Film review: The Incredible Hulk, The Happening, Irina Palm, Numb | Arts

The Incredible Hulk

Hark! The sound of cinema cash registers ringing across the land! Yes, everyone's favourite raging man-monster is back. The story goes that nuclear physicist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) has been irradiated in a lab - an event that means every time he gets a little cross he turns green and transforms into The Hulk. As exciting as this is for General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), who foresees a way of gathering The Hulk's DNA to spawn a generation of super-soldiers, it's less thrilling for his daughter and Banner's girlfriend, Betty (Liv Tyler), who soon gets a little weary of her boyfriend's fancy new tantrums. While Banner is on the run seeking a cure for his condition, a biochemical experiment is turning power-crazed soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) into a malevolent force named The Abominator - which only The Hulk stands a chance of defeating. The Incredible Hulk is precisely how comic hero movies ought to be - the pace is whip-smart and zingy, the effects suitably zappy and the cast unarguably impressive. What's more it makes a fine companion piece for Ang Lee's Hulk (2003), and a worthy stable mate for Iron Man.
12A, 114 mins

Numb

The battle to carve out a post-Friends career continues as Matthew Perry makes a renewed attempt at the big screen. Here, he's playing a somewhat successful screenwriter named Hudson, who one day finds himself in a muddy depression that is knee-deep and rising. His precise condition is named 'acute depersonalisation disorder', and is as alienating as it sounds. On the advice of his despairing writing partner Tom (Kevin Pollak), he embarks on a trail of various therapies and anti-depressants. It is only when he meets the buoyant and beautiful Sarah (Lynn Collins), however, that he begins to remember the reason for living, and the reason he wants to be cured. Numb is in fact an autobiographical film for writer/director Harris Goldberg, and as such Hudson's illness is treated with gentle good humour. It makes for a slightly dour kind of romantic comedy that - while enjoyable - never fully gets off the ground.
TBC, 93 mins

Superhero Movie

Approximately one part parody to two parts fart gags, there's a slightly flabby, over-used feeling to this one-trick spoof of the superhero movie. In its short but nonetheless overlong running time, it manages to cram in a plot that mirrors the first Spider-Man film, as well as heaps of references to Batman, X-Men and all the other spandex-clad heroes we've come to know on screen. What's more, there are sex jokes, Tom Cruise impersonations and an appearance by Leslie Nielsen. There's a lot going on, in short, and yet it's one of those films that tastes of absolutely nothing. Nevertheless, Superhero Movie will surely prove a zinging success with the summer holiday crowd - just don't go expecting a flamboyant show of wit.
12A, 85 mins

Iron Man

Another comic book superhero flick to add to the pile, but a welcome one nonetheless. Jon Favreau's Iron Man tells the story of Tony Stark: an engineering genius, squillionaire weapons manufacturer and international playboy who is prompted to engage his social conscience and re-evaluate the ethics of his business when he's kidnapped in Afghanistan and charged with constructing one of his own missiles for his captors. Instead, he builds a robotic armoured suit to effect a spectacular escape, and then decides to perfect this machine in order to aid mankind. It's an admirable dig at war-profiteering that boasts some great gadgetry, sparky one-liners, a restrained use of CGI and some pro performances from Robert Downey Jr (as a nicely edgy Stark), Gwyneth Paltrow (as his devoted assistant Virginia 'Pepper' Potts) and Jeff Bridges (as menacing fat cat Obadiah Stane). The plot, though, is a tad un-dynamic and lacks the dark tension needed to see us safely through to the sequel. As a result, it doesn't quite hit the spot as the Batman or Spider-Man movies do, but Marvel fans undoubtedly won't care.
12A, 126 mins

