The latest releases reviewed.
NOW ON RELEASE
HOT ROD
Directed by Akiva Schaffer. Starring Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Isla Fisher, Bill Hader, Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek 12 cert
***
Samberg, star of Saturday Night Live, plays an aspiring stuntman with an over- powering urge to impress his smug, arrogant stepfather (McShane).
As with this week's Eagle vs Shark (below), there are many reminders of Napoleon Dynamite, but the hilarious parodies of 1980s inspirational cinema help give this funny film a character of its own. - DC
EAGLE VS SHARK
Directed by Taika Waititi. Starring Jemaine Clement, Taika Cohen, David Fane, Craig Hall, Morag Hills, Cohen Holloway, Loren Horsley 15 cert
***
Set in New Zealand and filmed for peanuts, Waititi's debut concerns the juddering romance between a shy woman and a faintly demented man with bad glasses and worse hair.
It does hang about the same places visited by Napoleon Dynamite, but the picture has just enough charm to rise above the familiarity of its tone. Decent extras include a bundle of interviews. - DC
GHOSTS OF CITÉ SOLEIL
Directed by Asger Leth 18 cert
**
The lawless Haitian slum of Cité Soleil - described by the UN as the most dangerous place on earth - is explored in an edgy documentary undermined by its uncritical focus on two ruthless young gangsters leading a secret army for the crumbling Aristide regime in 2004. - MD
AVAILABLE FROM MONDAY
A MIGHTY HEART
Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Starring Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Irrfan Khan, Archie Panjabi, Denis O'Hare, Will Patton 15 cert
As Winterbottom dramatises the search for Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl (Futterman) when he is abducted in Karachi in 2002, subsequent events are viewed through the frightened eyes of his journalist wife (Jolie).
Despite its serious intent and atmospheric use of locations, the film suffers from a screenplay cluttered with information overload. - MD
NO RESERVATIONS
Directed by Scott Hicks. Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Bob Balaban, Brian F O'Byrne, Patricia Clarkson PG cert
**
Leaden romantic drama, which begins with Zeta- Jones's uptight chef inheriting her niece (Breslin) after her sister is killed in a car crash.
Then Eckhart's uninhibited sous chef starts dancing about her kitchen and, after initial hostility, she begins to temper. Charmless and illogical, the rom-non-com has no obvious target audience. - DC
THE KINGDOM
Directed by Peter Berg. Starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Jeremy Piven, Danny Huston 15 cert
*
When a Riyadh housing compound for US oil workers comes under terrorist attack, four FBI agents show the Saudis how to get results.
Cynically milking post-9/11 paranoia for entertainment value, The Kingdom is as simplistic as it is jingoistic as it is irresponsible. - MD
TALES OF EARTHSEA
Directed by Goro Miyazaki. Voices of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Matt Levin, Cheech Martin, Mariska Hargitay 12A cert
***
This adaptation of Ursula K Le Guin's Earthsea fantasy novels does not quite conform to Studio Ghibli's highest standards.
Still, following a wizard and a prince as they seek to defeat a malevolent hermaphrodite, the picture remains lovely to look at and has moments of striking spookiness throughout.
There are more than two hours of decent extras on the two-disc set. - DC
DAY WATCH/DNEVNOY DOZOR
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Starring Konstantin Khabensky, Maria Poroshina, Viktor Verzhbitsky, Galina Tyunina 15 cert
**
Vampires and the living squabble over possession of Moscow's blood-soaked streets in this ear- bursting sequel to Night Watch.
Once again, subtitles spin artfully and motorbikes climb skyscrapers. Sadly it makes absolutely no sense and, as a result, rapidly becomes tiresome.
Also available in a box with its marginally more lucid predecessor. - DC
LICENCE TO WED
Directed by Ken Kwapis. Starring Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, John Krasinski, Eric Christian Olsen, Peter Strauss 12 cert
*
Williams, as a clergyman with an unhealthy interest in sex and a tendency towards voyeurism, takes it upon himself to prepare a couple for their forthcoming marriage.
Hooray! One of last year's most eye-wateringly ghastly films has finally arrived on DVD.
Didn't you just say something about running short of coasters? - DC
EDMOND
Directed by Stuart Gordon. Starring William H Macy, Julia Stiles, Joe Mantegna, Rebecca Pidgeon, Bai Ling, Mena Suvari 18 cert
***
Bizarre, deranged adaptation of a David Mamet play - timid Macy turns into a racist, misogynistic murderer after dark - by the director of the classic horror film Re-Animator.
No really. Macy is on good form, but the disc is most notable for a characteristically sharp commentary from the writer. - DC
YELLA
Directed by Christian Petzold. Starring Nina Hoss, Devid Striesow, Hinnerk Schönemann, Burghart Klaussner, Barbara Auer 12 cert
****
After becoming involved in a car crash, a businesswoman experiences weirdness near a bleak industrial estate.
This fascinating German picture begins as a drama of abuse and pursuit, then leans a little towards David Lynch territory, before dragging us into a tale of corruption among soulless businessmen. Only the melodramatic ending lets it down. - DC
