Dave Evans’ MINI – MOVIE REVIEWS

Hannibal Rising

Hot on the heels of the dreadful novel on which it’s based comes the tale of the early years of everybody’s favorite serial killer. However this is no Lector at Laguna Beach-style romp, instead it’s a bleak tale of war and Lithuania and poverty and the cruelty of soldiers. As the young “hero” of the piece, Gaspard Ulliel is simply too weak to fill the very large shoes left by Anthony Hopkins.

Norbit

Oh, Eddie Murphy. People are taking you seriously right now with Dreamgirls and the Oscar nomination and so on and so forth and all you can do to repay them is star in another fat-suit film. It’s a crying shame…… Here Murphy plays a dweebish man, engaged to an enormous woman (also played by Murphy) who falls in love with another woman (Thandie Newton must get a better agent).

Ghost Rider

It’s a return to the world of the comic-book franchise but Johnny Blaze, aka the Ghost Rider, doesn’t quite have the brand-recognition of Spiderman or Superman. Nicolas Cage is in the driver’s seat, guided by director Mark Steven Johnson (of Daredevil fame) but no amount of revs or gunshots can stop this movie from feeling tired and derivative.

Bridge to Terabithia

Harry Potter draws to an end some time soon and the Narnia saga won’t hold anyone’s attention for all that long so the search is on for the next child-friendly fantasy series. Disney is banking on Katherine Paterson’s classic tale of two athletic youngsters who find friendship and excitement in a mystical forest kingdom. Schmaltzy and heart-warming, this might fill the gap but it’s not going to start a craze.

Breach

Espionage and excitement in the Cold War is not a hard thing to imagine but this adaptation of a true story captures the pitch and tension perfectly. The excellently creepy Chris Cooper puts in a fine performance as the traitorous Robert Hanssen and Ryan Philippe has just the right look for newbie Eric O’Neill. Slick, dark thrills abound.

Music and Lyrics

Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore make a pact to kick start both of their careers with a little light-hearted Valentine’s Day romance. Neither do anything out of the ordinary in this tale of a lyricist and a song-writer who are initially in conflict with one another but soon enter into a blossoming romance. Tripe but guiltily enjoyable.

Daddy’s Little Girls

Director Tyler Perry (best known for the Madea films) has been carving himself a nice market for mainstream melodrama over the last few years. This is no exception, telling the story of a woman (Gabrielle Union) who falls for a penniless father-of-three (Idris Elba) and tries to make it work out, against the wishes of his vicious ex. It’s not great but it is solid and competent at least which, in today’s market, is a rare enough combination.

The Messengers

Hong Kong horror aficionados make the move to Hollywood with this tale of a sunflower farm in North Dakota that suddenly falls prey to dark forces, which only the children seem to understand. There’s nothing revolutionary here but if it’s classy 21st century frights you want then look no further.

Because I Said So

The last few years have seen Diane Keaton stick closely to a certain, mildly successful and somewhat charming role. Here she plays an overprotective and interfering mother to Mandy Moore but it’s hard to distinguish this from her work in Something’s Gotta Give or The Family Stone. This is good light-hearted fare but Keaton can and should be so much better.

Factory Girl

For such a fascinating time and place, the Andy Warhol years of New York have produced very little in terms of interesting biopics (Studio 54 anyone?). This alas fails to buck the trend and while the style may be immaculate here and there, the substance is clearly amiss. Sedgwick may have been little more than a preening, narcissistic party girl but Sienna Miller seems unable to convey even that.

Raising Flagg

Following his excellent turn in Little Miss Sunshine, this deeply minor Alan Arkin vehicle is seeing perhaps too much of the light of day. Arkin plays a cantankerous handyman who, upon deciding to give up on life and retreat permanently to bed, finds himself swamped by curious and supportive relatives and neighbors. This is a lovely afternoon TV movie but nothing more.

Smokin’ Aces

Jeremy Piven’s is cruising his wave of Entourage-success and is seemingly confident enough to risk sharing the screen with Ben Affleck, an actor whose recent films have proved as popular as syphilis. Here Piven plays a snitch who finds himself on the run from any number of potential assassins. Slick and entertaining, this is above-average comedy-action fare.

Blood and Chocolate

Director Katja von Garnier has her work cut out trying to keep her story of a werewolf torn between love and family loyalty from slipping over into absolute farce. She’s not always successful and the film is never thrilling, frightening or exciting enough to take off but the young couple, Hugh Dancy and Agnes Bruckner have promising faces.

Catch and Release

Jennifer Garner stars as a recently bereaved woman struggling to come to terms with her husband’s less than saintly past and find new love with one of his childhood friends. This is every bit as uninspiring as it sounds and really does make one wonder how Garner has achieved star status. Supporting turns by Kevin Smith and Juliette Lewis do nothing to alleviate the tedium.

Epic Movie

From the writers responsible for the Scary Movie franchise and the yet-more-lackluster Date Movie comes this parody of Hollywood’s most bloated products. It’s lightweight trash but the targets of this silly satire are worthy of attack and the cast seem to be enjoying themselves enormously. Jennifer Coolidge shines like the comic star she is.