The Day The Earth Stood Still

ARE we really worth saving?
That’s the question The Day The Earth Stood Still asks, and for people who have not seen the original movie, there is plenty of food for thought.
A twist on classic sci fi tale, it is about an alien invasion that has not come to obliterate the planet but rather to save the Earth from its wasteful human inhabitants.
Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), an alien who has taken human form, is taken into custody and warns scientists and Government officials that they only have themselves to blame.

It is a poignant green message, which is met with hostility rather than a desire to change — think a modern day Noah’s Ark story.
And just like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, it seems Reeves has found his perfect film role here. An alien with no concept of human emotion, Reeves’ wooden acting abilities fit the bill.
Some elements of the film were a bit unconvincing but it is an enjoyable wake up call for anyone who worries about the planet.
But since that wake up call was first told in 1951, are we really going to listen this time?

Zack and Miri make a Porno

ZACK and Miri are your typical, confused, platonic couple.
They are close housemates who rely on each other and feelings exist yet they have never been explored.
But when times get hard, they start looking at unusual ways to scrabble their way out of debt — and settle on the idea of making an amateur adult movie — as you do.
Cult director Kevin Smith once again merges the coarse with the sentimental...and somehow succeeds.
It would be difficult to think of any other filmmaker who could put you in the world of a rom-com one minute and then throw you into an altogether more sordid setting, the next.
But with his recurring characters Jay and Silent Bob now finally retired, Smith has had to take the helm without the comfort of his screen heroes.

That said, Zack and Miri does feel very much like one of the director’s New Jersey slacker films with the intro perhaps a homage to his debut Clerks, with Zack (Seth Rogen) stumbling around on a cold morning trying to get to his meaningless job.
A couple of old cast members get a look-in too, most notably Jason Mewes living up to all the innuendoes of his previous notorious character, Jay.
But this lacks some of the snappy dialogue that made Smith’s earlier films a joy and is a bit too cheesy.
Nevertheless, it’s certainly a refreshing take on the rom-com genre but only for those who can tolerate hundreds of swear words and a lot of bared flesh.

W

JUST how did a man like George W. Bush become the leader of the free world?
It’s been the question on people’s lips since the turn of the millennia as the world has slowly come to terms with a disastrous presidency.
With Bush’s eight-year reign due to come to a close in January, it is the perfect time for a film like ‘W’.
Not overtly political like Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, seasoned director Oliver Stone offers dramatised take on the life of the 43rd President of the USA, with Josh Brolin excellently portraying the bumbling leader.
Jutting between Bush’s early years and the post-9/11 meetings discussing going to war with Iraq, you get a good overall impression of the man’s life.

You see his transition from college cool guy to struggling worker to successful businessman to reluctant politician, with periods of him feeling hopelessly lost in between.
Fast forward to the presidential crisis talks and you see a leader who is on the periphery of his own meetings, easily influenced by his aides and more concerned with keeping egos in check, than the fallout of foreign policy decisions.
Despite Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) doing his utmost to persuade the President that the war is unjustified, Bush is adamant that he wants to ‘kick the ass’ of those who tried to kill his father.
In fact, Bush’s father (James Cromwell) is the overriding theme in both parts of the story. W is completely overshadowed by the former president and is stuck between his desire to be his own man and his obligation to continue the Bush legacy.
More sympathetic than critical, Stone’s ‘W’ offers a deep insight into a shallow man.

Quantom of Solace

BOND enjoys the international jet set life in his latest adventure on the big screen.
In the 22nd film in the 007 franchise, the British spy flits from continent to continent in hot pursuit of a phantom organisation called Quantom.
The result is a frenetic story that is as exciting as it is head spinning. It’s hard to keep up as 007 dashes from Austria to South America chasing leads and invariably killing villains along the way, to the disdain of his boss, M (Judy Dench on top form).
Starting just moments after the final sequence of Casino Royale, Quantom of Solace is the first Bond film to be a direct sequel.
And very much in keeping with its predecessor, Daniel Craig excellently portrays the same no nonsense, ruthless yet vulnerable agent that was critically acclaimed in 2006.
More Matt Damon than Sean Connery, Craig’s fantastic action sequences pay homage to the Bourne trilogy but look close enough and there are a few subtle nods to the cheesy Bond of old.
Following on from Casino Royale, you also get the continuity of the character’s struggle. Still vexed by the death of his former lover Vesper, 007 is motivated by anger and revenge — making his mission to hunt down Quantom leader Dominic Greene very personal.
An apt villain for our times, Greene is a faux-environmentalist with a hidden agenda. No cat on his lap, no super satellite or underground lair, just a cold hearted entrepeneur...and that sense of realism is the scariest part.

