THE BOAT THAT ROCKED (15)
LOVE Actually screenwrite, Richard Curtis turns director for this entertaining tale of pirate radio stations which briefly ruled the airwaves during the 1960s. His story focuses on one station, run by Bill Nighy and staffed by a myriad of colourful characters.
STAR RATING: **
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS (12A)
SCREEN version of John Boyne’s novel about a young boy living in Krakow during Second World War whose father has been assigned to a concentration camp where he befriends a boy being held there. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold on Friday.
STAR RATING: ***
CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE (18)
ACTION star Jason Statham returns as hit man Chev Chelios in a storyline that continues directly after the explosive exploits of the original. Bruiser Chev wakes to discover that an enigmatic Chinese mobster has ripped out his heart and replaced the vital organ with a battery-operated ticker that will stop unless he gives himself regular jolts of electricity.
STAR RATING: **
DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION (PG)
GOOFY and awkward teenager Goku (Justin Chatwin) lives with his grandfather Gohan (Randall Duk Kim) and is viewed as a joke by his peers. Little does Goku realise that he is destined to fulfil an ancient prophecy by defeating the dastardly Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) and his snivelling sidekick Mai (Eriko Tamura), who seek seven mystical and powerful dragonballs.
STAR RATING: **
FAST AND FURIOUS (12A)
TURBO-charged and haphazardly plotted as the title suggests, the fourth instalment of the street-racing franchise welcomes back original cast members Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. The bronzed beefcakes put the pedal to the metal under the direction of Justin Lin (The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift) in a preposterous tale of revenge and redemption.
STAR RATING: **
THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT (15)
BASED on a true story, Peter Cornwell's supernatural thriller revolves around a close-knit family pushed to the brink by unseen forces resident in their new home.
Martin Donovan and Virginia Madsen move to upstate Connecticut with their family into a beautiful home which just happens to be a former funeral parlour. Before long, evil spirits are threatening to tear the family apart.
STAR RATING: **
IN THE LOOP (15)
A WELL timed spin doctor scandal sees tenacious communications chief Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) hurriedly called into action to minimise the damage created by the bumbling British Secretary of State for International Development. Award-winning satirist Armando Iannucci pokes fun at the political establishment for this sardonic and foul-mouthed film, which crams more belly laughs into its first 20 minutes than most comedies manage in two hours.
STAR RATING: ***
MARLEY & ME (PG)
OWEN Wilson and Jennifer Aniston team up for a soppy comedy which is family friendly, has been a massive hit in the States and is an absolute cert for dog lovers as a troublesome puppy causes all kinds of problems for a childfree couple.
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 49 feet 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: ***
PAUL BLART: MALL COP (PG)
SIZE matters, especially when deciding who to poke fun at, in Steve Carr's politically incorrect, comic spin on Die Hard, set in a New Jersey shopping centre under siege from armed robbers. Instead of lean, mean Bruce Willis in a sweaty-drenched vest, Paul Blart: Mall Cop places its trust in the sweaty palms of an overweight, lovesick father, whose dreams of joining the state police are thwarted by his body.
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. Almost 30 years after the original, this slick and sprightly revamp ticks all of the boxes with ruthless efficiency, introducing a dog at the halfway point to increase the ah factor for family audiences.
STAR RATING: ***
17 AGAIN (12A)
A MAGIC whirlpool enables 30-something Matthew Perry to transform into teen beefcake Zac Efron in this wish fulfilment comedy that plays shamelessly to the High School Musical crowd, even to the extent of throwing in a production number! But Efron’s effortless charm carries the movie well and he handles the comedy with consummate ease.
STAR RATING: ***
VALKYRIE (12A)
THE true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg’s attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler is dramatised by Usual Suspects director Bryan Singer with a cast headed by Tom Cruise and Kenneth Branagh. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Saturday-Monday.
STAR RATING: ***
COMING SOON
April 24: STATE OF PLAY (Russell Crowe)
April 29: X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (Hugh Jackman)
May 8: STAR TREK (Chris Pine)
