Jessica Lucas

Like an ancient Roman version of 2012, this disaster epic is a pure guilty pleasure, sparking plenty of laughter along with the massive effects-based carnage. It also helps that the screen is packed with muscle men in skimpy skirts. The actors dive in with gusto, adding plenty of personality to the ridiculous dialogue, while director Paul W.S. Anderson shamelessly ramps up the action mayhem.

It begins in AD 79 Britain, where Roman Senator Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland) is on the rampage, slaughtering the entire Celtic community of young Milo (Kit Harington), who is taken to Londinium to become a gladiator. When he rises to fame, he's transferred to Pompeii, where he immediately catches the eye of young noblewoman Cassia (Emily Browning), much to the scowly disapproval of her politically active parents (Carrie-Anne Moss and Jared Harris). An outsider among the local slaves, Milo is befriended by tough guy fellow gladiator Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). And when Corvus comes to town to claim Cassia as his bride, Milo decides to take a dangerous stand for both revenge and the girl. Meanwhile, Mount Vesuvius is rumbling, getting ready to unleash plenty of movie-style havoc.

It's impossible to watch this without thinking of the cheesy, similarly styled TV series Rome or Spartacus, with their corny melodramas, excessive violence and bare flesh. Even though this is on a much bigger scale with seriously enormous 3D special effects, it's just as cheesy. And equally entertaining as well. Harington is terrific as the hunky hero, building much stronger chemistry with the honourable Akinnuoye-Agbaje than the distressed Browning. And seasoned veterans like Harris, Moss and Sutherland clearly have a great time chomping madly on the scenery as Pompeii burns.

Continue reading: Pompeii Review

Even a strongly likeable cast can't breathe life into this ill-conceived film, which poses as a sex comedy but is ultimately timid and sappy. The premise is intriguing enough to catch our interest, but it ends up being three badly written romantic-comedies woven together in a way that makes them neither romantic nor comedic.

The story strands centre on three best buddies enjoying their late-20s in New York. Jason (Efron) is the womaniser, breaking up the moment any girl begins to get serious. Daniel (Teller) is the clown, using humour to find women, usually with the help of his friend Chelsea (Davis). And Mikey (Jordan) is the responsible one, a medical doctor happily married to Vera (Lucas). Except that she leaves him, prompting Jason and Daniel to promise to stay single with him in solidarity. Then instantly, each of them finds himself in a relationship: Jason falls for wild-girl Ellie (Poots), Daniel realises that he's in love with Chelsea, and Mikey secretly tries to get Vera back.

The problem is that there's very little chemistry between any of the characters. Not only are the love stories strained and implausible, but the bromance never even gets off the ground because filmmaker Gormican is clearly terrified of any kind of male affection. He's also not very good at depicting sexuality, with only a couple of scenes played for comedy value. In fact, all of the film's sharp edges have been surgically removed, leaving only the illusion of gross-out humour.

Continue reading: That Awkward Moment Review

Remaking an iconic classic is dangerous business, even if the original filmmakers are on board as producers, but at least Uruguayan writer-director Alvarez has a few clever ideas up his sleeve. And a willingness to go gleefully over-the-top with the grisliness. But aside from a few gimmicky jolts, the film is never actually scary.

There are essentially only five characters in the story, which gives the actors a chance to find entertaining details along the way. Mia (Levy) is a drug addict whose three best friends (Lucas, Pucci and Blackmore) take her to her family's creaky old cabin in the woods to go cold turkey. They're joined by Mia's aloof brother David (Fernandez). But none of them know that locals have used the basement for a sinister ritual, and they left a creepy book behind that supposedly has the power to summon a vicious demon who wants to possess them all. So is Mia's freaky behaviour because of her withdrawal, or has something evil got hold of her?

This twist is rather clever, as it adds a level of mordant wit to the film, giving texture to the relationships between these five young people who we fully expect will begin to die horribly nasty deaths one by one. Indeed, what follows is an escalating series of blood-soaked set-pieces involving dismemberment and death at the sharp edge of any implement on hand.

Continue reading: Evil Dead Review