Film reviews: April 13th 2008

Apr 13 2008

SHINE A LIGHT (12A)

I am not a Rolling Stones fan by any stretch of the imagination. For me, they're just wrinkly old rockers loved by middle aged men.I even turned down free tickets to see them last year.

But even as a non-believer, I was swept along by the insanely raw, electric energy so perfectly captured by director Martin Scorsese, splicing footage of a live show with interviews and snippets from the past.

Abarrage of cameras capture every nuance of each member's onstage presence, showing just why they have managed to stay at the top of their game for such a long time.Scorsese clearly has a deep, personal connection with their music, as their songs pop up time and time again in his films.

This film has gone some way to changing my mind about the band. Who knows, I may even grab those freebies next time.

REC (18)

Another hand-held horror effort looking to cash in on the success of Cloverfield and Romero's Diary Of The Dead and I hope this one does well.

It's a snappy, scary effort from Spanish up-andcomers Balaguer and Plaza with a snotty, stuck-up TV reporter and her cameraman spending a night shift with a fire crew in the hope of some action.

And they get it too - trapped in a building being attacked by zombies. Great stuff, showing amazing promise from the young Spanish directors and packed with suspense and big scares.

LEATHERHEADS (PG)

Oh dear God, no. There is a very good reason why this sort of screwball comedy is no longer made. They belong to a bygone era and just don't work now. Hopefully this disastrous attempt at reviving them will put an end to them once and for all.

The presence of George Clooney and Renee Zellweger shows that even the most bankable, amiable stars cannot save a dire movie - and that's exactly what this is.

It's a lot of nonsense set in the roaring 20s with Clooney as a pastit American football star trying to revive the sport by bringing in a hot young college talent. Then Renee pops up as reporter Lexie, sparking conflict between the men as they both fall for her.

Clooney is trying far, far too hard to be Cary Grant and so comes off as a lame, OTT parody of him.

Rubbish. Mickey McMonagle