WEEKEND PIC: May 9 - 11 2008

Your Guide to the Labour Weekend Viewing

1. IRON MAN (fantasy thriller with Robert owney Jr, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow) Rating * * * 1/2 (out of 4): Produced by Marvel Studios itself, this is an 'origin' caper - and one that's energetic and entertaining, thanks to Downey Jr and Paltrow. Consider it n the same league as "Batman Begins". (Reviewed below)

2. SPEED RACER (CGI actioner with Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This 'loud' CGI-enhanced caper about corporations and the underworld muscling into auto racing is like a mix of "Spy Kids" and "Matrix". Helmed by the Wachowski Brothers, it is slanted towards the kids, with a chimp thrown in as resident clown. (Reviewed below)

3. WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS (Romantic comedy with Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz, Treat Williams and Dennis Farina) Rating: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Predictable Vega$ love story that starts off with a couple in mutual antagonism that somehow turns to love. Better to let it 'stay in Vegas'.

4. RUN PAPA RUN (crime drama with Louis Koo, Rene Liu, Nora Mioa and Ti Lung) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Writer-director Sylvia Chang gets whimsical and derivative in this tale about a HK triad boss who has a change of heart over his criminal ways when he has a new role as father to his little girl. (Reviewed below)

5. FOOL'S GOLD (adventure comedy with Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland, Alexis Dziena and Ewan Bremmer) Rated * * (2 stars): A dim-witted romp about a treasure hunter and his soon to be ex-wife mucking around in the Caribbean in search of sunken gold. Really, it makes us feel like fools after watching this lame comedy. (Reviewed below)

6. FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (kungfu fantasy with Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michael Angarano) Rating * * (2 stars): The main attraction for this movie is the first-time teaming up of Jet Li and Jackie Chan. And if you feel you must catch this, you have swallowed the bait. The stunts are familiar with lots of wire-fu and nods to the Drunken Master days. The dialogue (in English) and the acting suck. (Reviewed below)

7. SLIT-MOUTH WOMAN (Japanese horror with Eriko Sato, Haruhiko Katou, Chiharu Kawai, Rie Kuwana, Kazuyuki Matsuzawa and Miki Mizuno) Rated * * (2 stars): This one is just a one-scare movie taken to the extreme. It is also disturbing, with themes about severe child punishment. (Reviewed below)

8. OVER HER DEAD BODY (comedy with Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Jason Biggs and Lindsay Sloane) Rating * * (2 stars): Longoria plays a bride who gets killed on her wedding day and returns to haunt her groom. Let's let her RIP and stay away from this mediocre fare fit only for TV.