Bobby (15)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 22, 2007 1:07 PM

EMILIO ESTEVEZ’S drama relives events leading up to the shooting of Senator Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel, in Los Angeles, through the eyes of 22 fictional characters whose fates intersect that night.

Estevez maintains a brisk pace and he has a good ear for dialogue. The writer- director also achieves a pleasing balance between the light-hearted and the melancholy.

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Rocky Balboa (12)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 22, 2007 1:04 PM

MORE than 30 years after Sylvester Stallone first staggered into the ring, the muscle-bound star dusts off his boxing gloves for another 10 rounds of clichés and sweat-drenched training sequences.

The glory days are far behind. When a TV show stages a virtual reality fight between Rocky and the current world champion, Mason “The Line� Dixon, and declares Balboa to be the likely victor, the Dixon camp reacts by inviting Rocky to take part in a lucrative exhibition match.

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Babel (15)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 22, 2007 1:02 PM

REUNITING with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu crafts an exquisite multi-lingual thriller, which draws together four seemingly unrelated storylines, finding that suffering and redemption traverse language and geographical boundaries.

In Morocco, Richard and his wife Susan continue to struggle with the death of their child. Meanwhile, in American, Mexican housekeeper Amelia’s decision to accompany nephew Santiago to a wedding across the border ends in disaster.

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Shadowboxer (18)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 15, 2007 12:29 PM

A RATHER unlikely but pretty entertaining offering from debut director Lee Daniels, who managed to persuade a couple of genuine acting heavyweights, in Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jnr, to take part.

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El Topo(18)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 15, 2007 12:26 PM

DIRECTOR Alejandro Jodorowsky’s seriously odd western-drama from 1970 follows a character called El Topo, who spends his life digging tunnels, rather like a mole.

Could he possibly have been inspired by the famous Mole of Edge Hill, Joseph Williamson?

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LONDON TO BRIGHTON (18)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 15, 2007 12:20 PM

FILM doesn’t come any more uncomprom-ising than this.

Vicious but small-time London pimp Derek sends one of his regular girls Kelly out on to the streets of the capital to find a young victim for his rich client, Duncan Allen.

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Smokin’ Aces (Cert 18)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 10, 2007 5:58 PM

MONEY- GRABBING Las Vegas magician Buddy “Aces� Israel (Jeremy Piven) agrees to help the FBI by testifying against mob boss Primo Sparazza, and the kingpin then retaliates by putting out a rumoured $1m contract on Buddy’s life.
The cream of the international criminal underworld accept the challenge. Among the gun-toting head- hunters are sex bomb Georgia Sykes (Alicia Keys) and her sniper partner, master of disguise Lazlo Soot, and torture specialist Pasquale Acosta.

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Little Children (15)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 10, 2007 5:53 PM

SARAH PIERCE (Kate Winslet) is an outsider in the local clique of well-to-do playground moms.

During a trip to the play area with her daughter, Lucy, Sarah catches her first glimpse of married man Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) and his son, Aaron.

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The Grudge 2 (Cert 15)

Posted by Andy Kelly on May 10, 2007 5:47 PM

THE legend of vengeful ghost Kayako and her spooky son, Toshio, continues in Takashi Shimizu’s disappointing sequel.

In the aftermath of events of The Grudge, care worker Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is confined to hospital.

Her younger sister, Aubrey, travels to Japan and finds herself embroiled in Karen’s battle with Kayako and Toshio.

Meanwhile, a couple of schoolgirls come face-to-face with the spirits, and in Chicago, a woman moves in with her fiancé and his son, and the youngster begins noticing the other residents acting strangely, as if possessed by an unseen force.

The Grudge 2 fails to thrill or unsettle. Screenwriter Stephen Susco creates nothing but confusion. We don’t care strongly enough about the players to unravel the knots.

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