New Movies Release Roundup 20 May 2011

There are a couple of movies out this week that don't have any pirates in them whatsoever. I wouldn't get too excited, though, because neither are all that great and one makes Pirates 4 look like a masterpiece.

 Nicolas Cage has been on something of a comeback trail of late. He was hilariously crazed in Werner Herzog's remake of The Bad Lieutenant and in the best bad movie of the year so far, Drive Angry 3D. He was even decent in the enjoyable family fantasy film, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Sadly that all comes to an very sudden end with Season of the Witch. Here we have another historical fantasy film that takes itself way too seriously, despite being really rather daft. It's a film that could have been an interesting examination of the evils that the Crusades both confronted and, more often, created for their own nefarious ends but is too silly and low-brow for that. On the other hand, it works even less as a fantasy/ adventure/ horror, because, despite a solidly grim moment or two, it's mostly too dull and po-faced to work on that level. As for Mr Cage, he is usually at his best when he's way over the top so he is let down tremendously by his straight hero role  here. (2/10)

Lila Lila or, as it is known here, My Words, My Lies, My Love is that most odd of concoctions: a German romantic comedy. It's a simple screwball premise of an ordinary schlub passing off the brilliant manuscript of an author he assumes to be long dead as his own work - all to impress a very literary-minded girl. A plan that seems to work brilliantly, until the original author turns up to be very much alive and very much wanting to cash in on the young man's success with his now critically acclaimed, best-selling novel. It's a fine premise and it is handled rather well by a very good cast. The problem is that the Germans are not exactly known for their sense of humour and, for all that it gets right, My Words, My Lies, My Love is tonally all over the place. The premise might seem funny on paper but it doesn't even raise so much as a single titter when played out on screen. The result of which is a film that occasionally works as a drama but is constantly undermined by the fact that it is so clearly wanting to be - and was so obviously built to be - a broad comedy. Not a bad film, just one that was never at ease with what it was (6/10)

This weekend in summary then:

Best Film: My Words, My Lies, My Love. It's a mess but it looks much more impressive when stacked up against the rest of the week's offerings.

Worst Film: Seasons of the Witch. Great Donovan song, godawful flick.