Shrek 2 (2004)

The whole gang are back for another whirlwind adventure, in a sequel that is in fact even better than its predecessor.

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are now happily married, and return to their swamp after their honeymoon. They find Donkey (Eddie Murphy) there, as he and Dragon are having some difficulties in their own relationship.

They haven't been home long before they are summoned to return to Fiona's home kingdom in Far Far Away, so that her parents can celebrate her marriage. What Shrek and Fiona don't know is that her parents were expecting her to be rescued by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), and are certainly not expecting to be visited by not one, but two, ogres.

After making the incredibly long journey - it is Far Far Away after all - they meet Fiona's parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews). Fiona's mother is a little surprised, but her father is very unhappy about the whole situation.

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) meeting Fiona's
parents (Julie Andrews and John Cleese).

He enlists the help of the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) - who just happens to be Prince Charming's mother - to help fix what in his mind has gone wrong. He also pays the skilled assassin, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to get rid of Shrek once and for all.

However, Shrek and Donkey take a shining to Puss in Boots, and he ends up joining them. Shrek - convinced that Fiona wants someone more handsome and prince-like than he is - steals a magic potion from the Fairy Godmother that makes him and Donkey incredibly attractive.

The potion also transforms Fiona back into the gorgeous princess she once was, much to the relief of Charming, who is now posing as Shrek so that she will fall in love with him, and they can both have the 'happily ever after' they deserve.

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas).

The screenplay, written by Andrew Adamson and Joe Stillman and J. David Stern & David N. Weiss, is based on the book by William Steig. The script is very clever, filled with countless references to popular culture and plenty of jokes about fairy tales and childrens' stories. There is plenty here for children to enjoy with the great animation and unique characters, but also plenty for adults to enjoy as well with all these clever references.

The score by Harry Gregson-Williams is written perfectly to complement the on-screen action and the rising and falling tension. The soundtrack is also filled with plenty of classic songs - as was the first film - to please audiences familiar with them.

The quality of animation has improved since the first film, and brings these wonderful characters to life with an incredible realism. Of course, a fair amount of this is due to the performances of the voice cast.

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy).

All the original cast from the first film have returned to reprise their roles, but there are also plenty of new characters to come to know and love, and the entire cast have been hand-picked brilliantly for their voice tone and quality to match the characters they play.

My favourite performers in this film are probably Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas, who actually have an incredible on-screen chemistry, despite the fact their lines were recorded separately from each other. There is also a good chemistry between John Cleese and Julie Andrews who, in a departure from standard animated movie procedure, recorded their lines together face-to-face across a studio, giving them the opportunity to play off each other's performance very well.

Directors Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon have made a fantastic film here, one that is - unlike most sequels - better than the first film of the series. I can still remember seeing this film on the big screen all those years ago, and it hasn't lost its appeal in all that time. Watching it again for the purposes of writing this review was a lot of fun and a great trip down memory lane, and I'm sure it won't be the last time I will be watching - and loving - it.

9 out of 10.

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

The Monty Python team are back again, and back to their old antics, this time taking on institutionalised religion.

Brian (Graham Chapman) is a Jewish man with a Roman father, living in first-century Palestine with his mother.

The Romans are in power, and are terrorising the citizens at every turn.

Within this culture, many splinter groups have popped up, all of them hoping to be the ones to overthrow the Romans and return their country to peace once again.

One of these groups is the Peoples' Front of Judea, which Brian joins one day. It is here he meets Judith (Sue Jones-Davies) with whom he falls in love.

The script, written by the Pythons - John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam - is filled with that classic Pythonesque humour we have come to love (if you love it, that is).

The script is not - as some have attested over the years - a mockery of the life of Jesus Christ, but rather, a satire against the very notion of organised religion and its propensity to seek to control people.

This script is an improvement on the Pythons' first film in that it follows a much more narrative structure, with only one main plotline. There is no doubt their strength lies in sketch writing, the feel of which this film has in its individual scenes, but as a unified whole, this film works much better than its predecessor.

The music - by Geoffrey Burgon - is well suited to the on-screen action, and while not being particularly adventurous or spectacular, does its job perfectly well enough.

Where this film really shines in its production design (by Terry Gilliam) and costume design (by Charles Knode and Hazel Pethig), both of which take the audience back in time to an authentically-recreated time in history. The film was shot in Tunisia, with a large number of extras, all dressed in period costumes, and all looking the part.

The cast performances are adequate for their purpose. This is a comedy film from the team who brought us Monty Python's Flying Circus, and is not likely to have won its cast any major awards for acting. But at the same time, the performances are believable enough. Sue Jones-Davies in particular is fantastic as Judith.

Director Terry Jones comes into his own with this film, and to be honest, I think having only one director helped this time too. This is a film of which I never tire, and will surely watch again and again with no drop in my level of enjoyment.

8 out of 10.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

The first full-length film from the team who brought you Monty Python's Flying Circus, this film is full of fantastic British comedy of the highest quality.

King Arthur (Graham Chapman) is on a quest from God, a quest to find the Holy Grail. With him are the Knights of the Round Table: Galahad (Michael Palin), Lancelot (John Cleese), Bedevere (Terry Jones) and Robin (Eric Idle), as well as Arthur's trusty servant Patsy (Terry Gilliam).

There really is no need to describe any more of the plot; I'll leave that up to you to discover (or re-discover) for yourself.

As with all material by the Python team (the entire above-mentioned cast, who wrote the film themselves), most of the characters are played by the Pythons themselves, with many of the cast doubling roles. There are exceptions to this, with frequent collaborators Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes playing one role each (or sometimes two).

The script to this film is absolutely fantastic. The film feels like an extended episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, however, with short sketch-style scenes connected by the overarching storyline of Arthur and his knights searching for the Grail; but on the whole, the scenes could also stand on their own as comedy sketches.

The costumes, designed by Hazel Pethig (who also did all the costumes on Flying Circus), are adequate enough to convey the characters. This film was made on a very low budget, but the costumes at least are well done, considering.

Terry Bedford's cinematography is also good, within the budget constraints, obviously. A fair amount of the action takes place on location, as opposed to in a studio, so most scenes are simply shot with natural light, giving the film a very down-to-earth type of feel. But of course the value of this film is not in its visuals, but rather in its comedy.

The entire cast are fantastic, certainly if you like Monty Python and their style of comedy (which I do, which helps). Graham Chapman really shines as King Arthur, and was certainly the right choice of the six of them to play this role. The other standout performer - in my opinion - is Michael Palin, who definitely has the most different roles throughout the film (I counted nine in total). But he brings a different quality to each one, and it's easy enough to forget that all nine of those roles are being played by the same person.

Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam co-directed this film together (I suppose because they had the fewest acting roles between them, or something), and they have done a pretty good job here. I know that with the following Python films, Terry Jones would direct alone, which gives those later films more of a single unity that comes from having only one person at the helm. This one, however, as I've already said, feels like a really long episode of Flying Circus. Of course, again, if you're a fan, that probably isn't an issue, but still, this film does have a bit of a disjointed feel to it.

That being said, I will probably still continue to watch it at least a couple of times each year; it really is incredibly funny, even when you can quote the whole thing along with the cast.

6 1/2 out of 10.