IT'S A CASE OF 'WAIT FOR THE SMALL SCREEN' WITH STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS

The Star Wars universe is a vast one. The six live-action films would be all that most people would know of George Lucas’ most famous creation, but they are a drop in the ocean, compared with the complexities of the ever expanding saga. The dozens of books and comics plus numerous video games have broadened the scope beyond Luke, Leia, Han and co. to millennia either side of their cinematic adventures.
      Along with next month’s awesome The Force Unleashed console game, Clone Wars is the latest to add details to the events between the two film trilogies. Directed by Dave Filoni (episodes of TV toon, Avatar) and written by three virtual newcomers, the film certainly has Lucas’ imprint in it, namely family-friendly action and light-hearted humour.

     KRIS BATHER says the latest Star Wars film - The Clone Wars - isn't up to the usual standard...  | more...|

THE DARK KNIGHT LIVES UP TO EXPECTATION

After 2005’s Batman Begins many had high hopes for the sequel. Usually in superhero films, the follow-up is better. After all that nasty exposition and the obligatory origin story is dealt with, the film-makers can then move on to expanding the cast of characters and ramping up the action. That is certainly what happens here. The Dark Knight sets the tone well early on. Don’t expect any information to bring you up to speed however. If you haven’t seen Begins, then do so before seeing this. It will help.

     Batman (Christian Bale) has been fighting crime for some time now with aid from his English butler, Alfred (Michael Caine), Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and daring new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). As always his only love, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is also in the wings, though she is fond of the more stable Dent than playboy Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting ways.

     KRIS BATHER enjoys the latest film in the Batman tradition...  | more...|

GET SMART - MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH!

First, a confession: I am an avid fan of the original Get Smart series. So, that said, you can understand that I approached the new Get Smart film with some trepidation - after all, it does come in the wake of some disastrous remakes like latest Pink Panther incarnation starring Steve Martin.

     The trepidation was somewhat justified. Sure, the latest Get Smart does provide some laughs - there’s a cone of silence scene and a scene involving an aircraft and a crossbow that rivals the original series, but overall it doesn’t really come close to replicating the wit of the original.

     To his credit, Steve Carell does a fair job of bringing Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, back to the screen and Anne Hathaway makes a reasonable effort at portraying his sidekick, 99, although her persona is a dramatic shift on that played by Barbara Feldon. Other cast choices aren’t so good - Alan Arkin isn’t terribly convincing as The Chief, David Koechner’s Larabee is just a mindless thug and Terrance Stamp was not a good choice for Max’s nemesis - Siegfried, the leader of KAOS.

     DAVID ADAMS says the latest Get Smart movie doesn't hold a candle to the original...  | more...|

THE DISPOSABLE ONES A CONFRONTING LOOK AT LIFE AMONG COLOMBIA'S POOREST

Australian rugby league professional Jason Stevens steps a little out of his comfort zone in this Compassion Australia-funded Karbon International production of The Disposable Ones. The documentary is about children; more precisely those in Colombia who are branded the detritus of society in a culture stunted by poverty, frustrated by drug related civil war, and prone to family breakdown.

     Predictably, the reel casts off in Australia where, around a dinner table, Jason discusses with family his reasons for wanting to experience a short spell in Colombia. It’s the children that primarily draw him there; those abused and thrown away by society, appropriately nicknamed ‘ninos gamines’ or 'the disposable ones'. His desire is to see how poverty affects them, what their lives are really like and ultimately, to come to a conclusion about how he can help.

     CHOE BRERETON takes a look at one of the films in the Faith on Film Festival - the Jason Stevens' documentary, The Disposable Ones...  | more...|

FAITH ON FILM: NEW FESTIVAL TO SHOWCASE CHRISTIAN MOVIES...  | more...|

"EYES OPENED": FORMER RUGBY LEAGUE STAR JASON STEVENS COMES FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE PLIGHT OF CHILDREN IN COLOMBIA...  | more...|

THE INCREDIBLE HULK MISSES THE MARK YET AGAIN

Well, it was better than the first Hulk film in 2003, but that’s not saying much. Director Louis Leterrier’s re-boot is certainly closer to the comics version of the Green Goliath, but it is still lacking in key areas.

     The action has been ramped up, with lots of running, and some light humour, in the first few scenes. We find Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) working in a Brazilian bottling factory, trying to stay off the military’s radar as General Ross (William Hurt) becomes increasingly desperate in his attempts to reclaim the Hulk as a U.S weapon. Bruce can’t contain his inner beast for too long though, despite his love for Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and his various breathing exercises. When the military first strike, Banner loses control and the Hulk makes his fearsome presence known. Throwing around people and machinery with reckless abandonment it becomes clear that Banner’s alter ego is a monster uncaged. This introduction is repeated throughout the film, becoming blander each time it does. We see Banner attempting a new cure, we see the military find him, we see a chase, we see a fight between them, we see Banner find solace in Betty’s arms. And on it goes.

     KRIS BATHER finds the latest Hulk film disappointing but says it does have some redeemable qualities...  | more...|

HOLD ONTO YOUR SEATS - SPEED RACER'S AN INTENSE EXPERIENCE!

Go, Speed Racer, go! And go he does. So fast, in fact, is this film - such a blur of psychedelic color and sound - that it takes a while for your mind and eyes to adjust to its frantic pace. And to come down after it ends.

     The film is based on a television cartoon series which, in turn, was based on a Japanese anime series created by Tatsuo Yoshida. Directed by the Wachowski brothers, it brings to life the colorful alternate reality in which Speed Racer, second son of the straight-shooting Racer family, rises against all odds to become a car racing champion.

     Racing is all Speed (played by Emile Hirsch) cares about from a young age and he is devastated, along with the rest of the family, when his older brother Rex, is supposedly killed in a race.

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at Speed Racer...  | more...|

U2's PASSION LIVE LIKE NEVER BEFORE

I’ve never been on stage with U2 before, but watching this movie with some strange glasses on for the 3D effects, it was just like I was right out there with the lads, with tens of thousands screaming fans all around us. Maybe that’s just my ego but that’s how it felt. At the very least, sitting there in the cinema with the surround-sound made it feel as if you were really there. I’m still not sure if the screaming of the fans was just from the concert or if it was also from the people in the cinema. I’m thinking it was the former but you were never really sure while sitting through this amazing experience.

