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Latest releases reviewed

Latest releases reviewed

STEALTH *

Directed by Rob Cohen. Starring Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Sam Shepard, Joe Morton, Richard Roxburgh 12A cert

Three fighter pilots with attitude are called upon to track down and destroy a computer-controlled plane that has gone bonkers. Contrary to promises made in the title, this psychedelically moronic action film can be both seen and heard. Though why anybody would pay for the privilege is a mystery. Bargain bins lick their imagined lips greedily.

LORDS OF DOGTOWN **

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Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Starring Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, Rebecca De Mornay 15A cert

Why, exactly, would anybody seek out this ho-hum dramatisation of the rise of skateboarding in LA's west side while the superior documentary, Dogtown and Z-Boys, is available in shops? Well, Ledger is OK as a mentor figure and Hardwicke does a decent job of capturing the grungy locations. But the doc still rules, dudes.

ASYLUM ***

Directed by David Mackenzie. Starring Natasha Richardson, Ian McKellen, Marton Csokas, Hugh Bonneville, Joss Ackland 16 cert

The wife of a psychiatrist falls for one of her husband's more dangerous patients in this adaptation of Patrick McGrath's novel. The lust and passion certainly seem a deal more overpowering when translated to the screen. But, if you can bear the rolling eyes, heaving bosoms and unlikely plot turns, the film works perfectly well as old-fashioned, penny-dreadful melodrama.

Donald Clarke

Donald Clarke

Donald Clarke, a contributor to The Irish Times, is Chief Film Correspondent and a regular columnist