Star Trek Nemesis is the tenth instalment in the hugely successful Star Trek story. After years of travelling the universe, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) sees the potential break up of his Starship Enterprise crew

Live Forever is a documentary chronicling the re emergence of British pop music in the nineties after the cultural and political stagnation of the eighties and the Thatcher era. It features candid interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher from Oasis, Damon Albarn from Blur and Jarvis Cocker from Pulp, the trinity of Cool Brittania and the leaders of the rebellion against the cultural hegemony of the United States

“Intimacy” follows the weekly sexual rendezvous of two working class strangers in London. Jay (Mark Rylance) has left his wife and family to begin an affair with Claire (Kerry Fox)

The thing that is immediately noticeable upon reflecting on this film is the amount of dialogue contained. It’s a case of almost all talk and no action

A fine ensemble cast is assembled for this warm-hearted series of interconnected stories about people’s relationships. They are in search for love, lust and fulfilment and it’s set in modern-day Los Angeles

This film has been re-interpreted from the 1969 version of The Italian Job, which starred Michael Caine. Enough has changed to see the films in a completely different light

This is a bizarre combination of Steve Irwin’s Cable TV show and a B-grade spy spoof. Steve and wife Terri travel the outback rescuing crocs, delving through lizard poo and coming far too close to a hungry spider

At the start of Kill Bill the credits inform us that this is the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino, in case we’d lost track, or were confused by the many imitators he’d spawned with Pulp Fiction. Or perhaps he was worried we’d forgotten him after the long delay between Jackie Brown and the first instalment of Kill Bill

The calibre of the director/production team on this movie is reason enough to go see it - with movies like “Cal”, “Local Hero”, “The Killing Fields”, and “Chariots of Fire” under their collective belts, you know what kind of quality you're in for. But as serious as that list sounds, “My Life So Far” is quite a lighthearted tale, told through the eyes of an innocent - 10 year old Fraser Pettigrew (Robert Norman)

Hugo Weaving is one of Australia’s finest actors and can adapt himself to any role, as he has done on countless occasions. In “Russian Doll”, he’s taken on the added role of co-producer

The crude humour and touching moments are a credit to the excellent screenplay. Judd Apatow, himself an underdog, as a movie maker, has climbed a big stage in making one of the best movies of 2007.

Mark Wahlberg portrays Captain Leo Davidson, an astronaut who trains apes for space missions. He crash lands on a strange planet after chasing a lost chimp through a time and space rift

The sequel to 2001s The Fast and The Furious, in a very rare and extreme case. 2 Fast 2 Furious could possibly surpass its predecessor as a better story and better film

Leatherheads’ is an intelligent comedy that will be greatly appreciated by film lovers that just don’t find most romantic or teenage comedies funny.

However, with this new offering, Clint has taken the thoughtful, considered pace of his best work and combined it with a story that delivers emotionally and lasts with you for hours after you’ve left the cinema.

This film can be slow at times, but clearly demonstrates Capote’s complex personality.

This is a beautifully made dramatic film directed by Sergio Castellito. He has been renowned for his terrific acting talent but, in only his second time as director, enthralls us with one of the better foreign films of this year.

Beautifully shot with no less than three different cinematographers, 2046 is a visual indulgence with a melancholy tone.

The genesis of Kutcher’s interest in the subject of mixed race relationships evolved from his friendship with hip-hop impresario Sean “P Diddy” Combs, which generated a great deal of interest in the media.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott (their sixth film collaboration), Déjà Vu is a big explosions and intense car-chase action thriller from the onset as is most common in Bruckheimer produced films.

Say It Isn't So is a classic boy meets girl, bay falls in love, boy loses girl, but with the twisted comic genius of the Farrelly brothers. Heather Graham (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) plays Jo Wingfield a pretty, dumb but down to earth, hairdresser

…if it weren't for the odd ghostly figure this could be a winning thriller. There's intense tension and the mystery is elusive and twisting right to the end.

Based on a true story, the time in 1991 and the swordfishing boat “Andrea Gail” had returned to port in Gloucester, Massachusetts with a less than desired catch. Captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney) wants to attempt one more run before the fishing season ends

Unfaithful explores the relationship between married couple Edward (Richard Gere) and Connie Sumner (Diane Lane) and the consequences they face when one if them is indeed, unfaithful. We are introduced to a typical upper middle-class American family, who own their own business, suburban house just outside New York, complete with dog and child, Charlie (Erik Per Sullivan)

The Coen brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski), now present us with O Brother, Where Art Thou? Three criminals (George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson), escape imprisonment to embark on a journey to hidden treasure. We get Clooney, good crim

Based on David Rabe’s celebrated stage play, HurlyBurly feeds out lines that are provocative and questionable. It deals with an overload of dialogue that seems to question why everything we do is done

Whannell and Wan have worked hard to create another story in this trio that is just as shocking and surprising as the previous two. Although the audience is prepared for a twist, they will never guess the depth of this dark and sinister story until the final moments.

It’s interesting to note that this film teams up Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Grant, especially, has been looking for the right vehicle to supersede his efforts in “Four Weddings And A Funeral” from 1994, while Roberts has been aiming for a major hit to follow her best work in “Pretty Woman” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding”

It’s easy for the cynics to be gun-ho and stand on their pulpits to criticise any attempt to delve into the lives of mobsters, particularly with a spoof of the culture. There is a fascination of the Mafia lifestyle by the public and it’s been seen over and over since the memorable Godfather films of the 1970s

Fans of the Three Stooges rejoice. Violent poke-em-in-the-eye, burn-'em-in-the-oven and crack-them-in-the-nuts comedy has returned to the big screen

A year after the terrible and tragic deaths of the freak survivors from flight 180, Death returns with his own “design” pushing sole survivor, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), closer to his door. This time death is taking a whole bunch of other unassuming ineffectual (potentially gruesome ways of dying) people with him

Pooh's Heffalump movie delivers all you can expect from a great toddlers movie. Classic animation, incredibly cutesy, gentle singing, nothing too scary and heroic mums saving the day.

A complicated plot already, the viewer is eventually left feeling confused about who exactly they should feel sorry for.

Morgan Freeman reprises the role of police detective Dr Alex Cross from the movie “Kiss The Girls”. The seemingly ageless Freeman is a natural for the role

Set in the middle class Los Angeles neighbourhood, this enjoyable film follows the Thanksgiving feast of four families. It’s another link between cooking and life, in the mould of Babette’s Feast and Big Night

…the film employs a masterful use of modern technology to create art out of popular cinema. It will thrill anyone who can handle seeing a little blood.

Behind the beautiful Jamaican images of a gorgeous beach, sun-tanned tourists, the backdrop of surf as a wedding takes place, and generally luxurious surroundings, lies a serious discrepancy. He history of Jamaica and its interactions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and US aid shows how the economy has suffered

Neil Labute’s third feature and the first he hasn’t written himself, sounds promising enough. A waitress, (Zellwegger) in a small town, obsessed with a soap opera, goes out of her mind when she witnesses a traumatic event and becomes convinced that the soap opera is real

With a visible cast of just two, this is a fantastically simple film. The grandness of the film means that the characters are un-named.

This is the debut directorial work of well-known Australian comedian Tony Martin. As such, he has gathered, through his pre-conceived plan, a wealth of comedic talent; his “friends”, in shaping a very accomplished and funny film, which is set in Melbourne

This is the sort of film you might immediately think is not much good. It does fail to live up to any sort of expectation however

A couple of interesting changes occurred in the making of this sequel. The “force” behind American Pie, brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, have only Executive Producer credits, indicating a low level of involvement

This time last year, a fire at Melbourne’s Planet X studios virtually destroyed the whole place, including the master tape of this film. Cinema purists may well say that, after viewing “Trojan Warrior”, there isn’t much to save

Camp isn’t strictly a musical. Nobody breaks into song to express his or her emotions or progress the plot.

