ENTERPRISING Israeli-born film-maker Oren Peli wrote and directed this much-hyped, low-budget supernatural horror movie that is set to make him millions.
Shot at his own house in his spare time, his modest vision has bloomed into a 21st-century Blair Witch Project, scaring the bejeezus out of audiences with its deceptively simple narrative and grainy camerawork, captured by characters as they hunt for an evil spirit in their home.
Rating: 4/5
NATIVITY! (U)
CHRISTMAS comes early courtesy of British director Debbie Isitt (Nasty Neighbours, Confetti) and her improvised comedy about the preparations for a primary school Nativity play.
Shot without a script as a safety net, Nativity! is a feel-absolutely-wonderful treat steeped in festive cheer that delivers tidings of comfort and boundless joy for the entire family. Martin Freeman stars as the teacher tasked with putting on the play who makes life difficult with a little white lie.
Rating: 4/5
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (18)
JUSTICE is blind – and by the end of F Gary Gray’s gruesome thriller, it’s also horribly burned, dismembered and disembowelled as a family man (Gerard Butler) turns the tables on the lawmakers who let him down.
Butler’s brilliant inventor exacts bloody revenge on the prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) who agrees a plea bargain with one of the men who killed his wife and daughter. Scenes between them lack tension as both actors go through the motions – justice is bland.
Rating: 2/5
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (12A)
NOT since Harry Potter first cast a spell over cinema audiences has a franchise based on a series of best-selling novels been as completely critic-proof as The Twilight Saga.
The good-looking cast could probably stare silently into the camera for two hours, and fans of Stephenie Meyer’s teen romances would still flock to the multiplexes in their millions.
New Moon is too long – 15 minutes of gloom and adolescent angst could easily have been excised from the opening act – but it’s unlikely that the target audience will complain.
Rating: 4/5
