Based on the Japanese blockbuster Nankyoku Monogatari, Eight Below is an engrossing and engaging real-life adventure set in the treacherous ice kingdom of Antarctica. At the film's heart is a simple story of one man's enduring love for eight cute-as-can-be dogs, but Frank Marshall energises the two-hour running time with some well orchestrated set pieces and compelling performances from his four-legged cast.

The huskies pack leader Maya, alpha-in-training Max, Shadow, Buck, the twins Dewey and Truman, Shorty and veteran Old Jack don't disappoint, emoting beautifully on cue, even howling in grief when a member of the team lays down in the snow for the final time. Human performers can't compete with the cheeky hounds, but beefcake Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) delivers one of his best performances, shedding a tear or two when he fears he may never see his sled team again.

Screenwriters David DiGilio, working from the 1957 true story that inspired the Japanese film, takes his time establishing the characters during the somewhat slow opening hour. But once the storm blows in and the huskies are stranded, with only their canine wits to save them, the pace quickens considerably, with on-screen captions updating us on the number of days they have spent alone in the wild.

Intrepid guide Jerry Shepard (Walker), his cartographer best friend Cooper (Jason Biggs) and geologist Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood) are part of a scientific expedition in Antarctica. Disaster strikes during a scouting mission to locate a fallen meteorite there is a freak accident and the chances of survival are badly compromised by the treacherous weather conditions.

The entire research station is forced to evacuate but with so little space on the aircraft flown by Katie (Moon Bloodgood), Jerry has no choice but to leave behind his eight huskies, on the proviso that Katie will fly straight back to collect them.

Unfortunately, the storm increases in ferocity and all flights are grounded, apparently condemning the dogs to a horrific death. Six months pass and Jerry is tormented by his decision to leave so he resolves to return to Antarctica and pay tribute to his eight friends ("I gotta get back there, I owe it to them"), who he presumes are all dead. Little does he know . . .

Eight Below may be aimed squarely at a family audience, but this is no saccharine, feelgood fairy-tale. There is heartbreak along the way as a number of the canine protagonists lose their battle against Mother Nature, plus a genuinely terrifying encounter with a leopard seal (computer generated) that will shred even the steeliest nerves. Director of photography Don Burgess fills the screen with the vast glaciers of Antarctica, while the huskies soon melt our hearts with their antics.

Andy Warhol famously declared, "In the future everybody will be world-famous for 15 minutes." His forewarning of the fading lustre of celebrity has slowly but surely come true. Reality TV has become a portal to instant stardom, propelling ordinary men, women and even children into the white-hot glare of the media spotlight. You no longer have to achieve greatness to win the public's adoration: now, it's merely a case of sitting in a house under 24-hour camera surveillance, abasing yourself on a freakish talent show, or stabbing your rivals in the back in the boardroom.

American Dreamz is a satire of the reality TV phenomenon, lampooning shows like Pop Idol and The X-Factor, which turn mediocre karaoke wannabes into the next chart superstar. Writer-director Paul Weitz takes potshots at the makers of these cult programmes, as well as the hopefuls, but he fails to draw blood, allowing his characters to verge on caricature.

Despite an eye-catching performance from Mandy Moore as a trailer trash belle who will do anything to win the top prize, including exploiting her war hero boyfriend (Kevin Klein), the humour is too broad to cut to the bone. Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant) is the egomaniac ringleader of the top-rated television circus American Dreamz, a nationwide search to unearth the next great singing talent. Ratings depend on finding the perfect combination of contestants and Martin's instructions to the show's producers Accordo and Ittles (Judy Greer, John Cho) are simple: "I'm talking human. And by human I mean flawed. And by flawed I mean freaks. Find me some freaks."

They duly oblige, welcoming hugely ambitious vixen Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), crazy orthodox Jew, Sholem (Adam Busch), and showtunes-obsessed Omer (Sam Golzari), an immigrant from the Middle East who is actually a terrorist-in-waiting.

As the programme moves towards its grand finale, the media is abuzz with news that the President of the US, Joe Staton (Dennis Quaid), has agreed to act as guest judge. The coup, masterminded by the President's Chief of Staff (Willem Dafoe) and endorsed by the First Lady (Marcia Gay Harden), should push Staton's approval ratings through the roof. Except Omer has been ordered to use the occasion to blow himself up, along with the president.

American Dreamz has its moments and a sprinkling of decent one-liners but the film opts for soft targets, and the writing isn't sharp enough to milk the dark humour of the terrorist subplot. Grant's selfish swine needs to be much nastier, but Moore and Golzari hold their own, and there's an attention-grabbing supporting turn from Tony Yalda as Omer's flamboyantly camp cousin Iqbal.