ANGELS & DEMONS (12A)
TOM Hanks returns to the role of Dan Brown’s hero Robert Langdon for this Da Vinci Code sequel set in Vatican City where a series if brutal killings puts the Pope himself in danger.
STAR RATING: ***
A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2 (PG)
HISTORY is brought vividly to life with a dazzling array of computer-generated effects in Night At The Museum 2.
The sequel continues the misadventures of the living exhibits from New York City’s famed Museum Of Natural History, this time in the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
STAR RATING: **
AWAYDAYS (18)
PAT Holden directs a gritty depiction of 1980s football hooliganism and male bonding based on the acclaimed book by Kevin Sampson, which unfolds through the eyes of a teenager struggling for acceptance in late ’70s Liverpool.
Paul Carty (Nicky Bell) longs to run with the pack: the pent-up young followers of Tranmere Rovers, who get their kicks – literally – by beating up rival supporters.
STAR RATING: ***
TORMENTED (15)
JON Wright directs a tongue-in-cheek horror set in a British comprehensive school where a gang of abusive students gets its just desserts at the hands of a most unlikely avenger.
Namely the spectre of a bullied boy, who skulks in classrooms, toilets and corridors, picking off his prey one at a time.
STAR RATING: **
CORALINE (PG)
THERE’S no place like home in Coraline, the first ever stop-motion animated feature created in stereoscopic 3D. Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s best-selling novel by writer-director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), this colourful, yet thematically dark, fairytale has echoes of The Wizard Of Oz and Alice In Wonderland as an 11-year-old girl confronts the evil that threatens her fractured family.
STAR RATING: ***
RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (PG)
ETs phone home from the Nevada desert in Andy Fickman’s special effects-laden reworking of the Disney adventure Escape To Witch Mountain. Leading man Dwayne Johnson, copes easily with the physical rigours of his role as a speedy taxi driver, and continues to sharpen his comic timing. His gung-ho hero greets each ludicrous twist with a withering look of disbelief then gets on with the serious business saving the world from destruction.
Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold on Friday.
STAR RATING: ***
FIGHTING (15)
STRUTTING down similar avenues to David Fincher’s Fight Club, this is a no-holds-barred tale of one young man’s introduction to the bare-knuckle brawl scene in present day New York City. Writer-director Dito Montiel, who made an assured debut with A Guide To Recognising Your Saints, reunites with rising star Channing Tatum, who copes magnificently with the extreme physical demands of his role.
STAR RATING: **
THE YOUNG VICTORIA (PG)
OF ALL the love stories that have defined the British monarchy, none tugs the heartstrings quite like Victoria and Prince Albert. This film traces the romance from the initial sparks of attraction to marriage. Emily Blunt steps up admirably to play the title role.
Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold on Friday to Thursday.
STAR RATING: ***
GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST (12A)
INSPIRED loosely by Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Mark Waters’ romantic comedy concerns an incorrigible womaniser (Matthew McConaughey) who considers changing his ways thanks to the intervention of three spiritual guides.
STAR RATING: **
HANNAH MONTANA - THE MOVIE (U)
THE Disney Channel’s phenomenally popular Hannah Montana comes to the big screen in the perky pop princess’ first dramatic feature, searching for love in this sentimental rites of passage drama, interspersed with thigh-slapping musical sequences.
STAR RATING: **
MONSTERS VS ALIENS (PG)
OUT of this world computer animated adventure packed with dazzling visuals, wild and wacky characters and some genuinely funny moments. Apart from a bride-to-be growing to 49ft tall, there isn’t a lot of story to it beyond what is explained in the title but this is one children’s family no fun-loving adult will object to.
STAR RATING: ***
STAR TREK (12A)
THE 40 year old franchise is given a kick start and sent back into warp drive by Lost creator JJ Abrams who has directed the best reviewed Star Trek movie ever. Purists will have problems with new faces in the iconic roles of Kirk and Spock but on its own merits, this is quality science fiction which injects some welcome vitality into a previously tired concept.
STAR RATING: ***
THE UNINVITED (15)
HOLLYWOOD continues to save the planet by recycling successful Asian horror films with this drab English language of Kim Ji-woon’s 2003 supernatural horror, A Tale Of Two Sisters.
STAR RATING: **
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (12A)
HUGH Jackman sharpens his retractable, adamantium claws in this spin-off from the X-Men films, expanding the back story of one of the franchise’s most popular characters.
STAR RATING: ***
