Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

In his latest live action/animated adventure, Scooby-Doo, the Great Dane with a nose for mystery, joins Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Velma (Linda Cardellini) as they face an unprecedented attack of monsters.

A masked villain is planning to take over the city of Coolsville. He has tampered with the “Monster Machine” so as to reproduce every foe that Mystery Inc. has ever faced, such as the Pterodactyl Ghost, the Black Knight, Captain Cutler, the Creeper and the 10,000 Volt Ghost.

Mystery Inc. must foil his dastardly plans. Not only are the monsters and apparitions causing mayhem, but they are also putting a sizable dent in the reputation of the intrepid investigators.

Love’s Brother

Set in rural Victoria during the 1950s, Love’s Brother is the directorial debut of the acclaimed screenwriter Jan Sardi (Shine).

Angelo (Giovanni Ribisi, Heaven) is a young man from a family of Italian immigrants. He has had little luck with the local women, so he has been sending letters to available women in Italy who are seeking husbands.

Eventually, a local matchmaker tracks down a real beauty, Rosetta (Amelia Warner, Quills), in her files. Angelo duly sends a charming letter to Rosetta with an offer of marriage. But, fearful that his quest might fail, he encloses a photo of his better-looking brother Gino (Adam Garcia) and passes it off as himself.

Rosetta takes the bait and travels thousands of miles to meet what she thinks will be the man of her dreams. On arrival in Australia, however, she is disappointed that Angelo does not live up to the photograph. Instead, she becomes infatuated with his brother Gino.

Under Sardi’s direction, this film is more than a routine romantic comedy. It has a charm reminiscent of some of the great Italian romance films, such as Moonstruck, Cinema Paradiso, and Il Postino.

Capturing the Friedmans

Andrew Jarecki’s rivetting drama, based on a true story about a child pornography ring, is not for the fainthearted.

On the surface, the Friedmans were a typical 1980s American family. Living on Long Island, New York, Arnold was a well-respected teacher, Elaine was a dedicated mother, and their children Seth, Jesse and David were model students.

But one Thanksgiving Day, that happy façade came to a crashing halt. After the local police discovered Arnold had engaged in the buying and selling of child pornography, they questioned several students who attended his computer classes in the Friedman basement.

What they revealed would shock the community, and destroy the Friedman family forever. The subsequent investigation and trial uncovered even deeper hidden secrets at an alarming rate, creating a rift between Arnold and Elaine that would never be reconciled. Jarecki uses present-day interviews with Elaine, Jesse, and David, as well as Arnold’s brother Howard, and includes actual home video footage of the family in the midst of the catastrophe.

Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!

In this romantic comedy, Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth, Blue Crush) is a grocery clerk living in rural West Virginia. But even a small-town girl can have big dreams, and Rosalee’s is to meet – someday, somehow – her big-screen idol, Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel, All My Children).

An opportunity comes in the form of a “win-a-date” contest – the grand prize being a date with Tad Hamilton. Rosalee wins, much to the chagrin of her best friend and co-worker Pete (Topher Grace, Traffic, TV, That 70s Show), who is secretly in love with her.

The idea of the contest was something cooked up by Tad’s agents, who wanted to clean up Tad’s bad-boy image. But things misfire when Tad falls in love with Rosalee, quits his profession and moves to West Virginia. For Rosalee, this is a dream come true. But for Tad’s agent and manager – not to mention Rosalee’s admirer, Peter – it is a nightmare.

Directed by Australian-born Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde).

Starsky & Hutch

In this comedy-spoof of the popular 1970s American cop-show, Detective David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is the most dedicated undercover cop working the mean streets of Bay City, California. He is maniacally devoted to his job. And with good reason, because he has some metaphorically big shoes to fill: his Momma was a legend in the force – one of the best cops in the history of Bay City. But while his mom stuck with the same partner throughout her entire career, the zealous Starsky burns through partners faster than his beloved Gran Torino goes through spark plugs.

Detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) has career issues of his own – he’s a good cop, but his hazardously laidback personality and desire for a quick buck distract him from the admittedly less profitable side of the law. Exasperated Bay City Police Captain Dobey (Fred Williamson) has found the perfect solution for two of his biggest problems: pair up Starsky and Hutch and put them out on the streets.

The unlikely duo use their canniest undercover skills, street savvy and striking good looks to solve crime and make sure the criminal does the time.

Taking Lives

A top FBI profiler, Special Agent Ileana Scott (Angelina Jolie), is summoned to help out Canadian law enforcement in Montreal, to hunt down a cunning serial killer who assumes the lives and identities of the people he kills as he travels across North America.

Scott, however, doesn’t rely on traditional crime-solving techniques to unravel the mysteries of a murderous mind. Her intuitive, unconventional approach is often the only way to unlock the identities of criminal suspects.

