WEEKEND PIC - Dec 12 - 14, 2008

Your Guide To The Weekend Movies

NEW This Week:


a) THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (sci-fi remake starring Keanu Reeves above, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith and Kathy Bates) Rated * * (Out of 4): A rather bland remake of the 1951 Robert Wise classic that is big on CGI effects but low on substance. Catch its Tamil version at Big Cinemas Brem Mall, Kepong, Big Cinemas Bkt Jambul, Penang, and State PJ. (Reviewed below)

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. BODY OF LIES (espionage thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, and Golshifteh Farahani) Rating * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): Ridley Scott's thriller on how a CIA team operates between its Langley HQ and an agent in the Middle East is both smart and intense. The plot is rather convoluted but the payoff is really satisfying.

2. BOLT (animated comedy with John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman and Mark Walton) Rated * * * (3 stars): This entertaining canine road-trip movie should put Walt Disney Pictures back in the running for Top Dog in the animation stakes, instead of Underdog. (Reviewed below)

3. MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (animated comedy voiced by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen) Rated * * * (out of 4): It's not new but an improved sequel on the exploits of a bunch of zoo animals 'let loose' inbto the wild. Hearty laughs and shakin' music. (Reviewed below)

4. TRANSPORTER 3 (action thriller with Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Francois Berleand, Robert Knepper and Jeroen Krabbe) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): If you want ridiculous stunts, chases and crashes, you got them all here. Just don't expect director Olivier Megaton to top up on logic and intelligence. (Reviewed below)

5. WILD CHILD (school girl drama with Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson, Kimberley Nixon, Juno Temple, Sophie Wu, Alex Pettyfer, Georgia King, and Aidan Quinn) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This tale about a rich Malibu brat being sent to a UK boarding school to learn some important life lesson, is as corny and cliched as 'Mean Girls'.

6. TWILIGHT (love story with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This long-awaited chick-flick is expected to replace the Harry Potter franchise, with its popular book appeal. But the attraction seems limited to young girls. (Reviewed below).

7. IGOR (animated comedy with voices of John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Coolidge, John Cleese and Jay Leno) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): It looks like someone is trying to copy Tim Burton's creations with this tale about an 'Igor' (scientist sidekick) who becomes the mad Frankenstein himself. (Reviewed below)

8. LAKEVIEW TERRACE (drama with Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Starts off as an engaging drama about a nasty neighbour but goes downhill with a loud and dumb ending.