WEEKEND PIC June 6 - 8 2008

Your Guide to the Weekend Viewing

1. KUNGFU PANDA (animated comedy with voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu) Rated * * * 1/3 (out of 4): Hey guys, there's a new kung fu kid in town and you're gonna love him and his 'buddies', namely the Furious Five. There are some nice spoofs wrapped up in heart-warming cliche of a story. (Reviewed below)

2. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (fantasy adventure with Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Karen Allen and John Hurt) Rating: * * * (3 stars): Nostalgic Indy Jones trip with the usual spectacular chases, cute close-ups of little animals and bugs, and a bit of human melodrama. After a 19-year hiatus, it should still delight Indy Jones fans despite Ford being 65! (Reviewed below)


3. THE ORPHANAGE (fantasy horror in Spanish with Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera, Montserrat Carulla and Geraldine Chaplin) Rating: * * * (3 stars): If you liked "Pan's Labyrinth", you are gonna like this one. It has a nice storyline that weaves together a number of different plot threads, all of which will come together at the end.

4. AMAZING GRACE (bio-drama with Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Rufus Sewell, Nicholas Farrell, Michael Gambon, Albert Finney and Ciaran Hinds) Rated * * * (3 stars): It is not about the hymn but some sort of a history lesson on one man's bid to abolish slavery in Britain. Great supporting cast. (Reviewed below)

5. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN (fantasy adventure sequel with William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley and Ben Barnes) Rated * * * (out of 4): Like the book, this 'sequel' is a darker and more action-packed movie with great special effects. A must for the followers of Narnia. (Reviewed below)

6. SUPERHERO MOVIE (comedy spoof with Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald and Pamela Anderson) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 stars): This spoof of "Spider-Man", "The X-Men" and "Batman Begins" is another scatterbrain comedy with more misses than hits. The timing is out mot of the time and fart gans abound. (Reviewed below)

7. SPEED RACER (CGI actioner with Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This 'loud' CGI-enhanced caper about corporations and the underworld muscling into auto racing is like a mix of "Spy Kids" and "Matrix". Helmed by the Wachowski Brothers, it is slanted towards the kids, with a chimp thrown in as resident clown. (Reviewed below).