Month: August 2011

The Salt Of Life ***

The protagonist in writer/director and star Gianni Di Gregorio’s poignant new Italian drama, The Salt of Life (Gianni e le donne), may well be in his autumn years and settling down to retirement, but the message is the same for all who catch this touching tale: embrace life and all its opportunities. Gianni (played Di …

The Devil’s Double****

Actor Dominic Cooper is best known as the singing and dancing love interest in Mamma Mia, and will be popping up now on people’s radar as Marvel’s scientist Howard Stark in Captain America. But it will be his totally absorbing and alluring dual performance as one of the House of Saddam’s most evil members and …

The Smurfs In 3D ***

Seeing little blue people prancing before your very eyes is usually not a sign of good health. But Raja Gosnell’s The Smurfs In 3D makes you feel far from blue and has a simple if predictable storyline that all ages can get involved with. It’s Smurfin’ good fun. When the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) …

Super 8 ****

Since the Spielberg heyday of E.T. and The Goonies, we’ve been waiting for a really smart, contemporary kids sci-fi adventure to match. Although Super 8, a project produced by the film-maker and written and directed by another great, J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield), is a damn fine extraterrestrial Noughties version that will totally capture the hearts and …

Zookeeper **

On first glance at the poster, you’d be forgiven in thinking it was Night At The Museum: Part 3, only starring cuddly comedian Kevin James of Paul Blart: Mall Cop fame, instead of Ben Stiller. Well, you’ve got the animal business right – and the cute/irritating monkey (depending on your stance). James acting the monkey, …

A Better Life ***

Tackling the all too common situation of illegal US immigration, About A Boy’s Chris Weitz opts for making a film full of good intentions that focuses on the larger issue from a narrower perspective. The result is an effecting, warm and compelling father-son relationship tale about love triumphing over adversity that manages on the whole …

Captain America: The First Avenger ****

Marvel’s The Avengers better be the film to end all comic book adapted films in May 2012, as we’ve been serviced with more than our fair share of the genre of late in the build up. Fanboys and girls will always have their favourite characters – which naturally makes them biased in terms of the …

Horrible Bosses ****

We’ve all had one. They come in all shapes and sizes. Their mission, it seems, is to make our working lives a living nightmare. So it’s understandable that Michael Markowitz’s story, Horrible Bosses, brings a gleeful curiosity as to how other helpless souls deal with their own private workplace horror. Director Seth Gordon’s cast of …

Beginners ****

We’re all searching for our purpose in life, a place where all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, and this is what resonates loudly from Mike Mills’s bittersweet and profoundly sincere dramedy, Beginners, with anyone pondering over their current lot. Starring a wonderful pairing of Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregoras father and son, Hal …