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Inkheart

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Inkheart (2009)

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Reviews Counted:132

Fresh:52

Rotten:80

Average Rating:5.1/10

Consensus: Heavy on cliches and light on charm, this kid-lit fantasy-adventure doesn't quite get off the ground.

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Jan 23, 2009 Wide

Box Office: $17,281,832

Synopsis: Cornelia Funke’s best-selling novel, INKHEART, comes to life in director Iain Softley’s (THE SKELETON KEY, THE WINGS OF THE DOVE) feature-film adaptation of the same name. For 12 years, bookbinder... Cornelia Funke’s best-selling novel, INKHEART, comes to life in director Iain Softley’s (THE SKELETON KEY, THE WINGS OF THE DOVE) feature-film adaptation of the same name. For 12 years, bookbinder Mo (Brendan Fraser) and his daughter, Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett), have been traveling the world, poking around secondhand bookstores. Meggie correctly assumes that her father is looking for her mother, Resa (Sienna Guillory), who disappeared without a trace. What Meggie doesn’t know is that Mo is a Silvertongue, and when he reads a story aloud, the details and characters come to vivid life. But when a character comes out of a book, someone has to go back in, and Mo is searching a copy of the book, titled "Inkheart," into which Resa literally disappeared. When Mo read the story aloud, unaware of his powers, she was sucked into the story, and the fantastical novel’s villainous characters were released. Now, Mo and Meggie have to keep evil Capricorn and his henchmen from realizing their diabolical plot, and send everyone back where they belong. INKHEART is awash with colorful details. Capricorn has had to make do with a stuttering Silvertongue who delivers characters that are half-read: text from the book is tattooed on their faces, or they suffer some other malady, emerging from the book mute or with an odd physical feature. Paul Bettany is engaging as Dustfinger, a character who desperately wants to be read back into "Inkheart" and return to his family, portrayed by Bettany’s real-life love, Jennifer Connelly, in a miss-her-if-you-blink performance. Helen Mirren is good fun as eccentric, feisty bibliophile Aunt Elinor, and Jim Broadbent appears as the novel’s author, who is enthralled by the possibilities of Mo’s gift. [More]

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis, Eliza Hope Bennett, Rafi Gavron

Director: Iain Softley

Director: Iain Softley
Screenwriter: David Lindsay-Abaire
Producer: Iain Softley, Diana Pokorny, Cornelia Funke
Composer: Javier Navarrete
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Release:

Jun 23, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • (unspecified) English

Additional Release Material:

  • Featurette
  • 1. A Story from the Cast and Crew [Playing the game "tell me a story," Novelist Cornelia Funke starts the cast & crew off on this wild adventure by giving the first line,"I discovered the hole under my bed on my thirtenth birthday…."
  • 2. 2. Eliza Reads to Us [Actress Eliza Bennett ("Meggie Folchart") shares one of her favorite passages from the book that did not end up in the movie accompanied by Cornelia illustrations of the story]
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Inkheart

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Inkheart has an engaging premise in its notion of a Silvertongue and a refreshing love of books.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
01/27/09
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

As an adventure flick, Inkheart is not all that adventurous. It goes to places and falls on tropes that many fantasy films -- most notably but not exclusively the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- have covered.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
01/23/09
Kamal Al-Solaylee
Kamal Al-Solaylee
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Chaotic, wildly unevern kids' fluff.

Full Review Source: Denton Record Chronicle (TX) | comment Comment
01/24/09
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

It's an interesting idea, but instead of imagining an equally clever conclusion, the film eventually collapses into a series of chases and fights with a big Raiders of the Lost Ark-style special effects blowout ending.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/23/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Tween-targeted fantasy adaptation is no Harry Potter.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
01/23/09
Sandie Angulo Chen
Sandie Angulo Chen
Common Sense Media

Beautiful cinematography, good direction, solid supporting actors, interestingly enough story, despite its predictability, but the main character was absent.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
01/22/09
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

... focused on giving the film a palpable threat of potentially fatal consequences and the characters an emotional foundation.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/22/09
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[Has] plenty of thrills, a smart although oft-confusing script, delightful scenery-chewing scenes from stalwarts like Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent and Andy Serkis, and a gorgeous high-concept visual style.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
01/23/09
Linda Barnard
Linda Barnard
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Better an adventure movie for families that (however paradoxically) extols the value and wonder of books than yet another movie that celebrates violent revenge or asinine behavior.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
01/23/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

This fantasy-lit film is too intense for young ones drawn to its books-come-to-life story and not sharp enough for Potter fans.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
02/19/09
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

It's the limitations of the film when considering the nearly limitless possibilities suggested by the premise that make Inkheart a disappointment.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/21/09
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film’s storybook Alpine vistas are lovely to behold, and bits of humor pop out in welcome moments. Other than that, it never quite springs to life as intended -- not in your kitchen, and not on screen.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/23/09
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

CGI fantasy adventures in the post-Potter, young-adult, old-child mode are not quite my taste, but this one is likably boisterous, and Iain Softley directs with flair.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/12/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

There are moments of absolute wonder to be had. Just not enough to make the film anything more than a painless misfire.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
01/28/09
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Doesn't fill us with a sufficient sense of awe for the spectacular visual concepts that we've come to expect in big-scale movie fantasy.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
01/21/09
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Another fantasy adventure story based on a bestselling book that turns out to be a dud.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/23/09
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Una aventura entretenida sobre todo para público adolescente, y para todo aquel que haya disfrutado alguna vez de un buen libro de fantasía.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
04/09/09
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

Inkheart is a fantastic read, and I wasn't expecting the film to live up to it at all. Much simpler than the book, the film is still a pretty fantastic ride. The story is changed around a bit but the main characters are there, exactly as you remember them

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
01/23/09
Jenna Busch
Jenna Busch
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Despite strong production values and a cast of heavy hitters, Inkheart never hooks us as it should.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
01/23/09
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Inkheart gets a pass for making books seem cool (if scary): if only it could have done the same for movies.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
01/23/09
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
 
 
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Latest News for Inkheart

January 30, 2009: Making a movie about the magic to be found in reading books, is a little like General Motors singing the praises of riding a bike instead. Opens in new window
More...

January 22, 2009: Critics Consensus: Inkheart Is Less Than Magical
This week at the movies, we've got living literature (Inkheart, starring Brendan Fraser and Eliza Hope Bennett); political intrigue (Frost/Nixon, starring Michael Sheen and... More...

January 22, 2009: Box Office Guru Preview: Underworld Battles Oscar All-Stars
Only two new releases hit the North American box office, but in the wake of Academy Award nominations, a handful of contenders take the opportunity to expand nationwide hoping... More...

December 14, 2008: Warner Bros. Firms Up 2009 Schedule Opens in new window
From "Inkheart" to "Sherlock Holmes," the Warner Bros. slate for 2009 has been set, and ComingSoon has posted it for your perusal. More...

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