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MSN Movies Team

Comedy coppers, whacked-out actors and a bleak family drama set in rural America – it must be another week at the UK box office! 

The Other Guys (2/5) stars Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg as a pair of mismatched cops who are well and truly on the bottom rung of ‘cool and heroic’ ladder - Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson rein supreme at the top. But they’re soon caught up in huge case centred on Steve Coogan’s shady banker which sees them well out of their comfort zone. Despite a handful of genuine laughs and a good performance from Eva Mendes as Will’s ‘plain Jane’ wife, The Other Guys just isn’t as funny as it should be. Once Jackson and The Rock are out of the picture, the film has to rely on the Ferrell / Wahlberg and they just didn’t do it for me I’m afraid. Frankly all the best bits are in the trailer so save yourself the money and just watch that a couple of times.

I wanted to take a look at the M. Night Shyamalan produced Devil but unfortunately it’s not being screened to the press - make of that what you will - so instead we’ll movie on to I’m Still Here (3/5), Casey Affleck’s documentary / mockumentary (make up your own mind!) about his brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix’s personal journey as he quits the acting to become a rapper. No really! We’re no closer to finding out if this often shocking yet intriguing movie is real or staged but when it’s is oddball as this, who cares? If it is staged, then I’d suggest that Phoenix be handed next year’s Best Actor Oscar now ‘cos he’s disturbingly convincing. But if it’s real, then he might need some serious therapy.

And finally this week is low-budget festival pleaser Winter’s Bone (4/5). It stars Jennifer Lawrence as 17 year-old Ree who is looking for her drug-dealing father when he skips bail after putting the family home up as insurance. Ok, so it’s not exactly laugh a minute but Lawrence gives such a stunning performance that it’s worth handing over your cash to see her alone. Throw in the scenery of the Ozark Mountains in the US and some fascinating characters and you’ve got a real, if rather bleak, winner.

by Andy Gibbons

Comedy coppers, whacked-out actors and a bleak family drama set in rural America – it must be another week at the UK box office! 

The Other Guys (2/5) stars Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg as a pair of mismatched cops who are well and truly on the bottom rung of ‘cool and heroic’ ladder – Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson rein supreme at the top. But they’re soon caught up in huge case centred on Steve Coogan’s shady banker which sees them well out of their comfort zone. Despite a handful of genuine laughs and a good performance from Eva Mendes as Will’s ‘plain Jane’ wife, The Other Guys just isn’t as funny as it should be. Once Jackson and The Rock are out of the picture, the film has to rely on the Ferrell / Wahlberg and they just didn’t do it for me I’m afraid. Frankly all the best bits are in the trailer so save yourself the money and just watch that a couple of times.

I wanted to take a look at the M. Night Shyamalan produced Devil but unfortunately it’s not being screened to the press – make of that what you will – so instead we’ll movie on to I’m Still Here (3/5), Casey Affleck’s documentary / mockumentary (make up your own mind!) about his brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix’s personal journey as he quits the acting to become a rapper. No really! We’re no closer to finding out if this often shocking yet intriguing movie is real or staged but when it’s is oddball as this, who cares? If it is staged, then I’d suggest that Phoenix be handed next year’s Best Actor Oscar now ‘cos he’s disturbingly convincing. But if it’s real, then he might need some serious therapy.

And finally this week is low-budget festival pleaser Winter’s Bone (4/5). It stars Jennifer Lawrence as 17 year-old Ree who is looking for her drug-dealing father when he skips bail after putting the family home up as insurance. Ok, so it’s not exactly laugh a minute but Lawrence gives such a stunning performance that it’s worth handing over your cash to see her alone. Throw in the scenery of the Ozark Mountains in the US and some fascinating characters and you’ve got a real, if rather bleak, winner.

Up first is long-distance rom-com Going The Distance (2/5), which stars Drew and her real-life on-off boyfriend Justin Long as a young couple whose blossoming New York relationship faces a tough test when she heads home to San Francisco to finish school. Naturally complications ensue. While this may not be exactly redefine the rom-com genre, there’s more than enough here for both sexes – Drew and Justin offer some genuine chemistry while Long’s buddies Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day provide the laughs. But it is Christina Applegate as Drew’s snippy sis who steals the show.

While Going The Distance is ok, Tamara Drewe (4/5) is breath of fresh Dorset air. Gemma Arterton stars as the Tamara of the title, an up-and-coming London journo who heads back to her rural home to sell the family pile her late Mum left her. But her reappearance causes some major ripples in the small rural idyll. Beautifully shot by Stephen Frears and boasting some of the best of British (including Roger Allam, Tamsin Grieg and Dominic Cooper), this is witty, sharp, dark and wildly entertaining and one of those rarest of things – a comic book movie than more than lives up to the source material.

And finally Twilight co-stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning bring us the story of rebellious ‘70s US rockers The Runaways (2/5). The pair star as founding members Joan Jett and Cherie Curie as we chart the rapid rise and ultimate fall of the all girl band – so pretty much the same as ever other rock biopic story. But let’s not dismiss things so readily - both Stewart and Fanning give decent performances and the music holds up well some 35 years after it debuted. Just how close the film is to actual events is open to question but you can sense it still has some rock and roll at its heart.

