This week's premieres
photo: Tatrafilm
Van Helsing- Action/Horror by Stephen Sommers. Transylvania apparently has a monster problem. So the vampire slayer of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman, Wolverine from the X-Men films), comes to the rescue. He battles the likes of Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman with assistance from the corseted Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale, who was last seen in Underworld as a vampire with a fondness for leather bodysuits).
Other movies playing
photo: Tatrafilm
Cheaper by the Dozen (Dvanásť do tucta) - Comedy by Shawn Levy. A group of children run amok when their father (Steve Martin) becomes preoccupied with coaching a college football team and their mother (Bonnie Hunt) goes on a book tour to promote her recently released memoirs. Two of the lovable delinquents are played by popular television stars: Tom Welling, who plays the teenage Superman in Smallville, and Hilary Duff (of the Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire), who plays a teen pop star in real life.
photo: SPI International
Levity (Muž, ktorý zabil) - Drama by Ed Solomon. Veteran action/comedy writer Ed Solomon (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Men in Black, Charlie's Angels) shows promise of good things to come in his big screen directorial debut. This story of a repentant murderer (Billy Bob Thornton) who reluctantly re-enters the straight world may be a bit too self-consciously heavy, but it has a quiet grace that stays with you all the same. Also starring Holly Hunter, Kirsten Dunst, and Morgan Freeman.
photo: Continental Film
Something's Gotta Give (Milovať je zábavné) - Romantic comedy by Nancy Meyers. Jack Nicholson: Love him or hate him, you know you can count on him to be himself. As such, his role here, as aging playboy Harry Sanborn, is no great departure. But as Harry's romantic adversary, Diane Keaton gives her best performance in years - perhaps since she stopped working with Woody Allen. She and Nicholson have an undeniable chemistry that is both believable and funny. But there's an underlying sadness here, too; luckily, the director, Meyers, shows a tasteful restraint that keeps this film charming throughout.
photo: Itafillm
Secret Window (Tajomné okno) - Thriller by David Koepp. Two of our best actors - Johnny Depp and John Turturro - star in this adaptation of a Stephen King story. Depp's deadpan humour may come through occasionally, but it cannot save this film from its painfully obvious, exhausted fate. To make matters even worse, Turturro's manic talent is completely wasted.
Prepared by Jonathan Knapp