Irina Palm

The magnificent Marianne Faithfull is Maggie: a safe, suburban housewife (now widowed) whose plans for a slow, dwindling retirement are suddenly thrown into disarray when her beloved grandson is diagnosed with a dreadful illness. With his family short of cash and the only treatment to be found in Australia, the prognosis does not look good. And so, in a resourceful effort to raise funds, Maggie heads to London and answers a job ad that leads her into the world of prostitution. It turns out Maggie (aka Irina Palm) is so skilled at her chosen profession that she is soon doing a roaring trade. And though she is undoubtedly in it for the money to begin with, Maggie soon finds a renewed confidence and a whole new social world through her work. There's something predictable about the plot of Irina Palm - it treads the same path as so many comedies from these shores do, offering a mixture of illegality and sturdy British humour. But what rescues the film from stodginess is Faithfull, who plays Maggie with immense charm and subtlety.
15, 103 mins

Sex and the City

Whether the big screen return of Sex and the City fills you with unbridled glee or a sense of unremitting gloom (and I have to say, I'm in the latter camp), there has been an undeniable fanfare surrounding the whole event. But can this movie ever hope to live up to its unofficial title of 'the most important chick flick ever'? Well, it rather depends on what sort of chick you are. If you were the sort to revel in the televised tales of columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her cocktail chums - career-gal Miranda, sex-aholic Samantha and prim little Charlotte - then it's chocks away for you: a clattering of high heels, fancy drinks and mucho shagging. There is a plot, too, buried deep in the two-and-a-half hours of this film, and it involves Carrie planning her wedding to Mr Big (Chris Noth), things going wrong and things going right, and a trip to Mexico. But the plot's not really the point here: the point is that, gee, there's nothing so important as your best friends. And shoes. And a walk-in closet. And sex.
15, 148 mins

Cassandra's Dream

Oh Woody, Woody, where did it all go wrong? Allen's Cassandra's Dream is a film so shallow you'll barely get your socks wet. It's a tale of two brothers, Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell), who dream of a better life and so, naturally, set out to become the worst hit-men in London. While Ian has a foxy new actress girlfriend to impress, Terry has a bit of a weakness for gambling, and they both have their wealthy, dubious uncle (Tom Wilkinson) offering them a strictly non-legit proposal to off his business rival (Phil Davis). There are some endearing moments of intimacy between the brothers, but by and large Cassandra's Dream feels as if it's struggling to tell you something terribly important that it can't quite remember - rather like a muddled drunk retelling the plots of two of Allen's earlier films, Crimes and Misdemeanours (1989) and Match Point (2005). A film only for completists, one fears.
12A, 108 mins

The Happening

With The Sixth Sense, M Night Shyamalan introduced cinema-goers to a new kind of thriller; one that was slow, subtle, sinister - and subsequently much-imitated. His work since then, however, has lacked sophistication, and sadly The Happening falls at the same hurdle. It stars Mark Wahlberg as a Philadelphia science teacher named Elliot Moore who flees to the farmland of Pennsylvania with his wife (Zooey Deschanel), best friend (John Leguizamo) and young daughter (Ashlyn Sanchez) when things start turning a bit strange in the city: glowering skies, people keeling over dead, mass suicides. As they hunt for a place to hide, Elliot first tries to work out what the heck is going on, and second to mend his marriage - the former often seeming less complex than the latter, and ultimately attributable to Nature's long-overdue revolt against mankind. It's not a bad idea for a movie; it's just that, despite the pedigree cast, The Happening is played out with such heavy-footed tedium that it's rather hard to care.
15, 91 mins

The Waiting Room

The exceptional Anne-Marie Duff is worthy of a grander vehicle than this likeable but rather insipid tale of a single mother. Anna (Duff) lives in south London next door to some wearisome, upwardly-mobile sorts (Zoe Telford and Rupert Graves) and makes a connection with a man named Stephen whom she runs into at the station (Ralf Little). He unfortunately has a mithering girlfriend (Christine Bottomley) who is desperate for him to settle down. Anna and Stephen share a lovely kindled warmth and a compassion that manifests itself in their attitudes to the elderly - Stephen is a care home worker who is variously advised on his romantic travails by his charges. It's all rather charming (if a little too clunkingly obvious in the plot department) and one can't help feeling it would make for wonderful television, but Duff surely has a great movie in her. And sadly this is not it.
15, 110 mins