Burn After Reading

AFTER leagues of mundane Hollywood hits, it is always refreshing to see a Coen brothers movie.
The filmmakers have made a career out of twisting our interpretation of some of the industry’s biggest stars to squeeze out every last drop of comedy potential.
Take Burn After Reading. Chiselled poster boy George Clooney is transformed into a philanderous government agent (acting with his eyebrows as usual) while heart throb Brad Pitt takes the role of fitness geek, Chad, alongside his gormless fellow employee, Linda (Frances McDormand).
John Malkovich plays a bitter, drunken CIA analyst while Tilda Swinton completes the main cast as his cold hearted wife Katie (not that far removed from her turn as the White Witch in Narnia).

As far as the characters go, this is classic Coen brothers in the making, up there with The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona.
The story, too, will keep you entertained. It is a comedy of errors about ‘sensitive’ CIA documents that have fallen into the wrong hands.
It takes great pleasure in revealing its stars as great idiots, all connected through their illicit affairs, and the plot whirls out of control in a life all its own.
But at just 90 minutes, Burn After Reading seems to end almost as soon as its begun and there’s less laugh-out-loud moments than you’d hope for.
Yet give it a while and you may find this film sinking into your subconscious. Picture it in your mind and you’re sure to smile.

Tropic Thunder

BEN Stiller’s directorial debut had the promise of the comedy equilovent of a world war.
But after 107 minutes of luke warm gags, it seems Tropic Thunder can only muster that of a minor skirmish.
Some cinema goers and critics may have praised the film for its refreshingly different and inventive set up but a great premise is not enough when the film does not deliver on its most important commodity — laughs.
Here, real movie stars play fictional movie stars, who think they are shooting a Vietnam War movie, but are in fact hopelessly lost and in the dangerous territory of the ‘Flaming Dragon’ gang.
It starts well with fictional trailers of the stars’ other ‘recent films’, and then goes on to ridicule their spoilt self indulgence and egotism as part of a broad satire on the cult of celebrity.

The best character by a mile is ever-charming Robert Downey Jr’s Kirk Lazarus — an Australian who has a controversial cosmetic operation to bag the role of one of the black characters.
Also expect Jack Black, Tom Cruise, Steve Coogan, Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte — all great mates of Mr Stiller, no doubt.
With such a stellar cast, you’d expect the belly laughs to be as thick and fast as a hail of bullets but it rarely delivers.
Strangely enough, Tom Cruise (as you’ve never seen him before) is the funniest, whereas comedy stalwart Jack Black might as well have just stayed at home.
An accomplished disappointment, Tropic Thunder certainly hints at better things to come from director Ben Stiller...

Eden Lake

A SAVAGE, relentless, terrifying experience playing on one of UK’s most closest fears.
It may not sound like an ideal night out at the cinema but this is scariest British horror film to curse the silver screen in years.
Eden Lake tells the story of typical middle class ‘Ikea’ couple Jenny and Steve who plan a romantic weekend away at a beautiful old quarry that is soon to become a luxury gated community.
“Who are they so afraid of?” says Jenny. Soon it becomes all too clear.
Everything is perfect until they confront a gang of youths about their antisocial behaviour...
Chavs, townies, scallies, hoodies, louts — there are many slang terms to describe the young people that have caused a blaze of controversy in the press for years.
And director James Watkins cleverly plays on those fears (whether they are justified or not) until Eden Lake’s decisive and shocking ending.