The action packed storyline and magnificent special effects almost demand a big screen viewing. X-Men fans will not be disappointed and neither will the curious punter!

From muscling his way into the screens in the late 1980s, Steven Seagal provided a fresh face and take on the martial arts market. He won many movie fans and he helped make Aikido a more familiar term in the genre

A terrifying tale of survival unfolds amid dazzling beauty of the Peruvian Andes, in what is deservedly the most successful documentary in UK box-office history.

Agnes Varda is known as the grandmother of the French New Wave and has been making films since 1954. At 74, Varda has produced a deceptively playful masterwork; confidently wandering from the fields of Provence to the streets of Paris exploring what it means to glean or harvest

This film had received a mixed rating when it showed at the Melbourne International Film Festival a few months ago. But it popularly attended because it had Johnny Depp as the lead actor, and there was a fascination towards it being directed by the controversial Roman Polanski

If, like me, you balk at the thought of yet another film about WW2, particularly one with the almost ubiquitous Oscar nominations, do not be put off seeing Divided We Fall. Winner of the Most Popular Film at the Sydney Film festival, Divided We Fall manages to do what so few of the recent Holocaust films have been able to achieve- that is, humour without belittlement, characters that are complicated, Nazi’s that are not just Seig Heiling cardboard cut outs of evil and heroes that are as flawed as the next man

Igby Slocumb (Kieran Culkin) is an angry, rebellious and sarcastic seventeen-year-old, at odds with his world of wealth and privilege. His father Jason (Bill Pullman) is in an institution suffering from schizophrenia, his mother Mimi (Susan Sarandon) is a pill popping, self obsessed socialite who is dying of cancer, and his brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe) is a cold, young republican, college student

…Evolution is faster and sleeker than its predecessor; the movie kicks off with an action-packed opening sequence and the pace rarely lets up from there. Levels of gore and violence are high throughout;…

If I had to sum up Red Dragon in one line, all I would say is that, “It scared me shitless.” So much so in fact that after coming out of the screening, faced with a walk to the tram, in the dark, in the middle of a deserted North Melbourne, I had to call my Mum and talk to her while I walked

Firstly, it’s interesting to note that the film was originally meant to be an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel “Bandits”, to which Bruce Willis owns the film rights. The producers felt that it was too weak and brought in writer Harley Peyton to write a new script from scratch

…confusion over who owned the distribution rights for Australia caused the delay of the release of the film here ever since. Fortunately those matters have now been resolved as Safe is an incredible insight into a director we have seen go from strength to strength since the making of that film.

Director Paul Cox has always shown a great interest in telling stories of human suffering. This film, the story of Father Damien deVeuster of Belgium, sees the light after being made in 1999

Many film observers have lamented the fact that, despite promise of a return to form in “Melinda & Melinda”, director Woody Allen has not made a memorable film for many years. His fans can be well and truly pleased now, because “Match Point” is one of the most impressive and enjoyable films I have seen in recent times.

Gone Baby Gone is that rare thing; a thriller that actually thrills without cheapening the issues it raises, a film that poses questions without forcing the answers from them.

Halle Berry is well cast for her sensuality and manipulative abilities, but probably moves, as the story does, in a rollercoaster fashion. She looks beautiful on screen, however.

Trevor Finch (Christian Slater) is a recently escaped convict who, at the beginning of this film, finds himself tied to a chair in a hotel room with Critical Jim (Tim Allen) pointing a gun at him. The premise of the film is one of mistaken identity; Jim is a hit man who believes Finch is Cletis Tout (his mark)

Dinosaur" brings Disney to the forefront of digital technology and sets a new standard for the integration of computer-generated imagery and live-action. With more than thirty different species of prehistoric creatures ranging in size from the twelve-inch gliding lizard to the one hundred and twenty foot long, hundred tonne Brachiosaur, the film is both scientific and fantastical

Secretary presents sadomasochism as the perfect outlet for its disturbed yet likeable characters. Director Steven Shainberg sets the scene for something believable but quirky

Like a classic Disney film, it offers moral guidance to its audience and is a celebration of family values and the importance of loyalty among friends.

'The Passion Of The Christ’ works on its own terms. The film leaves an indelible imprint and will be remembered for all time. This is the gutsy and determined artistic achievement that Mel Gibson had longed for. He leaves us with a benchmark that will be long referred to.

The comedic abilities of Sandler and Barrymore combined, with a little bit of help from a script chocked full of gross out one liners often involving the size of a Walrus’ nether regions, simply makes for a very watchable film.

Although it's cluttered with ordinary films, this homogeneity is part of the unique comfort a teen comedy can offer. They're films to watch when you're sick, where bullies get their comeuppance, are moral codes are simpler than in an adult world. And kids enjoy them too.

Under the eyes of Brazilian director Andrucha Waddington, love with multiple spouses becomes a dreamy kaleidoscope of passion and possibilities. We’ve seen many films where men and women sneak behind each other

Irreversible is powerful and unforgettable. If you can stomach some of its ingredients, this unique venture by Noe demands to be seen from a terrific filmmaking perspective.

Sex and Lucia certainly has a lot of the former, much of it with the latter, though some involves a shower head, a dildo, the boyfriend of a pornstar mother and a fateful night on an island beach. Confused yet? Don’t worry, you will be

Charlie, Anna and Gavin are best friends. They live together, party together and know all there is to know about each other- together through thick and thin

With a cast comprising high-profile models and youthful exuberant actors, sexual innuendo underpins the theme of “Head Over Heels”, therefore the “M” rating. As in the film “Coyote Ugly”, the titillation factor is just that, without showing anything

Photographer Cindy Sherman has made a name for herself as a leading American visual artist. She now enters the world of filmmaking with a wry, quirky horror flick – without overdoing the associated gore

Michael Haneke’s film, “Funny Games” screened at MIFF in 1997, a confronting and uncomfortable exploration of screen violence, the complete antithesis of the comic strip violence of most Hollywood films. It manipulated you, made you see you were being manipulated, then made you examine why you wanted, as an audience, to be manipulated

Nothing extravagant, nothing gimmickry; “Songcatcher” is a unique charmer that may not normally be the sort of film to draw a large audience. But, in winning a Special Jury Prize for an Ensemble Cast at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, the film shows a well-researched script and incorporates music unlike no other film that I’ve seen

For fans of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, Manhattan, Crimes and Misdemeanours and many others, the last few years have been disappointing. The inimitable Allen seems tired, the jokes strain with visible effort for a laugh, and the pacing too slow for the zany comedies he has been attempting of late, like last year’s Small Time Crooks

Chamber of Secrets is the second film adaptation in JK Rowlings astoundingly popular Harry Potter series. The first, The Philosophers Stone, released in 2001 garnered three Academy Award Nominations, seven BAFTA nominations and quickly became the second highest grossing film of all time giving The Chamber of Secrets just a little something to live up to

Serenades seems to be the quintessential Australian film. It has multi culturalism, it’s set in the outback with some Aborigines in the background, has a strong female lead, and little chance of a big box office

A sister travels to Europe to come to terms with the suicide of her older sibling who died during a holiday seven years before. Its 1976 and at graduating age Bean (Jordana Brewster) evaluates her life in the shadow of memories of her outgoing sister (Cameron Diaz)

Strings touches on ideas such as the futility of war, the value of freedom, and the overwhelming power of love. However the most interesting theme the film explores is the interconnectivity between all living things.