     U2 have come a long way from the days of Red Rocks and Sunday Bloody Sunday. Twenty-five years later they’ve still got ‘it’. Red Rocks was the concert that made U2 legendary as live performers. I would be surprised if there has ever been any band in history who has had the energy and the electricity of U2 playing live. I remember thinking when I first heard them as a teenager that they were the only band I knew who were better live than in the studio.

     NILS VON KALM gets up close and personal with U2...  | more...|

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA - PRINCE CASPIAN AN IMPRESSIVE SEQUEL

There are some movies that are better left as books - the images on the big screen never quite live up to what you’ve created in your mind when reading the pages. Then, there are some books that when brought life on the big screen make you think the makers have stepped into your mind.

     The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is one of the latter. Like the first of this series of cinematic depictions of CS Lewis’ books - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian remains true to the essence of the book with a visually impressive depiction of the story within.

     The story starts with the sudden return of the four Pevensie children - Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) - to Narnia. But the land that they once ruled has changed, and not for the better. While only a year has passed in England since they were last in Narnia, it’s been 1,300 years there.

    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the latest film in The Chronicles of Narnia series, Prince Caspian... | more... |

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL SERVES UP ANOTHER HELPING OF THE ADVENTURES WE KNOW SO WELL

Indy’s back and, while it’s an overstatement to say he’s bigger and better than ever, fans will nonetheless enjoy his return.

     The fourth film in the adventures of the whip-wielding archaeologist, Dr Henry “Indiana" Jones Jr, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull picks up some 19 years after the last movie - The Last Crusade - left off.

     It’s the Fifties and, with the Nazi’s gone, the film opens with a much older Indy (played now by a 65-year-old Harrison Ford) thrown into action with his new "old buddy" 'Mac' McHale (Ray Winstone) against a new nemesis - the thickly accented KGB agent Irina Spalko (played by Cate Blanchett) - against the background of the nuclear arms race and McCarthyism.

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the return of Indiana Jones to the big screen...  | more...|

PICTURE PERFECT, THE PAINTED VEIL HAS A DETACHED DOWNSIDE

The Painted Veil is a very well made period piece set during a politically tumultuous time in Chinese history.

     Set during the 1920s, the film stars Naomi Watts as Kitty, a spoilt and snobby socialite from a well-off family who marries bacteriologist and civil servant Dr Walter Fey (Edward Norton) in order to please her parents. They both move to Shanghai where Edward has been stationed at a Government lab, and Kitty embarks on an affair with British diplomat and womanizer Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber).

     When Edward finds out about Kitty’s infidelity, he punishes her by volunteering himself as a town doctor in a cholera infested village in mainland China. Yet only when they found themselves in a strange land during a devastating time do Kitty and Edward finally begin to understand and love each other.

     MATTHEW PEJKOVIC is impressed by the visuals of The Painted Veil but finds it emotionally wanting...  | more...|

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CARRIED BY THE POWER OF THE STORY

It’s a story many of us know - and know well - but it’s a story which never fails to stir a sense of the power and love of God.

     And despite the quality of its animation (oh, Pixar, how you’ve spoiled us!), the latest animated version of The Ten Commandments still manages to convey a sense of this.

     Narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley, the film - which is the first in what is projected to be a 12 part series of great Bible stories - features the voices of Christian Slater as Moses, Alfred Molina as Ramses, the Egyptian Pharoah, and Elliot Gould as God.

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at a new animated take on a familiar story...  | more...|

GONE BABY GONE "A DARK MORALITY TALE"

“When I was young, I asked my priest, ‘How you could get to heaven and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world?’ He told me what God said to His children. ‘You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves’."

      This is one of the first lines of dialogue spoken in Gone Baby Gone, a haunting film based on the novel by Mystic River scribe Dennis Lehane, and adapted to the silver screen by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockhard. Affleck also handles directorial duties in his debut behind the camera, and (to the surprise of all) has crafted an exceptional well paced urban crime mystery, capping off a successful career turn around which began with his award winning turn as George Reeves in Hollywoodland.

     MATTHEW PEJKOVIC watches Ben Affleck's directorial debut...  | more...|

HORTON HEARS A WHO! JUST RIGHT

It’s Dr Seuss on the big screen as it should be.

      Horton the elephant (voiced by Jim Carrey), lives a happy-go-lucky life in the Jungle of Nool until one day he hears a voice coming from a speck and discovers that it belongs to the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell), the leader of an entire nation which is resident on the spot.

     The meeting leads to troubles for both Horton and the Mayor (who, having 96 daughters and one son, you might already expect to have a few!). Horton finds himself facing the wrath of the conservative Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) whose catchcry is that if you can’t see it, hear it or feel it, it doesn’t exist and whose greatest fear is that Horton will lead others in the jungle astray with his wild claims of a tiny nation living upon a speck.

     DAVID ADAMS on the cinematic adaption of a Dr Seuss classic...  | more...|

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL IMPRESSES

With the past year featuring a plethora of films which displays Christians as mindless zealots prone to discrimination and violence, it was a refreshing surprise to find a positive portrayal of the Christian community in the most unlikely of films.

     Lars and the Real Girl stars up-and-coming thespian Ryan Gosling as Lars, a terminally shy young man who in an attempt to subside his crippling loneliness purchases a blow up doll which he names Bianca and parades around town as his girlfriend. Urged by town psychiatrist Dr Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) to go along with Lars’ delusion, it does not take long for the Christian community to embrace Bianca as one of their own.

     MATTHEW PEJKOVIC takes a look at the comedy Lars and the Real Girl...  | more...|

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE "A RICH CHARACTER PIECE"

Things We Lost in the Fire is a film that focuses on how different people deal with the grief of losing a loved one. Halle Berry stars as Audrey, a widow and mother-of-two to her murdered husband Brian (David Duchovny). After the funeral, Audrey invites her husband’s long time friend and heroin addict Jerry (Benicio Del Toro) to live with her family while he recovers from his addiction, mending their rocky relationship in the process.

     The film contains a back and forth structure, and in flashbacks the viewer is shown Brian’s goodwill towards his family and friends, a nature with would ultimately cost him his life after his attempt at helping a woman involved in a domestic dispute ends with his death at the hands of the victim's husband.