The casting is perfect. The youths look like the kind you might find lurking on street corners and tension is on a knife edge as soon as you realise the direction the film is going in.
Unlike the sinister characters in many other horrors, this threat is much more real. They’re not monsters — they are just young people doing monstrous things — and following the aftermath of the Garry Newlove tragedy, it can be a little uncomfortable to watch.
But more than the film itself, it is the message that makes the most impact, highlighting issues like peer pressure, gang culture and the role of parents in the problem society we are living in.
Hard watching but worth it.

Rocknrolla

GUY Ritchie retreads familiar territory in this Cockney crime caper.
But by returning to what he knows best, the director has created a quality film, that although lacks originality, is engaging and entertaining throughout.
It might not possess the gritty charm of Ritchie’s earlier films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but is slick and stylish revealing a director with more experience and confidence.
It’s also refreshing to see Ritchie hit the headlines as a filmmaker rather than being pestered by the tabloids for being Mr Madonna.
Rocknrolla centres on a property development and the tug-of-war between London and Russian gangsters for power, money and influence.
There is a fragile balance until £7million goes missing and troubled rockstar Johnny Quid (probably based loosely on Pete Doherty) steals a ‘lucky painting’.

As a comically exaggerated take on the London underworld, it is at its best when it is most absurd. One of the best and most hilarious bits is
a relentless fight and chase scene between two rival gangs after a less-than-perfect heist.
Some bits may also make you think of Tarantino. For example, the ‘lucky painting’ is constantly mentioned but never seen, just like the contents of the brief case in Pulp Fiction and one character is almost tortured to a hazy soundtrack just like in Reservoir Dogs.
Ritchie’s never going to set the world alight with his movies but what he does, he does extremely well. Definitely worth a watch.

The Clone Wars

FROM the outbreak of war in Attack Of The Clones to the closing battles of Revenge Of The Sith, The Clone Wars is a largely untold chapter in the Star Wars saga.
This film, of the same name, effectively attempts to plug part of this gap in the series’ mythology.
For any Star Wars fan, it is an important story to tell. After all, this was a time when Jedis Anakin Sywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi were brothers in arms, something the other films had limited time to portray.
This close bond between master and former apprentice gives Anakin’s final betrayal and ultimate transformation into Darth Vader even more resonance.
But somehow this seems a world away from the other episodes and it’s not just because it’s an animated adventure.
It’s the first film in the series to be released via Warner Bros instead of 20th Century Fox meaning the familiar fanfare is absent...as is the opening crawl.
Instead, the viewer is thrown straight into the action in an expressionist animated landscape...it’s Star Wars but not as we know it.
The main thrust of the story is that Jabba the Hutt’s son has been kidnapped and Anakin and Obi Wan have been dispatched to rescue him — along with Anakin’s new precocious apprentice Ahsoka Tano.
Cult favourite Asajj Ventress also makes a welcome return as the Sith villain.
But even by George Lucas’s standards, the plot is simplistic and aimed exclusively at kids and fans. The voice acting is also pretty wooden even with Hollywood heavyweights like Samuel L Jackson and Christopher Lee lending their vocal chords.
Nevertheless, it is entertaining throughout and a worthy introduction to the forthcoming Clone Wars TV series...

Wall-E

IT may be a film about two robots but WALL-E is filled with more human warmth and emotion than probably any other picture you’ll see this year.
Set almost a millennia into the future, it is the story of a garbage strewn, uninhabitable Earth abandoned by its population for a plush life in a space cruiser.
To clean up the mess while the humans are away, hundreds of bots were deployed but have gradually shut down.
WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) is the last of his kind and has developed a flaw in his programming — a personality.
In between his bold efforts to sort out the planet singlehandedly, he collects trinkets from the junk and listens to show tunes.

With only a spritely cockroach for company, he longs to meet a kindred spirit until the slick robot EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) arrives on the scene, looking for signs of life...
Almost harking back to the silent movies of the past, the first half features only the beeps and whirrs of our robotic protagonists.
While the second is a play on the bland corporate lifestyle that is slowly but surely infiltrating our lives and a haunting reminder of the environmental damage we are causing the planet — a strange message for a film made with Disney money.
What gels WALL-E together though, is this unlikely love story that will melt every heart (despite the fact our two heroes don’t have one).
Once again, Pixar has set another milestone in animation standards with characters the kids will adore and a message strong enough to make the adults love it too.

Hancock

WHEN the American TV series Heroes emerged on the small screen, it wasn’t long before people started taking an interest.
Championed as a more ‘realistic’ approach to a world with super-powers, it focused on how ordinary people dealt with having extraordinary abilities.
Hancock seems to be the next natural phase in this reinterpretation of the super-hero mythology. Based on the novel, Tonight, He Comes, it is the story of a man (Will Smith) much akin to Superman living in Los Angeles.
No gaudy outfit, no cape, no underwear on the outside of his trousers, just a man struggling to come to terms with what he is.
Hancock never asked for his abilities yet he is expected to be the city’s saviour. And his incredible power often means he does more harm than good.
Feeling like he has a curse rather than a gift, he turns to drink.
The premise is excellent but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Once Hancock rescues a PR guru who offers to give him an image makeover, the plot loses its sense of fun and you just feel like you’re going through the motions.
A pretty good twist livens things up towards the end but ultimately it’s not enough from saving the film from being anything above average.
The first 10 minutes or so were by far the best showing a devil may care ‘hero’ and more of the film should have certainly stayed along this line.

Prince Caspian

“YOU may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember,” says the dwarf Trumpkin, shortly after meeting the Pevensie siblings.
Of course Trumpkin is speaking to the audience as much as the characters on screen and true to form this Narnia sequel is bigger, bolder and darker than its predecessor.
In The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, if people fell victim to the White Witch they were frozen and could be revived.Not so this time as real battles lead to real casualties and these darker themes are heavily symbolised as a great portion of the film is set in the murk of night.
That said, Prince Caspian still remains a Disney film at heart meaning you won’t see a drop of blood in any of the fierce battles.
Classic ambition for the throne is what fuels this story. A 1,000 years have passed since our heroes Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy visited Narnia but that only equates to one year in their own time.
They are summoned to help when corrupt General Miraz tries to kill his nephew and rightful heir to the throne, Prince Caspian, so that his son can become king.
After narrowly escaping with his life, Caspian enlists the help of the ancient Narnians — including minotaurs and fawns — to take down his corrupt uncle.
Apart from a few dodgy costumes and one or two poor stunts, this will entertain the whole family. Kids and big kids alike will really relish the appearance of all the talking animals including Trufflehunter the badger and Reepicheep, a dashing mouse knight voiced by Eddie Izzard.
But don’t expect a film to rival the epic scope of Lord of the Rings.

Wanted

WHEN visionary Russian director Timur Bekmambetov was called in to take the helm on a Hollywood film it was always going to be an interesting ride.
A melting pot of ideas, Wanted has scenes reminiscent of The Terminator, The Matrix and Fight Club and the visual stamp that makes you know its by the creator Night Watch and Day Watch.
Yet another in a long line of films based on comics, it is the story of a 1,000-year-old fraternity of assassins that have ultra fast reactions, can ‘bend bullets’ and get their orders from a binary code found in fabric (as you do).
It seems like such a B-movie premise but along with some incredible stunts that beat anything you’ll see in, say, a Die Hard movie, Bekmambetov has also drawn in a stellar cast including Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie.

Most surprising is star James McAvoy, who presumably wanted a break from his run of award-winning features.
He plays the apathetic and apprehensive Wesley — the latest to be recruited into the fraternity and unaware of his killer potential.
Its a slow boil and frustration begins to kick in when you realise that you have seen most the best bits in the trailer already.
But then the last half hour kicks in. An awesome train scene will leave you breathless followed by a bullet drenched crescendo.
If you can forgive its flaws and leave your brain at home, then this is weekend blockbuster fodder in its purest form.

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

ACCORDING to the film’s narrator, the New Year’s Eve midnight kiss is a culmination of all our fortunes and failures for the year and the soothing hope of a fresh start.
With its striking black and white aesthetic and an overwrought emotional framework, at first glance the film seems to be in love with itself more than anything — but it somehow works.
Stylish but fairly realistic and reminscent of Before Sunrise, it is the tale of heartbroken and jobless Wilson whose loneliness takes him to a new level of low and fate takes him to Los Angeles — a city he loathes.