The Manual of Love shows human nature at its best and the obvious blunders we stumble through as we journey through love. Mix this with typical Italian personality, not to mention drama, and how could this provide anything but entertainment?

“The Nanny Diaries” ultimately feels emotionally true to itself - that rare and enjoyable slice-of-life that doesn't often get released from major studios. This alone is something worthwhile.

The filmmakers get away with such sensitive themes through the comic-book feel of the movie and the suspenseful score, as we are made to feel empathy for the film's protagonists.

Sideways is a comedy without gimmicks. It is just the strength of the story, powered by remarkable performances that make it the film by which all other films this year will be judged.

Licence To Wed will be seen by teenage girls on a Friday night at the movies or at senior citizens' weekly movie nights. It is a pleasant enough movie to view if you are after a light, fluffy time waster that won’t give you nightmares.

This film by Iranian director Jafar Panahi tells of the plight of women in his country. It’s quite a hard-hitting drama, especially at the beginning, where a grandmother has been told that her daughter has just given birth to a baby girl

It is spring in a small country town in southern China in 1946. Dai Liyan and his wife Yuwen have returned to find their home half in ruins

Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) is a Harvard educated, socially conscious attorney hell-bent on using her knowledge for good, not evil. Having spent time with the Rainbow Warriors, this bohemian is determined to stand up and fight for the little people

The film’s saving grace is Heath Ledger's great performance as the always drunk but charismatic, surf-shop owner, Skip Engblom. Ledger ensures Skip is the most believable and complex character of the film.

Having received mixed reactions, and especially a hostile reception at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival, this film by French director Catherine Breillat has been eagerly anticipated. This is the story of sisters Elena (Roxane Mesquida) and Anais (Anais Reboux) who are on holiday with their parents

This movie is adapted from Laura Zigman’s novel “Animal Husbandry”, and it primarily serves the purpose of showcasing the acting talents of Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman. In this Tony Goldwyn (A Walk On The Moon) film, Ashley Judd plays Jane Goodale, a woman struggling to find meaning in the heartbreaking realities of romance by studying the behavioural patterns of men

By setting this paper-thin story in the beautiful scenery of Italy it’s at least another reason why one can tune out to the story and just watch the beautifully shot images of the country and seaside villages unfold.

Lost in La Mancha attempts uncharted territory of a documentary based around the making of a film that was just not meant to be. The film looks at the creation of Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of ‘Don Quixote’, a film which has had a massive ten years of development and leaves two previous failed attempts in its wake

A new comedy gives the black hustler a cleaner image as he duals with millionaire Max Fairbanks (Danny Devito) in What's The Worst That Could Happen? Martin Lawrence plays Kevin Caffery, the smooth-talking burglar of the more expensive kind, stealing artworks, jewellery and wine after casing the auctions and rubbing shoulders with Boston's richest.

Naked bodies make good stories, and art. Flesh will sell whatever the context, stripping back the confusion of man made ideals the raw shape can be confronting

Director Bill Bennett’s quietly anticipated latest feature “In A Savage Land” is an ambitious film that, under the guise of a romantic epic, attempts to tackle sexual politics and the effect that western imperialism has had on primitive cultures. It’s all a bit too much to take in but if you’re prepared to suspend disbelief and digest the many themes presented; it’s a journey worth taking

Following the critical success of The Tracker, Rolf De Heer takes an unexpected turn in directing, writing and producing a much smaller film, a “psycho-sexual thriller about the sexual politics of marriage” in Alexandra’s Project. Again starring Gary Sweet and accomplished theatre actress Helen Buday, this unexpected thriller centres on Steve’s (Sweet) family and his marriage to wife Alexandra (Buday)

Calendar Girls is based on the true story of a group of middle aged women in Yorkshire who raised money for Leukaemia Research by posing nude for a calendar – when such a thing was still the domain of models and stars. They became media darlings and, more importantly, raised a lot of cash

In this Civil War film, director Ang Lee treats the American South with some sympathy and dignity. We’d seen his excellent work in The Ice Storm, and now he shows his great ability to cut right to the point of the Civil War

Fans of Anthony Minghella’s Truly, Madly, Deeply, will be familiar with the terrain of Under The Sand (Sous le Sable). A woman’s grief for her dead husband stops her from moving on with her life

John Madden’s direction of the best-selling novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres is flat and uninspiring. Set on a most beautiful Greek island, it is soft-centred and lacking in the emotional depth available in a love story set during World War II

Based on a comic book of the same name, Ghost World is as teen flick with a twist. Ditching the all too familiar themes of beauty, popularity and superficiality seen in most teen comedies of late, director Terry Zwigoff has taken the oddball approach with his latest film and created a thought provoking portrayal on the world as unique outsiders

Though a remake, Les Choristes is a beautiful film in its own right, with genuine sympathy for the unloved children as the innocent victims in the story.

A unique insight into a Tibetan family and their struggle to survive and is the first feature film to be shot in the Tibetan language. In this film we see three children Dolkar, her brother Dorjee and their cousin Pema playing together in their village

A young boy lives with his parents and older brother, Tonho, in barren part of the Brazilian badlands in 1910. The family extract sugar from the cane fields

Much has been suggested about “Pearl Harbour” since early in the year when its release was highlighted for 2001. One of the main thrusts immediately stated by the film’s producers was not to expect a true historical document on what occurred in the attack by Japan on America on December 7, 1941

The sheer beauty of this film will interest people. Although the story follows three sisters and their various misadventures, director Tran Anh Hung serves up a visual feast that epitomises Vietnam

Director Antoine Fuqua’s film “Training Day” is an intense look at the notion of street crime and justice. He uncovers the fine line between undercover police tactics and corruption but just fails to deliver a proper scrutiny in potentially powerful situations

Shadow Magic is the story of the first motion pictures to be shown in China. The invention brought over by an Englishman gave the Chinese an eye to the wider and white world through introducing the audiences to the moving photograph

‘Amelie’ is the return of director Jeunet to quirky French films after his disappointing foray into Hollywood with the last in the Alien series, “Alien Resurrection”. His first two films, “Delicatessen” and “The City of Lost Children” told innovative stories, shot with breathtaking ingenuity

Reinaldo Arenas had the misfortune to be a writer and a homosexual in post revolutionary Cuba, where being either one could send you to prison. “Before Night Falls” is the almost documentary like depiction of Arenas’ life, from his poverty stricken childhood, to his imprisonment, exile and eventual death in New York from AIDS in 1990

Any film about genocide is going to be heavy viewing. Ararat is about the extermination of over a million Armenians in Van, Turkey in 1915

Black Cat, White Cat sees director Emir Kusturica, known for his critically acclaimed films “Underground” and “Time Of The Gypsies”, make a welcome return to his gypsy roots for a delightfully exuberant story of rivalry, blackmail, love and folklore. Two rivalling gypsy families are presided over by their esteemed eccentric grandfathers, Grga Pitic (Sabr Sulejmani) and Zarije Destanov (Zabit Mehmedovski)

Zhao (Zhao Benshan) is desperate to get married and realising that his time is nearly up he enlists the services of a dating agency in order to help find a wife. Through the agency he finally meets the woman of his dreams who agrees to marry him if he can obtain the required funds to do so

Cockney British accents set against the beauty of the Spanish Costa, Sexy Beast is Jonathon Glazer’s ‘adult love story’ about the English gangster world. Sexy Beast is Gal (Ray Winstone), a 50+ English ex convict living his retirement poolside in ‘speedos’ alongside wife and houseboy

What starts out as a promisingly slick, fast paced Aussie film very quickly degenerates into a muddled, clichéd mess that looks like the off-cuts of Two Hands, Australia’s last, and infinitely superior, heist film.