     MATTHEW PEJKOVIC is impressed by performances in Things We Lost In The Fire...  | more...|

VANTAGE POINT'S GOOD IDEA FAILS AT THE FINAL TEST

It starts with a simple enough storyline. Television news producer Rex Brooks (played by Sigourney Weaver) and her team are covering an event in Spain at which the President of the United States is about to give a landmark speech in the war against terror when he is shot and, moments later, the city is rocked by two massive explosions.

     So far sounds like a typical thriller but what sets this film apart is that it then retraces its steps and replays the same events from the angles of seven other people involved with the events of the day; with each eyewitness bringing more information to eventually build a comprehensive picture of what happened on the day before culminating in an all encompassing conclusion.

     DAVID ADAMS reviews Vantage Point...  | more...|

RUN FAT BOY RUN BARELY CROSSES THE FINISH LINE

Run, Fat Boy, Run is a film that barely crosses the finish line despite a talented cast and intriguing premise.

     Simon Pegg stars as Dennis, an immature, irresponsible, and out of shape single father who has been trying to make amends for leaving his pregnant bride to be Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar five years ago. When Libby begins dating a well off American financial consultant named Whit (Hank Azaria), Dennis intends to show him up and win Libby’s heart by completing the famous Nike River Run marathon under the guidance of his best friend Gordon (Dylan Moran).

     No doubt an attempt to branch out after playing the same role for so many years, Friends star David Schwimmer takes on directorial duties, and while his direction is adequate, Schwimmer’s inability to take risks with the material handed to him leaves the film languishing in clichéd sports movie schmaltz.

     MATTHEW PEJKOVIC finds only a few laughs in Run, Fat Boy, Run...  | more...|

HAVEN'T WE MET BEFORE? JUMPER A NOT SO INNOVATIVE TAKE ON A FAMILIAR THEME

A group of extraordinary humans with the ability to teleport - or “jump”- anywhere on earth who are relentlessly hunted down by a secret group of ‘holy’ warriors known as the 'paladins' who resent their ability (“Only God should have this power", is the refrain of their leader as he zaps another 'jumper'). All of which happens under the nose of the oblivious general public.

     Such is the premise of fantasy flick, Jumper, and if it’s a premise that sounds vaguely familiar, then you’re probably recalling one of the growing number of recent films which have adopted a similar theme - extraordinary humans being persecuted for their ability. The Matrix trilogy is perhaps the most obvious - and certainly the classiest - example but there are plenty of others including the X-Men trilogy

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at Jumper...  | more...|

THERE WILL BE BLOOD LEAVES A SOUR AFTERTASTE

There is no doubt Daniel Day-Lewis is a great actor and his role the oil epic There Will Be Blood confirms it (he was duly awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor on Monday). But for all the great acting in it, There Will Be Blood is a hard film to swallow; a relentless movie about one man’s drive for wealth in America’s early oil years and the high price he pays to get it which leaves a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.

     Spanning a period from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries, the Paul Thomas Anderson directed film, which is based on the Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, follows the rise of Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) as he moves from being a small-time silver prospector seeking his fortune to big time oil tycoon anxious to hold on to all he’s got yet who is, at the end, left with nothing but his wealth.

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the film that won Daniel Day-Lewis an Academy Award...  | more...|

LIFE, LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP SHINE IN BELLA

In every life there are moments, often unexpected, that change our path forever.

     Bella is about some of those moments in the lives of two people - a would-be professional soccer star turrned chef called Jose (played by Eduardi Verastegui) whose life is irreversibly changed after an event in his past and his friend Nina (Tammy Blanchard), a struggling waitress who discovers she is pregnant.

     The pair, who at the start of the film work at a Mexican restaurant run by Jose’s brother Manny (Miguel Perez), soon find their lives intertwining as Nina is fired and Jose decides to help her.

     DAVID ADAMS is impressed by Bella...  | more...|

FOOL'S GOLD MARRED BY PREDICTABILITY

It’s all about a quest for sunken Spanish treasure but unlike that other recent treasure hunt film, National Treasure: Book of Secrets , Fool’s Gold is more firmly grounded in reality. Or so one might expect.

    While, for some, the story may be a little easier to come at than the fantasy presented in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, this romantic comedy come action adventure remake is ultimately marred by the fact the leading characters never break from the mould of the caricatures they are designated.

    Matthew McConaughey plays treasure hunter Ben ‘Finn’ Finnegan who has a nose for gold but otherwise seems to spend his time being beaten up but always seems to end up without his shirt on.

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at Fool's Gold...  | more...|

I AM LEGEND A TALE OF REDEMPTION

I didn’t think I would get so much out of this movie before I saw it. I had heard different opinions about it. Some people had said it was well worth seeing, while one person just looked at me when I asked if I should see it. Anyhow, see it I did, and my first reflection afterwards was surprise at the many parallels with the Christian message that are highlighted in this human drama.

     This movie is about one man’s search for redemption and salvation following a deadly virus that has destroyed most, if not all, of humanity. Scientist Robert Neville (played by Will Smith) believes he is the only survivor of the virus. Somehow, in his contribution to creating it, he has developed an immunity and out of his immense guilt feels a moral obligation to stay at Ground Zero in Manhattan and develop a vaccine.

     NILS VON KALM is surprised by I Am Legend...  | more...|

NO EASY ANSWERS IN RENDITION

"It is now clear that we are facing an implacable enemy whose avowed objective is world domination...there are no rules in such a game. Hitherto acceptable norms of human conduct do not apply."

     Not a recent quote, those lines are from a CIA report to President Truman in the early years of the Cold War. Perhaps little has changed.

     Directed by Gavin Hood and written by Kelly Sane, Rendition asks a big question in a very personal way. World War, Cold War, Global War on Terror – can the end justify the means?

     PHIL SMITH is confronted by tough questions in Rendition ...  | more...|

THE WATER HORSE A WARM-HEARTED TALE OF UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP

Amid the usual hype of the summer blockbusters, it’s refreshing to come across a simple, heartwarming story about a boy and his friend; a friend who just happens to be a mythical beast called a water horse.

     Set against the backdrop of World War II amid the spectacular scenery of Scotland, The Water Horse is the story of Angus MacMorrow (played by Alex Etel), a solitary, serious boy who deeply misses his father after he went off to fight in the war.

    Angus, who has a fear of water, finds a mysterious egg while playing amid rock pools. He takes the egg home to the stately home where his mother Anne (Emily Watson) is housekeeper and there hides the egg in his father’s old workroom.

