This Week In Australian Cinemas (December 26, 2009)

It is Christmas time in 2009 (a poet and I didn’t even know it), which means studios are flooding the marketplace with flicks of all shapes and sizes. Good, bad, kid friendly and Adult orientated. Yes, a  brand new batch of films are about to hit Australian cinemas and you can’t for the life of you work out which one you want to see and why. Well, that’s not your job is it… it’s ours.

So to save you the hassle and pain of thinking, we introduce the WATCH OUT FOR | MOVIES “THIS WEEK IN CINEMAS…. WEEKLY ROUND UP” giving you a quick, easy guide as to what to race to – and what to avoid like a lesser known Baldwin brother movie.

The big question is – what is good, what is crap, what will make you cry and what will (most importantly) allow you to get to second or (if you are lucky) third base with that guy or gal you’ve been crushing on all month long.

We know you don’t have time to trawl through the newspapers – so WATCH OUT FOR | MOVIES is happy to do all the leg work for you, giving you the Ins and Outs, the Hits and Misses of Movies hitting Australian screens for the week of December 26th 2009.

Alvin and the Chipmunks : The Squeakquel

Starring : Justin Long & Anna Faris. Director : Betty Thomas

In the “Squeakquel,” pop sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore end up in the care of Dave Seville’s twenty-something nephew Toby (Zachary Levi). The boys must put aside music superstardom to return to school, and are tasked with saving the school’s music program by winning the $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands.

Do yourself a favour – take the kids to far superior The Princess & The Frog or even Planet 51 these holidays… it’s just as entertaining for the kids, and it won’t give parents a brain hemorrhage. [Read The Full Review]

Bright Star

Starring : Abbie Cornish & Ben Whishaw. Director : Jane Campion

London, 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of fashion.

Bright Star is certainly not for everyone (and you can put good money it will show on about 2 screens and make about $1.50) but there is something wonderous about this one that I can’t put my finger on. [Read The Full Review]

Did You Hear About The Morgans?

Starring : Hugh Grant & Sarah Jessica Parker. Director : Marc Lawrence

Romantic-comedy regulars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker finally unite in this fish-out-of-water laugher.The only problem is, it offers no laughs and forces people to look at SJP’s hideous mug for more than 90 minutes. Carrie Bradshaw, close ups are not your friend. [Watch The Trailer or Read The Full Review]

The Lovely Bones

Starring : Saoirse Ronan & Mark Wahlberg. Director : Peter Jackson

The Lovely Bones centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. If you love the book, by all means, give this one a whirl just to play the “comparison” game.

If you are looking to The Lovely Bones for some subconcious way to deal with your own mortality issues and seek answers of the afterlife – skip this and go rent the Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr two hander What Dreams May Come. [Read The Full Review]

Nowhere Boy

Starring : Kristin Scott-Thomas & Anne-Marie Duff . Director : Sam Taylor-Wood

Imagine John Lennon‘s childhood… a poignant and powerful, the untold story of the boy who created The Beatles.

Opinions vary on Nowhere Boy, ranging from “having no point” to “a Beatles fan‘s wet dream”. For our money, nothing beats a good Beatles doco – but if you are so inclined to love a dodgy bio flick… then this might be for you. [Read The Full Review Here]

Old Dogs

Starring : John Travolta & Robin Williams. Director : Walt Becker

Two best friends – one unlucky-in-love divorcee and the other a fun-loving bachelor – have their lives turned upside down when they’re unexpectedly charged with the care of six-year-old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives.

Word is that this one is a stinker (with the film woefully miscast), a theory backed up by the fact the studio didn’t even bother putting on a screening for reviewers.

WATCH OUT FOR | HIT PICK

Sherlock Holmes

Starring : Robert Downey Jr & Jude Law. Director : Guy Ritchie

In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge.

Guy Ritchie has gone “Let’s do for Ye Olde England what Pirates Of The Caribbean did for the boat sailing industry” and succeeds on every level with 90 odd minutes of pure escapist fun. [Read The Full Review]