Cinemas - What’s still showing & where - 26/9/08

Sep 26 2008 by Michael Green, Chester Chronicle

THE APARTMENT (PG) (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Friday only)

IT MAY date back to 1960 but this remains one of the greatest, smartest, wittiest comedies ever made. Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine star in Billy Wilder’s gloriously cynical look at office politics. STAR RATING: ****

COUSCOUS (15) (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Tuesday-Wednesday)

MR SLIMANE is a 60 year old divorcee who wants to escape his tired old life and all the frictions of his family and friends to set up a floating restaurant.

STAR RATING: ***

THE DARK KNIGHT (12A) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)

AN ASTONISHING combination of thought-provoking ideas, compelling character interplay and breathtaking action sequences.

STAR RATING: ****

DISASTER MOVIE (12A) (All major cinemas)

ANOTHER selection of lame movie spoofs and cameos from desperate B list stars.

STAR RATING: *

THE DUCHESS (12A) (All major cinemas)

THE Diana parallels have lent a topical air to this intelligent account of what befalls 19 year old Georgiana (Keira Knightley). who ends up in what turns out to be a loveless mariage with the older Duke of Devonshire, played with characteristic elegance by Ralph Fiennes.

STAR RATING: ***

EDEN LAKE (18) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)

EVERY Daily Mail reader’s nightmare comes true in this expertly crafted, deeply disturbing horror movie.

STAR RATING: ***

GET SMART (12A) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks, weekend matinees)

STEVE Carell and Anne Hathaway team up for a revival of the 60s spoof spy show.

STAR RATING: **

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (12A) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)

GUILLERMO Del Toro comes up with a welcome sequel to his under-rated comic book fantasy.

STAR RATING: ***

MAMMA MIA! (PG) (All major cinemas)

A BUNCH of non-singing actors come together to belt out some of the greatest pop songs every written and somehow it works!

STAR RATING: ***

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (12A) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)

THIS seems to be the summer of the belated lacklustre blockbuster with Indiana Jones and The X-Files now being followed down the path of humdrum by The Mummy series.

STAR RATING: **

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (15) (All major cinemas)

MORE explicit comedy from the Judd Apatow stable with Seth Rogen and James Franco.

STAR RATING: ***

REBELLION: THE LITVINENKO CASE (12A) (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Thursday only)

ANDREI Nekrasov directs this documentary considering the events surrounding the death of the Russian secret agent from polonium poisoning in London in 2006.

STAR RATING: ***

ROCKNROLLA (15) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)

THE rehabilitation of Guy Ritchie appears to have started with his latest ensemble crime flick.

STAR RATING: ***

SPACE CHIMPS (U) (All major cinemas, weekend matinees)

MORE animated science fiction which may not be on the same planet as Wall-E in quality terms but will provide a perfect diversion for younger audiences.

STAR RATING: **

STEP BROTHERS (15) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)

WILL Ferrell and John C Reilly are exceptional actors but they are slumming it in this mindless comedy.

STAR RATING: **

A COUPLE are menaced for 90 minutes by three masked intruders in this basic horror flick.

TROPIC THUNDER (15) (All major cinemas)

BEN Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr head a stellar cast in this superb comedy.

STAR RATING: ***

THE WAITING ROOM (15) (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Saturday-Monday)

ANNA (Anne-Marie Duff) and Steve (Ralk Little) meet by chance in a South London station waiting room when they encounter an old man who inspires them.

STAR RATING: ***

WALL-E (U) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)

PIXAR and rave reviews often go hand in hand and so it proves again with this ambitious science fiction animated tale.

STAR RATING: ***

THE WOMEN (12A) (All major cinemas)

ALLEGEDLY a remake of a now largely forgotten Hollywood chick flick from 1939, this is more like an attempt to tap into the Sex and the City market.

STAR RATING: **