Johnny be bad

PUBLIC ENEMIES (15)

3/5

Perfectionist director Michael Mann doffs his fedora to Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in this beautifully-crafted biopic.

Based on Bryan Burrough's book, Public Enemies surveys a volatile period in America's history when a group of hoodlums ran rings around the fledgling Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his associate 'Red' Hamilton (Jason Clarke) spring a number of their cohorts from Indiana State Penitentiary, including Harry Pierpoint (David Wenham) and Homer Van Meter (Stephen Dorff).

They head for Chicago and rob banks, forcing Hoover (Billy Crudup) to enlist the services of tenacious agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to hunt down Dillinger.

The gang continues to hit the headlines, especially when the sociopath Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) joins its ranks, but Dillinger makes the fatal mistake of falling in love with Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard).

Public Enemies masterfully evokes the era with impeccable production design and costumes.

Depp brings a roguish charm to his pivotal role, kindling smouldering screen chemistry with the luminous Cotillard.

LAST CHANCE HARVEY (12)

3/5

Love blossoms when two lonely people least expect it in writer-director Joel Hopkins's gently paced and incredibly charming romance, set in bustling, modern-day London.

Admittedly, you may need a very sweet tooth to swallow some of the saccharine sentiment, and the central narrative thread doesn't have a single unexpected knot before the feel-good conclusion.

However, the sensational pairing of Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson adds polish to very familiar material.

Having lost his job, middle-aged jingle writer Harvey (Hoffman) flies into the capital to reconnect with his estranged daughter Susan (Liane Balaban) in time for her wedding.

At the airport, Harvey briefly encounters survey-taker Kate (Thompson) and rudely dodges her questioning.

When he sees Kate sitting alone in the airport bar, reading a trashy novel over a glass of Chardonnay, Harvey apologises and strikes up a conversation, which sparks a friendship that blossoms into more.

YEAR ONE (15)

1/5

PELT-CLAD primitives Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera) are incompetent and lazy and don't pull their weight like the other men in their village.

The friends are banished from the tribe and embark on an epic quest through an ancient world of danger.

En-route, the misfits encounter a series of colourful characters before arrive in Sodom, where the flamboyant high priest (Oliver Platt) threatens to sacrifice the buddies' sweethearts Maya and Eema to the Gods.

The dippy duo orchestrate a daring rescue mission, but first they must outwit Sargon (Vinnie Jones), the bullish captain of the guards.

Year One is a ramshackle road movie through the Paleolithic era that squanders the talents of the two leads.

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE (15)

3/5

Writer-director Rebecca Miller adapts her own book, which chronicles the journey of self-discovery of 40-something Pippa (Robin Wright Penn).

Pippa moves to a quiet retirement community with her much older publisher husband Herb (Alan Arkin), who has suffered three heart attacks.

At first, Pippa seems untroubled by the move, but emotional turmoil bubbles beneath the surface.

She discovers she is sleepwalking, and in a series of flashbacks, she remembers her formative years, raging against her drug-addict mother. She is also dangerously drawn to handsome drifter Chris (Keanu Reeves).

SANTA BUDDIES (U)

3/5

When the magical icicle starts to melt, mankind begins to forget the true spirit of Christmas, threatening the very future of the festive season.

So plucky Golden Retriever canines B-Dawg, Budderball, Buddha, Mudbud and Rosebud embark on an epic quest to the North Pole in search of Santa Claus (George Wendt).

En-route, the straight-to-DVD family feature promotes Yuletide as a season of giving rather than receiving, sprinkled with plentiful good cheer.

The Other Man (15)

3/5

Peter (Liam Neeson) is convinced that his wife Lisa (Laura Linney) is enjoying an extra-marital affair, although he does not have any clue who the other man might be.

When she disappears without trace, Peter sets out to track her down, following a trail of clues that leads to the streets of Milan, where he comes face to face with his wife's lover, Ralph (Antonio Banderas).

Coolly and calmly, Peter sets about exacting his revenge, but there is so much more about Lisa that the cuckolded husband doesn't yet know.

LOVE HURTS (15)

3/5

Ben Bingham (Richard E Grant) is stuck in a rut, and his inability to find direction in his life is the final nail in the coffin of his marriage to the beautiful and vivacious Amanda (Carrie-Anne Moss).

She leaves him for another man, and Ben sinks into a mire of depression.

His 17-year-old son Justin (Johnny Pacar) takes charge, giving the old man a makeover and thrusting him back onto the dating scene, where he suddenly becomes the most eligible bachelor in town. Then Justin falls in love for the first time, and Ben is compelled to take on the role of mentor while plotting to woo back his wife from the other man.

The Top 10 DVDs

1 X-Men Origins – Wolverine

2 Angels And Demons

3 Year One

4 State Of Play

5 12 Rounds

6 The Uninvited

7 The Damned United

8 Last House On The Left

9 Fast And Furious

10 Coraline