Resa(Sienna Guillory)has disappeared. One night he brings out various characters named Capricorn and Basta from Inkheart , a book written by Fenoglio (Jim Broadbent) whose story is set in Middle Age and plenty of magical beings. As there suddenly appears Capricorn (Andy Serkis) and Basta (Jamie Foreman), two nasties, and Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), a fire-eater. Now, 10 years later Meggie (Eliza Bennett) discovers the truth and she also has supernatural powers . Meggie along with his father and grandmother confront several fantastic adventures, dangers and risks.

This exciting motion picture displays derring-do adventure, romance ,fairy tale ,and spectacular frames with phenomenal production design. The flick gets lots of bombastic special effects including supernatural apparitions, wizards ,legendary heroes and numerous images have you on the edge of your seat. As appears the heroes of tales as ¨1.001 nights¨, ¨the minotaur¨, ¨Rapunzel¨ and several others. Riveting set pieces illuminate the full-blown adventures blending witchcraft, fairies, necromancy and turns out to be extremely amusing. Stimulating adventures of ours protagonists are complemented by a breathtaking final attraction in the castle scenes with incredible appearance of an overwhelming ominous shadow. Casting is frankly extraordinary, Brendan Fraser as impetuous hero, Andy Serkis plays magnificently a shamelessly villain and Helen Mirren as likable grandmother, and brief appearance of Jennifer Connelly as Roxanne, among others. Ideal main cast is completed by phenomenal secondary actors as US as British players. The movie packs a sensational production design by John Beard , accompanied by a glamorous cinematography by Roger Pratt filmed on location, in Italian Riviera, Liguria and Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England, including a mesmerizing photography with wonderful , marvelous landscapes . Emotive soundtrack appropriately adequate to fantasy by Javier Navarrete. The picture is brilliantly directed by Ian Softley. He's a good writer, producer and director,who achieved big time with ¨The skeleton key¨, ¨K-Pax¨, ¨Backbeat¨ and Hackers¨. Rating: Better than average. Essential and indispensable watching for fantastic cinema lovers.

I only watched this movie because the trailer looked new and the idea was an interesting one. I liked the movie but throughout the first half, you get the feeling that there is something big coming up and you just can't wait till it does. The ending was quite satisfactory considering what happens.

The actors were all well chosen for the roles they portray. The bad guys led by the evil Capricorn fulfill their role as a motley crew. There is a hidden humor amongst them which does not bore. The CGI animations were very well done especially the magical creatures and alike.

Overall, I would say that if you like Stardust, you will enjoy this one. Although, Stardust is still better in my opinion.

I give it 6 only because the first half drags on a bit long and takes sometime to move onto the real story.

I saw this on Friday with my friend, and I enjoyed it more than she did(it was between this and Twilight). Thing is, although I'm a fantasy genre fan, I've not read the book but I've vaguely heard about it some years ago. It's a alright film, but does't have that special something to make it rise above others that have been released that are basically the same action adventure fantasy thing.

Acting: Fraser was decent playing his typical 'hero' role, but the surprisingly natural performance came from Bennet playing his daughter. Alright, she does't look 12 at all, more like 14/15 but considering I'm getting more used wooden acting in the likes of Potter etc, it's a welcome thing. Mirren's bad-tempered charm as the dotty bookworm aunt and a few mildly amusing lines are good to watch. Serkis was relishing his straightforward villain role, although my friend couldn't take him seriously cause of his old Gollum role. Bettany as the fire-spewing Dustfinger is also convincing, conveying depth and I liked the childlike eccentricity of Broadbent as the author, an actor who seems to be turning up in every fantasy film going. Even a small role like Guillory's is done effectively, but could've had more screen time and more back story or what happened to her at a more satisfying length. Good supporting cast of baddies at the castle as well.

Pacing: Here's my main issue - the storyline gets repetitive in the escape then heading back to the castle again. Also, certain things aren't explained that left me a bit confused as to how they came about, especially regarding the man that comes out of Arabian Nights. It does get clichéd and generic, plus the ending wraps everything up too conveniently in the climax with The Shadow, so more peril and suspense could've helped. It's an interesting story though, as I said, reading aloud and it comes alive out of the book. I just hoped for more surprises and inventiveness with such a cool central idea.

Cinematography - The special effects, especially for The Shadow(which scared me quite a bit - reminds me of a demon) and the menagerie of storybook creatures in Capricorn's castle is all done to standard expected nowadays, so it's good if not the best you've ever seen. Colourfully shot, with good set pieces. The camera shakes slightly anytime something is read out of the book.

Score: Pretty generic, really, didn't notice any themes.

Overall: A good, if repetitive family escapist fantasy film that presents an interesting concept, but does't always execute it as well as it could've. Not enough emotional impact or scenes of what happens in these books when a character or characters read out of them are no longer in the pages of the story. Easy to follow and not too long, though, with a handful of somewhat amusing lines and a Lord of the Rings sight gag, and it does have a bit of magic (like seeing well known items from famous books in the castle etc). The theme of books and reading should hopefully, inspire the audience to pick up a few to loose themselves in, which is always a positive thing. 6.4/10

This was a very enjoyable film; maybe not as exciting and a bit more contrived than I'd been looking forward to, but it was still very enjoyable in the main.

But one thing stood out above any other in this film; and that was: Paul Bettany's performance as Dustfinger.

He was just brilliant, and absolutely stole the film for me. I thought he was a good actor anyway, but the moment he came on I had to stop and think "wow!", and I continued to be impressed throughout the film, as his character development just got more and more interesting. I felt far more sympathy with his character than Brendan Frasers (even though I think he's fantastic!), and I felt that he was the true 'main character' of the film (in the same way as Sam is to Lord of the Rings).

If anyone is unsure about seeing Inkheart, I would suggest that it is a must-see if only for Paul Bettany's absolutely stunning performance; he is intense, emotional, funny, troubled, heroic and just plain brilliant.

Also high praise for Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, who were very refreshing. I did feel more could have been done with Andy Serkis and Brendan Fraser, they didn't wow me as much as I'd expected.

But overall a very enjoyable film!!