Leigh Paatsch's guide to movies

EVERY time you go to the movies there's a cinematic smorgasbord from which to chose. Leigh Paatsch helps you make up your mind.

Dead Man Down

EVERY time you go to the movies there's a cinematic smorgasbord from which to chose. Leigh Paatsch helps you make up your mind.

> THE CALL (MA15+) Berry operates on emote-control, US, 94 min
This functional, moderately gripping thriller is fair example of getting a little something out of a whole lot of nothing. Abigail Breslin is a teenage girl who has been kidnapped and bundled into the car boot of a psychopath. Luckily, there is just enough juice in her mobile phone to keep a line open to 911 helpline operator Halle Berry, who must effect a roundabout rescue. Berry gets all worried at the other end. Plaudits must go to Berry for humanising proceedings when everything could have got too cynically clinical. When you consider she spends most of the movie emoting into her headset at a computer screen, hers is a fine anchoring effort indeed.Rating: 2.5/5

the call

> DEAD MAN DOWN (MA15+) Revenge a wish best served bold, US, 118 min
A comprehensively strange and intermittently compelling crime thriller, fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. There are ten shock twists too many. And double the number of sudden mood swings. Seriously, this film changes speed, direction and efficiency more often than a shopping trolley on a frozen lake. And yet, under the crafty direction of Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplov (the original screen adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) Dead Man Down exudes an irrational intelligence that keeps you completely intrigued throughout. A shifty-eyed, stony-faced Colin Farrell plays Victor, one of those hitmen-with-a-past types about to dance the one-last-job tango. However, before he exacts a bizarrely elaborate revenge on a vicious New York crime boss (Terrence Howard), Victor must unwillingly come to the aid of a mysteriously troubled neighbour (Noomi Rapace). The unusual performance stylings of Farrell and Rapace fit the bill perfectly for a film rife with distrust and unease. Their layered character readings give life to Dead Man Down when needed most. Rating: 3/5

Dead Man Down

> FAREWELL, MY QUEEN (M) A right royal goodbye, France, 98 min
In the early days of the French Revolution, a key lady-in-waiting (Lea Seydoux) to Queen Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger) has the prime position to watch a kingdom crumble before her. This is as smart and sophisticated as a period costume drama can get in this day and age. Though there is a mistaken assumption all viewers will immediately recognise and understand this nuanced snapshot of a famous flashpoint in French history, the performances are where the real need-to-know info is conveyed. Seydoux, Kruger and co-star Virginie Ledoyen (as the Queen's reputed lover) are all at the very top of their game here. Rating: 3.5/5

farewell, my queen

> FAST & FURIOUS 6 (M) Feeling oh so tyred? Hitch a lift right here., US, 128 min
Best forget all previous laps of the F&F circuit. And perhaps ignore that star Vin Diesel's head now resembles a steroid-fed talking kidney bean. Then you can feel the rush of this guilty-pleasure joy ride to the max. In this undeniably entertaining sequel, the F&F gang - last seen hiding out in extradition-free glamour destinations around Europe - is reunited after a revving-up from their old frenemy, Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). As we should know by now, no-one goes to a F&F movie for the story. (Though if you do, help is available.) All that anyone wants from this hugely popular franchise is to get high on the fumes of one audacious four-wheeled stunt after another. On this level alone, F&F6 delivers the goods spectacularly : both with quantity (the film runs nearly 130 minutes, but never stops for a red-light breather) and quality (there are at least five set-piece sequences that more than justify the price of admission for full-on fans). Rating: 3.5/5

Fast and the Furious 6

> THE GREAT GATSBY (M) There's no business like showy Baz-ness, Australia-US, 142 min
Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) takes the collective substance of the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, lines it up against a wall, and machine-guns it with all the glitzy style he can muster. Though definitely a hit-and-miss proposition, you will not be bored for a millisecond by what transpires. Leonardo DiCaprio has the starring role of Jay Gatsby, the reclusive tycoon who has seemingly amassed an impressive fortune simply to win back his great lost love. Luhrmann has a field day capturing what passed for a high old time at the height of the jazz age. Everywhere you look, it's fast cars, new money, easy virtues and hard partying. Some sections play out as if there has been multiple explosions inside a warehouse storing nothing but confetti bombs, neon lights and fireworks. The movie ultimately works due to the intuitive efforts of a well-chosen cast. The lead trio of DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire keep proceedings grounded by applying a sincere emotional gravity to their performances. Rating: 3/5

