The Artist

The movie revolves around an older silent film actor, played by Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin, who in the late 20's to early 30's wonders what the future holds for him as the silent cinema he is so accustomed to starts to fade away and is quickly replaced by the talking pictures.

The story takes place in Hollywood and focuses on the relationship between the dwindling artist and a rising young actress during this turbulent time.

This five-time Academy Award winner is surely a must-see.

Rating: 5 outta 5. Beautifully brilliant!

Contraband

In this action-packed thriller, Marky Mark is back (as Chris Farraday) and ready to protect his brother-in-law, Andy, from a mean drug lord (Briggs) played by Giovanni Ribisi who flips out after Andy tosses away Briggs' drug stash into the ocean after encountering the US Customs.

Being a former smuggler himself, Chris heads to Panama as the only way he can save Andy now is to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills to pay off the drug lord who will kill Andy and Chris' wife and kids if he doesn't get his money and get it now!

This one is deffo for the action buffs.

Rating 3 outta 5.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

The movie may be loosely based on the Jules Verne novel "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" but its based on it nontheless which makes it one to watch if you are an avid adventurer or someone who dreams of exploration.

From the word "go" this movie is packed with exciting twists in the tale and loads of action to keep you on the edge of your seats in awe at what's about to happen next.

The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán, and Kristin Davis.

Rating 4 outta 5.

The Big Year

This comedy has got to be the feel-good movie we have all been waiting for...starring none other than Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson who are notorious for making viewers laugh out loud.

The movie revolves around two bird enthusiasts who are out to defeat the cocky (pun intended) world record holder in a year-long bird spotting competition.

For funny scenarios and hilarious antics be sure you make your way to a movie house near you.

Rating 4 outta 5.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Sure, the spy game may look glamorous from the outside, but the reality must be dismal – just a bunch of people playing cat and mouse games. This movie, based on John Le Carre's 1974 novel, digs into the underworld of espionage during the Cold War. And what a messy place that was!

George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is brought back into the field after he was forced out of MI6 (the British Secret Intelligence Service). His mission is to find out the identity of the mole in a top position of the organisation.

Brilliantly shot in muted tones, but sometimes confusing with too many characters and too many details to keep track of, this is still a watchable thriller. The suspense is enough to give you sweaty palms and a racing pulse. 

Rating: 3 outta 5.

John Carter

Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote Tarzan, obviously had a vivid imagination. I mean, hello, a guy growing up in a jungle with an ape family? Burroughs lesser known works featuring John Carter now gets the Disney treatment and is sure to get better known. Is the movie as fantastical as the writing? I am glad to say yes.

Civil war veteran John Carter has an encounter and wakes up on Mars. There are green aliens on the planet too. Tsk tsk! Carter gets involved in a conflict. The epic fights, the Mars scenery, a princess and aliens will evoke that childlike wonder and sense of awe. And I am such a chump for classic fantasy like this.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Project X

Teenage antics and need for popularity in high school leaves me bored stiff – I would rather watch grass grow.

Thomas is celebrating his 17th birthday and he wants to throw an epic party to make him famous. Bonus: the parents are not at home! His invitation goes viral and the party becomes a mess of destruction, drinking, sex, drug usage and girls jumping into the swimming pool.

If you have kids, this will leave you scared as hell. If you are a teenager, this will leave you misguided. And if you are neither a teenager nor a parent, this will leave you immensely disgusted or totally charmed. I can only end with the infamous last word from teens: whaaateverrr!

Rating: 2 outta 5. 

Rampart

Rampart was shocking because I did not expect to enjoy it. I mean, what’s another corrupt cop movie, eh? Not so appealing in theory. But Woody Harrelson as Dave Brown is freaking explosive!

Brown is such a toxic character: he hates everyone, he beats people up, he has two wives and two daughters but you end up sympathising in some weird way. You want to know what happens to him. This cop in meltdown is a riveting spectacle to witness, one that grabs your attention and refuses to let go.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Oskar Schell is eleven years old and his loses his father in the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. 9/11 has become a sensitive topic, and rather difficult to tackle in movies.

Oskar finds an envelope in his father’s closet, with the word ‘Black’ written on it and a key inside. What could this lead to? He decides it has to be a name, since it is written with a capital letter. Oskar finds every Black in the New York phonebook to see if he can uncover the mystery. 

While it is a seemingly charming premise, against a backdrop of a tragedy, I was left annoyed and frustrated. What is a mystery though is how this was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards!

Rating: 2 outta 5.

The Devil Inside

I remember the good ol’ days when horror movies left so you so scared, you were afraid to go to the bathroom alone at night. How things have changed... The Devil Inside seems to merge The Exorcist with Paranormal Activity – found footage is coupled with an exorcism. It is nothing new, certainly not fresh and more of a comedy than a horror.

Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley) kills three people in an exorcism and is sent to a mental institution in Rome. Years later, her now grown up daughter seeks a reunion and a final exorcism to free her mother.

