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The Proposal

Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson

Director: Anne Fletcher

Rated: PG-13

Showing: Liberty Theatre: Friday 2:30pm, 8pm; Saturday 6pm, 9pm; Sunday 5:30pm; Monday and Tuesday 2:30pm, 7:30pm

Runtime: 107 minutes

Romance/comedy

Preview: Publishing executive Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is threatened with deportation to her native Canada, so to keep her U.S. visa status she persuades her hen-pecked young assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her.

He grudgingly accepts - on the condition he is promoted. Of course, immigration launch an investigation, so the pair must spend a weekend in Alaska with his quirky family to convince the authorities they are a real couple.

But, predictably, as they spend time together they start to fall in love - so when it comes to the sham wedding, can they go through with it when it is based on a lie?

Directed by Anne Fletcher - who helmed the likeable 27 Dresses and Step Up - The Proposal follows a standard rom-com formula and there won't be anything you haven't seen a hundred times before.

Bullock's domineering city girl finds herself in a string of fish-out-of-water scenarios -just like Renee Zellweger in New In Town or Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

What might lift this above the rest is Reynolds - usually good for a few one-liners - and the strong supporting cast, particularly Golden Girls legend Betty White as Reynolds' brash granny.

It won't win any Oscars but this is a charming date or girls' night out movie.

Watch if you liked: New In Town, Green Card.

Terminator: Salvation

***

Stars: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Helena Bonham Carter, Bryce Dallas Howard.

Director: McG

Rated: PG-13

Showing: Liberty Theatre: Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm.

Runtime: 115minutes

Action/adventure/sci-fi

Review: We've waited 25 years to see the apocalyptic war between man and machine referred to in Terminator and T2 - and Salvation doesn't disappoint.

Skynet has destroyed much of mankind in the nuclear holocaust of Judgement Day and machines swarm the barren landscapes killing humans.

A group of survivors led by John Connor (Christian Bale) battle to stop them wiping us out but with the arrival of the T-800 Terminators our hero remembers from his childhood and a troubled stranger (Sam Worthington), their future is in doubt.

The action is loud and crammed with explosions - the sort of shocking brutality we've enjoyed since seeing a robot foot crush a skull in T2.

There is also an array of deadly new cyborgs, including motorcycle robots and giant harvesters who grab and imprison groups of petrified humans.

The apocalyptic themes are blatant, especially when it comes to the Messiah-like saviour of mankind John Connor. Having the initials JC isn't exactly a subtle reference to Christ.

Connor has shed his persona as a hapless victim reliant on a protector but is now a tough soldier - smart, brave and calculating.

Christian Bale plays our hero but he has little charisma, a flaw in the script rather than the actor's performance.

It's his second outing as a dark, iconic character following Batman but Connor is two-dimensional and uninspiring.

He and the rest of the cast plough through an endless stream of death-defying escapes and exceptional heroics before launching an edge-of-your-seat attack on Skynet.

Don't be put off by the awful T3 or the fact the director is McG, the man behind the ridiculously dumb Charlie's Angels movie.

Despite the depair, the movie is a lot of fun, cramming in practical effects with breathtaking CGI.

There are also nice touches for fans, such as the use of catchphrases 'I'll be back" and "come with me if you want to live".

And look out for a special appearance from a familiar face toward the end.

Watch if you liked: Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

The Taking Of Pelham 123

****

Stars: Denzel Washington, John Travolta.

Director: Tony Scott

Rated: R

Showing: Neptune Theatre: Daily at 7:30pm except Sunday, show starts 5:30pm.

Runtime: 106 minutes.

Crime/drama/thriller

Review: This remake of Joseph Sargent's 1974 thriller sees a Mr Average forced to go head to head with a psychotic criminal.

Denzel Washington is a mild-mannered subway controller whose world is turned on its head when cold-blooded John Travolta hijacks a train full of hostages.

He demands a $10million ransom within an hour or he'll start picking off passengers one-by-one - a murder for every minute they are late with his loot.

Travolta's Ryder refuses to deal with the cops or the hostage negotiator and will only speak to Washington's terrified family man Walter Garber.

But the pair soon strike up an unlikely rapport and admiration for one another and the sharp exchanges between the pair are the best parts of the movie.

The original Pelham was a tense affair but this modern version cranks the edge-of-your-seat factor even further.