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at The Water Horse...  | more...|

THE GOLDEN COMPASS FAILS TO SATISFY IN ITS 'QUEST' FOR TRUTH

I’m sure they didn’t, but if the makers of The Golden Compass had chosen a text from which to preach it would have been John 8: 32 - “...and the truth will set you free.”

     After a film that featured lavish, seamless effects, mostly good acting, excellent scenery and strong (if predictable) plot, what remained after the credits rolled was a sense of irony.

     Yes, The Golden Compass is the film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. No, it doesn’t mention the Christian Church at all. However, as Devin Gordon wrote in The Bulletin magazine: “It hasn’t been scrubbed of religion. No one over four feet tall could mistake the Magisterium for anything but an oppressive theocracy.”

     PHIL SMITH reviews The Golden Compass...  | more...|

ELIZABETH FINDS LIFE YET IN A GOLDEN AGE

Being a queen in sixteenth century England was no easy job. Having kept your head and survived childhood, the fact you needed an heir, not to mention the subject of your fertility was likely to be a constant cause for chatter. And that’s before you find yourself facing a vast invasion fleet sent by the King of Spain. Doom looms at every turn.

     So it was for Elizabeth I, in part two of the story that began with the movie of the same name. Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a splendidly rendered, yet intimate, depiction of life in the Elizabethan court.

     This movie is painted with small strokes - while it’s action takes place against the broader backdrop of the infamous Babington plot against the Queen and the subsequent trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, the New World discoveries of Sir Walter Raleigh and the attempted invasion of the Spanish Armada, director Shekhar Kapur rarely moves the camera far from Elizabeth herself and those who most closely surround her.

    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the sequel to Elizabeth...  | more...|

A BIG CROC'S ENCOUNTER WITH A GROUP OF TOURISTS MAKES FOR AN INTENSE RIDE

If, like me, you prefer your leading characters to be large, scaly with an adjoining mouth of razors, then Rogue is the must see movie to sink your teeth into this summer. Set in Australia’s Northern Territory, Rogue depicts chilling home-grown scenes of the horrors a single and, admittedly large, crocodile can inflict. You never see people get torn apart or savaged, they simply just disappear. With minimal gore and blood this movie is not so much about grossing you out as it is about making you wonder what in heavens you would do in such a situation.

      The writer, producer and director Greg Mclean, famous for his debut film Wolf Creek, achieved a long-standing dream with the recent release of Rogue as it rolled out earlier this month on silver screens worldwide. But unlike Wolf Creek, Rogue is very much on a par with Jaws or Jurassic Park and carries no sinister undertones or scenes that are blatantly designed to disturb.

    CHOE BRERETON hangs on to her seat...  | more...|

EVOKING PAST EPICS - THE STORY OF ESTHER COMES TO LIFE ON THE BIG SCREEN

Evoking the tradition of the great film epics of the past (think The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur), One Night With The King retells the remarkable Old Testament story of Esther, the Jewish woman who rose to become a Persian Queen and ended up saving her people from annihilation.

     Esther (also known by the Jewish name of Hadassah, she is played by the relatively unknown Tiffany Dupont), was a Jew who lived with her cousin Mordecai (John Rhys-Davies - think of Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark), an official in the court of the Persian ruler Xerxes I, in the Persian city of Susa.

     When Xerxes’ wife Vashti fell out of favor, the king (played by the muscular Luke Goss) orders all eligible women to be rounded up and ends up choosing Esther as his Queen. Urged to do so by Mordecai, she keeps her Jewish identity secret. But the King’s chief advisor, Haman the Agagite (played with aplomb by James Callis, Gaius Baltar of TV series Battlestar Galactica), is on a mission to wipe the Jewish people from the earth and Esther finds herself facing a choice between protecting herself and saving her people.
    DAVID ADAMS finds One Night With The King a beautiful film but one which ultimately falls short of being a great movie ...  | more...|

EVAN ALMIGHTY ONLY JUST MANAGES TO STAY AFLOAT

It’s a somewhat ludicrous modern-day take on the Noah’s Ark story, but provided you can put aside it’s somewhat pushy environmental agenda and at times very dubious theology, Evan Almighty just manages to keep its head above water.

     The sequel to Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty follows the story of former TV anchorman and now newly elected congressman, Evan Baxter (played by Steve Carell of the US version of The Office fame).

     Elected on a platform of ‘changing the world’ Baxter is just settling into his new job - and his family into a new house - when God (Morgan Freeman) calls them out on a prayer they’ve prayed asking to become a closer family. He wants Baxter to become a modern-day Noah and build an ark.
    DAVID ADAMS says Evan Almighty only just manages to stay afloat...  | more...|

A RAT'S TALE WITH A TASTY HEART

It’s a warm-hearted tale, ala Finding Nemo, about being able to follow your dreams. Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) was a born a rat - which is unfortunate because unlike other rats Remy has well-developed palate and doesn’t like to eat the garbage others, like his brother Skinner (Ian Holm), so willingly do.

     His sense of taste leads to trouble and the rats soon find themselves fleeing from their home. Remy finds himself separated from the rest of his family during their flight and ends up along in the streets of Paris. But as luck would have it, he finds himself in the restaurant once owned by his culinary hero, Chef Gusteau (voiced by Brad Garrett of Everyone Loves Raymond) - a big-hearted man with the democratic catchphrase ‘Anyone can cook’ who died some years ago but pops up repeatedly in the film as a figment of Remy’s imagination.
    DAVID ADAMS finds Ratatouille a delicious treat...  | more...|

QUEST FOR ANSWERS CONTINUES IN THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

In The Bourne Ultimatum the cat and mouse game continues for Jason Bourne, the ever alert killing machine, who wants answers to how the man became a machine.

     And answers are what he, and those of us who devoured the first two Bourne films, get.

     What is Treadstone? What is Treadstone's function? Who is Treadstone answerable to? Why and how did Bourne become who he is? These questions all dovetail together and a further pressing one emerges in this film; What is Blackbriars?

     These questions go to the core of the frenetic pace the film sets. Where will the corruption within the CIA take Jason Bourne? Will he be able to trust anyone in his pursuit of answers? Do you even have time to trust when one hard nosed assassin after another is put on your trail?
    LLOYD HARKNESS on the third chapter in the Jason Bourne saga...  | more...|

THE SIMPSONS HIT THE BIG SCREEN BUT WHERE'S THE HEART?

