AUSTRALIA (12A)
COOL director Baz Luhrmann tells the sweeping tale of English aristocrat Nicole Kidman arriving in Oz to take over the huge ranch owned by her philandering but now murdered husband.
STAR RATING: ***
BEDTIME STORIES (PG)
ADAM Sandler plays a handyman who discovers the bedtime stories he tells his young nephew and niece are starting to come true. He is helped out by a supporting cast that includes Russell Brand, Guy Pearce and Courteney Cox.
STAR RATING: **
BRIDE WARS (PG)
BY THE book chick flick starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway as best friends who declare war on each other when they announce they are getting married on the same day.
STAR RATING: **
CHE: PART ONE (15)
OCEAN’S 11 director Steven Soderbergh returns to more serious film-making with this epic biopic which takes a romantic but technically detailed look at the role played by the legendary Che Guavara in the success of the Cuban revolution before he disastrously tried to repeat the victory in Bolivia.
STAR RATING: ***
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (12A)
KEANU Reeves returns to science fiction by taking the risky gamble of starring in a remake of one of the best loved examples of the genre ever made.
STAR RATING: ***
DEFIANCE (15)
EXTRAORDINARY true story about three brothers during World War Two who hide from the Nazis in a Russian forest and provide a sanctuary for hundreds of Jews against incredible odds. Daniel Craig, Liev Schrieber and Jamie Bell all impress as the three heroic brothers.
STAR RATING: ***
HUNGER (15)
ARTIST Steve McQueen directs this tale of IRA protests in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, focussing on the hunger strike of Bobby Sands. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Tuesday-Thursday. STAR RATING: ***
INKHEART (PG)
AN ATTEMPT to create a lucrative family film franchise along the lines of Narnia but this time based on Corneila Funke’s series of fantasy novels.
STAR RATING: ***
MADAGASCAR : ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (PG)
THE animated foursome, Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo are back, in this spectacular sequel to 2005's top family comedy. Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice, the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. In light of the current situation the pampered New Yorkers hatch a plan to get home.
STAR RATING: **
QUANTUM OF SOLACE (12A)
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. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Friday-Monday.
STAR RATING: ***
THE READER (15)
YET another stunning performance from Kate Winslet dominates this Stephen Daldry film based on the acclaimed book set in post World War Two Germany where a young man encounters the older woman with whom he had an affair 10 years earlier – only to discover she faces war crime charges.
STAR RATING: ***
ROLE MODELS (15)
SURPRISINGLY witty and character-filled comedy about two slackers who trash a truck and are forced to do community service by mentoring two young lads – one a wise-cracker, the other a nerdy role playing geek.
STAR RATING: ***
SEX DRIVE (15)
RITES of passage flick which has much in common with the classic John Cusack picture The Sure Thing. A nerdy virgin (John Zuckerman) encounters a hot babe on the internet who promises to deflower him if he drives across America to meet her.
STAR RATING: **
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (15)
THE race to Oscar night glory begins here and, by all accounts, this most unlikely of films is going to take some beating. It has no stars whatsoever, is set on the teeming streets of India, is directed by maverick Brit Danny Boyle and has India’s version of the hit TV quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? at the very heart of its story!
STAR RATING: ****
THE SPIRIT (12A)
COMIC books legend turned director Frank Miller returns to cinema after his Sin City triumph with a similar project but this time focussed on one story of a cop who returns from the grave to fight evil.
STAR RATING: **
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (U)
AN UNDERDOG hero, a beautiful princess, a genie and an evil rat – perfect family fare for the panto season.
STAR RATING: **
