

Part rom com, part morality tale, part fantasy, Ghost Town is the story of an English dentist who, for reasons we donât have space to go into, is being pursued around NYC by the restless spirits of the recently deceased. Gervais is unlikely to crack it as a major dramatic actor but in his first Hollywood lead following a string of successful cameos his presence and style make the most of witty script to ensure that, unlike Simon Peggâs How To Lose Friends, Ghost Town isnât just another production line effort. Charming.
Eddie Izzard and Steve Buscemi, along with John Cusack in the title role make a fair stab at lifting this odd tale above many run of the mill CGI offerings and at times they succeed. The script does an adequate job of entertaining both kids and adults though the animation style wonât appeal to all. Thereâs a kind of Nightmare Before Christmas stop motion feel to it that youâll find either refreshing or a little flat depending on your taste. Overall it provides decent entertainment but thereâs nothing particularly memorable here.
The Coen Brothers recent output hasnât all been as well received as their earlier work but one thingâs for sure â they make flims like nobody else does. George Clooney who put in such a cracking turn in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou returns to the fold amid a stellar cast also featuring Brad Pitt and John Malkovich. Itâs a Coen-eyed spin on the Bourne-style action espionage idea combined with the understated, quirky character comedy which underpins all the Coensâ best work. Great stuff.
Whoâd have thought back in the days of Big Train that in a few years Simon Pegg would be a bankable Hollywood star? As unpredictable as his rise to superstardom has been, the same canât be said for this formulaic adaptation of Tobin Youngâs account of life at Vanity Fair. Clumsy, blunt satire, a few moderately amusing sight gags and a romance that you wonât give two hoots about one way or the other is the long and short of it. You canât blame Pegg for filling his boots while he can but this film, though inoffensive, is as disposable as they come.
Electronic Arts saw the success of Konamiâs Guitar Hero and they envied it, and by and by Rock Band was created to net EA a slice of Konamiâs pie. Rock Band adds drum and vocal elements to the mix while maintaining the axe-shredding of Hero although itâs still the guitar bit that provides the most fun. Xbox360 owners were lucky enough to get Rock Band back in May but now Wii and PS3 versions are finally here, the only disappointment being the lack of new tracks or features. If you can excuse EAâs laziness then this is the ultimate party game.
Seth Rogen, one half of the writing team that brought you Superbad is back with the funniest screenplay since, well, Superbad. Thereâs no shortage of entries in the dumbass stoner comedy genre but itâs the willingness of the producers to present their characters as flawed, average-looking (at best), occasionally unpleasant and rarely witty that wins the day. This establishes an instant empathy with the vast majority of viewers and makes Pineapple Express hilarious, fresh and engaging.
Diane Englishâs rethinking of the 1939 melodrama starring Joan Crawford, itself adapted from a 1936 stage play sacrifices the bite (and point) of the original to leap on the female empowerment bandwagon, rolling once again under the momentum of the Sex And The City movie. Unfortunately what was a dramatic tale of wronged society wives has been turned into another homily about how women only need men for sex and should be out there grabbing life by the balls and crushing the meek beneath their Jimmy Choos. Charmless.
Steve Carrellâs understated and quietly engaging style may give him more longevity than the likes of Jim Carrey and Jack Black so long as he doesnât go the way of Ben Stiller and start turning up in a new comedy vehicle every two months. Get Smart is a watchable Bond spoof with nods to Mel Brooksâ classic 60s series but fans of that seminal show will be disappointed. Unfortunately due to Hollywoodâs dearth of new ideas no treasured TV memory is safe from the pillaging hands of grasping studio bosses.
With every further entry in the Star Wars pantheon the evidence becomes more compelling that, far from being a visionary sci-fi genius, George Lucas just got monumentally lucky with the original trilogy. Classic set-pieces and memorable, charismatic characters have given way to appalling scripts, dull stories, dreadful acting and a reliance on CGI that rubber stamps Lucasâ creative poverty. Sadly this narrative-free animated precursor to a forthcoming TV series and the virtually limitless merchandising options it will generate will leave fans cold.
The Olympics have started. âOoh!â yell various marketing bods, âLetâs bung out a crappy button-bashing track and field game to cash in on public interestâ. And so they did, and here it is. Multiple events, waggle, bash, blah. Thereâs no love here, no passion. Some events are diverting at first in the same way that internet flash games can be but theyâre free and this costs 40 smackers. Somebody somewhere needs to take a long hard look at themselves but they wonât because they donât care, and thatâs obvious right from the opening screen.