The Imposter is a gripping tale of deceit and manipulation. Source: Supplied
LOOKING for a date movie? How about an edge-of-your-seat thriller? Or are you in need of a bit of a chuckle? Peruse this guide to find your perfect picture.
AMOUR (M) The end of love is just beginning, Austria-France, 122 min
A haunting, heartbreaking and utterly riveting look at real matters of life and death. The contrived events we often see in modern dramas are nowhere to be found. All we will see for the duration of Amour is a happily married elderly Parisian couple staring the end of their long union right in the eye. One of them is not long for this world. Both of them know it. This is the simple, powerful story of how each cope with the finality of the crisis before them. If the authentic, wrenching emotion of the experience doesn't get to you, the incredible performances by veteran leads Emmanuelle Riva (a Best Actress Oscar nominee) and Jean-Louis Trintignant most certainly will. ****
BLINDER (M) Needs a free kick ... in the pants, Australia, 115 min
Feeble drama set in the world of grass-roots Australian Rules football. Goals are few and far between. A staggering number of rushed behinds is the only result possible for a poorly-conceived tale that often goes out of bounds and stays there. The film tracks the exploits of the Tigers, a coastal outfit whose premiership-winning squad implodes when several players are implicated in a sex scandal involving a 15-year-old girl. Leave aside the terrible script - which is hard to do, given its depiction of women as docile doormats - and there are still far too many average gameday sequences to contend with. Would have been nice if a few of the featured actors (playing supposed future AFL superstars) looked like they knew how to boot a ball. *1/2
BROKEN CITY (MA15+) Wahlberg's a stoppin'-Crowe man, US, 109 min
Russell Crowe (groomed hair, generous girth and groovy glasses) is the most corrupt Mayor in Greater New York. This pudgy pollie is close to pulling off the biggest bent deal of his career. Mark Wahlberg (such a man of the streets he'd show up on your car's GPS navigation screen) is the last honest ex-cop-turned-private-investigator in the Big Apple. He starts the movie on the Mayor's payroll. By the halfway mark, he's on the Mayor's to-kill list. If you're intrigued in any way by this boilerplate premise, then you're going to be mighty thankful that actors of the calibre of Crowe and Wahlberg are there to turn up the heat when needed. Overall, an industriously aimless thriller, scurrying up and down the corridors of power, looking for any way out. If it is escape you are after, best be patient. Co-stars Catherine Zeta-Jones. **1/2
CLOUD ATLAS (M) When it doesn't reign, you'll snore, US-Germany, 172 min
You want an epic with a capital E? A real bum-numbing, head-scratching heap of high-concept cinema for the ages? Well, here it is. Adapted from the reputedly 'unfilmable' novel by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas puts six different plots through their slow and deliberate paces across a 500-year timespan. With a multitude of actors (including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Jim Broadbent) playing multiple roles, this is a monster truck loaded to full capacity with much profundity and banality. You may not like everything it is carrying, but it often inspires genuine awe as the whole thing passes you by. There's a little science fiction, a fair amount of random switching from heavy drama to light comedy, and a lot of posturing about how inter-connected everything in the world can be. Masterpiece or folly? Both. Collector's item cinema? Absolutely. Brought to you by the makers of The Matrix and Run Lola Run. ***1/2
GREAT EXPECTATIONS (M) Mild repetitions, UK, 125 min
The classic Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations has been adapted too many times in the past few decades. There needs to be some kind of international treaty struck to let this rich tale rest and replenish. This latest version by British director Mike Newell (Love in the Time of Cholera) is a respectful, if unambitious effort. Thankfully, an accomplished cast was gathered for the occasion, and they do keep up their end of the bargain. Stars Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Sally Hawkins, Robbie Coltrane. **1/2
HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS (MA15+) Bedtime story a bad time, gory, US, 89 min
Just as the world huffed a collective "what the ...?" at 2012's Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter, this junky offering is equally, hopelessly unnecessary. The famous fairytale is merely a leaping-off point for an addled action-fantasy-horror-comedy combo. And when it does take that jump, all potential to entertain, excite or amuse just keeps on plummeting. Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) are a bro-sis witch-killing machine, always at the ready to whack anyone with a wand, a pointy black hat, or a flying broomstick. Unless you're a sucker for the unlikely-characters-as-action-heroes effect, stay right away from the entire genre. At least until someone makes Rhonda & Ketut : Zombie Hunters. *
I GIVE IT A YEAR (M) Happy anti-anniversary!, UK, 101 min
This British rom-com is going after the same audience that made Death at a Funeral a hit 'round these here parts. Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall play newlyweds who seem to be the only two people in their social orbit who fail to realise they just weren't made for each other. Plenty of safe and predictable laughs are in the offing. Then again, if you feel like have your bad-taste buds tickled with edgier and dodgier fare, a good time awaits as well. However, these two lines of comic attack sometimes get tangled, and can't always be straightened out. Lanky, bespectacled Stephen Merchant saves the day when he can, peppering every scene with the first inappropriate thing that comes into his head. A fair, fun effort. **1/2
THE IMPOSTER (M) Lost and found and lost all over again, US, 97 min
The heartbreaking story chronicled by this mesmerising documentary zeroes-in on that elusive point where the too-good-to-be-true becomes the too-sad-to-even-think-about. In 1994, a 13-year-old boy went missing in rural Texas. The police never found a single lead in their investigation. A grieving family never found closure. In 1997, the boy came home. Police in Spain had found him wandering the streets. In the annals of modern crime, this was beyond a miracle. As the title of the film clearly signals, the person that went back to Texas was not the real deal. He looked markedly different. He spoke with a French accent. Though no-one knew at the time, he was also 23 years of age. And then? Let's stop right there. The Imposter functions best when repeatedly springing an imposing, in-built element of surprise. Think of it as a real-life psychological thriller, and you will end up thinking the world of this astonishing film. ****
