Four Christmases

Following Fred Claus with another Yuletide comedy, this time, Vince Vaughn has his star wattage backed up by Reese Witherspoon in this sporadically amusing film, about a couple both estranged from their respective families ("you can't spell 'families without 'lies'"). Both are grudgingly forced to spend Christmas with all four parents, when their heavily-planned festive getaway is foiled by mist over San Francisco airport. Naturally, much hi-jinx ensues. It's also a reunion of sorts for the Swingers crew, as Vaughn, the (always brilliant) Jon Favreau and Patrick Van Horn share celluloid for the first time since their breakout hit - it's just a shame the script doesn't have the laughs to compliment the gifted cast. Vaughn and Witherspoon are both A-list stars for a reason - their talents are obvious - but here, they're constantly hampered by lacklustre, often lazy writing, and a director who doesn't know how to let a gag breathe. Vaughn's comedy is not punchline-driven - it's all about energy - but his frequently hilarious sardonic improv has been smothered by a director who's obviously on his first feature, and a co-star not used to inflicting on-the-spot retorts. That's not to say there aren't laughs; but the film is too uneven and unsure of what it wants to be, to make those laughs anything more than slight chuckles. Also, despite the title, this is not a Christmas movie, and those looking to get into the spirit of the season will be dejected by the lack of merry ambience. That may have been intentional, but when your film is lacking in other areas it helps to have something fundamentally cheery to fall back on. With a barrage of weighty supporting players each given little time to make an impression (Jon Voight literally has two scenes) Four Christmases can sometimes feel pointless and flat; which it surely would've been, if not for the genuine charisma of Vaughn and the fact that (thanks to fine acting) you genuinely buy these two in a relationship. Worth watching for Vaughn fanatics, it's nonetheless disappointing, given the concoction of comedic ability on show

Raiting : 2.5 out of 5

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Despite opening with a flashback intro of how Alex the lion (Stiller) came to New York to entertain zoo crowds, this sequel to 2005's Madagascar kicks off right where the last one left off. Alex, Marty the Zebra (Rock), Doris the hippo (Pinkett-Smith) and Melman the giraffe (Schwimmer) board a beat-up plane to leave their adopted land of Madagascar for new York. They don't make it, and crash land in Africa where Alex runs into his father (the late Bernie Mac in one of his last roles), battling with rival Makunga (Alec Baldwin) for the king of the Pride. The reunion is short lived, however, as Alex fails an initiation rite and is banished. He gets a chance to be a hero, though, when the nature reserve’s watering hole dries up... As usual, there are a multitude of pop references for adults that kids will enjoy too: gags nicked from (sorry, pay homage to) West Side Story, The Simpsons, The Twilight Zone, Planet Of The Apes and the plane crash scene from Almost Famous; while there's a number of song and dance numbers that include Private Dancer and More Than A Feeling. The best gag, although, has to go to Alex's Deja vu line - a nod and a wink by the filmmakers that we've seen all this before, perhaps? It might star Ben Stiller and Chris Rock, but neither are able to bring their own brand of comedy to the proceedings. As with the previous instalment, the best thing about Escape 2 Africa are the penguin mafia. But, again, there's not enough of them. Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric The Entertainer return to lend their voices.

Raiting : 2.5 out of 5

Transporter 3

The third in Luc Besson's popular Transporter series takes on the road movie to differ itself from the previous two, but a lack of impressive action scenes render this second sequel dated. Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin, the tough-talking, sharp-dressing driver, forced by villain Johnson (Knepper) into transporting a 'package' across Eastern Europe, and along for the ride is the feisty redheaded Ukrainian Valentina (Rudakova). Transporter 3 is almost a parody of action movies: the bad guy is an educated, super serious, husky-voiced computer whiz (an '80s action villain, then), the tough-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside hero, the shallow plot, the feisty girl with a heart of gold – they're all here. Statham, for me, is a guilty pleasure. His tongue-in-cheek, mildly interested, let's-get-this-scene-down-so-I-can-watch-the-footy-on-the-telly delivery hasn't got old yet. He's believable as an action hero and can do a nifty fight scene; whereas Jackie Chan would use everything in the room as a weapon, Statham here uses everything he's wearing to thwack the bad guys. It's fun, but it's the only trick that director Megaton (if that is his real name) has up his sleeve and his fight scenes are far too similar. His action sequences, an element that made the previous instalments fun and watchable, lack energy and in an action world dominated by Bourne and Bond the Transporter franchise lags behind.

Raiting : 2 0ut of 5