> THE HANGOVER PART III (MA15+) Ends with a sore head and a few regrets, US, 101 min
A disappointing trilogy-closer that sees the celebrated Wolfpack back on their home turf of Las Vegas for one more anarchic adventure. The film assembles a modest collection of guffaw-out-loud moments. However, once again, the high standard of lowbrow laughs achieved by the first Hangover just cannot be matched. More than ever before, this instalment is powered primarily by the franchise's two breakout characters, the bearded weirdo Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and the mercurial gangster Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). You'll be tired of both soon enough, mainly because the big, side-splitting gags are thin on the ground. Anyone who expected the series to end with a bang will be disappointed by the wispy whimper coming their way. Co-stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms. Rating: 2/5

> HAPPINESS NEVER COMES ALONE (M) The tricky transition from solo act to duo, France, 107 min
Gad Elmaleh (a French comic often likened to a European Jerry Seinfeld) plays Sacha, a hipster muso happily composing jingles by day, and tuning up the ladies by night. So when Sacha suddenly falls hard for Charlotte (Sophie Marceau), there are no prizes for correctly guessing they could not have tumbled together at a worse time. Particularly once he discovers Charlotte has kids - three of 'em - and that her soon-to-be-ex-husband has a big say in Sacha's ambitious career plans. The thoroughly middle-of-the-road nature of the material on offer means Happiness Never Comes Alone is as easily enjoyed as it is soon forgotten. Pleasant, but not essential. Rating: 2.5/5

> THE HUNT (MA15+) Direct hit on uneasy target, Denmark, 114 min
This searing, sincerely powerful Danish drama will drop two tonnes of heartbreak on you. Not a gram is wasted. A superb lead performance from Mads Mikkelsen keeps the ordeal on the right side of bearable. But only just. Mikkelsen plays a rural schoolteacher falsely accused of sexually abusing a young student. The *due process* set in place to deal with cases of such extreme sensitivity picks up a swift and damning momentum. An innocent man becomes a marked man. This is human nature - its best intentions, its worst instincts - simply running its course. Make one simple stumble, and you may never make up all that lost ground. Rating: 4/5

> IRON MAN 3 (M) Reclaiming a full mettle jacket, US, 125 min
A third thunderous adventure for that heavy-metal crimefighter Iron Man, and his eccentric human alter ego Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). The cataclysmic events depicted in the ferocious finale of The Avengers have left Tony with a serious post-traumatic stress disorder. So when an all-new nemesis known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) - an omnipresent jihadist in the Osama bin Laden mould - begins attacking America from every angle, Tony Stark is not in the best shape to repel the threat. The action set-pieces of Iron Man 3 are where the film truly excels, displaying a creativity and wit that will excite adrenalin-chasing viewers. Performances are consistently strong, in spite of the tonally erratic screenplay. Downey Jr. has definitely re-engaged with his character on a deeper level after the superficial high jinks of Iron Man 2. Perhaps the best effort of all comes from the veteran Ben Kingsley, whose vicious brand of villainy comes with a surprise twist that is cleverly executed at a crucial juncture in proceedings. Co-stars Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow.  Rating: 3.5/5

> THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (MA15+) Crime waits for no man, US, 140 min
A sprawling, archly ambitious drama is also very much a three-card trick of a movie. The first two narrative sleights-of-hand are handled exclusively by actors Ryan Gosling (as an outlaw motorbiker) and Bradley Cooper (the rookie cop in hot pursuit).  Each gets a self-enclosed act of the picture to themselves, and rise to the occasion with performances that both near their career peaks. More often than not, there is an undeniable magic in the air. However, when it comes to the grand finale - resting as it does on circumstances sure to break the needle on your Movie-Coincidence-O-Meter - not everyone will blown away by the 'big reveal'. While the contrasts between the main characters are all too obvious, each point of difference is skilfully rendered by Derek Cianfrance, a rare filmmaking talent working on only his second feature. (If you saw his stunning 2010 debut Blue Valentine, this ripples with the same intensely damaged energy.) Co-stars Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelsohn, Rose Byrne. Rating: 3.5/5

