- Film Reviews - Thursday, 17 May 2012
'The Dictator' full of belly laughs
Sacha Baron Cohen atones for the sins of 'Bruno' with this gleefully bad-taste fish-out-of-water comedy, which kicks sand in the eye of political correctness.
'How I Spent My Summer Vacation' has its moments
Punch & Judy, donkey rides, sandcastles and candy floss are in short supply in Adrian Grunberg’s grimy and darkly comic thriller.
'Dark Shadows' disappoints
Quixotic director Tim Burton sealed his creative marriage to Johnny Depp more 20 years ago with the brilliantly dark and twisted fairytale 'Edward Scissorhands'.
Laughs and tears in 'All In Good Time'
Love won’t necessarily tear you apart, but it will certainly inflict some serious bruising.
'Jeff, Who Lives at Home' shows Segel and Helms at their best
Jay and Mark Duplass broke into the movie-making scene as part of the lo-fi movement dubbed ''mumblecore''.
‘American Pie: Reunion’ is one helping too much
There is a moment in the fourth and hopefully final slice of the American Pie series when lovable Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs) loses his patience with sex-obsessed man-child Stifler (Seann William Scott) and laments: “You’re so trapped in the past. When are you going to realise things will never be the way they used to be?”
Impressive facelift for classic ‘Beauty And The Beast 3D’
More than 20 years after ‘Beauty And The Beast’ became the first animated feature to contest the Oscar for Best Picture, Disney’s “tale as old as time” returns to multiplexes in a glorious new 3D print.
Efron vehicle ‘The Lucky One’ has little to offer
Based on a book by Nicholas Sparks, who also penned ‘The Notebook’ and ‘Dear John’, ‘The Lucky One’ follows a similar template – hunky guy, beautiful girl, deathly spectre of war – to chronicle the efforts of a battle-hardened Marine (Zac Efron) to track down the divorced mom (Taylor Schilling), whose photograph literally saved his life behind enemy lines.
Don’t expect much from ‘Safe’
As the title of Boaz Yakin’s testosterone-fuelled game of cat and mouse intimates, we’re in familiar territory here with hard man Jason Statham.
Exhilarating action in 'Avengers Assemble'
More is less in 'Avengers Assemble', the special effects-laden amalgamation of four Marvel Comics franchises.
Glenn Close gives tour-de-force performance in Dublin-based ‘Albert Nobbs’
Behind every great man, there is supposedly a great woman.
'Joyful Noise' a mixed bag
A massive hit never ends at its own conclusion, for better or worse.
'Lockout' depressingly dim-witted
One man can make a difference – he can make predictable, half-baked hokum like 'Lockout' almost watchable.
'Salmon Fishing In The Yemen' fluffy but beautiful
A socially awkward fisheries expert reels in a spirited soul-mate in Lasse Hallstrom’s unabashedly feel-good confection, based on the novel by Paul Torday.
Laughs and scares in bonkers 'The Cabin in the Woods'
You have to give writer-director Drew Goddard full marks for effort.
'Titanic 3D' a feast for the senses
James Cameron's mega-budget love story set aboard the doomed ocean liner was a phenomenon.
'Headhunters' steadily cranks up the tension
Scandinavia has given birth to some of the most gripping and terrifying thrillers in recent years.
Collins and Hammer a let-down in 'Mirror Mirror'
Julia Roberts has a blast as the pantomime villainess in ‘Mirror Mirror’, a comedic reworking of the classic fairy tale ‘Snow White’ by the Brothers Grimm.
StreetDance 2' energetic and undemanding
There is just no accounting for taste. Despite a flimsy, contrived script and uneven performances, the 2010 British film 'StreetDance 3D' found considerable favour with home-grown audiences, amassing over £10m (€12m) at the UK box office.
'Wrath Of The Titans' an improvement on its poor predecessor
Never underestimate the intoxicating power of nostalgia.