TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Python Hyena The Borrowers (1997): Dir: Peter Hewitt / Cast: John Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Bradley Pierce, Mark Williams, Hugh Laurie: Recycled story (The Indian in the Cupboard, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) about little people who live beneath the floor boards of a house. They do not steal but borrow (hence the title). The plot is a series of cat and mouse games where the villain attempts to vanquish them so that he may take possession of a will that was left at the house. He wishes to destroy the house and build apartment buildings in its place but he must burn the will that states ownership of the family living there. Thrilling visual effects include being showered with ice cubes, encountering pigeons, and being trapped in a milk bottle. Unfortunately the film is pure crap that borrows from other films of its kind. Formula story directed by Peter Hewitt whose terrible Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey actually looks good in comparison to this. John Goodman as the villain plays off the slapstick well but the role is cardboard. Jim Broadbent plays the head borrower. Bradley Pierce plays the boy who befriends them so that's pretty much straight forward. Mark Williams plays an exterminator in what is pretty standard for a film such as this. Hugh Laurie plays an idiot cop who should have arrested the people who suggested this film get made. Entertaining visuals within a rather dull story that steals from everything. Score: 2 / 10

Leofwine_draca I consider myself a fan of THE BORROWERS after watching the BBC children's TV series in the early 1990s. Recently I read the original novel for the first time and enjoyed it; I also saw the fine Japanese animated adaptation of the story, ARRIETTY. So I was interested, if not a little wary, to see how this American version of the story would held up. It's worth noting that I'd never seen it before.Simply put, this is a travesty of a film and a huge disappointment for a true BORROWERS fan. Other than the central characters, the entire storyline has been jettisoned in favour of a bombastic, action-packed chase narrative in which the little people must team up to battle evil property tycoon John Goodman. This is about as far from the small-scale (pun intended) origins of the original Mary Norton story as it gets.There are a few lights twinkling away amid the garbage; I'll be the first to admit that Jim Broadbent makes for an effective Pod, and Tom Felton shines in an early role. Celia Imrie isn't bad as Homily, but she's no match for Penelope Wilton. The special effects aren't too bad for the year, and few of them scream 'obvious CGI' like so many Hollywood films today.So where did it go wrong? Well, the attempts to update the story for a modern American audience is a good start. The setting is some ridiculous 'netherworld' which mixes modern-day technology with 1950s-era Britain and America. It's ludicrous. Goodman's villain is poorly shoe-horned into the storyline and the subject of numerous fat jokes. Really? Is it right for a film to be teaching kids to constantly insult people due to their weight? The characters are badly written, the dumb humour consists of farting dogs and the like, and the whole thing has been dumbed down massively and lost the magic of the original. In the end it's just another soulless Hollywood effects piece.

SnoopyStyle Pete Lender (Bradley Pierce) is sure that someone is causing things to disappear from his home. His parents dismiss him. In fact, a family of borrowers are living in the house. Pod (Jim Broadbent) and Homily Clock (Celia Imrie) are the parents to Arrietty (Flora Newbigin) and Peagreen (Tom Felton). The unscrupulous lawyer Ocious P. Potter (John Goodman) tells Mrs. Lender that without her aunt's will, the Lenders have to move. Potter is planning to demolish the house for new condominiums. Pete catches Arrietty and befriends the Clocks. He takes them along to the new home. However Arrietty and Peagreen fall off of the truck and they return back to the house. Potter comes over and finds the will in a hidden safe in the house. Arrietty and Peagreen manage to steal the will away from Potter.I don't like how this movie looks. It looks ugly. I don't like the reddish brown hue on everything. Their house looks ugly. The giant brand name products don't intrigue me. The Clocks don't enchant me. I don't find Pete adorable. Everything just irked me. The look is so unappealing that it distracts me from the story which is not that compelling anyways.

TheLittleSongbird If you forgive the fact that there are slow moments in the plot, this is a truly delightful family film. There are some genuinely funny and heart warming moments in the script, the costumes are colourful and the sets and scenery are quite elaborate. The part with Ocious and the Exterminator trying to demolish the house is one of many hilarious parts of the movie. Of course though it is indeed the special effects that steal the show, highly imaginative and clever. The film is directed by Peter Hewitt who also directed Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, and is fairly solid. As for the acting it was great. While there is a hilarious supporting turn from Mark Williams as the Exterminator, and fine support from British thespians Hugh Laurie, an adorable Tom Felton and Celia Imrie, two casting members stood out. One was Jim Broadbent, while he has been better, he is in good form as the father of the tiny Clocks. The other, and the more obvious one, is a perfectly cast John Goodman as the unscrupulous lawyer Ocious P. Potter. The music is great as well.All in all, a pretty darn good family film. Not perfect, but well worth the watch. 9/10 Bethany Cox