If one expects nothing more than the Simpsons TV show gone large, you won’t be disappointed. Sure, there’s some funny parts (and, as it is with the Simpsons), there’s also some parts you wish weren’t there but on the whole the Simpsons movie doesn’t little to break new ground.

     The usual cast is all there - Homer (voiced, as ever, by Dan Castellaneta), Marge (Julie Kavner), Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Lisa (Yeardley Smith), and Maggie (no voice required) as well as the other inhabitants of Springfield that we’ve come to know so well - Ned Flanders, Police Chief Wiggum, publican Moe and Principal Seymour Skinner among them - but maybe it’s the fact that we do know them so well that we’re expecting something special in the movie which never eventuates.
    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the SImpson's first foray onto the big screen...  | more...|

AMAZING GRACE AN INSPIRATION
Context is probably everything when watching a film like Amazing Grace. While some have derided the biopic of abolitionist 18th century William Wilberforce as lacking in spark, for those open to it, this is a movie which serves to underline the way in which God can work through the life of one person to change the world.

     Released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the passing in the British Parliament of the act to abolish the slave trade, Amazing Grace is an inspiring look at Wilberforce’s life and his drive to bring about an end to the injustice of slavery and it shows clearly the cost of his call both to himself and to those around him.

     Beautifully detailed, the Michael Apted-directed film successfully brings to life the story of Wilberforce’s life and his personal struggles and is able to mesh this well with the broader social issues of the time.
    DAVID ADAMS finds Amazing Grace an inspiring take on the life of William Wilberforce...  | more...|

TAKE THREE - OCEAN'S THIRTEEN REPRISES A FAMILIAR STORY

Did we not live in age where gambling has attracted such cache, it’s doubtful whether Ocean's Thirteen would have found an audience.

     While Hollywood has always been somewhat fascinated with gambling and its interplay with the underworld - Casino, Bugsy and much of the Bond franchise - it’s only in an age where TV shows such as Celebrity Joker Poker attract audiences and the World Poker Championships attract countless newspaper column lines that the Ocean's Eleven idea could extend as far as three films.

     That said, while there is nothing particularly new nor any surprises in Ocean's Thirteen, if you enjoyed Ocean's Eleven you’ll probably find the latest instalment mildly enjoyable.
    DAVID ADAMS finds Ocean's Thirteen lacking spark...  | more...|

A CRUDE AWAKENING A SOBERING EXPERIENCE

“Oil is the excrement of the devil”. So began the documentary that looks at the world’s dwindling oil supplies, the nature of modern warfare, the future for a world that has an insatiable appetite for more and more oil, and a declining supply of the same.

      As the documentary opened, there were no fancy graphics or music, no slick (excuse the pun) cinematography - it just got straight into discussing the current situation of the world’s oil supplies. And it was a sobering experience.

       It was not overly emotional. It was not particularly sensational. At moments, I thought it could have gone further in its discussion (especially when looking at alternatives like wind and solar). But, at least, no one can say it is a piece of polemic or propaganda, (as were labelled Michael Moore’s films of a few years ago). 
    JIM REIHER find himself personally challenged by a documentary about the world's oil...  | more...|

SHREK THE THIRD NOT QUITE UP TO SHREK THE FIRST

If you’ve haven’t already heard (and how could you not have, given the massive publicity effort), Shrek, his wife Fiona and their companions Donkey and Puss in Boots are back, for yet another chapter in their story.

      There’s nothing particularly new or innovative about Shrek The Third - like most film franchises, sequels can never quite live up to the thrill that the first in a series provided. That said, the third Shrek film still stands as an enjoyable movie in its own right and unlike Pirates of the Caribbean - which had certainly run its race by the end of the third movie, further Shrek films would be welcomed with open arms (luckily, because more are apparently on the way).

      Shrek the Third opens with the sad news that the Kingdom of Far Far Away’s old king-turned-frog (voiced by John Cleese) is dying (albeit taking a while to do so). As son-in-law, Shrek (Mike Myers) is apparently named as the next king (no Queen sovereigns here apparently) but quickly finds himself unsuited to the role.
    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at Shrek the Third...  | more...|

INCREASINGLY ODDBALL PIRATES RETURN FOR A FINAL BOW

Ever since Captain Jack Sparrow rode the mast of his boat to shore near the start of the first in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, the Pirates movies have been getting progressively more bizarre and, to be sure, number three lives up to expectation in that regard.

      For those who can suspend reality for a couple of hours, however, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will provide a couple of hours of rollicking entertainment with the return of a cast of now familiar characters led by the ever oddball Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp).

     Pirates’ third instalment picks up some time after the second instalment ended. We find Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), (for those who didn't stay until after the credits of the second movie, yes, he's back!), joined by Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) along with the crew of the Black Pearl - now all in Singapore where they are meeting with the dreaded Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat).
    DAVID ADAMS on the final Pirates of the Caribbean...  | more...|

SPIDER-MAN FACES HIS INNER DEMONS

He’s not your average superhero and that’s what makes Spider-Man such an interesting character.
       His ongoing internal struggle - the battle every Christian faces between giving in to temptation and doing what is right - is one of the central themes of the latest movie to takeup his story, Spider-Man 3.
      While it’s as action packed as one would expect of a blockbuster of this magnitude, director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 spends as much of its time unravelling the story of Peter Parker's inner turmoil as it does his efforts to save the world from evil.
    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the latest instalment in the Spider-Man saga...  | more...|

MEET THE ROBINSONS A QUIRKY TALE WITH A WARM HEART

This is certainly not your average animated tale. While it starts off in a familiar pattern - orphaned boy trying to find his way in the world and answer questions about his past, Meet the Robinsons quickly takes some strange turns. And while this may leave the viewer momentarily wondering where on earth the film is going, perseverance is ultimately rewarded.

      Disney’s Meet the Robinsons is a curiosity of a film, filled with strange characters which nonetheless bring a vague sense of something familiar to the screen (maybe it’s that Disney influence).

