Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Release date: 25 June 2008 (Edinburgh Film Festival)

Starring Frances McDormand as Miss Pettigrew - a for-hire nanny with very high morales and a panache for getting fired - and Amy Adams in an anything but nun-like role as Delysia LaFosse, an American wannabe singer/actress bedding three lads in London at the start of World War II, this gem of a movie is perfect from start to finish. When the matronly Miss Pettigrew slyly cheats her employer and ends up on the doorstep of Miss LaFosse at the perfect time to aide her in extracting herself from a delicate situation involving two of her three lovers, she is suddenly seen as the guru of all things romantic, even when all she's after is a bite to eat. Director Bharat Nalluri nails London in all its 1939 glory and mirrors the foss of fashion (Shirley Henderson as maven Edythe DuBarry is great) and the silliness of the storyline with two genuine love stories and some great life lessons. Acted brilliantly by all involved, including Miss Pettigrew's subtle love interest Joe Boomfield (Ciarán Hinds), this film is charming from start to finish.

My rating 8 out of 10.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Release date: 8 April 2009 (Sydney, Australia)

We go back to the origins of Wolverine in this latest installment of the X-Men genre. Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) returns along with his menacing brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber). We learn all about their early roots as mutant lads and prolific soldiers from the Civil War thru to Vietnam, and how Wolverine - moved by love (awwww) - swears revenge after his girlfriend, Kayla (Linda Collins) is (supposedly) murdered by Victor. But all is not as it seems as the (faked) death is but a ploy by the evil government lackey and leader of Team X, Striker (Danny Huston), to build the ultimate weapon: a soldier morphed from the strengths of each mutant, Wolverine included. Got all that? Directed by Gavin Hood, there are plenty of fights and action here but not much else. What's lacking is the deeper psychological examination of each characters' actions to ground all the mayhem. Think of this one as X-men Lite.

All fluff no substance gives this effort my rating of 4 out of 10.

Twilight

Release date: 17 November 2008 (Los Angeles, USA)

Based on Stephenie Meyer's dreadfully written novel of the same name, Twilight surprised me. It takes the usual story of a common girl who moves to a new town, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), and has her fall in love with the town's misfit student, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). It's all been down before yes, but the twist here lies in the fact Edward is a vampire. Despite the overt corniness of the premise and the pedestrian acting (especially on Stewart's part), director Catherine Hardwicke makes a great go of it. Filmed with the perfect amount of darkness, dread and romance the result is a film better than the sum of its various parts.

A film certainly worth sinking your teeth into gives Twilight my rating 8 out of 10.

The Moguls (aka The Amateurs)

Release date: 6 February 2005 (Santa Barbara Film Festival)

An ensemble piece starring Ted Danson, William Fitchner, Jeff Bridges and Joe Pantoliano (among others). Down and out Andy (Bridges) decides to film an adult entertainment video - read: porno - as a way to make some cash, employ his ragtag group of going-nowhere friends and most importantly, impress his son. That premise could be dangerous but director Michael Traeger handles the topic exceptionally well with the right balance of humour, romance and, erm, sex. That said, this film will not be for everyone and opened to, well, bad reviews. Yet I found it endearing with a sort of tongue in cheek simpleness that was perfect for movie watching as an escape on a summer Sunday afternoon.

My rating 7 out of 10.

C'est pas moi, je le jure! (aka It's Not Me, I Swear)

Release date: 5 September 2008 (Toronto International Film Festival)

Philippe Falardeau directs this wonky Quebec film of a 10 year old lad, Leon (Antoine L'Écuyer), his passion for suicide attempts and his very wonky family. Leon is a loner who terrorizes his neighbourhood but is protected by his artsy, eccentric mother (Suzanne Clement) until the day she leaves for Greece. Without her stabilizing influence and his father's (Daniel Briere) indifference Leon goes on a tear. Befriended by the neighbourhood's other oddball kid, a young girl named Lea (Catherine Faucher), the two plan their escape from the small town. It's Not Me, I Swear is filled with comedy that masks the pain buried in Leon. Young L'Écuyer carries the film throughout giving us a darker, emotionally wounded character that puts Macauley Culkin to shame. Quirky, odd, sad and absolutely worth seeing. Not for kids.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Agnes of God

Release date: 21 August 1985 (Canada)

Way back in 1985 Canadian uber-director Norman Jewison took John Pielmeier's stage play, Agnes of God, and turned it into a decent film. Taking the mysterious birth (and death) of a novice nun's newborn baby as its starting point, the movie forces us to examine our views of all things religious. Starring Jane Fonda as Dr. Martha Livingston, the psychiatrist sent to examine the unholy business and interview the novice nun; a never more brilliant Meg Tilley as the nun in question and Anne Bancroft as Mother Miriam Ruth, the film is essentially a struggle between faith, represented by Mother Ruth and fact, represented by Dr. Livingston. The real drama here lies in the exchanges of the relapsed Catholic and the zealous Mother Ruth as she tries to hide her own involvement in the mysterious birth.

My rating 7 out of 10.