BURN AFTER READING (15) (All major cinemas)
SIBLING geniuses Joel and Ethan Coen strike gold again with this comedic gem in which George Clooney and Frances McDormand try to sell a computer disc containing the memoirs of a washed up CIA agent played by John Malkovich. Brad Pitt also turns up as a bubble-headed fitness instructor. STAR RATING: ****
THE DUCHESS (12A) (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Friday-Monday)
THE Diana parallels have lent a topical air to this intelligent account of what befalls 19 year old Georgiana (Keira Knightley), a fun-loving, intelligent young woman 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: ***
EAGLE EYE (12A) (All major cinemas)
RISING star Shia LaBeouf and director DJ Caruso remade Rear Window together as Disturbia and now take a crack at a variation on Enemy of the State. STAR RATING: **
GHOST TOWN (12A) (All major cinemas)
RICKY Gervais is the latest British TV comedy stars taking a shot at Hollywood movie fame and he is on sparkling form, even if the movie itself plays if safe. Gervais is an anti-social dentist who is openly rude because he hates people and wants to keep them at arm’s length. But then he starts to see dead people who are so delighted to make contact with someone from the land of the living, they bombard him with attention.
STAR RATING: **
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR (U) (All major cinemas)
TROY, Gabriella, Sharpay and Chad on the big screen in all their glory! It’s every teenage girl’s dream come true. Although the film inevitably recycles some of the songs which its target audience knows by heart, the story taps into some universal teenage concerns as the friendship groups at the heart of the franchise face the prospect of breaking up as they go their separate ways to college.
STAR RATING: ***
HUNGER (15) (All major cinemas)
CONTROVERSIAL but gripping dramatisation of the hunger strike carried out by IRA gunman Bobby Sands while in prison in 1981.
STAR RATING: ***
IGOR (PG) (All major cinemas)
DIFFICULT to see exactly what audience this animated feature is trying to target. The animation is nowhere near as sophisticated as Pixar at its best; nor are the characters as vividly drawn.
STAR RATING: **
MAMMA MIA! (PG) (Vue, Cheshire Oaks)
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: ***
MAN ON WIRE (12A) (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Thursday only)
IN 1974, Philippe Petit walked across a tightrope strung between the then unfinished World Trade Center towers. This inspiring documentary explores Petit’s development from circus performer to death-defying wire walker.
STAR RATING: ****
THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN (18) (All major cinemas)
DEAR old Vinnie Jones may end up as a movie villain up there with the likes of Freddie Kreuger and Michael Myers if this brutal horror flick takes off. He plays Mahogany, a serial killer who always takes the last train, armed with knives, meat cleavers, etc, in search of unfortunate passengers.
STAR RATING: **
QUANTUM OF SOLACE (12A) (All major cinemas)
THE Bourne Influence might be a good subtitle for Daniel Craig’s second 007 outing which merely adds to one’s enjoyment of a breakneck Bond sequel to Casino Royale.
STAR RATING: ***
SAKURAN (15) (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Tuesday-Wednesday)
VISUALLY sumptuous tale of 18th century Japan about a rebellious young girl who rises through the ranks of a brothel in the notorious Yoshiwara district. STAR RATING: ***
SAW V (18) (All major cinemas)
“YOU won’t believe how it ends” screams the tagline which accompanies a poster obscured by the claim that it has been censored from public view because it is so horrific! Such crude techniques are all the producers need because they know they are tapping into a built-in audience.
STAR RATING: *
COMING SOON
November 14: MAX PAYNE (Mark Wahlberg)
November 14: ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO (Seth Rogen)
November 21: BODY OF LIES (Leonardo DiCaprio)
November 21: WHAT JUST HAPPENED? (Robert De Niro)
November 28: BLINDNESS (Julianne Moore)
November 28: HAMLET 2 (Steve Coogan)
Dates subject to change.