      Set largely in a futuristic world, this fast-paced film follows the story of Lewis (voiced by Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry), a 12-year-old boy genius who invents a memory-scanner that he hopes will help him to find his mother.
    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at Disney's oddball animated feature...  | more...|

BOBBY AN EVOCATIVE TAKE ON A TURBULENT ERA
“Since Dr King died, no one left but Bobby”.
      This line from this emotionally inspiring and tragic movie probably best sums up the feeling that Robert Kennedy evoked in the heart of a nation torn by the evils of racism and the quagmire of Vietnam. In the summer of 1968, Kennedy was seen by many as the hope of America.
      This movie, set on 4th June, 1968 - the day that Kennedy was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, powerfully portrays the prevailing mood of the day, interspersing clips of the horror of Vietnam with the spectre of the race conflict that Dr King worked so hard to confront. Kennedy was seen particularly by the African-American community as being of the same ilk as King - a prophet reminding his nation and the world that violence only begets violence and hate breeds hate.
     NILS VON KALM says Bobby is a hopeful, yet ultimately tragic, tale...  | more...|

PORTRAIT OF A MADMAN - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

When you first see the title of this movie, the last thing you would be thinking is that it is a movie about the brutality of the Idi Amin regime in Uganda in the 1970s. Amin (played here by Forest Whitaker) referred to himself as the "last King of Scotland" because he proclaimed that his country had conquered the British and now people from Scotland were asking him if he could help them do the same!

      This movie, based on actual events, follows the life of young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan (played by James McAvoy), as he flies to Uganda having just completed his studies, to see how he can help the poor. He arrives headlong into the coup that brought Amin to power, with soldiers patrolling the streets and the people celebrating the ousting of the previous ruler.
    NILS VON KALM finds The Last King of Scotland an eye-opening take on the rule of an African tyrant...  | more...|

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS SHOWS SOME GRIT

Forget the TV ads which make this film appear to be a feel good tale of one man, with a good sense of humour, overcoming poverty to achieve corporate success. The Pursuit of Happyness is far more gritty in its portrayal of American big city poverty than jocular lines like "he must have been wearing a very good pair of pants" might suggest.

      For Chris Gardner and his son Christopher, played by Will Smith and his real-life son Jaden, the battle to make a go of life is no flippant affair. Poverty's trough only becomes deeper for Chris when he tries to establish himself as a trainee stockbroker. Sleeping in beds for the homeless and a night in a pretend cave is just part of the troubles which grind away at hope and persistence.
     LLOYD HARKNESS takes a look behind the advertising humour...  | more...|

APOCALYPTO'S VIOLENT TAKE ON ONE MAN'S STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
Yes, it is brutal in the vein of Braveheart and even of the Passion of the Christ, and yes, as director Mel Gibson himself has said, it’s not for the faint of heart.

      While it’s set against the decline of the ancient Mayan Empire in Central and South America around 500 years ago, this is not a sweeping epic. Apocalypto is a movie on a micro-scale, essentially the action-based story of one man, Jaguar Paw (played by Rudy Youngblood), and his fight to keep his family - and the life he knows - alive.
      A hunter living in a jungle tribe, Jaguar Paw is captured by raiders from the Mayan Empire - led by the horrid Zero Wolf (played by Raoul Trujillo) and taken to their city where his fate is to be sacrificed to the empire’s insatiable appetite for blood. Yet there is a ‘miraculous’ intervention and Jaguar Paw escapes death and, pursued by the warriors of the empire, races home to save his wife and son.
    DAVID ADAMS on Mel Gibson's latest...  | more...|

CHARLOTTE'S WEB FILLED WITH RUSTIC CHARM

This is a movie about celebrating the ordinary. A true-to-the-original treatment of EB White’s famous book of the same name, Charlotte’s Web is an inspirational film and brings to life the characters of the famous story in a way that’s never been done before.

       The plot of Charlotte’s Web is simple enough - it’s the story of a young girl, Fern, who reprieves a runty pig she names Wilbur from the axeman’s blade with the pig only to discover that he remains destined for the chopping block when he’s grown to size. The pig strikes up an unlikely friendship with a spider called Charlotte who soon hatches a plan to save him which involves writing a series of words in her web to describe him.
     DAVID ADAMS finds Charlotte's Web a breath of fresh air amid the summer movie hype...  | more...|

BOND, JAMES BOND (BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW ME)
It’s a reinvented blonde Bond for the harder-hitting Noughties. Casino Royale, the 21st Bond film, brings a tougher, gritter and more openly flawed Bond to the screen. Yes, he’s still Bond - he does always win the day - but the trademark humour of previous Bond films is gone (sure, he was still a philandering killer but he did it with a few jokes thrown in).

      The film is apparently based reasonably closely on Ian Fleming’s book but It’s certainly a far cry from the original movie, a bizarre and camp comedy along the line of an Austin Powers flick, starring David Niven and Peter Sellers. The new version, in contrast, shows a Bond who has to subvert himself - his conscience and his desire for a quiet life - to perform the grisly tasks the British Government and M (who is again played by Dame Judi Dench) require of him.
    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the latest Bond film, Casino Royale...  | more...|

HAPPY FEET'S TAPPIN' TAKE ON ANTARCTICA

An animated film with Emperor penguins that sing and one by the name of Mumble that tap-dances? How’s that going to keep you interested for almost two hours?

      They’re legitimate questions, but 20 minutes into Happy Feet, you’ll have forgotten all about them as you find yourself drawn into this delightful rites-of-passage tale of how the aforementioned Mumble (voiced by “hobbit” Elijah Wood) deals with his differences (unlike the other penguins he doesn’t have a heart song, but, oh, he can dance) and eventually, after suffering the ignominy of exile, finds his place in Antarctic society.

      There’s plenty of laughter: Mumble's adventures lead him to range of oddball characters - including the Latino-sounding Adelie penguin gang leader Ramon (voiced by Robin Williams) and the Rockhopper penguin mystic Lovelace (also voiced by Robin Williams) as well as a predators including the nasty boss of the Skua bird gang (voiced by Anthony LaPaglia), a hungry Russian leopard seal intent on a meal and some ‘playful’ killer whales - and some spectacular race scenes through the frigid Antarctic environment.
    DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the latest animated ice-film, Happy Feet...  | more...|

THE NATIVITY STORY
We all know the story. A young woman, in today’s terms probably a teenager, living in a poor rural village is engaged to be married but before the wedding occurs is visited by an angel and told she will bear a child conceived by the Holy Spirit who will be the Son of the Most High.

      Her husband to be, a carpenter called Joseph, decides to quietly divorce her but then he too is visited by an angel confirming Mary’s experience. The two of them set off on a long journey to Bethlehem to take part in the Roman census. There, in a stable, Jesus Christ - God incarnate - is born and worshipped by visitors including shepherds and Magi from the East.

