Drama above the streets (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Drama above the streets

9:21am Friday 3rd February 2012 in Film Reviews By Damon Smith

MAN ON A LEDGE (12A) *** Ex-cop Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) is sentenced to time behind bars for stealing a priceless diamond belonging to billionaire David Englander (Ed Harris). His pleas of innocence fall on deaf ears so when Nick is granted temporary leave to attend his father’s funeral, the convict escapes police custody and heads for the Roosevelt Hotel, where he enjoys a final meal, scrawls a note, then steps out on to the ledge. Police Department negotiator Lydia Anderson (Elizabeth Banks) rushes to the scene and tries to talk Nick back into the hotel room. Meanwhile, in a building opposite, Nick’s younger brother Joey (Jamie Bell) and his girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) orchestrate the daring heist of Englander’s private vault.

CHRONICLE (12A) *** Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) is powerless to help his bedridden mother Karen (Bo Petersen) fight the terminal illness that has stripped away her dignity. He suffers in silence, weathering the beatings from his alcoholic father Richard (Michael Kelly) and persistent bullying at school. The film opens through the lens of an old-fashioned video camera that Andrew has just bought to record each waking minute, in the hope this might protect him from his old man’s fists. Late one night, Andrew, his cousin and only friend Matt (Alex Russell) and high school golden boy Steve (Michael B Jordan) discover a strange artefact in a crater. Soon after, they are blessed with powers of flight, telekinesis and invulnerability. At first, they employ the new-found abilities for fun, but once Andrew’s deep-seated rage takes control, it’s only a matter of time before the darkness completely envelops him.

YOUNG ADULT (15) **** Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a mediocre writer who lives in Minneapolis and has seen the popularity of her Waverly Prep novels for young adults wane. Desperate for creative inspiration for the final book in the series, Mavis is distracted by an e-mail from old boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser) announcing the birth of their daughter. Convinced that this is a sign from the universe that she should win back Buddy, Mavis travels to her home town of Mercury, where she flirts outrageously with her former beau but he appears completely oblivious to the shortness of her skirt. Another old classmate, Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), witnesses Mavis in action and he becomes her unwitting accomplice to wooing Buddy away from his wife and child.