Leigh Paatsch's guide to movies

WHAT better way to while away a winter evening than by heading to the pictures. Leigh Paatsch has reviewed the current crop, including stand-out Mud, showing at Dendy.

great gatsby

WHAT better way to while away a winter evening than by heading to the pictures. Leigh Paatsch has reviewed the current crop, including stand-out Mud, showing at Dendy.

> AFTER EARTH (M) Slack to the future, US, 97 min
An indecipherably inert action flick sees out-of-form director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) stuck in the same snoozy rut as his previous film, The Last Airbender. The story begins when a father-son combo of space-travelling Earthlings are forced to crash-land on their now-abandoned home planet. The dad, Cypher (Will Smith), has broken both of his legs upon impact. So it is up to his teenage boy Kitai (Jaden Smith) to embark on an arduous trek to find the missing rescue beacon that will save them from certain death. Any potential to raise a pulse as Kitai does battle with mutant wildlife of the future is undercut by an overwhelming atmosphere of dullness. No surprise, really, when so much of the film is driven by Will Smith robotically ordering his kid around via a fancy camera phone. Rating: 1.5/5

> DESPICABLE ME 2 (PG) No longer bad. Still very good, US, 96 min
The same, playful, naughty-but-nice humour winningly evident in the 2010 animated hit Despicable Me lifts its sequel clear of the also-rans in the animated sector. Steve Carell returns as the voice of the formerly notorious Gru. Once the world's most fiendish supervillain, Gru is now the world's softest-hearted single dad. However, that devious mind of his is still the eccentric engine room of the franchise, and Gru is soon putting that bad brain of his to good use after being recruited by the crime-fighting Anti-Villain League. The pacing and vocal performances are sharp, the 3D visuals are as eye-popping as before, and those mischievous Minions remain the best bunch of second-bananas in movies. Rating: 3/5

> 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

> 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

> 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 INTERNSHIP (M) Your search for a movie that is one big fat commercial has returned 1 result., US, 117 min
Initially, this so-so comedy tip-toes that fine line between semi-shameless product placement and full-on feature-length advertisement. Then it just turns those toes up, and gives up. The one message is repeated over and over: Google is great. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson play former wristwatch salesmen desperately competing for an entry-level posting at the highest-horse-powered search engine in the world. Naturally, with the guys being on the wrong side of 40, most of the jokes told here are themed around how a digital world has no place for these analog dinosaurs. Google could well be the greatest place to work, but this is not the greatest movie to watch. The vibe in the air is nearly always genial, but the stuff on the screen is consistently feeble. Co-stars Rose Byrne. Rating: 2/5

> A LADY IN PARIS (M) Acting out her age, France, 94 min
Solid, insightfully observed and unpretentious light drama from France. Veteran star Jeanne Moreau makes a welcome return to the big screen playing a prickly, elderly Estonian woman entering the final phase of her life in Paris. The arrival of the latest in a long line of devoted and unfairly abused carers marks the beginning of an unlikely friendship. Skews straight towards the predictable, but little fault can be found with how well this familiar material is handled. Co-stars Liane Magi. Rating: 3/5

> 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

> 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

> 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

> 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