Direct to DVD!

Originally, I was only going to review movies I had seen at the cinema on this blog. However, I recently saw two direct to DVD releases, which were both very good and certainly worthy of review. If nothing else, I thought their status as DVD's was worth commenting on.
It wouldn't be fair to comment on this matter fully, without the relevant information to hand. It would appear however, that the Australian market follows that of the U.S.(over and above the rest of the world), in it's decision to release movies theatrically or not. It seems any movie which doesn't do well at theatres in the States, will not get a theatrical run on our shores. There must be a cut-off of so many million - it would be interesting to know what that number is?!
Anyway, on to the movies in question. Firstly we have, 'The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-sec'. This is the new movie by Luc Besson - famed director of The Big blue and Leon.
This is a french language film set in 1911 and tells the tall tale of intrepid adventurer Adele Blanc-sec. Adapted from the graphic novels by Jacques Tardi, this very entertaining yarn could be best described as Amelie meets Tintin! The roll of Adele is played by Louise Bourgoin. She is charming and beautiful - and carries the movie with aplomb!
Live action family fantasies are too often 'something and nothing' - the film-makers unable to skew their product for the enjoyment of all ages, resulting in the enjoyment of none.
I have no doubt the success of this film has a lot to do with it's European sensibilities. It never ceases to amaze me how well foreign films translate sometimes. Despite the language barriers, we all share the same basic emotions on this planet. I believe foreign films act as a reminder to us all that we're not all that different from one another.
I found the quirky nature of this film incredibly refreshing. As with Les Visiteurs, Taxi 1 and 2, Micmacs and the aforementioned Amelie, the comedy elements in particular translate to satisfying effect.
My only criticism lies with the execution of some of the visual effects - particularly the interaction between live action and digital. No doubt Besson had a much smaller budget to work with than he did on The Fifth Element. However, what I found particularly lacking, was inventiveness. It seems only first time film-makers are able to produce unique and interesting scenes under budgetary constraints. Time and again, more is(unfortunately) less - 3/5.
Our second direct to DVD feature is, 'Apollo 18'. This is a found-footage feature(much like the recently reviewed, 'Chronicle'). This time the footage in question is from the 1970's and documents a secret Apollo mission to the moon.
The plot is simple, yet effective. After the success of Apollo 17, future Apollo missions and the program itself, is decommissioned. Three American astronauts are asked to take part in an unofficial 18th mission however, and sign-up willingly. After arriving on the moon, the crew discover Russian cosmonauts who shouldn't be there, and strange goings-on of 'alien' nature.
The execution is where this movie really succeeds. The film stock is suitably retro and the grainy nature and frequent interference of said footage helps to build tension - as it warns both astronaut and audience alike of impending strangeness!
This being a found footage account, the film-makers successfully ground their story in the facts surrounding the Apollo program. Nuggets of information concerning rock samples for example, aid in making the fiction just as intriguing as the fact.
This was close to a 4* film for me. For such an intelligent movie, full of originality, it needed a suitably interesting ending. I was left slightly unsatisfied as the credits rolled - 3/5.