There seems to be a lot of confusion, both for the audience, and the filmmakers

This film provides exactly the sort of thing that viewers want from a romantic drama: two people who fall in love from unusual circumstances, then pushed apart by complications before finding happiness again. “Bounce” has no real surprises or twists, but contains very good dialogue to make it a generally pleasant experience

A refreshed Woody Allen steps back to his more farcical filmmaking years in bringing this light-hearted comedy to the screen. His last two films, “Celebrity” and “Sweet And Lowdown” have been on the serious side of funny

Nathan Zuckerman, played by Gary Sinise, is the narrator and observer of the story of Coleman Silk, a light skinned black man who decided in his youth that life would be easier if he passed for white.

Director, Anthony Byrne also does a fabulous job by not only capturing the spectacular Irish countryside but also manages to capture each character's emotions in a way seldom seen in modern film.

“Agnes Browne” is adapted from Brendan O’Carroll’s best-selling Irish novel “The Mammy”. It is set in Dublin in 1967 and it sees the return of Anjelica Huston to the role of director/actor

It’s quite an ambitious step to make a three-hour movie, particularly with inter-connecting storylines and the ensemble characteristics. Director Paul Thomas Anderson ensures that Magnolia is no mangled mess

From the writer of “She’s All That” (R. Lee Fleming Jr

At the outset, please forgive my momentary indulgence into generalisations, however I think it is true enough to say that the majority of really bad films that are released theatrically these days are usually, at the very least, well executed and look pretty damn good. This is of course because they require the equivalent of the gross domestic product of a small nation to cover just the above the line costs

Wallace and Gromit translate well to the longer feature format with plenty of plot twists and plasticine action to maintain the pace over the hour and a half.

What happens when fictional cinema and true stories meet can be magic. All too often these days, however, there is a little voice in each viewer’s head questioning which parts are true, and which is Hollywood fiction

This is the first directorial effort for likeable Melbourne comedian Nick Giannopoulos. He has been a star of television, theatre, and film

Kandahar presents the journey of an Afghan born female journalist as she returns to the country to visit her sister. It is the comparison of social standards for women set in Afghanistan where landmines dismember appendages and poverty is the cause of disease

Writer/ Director/ Producer/ Director of Photography/ Production Designer/ Editor/ Composer (amongst several other roles) Robert Rodriguez should have enlisted in some help with some of these roles for Spy Kids 2. Returning again with the Cortez family, this sequel (as is so common and almost expected these days) is not quite up to the calibre of the first Spy Kids movie

It had been evident in the lead-up to the release of this film, of the magnitude in the efforts of the production team in realising their dream for “Sensitive New Age Killer”. Producers John Brousek and Mark Savage (Mark is also the director and co-writer) have worked on the project for several years and they even attended all the media screenings to gauge reaction prior to the release date

A little half-way into the viewing of “Prisoner of Paradise”, I realised that this documentary was made as a homage to German-Jewish actor, director and cabaret star, Kurt Gerron, on his short life as an artist during the Nazi era.

I should have known from the detailed and rather lengthy exposition on Gerron’s beginnings in Berlin in the 1920s and ‘30s

Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) lives an ordered, boring, suburban life sometime in the future. But everything changes when he gets a job at a mega corporation, Digicorp, as a spy, infiltrating their rival mega corporation Sunways

Debut feature filmmaker Evan Clarry gives us a story about the annual pilgrimage of school leavers heading to the Gold Coast in Queensland for Schoolies’ Week. It’s been a long-held tradition where sex, alcohol, and wrecked apartments are part of the experience

Driven is the latest vehicle of writer/producer/performer Sly Stallone. The effort and money put into the sets is impressive and the footage of racing…the real-McCoy

Yahoo Serious returns to the big screen for the first time since 1993 and places the emphasis in this film on spontaneity and slapstick. He directed, produced, wrote and stars in “Mr Accident”

A sombre film, Bitter & Twisted is not Friday night entertainment, but rather a poignant look at grief and its ramifications.

While touted as an expression of modern feminism, The Stepford Wives is more about love and compromise between two people than the success or happiness of either by themselves.

A funny and respectful film, The Station Agent is endearing without being too saccharine and manages to escape the banal ‘feel good movie of the year’ description, even though it might be tempting to call it that.

Picture a film based in the sub-zero depths of Antarctica that tells the story of love and loss, betrayal and hardships and you will begin to have small idea of what Luc Jacquet’s Academy Award-winning documentary ‘March of the Penguins’ is about. It is hard to imagine that one could fit all of this in a documentary, but that is exactly what this unique filmmaker has achieved.

Syriana is an excellent drama, which even though can get confusing at times with the tangled storylines, plays on a tense tune throughout the film, keeping the viewer engaged up until the final multiple climaxes.

Thank goodness that Vin Diesel has turned his back on family films and returned back to what he knows best; a hard edged action thriller with a storyline that actually keeps its audience interested.

The story is as together as an Irishman at a wake. The dead pan set up doesn’t allow us to empathise with the characters, and the film quickly falls away afterwards. There’s also a real lack of dynamic in the narrative,…

An important documentary, Sharkwater would have been much more effective and educational viewing experience had Stewart taken himself out of the picture, and focused his attention instead – and deservedly so – to the creatures he loves so dearly.

Humour is a focal point of the film and a food fight at the intended wedding of Mr Brown and Ms Quickly is a highlight as is the children’s ploy to embarrass their father into forcing himself upon the pretentious Ms Quickly prior to their engagement.

It is hard to believe that this is Joel’s Edgerton’s first script let alone that this is Nash’s first attempt at directing a feature film. There are writer/director teams out there that have been making films for decades who can’t make a film half as good as ‘The Square’.

Shyamalan has tried to capture his old brilliance but it is nowhere to be seen in ‘The Happening’; a film that you feel would have been better off in the hands off a talented director such as Danny Boyle.

Mooladé is indeed a film that will challenge and evoke a greater understanding of the pertinent issues surrounding the tradition of purification. But the strength of the film lies in its results,…

As Ennis, Heath Ledger leaves audiences in no doubt that he is a serious talent. He becomes this tragic figure, and reveals his character’s torment in every word and expression.

The title role was rejected by Adam Sandler for good reason and it’s a great pity Ice Cube didn’t do the same.

Obviously buoyed by the unexpected runaway success of Pirates Of The Caribbean, the big budget spectacular based on a theme park ride, Disney have plundered another popular attraction for the big screen. But this time
around they have miscalculated, as The Haunted Mansion is a first rate stinker!

The Wonderland murders of 1981 were a horrific event in Hollywood in which four people were brutally murdered. What caused the tragedy to become a high-profile case was the involvement of the notoriously well-endowed porn star John Holmes (Val Kilmer).

If you’re new to Bollywood, Bride and Prejudice is a fantastic introduction. It’s far shorter than the usual marathon of melodrama, and the songs are sung in English and tuned to a western ear. In true Bollywood style the audience is greeted with a rainbow of swirling saris, drama and humour.

We are taken to the North side of Dublin in the mid 1990s; to a community falling apart at the seams. Heroin plagues the streets and dealers prey on the youth, operating business from the back seat of their Mercedes.

The Passenger is a beautiful rendition of the traditional man-on-the-run story, often haunting and full of mystery and suspense. It is a movie that will stay in your mind for weeks after viewing, still questioning the film’s many motives. The film is thought provoking, covering themes of politics, the self, identity and of revolution.