Despite being set largely in a subway control room and train underground, Man On Fire director Tony Scott manages to add a string of high-octane explosions.

These come courtesy of the cops' deperate race against the clock through New York's traffic-clogged streets to get their madman his money.

A lot of gunfire will also please action fans.

Scot keeps things moving so quickly you risk whiplash and his trademark rapid camerawork is spectacular, while the plot has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster.

Travolta commands the screen, effortlessly combining crazy, funny and dangerous with the skill he did in Face Off.

He also sports an exceptional handlebar moustache that deserves a gong for best supporting actor.

Washington is as reliable as ever as the everyman caught up in chaos, desperate to get back to his family but also to redeem himself for some past sins.

Luis Guzman, one of the best character actors in Hollywood, also appears, mostly delivering light relief as a bumbling aide to Travolta.

Overall, Pelham is a great thriller and will be a big hit with fans of the genre or its lead actors.

Watch if you liked: Die Hard.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Stars: Shia LaBeouf, megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Hugo Weaving, Isabel Lucas

Director: Michael Bay

Rated: PG-13

Showing: Speciality Cinema: Daily at 2:30pm, 6:30pm and 9:30pm.

Runtime: 147minutes

Action/adventure/sci-fi

Review: The robots in disguise are back for another big budget outing - essentially a rehash of the first movie but with more characters, effects-laden battles and runtime.

Once again plot comes second to action and, as you'd expect from director Michael Bay (Armageddon, Pearl Harbour), there are endless high-octane explosions, thrilling chases and testosterone-fuelled 'bot vs 'bot showdowns.

Well, what else can you do with a movie based on a toy?

The story focuses on an ancient Transformer called The Fallen - note the blatant Luciferian reference to emphasize that he's a bad guy in case you're too dumb to work it out alone.

It plans to restart a long-buried machine capable of destroying mankind and revives evil Decepticon leader Megabot to help him.

Our hero from the first movie, Sam (Shia LaBeouf), is once again called upon to help Autobot leader Optimus Prime save the world - because when a super-machine plans to destroy humanity, a dorky college freshman is always your first port of call.

But forget the nonsensical plot, Transformers is all about mindless, technically brilliant, effects-heavy action sequences - fast, fun and unforgiving.

A few stand out, particularly the opening scenes in Shanghai and a robot vs robot bust-up on Egypt's Giza Necropolis, which includes a Transformer climbing to the peak of a pyramid.

And look out for the new robots among the 40-odd created, including one in the form of a vacuum cleaner and one that looks like a jaguar.

Transformers may be spectacle over substance but it will hit the mark with its target audience - young boys and adult males who were kids in the mid-80s when the 'bots first took over the world.

Watch if you liked: Transformers, iRobot.

UP

****

Stars: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson

Director: Pete Doctor

Rated: PG

Showing: Southside Cinema: Friday 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday 4:30pm, 7:30pm; Monday to Thursday 7:30pm.

Animation/action/adventure

Review: The animation powerhouse that is Pixar presents their first 3D movie - a visually stunning adventure full of laughs for the whole family.

It shot to the top of the box office on its U.S. release, taking a staggering $68.2million - the third biggest opener for the studio after Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

It follows 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen, a loveable old grouch who decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of seeing South America's Paradise Falls by tying thousands of balloons to his home and flying away.

But after lift-off, he encounters an unwanted stowaway - bumbling eight-year-old wilderness explorer Russell.

A terrifying storm - which evokes when Dorothy's house is swept off to the land of Oz - causes them to crash-land but they make it to they rainforest and meet an exotic bird, a pack of talking dogs and adventurer Charles Muntz, Carl's hero.

Director Pete Docter - the man behind Monster's Inc. - brings the tale to life using a palette of candy colours and epic scenery.

The characters are beautifully drawn and the landscapes are some of the studio's finest work yet - the detail in the jungle and ocean is breathtaking.

The 3D effects are impressive but minimal and the movie won't lose any of its charm without them.

There are plenty of laughs plus a few tears, although unlike Toy Story or The Incredibles there are less in-jokes for adults.

Russell is a wonderfully comic character -innocent and full of endless chat and questions. Every parent will chuckle when Carl suggests the game "who can stay quiet the longest".