Do not bother to waste your well earned money on a movie ticket for this. And if you do, you will want a full refund, trust.

Rating: 1 outta 5.

The Sitter

Urg, I am so sick and tired of these slap stick American comedies. The brilliant Jonah Hill takes on a role as a loser baby sitter to three horrendous children. (If you have never wanted children before, this will affirm your beliefs a thousand times over.)

The one night of babysitting ends up involving cocaine, car theft, party crashing and loads of trouble all over their little town. Really, now… Movie audiences need to band together and boycott crap like this, for the love of good films!

Rating: 0 outta 5.

War Horse

Schmaltzy without being cheesy – is this possible? Movie maker Steven Spielberg gets it right, so I reckon it is. Take his latest flick, War Horse – it is a perfect example.

Millions of horses from England were used during World War I, yet only around sixty thousand returned. This movie tells the story of Joey, one of those horses and the teenager, Albert, whom he belongs to. When war breaks out, his drunken father sells the beloved horse. Albert then enlists in the army.

This movie will thaw out any cold, cold heart. The closing scene is achingly beautiful and one that will imprint itself on your memory.

Rating: 3 outta 5.  

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Believe you me, I am all for super hero movies. But this adaptation of Marvel’s Johnny Blaze is such a dreadful disaster.  All I can say to movies like this is: no, no and no! But hey, if you’re feeling risque, hazard a watch - at your peril.

Rating: 1 outta 5.

This Means War

In this mash-up of action and rom-com, I am left confused and not very impressed. All you need to know is that two CIA agents played by Tom Hardy and Chris Pine have fallen for the same woman (Reese Witherspoon) and they use their spy skills to sabotage the other. The only good point is how attractive each lead is. Other than that, this is a snore-fest. Why are movies of this calibre made?

Rating: 1 outta 5.

Material

Wow, this is the second local flick in theatres this week. I cannot say much about the cringe worthy slap-stick humour in most South African comedies, and expected little from this one. Can I admit I was actually glad to be wrong this time around?

Material is a movie that will make you laugh, genuinely laugh, tear up and root for the lead character, Cassim Kaif (Riaad Moosa). Kaif struggles against family expectations (he is set to take over the family business in Fordsburg) but he discovers his passion in stand-up comedy. It is so rewarding to be able to invest emotionally in believable characters.

The term ‘proudly South African’ has become a cliché, but hey, sometimes platitudes work best because this left me soaring with pride, I tell ya!

Rating 4 outta 5.

My Week with Marilyn

Marilyn Monroe – her name is synonymous with sex symbol. So much so, that people will obviously watch this movie with preconceived notions of the starlet. Michelle Williams dives into this difficult role, and boy, does she deliver! I think she might walk away with the Best Actress Oscar. Everyone gets to see ordinary fragile girl who, like all of us, is looking for happiness.

That said, William’s performance is the movie’s only saving grace. Even though it is based on true events - a week that Monroe spent with a young man called Colin Clark who worked on the set of “The Prince and the Showgirl”, it is an anorexic representation.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Chronicle

What would you do if you had the power of telekinesis (the ability to move things with your mind)? Four high school friends gain this ability and boys being boys, wreak mischief - like scaring a child in a toy shop by making a teddy bear move towards her. Almost harmless, right? But one of them starts to use it with sinister intentions.

Captured in a home footage style (think Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity) this movie makes you forget you are watching a movie and feels more like real life. And being more real, it seems even more terrifying. Eek!

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Semi-soet

In the month focusing on romance (hello, Valentine’s Day cannot be a distant memory already) we have a local rom-com. It’s light, fluffy, moving, lots of sugar and spice too.

It is also predictable, but that by no means makes it a no-go. Girl hires a model to pretend to be her fiancé for a business deal that needs to be signed, unbeknownst to her that the model is also her professional nemesis. Somehow, they manage to find their happily ever after.  

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Hugo

The name Martin Scorsese is associated with movies about crime. But here he takes a pleasant detour with a family adventure that is so magical and wondrous, you may want to see it more than once, no matter your age!

Hugo is an orphaned boy, living in a train station in Paris during the 1930s. His late father left behind an automaton (an automated man he found in a museum). Hugo steals to stay afloat, which brings him into conflict with the station’s toy shop owner, Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley). Somehow, Hugo must get the automaton running to discover his father’s secret message.

3D is utilised here to enhance the story, rather than it being used as a tool to make more money out of a movie. I hope this flick walks away with a few Oscars because, by George, it is deserved!

Rating: 5 outta 5.

The Iron Lady

Ohmygoodness, Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher is utterly mesmerising. Then again, can we expect anything less from the Streep?

As the UK’s first female Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher left the country deeply divided and quite frankly, you ended up either hating her or loving her. While Streep’s performance is beyond excellent, this biopic missed a great opportunity to form an opinion on a character that demands it.

Rating: 3outta 5.