OK, so a few weeks ago we went to see the final Harry Potter film at the 
cinema. As expected, having spent 10 years building up to this moment, 
nothing you could physically display on a screen really feels like 
anything other than an anticlimax. But hey, never mind...

During the 2 hours of adverts preceding the actual film, I saw a trailer 
for something called Mega Mind. It looked entertaining. And then, a week 

something, so I bought it.

After watching the first 20 minutes or so, it seems the film isn't as 
good as I was hoping. But hey, it was cheap, right?

By the end, I'd revised that opinion. Actually, it /is/ quite a good 
film. Not an awesome film, but quite good. While there's any number of 
things I could mention that might have been done better, the film still 
has some solid emotional high points and low points. And, really, if 
you've managed to pull that off, you can't be doing /that/ badly...

While waiting for POV-Ray to do my bidding the other day, I discovered a 
DVD laying around the house, still in its wrapper. I guess mum bought it 
ages ago and then forgot. It's a film I've never heard of, and 
presumably bought because it was cheap. So I'm not expecting fireworks 
here. The title says "Surf's Up", and it features CG penguins riding 
surf boards.

Right there, that probably tells you everything there is to know about 
the movie, right? From the box art, you can even make out the stock 
characters: The derided dreamer who's obviously going to be the hero by 
the end. The hippie washout who's presumably the comic relief. The evil 
guy. The lone girl - because there has to be a girl, right?

Well, I watched the film. And it entertained me. The story is... you 
already know what the story is, right? There isn't a whole heap there, 
but that doesn't even appear to be the main focus. It's a bunch of 
characters on their own day to day adventures, and it's actually quite 
entertaining.

The film is made up to be a documentary. Lots of people talk to the 
camera, and you can hear the people operating the camera talk back. And 
occasionally get eaten by sharks or something. The washed-out hippie 
dude is less 1-dimensional than you might imagine. And in general, the 
film doesn't take itself too seriously, but manages to have serious 
moments without seeming cheap or fake.

Also, I can't help noticing how all this water would have been utterly 
unthinkable in a CG film a few years ago, but today nobody even blinks. 
But I guess that's just me being a nerd.

Rounding it out is Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. It amuses me how 
Ice Age casually disregards known scientific fact. I mean, sure, nobody 
seriously expects a simple CG comedy to be factually accurate. But when 
you see mammoths, dodos and dinosaurs in the same film, you have to 
start wondering "guys, seriously??"

I remember seeing the first Ice Age. It was entertaining, it had a 
simple but engaging story, and that was that. I still remember the 
disbelief I felt when they announced Ice Age 2. Surprisingly, it manages 
to be as fun as (perhaps even better than) the first one.

Ice Age 3 is certainly up there with the other two. Perhaps slightly 
lower, because of a few minor annoying things. Perhaps slightly higher, 
because of a really entertaining new character.

Unlike the previous two, in this one /everybody/ is suddenly obsessed 
with having kids. Which is slightly annoying. But not enough to /really/ 
spot me enjoying the film. And it seems they don't disregard history as 
much as you'd think; it turns out the characters in the film are just as 
surprised to see dinosaurs as I am. It's the old "there's a secret 
underground world that time forgot" trip.

Also, the film contains a toxic green gas which makes characters talk 
like chipmunks and laugh uncontrollably. What more do you need? :-D

So there you have it. Cheap films can be entertaining sometimes, apparently.

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