Visually, “Goal!” delivers on the scenic as well as game fronts. Excellent shots of St. James Park and Newcastle’s surroundings, and in-game footage sets an accurate atmosphere of game-play and crowd excitement in the game of football.

It’s an elegant looking film with care going into every detail in terms of make up, costume and set. However, in its lengthy running time of two and a half hours, it requires a great deal of patience by the viewer.

As a war film, Kokoda captures the brutality and suffering of the soldiers excellently. The battle scenes are action packed and quite graphic of nature, as the soldiers face their fears in the well hidden enemy, the gruelling setting and their own mindsets.

The film delivers a great insight into the African culture - successfully capturing its traditions and customs.

The film is light-hearted and funny, although Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore do not quite have that powerful chemistry between them to bring the film together.

The Savages is an absorbing watch; it holds your attention from start to finish but never bombards you with action or heavy dialogue.

Just Friends is a laugh-a-minute romantic comedy which covers the sensitive nature of the hidden crush and the inevitable “friend zone”, when two people do not share a mutual feeling for each other.

The latest target of the Farrelly brothers consists of Bob and Walt Tenor, conjoined twin brothers with a dream in their pockets and the world in their hands…

The director of Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn, is best known for his work as the producer of Guy Ritchie’s gritty English comedies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. This film fits snugly into the same genre, with endearing pommy gangsters and enough plots twists to make your head spin.

Director, Darren Grant has done a wonderful job with a film that breaks new ground. While we’ve seen hip-hop, ballet and ballroom dancing explored in previous films, burlesque dancing is new territory; if not risky territory considering the main appeal of this film will be to a teenage audience.

Shia LeBeouf and Sarah Roemer work smoothly as capable young actors. Both are headed for bigger things.

The film will appeal to some as a fun, sentimental sort of story. Julia Stiles is very easy to empathise with and her varied moods are engaging. She is good at despising the aimless, laconic actions of Eddie, but then accommodates him as a friend…

French stand-up comedian turned actor/director Dany Boon’s Welcome to the Sticks has become the highest grossing film of all time at the French box office, and not without good cause.

The Chronicles of Riddick isn’t all that bad; not to say that it’s all that good either, although it was quite enjoyable with visual overload and imagination to behold.

Who would have thought that one of the years most intriguing and suspenseful films would be a documentary involving two grown men battling over the supremacy of an arcade game?

Mysterious Skin is based on the critically acclaimed first novel by Scott Heim. It's a film about facing the past, learning to deal with it, and surviving.

There are some visually interesting effects to be found here, though. Director Watt brings her background as an animator to the story using some interesting use of psychological montage.

This is a clever adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “Lady Windermere’s Fan” and set on the beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy.

The gorgeous Mediterranean scenery is a pleasure to view as a backdrop to local observances and the society goings-on.

Black Book is a solid piece of work which keeps the audience entertained throughout the two-plus hours of film reel. It is at times chilling and then cheeky. It contains some graphic scenes which furthermore intensifies the film’s setting.

Ae Fond Kiss contains excellent and believable performances from all concerned. In a simple and real exploration of two people in love, seeking to overcome the numerous obstacles in their way, the film never threatens to become a soppy love story.

This is a teen flick with a difference though. It’s surprisingly hilarious, thoughtful and is more of a satire of the teen genre rather than just another predictable reincarnation.

For those who want a bit more information, “Shaun of the Dead” is an extremely well made film. It tells the tale of Shaun, a man-boy on the verge of thirty, still droning through life in an unsatisfactory manner. His workmates are adolescents who show him no respect, his home life would be familiar to John Birmingham, and his girlfriend is extremely tired of their social life consisting of endless trips to the local pub. Something has to give.

…full of surprising twists, sub-plots galore and quirky characters. Most of all, there are so many laugh-out-loud moments of great Australian humour I have no hesitation recommending this as one of the best films I've seen this year.

Beginning with what seems like a random car accident Crash rewinds time and connects nine seemingly unrelated people to the one event that will profoundly change and affect each of them.

Director David Sington has crafted an important film which re-establishes the bravery and sacrifices of these men who dared to venture into territories not yet known to man.

The film’s cheeky humour comes from playing up on the more serious issues of marriage, family and religion by adding in murder, adultery and other indecencies in a well-written script.

The upbeat music and dancing will have you vowing to sign up to your nearest dance class however the most compelling aspect of the film is the interviews with the kids themselves. Discovering their opinions on their future, life, love and other catastrophes is great viewing.

The film’s cinematography and score are excellently crafted to retain a ‘dark’ theme throughout the film. All this is further magnified on IMAX as there are also a handful of scenes shot on IMAX cameras, which is truly superb to behold on the massive screen.

The beauty of a Robert Altman film, amongst other things, is his ability to capture his subject in a slice-of-life fashion, and take the viewer on an all-access pass behind its façade, exposing the characters and emotions that lie within it.

This is the first feature film for stand-up comic turned director, Martin Murphy and the first film for Charlie Garber and Alex Vaughan (Brad and Tracey). The inexperienced youngsters are guilty of some fairly stilted acting early on, but they settle into their roles as the film progresses. All the performances are very natural, intended to portray real Aussie teens as opposed to Hollywood-perfect people.

This film has some genuinely moving moments without having to drag emotion out of its audience with trite sentiment or emotive music.

This film isn’t particularly deep, but is simply good for what it is. The experienced cast play their roles with ease.

…the decision by Salome to show – and imply to – such atrocities enhances not only the film's realistic setting, but also the sacrifices made by the brave women of not only WWII but of all wars.

Moments are quite hilarious, others are moderately touching. It’s the supernatural elements that make it funny

The endless possibilities let the audience share in the boys’ excitement and make it a very engaging story for any age. It is the film debut of both Etel and McGibbon but they lead the film with confidence and prove themselves natural comics.

If you think you know what happened at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games because it was broadcast in front of your eyes, then you’re wrong: eleven Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists but the retributions which followed were a secret long held by the Israeli government.

The film takes an ironic, yet subtly sympathetic, look at the fashion world. Yet it is no lightweight fluff, despite it being a film about fashion, and at times is loosely moralising, poking fun at the fashion industry so much as to highlight serious issues

The script by Stiller, fellow actor Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen contains some rather astute musings on the nature of Hollywood. A conversation between Stiller and Downey Jr. about the Academies insistence on rewarding actors who depict those who are mentally challenged is a highlight, as are the scenes depicting what goes on behind the scenes in the upper echelons of Hollywood.

Thumbsucker delves into a world of questions which don’t have easy solutions and suggests that always needing to find a solution may be a problem in itself.

A bunch of misfits from the local high school discovered they liked the same music and despite their differences, they became friends. Eventually, they would become legendary punk band The Ramones.

The film begins with nostalgic images of childhood sun washed days at the seaside. It echoes a loss of innocence and longing for a fresh start and clean beginning.

…on the whole, The Missing is a convincing, if overlong, western that adds little to the genre but doesn’t disgrace it either.

Will Smith produces what is probably his finest performance to date (considering his earlier repertoire of mainly action flicks) in this emotionally charged film. The on-screen chemistry between movie version and real life father and son is utterly believable as the two go through some tough moments in their lives.

Amazing Grace, the latest cinematic offering from director Michael Apted, is based on the life of William Wilberforce, an 18th century English politician, who spent the better part of his days tirelessly campaigning against the African slave trade.

