Running time: 104mins

Rating: M

Release date: 26 December 2011

Tower Heist is proof that you don't have to have a big name cast to make a good crime comedy, though it makes use of some seasoned and talented performers.

Ben Stiller is Josh Kovacs, a hard-nosed and efficient manager of The Tower, a ritzy apartment building in downtown New York. He pays special attention to all the tenants, including Arthur Shaw played by Alan Alda, who looks every bit the part of the shrewd financier. One day, Shaw is arrested by the FBI under suspicion of fraud. At the beginning Kovacs is sure that Shaw is innocent, however he starts to have his doubts when it is apparent that the employees pensions that Shaw was managing, have gone.

Kovacs loses his temper, and his job. FBI agent Claire Denham, played convincingly by Téa Leoni, lets it slip to Kovacs that Shaw may be hiding around $20 million that he might use in an emergency. What ensues is an hilarious attempt at finding the stash of cash in Shaw's apartment. Kovacs enlists the help of con-man and thief Slide played by Eddie Murphy, who is perfect for the part, Wall Street whiz gone bust Mr Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), and Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe of the film "Precious"). Odessa is a maid from The Tower who has "special skills". Together they attempt to dodge The Tower's security, and the FBI, to get to Shaw's money, and out of the building through the use of some clever diversions but not without the inevitable hiccups along the way.

A couple of questionable plot points take a little shine off of the Tower Heist, however overall it is a fun, entertaining ride.

4 out of 5 stars

Review by Dave Nottage

Running time: 118mins

Rating: M

Release date: 8 December 2011

New Years Eve follows the same "special occasion" rom-com recipe as Valentine's Day (2010), which funnily enough were both directed by Garry Marshall, and written by Katherine Fugate (The Prince And Me). The story intertwines a number of tales that occur over the course of one day, each having their unique situations. However the lacklustre script transforms them into being a little mundane.

Laura (Katherine Heigl) is a chef catering for a record label party where Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi), her ex-boyfriend, is performing and also trying to woo her back. In another story, Claire (Hilary Swank) is in charge of the Times Square party, making sure that the ball drops exactly on time. The record company is also where downtrodden PA Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) has snapped and quit her job. Ingrid then enlists bike courier, Paul (Zac Efron) to help her complete her seemingly impossible list of New Years resolutions. Meanwhile, Jensen’s back up singer Elise (Lea Michele, from Glee) is stuck in a lift with NYE-hating, but laid back Randy (Ashton Kutcher).

Elsewhere, two pregnant couples (including Jessica Biel and Sarah Paulson) battle to be the first to give birth in the new year and win $25,000 in some kind of bizarre hospital baby bonus lottery. Teenage girl Hailey (Abigail Breslin) plays cat-and-mouse with her mum Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker) for the right to go to Times Square. Stan (Robert DeNiro), who refuses medical treatment, is dying in hospital with only a nurse, Aimee (Halle Berry) for company, and Sam (Josh Duhamel) is attempting to travel back to the city to meet up with a woman he let slip away last New Year’s Eve. There's also a number of minor cameos which don't exactly fit into the story, more to boost the already mammoth list of stars.

Whilst the dialogue is corny and a little slow, it does occasionally hits the comedic mark. The coupling of characters for the romantic climax makes for some surprises as well.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Review by Dave Nottage

Rating: PG

Running Time: 94 minutes

Release Date: now showing

This romantic comedy by Woody Allen is set in his favourite city (other than New York that is) Paris. Engaged couple Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) are on vacation, however instead of being swept up by the city of love they spend time apart. While Inez dances the night away with her pretentious friends, Gil embarks on a moonlit walk trying to find inspiration for his first novel after his Hollywood screenwriting career. At the midnight hour he takes a vintage taxi and finds himself back in the time of the 1920’s and starts socialising with the great literary writers and artists of that time.

Gil (a manifestation of Woody Allen himself of course) embarks on a love affair with Paris like his fellow writers Ernest Hemmingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Artists Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody) and Pablo Picasso (Marial Di Fonzo Bo) are also there to name a few. Gil becomes enamoured with Picasso’s lover Adrianna (Marion Cottilard). However Adrianna, like Gil craves of another time of the Belle Epoque in the 1890’s.

It’s a delightful film playing on Allen’s usual themes of infidelity, neurosis, and desire. However unlike some of his earlier films it seems to immerse itself into the culture and pays more attention to food, music and scenery. Unfortunately the artistic “giants” were portrayed in a cartoonish way at times making it feel too lightweight. Wilson (Wedding Crashers) was a strange casting choice but he managed to get through it with a reasonable amount of credibility. There wasn’t much complexity to McAdams' (The Notebook) character so her performance wasn’t a stretch. Cottilard (Contagion) was probably the most intriguing and convincing of this “threesome”.

If you like Woody Allen you will probably find it in enjoyable even if it’s just making the comparisons with his previous works.

