WEEKEND PIC: Nov 23 - 25 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend & School Holiday Viewing:

1. THE KINGDOM (war thriller with Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper) Rated * * * (out of 4): Unlike "Lions For Lambs", this actioner about the FBI probing into terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia is much more engaging. This ain't no US propaganda as it does not take sides in the War on Terror. (Reviewed below)

2. ENCHANTED (On sneaks. Fantasy romance with Amy Adams, James Marsden, Patrick Dempsey and Susan Sarandon) Rated * * * (3 stars): This is an account of what happens when animated fairytale clashes with reality in New York City. A fun outing for the family during the school holidays. (Reviewed below)

3. BEOWULF (fantasy adventure with Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn and Angelina Jolie) Rated: * * * ½ (out of 4): If you were bowled over by the graphic brutality of “300”, this ‘performance-capture’ effort will do the same for you. Check out the seductive Jolie and Beowulf fighting the monster Grendel naked! (reviewed below).

4. HITMAN (Actioner with Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko and Robert Knepper) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Adapted from a video-game, this one offers the usual brainless action about a hitman called Agent 47. Keep expectations low, if you must go for it. (pictured)

5. Mr MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM (fantasy comedy with Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman) Rated * * (2 stars): For such a lavish movie, the magic and wonders are minimal. The subject matter is dreary, cliched and uninspired. (Reviewed below)

6. PENNY DREADFUL (psychological horror with Rachel Miner and Mimi Rogers) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): The situation in which a young lass, suffering from a fear of cars, is terrorised by a nasty killer, is dreadful enough. However, the plot is over-contrived. (Reviewed below)

7. THE LAST BREATH (Korean horror thriller with Lee Dong-kyu, Kim Bo-kyung, Kim Tae-woo and Jin Goo) Rated: * 1/2 (1.5 stars): This effort by the Korean Jung Brothers aims to be an arty horror flick. It succeeds but fails in the scares and story development department. (Reviewed below)

HERE'S WISHING YOU A GREAT WEEKEND and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!