WEEKEND PIC - Aug 7 - 9, 2009

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

a. G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (fantasy action thriller with Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid and Rachel Nichols) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 out of 4 stars): Like Transformers, the movie is based on a Hasbro toy line but the action is even more intense and involving than 'Revenge Of The Fallen' and Terminator: Salvation. It has all the escapist thrills and gadgets you would want in an action film, plus a little love story thrown in. (Reviewed below)

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. OVERHEARD (cop drama with Lau Ching Wan, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo, Zhang Jinghu) Rated * * * (3 out of 4 stars): From Felix Chong and Alan Mak (the guys who wrote Infernal Affairs) we have another gripping crime drama about how three cops probing into insider trading allow themselves to succumb to their own greed. Informative as well as captivating.

2. THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (hostage drama with Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Michael Rispoli and James Gandolfini) Rated * * * (3 out of 4 stars): An updated remake of the 1974 movie by Tony Scott, this one is a seat-gripper right from the start. Thanks to top class performances from Washington, Travolta and Gandolfini. (Reviewed below)

3. THE PROPOSAL (romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Betty White, Denis O'Hare and Malin Akerman) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): A serviceable by-the-book rom-com that works on the strength of its cast, especially Bullock and Reynolds. Don't expect anything more, though. (Reviewed below)

4. THE GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST (romantic comedy with Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Robert Forster and Anne Archer) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Again McConaughey seems to ride rough-shod over the script adapted from Charls Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' as the modern anti-romantic Scrooge. A charmless effort. (Reviewed below)

5. LAND OF THE LOST (comedy with Will Ferrell, Danny R. McBride, Anna Friel, Jorma Taccone, Raymond Ochoa, Pollyanna McIntosh and Logan Manus) Rated * * (2 stars): Another remake, this time from a 70s TV series. However, unlike Pelham, this misguided effort really gets lost in the land of Trite, Mediocrity and Ridicule. (Reviewed below)

6. COWEB (martial arts drama with Jiang Lu Xia, Kane Kosugi, Mike Moller, Sam Lee and Siu Fai Cheung) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 star): Mindless and utterly amateurish, this one is not only a lame effort but also taxing on our intellect and patience. It features a newcomer heroine (Jiang) who just can't act. (Reviewed below)