The talking dogs offer most of the laughs, especially the friendly and loyal Dug who befriends and helps our heroes. Cute touches include the hounds playing poker in a recreation of the famous painting.

But like Pixar's best works, Up isn't just belly laughs.

The love story between Carl and his beloved wife Ellie is beautifully told at the beginning and viewers share his devastation when she passes away.

And you can't help but feel sorry for loveable little Russell as he reveals how he never sees his estranged father.

Up is not as good as Toy Story or The Incredibles but it is crammed with rounded, loveable characters, fun, action and a sweet moral message.

Incredibly imaginative, beautifully drawn and narratively captivating, big and little kids will adore it.

Watch if you liked: Toy Story, Finding Nemo.

[[In-content Ad]]Inkheart

***

Stars: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett

Director: Iain Softley

Rated: PG

Runtime 106 minutes

Adventure/family/fantasy

This charming family adventure boasts an all-star cast, an array of fantastical creatures, magical beings and a captivating story.

Mo (Brendan Fraser) is a silvertongue, which means he can bring a book's characters and objects to life by reading aloud.

But to balance this out, real people must vanish into the fictional world - including his own wife and mum to his daughter, Meggie (Eliza Bennett).

Mo now travels the world to find the rare book his beloved is trapped in - but his search is stalled by a plea for help from fire-eater Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), a fictional character who wants to be sent back into the book.

He and Meggie are also being hunted by the villainous Capricorn (Andy Serkis), who wants to exploit their powers for his own evil ends.

The film skips between fantasy, adventure and comedy and its strength lies in its characters.

Paul Bettany steals the movie as the heroic and tragic Dustfinger who is desperate to be reunited with his family.

His mischievous pet ferret will also be a hit with the kids.

Helen Mirren impresses as Mo's batty bookworm aunt, as does Jamie Foreman as a bumbling evil henchman.

A host of cameos are also fun, including Rapunzel, The Wizard of Oz's Toto and Peter Pan's ticking crocodile.

Serkis' over-the-top, hammy acting means Capricorn himself is mildly threatening rather than scary, even to kids. He doesn't manage to be half as creepy or treacherous as when he played Gollum in Lord Of The Rings.

Overall, Inkheart is an enjoyable escapist romp and promotes the joy reading to kids.

It's a must-see for Harry Potter fans desperate for a touch of magic while they wait for the wizard's next adventure.

Watch if you liked: The Princess Bride, Labyrinth.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

***

Stars: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra

Director: Patrick Tatopoulos

Rated: R

Runtime: 92 minutes

Action, fantasy, horror

This action-packed prequel to vampire romps Under-world and Underworld: Evolution has a surprising amount of bite - provided you don't take it seriously.

It traces the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between vampires and werewolves that is raging in the original movies, amid stomach-churning slayings, steamy sex scenes and stunning scenery.

In the dark ages, Alexander Corvinus had two sons - one a vampire, the other a werewolf. From the latter has descended a mindless race of hellhounds intent on mass slaughter.

The beasts are hunted by the vampires' assassins, death dealers, to prevent their lands being ravaged.

A new dawn is marked by the birth of Lucian, a lycan, human until the full moon.

Enslaved by the vampire coven led by Viktor (Bill Nighy), they breed a race of lycans using his blood to be their servants, using collars to stop them transforming.

Lucien (Michael Sheen) is devoted to his fanged oppressors, largely due to his secret affair with Viktor's headstrong daughter Sonya (Rhona Mitra). But in true Romeo and Juliet fashion, their love is forbidden.

When Lucian is tortured and imprisoned for taking off his collar to save her from werewolves, he rallies his fellow lycans to rise up against Viktor and escape.

And so begins the blood-drenched war we will follow in the first two movies.

Set against majestic, Lord Of The Rings-style backdrops, Rise Of The Lycans offers far more visually than it does narratively.

The battle scenes are handled well by director Patrick Tatopoulos, flowing with plenty of tension and packing in plenty of gore for blood-thirsty horror fans.

The special effects are also impressive, particularly the CGI wolves.

Sheen and Mitra approach their roles with gusto and bring much-needed solemnity to deflect from Nighy's hammy scowling and swooping around.

The doomed love story is far from original but hey, what better excuse for an explicit and gratuitous sex scene on the edge of a cliff?

