---new moon---
The trouble with great expectations is that too often, it results in great disappointment. And the stakes are certainly sky-high for the second installment of Stephenie Meyer's runaway sensation, the Twilight saga. Before you Twi-hards stone me to death, I'm on your side. For Jacob Black's pecs are not the only new and improved offering (a very generous one, at that) in New Moon. Judging by the hushed reverence of the rapt audience, it seems New Moon has indeed justified its ridiculous opening numbers at the box office. Kristen Stewart reprises her role as Bella Swan, the intense, angsty object of brooding vampire hunk, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)'s affections. In the disastrous aftermath of Bella's 18th birthday party, the Cullen family departs from Forks, leaving Bella perplexed and heartbroken. She plunges into a depression, becoming something of a walking dead herself, numbly going through the motions of school and life. With the support and encouragement of childhood friend, Jacob Black (a very buffed, faint-inducing Taylor Lautner), Bella soon finds solace and a growing attraction (come on, you knew it was coming) to Jacob, amidst the absence of her one true love. But it seems Bella's predilection for sexy beasts doesn't end at vampires. Turns out Jacob's got a supernatural secret of his own as well. It slowly dawns on Bella that danger lurks at every corner, and with that, the realization of Edward's true reason for leaving her. When she finally has a run-in with the Volturi, an ancient coven of powerful vampire keepers, it becomes frighteningly clear that Bella will never truly be safe...Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Swooning, rabid Edward Cullen fans will be a disgruntled bunch because the Twilight lead has been reduced to something of a supporting role here. But I'm not complaining. What little of Pattinson's screentime has only served to reinforce my impression of him as a strained, uni-expression pretty boy. Sadly, being hot alone won't save you from the critics. The good news, enter Taylor Lautner. In addition to his dedication to the role (beefing up his frame to gorgeous effect), this young talent displays a sizzling chemistry with Stewart, making their tentative, intense dance of a budding but impossible romance that much more heartwrenching. Team Jacob wins this round! Stewart has become more comfortable as Bella, putting up a nicely convincing portrayal of her inner turmoil at being torn between Edward and Jacob. Dakota Fanning as Jane, Guard of the Volturi, is impeccably creepy and sadistic. Likewise, Michael Sheen as Aro, leader of the Volturi, is positively pulsating with menace. It's a waste that the two characters who show the most bite (ha ha) in New Moon appear so late in the film. Director Chris Weitz has also injected New Moon with faster pacing and stronger action sequences. Watch for some really stunning CGI in the werewolf transformation scenes, as compared to the paltry effects of its predecessor. The film is also a more vivid, visual treat in terms of general scenery and lighting. New Moon takes itself a lot less seriously, hence a more generous sprinkling of chuckles abound. Funnier, darker, and sexier - if this is the way the Twilight saga is headed, count me in for the ride to the finish.

---imagine that---
Eddie Murphy makes a great donkey. A cartoon one that is. Who can forget his annoying yet endearing voiceover of well, "Donkey", in the Shrek series? In Imagine That however, Eddie for all the noticeable commitment to his role, merely comes across as a funnyman past his prime.Single dad and successful investment manager Evan Danielson (Eddie Murphy) is a workaholic whose self-concept is bolstered by the amount of money he rakes in for clients. Evan's career hits a downward spiral when new investment manager on the block Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church) proves to be more able than him at bringing in the greenbacks. Through a freak incident, Evan discovers that his daughter's imaginary friends can make predictions which can help turn his career back on track. Realising how this could benefit him, he then begins to spend more time with her. Unfortunately, the little tyke uncovers his true motives and Evan has to win back her affection.Working adults who have to juggle career and family will no doubt find that this movie strikes a chord deep within. Imagine That serves as a timely reminder that home is where the heart is, or at least where it should be. For all the theatrics within, the film's simple moral message to working parents is: "Spend more time with your kids. They need you, and you sure as hell need them too."In spite of this noble premise, Imagine That is a bore, bringing on the yawns about a quarter of a way into the show. I am still rather surprised (and indignant) that director Karey Kirkpatrick, who wrote the screenplay for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would rehash an essentially 'old wine in new skin' story in such bland fashion. Then again, he did do Chicken Run. Nevertheless, the supporting cast of Imagine That make the film grudgingly bearable to sit through. Thomas Haden Church puts up a swell show as an investment manager who snares clients through unorthodox tactics. From ridiculous ramblings on nature to feel-good music which is sublime on the senses, the man does it and does it well. I suspect Kirkpatrick could be using this character as a subtle dig against idiots in the business community (like those crooked hacks responsible for the Lehman mini-bonds). While Thomas brings on the laughs, Yara Shahidi, who plays Evan's daughter, tugs at our heartstrings. The little lass is as sweet as a doe, and the audience feels for her and wants her to have a happy ending. It's in the eyes, and hers can tell a story all on their own.I am honestly confused as to who Imagine That is meant for. Most adults in their right mind wouldn't go to a theater to watch a run-of-the-mill film like this. And kids wouldn't understand the financial jargon which features so often in the show, or why Eddie Murphy's doing what seems to resemble a turtle mating dance. If you're thinking of catching the movie, head down to the video store and rent Frank Capra's It's Wonderful Life instead. Now that's a film with much more nobility and substance. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