Determined to pick himself back up and find a someone to share New Year’s Eve with, he joins a dating site before receiving a call from the hot-headed and enigmatic Vivian...
The strength of In Search For A Midnight Kiss is its honest portrait of day-to-day life. The film may be in black and white but the characters are awash in technicolour.
It is a real character study spotlighting the highs and lows that we all go through every day and how we rely on each other for support. Even the ‘villains’ of the piece you feel sorry for.

Doomsday

MANY directors like to use scenes in their movies to pay homage to the classics that have influenced them as a filmmaker.
But, unless you are Quentin Tarantino, if you take this idea as the foundation of your story, it is bound to fold in on itself and lose focus.
Doomsday is a case in point. To name but a few, the film pays tribute to 28 Days Later, Mad Max 2, Escape From New York and Aliens and even incorporates some whimsical fantasy elements.
But director and writer Neil Marshall has paid so much attention to his influences that he seems to have left out any room for any character development or cohesive plot.
It is the story of a dystopic near-future where a deadly virus breaks out in Scotland. The Government’s only answer to the problem is containment and after a gigantic wall is constructed, the country is considered a dead zone.
But when the same virus breaks out in London decades later, an elite squad (including British B-movie legend Sean Pertwee) is sent to Scotland hoping to find a cure, only to stumble into a war with the savage, cliched survivors.
The trailer looked so absurd that it could be great...but sadly this was not the case.

Iron Man

IRON Man’s rocket-fuelled destiny was secured long before it hit the silver screen.
First there were whispers and rumours, then an unauthorised trailer was leaked onto the Internet — the lengths comic book nerds would go to plug a film they had no stake in was mindblowing.
But once again it proved that grassroots support is more effective than any PR exercise as audiences scrabbled for their seats in the opening weekend.
It is the story of billionaire phillantropist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), who owns an innovative weapons company established by his father.
This allows for a clever little play on America’s domination of the world and its contradictory idea that stockpiling weapons of mass destruction creates a more peaceful world.
Stark lives the playboy lifestyle but things go awry when he demonstrates a Jericho missile to the US Air Force in Afghanistan (updated from Vietnam in the original comic).

After his vehicle is attacked, Stark is taken into captivity to construct the Jericho for terrorists.
Knowing his life is on the line he designs a metal suit for himself and escapes in a blaze of destruction.
A changed man with a renewed sense of morality he bids to design a better suit and return to Afghanistan to destroy the weapons that have fallen into wrong hands.
Like Batman’s Bruce Wayne, Stark is a super hero with no special powers which means we can relate to him (sort of) and Robert Downey Jr brings a wealth of charm to the character.
It is high octane blockbuster material throughout and is only let down by some poor pacing here and there and a cheesy final battle.

The Orphanage

PREPARE to be chilled to the bone if you watch this eerie movie by Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona.
Not since The Shining has a film come along that can frighten and enthral in equal measure and this is very refreshing when so many of the horror ilk often fail to hit the mark.
The main draw for most people though is that The Orphanage has been produced by Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo Del Toro.
And The Orphanage seems to continue the themes that the renowned filmmaker has explored, namely the darker side of our imagination through frightening fantasies.
Slightly reminiscent of the 2001’s The Others, it is the story of lost souls in a typically antiquainted and rickety old house.

Laura (Belén Rueda) returns to her childhood home to open an orphanage for sick children and it isn’t long before her son Simon starts playing with imaginary friends.
But her son’s games quickly become something much more disturbing when they start to hear strange noises, when things start appearing where they shouldn’t and when familiar faces from the past come into view.
There is no doubt that this is cliched stuff but it is executed with such skill that it will engulf you for the full running time.
The film mostly relies on tension and suggesion but when things start going really weird it will make your skin crawl...

Diary of the Dead

"ZOMBIES don't run. They can't! Their ankles would snap. What did they do — wake from the dead and immediately join a health club?”
As the undisputed king of the zombie genre, it seems only fair that veteran filmmaker George A Romero is using the opportunity of his new film to take a pop at the pretenders to his throne.
He is referencing movies like 28 Days Later or more specifically Zack Snyder’s remake of his 1978 film Dawn of the Dead — where zombies dash at terrifying pace.
It’s now 40 years since Romero made his first zombie movie, the black and white Night of the Living Dead, and once again he is strictly keeping to the rules he established for the flesh eaters in 1968.
Although that’s not strictly true because this time, hot on the heels of Cloverfield, the action takes place as if it is happening on handheld camera with footage added from news feeds, CCTV cameras and Internet sources.

