Birmingham Mail - Videos & Pics - Film Trailers

The Proposal (12A) ****

Birmingham Mail — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

DOMINEERING boss Sandra Bullock forces underling Ryan Reynolds to marry her so that she can remain in the US. Very silly comedy, but it will really entertain undemanding audiences. Miss Bullock, 45 on July 26, even takes her clothes off for the first time on screen.

Moon (15) **

Birmingham Mail — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

DAVID Bowies son Duncan Jones (aka Zowie Bowie) directs this ambitious, thought-provoking science-fiction piece about what company loyalty might mean if you've spent almost all of your planned three years working on the moon... and then you get injured. Sam Rockwell stars and the score is by the Midlands' own Clint Mansell (Pop Will Eat Itself). Though dramatically weak, the surface shots and views of the Earth are magnificent for a low-budget film, which was shot on the original Alien soundstage. Showing only at Vue, Star City.

Fired Up (12A)

Birmingham Mail — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

TWO boys ditch football camp in search of girls at a cheerleading camp. Not previewed and only showing at Vue Star City and Dudley Showcase.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (12A)

Birmingham Mail — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

DANIEL Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson return in the sixth JK Rowling adaptation. Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague Prof Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), whom he believes holds crucial information. Directed like The Order of the Phoenix by St Helens-born David Yates (The Tichborne Claimant / State of Play on TV), the running time is a mammoth 153 minutes. Opens on Wednesday 15, reviewed next week. Also at IMAX, Millennium Point (tel 0121 202 2222 or visit www.imax.ac).

The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee (15) ****

Birmingham Mail — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

DANIEL Day-Lewiss American wife Rebecca Miller adapts her own book to direct Robin Wright Penn as a woman with several strands to her life. Co-stars include Alan Arkin, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves and Julianne Moore. Nearest Midlands cinema is Oxford Phoenix (0870 758 3218), but at Electric Cinema Station St later this month.

Bruno (18) **

Birmingham Mail — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

SACHA Baron Cohen fails to follow up Borat with anything meaningful. Now introducing himself as a 19-year-old Austrian fashionista who goes off to the US, this X-rated film is beyond being sexually explicit. The big question remains unanswered: Why?

My Sister's Keeper (12A) *****

Birmingham Mail — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

NOT perfect by any means, but this adaptation of the Jodi Picoult novel starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin has a really interesting take on how medicine can keep people alive for too long vs. a mothers instinct to protect her children at all costs. The perfect antidote to Year One and the forthcoming Brüno, its likely to reduce you to tears, too.

Year One (12A)

Birmingham Mail — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

TWO bone-idle hunter gathers booted out of their village go on a tour of the ancient world. An unfunny comedy with Michael Cera and the increasingly lamentable Jack Black, possibly now the biggest Hollywood annoyance this side of Adam Sandler.

Public Enemies (15) ***

Birmingham Mail — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

ROAD to perdition... Christian Bale hunts bankrobber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) in Michael Manns ambitious but ultimately underpowered thriller. Many digital scenes look inappropriate for a 1930s story.

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (U) ****

Birmingham Mail — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

SID the sloth finds three dinosaur eggs and, when they hatch, he thinks theyre his babies. Chaotic, mindless fun in the second sequel. Some cinemas are showing this in 3D, including Cineworlds Broad Street and Solihull, Vue Star City and Showcase Walsall.

Telstar - The Joe Meek Story (15) **

Birmingham Mail — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

DISAPPOINTING biopic of Joe Meek, the tormented man whose bedroom gadgets helped The Tornados to become the first US chart toppers but who also turned down the Beatles. Showcases Erdington and Dudley.

Transformers: Revenge of the fallen (12A) ****

Birmingham Mail — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

SUITED and booted, the Autobots and Decepticons return with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox for a 150-minute marathon packed with juvenile jokes offset by some incredible powerhouse battles. Too long, intense and violent for under 12s. Also showing at IMAX.

Red Cliff (15) ****

Birmingham Mail — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

JOHN Woos overlong (148 mins) Chinese epic charting a series of battles from the perspective of brilliant military strategist Zhou Yu. Often spectacular, but the best touches are details like weather forecasts and battle tactics.

The Last House On The Left (18) ***

Birmingham Mail — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

VIOLENT horror remake of the 1972 Wes Craven thriller. Tense and unpalatable in equal measure.

The Hangover (15) ****

Birmingham Mail — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

RUDE, but a surprisingly inventive and character-driven find-the-groom comedy by Todd Phillips (School For Scoundrels).

Anything For Her (15) ****

Birmingham Mail — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

DIANA Kruger and Vincent Linden star in this exciting French thriller about a man trying to rescue his wife after shes jailed for murder. Cineworld Broad St.

Last Chance Harvey (12A) ****

Birmingham Mail — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

OSCAR winners Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star in a warm, sweet romantic movie about two people coming together when they thought that life had passed them by.

Terminator Salvation (12A) ***

Birmingham Mail — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

IT'S 2018 and, 14 years after Skynets artificial intelligence machines became self-aware, Star Trek's Anton Yelchin plays Kyle Reese, the man who was originally sent back in time in The Terminator to protect Sarah Connor and (father) her then unborn child John Connor (Christian Bale), now a key Resistance fighter in a post apocalyptic world. Confused? You might well be in a film which lacks the drive and humour of the first two movies.

What Would Jesus Buy? ***

Birmingham Mail — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:00:00 GMT

A non-certificated screening of a 2007 documentary produced by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) about the appalling commercial excesses of Christmas. Showing only at IKON Gallery, Brindleyplace from Saturday 23 Monday 25 May. Its star, The Reverend Billy, will be leading his Gospel Choir of Life After Shopping outside the Ikon Gallery from 5.30pm-6.30pm next Friday, May 29.

Tormented (15) **

Birmingham Mail — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:00:00 GMT

A bullied teenager commits suicide then returns to take revenge. Uneven thriller, partly shot in Birmingham, though you wouldn't know. Stars Alex Pettyfer (Stormbreaker).