WORLD WAR Z ****
Dir : Marc Forster ( 12A , 105 mins ) Max Brook ’ s cult novel reaches the big screen after some development problems . Re-shoots , a new third act and alleged unhappiness from producer / star Brad Pitt have not helped , but what this epic zombie film looks to be is spectacular with some socio-political Contagion like grit . Pitt plays a United Nations employee racing around the globe trying to prevent a zombie pandemic that could destroy humanity . Told with urgency and an attempt at reality , World War Z abandons the multi narratives of the source novel in favour of following Pitt and his attempts to stop these scary and speedy braineaters – which naturally involve his family : wife Mireille Enos and kids . A supporting cast that includes Bryan Cranston , James Badge Dale and Matthew Fox and some spectacular FX that have the risen dead forming human pyramids like soldier ants should ensure thrills . It is a 12A though , so don ’ t expect much gruesomeness . More thriller than gore fest , and with a worldwide stage rather than a shopping mall or small town a la George A Romero ’ s Living Dead , World War Z has ambition . Opens June 21
AFTER EARTH ***
Dir : M . Night Shyamalan ( 12A , 90 mins ) Director of The Last Airbender and The Happening returns , and hopefully Shyamalan will be back on Sixth Sense form after the embarrassment of his last two flops . Real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith play , er , father and son 1000 years in the future . The pair are estranged and Dad wants to make things better . Before they can properly bond , however , their ship crash lands on Earth where everything has now apparently evolved to kill humans . If they are to stand any chance of survival , the son must retrieve their rescue beacon as his father lies dying , guiding him back at the crashed spaceship . Special effects and life lessons follow , nasty baboons and other things , but Jaden has a fighty stick and a flight suit to help him out of CGI scrapes . It ’ s a bit of a hokey premise , especially the whole evolutionary plot , but Will Smith is always good value , despite his Smith family empire building . Father and son have played together very effectively before in The Pursuit Of Happyness , but this has them mostly apart . Their relationship will be key to the film ’ s success and hopefully Shyamalan has gone over the script and taken out some of the more ludicrous lines . Opens June 7
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ***
Dir : Joss Whedon ( 12A , 107 mins ) So , what do you do after creating the billion dollar behemoth Avengers Assemble ? Easy , an adaptation of a Shakespeare play shot in black and white over 12 days with some of your mates . Joss Whedon , in the hiatus between filming the Marvel epic and then commencing on post-production , knocked out what is obviously a labour of love for him . It ’ s a breezy contemporary version of the Bard ’ s mostly fluffy comedy that pits cocksure commitment-phobe Benedick ( Alexis Denisof ) with his verbal equal Beatrice ( Amy Acker ). They are lovers destined to be together caught up in a convoluted , nefarious plot blending high comedy with drama . Whedon regulars make appearances , Nathan Fillion shows comedy chops as Dogberry , and Clark Gregg plays Beatrice ’ s niece Leonato . Mostly successful , but occasionally jarring ; Shakespearean verse in an American drawl is often distracting and some cast members are obviously more comfortable with it than others . Opens June 14
STAND UP GUYS ***
Dir : Fisher Stevens ( 15 , 95 mins ) An aimiable comedy drama which brings together acting heavyweights Alan Arkin , Al Pacino and Christopher Walken . Mobster Pacino has just been released from prison after 28 years and is picked up by buddy Walken , a fellow crook . They call on their old getaway driver Arkin , breaking him out of his retirement home for one last night on the tiles . They have their mob pasts to reminisce over and a final loose end to tie up about a robbery gone bad amidst lots of good-humoured jokes about ageing – Viagra together with the odd dose of poignancy . Languidly directed by Fisher Stevens , the three leads are allowed to unhurriedly stretch their acting muscles and their chemistry is a joy to watch , despite the script being a little thin . Able support comes from Juliana Marguiles as Arkin ’ s daughter , but watching three character actors doing their thing is what is outstanding about Stand Up Guys . Opens June 28
THE ICEMAN ****
Dir : Ariel Vorman ( 15 , 106 mins ) This fantastic mob thriller – which is amazingly based on fact – sees a blistering lead performance from Michael Shannon , who plays Richard Kuklinski , a New Jerseybased hitman who kept his violent double life a secret from his blissfully unaware family . The film begins in 1964 with Kuklinski romancing future wife Winona Ryder . Soon he displays his chilling capacity for brutal violence and is recruited by mob boss Ray Liotta . Teaming up with fellow hitman Mr Freezy – an ice-cream van-driving Chris Evans – and the pair go on a contracted killing spree that leaves 100 people dead and his domestic life in tatters . Director Vorman rachets up the tension admirably and a fine supporting cast including David Schwimmer and James Franco add texture . It is Shannon ’ s central performance , a classy turn in a classy mob thriller with favourable echoes of Goodfellas that really makes this gripping though . Opens June 7
IN LOVE ( 15 ) Ensemble artsy drama with some great performances from Greg Kinnear , Lily Collins , Jennifer Connolly and a cameo from Stephen King . SUMMER IN FEBRUARY ( 15 ) Downton ’ s Dan Stevens stars in this drama about the Lamorna Group of artists and their tangled love lives as the First World War approaches . Quite good . A HAUNTED HOUSE ( 15 ) Misogynist ‘ comedy ’ in the style of Scary Movie . Appalling . SNITCH ( 12A ) The Rock does some acting in this apparently true life story of a bloke who went undercover for the DEA to save his son from prison . He ’ s still all muscly though .
BUZZ 35