WEEKEND PIC Feb 29 - Mar 2 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. CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (drama with Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): This one is a winner among the so-called 'war on terror'-type movies of 2007. It has three Oscar-winning stars - and a powerful, humorous script. (Reviewed below)

3. 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.

4. THE MIST (Stephen King thriller with Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher and Marcia Gay Harden) Rating * * * (3 stars) Director Frank Darabont is back in his element with this King novella about a town under siege by mutant insects and religious zealots (pic).

5. 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.

6. 2 DAYS IN PARIS (romantic comedy with Julie Delphy, Adam Goldberg, Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Not to be confused with porn-flick "One Night In Paris", this caper about a French photographer (Delphy) and her American beau (Goldberg) is rather anaemic. Looks like a one-woman show by writer-producer-director Delphy (who even has her own parents in the cast).

7. 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)

8. 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).