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Since leaning toward 3D animation, DreamWorks has built a reputation for being anti-Disney when it comes to its most recognisable IPs, whether it’s the beloved Shrek or the Martin Scorsese-starrer Shark Tale. While the studio doesn’t compare to something like Pixar when it comes to delivering emotionally resonant stories consistently, when it does, we get gems like How to Train Your Dragon and The Wild Robots.

Unfortunately, one such poignant story that deserved its own franchise was brushed under the rug, even though it had a lot more to offer than its competitors during the same timeframe.

Rise of the Guardians‘ failure stings deeply Rise of the Guardians | Credit: DreamWorks

For a studio that is notable for integrating pop-culture into its stories, in the early 2000s, DreamWorks branched out its slate with How to Train Your Dragon, arguably the best non-Disney Disney animated releases of that era.

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After last week's dip, The Shannara Chronicles gets back on track in its most recent episode, Safehold, in time for next week's finale...

This review contains spoilers.

1.9 Safehold

Considering last week’s instalment of The Shannara Chronicles was titled Utopia, the episode itself turned out to be very far from the ideals of harmony and perfection such a word usually connotes. The concept, the setting, the clumsy attempt to shoehorn modern culture into the narrative, the uneven division of screen-time afforded to each story arc, the poor character development; there were very few redeeming features to be found and as such, it would have been a near impossible task for the show’s subsequent offering to decline further in quality.

Nevertheless, Safehold should be praised and credited for just how quickly and effortlessly it gets The Shannara Chronicles back on the right track. The episode recaptures the...

If proof was ever needed that the opinions of critics aren’t the be all and end all when it comes to a film’s success, one need only look at last weekend’s big winner Nativity 2 : Danger in the Manger.

Much maligned by critics and savaged pretty much across the board, few (this humble writer included) gave it much notice and assumed it would struggle being released the same weekend as star-studded fair such as Silver Linings Playbook, End of Watch and Gambit.

Oh how little we know. Taking in an impressive £1.6 million in its opening weekend, Nativity 2 sits comfortably in third place in the Box Office Chart, making more than End of Watch and Gambit combined. With its broad family appeal and timely release date falling just when many folks are beginning to enter into the festive spirit, it looks set to dwarf the £5million total of its predecessor.

The followup to 2009's surprise hit Nativity! enjoys a straightforward delivery, holding off competition from Silver Linings Playbook, Gambit and End of Watch

The winner

It may not have been a hit with the nation's critics, but Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! proved comfortably the top new release at the UK weekend box-office, beating bigger-budget offerings starring Hollywood A-listers Cameron Diaz, Bradley Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal. With an impressive opening of £1.61m, that's more than double the debut of the original Nativity! (£794,000) three years ago. Nativity! went on to accumulate £5.2m during its 2009 run, 6.5 times its opening, thanks to positive word-of-mouth among its target audience of families, and the natural tendency of Christmas-themed movies to sustain and build as the holiday approaches. A similar multiple would deliver a total above £10m for Nativity 2.

Debbie Isitt's original Nativity! flew relatively under the radar – the big festive movie...

DVD Playhouse December 2010

By

Allen Gardner

America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...