WEEKEND PIC - June 4 - 6, 2010

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK

a) 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.

b) 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.

STILL GOING STRONG

1. SHREK FOREVER AFTER (animated comedy with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph and Amy Sedaris) Rated * * * (3 stars): With the franchise going into its 'mid-life' crisis after three instalments, it is time for Shrek, Fiona and friends to live happily Forever After. This swan song is a fitting goodbye to the inhabitants of Far Far Away, with a story about Shrek being cast into an alternate world where his existence is threatened. (Reviewed below)

2. ROBIN HOOD (adventure reboot with Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Mark Addy, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins and Max von Sydow) Rated * * * (3 stars): Like Batman, Iron Man and Superman, this origin movie starts a new series of Sherwood Forest tales. It is not the comedic adventures we know but one steeped in English history with Crowe playing Gladiator in tights. (Reviewed below)

3. PRINCE OF PERSIA: The Sands Of Time (fantasy adventure with Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton and Alfred Molina) Rated * * * (3 stars): Typical Bruckheimer actioner with almost non-stop stunts and chases to satisfy the adrenalin addict. After milking the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, it is now the Sands Of Time videogame franchise and the going looks good. (Reviewed below)

4. LETTERS TO JULIET (love story with Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan, Gael García Bernal, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, Lidia Biondi and Daniel Baldock) Rating * * * (3 stars): An entertaining and engrossing romantic fantasy about an aspiring writer (Seyfried) helping to trace and reunite a pair of star-crossed lovers while she is in Verona. Of course, this sets off a chain of events that changes her life too.

5. THE BOUNTY HUNTER (Romantic comedy with Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston, Christine Baranski, Jason Sudeikis, Natalie Morales and Cathy Moriarty) Rated * * (2 stars): It is a one-gag movie that is not romantic, nor is it funny. However, to sustain viewer interest, director Andy Tennant throws in lots of action stunts and chases, and of course constant glimpses of Aniston's famous twin assets. (Reviewed below)