Cinemas - Still showing - 18/2/10

Feb 18 2010 Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

ALSO STARTING THIS WEEK

SOLOMON KANE (15)

MICHAEL J Bassett writes and directs this historical action adventure based on the character created by Robert E Howard.

In the battle for England’s glory in the 16th century, Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) and his men leave nothing but death and destruction in their wake.

The Reaper comes for Solomon to claim his soul, and the only way to escape this hellish fate is for Solomon to renounce violence and his sins.

Returning to England, Solomon befriends a Puritan, William Crowthorn (Pete Postlethwaite) and his family, and he grows especially fond of daughter Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood).

When an evil overlord and his hordes kill the family and capture Meredith, Solomon risks his soul by returning to his old, bloodthirsty ways to launch a daring rescue mission.

STAR RATING: **

THE LAST STATION (15)

BASED on the novel by Jan Parini, The Last Station is a love story set during the final year of the life of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer), focusing on the terrible strain borne by his wife, Countess Sofya (Helen Mirren).

Unable to live together under the same roof without descending into spiteful bickering, yet unwilling to live apart because of their deep love, the elderly couple plays out these final months against a backdrop of political intrigue.

STAR RATING: ***

A CLOSED BOOK (15)

SIR Paul (Tom Conti) is a respected author, whose world is shattered when he is involved in an accident that robs him of his eyesight.

Becoming a recluse with only his housekeeper Mrs Kilbride (Miriam Margolyes) to connect him to the outside world, Sir Paul struggles to come to terms with the loss of his most cherished sense.

Five years pass and he decides to pen an autobiography with the help of a new assistant, Jane Ryder (Daryl Hannah), who is unfazed by the author’s mood swings and eccentricities.

As Sir Paul becomes increasingly reliant on this beautiful and resourceful woman, it becomes apparent that she has an ulterior motive for working her way into the writer’s life.

STAR RATING: **

STILL SHOWING

AVATAR (12A)

FOUR years after his underwater IMAX documentary Aliens Of The Deep, director James Cameron (Titanic) unleashes his latest special effects-laden blockbuster, which is rumoured to push the boundaries of big-screen technology. When warmonger Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), decides to attack an alien race, his methods change the face of warfare and the fate of a planet.

STAR RATING: ***

EDGE OF DARKNESS (15)

Based on the award-winning BBC mini-series, and directed by Martin Campbell, Edge Of Darkness is a gripping tale of one father's crusade for justice set in the murky world of corporate and government cover-ups. Homicide detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) clashes with CIA operative Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone) as he tries to uncover the secret life of his murdered daughter, while exposing corruption extending to the uppermost echelons of power.

STAR RATING: ***

INVICTUS (12A)

CLINT Eastwood's majestic new film chronicles the true story of Nelson Mandela's dogged quest to reunite fractured South Africa through the game of rugby. Adapted by screenwriter Anthony Peckham from the book Playing The Enemy by John Carlin, Invictus is a superb humanist drama, starring Morgan Freeman as Mandela, and Matt Damon as South Africa's rugby team captain Francois Pienaar.

STAR RATING: ****

PERCY JACKSON & THE LIGHTNING THIEF (PG)

CHRIS Columbus directs the big-screen big budget version of the first of five books by Rick Riordan. High school student Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) embarks on a quest to the underworld when discovers he is the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). Columbus doesn't let the effects overwhelm the storytelling, although it's more of a stretch than a squeeze to fill the rollicking two hours.

STAR RATING: **

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (U)

DISNEY breaks with tradition and casts its first ever African-American princess in this enchanting reworking of the Grimm brothers' fairytale, set in New Orleans around the time of the First World War. Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) is turned into a frog after kissing a smooth-talking amphibian, and has to embark on a perilous quest to get herself turned back into a human.

STAR RATING: ***

A SINGLE MAN (12A)

OSCAR-nominated Colin Firth stars in Tom Ford's first cinematic outing, which is a haunting drama about a professor who secretly says farewell to the people he loves as he contemplates suicide after the death of his lover. It is a deeply moving portrait of love and death, anchored by Firth's fearless central turn, and Julianne Moore is dazzling as ever in a booze-soaked supporting role.

STAR RATING: ****

VALENTINE'S DAY (12A)

JULIA Roberts, Jessica Alba, Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher and Shirley MacLaine are among the stars in Garry Marshall's sugar-coated tale of romance and heartbreak in Los Angeles. Marshall's film runs the risk of being little more than cinematic candy floss, however, there are some big laughs and eye-catching performances from a stellar cast, who appear to be having a ball.

STAR RATING: ***

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (PG)

MAURICE Sendak’s classic children’s story comes to the big screen in this enchanting adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze of Being John Malkovich fame. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cynmru in Mold from Friday-Monday.

STAR RATING: ***

THE WHITE RIBBON (15)

MICHAEL Haneke directs this year’s Cannes winner, a period drama set in a small German village on the brink of World War One where strange “accidents” suddenly start to happen. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Tuesday-Thursday.

STAR RATING: ****

THE WOLFMAN (15)

ALMOST 70 years after the original film was made, the furry beast runs free again in director Joe Johnston's remake, starring Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Sir Anthony Hopkins. A man (Del Toro) returns to his homeland to help search for his missing brother, but becomes embroiled in a horrifying mystery that has haunted the village of Blackmoor. Johnston orchestrates some tense set pieces, with the requisite edge-of-seat jolts.

STAR RATING: **

YOUTH IN REVOLT (15)

MICHAEL Cera stars in Miguel Arteta's quirky romantic comedy, based on the novel Youth In Revolt: The Journals Of Nick Twisp by CD Payne, as Nick, a teenager who summons his imaginary, French alter ego to woo the girl of his dreams. Cera essays another loveable loser, hoping to defy the odds, but Arteta does not have any directorial brio to energise his film so he relies on the performances and the script to keep us laughing in the dark.

STAR RATING: ***