WEEKEND PIC - June 25 - 27, 2010

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK

a) KNIGHT AND DAY (action thriller with Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Maggie Grace, Peter Sarsgaard, Marc Blucas, Paul Dano and Viola Davis) Rated * * * (3 stars): Spiced with more action than reason, this is somewhat like a Mission: Impossible caper and Vanilla Sky put together. It is a typical summer action flick but with bubbly screen chemistry from Cruise and Diaz. (Reviewed below)

b) SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE (romantic comedy with Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, Lindsay Sloane, Krysten Ritter, Mike Vogel, Geoff Stults, Nate Torrence and Hayes MacArthur) Rating * * * (3 stars): A raunchy and sometimes funny rom-com for the young crowd - once they accept the conceit that a girl rated 10 (Eve) can go for a 5-rated guy (Baruchel). The comedy is uneven and vulgar but it has characters we can really root for.

STILL GOING STRONG

1) TOY STORY 3 (Computer animated comedy in 3D with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger and Estelle Harris) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): This is a winner of a comedy for both young and old right from start to finish. I had not expected it but Pixar has done it again with this highly creative and mischievous sequel greatly enhanced by 3D. Yup, it is fun and enchanting to be back with the toys again.

2. THE KARATE KID (kungfu drama with Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Han Wenwen and Wang Zhenwei) Rated * * * (3 stars): Consider this remake as a warm-hearted but lightweight tribute to Jackie Chan and you will enjoy the movie which sort of updates the original, taking the venue to China and showing kungfu instead of karate. Jaden Smith may not act like a pro but he still has his boyish Happyness charm that clicks well with Jackie's. (Reviewed below)

3. THE A-TEAM (action drama with Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Liam Neeson, Sharlto Copley, Patrick Wilson, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz, Maury Sterling, Gerald McRaney) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): As can be expected, this one is a loud, mindless and uninspired adaptation of the TV series (that was also loud and mindless). After an initial hurrah, the A-Team is likely to go into C-minus territory at the box-office.

4. KILLERS (romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck, Catherine O'Hara, Katheryn Winnick, Rob Riggle and Lisa Ann Walter) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This mix of 'Mr & Mrs Smith' and 'The Ugly Truth' is packed with crazy chases and ridiculous fights. The plot, about an ex-CIA guy getting hunted down by the baddies, is a one-idea story stretched to feature-length film. Its main attraction is a shirtless Kutcher and Heigl playing Izzie Stevens all over again.

5. SEX AND THE CITY 2 (Comedy with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis, Mario Cantone and Willie Garson) Rated * * (2 stars): The first impression I got from watching this sequel is that the cast has aged so much since the first movie. Then I realised that even the comedy and gags are repetitive and dated. It was like watching an episode of the Pre-Golden Girls. And to make things worse, it is dragged to almost two-and-a-half hours long. (Reviewed below)

6. MARMADUKE (comedy with Owen Wilson, Emma Stone, George Lopez, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Steve Coogan, Fergie, et al) Rating * 1/2 (1.5 stars): The film-makers probably thought that with Wilson voicing the title character, the movie will probably do as well as Marley & Me. It doesn't. It is mainly about dog havoc, trite gags and a silly CGI scene of hundreds of dogs dancing in the park. Adapted from a comic strip that is not even funny.