3 / 5 stars

Rating: MA 15+

Running time: 106 minutes

Release Date: now showing, general release

As the title suggests this is another pandemic drama capitalising on the recent hysteria associated with the H1N1 virus outbreak. This thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven) follows the reactions and perspective of all the affected stakeholders with a surprisingly global outlook! How un-American, though admittedly most of the action still takes place in the USA. There is the “man” on the street Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) who though immune is caught up in the ensuing mayhem whilst trying to protect his only daughter. Then cut to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, where main administrator, Dr Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) sends in operative, Dr Erin Mears (Kate Winslett) to 'contain' the epicentre of the outbreak. Meanwhile on the other side of the globe Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) of the World Health Organization, flies to China in hope of discovering the origin of the virus. In the background of all of this are the money hungry pharmaceutical companies hoping research scientists such as Dr Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) can develop an antidote in time so they can exploit the suffering. In the new social media driven world "viral-leak" blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) creates notoriety with his criticisim of the establishment's handling of this crisis. This is 2011 "Outbreak".

This solid script by Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum) explores many themes through various sub plots and it touches on the moral dilemma of how far would you go in order to save yourself or a loved one at the expense of someone else. There is a touch of realism as it stays true to scientific facts but manages to be entertaining as well. Some of the sub plots could have been better developed and a few characters were wasted. Damon, Fishburne and Winslett all put in solid performances with no particular shining light in this all star cast.

3.5 / 5 stars

Running Time: 89 minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: 3 November 2011

The title really explains it all. Sarah Jessica Parker plays “ahem” young mother Kate (who are we kidding) juggling motherhood with her career as a successful financial banker. Her less driven but nonetheless, demanding husband, Richard Reddy (Greg Kinnear) isn’t sympathetic. So what’s new? Same old inequality story which the film’s backers thought would somehow gain a greater audience with ex- SATC quasi feminist Carrie Bradshaw! Hmmm think again. Note to director Douglas McGrath those SATC wannabes want escapism and glam not drudgery. If you’re hoping for another version of the Big and Carrie story replete with kids then think again. The fashionistas will cringe in horror at Parker’s unkempt hair and lack of Jimmy Choos or Manolos.

Unfortunately the lack of fashion sense does not equate to it being a serious film, instead it is silly and trite even though there are several scenes which most women can relate to. Parker is simply irritating and unbelievable as the bumbling executive. Greg Kinnear looks like he has diarrhoea most of the time which isn’t help by the limp wristed script. The best performance would have to go to Pierce Brosnan as Jack Abelhammer the dashing head honcho who surprisingly falls for Parker’s annoying charms. The screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna, based on a novel by Allison Pearson, is also plagued with an enormous guilt factor which pits females against females as well. First it’s too posh to push, breast not bottle and now stay at home (Busy Phillips as caricature Wendy Best) versus working mums. By the end these double standards and stereotypes just gets reinforced so don’t bother trying to be a supermom it just makes you super hated.

2/5 stars

Rating: MA 15+

Release date: 17 November 2011

Bondi Chef, Tom (Matthew Goode) in his reckless pursuit of women and hedonistic pleasures leaves his eight year old son, Oscar (Jack Heanly) to assume the “fathering” role. His appalling behaviour is somehow tolerated by those around him the reasons of which aren’t revealed until later. Burning Man is a clever but somewhat alienating film. The audience needs to hang in through the first confusing 40 minutes. It starts with Tom’s car accident and then as his life flashes before him, it is presented to us in this disjointed, out of sequence fashion. We are left experiencing the same disorientation as Tom who is trying to make sense of his world and the events that have shaped it. So as he pieces them together he starts becoming whole again with the help of friends, family and strangers.

Matthew Goode (A Single Man) is able to pull off his characters unpleasantness however the sympathetic balance is missing. Writer/director John Teplitzky’s (Better than Sex) quasi autobiographical piece is written mainly from the point of view of the badly behaving Tom. This however is partly to the film’s detriment as it is a bit too self-absorbed and the objectification of women may be problematic for some viewers. It is offset with a few moments of humour which helps give it some light and shade. At the heart of this is an incredible love story which you can’t help but be moved by. The screen just sizzles between Tom and his wife Sarah (Bojana Novakovic) and her character breathes life into the story. Novakovic is stunning to watch and she delivers the very essence and spirit of her part. The quality Australian supporting cast includes Esse Davis, Rachel Griffiths and Kerry Fox who all shine in their limited roles.

3.5/5 stars

Running time: 100 minutes

Rating: MA 15+

Release date: currently showing on general release

What hasn’t Ryan Gosling been in this year? He has to be the flavour of the moment, and current talk has him as the actor of this generation, from Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, Crazy Stupid Love and the soon to be released Ides of March. Besides his smouldering looks and on screen presence he can actually act! Here he plays loner Hollywood stuntman, moonlighting as a car heist driver, who befriends his new neighbour Irene, (Carey Mulligan) and her young son Benicio (Kaden Leos). Make no mistake this is not your typical Hollywood action car chase film, though based in LA, and Gosling is not your archetypical hero.