It’s not so much that Transporter 2 is a bad movie, it’s just one causes you to constantly reassess whether or not the filmmakers have done enough for you to accept the more fantastic elements of the story. Good will can carry an audience a long way, especially in this genre.

The Other Boleyn Girl leaves viewers wondering many things about the morals of the central characters in this film and lacks an emotional edge.

The premise at the heart of Paycheck is intriguing. An engineer finishes a job, the time he took to do the job has been erased from his memory to protect copyright, and in exchange he gets a hefty pay cheque. But when he goes to collect he discovers that he forfeited the money in exchange for an envelope of seemingly useless everyday objects.

Following the general rule of thumb, Prince Caspian is much darker and mature compared to its previous effort. There are several terrifically tense scenes bound to scare the kiddies, as well as plenty of PG violence in well choreographed and shot action sequences.

There are enjoyable and insightful moments but perhaps not as satisfactory a biopic to what Peter Sellers deserves. The film, like Sellers throughout most of his life, lacks something in the centre…

Poor Jessica Alba, her career seemed so promising so what on earth happened? Who allowed her to do this film? Honey is a story of a poor girl from the bad side of town who has three jobs to support her dream of becoming a hip-hop dancer in music videos.

The training and fight scenes still stir the soul. The music is unforgettable and inspirational – one of the best scores in history. Stallone brings enormous energy and sentimentality into peeling us back thirty years to the memorable original Rocky film.

It is a story that deals with healing and searching for a real sense of self. The audience is frequently reminded that in this world, one is defined by terms and names.

Flyboys can be cast as your typical war-film with heroic themes, however it does score points in its engaging story and superbly choreographed action scenes, with some of the best dogfight scenes to hit out screens in recent time.

While this movie did eventually drive me insane, it has a lot to offer. The fact that this movie made me anxious, fidgety and completely uncomfortable is precisely the point.

All in all, Becoming Jane, would interest those who can’t get enough of anything to do with Jane Austen or love the Victorian era genre movies, but of course, they will be disappointed if they expected more than an American softening of Austen’s character,…

This society is known for the mastery over techniques that normal men have never heard of, with suggestive names that boggle the mind. These double entendres and cheap visual gags are the basis of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, which has neither strong writing or production values.

Emmerich has utilised much computer skill for the great effects and he cast a couple of fine actors – Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal – to be at the forefront. It is, however, the visual effects that will take hold.

Duncan’s social commentary about sex trafficking in Australia (which even reaches its vast rural territories) should be applauded, yet would have been much more potent if looked upon more often.

Hard Candy is not what you’d call an enjoyable film. Although the violence isn’t particularly graphic, its themes of paedophilia, torture and revenge make this an uncomfortable and confronting hour and a half.

Cold Mountain will no doubt be compared to Anthony Minghella’s previous adaptation of a literary sensation, The English Patient. But while The English Patient was a dull, emotionless exercise, miscast and misconceived, Cold Mountain is a beautiful, poetic success.

…Judi Dench as Mrs. Henderson has such a wonderful colour and humour to her character, that the film has no choice but to sparkle.

Written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars as Connie, it has her ‘big fat’ stamp all over it. Not as hilarious as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Connie and Carla is packed with huge characters and energy to spare.

…McLean’s monster is an ultra-realistic and unnerving design which does its job of scaring the audience half to death, and does it well.

The company’s slogan ‘We’re number one with your number two’s’ is indicative of the so-called toilet humour which resonates through the film.

The Butterfly Effect stars Ashton Kutcher in a performance aimed at marking his coming of age from teen hits such as “Just Married” and “Dude, Where’s My Car”.

Although ‘Orchestra Seats’ will not take you on a deep journey, it will take you on a fairy-tale like ride that most viewers will find a pleasant and surprising watch.

I have some fond memories of “Thunderbirds” from my childhood, as do many people. Potentially, this film could have at least been decent.

…all these fond memories were at least a decade old, and Thunderbirds the film does its best to destroy them all by association.

Shot over several years on hand held digital video camera, “Inland Empire” was not supposed to be a feature film but a series of short films. Yet Lynch noticed a common theme had developed and it then morphed into a feature.

Palindromes is unforgiving to its audience, demanding both respect for its originality and a concerted mental effort to keep up.

Without Weaver, the movie wouldn’t have much left. She really is impressive in playing the part of Linda, infectious yet infuriating with child-like abandon.

Historically, the movie has interesting innuendos to the subject of the females in Venice at the time - full of nuns, virgins, upper class and corruption that affected all of them.

…you cannot help but be drawn into this sympathetic and different portrayal of a man seen in Western society as a murderous tyrant. Even if its historical accuracy is questionable, the film itself is beautifully constructed and extremely engrossing.

Girl In A Mirror is a moving documentary that traces the life and times of Australian photographer Carol Jerrems by writer/director Kathy Drayton. Inspired by an exhibition of 20th century photography, which included three photographs by Jerrems, Drayton initiated the project after a surprising discovery that there was little known about the photographer and her extraordinary life.

Although at times it stumbles into the repetitive genre of the action/kidnap films, Firewall is very entertaining and does have some depth. The feeling that someone could infiltrate your life so completely is truly disquieting and will have you wondering just how secret your own passwords really are.

It is a chilling drama with a strong message and a surprise debut for Mueller. If nothing else it should be viewed for its impressive character driven dialogue and remarkable acting.

What she’s done is craft a film that, like its subject matter, is beautiful to look at and effortlessly charming. For a career as short and ultimately as frivolous a Bettie’s, perhaps a deeper investigation was not required.

While you can appreciate The Motorcycle Diaries simply as a travel film, it’s more than that. It illuminates the apartheid existing in Latin America at the time through Che and Ernesto’s encounters with market sellers, impromptu tour guides and disenfranchised families.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou has the same slowed pace and quirky humour that director Wes Anderson delivered in The Royal Tenenbaums. Like The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic is a story about a family who have lost confidence in a father figure and this man’s fight to regain their respect.

This story is about the small issues between husbands, wives and friends as much as it is about the big issues of gender equality, race and social responsibility.

In a film that looks and sounds like a 1940s mystery/thriller with its use of vintage camera lenses, an old-style score, simulated rear projections for background shots and the traditional swipe cut to shift scenes, The Good German fails to totally engage.

After watching The Ringer I can see how it could be viewed as a slightly controversial comedy because of its close shave with political incorrectness. However I believe instead that the Farrelly brothers delivered an endearing, sweet, if slightly predictable humorous film.

It’s just the same old Sandler formula of uninspired gross out humour (how the hell did this film only warrant an M rating?) based upon a big concept.

'The Lakehouse’ is the most recent romantic film to hit Australian screens. Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, two of Hollywood’s biggest stars, are brought together again in this laid back love story with a bizarre twist.

Unfortunately, this film substitutes a coherent plot for some startlingly good special effects and good looking leading actors and actresses. On the plus side, the weak attempts at being “grimm” will probably not frighten your average eight year old.

Patrice Leconte is an enigmatic director who conjures up the shrewdest of stories.
The French-language drama layers delicate charm over disturbing intensity and it shows Leconte at the top of his game again.

Poor casting spoils so many biographical films, but the filmmakers were spot with this one, choosing Jamie Foxx to play the lead. The ex-comic proves his versatility and talent as a serious actor and makes it easy to get drawn into the story.

Despite requiring a little editing towards the end, Vera Drake is a masterful character study that is memorable…

But one has to question whether this is a clever and humorous way to critique American pop culture, or if it is exactly a part of the problem; that other favourite American pastime: making trash for the masses for the sake of a buck? The fact that this opened in top spot at the US box office in its opening weekend, one can safely assume it’s the latter.

