Cinema
| The Hangover Part III (15A) *** |
| With Alan off his medication and grieving over the loss of his father the rest of The Pack - Phil (Cooper), Stu (Helms) and Doug (Bartha) stage an intervention. |
| Enter Chow (Jeong) who’s fresh out of prison for stealing gold from crime lord Marshall (Goodman). |
| The first thirty minutes of Alan’s airtime take viewers on an unexpected journey, as his usually upbeat character explores a darker path. |
| There is a beautiful flashback scene in the movie that is sure to have Hangover fans reminiscing about why the movie was one of the best surprises of 2009. Laura Delaney |
| Epic (Gen) **** |
| Ireland’s Colin Farrell and Chris O’Dowd join an impressive voice cast which includes Christoph Waltz, Jason Sudeikis and Beyonce in this charming and visually arresting 3D animated tale of good versus evil on a miniature scale. |
| M.K. goes to live with her father after her mother dies and is stunned to find out that his belief that minature people are living and warring in the forest around his home is actually true when she is shrunk down to their size. |
| She must embark upon a mission to save the forest alongside a band of misfit leaf men and a slug, snail duo. |
| This is one for the kids but I defy the adults not to be charmed and entertained also. |
| Star Trek Into Darkness (12A) *** |
| JJ Abrams manoeuvres the rebooted space opera into deeper and darker realms in this largely successful sequel. |
| Kirk, Spock & the Enterprise crew do battle with a rogue Starfleet agent bent on revenge played with glowering menace by the great Benedict Cumberbatch. |
| He steals the show and sadly, Chris Pine as Kirk drops his excellent William Shatner impression leaving Zachary Quinto as the second most magnetic force here. |
| Something In The Air ******* (16) |
| It’s early seventies France, and anarchy and political ferment are the "something in the air" of the title, in this absorbing film which explores the lives of a group of young students at sexual play and at anarchic protest. |
| Political action means street battles with the cops, or a midnight raid in which they comprehensively spray the walls of their school with graffiti, and bombard the grounds with sheaves of political fliers as they leave. A security guard ends up in a coma and cannot speak after one of their assaults. |
| Beware of Mr Baker (15A) ***** |
| Beware of Mr Baker features Cream drummer Ginger Baker in a fascinating interview at his former home in South Africa, as he reviews his career, warts and all. |
| Jay Bulger, a young Rolling Stone writer, made this movie and you have to admire his sheer guts and determination, given that Baker actually hits him on the nose with his walking cane, drawing blood. |
| This occurs as Bulger prepares to depart from Baker’s home at the time, a gated ranch in South Africa (he has since sold the ranch.) |
| The Great Gatsby (12A) |
| I had expected a visual spectacle that glossed over the substance of Gatsby, but I think Luhrmann just about made it over that line, while still offering an experience that could appeal to a broad audience. |
| Leonardo DiCaprio is fine in the lead role, and Tobey Maguire does a well-pitched job as narrator Nick Carraway. Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton do similar as Daisy and Tom Buchanan. |
| A Hijacking ***** |
| Right from the start you somehow sense the seedy, visual drama A Hijacking will be. You feel a sense of foreboding about that swaying ship’s cabin and the ominous waves in the background, a feeling of being at sea, but not in a nice way. |
| Harrowing, grittily realistic and moving, the film is the creation of Tobias Lindholm, writer of the immensely successful Danish TV series Borgen and the chilling movie The Hunt. |
| A Hijacking is a work of genius. The film opens tomorrow at the IFI and Light House. P Kehoe |
| The Eye of the Storm (Club) *** |
| Cold, calculating widow Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling) is about to die in leafy Sydney. |
| The fragile state of the widow's health, and, more importantly, the disposal of her formidable fortune are on the minds of about six people. |
| Played out in a kind of early-1970s Australian Upstairs Downstairs scenario, Fred Schepisi's adaptation of Patrick White’s novel moves tolerably well through its air of fusty grandeur, oozy sensuality and decay. |
| But attempts at Brideshead-style wit are clunky and tedious. Paddy Kehoe |
| Deadfall * |
| After a good March and April - Arbitrage, Side Effects, Trance, The Place Beyond the Pines - May has started off a stinker for thrillers. |
| Last week we had Dead Man Down; this week Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Kris Kristofferson, Sissy Spacek and Oscar- winning director Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) smudge their CVs with this showdown in the snow. |
| Ten minutes into Deadfall you know how it will end, with the trudge to the sloppy finale made worse by corniness, tedious back and forth and an inability to make the most of the talent assembled. Harry Guerin |
| Mud (12A) ***** |
| Matthew McConaughey gives the performance of his career (2013 edition) in this Mark Twainesque gem from the banks of the Mississippi. |
| Fourteen-year-old best pals Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) encounter a guy called Mud (McConaughey) on an island they thought was deserted. But how far should you go to help a new friend in need? |
| This coming of age story-meets-Western would've graced any movie era and will age like the very best of both genres. The only disappointment is that you're not 14 yourself watching it. Harry Guerin |
