The latest releases reviewed.
THE DYING GAUL ** **
Directed by Craig Lucas. Starring Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard, Campbell Scott 18 cert
Undeservedly passed over for cinema release here, this caustic commentary on Hollywood and sexual mores marks the assured directing debut of Craig Lucas, the observant screenwriter of Longtime Companion and The Secret Lives of Dentists.
Peppered with wry movie references, The Dying Gaul is shaped as an intriguing character study that explores the triangular relationship between a gay writer (Sarsgaard), the wealthy studio executive (Scott) who buys his screenplay but wants to erase its homosexual element, and the executive's indolent wife (Clarkson) who responds more empathetically to the script.
A sleekly photographed production that belies its stage origins, the film is, surprisingly, one of the first successfully incorporating the internet as a significant aspect of a plotline that is perceptive and satisfyingly unpredictable as it turns unexpectedly cruel. The three stars are astutely cast and perform with commendable commitment. MD
SHREK THE THIRD **
Directed by Chris Miller. Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake, John Cleese, Eric Idle G cert
The third outing for Shrek finds the franchise wearing thin. There are some good jokes, but the constant references to popular culture are becoming tiresome and the once grumpy hero has become a little too nice for comfort. Still, there is enough rubbish on the bulging two-disc edition to keep the kids occupied until New Year's Day.
LA VIE EN ROSE/LA MÔME ** *
Directed by Olivier Dahan. Starring Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Gérard Depardieu 15 cert
Fragmented biopic of Edith Piaf is copiously captioned as it breathlessly - and generally pointlessly - leaps back and forward in time. Cotillard salvages the movie with an impassioned portrayal of the much-suffering diva who died at the age of 47. MD
PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES /COEURS ** *
Directed by Alain Resnais. Starring Sabine Azéma, André Dussolier, Lambert Wilson, Isabelle Carré, Pierre Arditi 15 cert
The indefatigable Resnais, now 85, transposes an Alan Ayckbourn play to Paris where six characters are looking for love. The humour is bittersweet, and founded in the view that appearances are deceptive. It's a relatively slight film that nonetheless proves hard to resist. MD
BRATZ: THE MOVIE *
Directed by Sean McNamara. Starring Anneliese van der Pol, Stephen Lunsford, Skyler Shaye, Lanie Kazan, Jon Voight G cert
First, the good news: for their debut live-action feature, the scantily dressed teenage materialists have been re-invented as morally robust, middle-aged paragons in sensible shoes. Sadly, though less like underage prostitutes than before, the girls are now deathly boring and devoid of anything approaching a personality. No wonder the flick bombed.
EVAN ALMIGHTY *
Directed by Tom Shadyac. Starring Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham PG cert
God tells Steve Carell to build an ark in the useless sequel to Bruce Almighty. One of the year's great financial bombs (it is perhaps the most expensive comedy ever made) shuffles shamefacedly onto DVD accompanied by an array of so-so extras. You can watch The Ark-itects of Noah's Ark, A Flood of Visual Effects and Steve Carell Unscripted. Sadly there is no featurette called Where's the Bloody Money Gone?
BLACK CHRISTMAS **
Directed by Glen Morgan. Starring Katie Cassidy 16 cert
Tolerable remake of the influential 1974 slasher flick in which a maniac chopped up the inhabitants of a sorority house on Christmas Eve. The current version has a nice line in morbid quips, but the final mayhem is as messily edited as it is grindingly predictable. The short documentary extra reveals the director to be even stranger than one might have suspected.