      Yes, the story of the nativity of Jesus Christ is a familiar one - we’ve all read it a million times (in the Bible and other "versions"), seen it acted out in countless nativity plays and looked on as it's symbolised in the many nativity scenes that appear at churches, carol services and even shopping centres at this time of year.
    DAVID ADAMS finds a fresh revelation of the wonder surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ in The Nativity Story...  | more...|

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS

OK, ok. I know it’s very late in its run, but I managed to catch it before it disappeared from the screens of our local cinema multiplex, so maybe you will too. It’s certainly worth trying. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Flags Of Our Fathers is the story behind of one of the images that defined World War II - a Pulitzer Prize winning image of five marines and a navy corpsman raising a flag on top of Mt Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima during a battle for the island that began on 16th February, 1945. At a time when the war in the Pacific was ever so slowly edging towards its endgame, the image taken at Iwo Jima was seized upon by officials in the US administration as one means of bolstering support for the ongoing war effort - in particular for raising much needed cash to keep the US war machine afloat.

         DAVID ADAMS says Flags Of Our Fathers is a tough but worthwhile experience... | more... |

HOODWINKED

It’s a fairytale mystery story - the sort where Goldilocks could easily end up doing a stint in prison for breaking and entering the Three Bear’s place. Based very loosely around the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Hoodwinked starts with our four suspects - Red herself (voiced by Anne Hathaway), the Wolf (Patrick Warburton), the Woodsman (Jim Belushi) and dear old Granny Puckett (Glenn Close) arrested on a variety of charges after a being found disturbing the peace in Granny’s forest house. There’s definitely more than a hint of Shrek in this tale as the audience’s notions of what really went on in Granny’s house - and indeed our perceptions of the characters themselves - are challenged as froggy sleuth Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers, aka Charles Winchester from MASH) leads an investigation into what happened at the house.

         It's Little Red Riding Hood but not as you know it. DAVID ADAMS finds Hoodwinked provides a humorous twist on the traditional tale... | more... |

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

This is not a serious take on the life of pirates so if that’s what you’re expecting, it’s bound to be a disappointment. Rather, like the first in what will be a trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is a fantasy-filled frolic which only bears the faintest resemblance to the reality of piracy in the 16th century. Johnny Depp, via his swaggering alter ego Captain Jack Sparrow, once again steals the show, ably supported by Keira Knightley (who plays Elizabeth Swann) and Orlando Bloom (Will Turner). Once again they find themselves at odds with some strange nasties - in the first movie it was the cursed crew of the Black Pearl led by Captain Barbossa (Australia’s Geoffrey Rush), this time it’s Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his stomach-churning band of companions.

     DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the second instalment of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean... | more... |

OVER THE HEDGE

Over the Hedge is one of those movies that comes close yet doesn’t quite achieve what it sets out to do. The story’s a little too basic and the characterisations a little too shallow to allow one to warm to them as we did to, say, Lightning McQueen and friends from the recent Pixar hit Cars or even, although to a lesser extent, the stars of DreamWorks’ previous film Shark Tale. Penned as a satire of the consumer culture in America, the movie hammers the message home (and, rest assured, the US ain’t the only country where wastefulness is an issue), but does little else. The story centres on a group of woodland animals who, having just emerged from hibernation, are living a peaceful, rustic existence in communion with nature (as woodland animals should) until they are led astray by RJ, a racoon voiced by Bruce Willis who has a very big and bearlike reason for collecting as much food as possible as quickly as he can.

     DAVID ADAMS finds Over the Hedge a so-so attempt... | more... |

SUPERMAN RETURNS

"We don’t need another hero," sang Tina Turner in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. That may or may not be true, but we certainly need some recycled ones - or so Hollywood believes. Following in the wake of Spiderman and Batman, Superman is the latest superhero to get a makeover - not since Christopher Reeves starred in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987 has the man in the blue tights and red cape graced the silver screen. But now, in the aptly titled Superman Returns, the Man of Steel is back in a more modern rendering of his adventures. And with more than a few nods to the 1978 film Superman: The Movie, his comeback is one that should evoke feelings of nostalgia in fans of the old movies while at the same time introduce him afresh to a whole new audience. Superman Returns opens with Superman (played by Brandon Routh)...well...returning after an absence of five years.

     DAVID ADAMS on Superman's comeback... | more... |

CARS
There’s nothing particularly new about cars playing a central role in a movie or TV show: one needs go no further than Herbie or Knight Rider’s crime-fighting car Kit. But Pixar’s latest animated release Cars takes the whole idea to a new level. They’ve not only created a world in which cars can talk, but a world wholly populated only by cars - a rev-head’s paradise. As a movie, Cars can stand tall among its animated peers - this is a well-scripted and beautifully detailed film which will capture the attention of kids from the first crash and hold it right to the end.

   DAVID ADAMS goes for a ride with Pixar's seventh animated release, Cars... | more... |

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND
The first thing one senses about X-Men 3 is that it won’t be the last stand - already there are talks of Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) having his own movie and there’s plenty of scope for the X-Men idea to continue beyond a trilogy. X-Men 3, or X3 as it's being promoted, once again brings to life much of the comic book cast fans have come to love - Wolverine, of course, as well as Storm (played by Halle Berry), Rogue (played by Anna Paquin), Iceman (played by Shawn Ashmore) and Professor Charles Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart) as well as some new characters, like Dr Hank McCoy, a hairy, blue mutant who heads up the newly created Department of Mutant Affairs and, when not a doctor, is known as Beast (played by Kelsey Grammar of Frasier fame). Like those before it, X-Men 3 once again sees mutants pitted against humans with the scientists this time having developed a “cure” which can reverse mutant characteristics.

   DAVID ADAMS watches the third in the X-Men trilogy... | more... |

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
There’s something about C.S. Lewis’ series of Narnia books that arrested my imagination as a child and it’s a testament to the quality of the Andrew Adamson-directed film that I had the same feeling of excitement while watching it.

      The visually stunning film adaptation of the best-selling book, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a masterpiece with Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy travelling into a land that looks as if it just leapt out of Lewis’ imagination.

      Sure there are drawbacks. One of the strongest memories I have of the book is the smell of fish frying when the children visit Mr and Mrs Beaver’s house. Smell is not something that travels easily onto the screen. But, those sort of limitations aside, this is a film which fans will be thankful closely resembles the book in all its aspects.