IN THE FOG (M) Sadly, mist, Belarus, 127 min
On a German-occupied western frontier of Soviet Russia in 1942, a local railway worker is wrongly accused of being a collaborator. A devastatingly precise portrait of a world crashing down on one unlucky man. Filmmaker Sergei Loznitza's spartan shooting style (long takes, claustrophobic vistas) captures one of life's true paradoxes : those certain situations where to resist fate is to all but seal it. ****
LINCOLN (M) Mything in action, US, 152 min
This is not a conventional, birth-to-death biopic of America's greatest president. Instead, filmmaker Steven Spielberg narrows the focus to four short months in the shortened second term of Abraham Lincoln (played by Daniel Day-Lewis). Nevertheless, Lincoln is a long film. A two-and-a-half-hour talk-fest in which Honest Abe's most significant achievement - the abolition of slavery - will be discussed into existence before your very eyes. Luckily, for any viewer who may lose their way in this maze of florid chatter, there is a great performance by Day-Lewis to lead you back to clarity. The actor uses a reedy, high-pitched speaking voice for Lincoln, accurately depicted as more of a rambling raconteur than rabble-rousing orator by Tony Kushner's densely packed screenplay. Abe invariably takes an age to get to the point, but in keeping with the crucial nature of events covered here, it is always a point made for the ages. Co-stars Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones. ***1/2
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (PG) Just enough magic to get by, US, 129 min
Did the world really need a fresh take on the origin story of the fella that became the Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Never mind. The target audience of Oz the Great and Powerful - non-discerning cineastes aged 10 and under - will still be happy enough with this prequel to one of the great children's movies of all-time. James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, a dodgy travelling magician propelled by prairie tornado to the fabled land of Oz. Upon arrival, our hero gets an up-close look at a power struggle between witches wicked and good. While there is many a dull spot, director Sam Raimi knows exactly when a lively diversion is needed. Co-stars Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams. ***
THE PAPERBOY (MA15+) You wouldn't read about it, but you might just watch it, US, 103 min
Stop the presses! Start getting worried! Yes, everything you've heard about The Paperboy is true. This gritty, grotty thriller is one seriously demented affair, with several big-name actors going all the way with the down-and-dirty flow of it all. Nicole Kidman plays a promiscuous waitress with a hot crush on a cold-blooded killer (John Cusack). Meanwhile, an intrepid reporter (Matthew McConaughey) with a strange agenda investigates the murder case that put the notorious prisoner behind bars. Set in the late 1960s, the movie is tactless, shameless and almost proudly seedy. Nevertheless, it is always highly watchable, prone to truly fascinate an audience as it also genuinely appalls them. Co-stars Zac Efron. (opens SA April 11) ***
PERFORMANCE (M) Playing to (im)perfection, US, 105 min
Impeccably acted drama set in the world of contemporary classical music. On the eve of their 25th season together, a world-renowned string quartets is on the brink of falling apart. A key member has been diagnosed with the early stages of Parkinson's Disease. Two married players are heading towards divorce. A film that gets so many of the *the little things* right, particularly the fragile inter-personal dynamic that powers the most creative musical ensembles. The cast is flawless, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener holding everything together as the couple crumbling to bits. Christopher Walken is also remarkable here, possibly playing his first *normal* character in many moons. ***1/2
SIDE EFFECTS (MA15+) Not your usual med-time story, US, 105 min
A deceptively intoxicating thriller that can play both highly intelligent and highly implausible all at once. After a nervous breakdown, Emily (Rooney Mara) is referred to a hotshot British psychiatrist, Jim (Jude Law). He prescribes a recently-released wonder drug which looks as if it might be the quick fix for all of Emily's problems. As we come to learn, the anti-depressant that Jim is dispensing does a hell of a lot more than what it says on the label. Side Effects sells its competing lines of business - a little Hitchcock-ish at times, a bit Basic Instinct at others - very effectively indeed. Nevertheless, it is best not to take that cautionary tale of medicinal woe all too seriously. The film cunningly conceals a camp streak for as long as it can. By the final half-hour, it can be hidden no longer. As usual, director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) is smart enough to never let such a tall story get the better of so many short, sharp thrills. Co-stars Channing Tatum. ***1/2
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (M) Falling apart to get it together, US, 127 min
An edgily offbeat love story of two highly-strung people rebounding from all-time lows. After a nervous breakdown, Pat (Bradley Cooper) is just another former inmate of a mental institution. Until he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a beautiful young widow just as manic-depressive and sharp-tongued as himself. How long will it take for each to realise the cure they need is standing right before them? Sure, this is a stock-standard premise for many a fluffy film, but when addressed as frankly as it is here, familiarity just does not matter. To tag this as merely a feelgood movie - or worse, a romantic comedy - is to do it a great disservice. Though a superb example of how both should be handled, there is a shape-shifting shrewdness afoot in even the most simplest scenes. Remarkably, the picture can expand or contract to any expectations. Acting is terrific, as is director David O. Russell's eclectic screenplay. The hard-headed humour of his dialogue trumps the soft-hearted nature of the tale exactly when it should. Co-stars Jacki Weaver, Robert De Niro. ****1/2
21 & OVER (MA15+) Suitable for IQs 21 and under, US, 93 min
Someone projectile-vomits in slow-motion. Someone takes a wizz on someone else. Let's not go anywhere near the poop, OK? Yep, what we have here is one of those home-brand, The-Hangover-for-morons comedies that usually bypass cinemas for DVD hell. This one somehow got past quality control. Story involves some sex-stunned, semi-racist young dunces having one last big night before they start growing up. On the evidence presented here, the common cold will be cured before these jerks get called adults. *
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