It helps to have seen the first two movies as there is only a brief recap, but it's not essential. Anyone seeking fantastical escapism will find much to amuse them.

Watch if you liked: Underworld.

Changeling

****

Stars: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Jason Butler Harner

Director: Clint Eastwood

Rated: R

Runtime: 140 minutes

Drama/mystery/history

Based on a harrowing true story, this stunning period thriller combines melodrama with mystery, bloody horror and tense courtroom drama.

It's 1928 in LA and single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) arrives home late from work to discover her nine-year-old son Walter has disappeared.

The LAPD are plagued by corruption and are little help but driven by the bad publicity, they search - and five months later the boy is found.

Amid mass publicity, thrilled mother and son are reunited...but the boy isn't Walter.

Christine tries to explain but the police won't listen, damning her as a liar and delusional.

Her only ally is Pastor Breigleb (John Malkovich) - a gruff preacher on a mission to expose the corruption in the LAPD.

When Christine persists in making her claims, the force is embarrassed and she is arrested and put in an asylum for being paranoid and suffering delusions of persecution.

Meanwhile, a cop goes to a rundown ranch in search of a Canadian lad living illegally in the U.S.

The boy has a bloody tale involving a psychopathic child murderer that will have lasting consequences for Christine and the LAPD.

Trailers for Changeling present it as just a mother's hunt for her lost son but it explores much deeper themes than that.

Like LA Confidential, it exposes how 1920s LA was far from a City of Angels but riddled with corrupt cops on the take, gunning down the opposition and persecuting the innocent.

Director Clint Eastwood always presents certain themes in his movies and again he presents justice, empathy and revenge.

Changeling is difficult to sit through and its factual subject matter is a stark reminder of how gruesome the crimes we watch as entertainment are.

Many of the court scenes use dialogue taken verbatim from real court documents, adding weight to the already entrancing script.

The cinematography is beautiful (well worthy of its Oscar nomination) and the period detail spot-on.

Angelina Jolie delivers a career-best performance as Christine. She manages to be vulnerable, naive and petrified yet brave and determined.

It's a weighty role but she commands the screen throughout and is never less than captivating and convincing. The Academy Award nomination was well deserved.

My only criticism is perhaps her flawless beauty throughout. Even in the depths of despair she has time to curl her hair and apply a ton of bright red lipstick.

She does not look like a 20s single mom but a Hollywood glamourpuss in the vein of Rita Hayworth.

The other stand-out actor is Jason Butler Harner as the sinister and unhinged Gordon Stewart Northcott.

Changeling evokes a parent's worst nightmares but and like all good film noir there is no happy ending.

But it is packed with tension, mystery and horror and unmissable for fans of hard-hitting drama.

Defiance

***

Stars: Daniel Craig, Live Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos

Director: Edward Zwick

Rating: R

Runtime: 137minutes

Drama/war

Based on a true story, Defiance is a tale of incredible, courage, endurance and hope - but the movie fails to do justice to its inspiring subject matter.

The movie tells the story of the three Bielski brothers, Jews who flee Nazi-occupied Belarussia and set up camp in the forest.

Soon their sanctuary is housing hundreds of Jews hiding from the German war machine and they face the impossible task - and immense responsibility - of feeding and hiding them.

Director Edward Zwick's intentions are clearly sincere and admirable but his film is over-long, full of cliches and often predictable.

All the characters are two-dimensional and the usual Jewish stereotypes are trotted out - the young intellectual, the wise old teacher, the happy wedding in the face of adversity (Schindler's List anyone?).

Bond star Daniel Craig takes the lead role as eldest brother Tuvia but he fails to convince as an Eastern European Jew.

He and co-star Live Schreiber - Tuvia's brother Zus Bielski - embody contrasting views of the resistance movment, with Tuvia favouring survival and Zus craving revenge.

The vengeance sequences are undoubtedly the highlights of the movie - tense and action-packed.

A particularly disturbing but gripping scene sees the fugitives beat a kidnapped Nazi officer to death.

But too often the film plods along lamely and a good 30minutes could easily be shaved off.

The heroic Bielski brothers' story deserves to be told but it could have been handled so much better.

See if you liked: The Pianist.