The big three have a distinctly female feel this week as Drew Barrymore, Gemma Arterton and a couple of Twilighters go head to head for your hard earned cash.

Up first is long-distance rom-com Going The Distance (2/5), which stars Drew and her real-life on-off boyfriend Justin Long as a young couple whose blossoming New York relationship faces a tough test when she heads home to San Francisco to finish school. Naturally complications ensue. While this may not be exactly redefine the rom-com genre, there’s more than enough here for both sexes – Drew and Justin offer some genuine chemistry while Long’s buddies Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day provide the laughs. But it is Christina Applegate as Drew’s snippy sis who steals the show.

While Going The Distance is ok, Tamara Drewe (4/5) is breath of fresh Dorset air. Gemma Arterton stars as the Tamara of the title, an up-and-coming London journo who heads back to her rural home to sell the family pile her late Mum left her. But her reappearance causes some major ripples in the small rural idyll. Beautifully shot by Stephen Frears and boasting some of the best of British (including Roger Allam, Tamsin Grieg and Dominic Cooper), this is witty, sharp, dark and wildly entertaining and one of those rarest of things – a comic book movie than more than lives up to the source material.

And finally Twilight co-stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning bring us the story of rebellious ‘70s US rockers The Runaways (2/5). The pair star as founding members Joan Jett and Cherie Curie as we chart the rapid rise and ultimate fall of the all girl band – so pretty much the same as ever other rock biopic story. But let’s not dismiss things so readily – both Stewart and Fanning give decent performances and the music holds up well some 35 years after it debuted. Just how close the film is to actual events is open to question but you can sense it still has some rock and roll at its heart.

Hollywood needs to watch out for Bollywood. I reckon this would steal The Expendables' lunch money!

Hollywood needs to watch out for Bollywood. I reckon this would steal The Expendables’ lunch money!

Let’s take a quick look at the big three movies the studios hope you’ll be splashing your cash on come Friday.

In The Switch (2/5), upwardly mobile singleton Jennifer Aniston decides to beat Mother Nature to the punch and have a baby, using a carefully selected donor. But her (secretly in love with her) best friend Jason Bateman secretly swaps the samples and, nine months later, Jen’s a mommy but doesn’t know that Jason’s the daddy. Heee-lariousness ensures. It’s only a strong turn from Batemen that stops this from being another Aniston-lead romcom abomination but even then it’s a close call as director Josh Gordon plays it strictly by the numbers.

If you’re after a decent comedy then you’d best avoid Dinner For Schmucks (2/5) ‘cos laughs are well and truly off the menu in this loose remake of French movie Le Diner De Cons. The vague plot sees Paul Rudd working for a boss who likes to host dinner parties where his guests have to invite the biggest ‘schmuck’ they can and a run-in with Steve Carell’s oddball tax inspector provides Paul with the perfect +1. Despite a decent supporting cast including Zach Galifianakis and David Walliams, this whole thing feels wildly misjudged and awkward and it really struggles to raise a smile let alone any belly laughs.

And the third biggie this week is The Last Exorcism (3/5), which I’d been assured would give me sleepless nights. Shot in a documentary style, it centres on a former Louisiana preacher whose lost his faith and is now out to expose the sham of exorcism. However his ‘final case’ proves to be more of a test than he could have imagined. Admirably tense and with a few bladder testing shocks, this is solidly scary enough but a bungled final five minutes do let things down a bit.

by Andy Gibbons

Let’s take a quick look at the big three movies the studios hope you’ll be splashing your cash on come Friday.

In The Switch (2/5), upwardly mobile singleton Jennifer Aniston decides to beat Mother Nature to the punch and have a baby, using a carefully selected donor. But her (secretly in love with her) best friend Jason Bateman secretly swaps the samples and, nine months later, Jen’s a mommy but doesn’t know that Jason’s the daddy. Heee-lariousness ensures. It’s only a strong turn from Batemen that stops this from being another Aniston-lead romcom abomination but even then it’s a close call as director Josh Gordon plays it strictly by the numbers.

If you’re after a decent comedy then you’d best avoid Dinner For Schmucks (2/5) ‘cos laughs are well and truly off the menu in this loose remake of French movie Le Diner De Cons. The vague plot sees Paul Rudd working for a boss who likes to host dinner parties where his guests have to invite the biggest ‘schmuck’ they can and a run-in with Steve Carell’s oddball tax inspector provides Paul with the perfect +1. Despite a decent supporting cast including Zach Galifianakis and David Walliams, this whole thing feels wildly misjudged and awkward and it really struggles to raise a smile let alone any belly laughs.

And the third biggie this week is The Last Exorcism (3/5), which I’d been assured would give me sleepless nights. Shot in a documentary style, it centres on a former Louisiana preacher whose lost his faith and is now out to expose the sham of exorcism. However his ‘final case’ proves to be more of a test than he could have imagined. Admirably tense and with a few bladder testing shocks, this is solidly scary enough but a bungled final five minutes do let things down a bit.