Under the Mountain (2009)

I'll tell you why so serious

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I remember reading the book and watching the TV series as a child, so when I saw this was out in the DVD stores I was excited to revisit a part of my childhood.Unfortunately, this film compares poorly to the 80s TV series. The 80s TV series had a darkness and chill surrounding the Wilberforces that had shades of Doctor Who about it. A lot of the darkness and suspense is lost in this film. It spends a good 40-50 minutes before Rachel and Theo (and the audience) is even let in on the plot. Now this might be excused in some films, if the buildup is engaging enough, but it simply comes across as disparate events that seem to have no real bearing on the story. I felt that they felt obliged to include certain scenes because they were iconic from the TV series, yet they were divorced of all context in this film. Given the length of the film, the twins needed to meet Mr Jones earlier to bring everyone into the plot earlier and allow the suspense to build.Overall, I would advise anyone to give this a miss and try to find the original TV series - some of the episodes are on google video.

I'd waited for this one for ages thanks to some fond memories of the original TV adaptation from when I was a child. I suspect that those memories made me expect a lot more that what was delivered here.The plot is okay for a simple science fiction story but don't expect anything epic. The target audience for this seems to be children so in terms of entertainment value for adults it is rather limited -- fans of the original show, supporters of NZ cinema, and those who enjoy sci-fi. I would expect most adults not fitting into these categories are going to find this a boring film.The special effects are okay. For the story, there is the right amount and the quality is acceptable. The movie is more about the characters than flashy special effects so here the balance seems about right.The real problem with production is the same that plagues many New Zealand productions - bad script writing and terrible acting. I watch all the NZ films I can and I am always hoping they will improve but rarely am I surprised in a pleasant way. Whomever writes their scripts needs to spend more time watching real people converse. Part of the problem with the wooden acting is that their lines just don't feel natural so how can they be delivered in a believable way. If you are not a Kiwi or Australian you may not even notice how clunky the acting is; for us it is painful at times! Interestingly, some of the most clunky delivery comes from Sam Neil. Don't hold it against him though; he didn't have much to work with here and he *is* helping out NZ cinema.The nicest thing about this movie is that it is not Hollywood junk. The characters, while not particularly convincing nor likable, are like people you would see on an everyday street. They are not perfect Hollywood models with glowing white teeth and perfect makeup and hair. That in itself is a refreshing change.This movie doesn't extend NZ cinema to any great new heights, nor is it every going to be a classic. It's just a ho-hum movie that might amuse for an hour and a half then be forgotten.

There are only two reasons why i would waste my time writing about a movie. It is either because its brilliant or because it's a terrible waste of time! This movie falls into the latter category. Halfway into the movie, i find myself looking at the clock. Unfortunately, it didn't get any better. Wow, such great premise, how the hell did they miss the mark? The director is to blame here. It was so so lame and boring. The actors did a good job, though i would have to say that sometimes the reaction factor is kind of weak. Example, when Mr Jones was trying to heal Rachel, flames of fire came out of his hand, in reality any tom dick and harry would find this amazingly unreal and you would expect them to react in disbelief, but on the contrary, the kids are acted like they have seen this before. Wowsers! This movie gets a C from me.

I Went to see this movie to support New Zealand movies.To my surprise I was very disappointed... Weta workshop did the visual effects which were OK but nothing very creative.The story very lacking something and the movie ended very quickly and was very basic the whole time it just felt the twins were not twins they were friends having a Tiff.The Special effects were very good but didn't save the movie in anyway way or forum.this will be a movie you will forget straight away.I will say that the actors did a great job which is why I gave 3 stars.