WEEKEND Pic - Feb 22 - 24 2008

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (drama with Daniel Day-Lewis, Mary Elizabeth Barrett and Paul Dano) Rated * * * 1/2 (out of 4): An epic tale of family, newfound wealth, power and greed - with a fiercely intense perf by Day Lewis as an oil tycoon who gradually loses his soul. (Reviewed below)

2. THE DEAD GIRL (drama with Toni Collette, Marcia Gay Harden, Britanny Murphy, Piper Laurie, Giovanni Ribisi and Rose Byrne) Rating * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): This 2006 movie is a vignette mystery about how 'a dead girl' impacts and connects the lives of five women. I caught this one on DVD and I expect many cuts in the cinema print. Still, it is an emotionally powerful film with top class perfs.

3. VANTAGE POINT (action thriller with William Hurt, Dennis Quaid (pictured, left), Forrest Whitaker and Sigourney Weaver) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): A terrorist attack on the US Prez in Spain, seen from six perspectives, provides the usual twists and turns but a rather predictable movie. There's an ironical touch to the ending, though.

4. JUMPER (sci-fi thriller with Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Samuel L. Jackson and Diane Lane) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Christensen goes from Skywalker to Teleporter in this Matrix-style tale about a war between Jumpers (people who flits through time and space) and an organisation bent on destroying them. The first hour is interesting but director Doug Liman seems so intent to jump to its sequel that he forgets to provide a proper ending.

5. PARIS JE T'AIME (Anthology of short films about romance, set in Paris, directed and starring various international celebs) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This compilation of 18 vignettes by some of the top directors offers a mixed set of tidbits but nothing filling. Quite an interesting tour de force of Paris, too. (Reviewed below)

6. THE EYE (remake of HK horror with Jessica Alba, Parker Posey and Alessandro Nivola) Rated * * (2 stars): The first hour holds promise but things soon fall apart in this remake of the Pang Bros' film. If anything, it only puts the original in classic status.

7. REDLINE (car racing thriller with Nadia Bjorlin, Tim Matheson, Nathan Philips and Eddie Griffin) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 stars): The chicks are hot, the cars are hotter but the rest of the movie are not. This one is strictly for those who love fast cars (reviewed below).

8. ONE MISSED CALL (remake of J-horror with Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns and Ana Claudia) Rated: * (1 star): The original Japanese version was bad enough but this Hollywood remake is even worse, with a stupid script and lame acting.