ALSO RELEASED THIS WEEK
SPLICE (15)
DESPITE years of scientific advancement and technological breakthroughs, many secrets of the human body continue to elude us.
Many people are pinning all of their hopes on genetic engineers and their experiments with human DNA.
Perhaps the answers lie within each and every one of us.
Yet to overcome microscopic invaders we have to contend with moral dilemmas: is it acceptable that some of these scientists play God and create new life in a Petri dish?
Director Vicenzo Natali considers the horrific consequences of mankind’s meddling in his stylish thriller, co-written by Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor. A strong opening hour, with biblical overtones and echoes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, leads to a lacklustre finale that will be disappointingly familiar to fans of low budget monster movies.
Splice opens with a birthing sequence from the point of view of a newborn.
The umbilical cord is cut and doctors Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) stare down proudly at the new delivery.
“He’s perfect. No physical discrepancies,” coos Clive and suddenly we’re aware that the infant in the crib isn’t human. Indeed, Clive and Elsa have been splicing DNA from different animals to create incredible new hybrids, whose complex genetic structure could provide numerous medical breakthroughs.
The next logical step is to introduce human DNA but ethics forbid it.
However, the couple risk their careers by creating a human animal hybrid, which they christen Dren.
The young creature (Abigail Chu) lives in the lab, where Clive’s brother Gavin (Brandon McGibbon) discovers the abomination and agrees to keep quiet and not alert their boss.
However, as Dren matures (now played by Delphine Chaneac), she outgrows her makeshift home and Elsa moves her to the barn of her childhood home, where the hybrid’s burgeoning sexuality causes unexpected problems.
Splice is visually arresting and Natali employs a palette of cold, clinical blues and greys in the laboratory, where the scientists create a surrogate daughter who will turn out to be their nightmare.
The script signposts the bloodshed of the final 30 minutes and when one of the characters asks, “What’s the worst that could happen?” we’re certain the most gruesome carnage is still to come.
Polley convinces as a woman whose desire to become a mother blinds her to the repercussions of her actions. Brody has the more difficult role as the naysayer.
HH
STILL SHOWING
GET HIM TO THE GREEK (15)
AFTER years of dizzying success, rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) releases the album African Child, which is lambasted by critics. Soon after, the singer breaks up with his girlfriend and falls into disrepute in London. During a meeting with record company supremo Sergio (Sean Combs), underling Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) hits upon the idea of a 10th anniversary comeback concert to celebrate Snow’s most famous live outing at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Sergio eventually agrees and issues his minion with an ultimatum: “From the moment you touch down, you have 72 hours to get Aldous Snow to the Greek.” But Aldous loves to party, leading to a series of debauched encounters.
HH
INCEPTION (12A)
THIEF Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team are able to infiltrate the minds of powerful people, stealing valuable secrets from their subconscious. However the tables are turned when businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) approaches Cobb with a proposition: to plant an idea in the mind of rival Robert Fischer Jr (Cillian Murphy) before he inherits the company from his father, Maurice (Pete Postlethwaite). Dom gets together his team of specialists to carry out the plan but conceals a secret: that the projection of his self-destructive late wife (Marion Cotillard), could escape his dreams and sabotage the mission.
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PREDATORS (15)
TENACIOUS mercenary Royce (Adrien Brody) wakes in the sweltering heat of a jungle, where he stumbles upon other people in a similar disoriented state, including drug cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Russian special forces soldier Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov) and Israeli Defence Force sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga). Reconnaissance reveals that the group is stranded on an alien world with limited ammunition. The misfits are systematically hunted by a new breed of Predator.
H
SHREK FOREVER AFTER (U)
SHREK (voiced by Mike Myers) is suffering mid-life angst with mewling kids and his beautiful and pungent wife, Fiona (Cameron Diaz). In his hour of desperation, Shrek meets the conniving Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who offers a tantalising deal: he will gift Shrek one whole day as a scary ogre, just like in the past, if the father agrees to sign away one day of his childhood. Shrek agrees to the Faustian pact, blind to Rumpelstiltskin’s devious plan: to erase the day that Shrek was born and thereby alter the future. Shrek must join forces with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) to break the pact before the sands in Rumpelstiltskin’s oversized hourglass run out.
HH
TOY STORY 3 (U)
ANDY (voiced by John Morris) is preparing to leave for college. He has packed up his belongings, setting aside Woody ( Tom Hanks) for life on campus, while the other toys are bound for the attic but Andy’s mother mistakenly donates the toys to Sunnyside day care centre. Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty) convinces Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack) and the gang that they will be happy when they arrive at their new home. But after saying goodbye to his friends Woody meets a stuffed hedgehog called Mr Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) who reveals the truth about the centre. Woody must put into action an elaborate escape plan.
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THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE (12A)
GRADUATION approaches for Bella (Kristen Stewart) and the teenager must choose between Edward (Robert Pattinson), the vampire who won her heart, and Jacob (Taylor Lautner), the best friend who has snuck into her affections. Rejection for one young man could potentially ignite the ancient rivalry between the lycans and the bloodsuckers. Meanwhile, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) returns to Forks, Washington, to kill Bella in revenge for Edward’s slaying of her lover. The avenger brings with her a new race of vampires with phenomenal strength, led by local boy Riley (Xavier Samuel).
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