The protagonists, a group of students and a tutor, are making their own horror movie when a real breakout of the undead occurs.
After that, it’s the usual gory fight for survival, mixed with a touch of humour here and there and some very inventive zombie death scenes.
It’s certainly better than Romero’s last movie, 2005’s Land of the Dead and the handheld camera technique gives it a more personal feel.
But this time, the film’s social commentary is less subtle with Its parody of our multi-media society and reliance on technology clearly on the surface.
If you’re a fan of Romero or the zombie genre you’re in for a treat — otherwise it’s probably worth giving this one a wide berth.

Vantage Point

IT is a sad fact that often when something is tried differently in the creative industries it is either disregarded or doomed to failure.
Vantage Point seems to be a case in point. While it is far from a bad film it will hardly change the way we watch movies and seems to have split audiences across the country.
What is different about Vantage Point is that the narrative is told from eight different points of view as you gradually piece together the jigsaw puzzle of what has happened.
The film opens with an anti-terrorism summit in Spain and within moments the President of the United States is assasinated.
From the unique points of view of the TV crew and Secret Service to bystanders and those responsible, each segment of the film has a different take on what happened before time is literally rewound.
It pays tribute to 1950 Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon that pioneered this method of filmmaking but is a fairly new concept for western cinema.
And some viewers obviously didn’t have the patience for the technique as some people sighed and laughed as the clock continued to be rewound.
It is also quite telling that the best part of the film came in the form of a pulse racing car chase after time was reset for the last time — which was quite a relief after more than an hour of coincidences and unlikely twists.
As for the cast, Sigourney Weaver is excellent as a news producer, though Lost’s Matthew Fox seems to be a little out of his depth and the ever-talented Forest Whitaker could have done with a meatier role.
Although it doesn’t quite work, kudos goes to the filmmakers for trying something different.

There Will Be Blood

FOR the first 17 minutes, there is no dialogue. Just the vast expanse of the New Mexico wilderness and a man’s determination as he works his silver mine.
It is the turn of the 19th century and Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is hell bent on finding success and wealth as prospector in the early days of the trade.
In 1911, he meets the young, naive reverend Eli Sunday (Little Miss Sunshine’s Paul Dano in a strong supporting role) who tells Plainview of oil near his family ranch in Little Boston, California.
Sunday sees this as an opportunity to bring wealth to the impoverished area and spread the word of God but darker times are ahead.
In a stirring and dark Oscar-winning performance by Day-Lewis, Plainview wins the village folk over with a tidal wave of charisma, adopted son in tow to bolster his family man image.
But when the oil starts to flow, everything from his family to the safety of the workers is put on the sidelines.
The film is set over many years from 1898 to 1927 and cuts in and out at the important moments in the story.
And as time goes on, Plainview graudally descends into madness fuelled by ambition turned sour.
At 158 minutes, There Will Be Blood is a long haul and quite intense viewing matched with a hazy soundtrack by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.
But if you want to see a rich story develop with some amazing performances, it is essential viewing.
Apparently Day-Lewis researched his role for years and you can tell.

Rambo

WHERE’S the worst place you could put a troubled Vietnam War veteran who has difficulty adjusting to normal life?
A war zone, you might think...but that doesn’t stop a group of Christian aid workers persuading John Rambo to give them passage to war-torn Burma, against his better judgement.
Within moments, they are attacked by Burmese pirates and 60-year-old Rambo has to return to his living hell as he saves the group and awakens his inner demons.
But the death of three men isn’t enough to deter the Christian aid workers who press on with their mission before getting predictably kidnapped.

Rambo is soon enlisted to help a team of mercenaries (including a brilliantly stereotypical ex-SAS soldier) recover the group and the stage is set for the carnage to begin.
As a movie, Rambo’s merits are hard to judge because while the story is fairly hollow, that is not why anyone would go to see this type of film.
On the other hand, the aesthetics and style of the film are close to perfect but this presents problems too.
This is because the scenes of violence and war are incredibly horrific and gratuitous and perhaps too realistic for what is essentially a straight forward popcorn action film with a darker core.
Basically, it’s a brilliant film if you are able to detach yourself from what is going on and simply embrace it as the hero movie it is.

