‘Shoot ‘Em Up’
Waiting to catch a bus, Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) finds himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time, as a pregnant woman runs by, chased by a group of thugs. Conscience victorious, Smith jumps into action, kills them, delivers the baby, and is left as an unexpected daddy, as the mother meets her untimely demise. This random occurrence sets in motion, a sequence of events, resulting in one of the most over-the-top yet ridiculously fun pictures of the year.

With the evil Mr Hertz (Paul Giamatti) and his henchmen army watching his every move, and trying not only to execute him, but the baby too, Smith enlists the assistance of prostitute Donna (Monica Bellucci), to help him care for the baby.

As you can probably tell, ‘Shoot ‘em Up’ won’t be everybody’s cup of tea. The plot is almost non-existent, and as for character development, look elsewhere. If however, an unequivocally silly action movie, with a healthy dose of self-referencing absurdity is your thing; jump right in.

Owen is perfectly cast, as a tough-as-nails ex-special-ops weapon turned hero, delivering delightfully cringe-worthy one-liners at every opportunity. It works because it’s intentionally cheesy. Giamatti chews scenery here and spits it out with equal glee (think a Bond villain on steroids and you’re close). Bellucci doesn’t have a lot to do here but looks good doing it, which I suspect is why she was cast.

It’s anyone’s guess how such A-list actors, were reigned in for what is essentially, a re-tread of those hilariously over the top eighties movies in which the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme made his name. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one of those done well though, and I for one, appreciate the effort. To go into specifics regarding the type of outrageous action scenes on display here, would do nothing but cripple the surprise/ horror of experiencing them first-hand. Go see it, but don’t recommend it to your mammy.
4 out of 5

‘Superbad’
‘Superbad’ is essentially a teen sex comedy in much the same way as ‘American Pie’ was. The same basic premise, the same character archetypes, all tied together with a healthy dose of new gags.

If ‘Porky’s’, the aforementioned ‘Pie’ trilogy, and the like are something you find particularly funny, you could do a lot worse than ‘Superbad’. If not though, stay away, you’ve been warned. Boundaries of taste are pushed quite a bit further here and some may be turned off by this.

Seth Rogen, of ‘Freaks & Geeks’, ‘40-year Old Virgin’ & ‘Knocked Up’ fame is the comedy flavour of the month. As co-writer on ‘Superbad’ and playing the show-stealing rookie cop, Rogen once again proves why. The three lead roles are populated by Rogen cohorts of old and are still largely unknowns outside the U.S.

The film has a low-budget feel, a sort of indie vibe, allowing an instant connection to the world these characters inhabit: if you’re a socially outcast, hopeless geek, that is!
Again, not everbody’s thing, but if you don’t find yourself chuckling away at their misfortunes, you’re probably missing your funny bone.
4 out of 5

Previews
‘Saw 4’
All bets are off in an attempt to breathe some life into the fourth instalment of this Halloween tradition with an entirely new perpetrator, new death traps, more gore. In cinemas October 26th.

‘American Gangster’
In cinemas November 16th.
The dream team of Director Ridley Scott reunited with his ‘Gladiator’ star, Russell Crowe, as the cop charged with bringing down famed 70s drug baron Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington).