Films out this week

May 18 2008 Mickey Mcmonagle

OUTPOST (18) ***

Any film which features zombie Nazis has to be good and this debut from Steve Barker delivers exactly what you'd expect - a fun, silly homage to the likes of The Fog.

Rome star Ray Stevenson leads a team of mercenaries in Eastern Europe trying to free a bunker occupied by the teutonic flesh-eaters, making for the expected gory shocks. Nothing clever or serious anywhere, it's just a fun horror flick that will find an audience and entertain that crowd well.

SUPERHERO MOVIE (12A) *

Yet another of these lame pastiche movie-spoofing genres, with Spider-Man as the main target this time. As always there are countless silly digs at high-profile films.

Spider-Man becomes Dragonfly with his uncle played by Leslie Nielsen, who you'd think would have grown out of this rubbish by now. Fart jokes are the order of the day as it's the usual lowest form of slapstick and gross-out humour on offer - utter nonsense that no sane person would pay to see.

SHUTTER (18) *

Another remake of a Japanese horror film, this time focusing on spirit photography - the appearance in pictures of ghostly images, believed by those who subscribe to such silliness to be evidence of hauntings. Yawn.

Newlyweds Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor visit Tokyo on honeymoon and run over an old lady. Suddenly all sorts of horrible images pop up in their holiday and wedding snaps. But is there more to the accident than meets the eye? Does it matter? Does anyone care? No.

Just another Hollywoodisation of what may once have been a decent story, this mish-mash of ideas goes nowhere fast.

It's horribly predictable, with less shocks than an Eddie Murphy movie and very little in the way of redeeming features. Pass.

SMART PEOPLE (15) **

This is one of those oh-so-worthy, serious dramas about the angst and suffering of life in a strange family, headed by dad Dennis Quaid. Ellen Page is his over-achieving daughter and Sarah Jessica Parker is a doctor trying to snare Quaid, her old professor.

This dull film simply meanders along through a series of endless conversations.

Give me a good car chase any day.