Cinemas - More new releases - 13/3/09

Mar 13 2009 by Michael Green, Flintshire Chronicle

BRONSON (18)

ORIGINALLY sentenced to seven years at the age of 19 for a bungled armed robbery, Ellesmere Port’s most infamous son Charles Bronson is now one of the UK's most notorious and violent inmates of our overcrowded prison system.

He has spent 30 of his 34 years behind bars in solitary confinement, and has not been allowed to mix with other prisoners since 1999. He is currently languishing in HM Prison, Wakefield, from where he continues to produce award-winning poetry and art.

Prepare for some unflinching and disturbing scenes of violence within the prison walls as the hulking, shaven-headed Bronson (Tom Hardy from Star Trek: Nemesis) readies himself for a beating.

The film's strongest asset is the leading man, who has bulked up for the role and loses himself in the character, delivering an uncompromising and fearless performance that exudes menace and rage.

STAR RATING: **

THE BURNING PLAIN (15)

GUILLERMO Arriaga, screenwriter of Amores Perros and Babel, assumes directorial duties as well with this intricate ensemble drama, stitching together three seemingly unconnected narrative threads.

In Oregon, restaurant manager Sylvia (Charlize Theron) dulls the pain by sleeping with almost any man who crosses her path. In New Mexico, teenagers Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence) and Santiago (JD Pardo) try to make sense of their parents' gruesome demise. And Maria is distraught when her father Santiago (Danny Pino) crashes his airplane into a field.

STAR RATING: **

HUSH (15)

WRITER-director Mark Tonderai's début feature is a taut thriller about a young couple plunged into the midst of a nightmare when they see something they shouldn't.

STAR RATING: **