60-second cinema

6 out of 10 Ever since I borrowed a friend’s copy of the soundtrack , I’ve wanted to see this film. Given my love of Air’s music and my weakness for Kirsten Dunst , I knew I had to keep my expectations under control, but it’s still a little disappointing that the film wasn’t able to blow me away. The Virgin Suicides follows the story of 5 teenage sisters whose eventual demise is telegraphed not only by the film’s title, but by the narration present throughout. The narration itself and its retrospective nature are well judged and work very well to tell the story. However, using the premise of an unsolved mystery doesn’t, in my book, give you licence to create characters whose key actions appear out of character. Having the narrator say, in essence, "Wow. We didn’t see that coming." doesn’t excuse a lack of justifiable build-up. It’s a pity. Ten minutes or so from the end of the film, I was really enjoying it. And then... bang! It’s over. At only 93 minutes long, it’s no

8 out of 10 Pitched as a horror / comedy, this isn’t far away from farce, what with its heavily stereotyped characters and near-slapstick. That’s not to say that’s a bad thing — it pulled it off well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Following an arms-trade company’s team-building exercise gone wrong, the film’s premise was weak. Given the ridiculous nature of the film, however, that didn’t really spoil things. Disbelief was well and truly suspended in favour of the gags. Indeed, some of the scenes were laugh-out-loud funny, not least one involving a fridge (hope that doesn’t spoil it for you). Anyway, if you don’t mind a bit of gore (mild) and a completely ridiculous plot, there’s plenty here to keep you laughing. Better than Shaun of the Dead, IMHO .

8 out of 10 Funny French guy ( Samy Naceri ) drives very fast in a souped-up Peugeot 406 in what many reviewers might call a romp. I loved it. It’s like a Fast and the Furious that has its tongue firmly in its cheek. In fact, it’s positively daft, with the exception of the driving itself — that’s just plain crazy. One chase scene even provides an alternative interpretation of the term “pile-up” as car upon car is wrecked. You might not be as much of a petrolhead as me, but at least you’ll know in the first five minutes whether you want to continue watching the film; the opening sequence is a great indication of what to expect. And, for me, it said “You’re in for a right laugh.” I wasn’t disappointed. :)

6 out of 10 The third outing for Danny Ocean ( George Clooney ) and pals was only my second experience of it and I’m not sure I’ll bother plugging the gap. Although entertaining enough, the film burst straight into the ‘heist’ from the get-go and never let up. Fine, you might think, plenty of action and fox-like cunning. In reality, it just meant that the film’s sense of pacing was completely absent. It was a 2-hour sprint. Also, key parts of the plot were ridiculous fantasy beyond anything I’d seen in the first film, which let it down a little. Overall, it was still fun, but it could have been a lot better. I still enjoy watching Matt Damon, mind. Really looking forward to the Bourne Ultimatum . :)