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Anyone pining for the rip-roaring Indy films of yore may find themselves a little disappointed by this fourth instalment, shrouded as it is with a sense of flagging enthusiasm. However, while it may seem a little short of breath at times, it still has much to offer. Nearly 20 years after his last outing, it's now 1957 and our archaeological hero Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is attempting to locate a highly prized crystal skull before those dastardly Soviets (including the peerless Cate Blanchett as evil Russian operative Irina Spalko). Joining him are a young hopeful who might just be his son (Shia LaBeouf) and Karen Allen, who returns as his ladylove Marion Ravenwood. The film thrives when in familiar territory and only really goes awry when attempting to introduce fancy new elements - the biggest dampener being director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas's penchant for computer-generated foes which just can't compete with those wriggling insects and writhing snakes of the past.
12A, 124 mins

What Happens in Vegas

All the goofy, mismatched romcom pairings that Hollywood has willed to work over the last few years may now be forgiven as Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher unite to form what seems like a natural comedy dreamteam. Joy (Diaz) and Jack (Kutcher) both arrive in Vegas in a rather fragile state - she newly boyfriendless, he freshly jobless - and proceed first to get royally drunk, and second to get married, unintentionally. When Jack then wins big on the slot machines (using money lent to him by Joy) the two of them separately embark on a sequence of cunning plans and contortions in an effort to lay individual claim to the loot. Not altogether shockingly, this whole fandango leads them circuitously into one another's arms. It's froth, of course - pure sugar-whipped confection - but the plot has an appealing simplicity, Vegas is suitably bonkers, and Diaz and Kutcher really do bring a certain zing to the screen.
12A, 99 mins

Gone Baby Gone

For his directorial debut, Ben Affleck strikes a pose about as far-flung from his chisel-jawed hunk days as he could get. Gone Baby Gone is an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel about a missing four-year-old girl named Amanda McCready who has disappeared from her Boston neighbourhood. As the search spreads wide and the media frenzy grows, Amanda's aunt Bea (Amy Madigan) turns in desperation to local private investigator Patrick Kenzie (a phenomenal Casey Affleck) - an unlikeable, underdressed sort who raises as many suspicions as he unearths. But this film is much more than a whodunnit. Rather, it's a portrait of a community and a class that is largely dismissed by Hollywood: the welfare mother (an equally impressive Amy Ryan) who is druggy and wayward but not easy to dismiss, the run-down streets, the dejected and the down-and-out. And it's here that Affleck's direction shines - his portrait is never patronising or trite, but sensitive and somehow dignified. Excellent stuff.
15, 114 mins

California Dreamin'

Last year at Cannes, two of the most coveted prizes went to Romanian movies - the Palme d'Or was awarded to 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days, while the Un Certain Regard prize landed in the lap of California Dreamin', Cristian Nemescu's first and only feature film (the director died two years ago in a car accident, aged just 27). Set during the Kosovo war of 1999, it follows a group of US soldiers travelling with a shipment of Nato equipment who find their train journey abruptly halted in the small town of Capalnita, where the station master - seemingly a stickler for rules and regulations - actually harbours secret black market connections. Against a potentially bleak setting, Nemescu's tale is in fact a rambunctious farce. At times it proves startlingly funny, and at others provides a sad, gentle reminder of the social disarray in Eastern Europe at that time.
15, 155 mins

In Memory of My Father

Upstairs, an elderly movie legend lies dying, and downstairs his family and loved ones mingle, all there to honour his last wish that his son Chris (Christopher Jaymes) record the days of his passing on film. As with any cinematic family reunion, the relationships are complicated, somehow ravelling together affairs, lesbianism, exes, drugs, relationships with much younger women, cousins who are also siblings and much, much more. Such ingredients could prove a recipe for something horrendous, but actually In Memory of My Father is a clever, subtle, humorous movie about unknotting oneself from the familial ties through a process of intoxication, grief and vulgarity. Think Six Feet Under meets Curb Your Enthusiasm, perhaps. Rarely has screwball comedy been so deliciously deadpan.
15, 96 mins