Be Kind, Rewind

IT must be interesting being inside the mind of French filmmaker Michel Gondry.
From erasing painful memories in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to trespassing into the world of dreams in Science of Sleep, the director certainly has a unique way of looking at things.
Now Gondry is exploring the way we perceive the films that have shaped our cultural consciousness in Be Kind, Rewind.
It is the story of a struggling video store run by Mr Fletcher (Danny Glover), an aging man clinging on to a bygone era and his young helper Mike (Mos Def).
Mike gets a chance to prove himself when Mr Fletcher takes a vacation but all doesn’t go quite to plan.
Meanwhile, Mike’s best friend Jerry (Jack Black in a typically zany role) becomes magnetised during an accident when he is trying to sabotage a power plant and inadvertently deletes all the video tapes.

To save the business, Mike and Jerry set about re-creating classic films with a handheld camera from Ghostbusters and Robocop to The Lion King and Driving Miss Daisy.
And while the first half of the film is hilarious, the second half weaves in a message about the important role movies play in our society.
When the duo decide to make their own film, the community rallies behind them and when the film is showcased in the video store, the camera pans on happy faces illuminated in the darkness.
It is also a film about the changing times as indepedent video stores have had to succomb to DVD rental monoliths.
But ultimately this is a light hearted comedy that will appeal to many cinema-goers.

Juno

TEEN pregnancy might not be a laughing matter for most people but you can’t help but smile after watching Juno.
It is the tale of a sixteen-year-old girl called Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) who discovers she is pregnant after her first-time sexual encounter with her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera).Why this simple, and perhaps unsavoury, premise works as a movie is its delicate and honest precision.
Juno makes one mistake and as well as having to face the reactions of family, friends, medical professionals, teachers, students and the general public — she has to swiftly grow up to make some very adult decisions.
Should she have an abortion? Should she adopt? Should she keep the baby? All these issues are covered and yet Juno still manages to be packed with plenty of humour.
This is great film territory for rising star Ellen Page, whose acting abilities are incredible for someone her age.
Juno is also incredibly insightful about the whole spectrum of human relationships.
The film is strong in exploring the impact Juno’s pregnancy has on the people around her
from the dumbfounded reaction of unprepared Paulie to the genuine care and concern of her dad Mac (J.K. Simmons).
It is also heartwarming to see Juno’s stepmother transform from the villain in the piece to someone Juno can wholeheartedly rely on.
While the story is realistic, the dialogue certainly is not, sounding something like a Kevin Smith film.
But this, plus an excellent soundtrack, only cements the quirky charm of this surprise hit.

Cloverfield

IT starts out almost like an American teen drama with all the trials and trivialities you might expect.
But this makes it all the more shocking when New York is plunged into darkness and the scarred head of the Statue of Liberty flies through the air and scrapes along the pavement.
Once this potent metaphor for the fall of a nation has made its mark, you hear a bellowing roar. This is perhaps the first half hour of the film and to mention any more specifics would ruin the experience.
Cloverfield is more of a concept than a movie. Like a cross between the Blair Witch Project and Godzilla, it is a monster movie seen through the shaky camera recordings of one of the city’s residents going through the ordeal with a small group of friends.
Because of this, mystery and tension are the main devices of the film. These young people are right there in the thick of it but have no idea what’s going on.
Lost creator and Cloverfield producer JJ Abrams said he wanted to make a monster movie after seeing the popularity of Godzilla in Japan.
But audiences might be split on the execution of the film, shunning the traditional approach for something more realistic and frightening.
Some will love it, some won’t take to it, others will feel a bit queasy and many will be reminded of the atrocities on September 11.
But one thing is for sure — Cloverfield will make an impact on you.

