Leigh Paatsch's guide to movies

NEED help deciphering the cinematic carte du jour? This comprehensive movie guide has all the information you will need.

Leigh Paatsch's guide to movies

NEED help deciphering the cinematic carte du jour? This comprehensive movie guide has all the information you will need.

* THE BEST OFFER (M) A tough sell, but meets its reserve, Italy, 122 min

You heard the one about the obsessive-compulsive old auctioneer and the beautiful young agoraphobic? Didn't think so. While it does read as the set-up for a joke, this Italian-made, English-language drama takes itself very seriously indeed. Perhaps too much so, but never at the expense of an intrigued audience. Geoffrey Rush is in fine form here as the toffy art dealer Virgil, a cultured control freak who drops his guard when he falls for the mysteriously mercurial shut-in Claire (Sylvia Hoeks). The film is not without its share of flaws - the intentionally stilted dialogue will get on some folks' nerves - but does just enough to deliver upon expectations. Co-stars Jim Sturgess, Donald Sutherland. Rating: 3/5

* THE CONJURING (MA15+) Maintaining an effective exorcise regime, US, 111 min

A haunted house. A petrified family. A possessed doll. Self-slamming doors. Random hand-claps in the dead of night. As viewers first come to grips with this old-fashioned new horror film, it looks as if just another batch of cookie-cutter creepiness is about to served. By all means, feel free to initially under-rate this finely-crafted and genuinely scary production. Making such a mistake will only serve to leave you more impressed (and slightly rattled) than you might have been. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are superb as a married team of paranormal investigators battling to rid a family's home of a demonic presence in the early 1970s. The direction of Australian filmmaker James Wan (Insidious) is skilfully controlled. While he does allow you to occasionally laugh at the gruesome goings-on, you will never experience the urge to look down upon them. You will be too involved, too intrigued and too softened-up to ask too many hard questions. Recommended, even if you don't usually like horror movies. Rating: 3.5/5

* ELYSIUM (MA15+) Rise to the occasion, or die trying, US, 109 min

A stunning sci-fi action film, Elysium brings a crashing hammer down on the US summer blockbuster season. Though not without its share of flaws, it is clearly the best big-ticket picture of 2013 so far. The year is 2154. The division between haves and have-nots is more pronounced than ever. The rich live in gated communities in the planet's upper atmosphere. The rest of an over-crowded Earth reside in a planet-wide slum. A buff, tough and ready Matt Damon stars as Max, a terminally ill factory worker who needs urgent medical help. The only place he will get it is inside one of those utopias high in the sky. Just getting there could be enough to kill him. South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp proves his sensational 2009 debut District 9 was no fluke. The man has a vision - driven by inspired writing, and an intelligent grasp of how to manipulate viewers - and that vision has real impact. Co-stars Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley. Rating: 4/5

* FRANCES HA (MA15+) Living a laughing matter, US, 85 min

This delightful indie comedy proves whoever said life's what you make it has got it all wrong. Life's what makes you. Greta Gerwig stars as Frances, a lovable loser who sorely needs two things to go her way : somewhere to live in New York City, and some way to live in New York City. Throughout the film, her hopes of achieving either are amusingly forlorn. Anyone who has spent (or is spending) some (or all) of their adult life with no idea what to do next will love Frances like a long lost sister. Though she invariably cops the worst, Frances always copes the best she can. Directed by Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale). Rating: 4/5

* JOBS (M) The thorny past of a man who saw a rosy future, US, 129 min

This passable biopic of the late Apple creative genius Steve Jobs does not amount to that much more than a filmed adaptation of the subject's Wikipedia page. All the right names, dates and brands are very much to the fore, but anything that resembles depth, insight or nuanced analysis is merely a mirage. 2010's The Social Network raised the bar very high for this kind of reportage in movies, and Jobs seems too tentative to even attempt a jump. If the movie does successfully communicate Steve Jobs' dual personas as peerless innovator and master irritator, then the plaudits must go to a surprisingly credible Ashton Kutcher in the lead role. The principal focus of the movie is on the years between the foundation of Apple, Inc. in a suburban garage and Jobs' return to the company after years in exile for being an absolute prat. To the filmmakers' credit, they do not hold back on illuminating viewers on the dark side of the man. However, many of his sudden mood swings are hard to fathom. Rating: 2.5/5

* KICK-ASS 2 (MA15+) Give this bummer the boot, US, 103 min

What was once so rad is now just plain sad. The original Kick-Ass was a maverick excitement machine, sending up and taking down the entire comic-book superhero genre with genuine, game-changing panache. This terrible sequel is everything its subversive predecessor so cleverly avoided becoming : a witlessly violent, mean and misogynistic affair. The all-new adventures of amateur crimefighters Kick-Ass (Aaron Johnson) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) are shoddily derivative at best. At their worst, proceedings amount to a new low for mainstream cinema in 2013. One truly scummy scene where attempted rape is played for laughs sums up the many depressingly bad impulses being indulged here. Avoid. Rating: 1/5

* THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS : CITY OF BONES (M) Sometime out of tune, often dead catchy, US, 131 min

It's a little bit Twilight. It's a little bit Harry Potter. Heck, it's even a little bit Percy Jackson. It's also a whole lotta hooey. Though hardly the most right-on play at the lucrative young-adult blockbuster market, it would be unwise to write off the first Mortal Instruments movie as a totally derivative dud. Based on a popular series of novels by Cassandra Clare, enough potential is shown - by virtue of a welcome, self-mocking sense of humour - to suggest it could be a franchise worth sticking with. Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror) stars as Clary, a young woman searching for her missing mother in a secret realm that co-exists alongside normal life in New York City. Clary falls in with a mysterious tribe of warrior angels known as Shadowhunters, only discover she may be bred to be a demon-slayer herself. Probably a fans-only affair, but the unconvinced will make it through by focusing on the knowingly nutty stuff sprinkled across this tale. Co-stars Jamie Campbell Bowers, Lena Headey. Rating: 2.5/5

* MUD (M) Look past the murk, and everything becomes so clear, US, 130 min

It starts with someone's boat lodged high in the trees. It ends with someone's body floating down a river. And in between? Simply the best movie released in Australia so far in 2013. Who those aforementioned someones turn out to be are of little consequence to the perfect outcome achieved by Mud. At the centre of a busy, yet easy-to-follow yarn is 14-year-old Ellis (a knockout performance by Tye Sheridan), an impressionable lad who lives amidst a close-knit fishing community on the Mississippi River. When Ellis discovers a fugitive drifter (Matthew McConaughey) hiding out nearby, he gives the shifty character the benefit of the doubt. And continues to do so, even after this strange man is unmasked as a wanted killer. All that matters in Mud is the captivating brand of classic grass-roots American storytelling being deployed so eloquently and so powerfully. What we have here is a classic tale of innocence lost and wisdom gained, one that comfortably holds its own against the likes of To Kill a Mockingbird and the best works of Mark Twain. Highly recommended. Rating: 5/5

* NOW YOU SEE ME (M) Taking the money with no need to run, US, 116 min

This slick'n'slippery heist movie might get more ridiculously illogical by the minute, but there can be no denying it is serious escapist fun throughout. An A-team of maverick illusionists has been assembled for a magic show that takes Vegas by storm. Their signature trick? Robbing a bank live on stage, in full view of their audience. Huh? You have to see it to believe it. When the troupe is held responsible for millions missing from a Paris bank vault - without ever setting foot in France - the FBI and Interpol take a forensic interest in the workings of the act. Of course, the magicians refuse to reveal a single trade secret. Though continually in the spotlight and under the microscope, their stunts become all the more audacious and inexplicable. A well-cast ensemble including Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, Isla Fisher and Morgan Freeman are clearly having a grand time having a lend of us all. Allow yourself to be completely duped, and you are certain to be highly entertained. Rating: 3.5/5

* POMPEII : CAPTURED IN HD FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM (UNRATED) First look at a last day, UK, 95 min

A magnificent special event, not to be missed : an extended tour of the British Museum's acclaimed recent exhibition Life And Death In Pompeii And Herculaneum. A vibrant team of renowned experts guide us through the hours before and after that fateful day in 79AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted without warning, burying (and preserving) two nearby cities in the process. The exhibition features over 400 rare artifacts, many of which have never been seen outside their native Italy before. Only playing a handful of sessions, so you be better be quick. Highly recommended. Rating: 4/5

* RED 2 (M) Get old, get even, get outta here, US, 98 min

For those action fans still unsure about The Expendables, there's always the Red gang to fall back on. Think of them as The Ex-pensioner-ables - slightly older, but no more wiser. Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren can only muster moderate outward enthusiasm for the franchise's codgers-as-cold-blooded-assassins shtick this time around. With Morgan Freeman unable to return for this so-so sequel, the new old faces on the block here are Anthony Hopkins (slightly under-pitching his performance) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (slightly overdoing her fake-tanning regimen). The plot centres on a long-lost atomic bomb. The movie fails to detonate. Rating: 2/5