Gran Torino

****

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Runtime: 116minutes

Crime/drama

An unmissable movie for fans of Eastwood - The Man With No Name chases the bad guys out of town yet again, although this time it's modern-day America rather than the old West.

Grouchy Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a racist widow who grudgingly takes his teenage Hmong neighbour, Thao, under his wing to protect him from local gangs.

The thugs try to coerce Thao to steal the old man's beloved 1972 Gran Torino car - and turn on him when he cannot.

Walt runs them off and becomes a unwilling hero to the community, who lavish him with gifts and tell Thao to do chores for him.

Through his association with Thao and his sister Sue, he learns what he has in common with the Hmang people - mainly respect for traditional values.

Walt's shameful racial attitudes are borne from ignorance but these slowly change.

Walt epitomizes every tough guy Eastwood has ever played, from the Man With No Name to Harry Callaghan and Bill Munny.

The movie does not apologize for his attitudes and Walt is a tough character to like - but viewers can't help but grudgingly respect the anti-hero's courage in standing up for what he believes in and those he cares about.

Many of Eastwood's trademarks are present - like many of his films, Gran Torino opens and ends with a death and the lead has a dark past they would rather not remember.

Like Frankie Dunn in Million Dollar Baby, Walt regrets past mistakes but gets a chance to redeem himself.

But while the devices used aren't original and fans will know what to expect (you'll see the twist at the end coming) it's still an incredible piece of film-making - thought-provoking, captivating and gripping.

See if you liked: Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven.

Revolutionary Road

****

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon.

Director: Sam Mendes

Drama/ romance

Runtime: 119mins

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are finally reunited in this sublime 50s-set melodrama about a couple struggling to breathe life back into their dying marriage.

Their relationship is as disastrous as their voyage on Titanic as they sail the stormy seas of happiness and hopelessness, expectation and crushing disappointment.

DiCaprio and Winslet are Frank and April Wheeler, who fall in love at first sight at a party and quickly wed - full of hope for the bright future that awaits them.

To the outside world, this beautiful couple have an idyllic marriage - young lovebirds with a cute home in the suburbs and two healthy children.

But behind closed doors, they each feel imprisoned in a loveless marriage and are facing a life sentence.

April's dream of becoming an actress is crushed, while Frank has followed in his father's footsteps and become trapped in an advertising job he loathes.

Then one day April comes up with the solution to their woes - they move to Paris and start again.

Their hope revived, they are for a time a real perfect couple - but all too soon their deeper issues suffer and their European sticking plaster falls off to reveal wounds so deep they may be incurable.

Winslet and DiCaprio put their heart and soul into their passionate performances, perfectly displaying their characters' joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain.

Their chemistry is electric, both when they are possessed by lust and throwing hard-hitting emotional punches.

Director Sam Mendes's movie is as exquisite as American Beauty - with a similarly powerful, evocative score and stunning cinematography.

It's not a movie teens will enjoy or relate too but anyone who has felt stuck in a relationship that once their reason for living will find it unforgettable.

Friday The 13th

*

Stars: Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Derek Mears.

Director: Marcus Nispel

Rating: R

Year: 2008

Runtime: 97mins

Horror

This uninspiring slasher movie butchers the memory of the 80s horror classic as brutally as any of its victims.

Teens being slaughtered in increasingly violent ways is usually a winning formula but this lame offering manages to mess it up.

Director Marcus Nispel did a decent job remaking Texas Chainsaw Massacre but there is nothing new here - no tension, no wit, no atmosphere, no scares.

They could at least have shelled out for 3D like the remake of My Bloody Valentine

We kick off with the end of the original movie, when psycho killer Jason Voorhees' mum has her head lopped off.

She has been butchering summer camp counsellors for letting her son Jason drown years before.

Jason witnesses this and decides to seek revenge against all teenagers. Here's a fatal flaw - the film doesn't even attempt to explaing the logic of why Mrs Voorhees was killing for her son, who clearly isn't dead. And if he loved mommy so much, why didn't he go back to her rather than creep round the woods alone for over a decade?

Cut to present day and in just a few scenes, five visiting Camp Crystal Lake are dispatched in bloody fashion.

Six weeks later comes more fresh meat, including the brother of one of the original five looking for his missing sister.

The characters are two-dimensional and vacant and you pray for the moment they - and you - are put out of their misery.