…Ten Empty is a distressing and sad film to watch. Co-writer/director Anthony Hayes sets up tense altercations for his actors, and captures the carnage in several scenes that are held in a single frame, not flinching from the conflict before him.

BMH2 is simply another vehicle for Lawrence to demonstrate his considerable comic ability and milk the profits of Big Momma’s physical prowess yet again - though it’s yet to be seen if viewers will go in for her antics a second time around.

Set against the background of the Paris riots of 1968, and the burgeoning growth of the youthful protest movement of the era, legendary Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci's latest film offers a heady mix of rebellion, youthful idealism, a sensational soundtrack of 60's music, numerous filmic references and sex.

If there is one thing to be said about College Road Trip, it is that Lawrence and Raven-Symone do suit each other well since both exhibit poor acting skills…

A man in his fifties finds his life falling apart after his wife leaves him. His apartment is a complete mess, so he places an ad for a cleaner in his local cafe. A young attractive lass responds to his ad and not long after working for him, asks if she could move in as her relationship with her boyfriend is over and she has nowhere to go.

Sure to please diehard Cohen fans and the newly initiated, Lunson’s film is a beautiful record of captivating music, and an intimate portrait of a truly singular artist.

Originally based in fact, then told in Jay Anson’s novel of 1977, played out on the big screen in 1979, now remade as a big budget film in 2005, The Amityville Horror is one of those scary stories that loses nothing for being told a hundred times around a campfire.

The inevitability of this film doesn’t make a match for some previously great films of this genre. To its credit, though, Against The Ropes avoids the pitfalls of not having Jackie Kallen presented with a heart of gold. She is as ruthless as the men she’s up against.

This film is imbued with a pleasant earthiness throughout. From the green fields to Claire’s dewy young skin, everything is fresh and fertile, which fits well with the creation of art and new life.

Written and directed by Francis Veber (The Dinner Game, The Closet), Tais Toi is a fast paced, crazy film in the great French farce tradition.

Howl’s Moving Castle offers us a world of fantasy where there are no borders to how far one’s imagination can go. The landscapes and characters Miyazaki creates in his film are truly unique and wonderfully impressive.

Fans of Zorro, or the ‘legend’ of Zorro will not be disappointed, nor will they be terribly surprised either. This sequel has more of a personal aspect than the traditional Zorro format, fight, save, fight, win… and get the girl.

He is not a superhero with special powers. He is a dark character, very much in the style of a vigilante…

Week after week, the out-of-work men line up for their welfare cheques and it prompts the mayor to move away in shame. Hard time indeed for the 120 residents. Even the bank manager has no employees because there is no economy.

Ella Enchanted is based on a Gail Carson Levine’s best-selling book, yet this film, while pleasantly entertaining, certainly isn’t groundbreaking. It is a fairytale romance very much in the genre of Ever After, Princess Diaries (1 and 2) and the Prince and Me.

The film does have some laugh out loud comedy at times, but mostly provides giggles and cringe-worthy moments.

As a film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is highly accomplished, however as a book adaptation, it will disappoint many die-hard fans. It is not the literal representation of J.K. Rowling’s words that we saw in The Philosopher’s Stone or The Chamber of Secrets.

Despite the one liners peppered throughout the film in an attempt to turn it into a parody of film sequels and Hollywood generally, “Be Cool” is simply not as cleverly written as other such send ups like the Austin Powers and Naked Gun series.

The Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989, capitalism won and the borders of Germany became one. Within nine months, vestiges of socialist East Germany had all but disappeared, in its wake, a dramatically different East Germany emerged.

For most of its running time, the new film from director Andy Tennant (Sweet Home Alabama) and first time writer Kevin Bisch is hilarious.

From disgruntled workers to renegade angels, the improbable to the impossible, Kevin Smith’s distinctive style is full of laughs and controversy. Jersey Girl is a new direction, not strictly a comedy and controversial only among fans concerned about his ‘selling-out’.

Actor Stephen Fry begins his foray into directing with Bright Young Things. An adaptation from Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies, about the rise and fall of young, high society in pre-World war II England.

Writer/director Jared Hess (his wife Jerusha co-scripted) has created a cult hit and shot the film’s gangly lead, Jon Heder, to relative stardom. But despite the eccentricity and occasional hilarity of this film, there’s no emotional core.

But it is not just an unfunny main character that brings down the film. There are holes in the plot. This is never a good thing! It moves too slowly as well. It is not logical either.

I’m not much of a fan of director Garry Marshall’s work – although Pretty Woman’s a classic, Runaway Bride, Raising Helen and the original Princess Diaries are very ordinary films. But in this enchanting sequel, he and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes give us a character that’s not just beautiful and funny.

Water is a refreshing experience with an unexpected finality. Mehta cleverly ensures the audience empathises with each character and the strong Hindi traditions.

Some of the best scenes are the personal duels fought between the story’s star warriors. The famous fight between Hector and Achilles will stand out in the mind of the viewer.

It is with this in mind that you approach “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster” and the behind the scenes revelations it holds, into not only the members of the band individually, but the multi-million dollar corporate machine behind them. If this had just been a documentary about the making of a studio album, then it is likely that its appeal would have been very limited in scope.

Surfing and gangsters come together at last in a very Aussie road trip movie. Under the Radar is an action/comedy that features one of Australia’s top models, a well-known comedian, and decent sized body count.

Après Vous is a delightful French farce about an unlikely friendship and life’s little surprises. It stars acclaimed dramatic actor Daniel Auteuil, who returns to his comedic roots in this double act with Jose Garcia.

It’s in the chick flick genre, but in this day in age where guys secretly don’t mind being dragged to a film of this nature, they wont mind it. And there’s paintball scenes and purchasing of guns to keep the macho aspect sorted.

Mike Myers playing The Cat In The Hat in the film of the same name should have been a wonderful thing. What transpires over the 82 minutes running time is frenetic and somewhat disjointed.

Peace and harmony on the front lines of World War 1. Yes, that’s the scenario played out with a handful of British, French, and German soldiers on Christmas Eve 1914.

It does survive, however, with a strong cast, a very well-voiced narration and the unfailing concept that life is ridiculous, even on a universal scale.

In Collateral we see a talented filmmaker in control of his medium. No screen time is wasted on cliched plot developments or unnecessary characters. Instead the three main actors are given room to display their capabilities…

Three Dollars showcases the city of Melbourne quite moodily and the visuals are quite absorbing. There is much substance in how the dark side exists and it’s done with integrity and ingenuity.

Stage Beauty, the latest film by respected British director Richard Eyre, has all the trappings of your standard period fare, angelic faced stars Claire Danes and Billy Crudup, plenty of Shakespearean prose and lace bustiers barely concealing voluptuous flesh beneath.

All things considered, Get Smart is not bad, but I remain of the view that the brand should be left as an untouchable when it comes to remakes or reinterpretations.

Five young guys attend an AC/DC concert in Sydney in 1991 as part of the band’s Razor’s Edge Tour.

This is Almodovar’s most complex film yet, but its emotional resonance makes it much more than a puzzle.

Many will need to look away for certain scenes and others will walk out, but if you can sit through Wolf Creek’s darker moments you will be rewarded with a landmark piece of Australian cinema and a chilling conclusion.

A movie with an element of dark humour, ‘The Chumscrubber’ makes a clever and bold statement about today’s detached and perhaps repressive society.

“Big Dreamers” is a quintessential Australian film which focuses on a small town struggling for survival. Director Camille Hardman does a fine job capturing the spirit of small town Australia, and should be applauded for truly documenting and not exploiting the town’s hardships or their eccentricities.