Alien versus Predator: Requiem

WHEN Alien vs Predator (AvP) hit the screens in 2004, it represented a major milestone for two popular and enduring franchises.
An army of sci-fi and horror fans spanning a generation eagerly awaited the result of these two ferocious creatures doing battle.
The resulting film, however, left nothing but a sour taste in the mouth with its half-baked and ill conceived plot and direction.
It is somewhat surprising then that Alien vs Predator: Requiem, a direct sequel to the original got past the production phase.
Continuing straight after the first instalment, a predator spaceship crash-lands in a small town in Colorado when an alien-predator hybrid (basically an alien with dreadlocks) is unleashed.
Aliens escape and cause carnage but not before a distress signal is sent off to the predator homeworld, where a lone warrior answers the call...
The battles are satisfying and the movie goes some way in recapturing the spirit of the originals with its uncompromised 18-certificate rating but there are also a lot of problems.
For example, the lone predator is determined to cover the aliens’ tracks (with a strange blue liquid) but is content to leave his own mangled prey on proud display.
Meanwhile, the pred-alien hybrid is also able to impregnate humans — this makes no sense in the context of the other films.

This is the first full length movie directed by The Brothers Strause and it is clear the pair must have been big fans of the Predator films.
Unlike the rather robust-looking predator in the first AvP, the new predator is almost a homage to the excellent 1987 film.
The aliens on the other hand — which have enjoyed a largely distinguished reputation in movie history — shamefully lacked the fear factor or style from their earlier incarnations.
Even the human characters leave much to be desired as the viewer is given superficial glimpse into their lives before they are killed in a variety of horrible ways.
24’s Reiko Aylesworth plays an ex-soldier and tries to replicate the appeal of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley but can’t quite pull it off.
If you’re a fan, it’s worth a watch and it’s certainly better than the first but don’t expect to be enthralled.

Sweeney Todd

IT’S one of theatre’s darkest musicals and now it’s been given a Hollywood makeover by one of cinema’s darkest minds.
Tim Burton’s reworking of Sweeney Todd follows the director’s tradition of making macabre but visually stunning movies.
But fans of Burton will be shocked/delighted (delete as appropriate) to hear that this is a faithful adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical and all the original songs have found their way into the film.
Sweeney Todd is the tale of a young man called Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) who is living a content life with his wife and child in London until he is arrested by the jealous Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman).
Imprisoned for 15 years under a false charge, Barker finally returns to London to discover that his wife is dead and Turpin is holding his daughter Johanna under lock and key.

Opening a barber shop under his new moniker Sweeney Todd, Barker sets up a sinister partnership with Mrs Lovett (Burton’s wife Helena Bonham Carter) to wreak revenge on his tormentors.
This is quintessential Burton - bleak and gothic but with a touch of humour to balance out some quite frankly gruesome scenes.
Depp is on top form portraying Todd with a fiery-eyed intensity and also proves to be a very adequate singer!
Yet, this film may struggle to find its audience. It may be a bit too bloody and graphic for theatre fans while cinema buffs could be put off by the songs.
Hopefully, both parties will open their minds and give it a try because this is a refreshing change for the world of cinema.

I Am Legend

SWEEPING scenes of utter devastation in the backdrop of an abandoned New York City.
That’s the entrancing opening sequence in this apocalyptic thriller from director Francis Lawrence.
In an almost single-handed role, Will Smith plays Robert Neville, a former scientist and one of the last surviving humans three years after a virus obliterates the world.
Via flashbacks, you soon learn that the virus was initially intended as a cure for cancer but had horrific consequences. Ninety per cent of the population were killed, nine per cent have regressed into ferocious mutants and just a vulnerable one per cent were immune.
Now seemingly the last resident of New York, Robert’s only companion is his dog Sam and his fragile sanity is only maintained by watching old videos, keeping to a routine and trying to find a cure as his battle for survival rages on against the mutants.

Smith plays the flawed character well and in a variety of humourous yet tragic scenes he interacts with mannequins, just longing for human contact.
It’s also interesting to see the character forcibly lodged back into the food chain. With creatures roaming and food scarce, this Darwinian principle is best demonstated when Robert hunts a deer only to be beaten to the kill by a lioness.
This is the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel following The Last Man on Earth (1964) and The Omega Man (1971).
And once again, it is a very interesting and horrifying take on what would happen if things all went wrong for humankind.