---pandorum---
When the first thinking men (okay, and women) walked the earth some two million years ago, they gathered themselves into tribes, formed alliances, and learnt some social skills along the way for the purpose of self-preservation. And they fought. Yes, they fought a hell of a lot, probably because then there was nothing else more exciting to do than clubbing an animal or some other guy except eat and procreating. We'd like to think we've moved past that phase now, but have we, really? Watching Pandorum, the general sentiment I get is we never will. People have nuked their little planet. Lucky for them, before the earth became toast, some policy-makers had the good sense to launch a spacecraft loaded with thousands of humans and the essentials of their eco-system on a 120-year trip to establish life on the neighboring planet of Tanis. Noah's Ark version 2.0, bible not included. Since the journey's a long one, the humans are stored in cryonic hyper-sleep chambers to preserve them for the moment of reckoning. Pandorum opens with two crew members on the spaceship Elysium who have awoken to find that they cannot recall who and where the rest of the crew is, and what they exactly has been going on. Lieutenant Payton (Dennis Quaid), instructs Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) to explore the ship and activate its main reactor so the Elysium can get moving on course again. On his venture, Bower encounters flesh-eating monsters that have mutated to the spacecraft environment, and who are well, out to polish off any human in their path. The nifty corporal also chances upon other members of the flight crew, scientist Nadia (Antje Traue), agriculturalist Manh (Cung Le), and Leland the cook (Eddie Rouse). Together, they team up against the odds to reach the reactor, with Leland attempting to sabotage their every move. Meanwhile, Payton is afflicted with Pandorum, a psycho-somatic disorder brought on by drifting in space for too long a time period. His struggle with the severe hallucinations, paranoia and eventual homicidal rage jeopardize the ship's entire mission.So here we have it, the theme of Man's evolutionary adaptation set onboard a futuristic jet plane. While Japanese slasher flick Battle Royale expounded the message of "it's every man for himself in a dog eat dog world," this sci-fi horror movie adopts the opposite stance that cooperation is imperative to achieve a higher aim. Bower and friends emerge tops at the end of the film (this isn't so much a spoiler as humans seem to always win in movies anyway) because they play to each person's strengths and overcome their innate selfishness while battling an enemy larger than all their inner demons combined. While being a somewhat entertaining film to watch, Pandorum however does not add much depth to the sci-fi genre. For inventiveness, District 9 took a really great spin on xenophobia and inter-group conflict. In terms of space-age action, we've already got the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises. And for a religio-existentialist experience, L. Ron Hubbard's got that nailed, snagging even Tom Cruise and John Travolta in his sci-fi spawned sect. The one novelty Pandorum offers is the element of horror, which director Christian Alvart brings out rather splendidly with his claustrophobic camera angles and darkness/light contrast. Watch this in a theater with a good sound system because the film's score can get chilling.Fans of science fiction out for thrills can hop onto the Pandorum ride. Just remember to leave your bountiful expectations at the door.

---harry potter and the goblet of fire---
Despite being bothered by a series of nightmares involving the Dark Lord with the verboten name, Harry heads off to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys and Hermione. There, the first sign of dangerous times ahead arise with the appearance of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters. Unscathed from the attack, Harry returns to Hogwarts only to be unexpectedly chosen as a competitor in the Triwizard tournament. In an attempt to condense the whopping 700-plus page book into a movie running under 160 minutes, much of the book was sliced away. This means there's much less character development and a frenzied pacing between scenes. If you've never actually read the book, you might end up feeling a little clueless at times. This is especially true when the movie ends, as it doesn't really tie up all the loose ends properly. One vantage to this means the film moves at such a breakneck pace you're never allowed time to get bored. The three tasks of the tournament are spread across the film, each one exciting enough to warrant the ticket price. Whether it's dragons, merpeople or Grindylows that Harry is up against, the suspense is bound to keep you glued to your seats. As for the cadaverous Dark Lord's final appearance (played by Ralph Fiennes), the exsanguinous one was so lurid I'm sure a few adults were spooked much less the dozens of kids in the theatre. The teenage altercations between Ron, Harry, and Hermione were briefly touched on and resolved faster than the time one takes to say out all the titles of the Harry Potter books. But that's a venial fault as all three young actors played out the angst of teenage jealousy convincingly. Emma Watson in particular, is growing up to be a fine actress, and resembles a young Rachel Weisz. The rest of the cast were equally swell and Brendan Gleeson's performance as "MadEye" Moody was particularly spot on. Much of the appeal of the screen adaptations of the Harry Potter novels lie in the amiable charm of the three young leads. And certainly, I can no longer read the books without imagining Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe as Ron, Hermione and Harry respectively. Purist fans of the novel will need to be a little less mulish about the attenuated plot in order to enjoy the film. And for the ones who're dying to know what happened to the mendacious reporter Rita Skeeter, well maybe it's time you picked up the book.

---harry potter and the order of the phoenix---
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the most rousing of the Potter films so far, and certainly one of the best. Right from the start -- when Harry is attacked by way-off-their-turf Dementors -- the director, David Yates, commits himself to movement, to whipping the story forward. There's a lot of action in the picture, but even when he gears down to focus on the series' bedrock themes of friendship, love and loyalty, Yates keeps hustling things along. There's very little narrative fat in the film; it's lean and gleaming. You'll recall that at the end of the last movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) barely survived an encounter with the odious Lord Voldemort (snake-faced Ralph Fiennes). Unfortunately, there were no witnesses to this incident, and so now, as Phoenix opens, we find Harry being badmouthed throughout the wizarding world as a liar. The spineless Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy), refuses to believe that Voldemort, thought crushed 14 years ago, is back in action. The wizard newspaper, The Daily Prophet, parrots this line, as do most of its readers, Making things worse, Harry, faced with a no-choice situation, has utilized a magical charm in front of a Muggle -- a serious offense. He's hauled before a Ministry of Magic tribunal and threatened with expulsion from Hogwarts. Fortunately, his protector, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), although acting strangely these days, steps forth to argue Harry's case. Then things get worse yet. Fudge installs one of his minions, a rulebook Nazi named Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), as Hogwarts' new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Umbridge is a giggling martinet in dowdy pink suits (Staunton is deliciously detestable in the role), and she decrees that, since Voldemort is not in fact back, the students need no longer be taught actual defensive magic. Appalled and rebellious, Harry and his pals Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) persuade a group of fellow students to join them in forming Dumbledore's Army, an underground group dedicated to practicing wand work and charm-casting on their own. Infuriated by their insubordination, Umbridge seizes more and more power at the school, until she's soon running the place. Meanwhile, of course, Voldemort is back, and he's after something that Harry has to find first in order to head off magical calamity. By now, there are so many characters thronging the Potter saga that some of our favorites are getting crowded into the background. Beyond an occasional passing sneer, there's not a lot to be seen of the scheming Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton); and the lovable Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) is gone a lot, consulting with faraway Giants. Even the sublime Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) puts in limited appearances this time (although when you hear Rickman bite into a phrase like "extracting the last exquisite ounce of agony," you know he's still giving the part his total attention). Fortunately, Radcliffe, now exuding a more muscular leading-man presence, has never been more solid, even though he's called upon to hyperventilate a bit too much as the movie barrels along. And two new characters more than justify their introduction into the story. The mad witch Belletrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) is uproariously vile; and a new Hogwarts student -- adorable space-case Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) -- gently lights up every scene she's in. (Lynch is a Potter-loving non-actor who auditioned for the role because she felt she was born to play it, and every time her dreamy face floats into view, you realize she's right.) Director Yates, probably best-known for his British TV work, strives with considerable success to exert control over a story that's beginning to fly off in directions that might seem obscure to those who haven't read the books. Working with the Polish cinematographer Slawomir Idziak (Black Hawk Down), he constructs some dazzling environments (like the black-lacquered halls of the Ministry of Magic, where interdepartmental memos go winging through the air like origami hummingbirds). Yates also creates some marvelous set-piece scenes -- a fireworks attack on an Umbridge classroom, for instance, and a marvelous moment when the crusty "Mad-Eye" Moody (played again by Brendan Gleeson) commands an entire apartment building to slide apart from the center, revealing a hidden, magical residence within. The director has also brought back the Etonian robes and school ties that gave the early Potter movies such a rich British flavor. (Alfonso Cuar�n, who directed the third film, started turning Harry and company into standard-issue teens-in-jeans.) In addition, the Gryffindor ghosts remain gone, which is good; and a welcome time-out has been called in the endless Hogwarts Quidditch games. Yates has turned the longest of J.K. Rowling's Potter novels into the shortest of the movies so far (two hours and 18 minutes), and it was clearly a smart decision on the part of the producers to re-hire him early on to direct the next film, Half-Blood Prince. Judging by this picture, that should be a lively enterprise, too. Let the can't-waiting begin

that should be enough to keep you going fo rthe time being---toodlesss(:!