Vantage Point stars Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid and Matthew FoxVantage Point: Vantage Point is an intricate action-thriller, which replays a devastating terrorist attack from eight perspectives – but coincidence and chance nudge the film increasingly towards implausibility.
Running time is kept to a minimum, sacrificing deep relationships between the protagonists to propel the story forwards. Stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox and William Hurt. Rating: Three stars
The Game Plan: The Game Plan is, at its soft, gooey heart, an old-fashioned Disney yarn extolling the virtues of the family unit. Humour is gentle and inoffensive, erring towards the obvious. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson demonstrates a flair for comedy and there’s a nice rapport with his diminutive and cute co-star, Madison Pettis. Rating: Three stars
The Other Boleyn Girl: The Other Boleyn Girl is a beautifully dressed and staged costume drama that has pomp and pageantry in abundance but a paucity of deep emotion. Apart from Sandy Powell’s costumes and John-Paul Kelly’s production design, there is little to keep anyone spellbound for almost two hours. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson play the two Boleyn sisters. Rating: Three stars
Diary Of The Dead: Diary Of The Dead is starved of decent scares, whittling down the cast to the core survivors and some of the set pieces are clumsily contrived. Josh Close’s hero becomes increasingly irritating and Scott Wentworth’s plummy Brit professor is a caricature. Rating: Three stars
The Bank Job: Roger Donaldson’s thriller tunnels through familiar ground and the film is severely handicapped by a lifeless leading man, Jason Statham, with all the charisma of a crowbar. His co-stars bring colour to their underwritten roles, while David Suchet hams it up as an East End porn mogul. Rating: Two stars
Untraceable: Untraceable is a disturbing thriller about a technical genius who uses the internet to torture his victims, and the specialist team charged with tracking down this mastermind before more blood is spilt. Diane Lane slips effortlessly into the role of a ballsy mom and Colin Hanks provides sporadic comic relief. Rating: Three stars
The Accidental Husband: Uma Thurman looks ill at ease in her comic role – she has to work incredibly hard for every half-hearted chuckle; so hard that we almost feel bad for not laughing more. The Accidental Husband is incredibly contrived and the plot unfolds without any surprises. Rating: Two stars
Semi-Pro: When a nonsensical 60-second cameo by soul diva Patti LaBelle is the highlight of a sports comedy, you know you’re in trouble. Semi-Pro shoots, dribbles and scores just one laugh in 91 minutes. Woody Harrelson and Maura Tierney come closest to delivering decent performances, but toilet humour ruins their potentially sweet sub-plot. Rating: Two stars
Rambo: Twenty years after Rambo’s last bloodthirsty tour of duty, Sylvester Stallone’s iconic warrior stumbles out of retirement for a cinematic orgy of senseless carnage. Stallone looks his age, leaving you to wonder if Rambo will be able to navigate the perilous jungle terrain without the aid of a Zimmer. Rating: Two stars
Be Kind Rewind: Jack Black stars in this quirky comedy about two best friends who, through outrageous misfortune, have to remake Hollywood blockbusters with only a camcorder and their ingenuity. The spoof remakes of some well-known movies are hilarious, but sadly there’s little substance to this surreal romp. Rating: Three stars
(Reviews by Damon Smith)