There’s the same excruciating humour, but now you know Bridget a little better, you realise that despite her utter dorkiness, she’s a sweetie, befriending taxi drivers and Thai prostitutes alike.

It is interesting to view the dark side of world football – in the symbolism attached to the treatment of women. We don’t see any of the actual game, just the emotional depth of what it means to people.

Not a feature-length film as such, it is a collection of eleven short films, shot over the last two decades, with a variety of stars of varying luminosity, from Cate Blanchett to Alfred Molina, from Bill Murray to Steve Buscemi. For the most part they play themselves.

It is yet another recent movie going way past its curfew at just over two hours. It’s a shame that there isn’t so much ado about the man himself, his past and his personal life.

One of the best things about this film is that it allows the characters to simply be teenagers and make mistakes with what they say, wear and do.

…Shyamalan sets an enthralling atmosphere; this atmosphere is produced through some excellent cinematography, great dialogue and a rich cast…

Glen Ficarra and John Requa’s pacy script injects some much-needed originality into the redemption formula and despite the unpleasantness of most of the characters, you begin to care about their tawdry lives.

This is the latest film by Adam Field’s production company. Donnie Darko is a highly intelligent but disturbed teenager

The Two Towers, the “central” piece in director Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R

Ask many parents and they will say that parenthood is a tough task. Imagine what it’s like when a child’s intelligence is greater than that of the parent

Innocence is a beautifully performed and photographed story about a love that lasts a lifetime. Andreas (Charles Tingwell) and Claire (Julia Blake) had a brief, but passionate, relationship in their early twenties

During World War II the foundation of German military and intelligence communication was the Nazi Enigma Code. One of the crucial turning points of World War II was in March 1943

8 Femmes is set around the murder of Marcel, one idyllic morning in the snowy mountain countryside. It is discovered that the phone line is dead and the dogs have not barked at all during the night, which can only mean one thing… the murderer is in the house!

Director, Francois Ozon (Under the Sand), adapts and directs this wonderfully pure nostalgic comedy/murder mystery/musical based on the 1960s crime play on the same name

Saved is an enjoyable teen comedy that has some important subtexts: it argues for tolerance of diversity, and the importance of looking beneath the superficial when choosing friends.

Based on a bestseller by Dorothy Porter written entirely in verse, The Monkey’s Mask is the second film for Australian Film Television and Radio School graduate, Samantha Lang. Susie Porter (Better Than Sex) stars as an ex cop turned private investigator who is searching for a missing girl, a poetry student, played by Abbie Cornish

“24 Hour Party People” transports viewers to Manchester in 1976 where it all began, at the beginning of the most influential music era to date. Cambridge educated Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan), a TV presenter, is at a Sex Pistols gig

The Cat’s Meow is undoubtedly Bogdanovich’s best film since Mask (1985), though since his career has been in a decided slump for the last decade, that isn’t necessarily a huge compliment. Bogdanovich, as well as being an actor, is also known as a film buff, with a particular interest in Orson Welles, and so it is interesting to see him tackle the arguable subject of Welles’s Citizen Kane- William Randolph Hearst, a media mogul of the 1920’s

Despite the silly title, Victor Salva’s “Jeepers Creepers” is a grimly effective horror film that packs in elements of the great horror flicks of the past into a lean ninety minutes. It is a nightmarish start for two young travellers, in the vein of the classic “Duel” film of the 70s, where they are nearly run off the road by an unseen figure in a giant tanklike truck

‘The Mummy Returns’ basically does the same thing as the original film, ‘The Mummy’ but it does it louder, faster and sillier. A more cartoon like version of the Indiana Jones films it too is set in the 1930’s and turns archaeology into adventure

Thelma Caldicot is fed up with her life. Having served and waited on her husband hand and foot for 30 odd years she sees his death as her chance to start living her life for herself

Kiss of the Dragon, the new film written by Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die, Shaolin Temple) and Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element, The Big Blue) is exactly what you would expect it to be- action packed.

Li, plays Liu Jian, China’s top secret agent, who travels to France to assist in the top level investigation of France’s biggest drug lord who has been importing drugs from China

Forty years strong, James Bond, Agent 007, returns in Die Another Day. The name has been so recognisable throughout the years that it is almost impossible to make a bad Bond film

This film is the extraordinary fusion of the talents of director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and writers Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz (Co–authors of the Three Colours Trilogy). Add to that Frank Griebe’s visionary camerawork and Kate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi’s wonderful performances, throw in a couple of powerhouse producers and enchanting locations and you have ‘Heaven’

Each year, around Academy Award time, a collection of dazzling films hit the screens hoping to be in the running for the prize acclaim. While a wide array of films make it to the nomination stage, the historical epic is one type of film that, done well, will always be popular come award time

Based on Nicolas Shakespeare’s adaptation of his novel of the same name, The Dancer Upstairs marks John Malkovich’s feature film directorial debut. Filmed in Spain, Ecuador and Portugal, The Dancer Upstairs features a truly international cast of actors from Italy, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and England

This is an interesting story about a struggling writer Byron Tiller (Andy Garcia) who isn’t making enough money to support his wife Dena (Julianna Margulies) and their young son. Dena provides loving support to Byron in his attempt to have his latest book published, but he can’t anyone to like it

The major force of this latest John Grisham adaptation is the dynamic pairing of Gene Hackman as the evil, callous and calculating jury “consultant” Rankin Fitch and Dustin Hoffman as idealistic good guy, Southern lawyer Wendall Rohr. Also starring John Cusack as Juror number 9, Nick Easter and his cohort Marlee (Rachel Weisz) in this fast paced, plot driven court room drama (where have they gone?)

This film won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, and it finally comes to Australian cinemas. “Fast Food Fast Women” is a delightful and witty film about lonely people looking for love in New York City

This is morality tale Aussie-style about three mates in a country town who are divinely led to the world’s biggest nugget. Loading it into the back of their Ute they plan to take it back into town and bury it in Lotto’s backyard until the work out how to get the best price

“Lies” is based on “Tell Me A Lie”, a novel by Jang Jung II, which was deemed so scandalously sexual in Jang’s native South Korea, that the author was actually jailed for several months as a consequence. Director Jang San Woo was similarly threatened with prosecution, and ended up having this film banned in South Korea and Japan

The latest Steven Spielberg film portrays the life of professional con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. Based on or “inspired by” the true life of the real Abagnale and adapted from his book, the film traces Abagnale’s real life escapades from running away his parents divorce at 16 and being apprehended by the F

When it comes to reviewing a movie such as Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, or indeed any film involving trilogies, sequels or prequels, I think it is only fair to state your position on the phenomenon generally at the outset. The first Star Wars film, now named Episode 4: A New Hope, was released the year I was born, 1977

Kieron J Walsh’s directorial debut “When Brendan Met Trudy” is sure to delight moviegoers as an Irish romantic comedy, steeped in cinematic memories. Working from a script written by Roddy Doyle (author of “The Snapper” and “The Commitments”), Walsh crafts a likeable story between two completely opposite personalities

The story and characters of Help! I’m a Fish display about as much imagination as the title. However the target audience may be too young to remember the Little Mermaid or Atlantis so perhaps the predictable plot will only bore their adult chaperones

The Others is the story of a lonely higher-class mother (Nicole Kidman) and her two children who live in a large manor. Her sanity is left to question as she runs household with the aid of servants while her husband is away at war

Garage Days is a fresh-faced and funky expose on the dizzying highs and the dank lows of rock stardom. Opening with a bang, the film takes us on a journey with