WEEKEND PIC - May 25-27, 2012

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

The French Film Festival 2012 at GSC cineplexes offer us a chance to catch Oscar films like The Artist and A Cat In Paris. Check out the sites for their showtimes at http://www.gsc.com.my/News/fff12pklshowtimes.htm and http://www.gsc.com.my/News/fff12mvshowtimes.htm.

a) MEN IN BLACK 3 (sci-fi comedy with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Nicole Scherzinger) Rated * * * (3 stars): Returning after going MiA for 10 years, this third MiB instalment does not offer anything new in terms of plot. In fact it takes us Back To The Future - with Agent J (Smith) travelling back to the Sixties to rescue Agent K (Jones and Brolin as his younger version) and saving the world from a mad alien called Boris The Animal (Clement). Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld at US$215-million, this halted production is still fun and funny at times. (Reviewed below)

b) THE ARTIST (romantic comedy with Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, James Cromwell, Missi Pyle, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller, Beau Nelson, Ben Kurland, Jean Dujardin and Stuart Pankin) Rated * * * * (4 stars): This French-made black-and-white silent movie takes us back to the era of Hollywood when sound began to invade the movies. The new 'fad' puts popular silent film star George Valentin (Dujardin) in a quandary. However, his friendship with starlet Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) and his beloved canine sidekick Jack (played by Uggy) help to save him from the depths of despair. (Click here for the review)

c) A CAT IN PARIS (animated suspense comedy with Dominique Blanc, Bernadette Lafont, Jean Benguigui, Bruno Salomone, Oriane Zani) Rated * * * (3 stars): An old fashioned animated flick about a young Parisian girl who discovers that her cat spends its nights helping a genial thief burgle some of the city’s wealthiest homes. Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol, this is a charming and visually sparkling Parisian fantasy with a dark edge. Too bad, it slips into a cops-and-robbers tale at the end.

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS (sci-fi fantasy with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Bettany) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): I take it that by now, every movie-goer worth his salted popcorn would have watched this much-awaited blockbuster of 2012. If you have not, you are credited with much will-power.  What you get here is six superheroes for the price of one cinema ticket. My favourite is The Hulk and Black Widow.  (Reviewed below)

2. DARK SHADOWS (comedy spoof with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Thomas McDonell) Rated * * * (3 stars): Tim Burton's re-imagination of the Sixties TV series is both inventive and entertaining. Depp is delightful as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire who finds himself 'resurrected' in the hip Seventies. He is supported by Eva Green's sexy witch Angelique as well as the Burton regular, Carter. Indeed, Depp and Green spice up the Gothic-styled love triangle with a violent tryst that forms the highlight of the film. (Reviewed below)

3. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING (comedy with Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Brooklyn Decker and Anna Kendrick) Rated * * (2 stars): Despite its cast of A-list stars, this 'mom-com' is largely uninspired and unfunny. The characters are stereotypical and often blandly portrayed. A better way to put it is 'Don't Expect Too Much From This Expectant Moms' Tale'. 


4. GHOST BUDDIES (comedy in Mandarin and Hokkien with Mark Lee, Maggie Shiu Mei Kei, Vivian Tok, Lim Ching Miau, Wee Kheng Ming and Chow Kee Moo) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 stars): It takes an experienced director and a couple of accomplished actors to pull off a dark comedy involving morticians, ghosts and unrequited love. Alas, Mark Cheng and Maggie Shiu do not fit the bill and neither does Hong Kong director Simon Sek. What we get here is an unfunny comedy not unlike the hastily-concocted campfire sketches put up by the kids. Okay, some kids may laugh at some of the gags but I did not hear anyone laughing at the media screening in KL. (Reviewed below)