Only lead boy Clay - Supernatural star Jared Padalecki - puts in a decent performance.

Fans of the original series will be disappointed although newcomers may enjoy it. That said, take my advice and rent the original.

Watch if you liked: Friday The 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween.

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

****

Stars: Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Rupert Friend

Director: Mark Herman

Rated: PG13

Runtime: 94 minutes

Drama/thriller/war

Making a movie about the horrors of the Holocaust is a challenge. Turning such tragedy into fiction can be slammed as exploitation, no matter how noble your intentions.

Harder still is making the atrocities accessible to a young audience - how do you persuade the High School Musical generation to see tales of death camps?

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas succeeds admirably on both accounts. It's an incredible family movie that educates pre-teens about the genocide through a touching tale of lost innocence.

Based on the novel by John Boyne, the movie follows eight-year-old Bruno, who moves with his mum, dad and 12-year-old sister from Berlin to the countryside.

He is told they must move because his soldier dad has an important new job - but the child doesn't know it is as commandant of a Nazi concentration camp.

The innocent - one could argue unrealistically naive - Bruno sees the Jews at work in the nearby camp through an upstairs window, which is soon boarded up, and thinks it is a farm where the workers wear pajamas.

Despite orders to stay in the garden, the desperately lonely Bruno goes exploring and discovers a boy his own age on the other side of the 'farm's' electric fence.

Neither Bruno nor the child, Shmuel, understand the full horror of why he has to live and work and wear the pajamas bearing a number.

At eight, Bruno is too young to be infected by the prejudice plaguing his pre-teen sister, despite the sickening propaganda being fed to them by a tutor.

All the boys know is that they want to be friends - a relationship that will have horrific and unexpected consequences.

David Thewlis gives a wonderful performance as Bruno's father, balancing the contrast of being a caring father and mass murderer.

Director Mark Herman also captures the divide beautifully, painting Bruno's cosy home in rich, warm colours while the camp is all cold, steely blues and greys.

When his fairytale becomes a nightmare, he captures it with an iconic image - of a gas mask-wearing soldier pouring Zyklon B into the roof of a crematorium.

The movie is too disturbing for younger children but also often too simplistic for adults used to grittier efforts such as Schindler's List.

But it's ideal for the audience it is aimed at and pulls off its task of educating while entertaining with aplomb. Unmissable.

Watch if you liked: Life Is Beautiful.

The Code

*

Stars: Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas, Robert Forster, Radha Mitchell

Director: Mimi Leder

Rated: R

Runtime: 104minutes

Crime

The presence of Morgan Freeman usually guarantees a movie is worth watching - but this abomination is possibly the worst heist flick ever made.

The script is lazy and derivative and the two leads - Freeman and Antonio Banderas - coast through without a shred of chemistry.

Only the usually reliable Robert Forster and token babe Radha Mitchell make any effort, despite their parts being woefully underwritten.

The plot sees Freeman's renowned art thief Ripley (as talented as the one in the hit movie series) recruit Banderas's petty crook Gabriel Martin to pull off, you've guessed it, one last heist.

Their haul is two Faberge eggs worth $40million from the vault of Romanov jewellers in New York.

They have to steal the gems for Russian gangster Nicky, whose grandfather made them in 1917. Ridiculous doesn't quite cover it.

Anyway, the heist is allegedly impossible so cue lots of Ocean's Eleven and Mission: Impossible style moves to bust into the vault.

It's all been done before and miles better.

The script is cringeworthy with lines like: "Some people were born to compose music, some to split the atom...I was born to steal."

Well Mr Freeman, you certainly robbed me of an hour-and-a-half of my life.

This movie suggests that while Freeman is one of the greatest supporting actors ever - Shawshank Redemption, Se7en - he doesn't have the clout to command a screen in a lead role.

Unlike the Ocean's series it desperately tries to emulate, The Code has no humour - although you will laugh at the dreadfully cheesy Spanish guitar music played every time Banderas comes on screen.

Throw in a couple of gratuitous sex scenes and you have a complete heist-by-numbers movie.

Director Mimi Leder did a decent job with The Peacemaker and Deep Impact but doesn't even try to do anything new here.

Don't waste your time, rent The Score with Robert De Niro, Heat or The Italian Job instead.

Watch if you liked: Ocean's Eleven.

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