     DAVID ADAMS rediscovers Narnia, just as he imagined it... | more... |

ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN
It was always a hard ask, following up on an animated mega-hit like 2002’s Ice Age which worked so well on so many levels. And while the shadow of the previous film overhangs the second instalment, after a little bit of a jolty start as the audience adjusts, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown flows well. The story begins once again with Sid the sloth, Manny the mammoth and Diego the sabre-tooth tiger (as voiced by John Leguizamo, Ray Romano and Denis Leary) and follows their adventures as they attempt to escape the flooding that results from global warming melting their ice-bound habitat (one of several references to environmental themes). Along the way they have to overcome their fears - think of big cats and water or mammoths and extinction - and meet some interesting new friends, a mammoth called Ellie (voiced by Queen Latifah) who thinks she’s a possum and two hilarious possums - Crash and Eddie (voiced by Seann William Scott and Josh Peck) - who think she’s their sister.

   DAVID ADAMS takes a look at Manny, Diego and Sid the Sloth's return to the screen... | more... |

WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
Oy up chuck! Their faces have become familiar to millions around the world as they’ve tangled with sinister sheep rustlers, flown to the moon in search of cheese and got the better of master criminal Feathers McGraw. Now, for the first time, Nick Park’s claymation creations, the cheese connoisseur Wallace and his long-suffering dog Gromit are starring in their own full feature film - Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Wallace and Gromit seem to have temporarily abandoned their window cleaning business and are now running a pest control company, Anti-Pesto. Their main aim is to protect the town’s vegetables against marauding rabbits in the lead-up to the giant vegetable competition using their wits and, as one would expect of Wallace and Gromit, some amazing contraptions.

     DAVID ADAMS has a laugh with Wallace and Gromit... | more... |

An impressive and lavish look at the life of one of history's greats, DAVID ADAMS finds Luther an inspiration... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS on Herbie's comeback attempt... | more... |

 It may not have the brilliance of Shrek or Finding Nemo, but DAVID ADAMS finds Madagascar an entertaining experience... | more... |

GAVIN BOX takes a look at the final instalment in the Star Wars saga... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS on Ridley Scott's latest epic, Kingdom of Heaven... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS on The Interpreter... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS finds Robots packs a strong message about acceptance between the laughs... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS on The Aviator... | more... |

TONY TOWNSEND sees more than an action film in Ladder 49... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS is wowed by The Incredibles... | more... |

LLOYD HARKNESS finds Hero a "visual acrobatic treat"... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS on The Manchurian Candidate... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS checks out DreamWorks' latest computer animated offering, Shark Tale... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the latest adventures of Shrek and his favorite annoying sidekick, Donkey... | more... |

TONY TOWNSEND checks out Mike Moore's latest film, Fahrenheit 9/11... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS takes a look at Troy... | more... |

DAVID ADAMS reviews The Passion of the Christ... | more... |

DVD REVIEWS

BEYOND THE GATES OF SPLENDOR - A POWERFUL NEW LOOK AT A STORY ABOUT THE REDEMPTION OF AN ENTIRE PEOPLE

It’s a story that many of us are familiar with - how five US missionaries were killed back in the mid-1950s when they attempted to reach out to an ultra violent tribe in Ecuador.

      Yet no matter what you already know of it, Beyond the Gates of Splendor - a documentary which recounts their story and its aftermath - will move you. This is a powerful film.

      Released as End of the Spear, a dramatisation of the missionaries’ story, hits cinema screens, Beyond the Gates of Splendor follows the lives of the five missionaries - Peter Fleming, 27, Jim Elliot, 28, Ed McCully, 28, Roger Youderian, 31, and Nate Saint, 32 - and their families as they prepared to go and serve on the mission field in Ecuador.
    DAVID ADAMS finds Beyond the Gates of Splendor an impressive retelling of the amazing events which followed the deaths of five missionaries at the hands of a violent tribe in Ecuador...  | more...|

STEPPING UP (DVD)
Andrew Douglas' Stepping Up features a list of bodyboarders as long as a Nullabor crossing on the Eyre Highway. With a mellow start, it soon amps up to some munching Cronulla and Hawaiian North Shore breaks. The waves in Stepping Up range from fun sessions to charging and include a number of competition events. Margaret River, Shark Island, Teahupo'o and Costa Rica are some of your destinations on this 'surfari'. In between some polished bodyboarding camera work are four short testimonies which have a real home video feel. This amateur look and sound add a down-to-earth circumspection to what Jacob Reeve, Phil Harnsberger, Kyle Maligro and Alistair Taylor have to say.

     LLOYD HARKNESS steps up to watch a DVD tailor-made for bodyboarders... | more... |

REFINED (DVD)
Refined is a mixture of the bizarre, the stupid and the boundary pushers across a range of sports. The book ends of this DVD are two guys who think they have all time in the world to continue doing whatever they feel like, especially riding big waves. This isn't some well-scripted tale though and it shows in the fairly clumsy way the ending is handled. But this DVD is about action. Anyway that you can push boundaries on earth, water, air or man-made structures is featured. At the heart of the production are a range of professionals in surfing, wake boarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, skateboarding and kite boarding who talk about how Jesus is central to their lives.

     LLOYD HARKNESS looks through Refined's oddities to find a message with meaning underneath... | more... |

NOAH'S ARC (DVD)
If you want good surfing, slam this one in the DVD. If you want good wipe-outs and a cyclone swell, slam this one in the DVD. If you want a true story of how Jesus changed the lives of some local boys and professional surfers, slam this one in the DVD. It might be an American story but it is universal to surfing. It might be Noah Snyder's story but it's bigger then Noah. This production from the Walking on Water team melds the "lure" and "magic" of surfing with the deeper yearnings of the heart. Noah was an east coast U.S.A. boy who hung with a bunch of friends who challenged each other to charge whatever wave came their way. Making it to the World Championship circuit, Noah, in his own words, became the "local kid who grew up and started living his dream". Yet, while his career was budding, Noah felt empty as though something was dying within him. He had always believed there was a God but he had no relationship with God nor even an understanding of what that was.

     LLOYD HARKNESS finds Noah's Arc an awe inspiring experience... | more... |

THE LEGEND OF THE SKY KINGDOM (DVD)