Is Duty enough reason to live a lie?

While John, a soldier, is on leave in his hometown, he falls for a conservative college girl Savannah. They unexpectedly fall deeply in love but then John reenlists to duty due to the attacks on September 11th, 2001. Time and distance begin to take a toll on the young lovers – troubles invade and they put their love on hold. One cannot bear it anymore; can the other?

Starring Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins and Henry Thomas and directed by Lasse Hallström who also directed Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009).

See it if you liked: The Notebook (2004), The Lake House (2006), The Time Traveller’s Wife (2009)

Certificate: 12A

Genre: Drama/Romance/War

Release Date: 14 April 2010

Cemetery Junction

Be Young. Be Free. Be Somebody.

A 1970s-set comedy centered on three young guys growing up in the small town of Reading, Berkshire. One of them is dreaming big – escaping the blue-collar life. He aspires to something else – and he meets Mr Kendrick who works for a big white-collar company and he decides that’s his way out.

Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Cemetery Junction is a British coming-of-age comedy set in the glam rock era of 1970s England, showcasing some bright new Brit-talent by the names of Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes, Jack Doolan and Felicity Jones.

See it if you liked: Starter For 10 (2006), Driving Lessons (2006), Adventureland (2009)

Certificate: 15

Genre: Comedy

Release Date: 14 April 2010

Repo Men

For a price, any organ in your body can be replaced. But it can also be repossessed.

The up-coming science-fiction action thriller directed by Miguel Sapochnik starring Jude Law (Alfie) and Forest Whitaker (Vantage Point).

Set in the near future where artificial organs are bought on credit – a man who has purchased an artificial heart is struggling to make payments for it. A very slick system is in place to chase down those who do not pay in full for their artificial organs, so he must go on the run before his heart gets repossessed.

Repo-men is a heavy and gritty action flick, with the action whipping by you can scarcely catch up. Filled with plenty of nail-biting sequences, and bloody scenes with bodily parts being re-possessed, this isn’t for the faint-hearted. Enjoy excellent performances by all the cast and is that isn’t enough – they’ve thrown in a small treat: a little feast for the eyes a.k.a. an extremely well-buffed Jude Law getting his muscles out for this action hero role.

See it if you liked: Babylon A.D. (2008), Jumper (2008), Push (2009)

Certificate: 18

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi

Release Date: 16 April 2010

The Ghost Writer

When a successful British ghost writer THE GHOST agrees to complete the memoirs to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start — not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.

The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA — a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, RUTH, and his personal assistant (and mistress), AMELIA. As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA — and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost’s predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?

Resonating with topical themes, this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller is a story of deceit and betrayal on every level — sexual, political, and literary. In a world in which nothing, and no one, is as it seems, The Ghost quickly discovers that the past can be deadly — and that history is decided by whoever stays alive to write it.

Starring Ewan McGregor as the Ghost and Jon Bernthal, Kim Cattrall, Pierce Brosnan and Tim Preece.

See it if you liked: Michael Clayton (2007), State of Play (2009), Edge of Darkness (2010)

Certificate: 15

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Release Date: 16 April 2010

Set in the near future where artificial organs are bought on credit – a man who has purchased an artificial heart is struggling to make payments for it. A very slick system is in place to chase down those who do not pay in full for their artificial organs, so he must go on the run before his heart gets repossessed.

Originally called ‘Repossession Mambo’, Repo-men is a heavy and gritty action flick, with the action whipping by you can scarcely catch up. Filled with plenty of nail-biting sequences, and bloody scenes with bodily parts being re-possessed, this isn’t for the faint-hearted. Enjoy excellent performances by all the cast and is that isn’t enough – they’ve thrown in a small treat: a little feast for the eyes a.k.a. an extremely well-buffed Jude Law getting his muscles out for this action hero role.

Stay tuned for Repo-Men hitting cinemas in March 2010.

The Film Buzz Anticipation Rating: 6.5/10

UK Release Date: March 19th 2010

Director: Miguel Sapochnik

Writer: Eric Garcia, Garrett Lerner(screenplay),

Links: IMDB, Official Site

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the latest and much anticipated creation of Terry Gilliam, the man who co-wrote Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and directed The Fisher King (1991) and 12 Monkeys (1995), and this time he’s done a double whammy, both writing and directing The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

The Plot

This film is set in present day with Doctor Parnassus and his extraordinary “Imaginarium” – a travelling show and crew who offer members of the audience should there be any, a chance to live their dreams and fantasies temporarily once they step through the magical mirror behind the mysterious Doctor Parnassus who controls the and assists the imagination of each person that enters his magical world.

Although the Doctor may seemed blessed with the gift of guiding other people’s imaginations, he has a dark secret that he is ashamed of and that is having made two deals with the devil – the first being immortality. But a few centuries on, he met his one true love and the Doctor wished for mortality again so that they may grow old together. The Devil granted his wish on the one condition that when their first born child reaches their 16th birthday, he or she will become the Devil’s property.

Now the Doctor’s beautiful daughter Valentina, is fast approaching this milestone and the Doctor is distraught, and tries to think of ways he can prevent the Devil from taking her away from him. In his desperate attempts to undo his mistakes of the past, he makes yet another deal with the Devil and the winner of this deal will win Valentina…

Featuring a star-studded cast including the late Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, the lovely model Lily Cole and a cameo appearance from singer Paloma Faith.

The Thoughts

This film promises originality and fantasy unlike anything out there as we are taken into Doctor Parnassus’s bizarre, whimsical world of imagination land and I couldn’t be more excited about going to see this film on Friday. But dear dear dear, did it disappoint me. The first half an hour had me frowning in impatience and frustration, and the rest of the film had breathtaking visual moments where I was thinking “Finally!” and then that feeling subsided into disappointment once again. There are so many wonderful ideas and so many ways to make the film wonderful, alas, the plot was too piecey and hard to follow, the surrealism never quite executes in the way you needed it to, and you find yourself wondering what the characters are running around trying to do, because whatever it is, they’re not achieving it.

Apart from some scenes being visually stunning, Lily Cole’s acting being surprisingly good for a model and being able to see the late Heath Ledger in his last performance, the rest of it is I’m afraid – a shambles.

Maz thinks:

If Heath Ledger hadn’t died, would this film be as popular as it is?

The Film Buzz Review Rating: 5/10

Release Date: 16 October 2009

Director: Terry Gilliam

Writer’s: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown

Links: IMDB, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes