Film reviews galore!

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The Host (2006) Directed by Joon-ho Bong
This Korean monster movie has one of the best opening twenty minutes I've seen in anything scary for a long while. It almost renders the rest of the movie a little slow in comparison. One sunny day along the Han River in South Korea, a whole load of people are attacked and eaten by what resembles a massive sea slug with teeth and legs, including a main character's daughter, Hyun-seo. Turns out Hyun-seo is not dead and has merely been 'monster-napped', and her father and his family set out to save her and kill the beast which lurks underneath the river. The special effects are pretty cool, and word of a sequel has fans salivating as this film already has a cult following. The story and script contain some dark satire - some of which is hilarious - mainly relating to the politics and state of the country. Some of the monster scenes are scary and exciting, and the finale brings the film back to its fabulous start and features a race against time to prevent the monster attacking a large group of people again. All in all, you'll either love it or think it's pretty dumb. But monster lovers will adore it. ***1/2

Hot Fuzz (2006) Directed by Edgar Wright
This brilliantly conceived (and at times both spectacular and hilarious) action-comedy begins with London cop Simon Pegg being transferred to the small town of Sandford, where seemingly the most action a cop can get is chasing a runaway duck all over the village. However, all is not quite as it seems in Sandford, and a series of grisly murders forces Pegg and his generally disinterested entourage of colleagues to find the killer before the entire town is painted red. Pegg and the rest of the cast are fantastic, and the action in the film's second half is fast, funny and outrageous. Some of the film's more subtle humour hits all the right marks, and director Wright ensures that while we're not laughing, we're on the edge of our seats. ****1/2

Happy Endings (2005) Directed by Don Roos
This engaging comedy-drama wins mainly because of its intelligent (and very talented) cast members (including Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold and Laura Dern), and a script that twists and turns much like director Roos' other film with similar themes, "The Opposite of Sex". The characters generally have different issues and stories to tell, involving homosexuality, pregnancy, jealousy and guilt, but all are brought together in one of those familiar six (or only one or two in this case) degrees of seperation endings, but Roos, who also wrote the script, at least treats us like an intelligent audience. All in all, a movie where characters who you may like or dislike are representations of regularly everyday people in the real world - a good thing in my books. Maybe not for everyone, though. ***1/2

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) Directed by Tim Burton
I'm a big fan of Tim Burton. Not everything he does is great, but generally most of his movies are quirky and entertaining enough to maintain at least some interest. Thankfully, the regular Burton touch is prevelant in this excellent musical-fantasy, and there are plenty of laughs and moments of fantasy (and possibly terror for littlies) to be found. Composer Danny Elfman once again provides a wonderful score, this time with at least five very catchy songs which help tell the story of a young bachelor (voiced by Johnny Depp) who finds the girl of his dreams, practices his vows near a young dead girl (voiced by Helena Bronham Carter)'s coffin, and is whisked away into her world of the dead with her thinking he's proposed marriage to her! If you liked "The Nightmare Before Christmas", you are sure to love "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride". ****

The Chumscrubber (2005) Directed by Arie Posin
This is a hugely entertaining and very intelligent American satire in the same vein as "American Beauty" and particularly "Donnie Darko". Not quite as difficult to follow as the latter, this film follows the life of young Dean (Jamie Bell from "Billy Elliot"), whose drug dealer best mate has just committed suicide. What drugs are remaining after the suicide are sought by other students at Dean's school, and they plan to kidnap Dean's brother so he tells them where they are stashed. Unfortunately, they take the wrong kid, throwing the world of Dean and his family into chaos, not to mention a whole onslaught of other people who are involved in one way or another. The multi-generation cast are all excellent, with standouts being Bell, Glenn Close and Allison Janney. James Horner's score is also worth mentioning. Not for all tastes, but more open-minded audiences should love it. *****