Mini Reviews
The Back Up Plan (out now) features J-Lo as a middle aged woman who has never been able to find the right man. Desperate to have kids, she is impregnated using a sperm donor. When the "right man" suddenly enters the scene, things are about to get complicated. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I didn't care much for the characters. Not my thing. Grade: C+.
The Kings Of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 (out now) is a silly Aussie comedy that sees Steve travel to the Greek island of Mykonos to inherit the beach resort of his late uncle. Ok, I laughed a few times but there's not much else to recommend with such a cliched story. I prefer my comedies to have a few more surprises and a little more intelligence. Grade: C+.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (out May 20) is a weak remake of the horror classic. Midway through the Brisbane premiere, a guy dressed as Freddy Krueger came into the theatre and started harassing the audience. He put his "claws" on my shoulder and shone a torch directly in my face. I hope he was paid by the film's distributors and not an escaped mental patient. The only scary part of my night. Grade: C.
Harry Brown (out May 20) is about an English pensioner who decides to dish out some vigilante justice after his best friend is killed by a gang of drug-dealing teenagers. This is everything that Gran Torino wasn't. It has a likeable hero, a more probable ending and it paints a realistic, yet gloomy picture of the slums in London. Another great performance from Michael Caine. Grade: A-.
StreetDance 3D (out May 20) is about a street dancing crew forced to team up with some ballet dancers for a big competition. They come up with a completely original routine. Sadly, the screenwriters haven't come up with an original script. It uses every cliche in the book and the dialogue is dreadful. The final dance number was good but that's the only positive I can think of. Grade: C.
Love, Lust & Lies (out May 13) is a doco in the style of Michael Apted's "7 Up" series. In 1976, director Gillian Armstrong peered into the lives of three 14-year-old girls from South Australia. Now in their mid 40s, Armstrong catches up with them to find out what they've been up to and what they've learned. It goes into a bit too much detail but I like the experiment. Grade: B+.
Robin Hood (out May 13) isn't about a guy who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. It looks at an earlier chapter in Robin's life. We find out how he "came to be". The slow introduction is redeemed by a strong second hour. Sadly, the momentum is lost with a rushed, cliched conclusion. Max Von Sydow and Cate Blanchett my pick of the cast. Russell Crowe not so good in the title role. Grade: B.
The White Ribbon (out now) is set in pre-WWI Germany and revolves around a small town where a string of tragic events occur. Who is behind them? Michael Haneke (Hidden) is a gifted director and I love how he keeps the audience thinking long after they've left the cinema. I could talk about this film for hours. Beautiful cinematography too. Only negative was a slightly unsatisfying ending. Grade: A-.
Soul Kitchen (out now) is a German film about a young guy trying to operate a run-down restaurant and maintain its eccentric customers. It's a peculiar film in that the focus seems to be forever changing but there are some quirky characters which spruce things up. Grade: B.
Letters To Juliet (out May 13) is a rom-com about a budding journalist holidaying in Verona who finds a 50-year-old love letter hidden in a wall. In trying to track down the author, she inadvertently finds love herself. This is pretty standard stuff. A weak plot and a dreadful performance is turned in by Aussie Chris Egan. Not my kind of thing. Grade: C.
I, Don Giovanni (out now) is an Italian film based an 18th century lyricist named Lorenzo da Ponte who helped Mozart create one of his most famous operatic pieces. It's quite a tale but I slowly tired of all the opera rehearsals. They detracted from the main story. The sets are laughable too. Grade: B.
