Footloose (2011)

It's a remake but I'll recap the premise anyway. A teen rebel transplanted to a conservative town organises its youths to overturn or at least flout its ridiculous ban on dancing.

On top of being a pointless point-for-point remake, the attempts to set the story in the present day make it feel more ridiculous than the original.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 26 October 2011.

Red Dog (2011)

It's a series of shaggy dog stories starring the same dog, different owners.

It's a rambunctious biopic of a wild dingo who became a beloved mascot of a mining town's inhabitants.

It's also a rambunctious, roundabout celebration of Australia's pioneering spirit.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 19 October 2011.

The Help (2011)

A privileged white woman with a college degree returns home, plans to write a book about the lives of her town's black housemaids.
It's a feel-good Oscar bait film about the civil rights era which manages to sugarcoat the worst injustices and violence in that period.

You may have objections to the lazy writing, which resurrects an army of stereotypes like sassy African-American nannies who spout homespun truths...

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 19 October 2011.

Killer Elite (2011)

Jason Statham's casting agent seems to be getting him retro-style action film scripts.

Here, Statham plays an assassin for hire alongside "mentor" Robert De Niro and "cop" Clive Owen.

Watch this film for how its crazy anachronisms: story set in the 80s, the budget and explosion overkill from 90s action films, and visual aesthetic of 70s noir.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 19 October 2011.

One Day (2011)

The wildly improbable premise has two drunken strangers waking up in bed post-tryst, deciding to be platonic pals, and graduating to best friends over the years - during which they meet up once a year on the same day.

Adapted from a chick lit book with literary pretensions, the movie is actually more fun to watch, the conceit less unnatural and belaboured.

I suppose it's to do with the really great chemistry between Hathaway and Sturgess.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 19 October 2011.

Woman Knight of Mirror Lake (竞雄女侠秋瑾) (2011)

Qiu Jin, who in real life was a writer, martial arts expert, radical cross-dressing feminist, nationalist, Japanophile, and anti-Manchu revolutionary, gets mythologised here

Veering wildly between biopic, wuxia genre flick, and largely whitewashed propaganda pic, it'll have you guessing what's faithful, exaggerated, and plain made up.

We'd pretty much prefer a similar film treatment for the life and times of Yukio Mishima.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 19 October 2011.

Life Without Principle (夺命金) (2011)

Big Statements are made in this rare Asian portmanteau film - about the greed for money and the chronic lack of it in modern Hong Kong society
I call this film "Don't!" since it involves a yuppie couple buying a flat they can't afford, a banker who sells investment products to ordinary people, and a punter who bets on the market on the eve of the Eurozone crisis.

 I also call this film "Don't!" since it's very tedious, shrill, and angsty.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 19 October 2011.

Shark Night 3D (2011)

Not content with ripping off Jaws, Shark Night also features possibly inbred locals who apparently get their kicks from watching sharks eat visiting college kids alive.

The 3D in the title is to hint at the promise of bouncy female bodily parts in gorgeous stereoscopic vision.

On all counts, Shark Night 3D is a failure. There's no gore, very little scares, and very little skin. You don't even see the sharks chomp on humans. Watch this only if you like animal modelling.

Read my full review on Fridae, first published on 5 October 2011.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011)

Forcing MacDonald's to adopt healthier menus and advertising is a tough opening act to follow.

This time round, Morgan Spurlock learns about about product placement by setting out making a film that is 100% funded by product placements - and this is the same film that you are watching.

Cheeky, meta humour, and a willingness to poke fun at himself makes Spurlocks investigation of product placement in film and TV far less hectoring and highhanded than one might expect.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 5 October 2011.

Wake Wood (2011)

It's ALIVE! Hammer Film has been brought back from the dead and Wake Wood is its first horror feature.

A couple get over their trauma of losing their daughter by moving to a twee village where coincidentally, the elders possess the secret to bringing back the dead.

Let's just say that all hell breaks loose. It's creepy and atmospheric and very old school horror.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 5 October 2011.