Ultimate odd couple raise a smile
WHEN it comes to odd couples, wife and mistress has got to come somewhere near the top of the list.
Leigh Paatsch
Shock tactics take a toll on Spidey
LIFE is good for Peter Parker, but for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 it means a distinct lack of fizz.
The movie everyone’s talking about
IT’S been compared to the Hunger Games and is tipped to be one of the biggest films of the year, but what is Divergent actually about?
Stellar cast in five-star style
JUST like the establishment from which it takes its name, The Grand Budapest Hotel offers a lavish and highly enjoyable escape from reality.
The LEGO Movie one of year’s best
THE LEGO Movie is a grand exercise in product placement yet this animated comedy also just happens to be one of the best movies of 2014.
One man’s cold war heats up
YOU have got to hand it to Marvel Entertainment for its management of the multiple tent-poles that keep all things Avengers flying high at the box-office.
A world of fun in directorial debut
THE race to win the rights to say the three words that have traditionally opened the biggest, brashest trailers in modern movie history makes for big laughs.
Mediocre Muppets fail to fire
TOO many celebrity cameos and too little fresh material leaves Muppets Most Wanted parked on a plateau of pleasant mediocrity.
Half of a movie missing
THERE’S plenty to look at here, but not much to think about in 12 Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor’s new film Half of a Yellow Sun.
Ty Burrell’s Peabody will win fans
ONCE again scrounging for inspiration in the canyon of long-forgotten TV, Hollywood has moved some rocks and found Mr Peabody and Sherman.
Star-crossed lovers’ modern twist
BEEN a while since Shakespeare’s star-crossed smoochers got some big-screen love – and this version of Romeo and Juliet will divide fans.
Action-packed but you’ll want more
THE first film was an exhausting, yet electrifying screen experience – but the obligatory sequel The Raid 2 will leave you wanting more.
Noah sparks script vs scripture row
AS an original and arresting visual spectacle, Russell Crowe’s latest film Noah has plenty working in its favour.
Leigh Paatsch’s guide to the movies
LEIGH Paatsch has rated every big film out now to help you pick a movie for a night out. Seen any of these? Give us your verdict.
Star power takes over military caper
THE Monuments Men is a movie about war, where the war is all but over. It’s also a movie where George Clooney calls all shots on both sides of the camera.
Lacking in bite so class dismissed
VAMPIRE Academy might have been better off being adapted for longform TV, rather than the big screen.
Lots of gently tussled muscles
CALLING Generation Iron a “documentary” stretches the meaning of the term somewhat.
Armstrong a wheel piece of work
INCISIVE as it is infuriating, The Armstrong Lie chronicles the greatest fraud ever perpetuated in the history of organised sport.
A fast and furious vroom crash opera
THERE are about 400 more sleeps until the next Fast & Furious sequel. What’s a cinematic petrol-head to do until then?
A great story yet not a good film
THE new Australian film Tracks is a pointed example of how a great true story doesn’t always make for truly good cinema.
Costner, you’re not Liam Neeson
FROM the makers of the Taken movies: a movie that’s kind of like the Taken movies except there’s something missing — Liam Neeson.
Historical butchery back again
YES, it might have taken seven years, but the 300 franchise has returned with more hysterically historical butchery for your entertainment.
Redford ensures All Is not Lost
DON’T be fooled by the micro-minimalist structure of J C Chandor’s All Is Lost. There is a big film in there just waiting to be discovered.
Cate wins, now it’s time to give back
CATE Blanchett has won her second Oscar. Now it’s time for her to give back to the Aussie film industry, according to national film critic Leigh Paatsch.
The best of the best Oscars
IF you look at the winners of every Academy Award who would make the ultimate Oscars winners list. Film critic Leigh Paatsch decides. Tell us if you agree?
Catherine takes the high road
ON MY WAY: Unplanned trip takes the aimless route in this French road movie.
Welcome to a new world disorder
HOW I LIVE NOW: Daisy is destined for a mundane family holiday with her cousins in the English countryside. Then there is war.
Poms develop a Potts addiction
ONE CHANCE: He was tubby. He was teased. He was taken to the hospital again and again.
Carrie on up the bloodbath
FILM OF THE WEEK: Remake of the iconic Carrie is much like new blood in and old bloodbath
Flick Picks: Still hungry, still on fire
HUNGRY to see a flick this weekend? Leigh Paatsch takes a look at what’s on, including the second instalment of The Hunger Games.
An appetite undefeated
The slightly darker second instalment in The Hunger Game series marks a gradual but notable improvement upon its predecessor
sons and lovers
Ick can happen when least expected when it somes to a tale of mothers loving each other’s sons
After May: Young radicals after a good time
After May is a snapshot of a time when Paris couldn’t handle its youth
Catching Fire really delivers
CATCHING Fire, the second Hunger Games film, marks a gradual, but notable improvement upon its predecessor, says Leigh Paatsch.
Flick Picks: Swansong of a Soprano
LAUGH and love James Gandolfini’s final movie Enough Said says film guru Leigh Paatsch, as he offers up his weekend movie guide.
File under Wiki lacks
The Fifth Estate, about controversial Australian info-warrior Julian Assange and the Wikileaks saga, falls at the first hurdle
Clever, cute with class
The late James Gandolfini makes one of his final screen performances in this clever rom-com, Enough Said
Love can rewrite a life sentence
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is a gripping drama from a rising star of American indie filmmaking, David Lowery.
Old fella goin’ against the greyin’
Beware of the old dog with new tricks in the fourth film of the Jackass franchise, a familiar combo of the lewd, crude and disarmingly imaginative
Flick Picks: Mr. Pip will jolt you
THERE’S severe jolts in Mr. Pip set in Bougainville Island and Fruitvale Station is a powerhouse drama. Plus Searching for Sugar Man now on DVD.
Just an all-star miscast
The Counselor is a tangled mess and will leave viewers consistently baffled by a tale that remains in a state of cryptic cluelessness throughout
Big ideas from a small beginning
One friendship speaks all languages in this Australian documentary about the first detention centre for asylum seekers in Tasmania
Wrenching and shockingly real
Fruitvale Station, which brings to life the tragic true story about the shooting death of a US man, could be a contender for an Academy Award
There’s barely a scare in there
Insidious: Chapter 2 kills time slowly for those who need a few undemanding shocks to their senses but it’s not a worthwhile option for anyone else
A tale of two cultures
Set in Papua New Guinea, Mr Pip is a movie coming from a good place, destined to take you to a bad place
Soulful acting steals the show
When it comes to crafty tactics to stay fed, 12-year-old Simon lives by the creed: don’t get mad – get thievin’
Return of hammer time
Thor’s new offering is the first of the modern Marvel Entertainment films to settle for something approaching second-best
A presidential parable from the White House
Lee Daniels uses his sugar-sweet style to show how one man overcame severe adversity to land the privileged job of a White House butler
There’s gold in them thar hills … maybe
This fascinating documentary revisits the legend of Lasseter’s Reef, a mythical seam of gold lodged deep in the Australian outback
Hanks the master of the high seas
FLICK PICKS: TOM Hanks gives a deep performance in Captain Phillips, Steve Coogan channels Alan Partridge and Snow White is given a retro reboot.
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