> A PLACE FOR ME (MA15+) There's no place like home. Even if it's broken, US, 92 min
This quality dram-edy gives off the instant warmth of a well-made TV pilot you would happily hope would be swiftly developed into a series. An eager-to-please storyline pitches divorcee writer William (Greg Kinnear) still pining for his ex-wife Erica (Jennifer Connelly), even though she is now happily married elsewhere. An elsewhere, I should add, that William sometimes keeps under surveillance in the dead of night. Meanwhile, the ex-couple's offspring - both gifted authors in their own right - are both working through the process of falling in love for the very first time. For Samantha (Lily Collins), this means ending an imposing track record of promiscuity. The same goes for her younger brother Rusty (Nat Wolff), save for the fact it is his virginity he must farewell. Hard to sincerely gripe with any aspect of A Place for Me. The characters are skilfully established and expanded, their respective journeys resonate in a straightforward manner, and there's barely a scene that shouldn't be here. Rating: 3/5

> THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST(MA15+) He had it all, then jihad enough, US-UK, 126 min
This drab political thriller is not unlike a new brand of margarine. The creators obviously have the best of intentions, but cannot avoid the blandest of outcomes. Based on the best-selling book by Mohsin Hamid, the story centres on a Pakistani academic (Riz Ahmed) suspected of masterminding anti-US terrorist activities in Lahore. As a hostage crisis nears its peak, the rabble-rousing man of mystery recounts his former days as a materialist man of money on Wall Street. By the time this flashbacked business is done with, most viewers will be done with the film as well. Though definitely well-acted and well-reasoned, there is something irreversibly inert about the tale. Guilty of all charges to cause grievously honourable boredom. Co-stars Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland. Rating: 2.5/5

> SNITCH (M) The Rock takes it all for granite, US, 111 min
In Snitch, that likeable lunk Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson puts his serious acting hat on. Just like you, I never knew he owned one. What's more, it doesn't seem to fit so good. While this gap in The Rock's skill set won't have you liking the lunk any less, it does take the edge off a crime thriller that was never all that sharp to begin with. He plays an everyday dad looking to save his son - facing a stretch in jail - by infiltrating a murderous Mexican drugs cartel. As you (should never) do. There's a few enjoyable scenes of trucks being driven in anger, and machine-guns being fired very inaccurately. There's also a lot of scenes where The Rock and the dramatic arts carry on as if they don't like each other much. Co-stars Susan Sarandon, Barry Pepper. Rating: 2/5

Snitch

> STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (M) Keeping our eyes on the Enterprise, US, 128 min
Courtesy of gifted filmmaker J.J. Abrams, 2009's origin-story-driven Star Trek was just the reboot up the backside the long-running franchise needed. The belated sequel Into Darkness delivers more of the exciting goods, even if it settles for a slight, but noticeable downscale of impact. The new mission of the Starship Enterprise is to hunt down the mysteriously sinister John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), a former Starfleet officer now looking to destroy his one-time allies. Naturally, odd-couple buddies Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) are leading the charge across deep space to save the day. The familiar likes of Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Scotty (Simon Pegg, still fighting a hilariously losing battle with that half-cocked Highlands accent) all have limited, yet crucial roles to play in the tumult to follow. Into Darkness functions best when operating purely in cinematic thrill-ride mode. Production design and special-effects are first-class, as expected. Only a vaguely underwhelming ending removes some of the shine from a gilt-edged offering. Rating: 3.5/5

> STILL MINE (PG) He won't cop this. So house that., Canada, 102 min
A true (love) story that gradually overcomes all cynicism. James Cromwell stars as Craig Morrison, a Canadian man of the land who at age 87 defies local law makers to build a dream home for his ailing wife (Genevieve Bujold). Unfortunately, local building officials take a dim view of Craig's unsanctioned construction work. The two parties are soon at war, each refusing to compromise as the argument escalates from the council chambers to the courtroom. The screenplay of Still Mine does not allow any fence-sitting on the part of the audience. Old Craig has his heart in the right place. Them rules-and-regulations types have their heads lodged elsewhere. Thankfully, the ever-dignified pairing of Cromwell and Bujold supply performances that can soften the hardest-hearted of viewers. Rating: 3/5

> TABU (MA15+) Old, new, bothered and blue, Portugal, 116 min
A tale of two time-shifted paradises, one lost and one found. In the present day, an elderly woman in the Portuguese city of Lisbon wonders what became of her once-glamourous life. The reasons why can found in the past, when her younger, married self falls in love with a seductive adventurer in the wilds of Africa. A film of two distinct sections and a multitude of tricks and tropes, Tabu is definitely a unique movie experience. The stylised aesthetic in play - the old-timey B&W cinematography is just one of many unusual choices by director Miguel Gomes - may leave some viewers cold. Others will be utterly riveted. The risk (and return) is all yours. Rating: 3.5/5

Tabu