* RED OBSESSION (PG) A polite bout of chateau boxing, Australia, 80 min

A thematically slight documentary investigating the rapidly changing landscape of the worldwide wine business. It is not the most satisfying drop to be poured in Australian cinemas this year. Though there is much intriguing information for viewers to drink in, the flavour of Red Obsession's findings will only be appreciated by select palates. An initial focus on the boom times in France's celebrated Bordeaux region - where some vintages have broken the 1000-euro-per-bottle mark - is mildly interesting. Later emphasis on China putting the squeeze on the global grape lacks a valid point worth caring about. Narrated by Russell Crowe. Rating: 2.5/5

* STOKER (MA15+) Could be a hell of a mourning, US, 98 min

A worrying mood piece, directed with enigmatic menace by the celebrated Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy). India (Mia Wasikowska) is a teen reacting to the death of her father by dropping all social niceties. So when her mother (Nicole Kidman) starts getting nicely social with a mysterious brother-in-law (Matthew Goode), India retreats further into her shell. What follows is an unorthodox take on a psychological drama, fully loaded not only with a raft of toxic inter-personal tensions, but also dangerous impulses that reveal themselves in most disturbing (sometimes, even horrifying) ways. While this unsettling material has been fashioned for adventurous tastes, the three compelling lead performances makes the experience feel far more accessible than it really is. Rating: 3.5/5

* UPSTREAM COLOR (M) It's all in the why of the beholder, US, 96 min

What to make of a cinematic riddle that somehow works, in spite of being delivered without a question, nor an answer? So goes the hauntingly head-scratching second feature from American filmmaker Shane Carruth, whose debut Primer provoked similar bafflement (and much acclaim) in 2004. The plot? There may not be one as such. A woman is infected with a virus by parties unknown. Her life repeatedly falls apart, then fleetingly comes together again in new and unsettling ways. It's definitely one of a kind, and certainly not for all tastes, but will exert an ever-strengthening magnetic pull upon those in the right adventurous mood. Best likened to The Tree of Life drugged and thrown off a bridge. You'll decide whether it sinks or swims inside the first few minutes. Rating: 3/5

* WE'RE THE MILLERS (MA15+) Small crack-ups in a grass menagerie, US, 110 min

Middling comedy lacking the smarts to capitalise on a clever premise. Jason Sudeikis stars as a low-level pot dealer forced to participate in a high-stakes drugs deal to get rid of a crushing debt to his supplier. In order to smuggle a major marijuana haul across the Mexican border, he gathers a motley bunch (including Jennifer Aniston as a stripper) to pose as his fake family to avoid suspicion. There are just enough laughs to be had to allow this sketchy, smutty affair the benefit of the doubt. There are never enough laughs to be had to extinguish any doubt it is not as funny as it might have been. co-stars Emma Roberts, Nick Offerman. Rating: 2.5/5

* WHAT MAISIE KNEW (M) When a little knowledge is too much information, US, 95 min

If only Maisie didn't know anything in What Maisie Knew. Sometimes ignorance can indeed be bliss. Maisie (a stunning performance by Onata Aprile) is seven years old. She lives in New York City. Her mother, Susanna (Julianne Moore), is a washed-up rock star. Her dad, Beale (Steve Coogan) is just a wash-out. All that Maisie ever hears is her parents fighting. They are no longer together, but apart they are as damaging to the welfare of their daughter as they have ever been. This brilliantly-acted study in emotional neglect as child abuse can be quite wrenching to watch. Though Maisie is living in relatively affluent surrounds, the worry for her well-being steadily rises throughout the picture. Rating: 3.5/5

* THE WOLVERINE (M) Hell hath no furry than a Wolverine returned, US, 125 min

Another solo outing for that metal-clawed, mutton-chopped X-Men mutant Wolverine (aka Logan) turns out to be something of a return to form. Never absolutely essential, but never a waste of your precious time. The story unfolds largely in Japan, where Logan (a ripped and sombre Hugh Jackman) has emerged from years of exile to do battle with the Yakuza, some ninja archers and every freelance hitman in the land. Yep, it is mostly a fight movie, occasionally a chase movie, and that it is all. Set-piece combat sequences range from quite good to truly great. A heart-stopping five-minute scrap on the roof of a bullet train is one of the great stand-alone action scenes of 2013. Rating: 3/5

* YOU'RE NEXT (MA15+) Guests uninvited, but not empty-handed, US, 96 min

Might be a good idea to check the locks, and bolt the windows. Then check them again. Why? Because the clock on the wall in this craftily compelling horror flick has stopped at home-invasion o'clock. What's more, there are these three dudes in creepy masks just outside the front door of the remote country mansion where you will be spending the duration of the movie. So what's with the bows and arrows, razor wire and that gizmo that jams all mobile-phone coverage, fellas? Best not ask. Effective second-tier spooker, perfect for those after a quick jolt. Stars Sharni Vinson. Rating: 3/5