This is an atmospheric film by Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising) with screenplay by Hossein Amini based on the book by James Sallis. It has little dialogue and really relies on the acting ability, particularly of Gosling, to convey the story and “fuel driven” emotion. Gosling more than delivers with his intensity, piercing gaze, self-possessed and calculating demeanour, so little words are required. There are moments of stillness which are punctuated by acts of extreme violence but all within context of the film. Each scene is well crafted and this is supported by the amazing cinematography and great musical score which adds to the heightened tension. The car chases are sublimeMulligan (An Education)also puts in an understated but stellar performance along with the supporting cast of Albert Brooks (Taxi Driver) and Ron Perlman(Conan the Barbarian).

4 / 5 stars

Rating: M

Release date: still showing in selected cinemas

Running time: 106mins

Abduction? Where? This is a "searching for my true identity" movie. Sorry if this is a spoiler, but there is no abduction. On the plus side, from about the 20 minute mark there's something happening in almost every minute of the movie. The fighting and stunt scenes are also well executed and believable. However, the dialog is full of corn, and the plot is full of holes, not to mention the inappropriate title.

Abduction boasts an all star line-up, including Sigourney Weaver (Avatar, Aliens), Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code, Chocolat), Maria Bello (A History Of Violence, Payback), Michael Nyqvist (The Girl Who.. series of movies from Norway), and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter movies), however these stars seem underused, with the prominent Weaver appearing in about 3 scenes. One couldn't help feeling for her (and the others) having to deliver some very cheesy lines, and some of the audience at this showing were audibly laughing at it.

One could also be forgiven for thinking that this is purely a Taylor Lautner vehicle, perhaps intended to break him free of some Twilight shackles. Perhaps he is also trying to enter the action movie genre. Die-hard Lautner fans might receive some value as he receives most of the screen time, and has his shirt off a couple of times during the movie.

Director John Singleton seems to be still riding the success of the exceptional Boyz N The Hood (1991), which he also wrote. Perhaps he should have filled Shawn Christensen's shoes on this film, too.

2 out of 5 stars
Review by Dave Nottage

Rating: G

Running time: 90 minutes

http://www.palacenova.com

Release date: 22 September 2011

Documentary by Werner Herzog (writer, director, producer) on the oldest paintings in the world located in the French Chauvet caves. Herzog has been granted exclusive access to these caves which have been locked down for their protection. Filmed in 3D, these cave paintings date back over 30,000 years ago and contain remnants of prehistoric creatures such as the mammoth. It has all the ingredients for an interesting documentary but manages to fall short. One of the biggest problems is the use of 3D, it is overkill and actually detracts from the visual experience. Other than the stunning opening shot over the mountains and vineyards in southern France it is littered with shaky hand held point of view camera work. The limited space, time and delicate ecosystem within the cave affected the kind of cinematography that could be employed. It would have been better in a 2D format.

The other problem was in the storytelling. There didn’t appear to be any logical sequence to how the different elements of the cave were presented. Then Herzog throws a curveball in his post script to describe a nearby biosphere on the Rhone containing albino alligators which he uses to punctuate the potential man made impact on the cave system. The narrative is bizarre and makes no contextual sense. It is like Herzog just wanted to include the unsettlingly looking albino alligators and try and draw some obtuse meaning, even mentioning German romanticism! He did however manage to bring the paintings to life and convey a sense of motion to the stamping herds depicted but it was overly protracted and could have been easily condensed into a tidy 30 minute special.

2/5 stars. Hint take your motion sickness pills

Rating: MA 15+

Running Time: 114 minutes

Release Date: November 10th

http:www.palacenova.com

The Debt, a remake of a 2007 Israeli movie of the same name, is a suspenseful espionage thriller about a team of Israeli Mossad agents as they attempt to track down "The Surgeon of Birkenau".

Director John Madden, best known for his Oscar winning movie Shakespeare in Love, crafts an intriguing film that although predictable at times keeps you engaged.

Oscar winner Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson (In The Bedroom), provide riveting performances. Jessica Chastain (Jolene), Martin Csokas (Romulus, My Father), and Sam Worthington (Avatar) give captivating performances during the movie's most brooding scenes.

A stand out role is Dr Bernhardt (aka Dieter Vogel) played disturbingly well by Jesper Christensen. Most may remember him as Mr White from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

The Debt's strength is that it is character and story driven and not dependant on action or special effects to maintain its viewers. The pacing is steady and there's a lot of intensity as the agents attempt to accomplish their mission. The subject matter of the film is a dark one, and that's reflected in the film. An area where other films have been let down, the transitions from present to past and vice versa are outstanding. Unfortunately, there's a piece of mis-casting in terms of looks between older and younger versions of the same character. Martin Csokas as the younger Stephan looks much more like Ciarán Hinds as the older David. This was very distracting and took some of the edge off.

Overall, the film is a very engaging, edge-of-your-seat thriller.

3.5 stars out of 5

by Dave Nottage