An unexpected attraction sparks a complicated romantic entanglement. Alone in an unfamiliar city with no one she can trust, Agent Scott suddenly finds herself on a twisted and terrifying journey, surrounded by suspects in a case that has become chillingly personal.

Also stars Ethan Hawke and Kiefer Sutherland.

Troy

This movie blockbuster is based on Homer’s famous epic, The Iliad – a story of love, war and greed, set in ancient Greece more than 1,000 years BC.

In it, the passion of two of history’s most famous lovers – Paris, prince of Troy (Orlando Bloom, Lord of the Rings) and Helen (Diane Kruger), queen of Sparta (the legendary beauty whose face supposedly “launched a thousand ships”) – ignites a war that will devastate a civilization.

When Paris steals Helen away from her husband, King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson, Gangs of New York), it is an insult that cannot be suffered. Familial pride dictates that an affront to Menelaus is an affront to his brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox, L.I.E., X2), powerful King of the Myceneans, who soon unites all the massive tribes of Greece to steal Helen back from Troy in defence of his brother’s honour.

In truth, Agamemnon’s pursuit of honour is corrupted by his overwhelming greed – he needs control of Troy to ensure the supremacy of his already vast empire. Troy’s walled city, under the leadership of King Prium (Peter O’Toole) and defended by mighty Prince Hector (Eric Bana, The Incredible Hulk), is a citadel that no army has been able to breach. One man alone stands as the key to victory or defeat over Troy – Achilles (Brad Pitt, Meet Joe Black), believed to be the greatest warrior alive.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Ever been unlucky in love? Ever had tumultuous relationships that you wish you could forget? A company called Lacuna and its boss Dr Howard Mierzwiak offer patients peace of mind by erasing such painful memories through an advanced medical procedure.

So runs the backdrop to this extraordinary, futuristic love story about a couple that has fallen out of love.

Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of their tumultuous two-year relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to have Clementine removed from his own memory.

But as Joel’s memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover their earlier passion. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure. As Dr Mierzwiak and his crew (Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood) chase him through the maze of his memories, it’s clear that Joel just can’t get her out of his head.

Evelyn

Pierce Brosnan stars as Desmond Doyle, an Irishman whose troubles mount after his philandering wife runs away with another man.

As a single, unemployed father with a penchant for Dublin’s pubs, Doyle is deemed an unfit parent, and his daughter and two younger sons are placed in orphanages. Despite his problems, Doyle is an utterly devoted dad and decides to fight for custody of his children and his right to raise them alone.

Doyle’s crack pro bono legal team – played by Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and Alan Bates – takes his case all the way to the Irish Supreme Court in 1953. Down-on-his-luck Doyle becomes a real-life hero.

Sophie Vavasseur plays Evelyn, Doyle’s oldest child and the film’s namesake, with great appeal. Julianna Margulies plays the barmaid who inspires Doyle to clean up his act if he wants his family back.

Based on a true story, Evelyn is directed by Bruce Beresford (Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy).

Teacher’s Pet

In this Walt Disney animated feature, Nathan Lane provides the voice for Spot, a talking dog who longs to be a boy. So keen is Spot that he even dresses up as a boy so that he can accompany his owner Leonard (Shaun Fleming) to school.

Spot goes down to Florida where he gets himself genetically transformed into a human at the hands of a weird scientist, Dr Crank (Kelsey Grammar).

The trouble is that he becomes a man, not a boy, and the lunacy reaches new heights when Leonard’s mother falls in love with the new dog-man. Leonard is utterly confused when he realizes his own pooch might become his step-dad.

Meanwhile, Dr Crank is in hot pursuit, determined to take “Spot” with him on a world tour.

Miracle

From Walt Disney Pictures comes an inspiring family drama that combines hockey and history in retelling the story of one of sports’ all-time greatest upsets.

In 1980, amid the tense political climate of the Cold War, Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) took over as coach of the US Olympic hockey team. With the help of affable assistant coach Craig Patrick (Noah Emmerich), Brooks selected a group of 20 amateur and inexperienced hockey players and devoted his energy to realizing his lifelong dream: to coach a team to Olympic gold.

Playing the role of the legendary Brooks (who was a consultant on the film and died in a car accident just after its completion), Russell captures the complexities of a man who dared to dream the impossible dream.

Special movie offer

For your chance to win a family pass to Scooby Doo, or a double pass to Taking Lives or Troy, put your details on the back of an envelope and send it to Movie Comp, SA Police Journal (168).
Conditions: PASA members can enter for any or all three films. A limit of one competition entry per person per film applies. Please clearly indicate one movie on each of your entries.