Movie Reviews

Catfish

The advertising for Catfish reads "Don't let anyone tell you what it is." Fair enough, says Kimberly Gadette. But know that this self-described "reality thriller" is also a romance, a road picture and a mystery.

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How Do You Know

If anyone knows how to create a great rom-com, it's James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets, Broadcast News). And with a cast including Nicholson, Rudd and Witherspoon, how can this film lose? Oh my, says Kimberly Gadette, read on ...

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The Fighter

Meet boxer Micky Ward, whose opponents aren't always wearing boxing gloves. Given the fact that his family has been sucker-punching him for years, says Kimberly Gadette, the pounding he gets in the ring pales by comparison.

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Tron: Legacy

Surely no introduction is needed for one of the final big movies of 2010? Probably not, says Paul Martin, and don't call him Shirley.

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The Tourist

Walking into the cinema with a fan and a cold drink, prepared for cinema's hottest onscreen kiss, Angela Burton found herself in need of neither once the film began. Oh, Johnny Depp, she laments, I was expecting so much more from you.

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

After a disappointing second instalment to the Chronicles of Narnia, Angela Burton tries to find her sea legs for Voyage of the Dawn Treader, preparing to feel a little queasy as Lucy and Edmund travel across uncharted waters.

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Somewhere

Venice (In Competition) – A jaded film star scratches out an isolated existence in the depersonalised environs of a hotel room, before a young girl breathes fresh hope into his lonely life – does director Sofia Coppola deliver a fresh take on familiar material, or has something been lost in translation? Emma Rowley and Paul Martin check in, in order to check out Somewhere.

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On Tour

Cannes (Official Selection) – And they're off! The first of this year's contenders for the Palme d'Or, Mathieu Amalric's Tournée [UK title: On Tour], is out of the traps and onto the track. Paul Martin is watching from the stands.

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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

The final instalment in the Millennium trilogy has arrived in our cinemas, marking our last date with the original film series before the publicity for David Fincher's 2011 remake begins in earnest. Emma Rowley takes a look at the way things turn out for the girl with the dragon tattoo.

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Of Gods and Men

Cannes (Official Selection) - Based on true events, Of Gods and Men tells the story of a group of French monks, imperiled when the African nation in which they live witnesses a worrying escalation in its civil war. Paul Martin pays heed to a considered plea for tolerance.

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Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

The Grinch has got nothin' on this Finnish Santa Claus, who's still bent on coming to town. Perhaps, says Kimberly Gadette, the famous lyric might be better served by the grammatically incorrect: "He seize you when you're sleeping..."

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The Warrior's Way

Whenever the story lags in this first English-language feature by Sngmoo Lee, the camera cuts over to the baby. Kimberly Gadette is sorry to report that the baby, though not a major player, often takes center stage.

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Megamind

Does the title fit? Is this offering from DreamWorks Animation truly "Mega"? Or, asks Kimberly Gadette, is it an amiable piece of cartoonage that we won't recall past December?

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My Afternoons with Margueritte

If you suspend your cynical disbelief, there is much to enjoy in this feelgood tale of an unlikely sentimental education, says Garan Holcombe.

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On DVD: Journey of the Childmen

As The Mighty Boosh take on their biggest tour to date – 91 shows in total - documentarian Oliver Ralfe follows them backstage with his camera. Angela Burton assumes the fly-on-the-wall position to watch the long and tiring four months that make up Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour.

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Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City.

On DVD: Sex and the City 2

Following up his filmmaking duties on the first, fairly tepid Sex and the City, surely writer/director Michael Patrick King has improved over time. Or, fears Kimberly Gadette, does the "2" in Sex and the City 2 suggest that it's twice as bad?

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On DVD: The A-Team

Liam Neeson hasn't grinned on film since -- well, hell, he's never grinned. And that, says Kimberly Gadette, might be all we need by way of a lure to check out this latest attempt to mine movie gold from a long-buried TV series.

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On DVD: Splice

In this contemporary take on Frankenstein, does the DNA mixture that makes up Splice’s Dren stand for DeoxyriboNucleic Acid or, asks Angela Burton is it just Dangerous Naked Animal? Uh-oh. Here comes the science part …

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Chico and Rita

Chico and Rita, a tale of eternal love set to Cubano rhythms, will delight all the hopeless romantics and jazz lovers out there says Garan Holcombe.

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Faster

Just released from a 10-year stint behind bars, the Rock looks more like the Hulk as he stomps across the California desert, bent on revenge. Or perhaps, says Kimberly Gadette, he's hoping to scare away any further offers for family films.

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Tangled

It may be CG, but Tangled bristles with the look of Disney old-school. While the visuals are glorious and the action is, um, hair-raising, says Kimberly Gadette, will audiences flip their collective wig over this "mane" event?

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Love & Other Drugs

The last time Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal were a cinematic couple, horses and Brokeback mountains got in the way. This time, says Kimberly Gadette, blame Parkinson's. The ride's still bumpy… but in a whole other way.

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Burlesque

Another story about a small-town girl hitting the big time, does this musical offer anything new? Anything, asks Kimberly Gadette, aside from it providing an unwitting public service announcement against the abuse of plastic surgery?

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Leaving (Partir)

Kristin Scott Thomas plays a woman who's bored with her bourgeois life in the south of France, thinking that going back to work is the answer. Oh dear, says Kimberly Gadette, if only she'd given the job half a chance.

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Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Cannes (Official Selection) – Apichatpong Weerasethakul can not only claim to be the director with the most tongue-twisting name in the main competition at Cannes 2010, he also has the movie with the most unusual title and premise. Paul Martin is taken to a place where the human condition is given transcendentally fantastical treatment.

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Welcome to the Rileys

One hasn't directed a feature since 1999, while the other hasn't acted with seasoned, older professionals for years. Kimberly Gadette notes that Welcome to the Rileys welcomes us to look anew at both Jake Scott and Kristen Stewart.

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On DVD: How to Train Your Dragon

DreamWorks Animation’s most recent offering, How to Train Your Dragon, is its second InTru3D movie and this time, they’ve nailed the effects. With its delightful zero-to-hero storyline and flying dragons galore, Angela Burton asks, how can you possibly resist?

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